Showing 1 - 10 of 30
Surviving the collapse of the population
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 13/02/2026
» 'To them that hath shall [more] be given" is generally a reliable guide, especially in economic matters, but it doesn't work if the beneficiaries are too stupid to take advantage of the gift. The scarce and precious commodity in this case being people, who are in increasingly short supply.
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.
Nobody really wants to be a Nazi, but....
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 27/12/2024
» 'Alternativ fur Deutschland" (AfD) means "The Alternative for Germany", and the alternative on offer is fascism. Not actual Naziism, but the AfD uses fascist rhetoric and tactics to attract German voters. It has also attracted some improbable foreign admirers.
'Bibi' and the International Criminal Court
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 27/11/2024
» The indictment of Israel's prime minister, Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, and former defence minister Yoav Gallant by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza has triggered a great deal of public moralising, both pro and con. Almost all of it is missing the point.
Netanyahu did not do enough to save hostages
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 07/09/2024
» Six Jewish hostages were murdered by Hamas last week just before the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reached them, and a controversy has erupted in Israel about whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should have done more to save them, but only among the ignorant and the credulous, because everybody else knew he never intended to save them. If your child is kidnapped and you get a ransom note, do you:
Rambling Joe Biden officially a lost cause
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 13/07/2024
» It really doesn't matter whether Joe Biden is in peak condition intellectually during a second term as president. He did some useful things in his first term, but his main job now is to stop Donald Trump from coming back. If he succeeded in doing that and went gaga immediately afterwards, the ship of state would carry on regardless.
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?
Israel vs the ICJ: Is this a waste of time?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 18/01/2024
» The two sides have had their day in court -- one day each, actually. The 17 judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have now retired to consider what interim decisions they should make on South Africa's accusation that Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip amount to the crime of genocide. Is this just a waste of time?
Charting China's decline, at a slow pace
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 11/12/2023
» For several years now, I have had a file on my computer named "China -- has the moment arrived?" But I think I missed the moment -- or rather I forgot that these things aren't a moment, they're a process.
Never mind the climate, just watch the wars
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 02/11/2023
» With practically all the media bandwidth for non-local news taken up by two tribal territorial struggles that would not have seemed out of place in the 15th century AD -- or indeed the 15th century BC -- you may have missed the latest release from the International Energy Agency (IEA).