Showing 1 - 10 of 36
Fanatics, an obsessive, and a belligerent fool
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 07/04/2026
» We don't have to look very far to find a useful historical analogy for the current crisis in the Middle East. In 1967, Egypt closed the Strait of Tiran to Israeli ships, and Israel replied with a surprise air attack that destroyed almost the entire Egyptian air force on the ground.
Donald Trump buys time with weapons for Kyiv
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 18/07/2025
» There was rejoicing when US President Donald Trump announced that he was going to let Ukraine have weapons after all, but it was conspicuously contained joy. Half-smiles and sighs of relief were plentiful; cheers were absent or faked.
'Flooding the zone' will likely backfire
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 22/02/2025
» The planning for a hard-right takeover of the United States federal government was detailed and meticulous, and its execution by Elon Musk and his young Silicon Valley stormtroopers was ruthless and mostly successful. They did indeed "move fast and break things", notably in gaining illegal access to the Department of Treasury payments system by sheer intimidation.
Has Iran finally reached the end of the line?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 02/01/2025
» Six months ago, at the end of Iran's presidential election, I finished an article by speculating that the long-lived theocratic dictatorship in Iran may be a lot closer to its end than its beginning: "If you can plausibly say "This cannot go on forever", you are also saying "Some day this will come to an end'."
Time to combat ignorance to save the Earth
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 13/12/2024
» More than half the world's people (4.3 billion) own smartphones, and practically everybody has access to one. All the information in the world is available to everybody. Yet willful ignorance and superstition still flourish.
Global warming and the burning issue of money
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 14/11/2024
» It's hard to imagine a less plausible venue for the annual UN-sponsored conference on climate than the dictatorial petrostate of Azerbaijan. Baku, the capital, has a walled medieval centre that's worth a day or two, but offshore the shallow Caspian Sea is littered with a century's worth of old and new oil wells.
Technology gives a little hope for climate: Part 2
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 05/06/2024
» It was technology that got us into this climate crisis, and it will be technology that gets us out of it. Specifically, technology that lets us go on living in a high-energy civilisation without burning fossil fuels, and technology that keeps the heat from overwhelming us while we work towards that goal.
Could the Palestinians be bought out?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 14/05/2024
» Last week a despairing reader asked me if the solution to the "Middle East Problem" might be to throw money at it: just buy the Palestinians out. Offer every Palestinian in the Israeli-occupied territories enough money to settle somewhere else, and the endless wars might finally end.
South Korea: Very competitive and childless
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 05/03/2024
» There are enough people to go around: eight billion now, compared to two billion less than a hundred years ago. Fifty-one million in South Korea, compared to only twelve million a hundred years ago. So why are South Koreans obsessed about their low birth rate?
Mining on the Moon a boon of prestige rivalry
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 10/01/2024
» What could be so rare and valuable that it would be worth going all the way to the Moon to get some?