Category World Affairs
The Ruined Palace
A flashback for this Wednesday, from a trip I took to Iraq in 2015. Somehwere I think I still have a couple of posts written at the time that still haven’t been published. The Peshmerga guards ask if we would like some tea. I don’t drink hot drinks, but I know it would be culturally […]
Never Say Never
I spent a good chunk of the weekend feeling uneasy. I blame the novel I was reading. Never, the new book from Ken Follett is a topical modern-day thriller. Follet made his reputation with thrillers, then expanded into historical blockbusters, and it is nice to see he hasn’t lost his touch. When you think of […]
Timelines of History
You’ve heard it said: those who don’t learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. Did you have that feeling yesterday? Here’s a timeline from the past: On March 7, 1936, the German military, at the command of Chancellor Adolf Hitler, moved into the demilitarized Rhineland. Britain and France scolded. On March 12, […]
2021 In Review: Hagia Sophia Frescoes
We start our review of 2021 today with the tenth most popular post of the year. It is an enduring favorite since it was first published here in 2015, and in 2020 was the most popular post. Sometimes I can’t figure out why a post becomes popular, but I understand the interest in the Hagia […]
Is It Jealousy?
There has been a fuss this week over the Pandora Papers, as there was over the Panama Papers a few years back. Now we know where the rich and famous are doing their banking. I’m not sure I understand why this is news. That people of means use banking havens to avoid paying taxes is […]
A Matter of Responsibility
The Dutch defence minister resigned Friday after being censured by her country’s parliament over her handling of the evacuation of those who had helped Dutch forces in Afghanistan. The foreign minister had already resigned over the same issue. For this Caandian it was shocking to see a cabinet minister accept blame and resign over anything. […]
Musings on Afghan Democracy
The last Canadian evacuation flight left Kabul earlier today. Twenty years of foreign policy initiatives have vanished almost overnight. That the Taliban so swiftly conquered Afghanistan came as no surprise to me. If we learn nothing from the history of Afghanistan ,it is that foreign interventions are not successful in the long run. So now we […]
Trump Free
After more than a hundred days of the Biden presidency, Donald Trump seems like a faded memory. Or perhaps a nightmare we have all woken up from. It is amazing how quiet he has been since his banning back in January by the social media platforms he was using. Maybe traditional media is finding things […]
Spy Games
Germany’s security agency has had its knuckles rapped. And rightly so. I can only hope that those in charge are held to account. The agency announced a week or so ago that it was investigating the country’s primary right-wing party, AFD (Alliance fur Deutschland) , because of concerns about some elements in the party. Which you […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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