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Two steps forward, two steps back
In classical civilisations, there was a continuing, unresolved debate about whether history moved forward or just went around in circles: was it linear or was it cyclical?
World View
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I’m not saying we’re all doomed but the heat is on
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I’m not saying we’re all doomed but the heat is on
I am very cross with myself.
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Of no importance but front and centre
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Of no importance but front and centre
The Strait of Malacca is strategically important.
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Slide back to might makes right
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Slide back to might makes right
We seem to be drifting back into the world of "might makes right".
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Where next in the Middle East?
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Where next in the Middle East?
In the 80 hours between Wednesday, January 15, when the Gaza ceasefire agreement was announced, and Sunday, January 19, when it went into effect, Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip killed 123...
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Vintage tonnage a weighty modern day headache
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Vintage tonnage a weighty modern day headache
The name is brilliant: "vintage tonnage".
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‘Self-coup’ bids inspired by Trump
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‘Self-coup’ bids inspired by Trump
Turning yourself from a democratically elected president into a dictator is a tricky operation, and most people who try it fail.
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Iran: Some day soon this will end
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Iran: Some day soon this will end
Six months ago, at the end of Iran’s presidential election, I finished an article by speculating the long-lived theocratic dictatorship in Iran might be a lot closer to its end than its beginning.
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Syria stirs again as Lebanon settles
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Syria stirs again as Lebanon settles
One week in, the ceasefire in Lebanon seems to be holding, but everything is connected: only three days later, the civil war in Syria started up again after a de facto four-year truce.
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Netanyahu and international justice
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Netanyahu and international justice
The indictment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza...
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South Korea as Ukraine’s saviour?
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South Korea as Ukraine’s saviour?
The consensus assumption is still that Donald Trump will force Ukraine to yield to Russia as soon as he takes office on January 20.
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Netanyahu and Biden: decisions, decisions ...
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Netanyahu and Biden: decisions, decisions ...
Two weeks ago Iran, in response to Israel’s assassinations of the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, its most important allies in the Arab world, fired 181 ballistic missiles at Israel.
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Curtain call on growth does not spell end
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Curtain call on growth does not spell end
"No-one can stop the wheel of history," said China’s President Xi Jinping on the 75th anniversary of the day when the CCP proclaimed the creation of the People’s Republic of China.
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Will He? Won’t He? Netanyahu decides
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Will He? Won’t He? Netanyahu decides
Will Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, really launch a full-scale war against Lebanon-based Hizbollah when Israel is still fighting Hamas in Gaza? Of course he will.
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Who ruined Sri Lanka? So many choices
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Who ruined Sri Lanka? So many choices
It's hard to know who ruined Sri Lanka, because there are so many plausible candidates.
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Animals are our friends, not food
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Animals are our friends, not food
A bit behind the curve (it was first posted last April), I have stumbled across the New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness.
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Netanyahu running out of options
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Netanyahu running out of options
Six Jewish hostages were murdered by Hamas last week just before the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reached them, and a controversy has erupted in Israel about whether Prime Minister Binyamin...
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Third time is not lucky for nationalists
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Third time is not lucky for nationalists
With the sole exception of the 50 people on Pitcairn Island, the United Kingdom (once known as the British Empire) liquidated its holdings in the Pacific Ocean long ago.
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Struggle against the monkey king
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Struggle against the monkey king
When you find yourself shouting at the television screen, you know it’s time to take a break.
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The space race and the very precious life of Elon
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The space race and the very precious life of Elon
Elon Musk is heading for a crash.