Showing 1 - 10 of 241
Terror is our biggest fear, but not our biggest threat
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 08/12/2015
» On Sunday President Barack Obama spoke about a mass shooting in the United States for the 17th time in the past seven years. (There have actually been 335 mass shootings in the US already this year, but he only does the big ones.) But this time Mr Obama spoke from the Oval Office.
North Korea's real nuclear deterrent
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 11/02/2016
» Here we go again. North Korea launched a ballistic missile of intercontinental range on Sunday (saying it was just putting up a satellite) only weeks after it carried out its fourth nuclear weapons test (which it claimed was a hydrogen bomb). The United Nations Security Council strongly condemned it, and even the People's Republic of China, North Korea's only ally, expressed its "regret" at what the country had done.
Let's commit insecticide for human safety
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 26/02/2016
» It was a typically anodyne statement by the World Health Organization: "Given the magnitude of the Zika crisis, WHO encourages affected countries and their partners to boost the use of both old and new approaches to mosquito control." Anodyne, that is, until you realise what they mean by "new approaches".
Syria's chance for 'peace and stability'
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 02/03/2016
» So far the Russian plan for a ceasefire in Syria is working remarkably well. The truce that came into effect on Saturday had been observed with only minor violations on all the relevant fronts, and the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Syria, Yacoub el-Hillo, called it "the best opportunity that the Syrian people have had over the last five years for lasting peace and stability".
Migrants, euro, Brexit: the EU at risk
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 13/04/2016
» A recent headline in the leading French newspaper Le Monde said it all: "Migrants, the Euro, Brexit: The European Union is mortal." And it's true. The EU could actually collapse over these three threats.
Property in Iraq fuelled by dirty money
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 04/05/2016
» Property prices in central Baghdad are as high as London's, even though Iraq's national income is down by 70% since the collapse in the oil price. Islamic State's (IS) bombs regularly devastate parts of the capital, and still the real estate market booms. Why?
Time for war on Zika ahead of Olympics
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 02/06/2016
» In the past, the only excuse for cancelling the Olympic Games has been a world war.But if this year's Games had been scheduled for somewhere in West Africa two years ago, when the Ebola outbreak was nearing its peak, they would certainly have been called off. So should the Olympic Games scheduled to begin in Rio de Janeiro on Aug 5 be cancelled, moved or postponed?
What would happen if Brexit actually wins?
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 04/06/2016
» After months in which opinion polls showed a 6-10% lead for the "Remain" side in the referendum campaign on continued British membership of the European Union, the numbers have suddenly shifted in favour of "Leave". The latest Guardian/ICM polls revealed that 52% of those polled favour Brexit (British exit from the EU), while only 48% want to stay in.
Macedonia's 'Colourful Revolution'
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 14/06/2016
» Abstract expressionism is no longer cutting-edge art in most places, but in one country it is enjoying a massive popular revival: Macedonia. The artists are at work day and night in the capital, Skopje, decorating public buildings and statues with splatters of every colour in the rainbow in a style clearly inspired by Jackson Pollock.
Will Orlando bring about the end of the United States?
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 15/06/2016
» "If we do not get tough and smart real fast, we are not going to have a country any more," said Donald Trump after the massacre in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando early on Sunday morning, and The Donald never exaggerates. The United States is a very fragile entity, only two-and-a-bit centuries old. One more attack like Orlando -- 49 dead and 53 wounded -- and it's finished.