Sir Winston Churchill avowed that “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on;” The lies, misrepresentations and fantasies Donald Trump spouts and texts, go all around the world only slightly quicker than contradictory ones follow.… Read the rest
Almost exactly five years ago, the first post on this site included the quote:.“ And so, to the end of history, murder shall breed murder, always in the name of right and honour and peace, until the gods are tired of blood and create a race that can understand.”… Read the rest
Since we’re still intact, it’s safe to presume that despite conspiracy theorists, the object from outer space that just passed Earth really is a comet and not an alien battleship. Assuming those who really can wreck the world have a firm grasp on reality, perhaps less so.… Read the rest
The killing of five journalists in a tent in Gaza this week is a cruel lesson for world leaders who have played along far too long with Israel’s “righteous victim” shield: what you do out of fear is what you become.… Read the rest
Those who “speak truth to power” by calling out injustice and demanding change are exalted as courageous. So what word shall we apply to those with power who speak weasel words instead of acting?… Read the rest
The writer John Steinbeck called war “a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.” Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz characterised it as “the continuation of politics by other means.” The latest version is the triumph of hubris, ego and ignorance of history and culture.… Read the rest
History, egos, ambition and hubris have entangled the Middle East into a political and security Gordian knot. Mythology has it that the ends of impossibly complex tangle were hidden, and it could only be undone by the future conqueror of all Asia.… Read the rest
A single word holds the key to the myriad crises plaguing the world – dehumanisation. It is omnipresent in wars, policies on migrants and shortfalls in humanitarian aid. It has also become the bedrock of those who perpetuate the ills.… Read the rest
The adage “You can kill the messenger, but not the message” purportedly traces its roots to somewhere in the Middle Ages. Its 21st century application is to do the literal killing blatantly, and disprove the second half of the admonition furtively.… Read the rest
“You did it to me so I’m going to do it to you” isn’t appropriate behaviour in a schoolyard. In a region trembling on the brink of an all-encompassing war , where cool heads, informed thinking and sensible compromise are vital, it seems to be the best that egotistical leaders driven by ideology and their political survival can provide.… Read the rest