
No more good news from Afghanistan
It’s not true that failure is an orphan. Afghanistan today is like Freddy Krueger, “the son of a hundred homicidal maniacs”, whose nurse mother was gang raped by inmates of a …
Read MoreIt’s not true that failure is an orphan. Afghanistan today is like Freddy Krueger, “the son of a hundred homicidal maniacs”, whose nurse mother was gang raped by inmates of a …
Read MoreTragedy of the Middle East, or more precisely the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict, continues through yet another escalation of deadly violence, with hundreds of lives lost and more hatred added to …
Read MoreTwenty-twenty, the year of the “cool number” previously associated with the positive (perfect vision), had been anything but cool and positive itself. A lot had gone wrong; most related to the …
Read MoreOne of the few bright spots of genuine good news this year – if not the only one – has been the sudden outbreak of peace between Israel and several …
Read MoreA faux scandal erupts in the middle of a real scandal (alleged, and subject to future court cases). One of the less savoury of all Australian drinking traditions is the …
Read MoreIsraeli actress Gal “Wonder Woman” Gadot has been cast in a new movie to play Queen Cleopatra, so predictably, lots of people who know nothing about history are upset. Former …
Read MoreDalia 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 …
Read MoreIt’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 …
Read MoreDistract 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 …
Read MoreWith 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 …
Read MoreWhile 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 …
Read MoreNot the end, but perhaps the beginning of the end: the United States and the Taliban sign a preliminary agreement in Doha, Qatar, on a conditional withdrawal of the last …
Read MoreA fascinating update, courtesy of Pew Research Center, on attitudes towards the United States around the world, best summarised in this table: It’s personally interesting to note that Poland is the …
Read MoreAt PJ Media, my old friend Richard Fernandez muses about the current upheaval: Bloomberg editors have noticed that the world is on fire. There are demonstrations and unrest in Lebanon, Chile, …
Read MoreUnless you have been living under a rock, you know that the ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, having blown himself and his three children up while being chased …
Read MoreDebate continues to rage about the rights and wrongs of Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw a handful of US troops from their posts along the Syrian-Turkish border, where they have …
Read MoreIf you have been wondering whatever happened to Robert Fisk (I know you haven’t; this is just a rhetorical set-up), he is still alive and writing. His most recent effort …
Read MoreDonald Trump is withdrawing the American troops from northern Syria, where they had previously fought against ISIS and subsequently acted as a trip wire against a major Turkish attack on …
Read MoreThe United Arab Emirates is engaging in a commendable exercise in fostering inter-faith tolerance and understanding: A new UAE’s landmark, featuring a church, mosque and synagogue, will be built in …
Read MoreIn case you’re not a Middle Eastern politics nerd, I borrowed the title of this post from Henry Kissinger’s famous (at least in the Middle Eastern politics nerd circles) comment …
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