Month: September 2021

Pentagon drone strike

Reflections On Events In Afghanistan (XVIII)

18. India’s ‘over-the-horizon’ dilemma In England, they’d plan a park, build it but wouldn’t complete it until they could observe  for a while the foot tracks of walkers, before deciding where to lay the pathways for optimal utility. The Blinken Administration and Modi Govt apparently think they don’t have that […]

Silk road

Reflections On Events In Afghanistan (XVII)

17. Foreign Devils on the Silk Road The title of an unputdownable 1980 classic by Peter Hopkirk comes to mind even as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation are preparing to hold back-to-back summit meetings at Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on September 17. Foreign Devils on the Silk […]

Crowds of people show their documents to U.S. troops outside the airport in Kabul

Humanitarian Assistance To Afghanistan

War-torn Afghanistan is facing severe challenges. The abrupt evacuation of the US troops, and instant surrender of the Afghan National Army, have not given time for the Taliban to plan for governance. The irony is that while leaving Afghanistan, the US has frozen all assets and damaged the infrastructure of […]

Inactivists

News Corp Turns Climate Change Inactivist

The faux Damascene converts have been doing the rounds in the Murdoch empire of late, stirring interest in matters green and attempting to shift, if ever so slightly, discussions on climate change.  Known for being a stable of environmental vandals and fossil fuel standard bearers, News Corp has gone for […]

Nayib Bukele

Bitcoin The Messiah: El Salvador Goes Crypto

In a particular deli store in South Melbourne, a tongue-and-cheek message is attached to the cash register.  “Bitcoin accepted there,” it proclaims brightly.  Naturally, it is nothing of the sort, a teasing ruse for the punters and those casting an eye in the direction of the store.  Cold hard cash […]

Afghan tribal leaders

Reflections On Events In Afghanistan (XV)

15. Enter regional states The Taliban hoisted their black and white flag on the presidential palace in Kabul on September 11, which happens to be the twentieth anniversary of the Al-Qaeda’s attack on New York and Washington, DC. The symbolism is too obvious to be missed. Although the Taliban had […]

US-ANNIVERSARY-9/11

Messianic Failure: Pursuing The GWOT Jabberwock

Anniversaries can provide occasions for reflection and deep consideration.  Past errors and misjudgements can be considered soberly; historical distance provides perspective.  Mature reflections may be permitted.  But they can also serve the opposite purpose: to cake, cloak and mask the record. The gooey name GWOT, otherwise known as the Global […]

Perpetual catechumen

The Perpetual Catechumen

It should not surprise us to learn that we are often creatures of the culture in which we live. We understand this, particularly when we travel and encounter people whose culture differs profoundly from our own. What seems obvious to us, might seem obscure to them. What we eat, how […]