Showing 1 - 10 of 23
Isis destroyed
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 06/09/2018
» As most of the hijackers responsible for the 9/11 outrage were Saudi Arabian, it stands to reason that the US would take the kingdom to task. Instead, Washington turned its ire on Afghanistan and Iraq. How could that be? In fact, it made sense. America is Saudi's biggest oil customer and didn't want it to stop flowing, the more than 3,000 dead at New York's Twin Towers notwithstanding.
Isis thwarted
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 26/12/2019
» Until the 20th century, jihadists had no bones to pick with the US. Their ire was directed at the UK and France who coveted their lands, and the Jews trying to carve out their own. They got good press when T.E. Lawrence led the Arabs against the enemy Ottoman Turks. The silent film The Sheik romanticised them. The Riffs were favoured in their uprising against Spain. They didn't participate in the North African campaign in World War II.
Isis foiled
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/02/2019
» Until a few years ago, no Western publisher dared say a word against Isis, the Muslim terrorist extremists infamous for taking umbridge and reacting violently. No longer. Isis is now targeted by the media and by novelists with impunity.
Indian pirates
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 26/10/2017
» Pirates have been around as long as people travelled and traded by sea. A young Julius Caesar was among their prey two millennia ago. The fledgling US Navy pulverised those on the Barbary Coast two centuries ago. Still the pirates persevere -- from the Somali variety to those in the Pacific.
Against retirement
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 14/03/2016
» There are two conflicting perspectives on retirement: that it gives people the opportunity to do all the things they've long wanted to do, or that it renders them no longer of use, getting up in the morning with nothing to look forward to.
An amazing guidebook
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 30/03/2015
» Go to any bookshop here and you will find a shelf full of guides to Thailand, many penned by farangs, several with lovely scenic photos. They cover much the same ground. The Thai people are nice in every respect, yet they have quaint practices you are expected to heed. But what can you expect? It's a foreign land, a third-world country, that needs catching up. Give it another century or so.
Mystical religion
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 04/10/2019
» I am saying straight away that I believe in God. How else can the cosmos be there? But I'm not religious. In my time I've been to churches, temples, mosques and holy places out of curiosity, not seeking a spiritual experience. In each I did the expected to the extent possible: sat, bowed, knelt, mumbled prayers, faked singing spirituals, et al. It was copying, not mocking.
Tough daughter
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 16/06/2014
» The Collins sisters are from the UK, but made their fame and fortunes in the US — Joan in films, Jackie as an author. Joan hasn’t made a movie for some time, yet Jackie is still turning out novels. Her focus is the jet set. Hollywood and Las Vegas are her venues of choice.
Now what?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 23/06/2014
» Whether created in seven days, according to the Good Book, or in seven billion years, according to astronomers, it is generally agreed that the time will come when Earth is no more. “The end is nigh!” has long been a standing joke, but no longer elicits universal laughter.
Virgin Queen or Virgin King?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 02/12/2013
» History is full of mysteries and for centuries there have been people who dedicated themselves to trying to solve them. A few did. The problem is that after a long period, convincing evidence hasn't been found to prove the truth of this or that thesis.