25 Best Books I’ve Read in 2020
As always with these annual roundups, please note that these are the best books I’ve read last year, not the best book published last year, as I never buy new …
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On discovering a scandal in family history
One of my great regrets in life is not having interrogated my loved ones about their past and their family histories while they were still alive. Now the generation of …
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America’s mythical allies – and the real ones
Sam Vinograd, an Obama administration nat sec alumnus – and now, needless to say, a CNN nat sec analyst – is hearing sounds: It's like I can almost hear our …
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Against the Great Satan
Back in 1996, I and three friends had the privilege (having handsomely won the election) of editing the University of Queensland student newspaper “Semper Floreat”. The Latin name means “always …
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Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be oppressed in this racist hell
As many have remarked over the years, it is somewhat of a mystery why millions of people from the developing world continue to migrate to Western countries, which we are …
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Cancelling your whole history
The hope that statue-destroyers would restrict themselves to just slave traders was misplaced. It was as naive as asking the question “who will they pull down next?” The answer is: …
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America is bad for democracy, say allies
Dalia Research, the Alliance for Democracies and Rasmussen International have released the results of the Democracy Perception Index, the largest study of its kind, based on interviews with 124,000 people in …
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We shall fight in the streets
Make no mistake: the attacks, both physical and rhetorical, against the memory of Winston Churchill show that the mask of the agitators in the streets and across the social media …
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Let’s create Hong Kong 2 in Australia
We could have done it 31 years ago, after the People’s Liberation Army’s tanks liberated thousands of protesters from their lives across Beijing. We could have done it 23 years …
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Losing My Region – Australians and the world cool on China
Welcome to the political chaos theory – or, should we say, fact: a bat flapping its wings in China produces a hurricane… pretty much everywhere around the world. It seems …
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Who Won World War Two?
The commemorations and celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War were mooted this year. No obligatory parades or gathering took place at the time of …
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Money for nothing and cheques for free
With the economies sliding past the Great Recession 2 towards the Great Depression 2 and with tens of millions suddenly unemployed throughout the developed world (with hundreds of millions throughout …
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Michael Gove’s bookshelf – and yours (and mine too)
Plenty of people like to be filmed against the backdrop of their bookshelves to convey the message or at least create the impression that they are smart. This has become …
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The Daily Chrenk’s Best Proverbs From Around The World, Part 7: The Finale
It’s been a great journey discovering the wise, the weird and the wonderful folk sayings from all parts of the world. You can check the previous six posts at your …
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Terror doesn’t sleep
Back in mid-March, in one of those “irony of ironies” moments, ISIS has issued a travel advisory to its members not to travel to Europe: “stay away from the land of …
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The Daily Chrenk’s Best Proverbs From Around The World, Part 6
Distract yourself from COVID 24/7 and enjoy some wisdom of the ages from all corners of the world. Coincidentally, when proverbs and folk sayings were coming into being, life really …
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“Ruthenia & Galicia”
To quote myself from another website: Having read over 80 books last year, I have already made a New Year’s resolution to read less in 2020, but now, with the …
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The Daily Chrenk’s Best Proverbs From Around The World, Part 5
With Coronavirus 24/7 and the world turned upside down indefinitely, wherever you are in self-isolation, make yourself some tea, sit down and enjoy the wisdom of the ages from different …
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Closed borders for me but not for thee
While the world is manically washing its hands and stocking up on toilet paper, as commerce, travel and even social interactions are slowly shrinking in response to what some see …
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