Showing 1 - 10 of 24
The fire this time is for US climate science
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 18/03/2026
» In 1953 Ray Bradbury, an American writer, published a book entitled simply Fahrenheit 451. It was a novel about an American fireman in a not-too-distant future who realised that he was doing his job all wrong -- because his job was to burn books, which were banned in that future America. (451°F is the temperature at which paper catches fire.)
Kingdom of Denmark vs the Shadow Fleet
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 25/10/2025
» Back in the 16th and 17th centuries, two-thirds of the Danish kingdom's income came from taxes paid by every ship passing through the Øresund ('The Sound') Strait, the only exit from the Baltic Sea. Each ship had to declare its cargo -- and if the Danes thought they were undervaluing it, Denmark had the right to buy it at the declared price.
Could Ukraine actually end up winning?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 30/09/2025
» Last February, Donald Trump and his heir apparent JD Vance launched a televised frontal attack on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House, telling him that Ukraine had "no cards". Mr Zelensky should let Russia keep the conquered territories (about 20% of Ukraine) in return for peace.
Long live the Dalai Lama, but who is next?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 08/07/2025
» The whole business of succession would be a lot simpler if the Dalai Lama could just regenerate, like Doctor Who -- a long-running British science fiction series. When the time comes for The Doctor to stop looking like David Tennant and start looking like Matt Smith, there's flame coming out of his head and gushing out of his sleeves, and then he explodes. When the smoke clears, there's the new Doctor.
New space race to the Moon's South Pole
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 16/08/2023
» Don't say "Moon Race". Perish the thought! But there is a race to land on the Moon, and the Russians are cheating. Well, sort of cheating.
Beijing will use 'floggings' until morale improves
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 14/03/2023
» Xi Jinping was confirmed in a third term as president of China at the National People's Congress last week, and not one of the 3,000 delegates voted against him. Why would they? Everything is perfect in the People's Republic of Oz, and the chief Wizard doesn't even to need to hide behind a curtain.
A resurgence of alliances is an echo of past wars
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 21/01/2023
» Alliances are as old as civilisation. Older, actually: almost every hunter-gatherer band that anthropologists have studied, from the New Guinea highlanders to the Yanomamo in the Amazon, made alliances with other groups to try to protect themselves.
Apocalypse may be just around the corner
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/09/2022
» Which would be worse: a global nuclear war with all buttons pressed, or real, self-conscious artificial intelligence that goes rogue? You know, the central theme of the Terminator movies.
Could Boris Johnson make a comeback?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 03/09/2022
» As a child, outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly said he wanted to be "King of the World". He ended up in a somewhat humbler role, was rejected by his own party's members of parliament for his mendacity, corruption and incompetence, and will hand over to his successor, Liz Truss, on Monday. But the Fat Lady still hasn't sung.
Ukraine War a risky game of Mother May I?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/08/2022
» 'This obviously does not happen because of a thrown butt," said British Defence Minister Ben Wallace. But the Russian Ministry of Defence insisted that the explosions that destroyed at least eight warplanes at Saki Air Base in Russian-occupied Crimea on Aug 9 were due to "a violation of fire safety requirements".