Showing 51 - 60 of 571
Francis not the liberal Pope the world is keen for
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 04/09/2023
» Javier Milei, who is very likely to be elected president of Argentina in the October election, is fairly frank in his view of Pope Francis, a fellow Argentine. He calls Pope Francis "a Communist turd" and "the representative of the Evil One on Earth". Even for a ranter like Mr Milei, who ranks very high on the Trump scale of invective, that's rare praise.
The whys and wherefores of expanding Brics
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 29/08/2023
» You can expand the curious organisation called the Brics, but you can't define it. In fact, it's hardly even an organisation: no headquarters, no secretariat. Even the (British) Commonwealth and la Francophonie have more substance: at least they share a former oppressor. Yet the Brics are expanding.
China: Message from Russia on 'reunification'
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 26/08/2023
» The Ukrainians have been cheering themselves up recently by sending drones to hit targets in Moscow's business district and the more exclusive western suburbs. (The Russians, who bomb Ukrainian cities and kill civilians almost every night, refer to this as "terrorism".)
Zimbabwe and a dose of 'ruling party syndrome'
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 23/08/2023
» 'No one will stop us from ruling this country. You will be lost if you don't vote for Zanu-PF," said President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe. A bit more arrogant than the usual election pitch in most parts of the world, perhaps, but not unusual in Zimbabwe, one of the southern African countries suffering from "ruling party" syndrome.
Trump: The mills of the gods grind slowly
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 19/08/2023
» 'The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceeding fine," wrote Sextus Empiricus, a Sceptic philosopher who lived mainly in Athens and Alexandria almost 2,000 years ago. Justice may be slow to come, but in the end the wicked will be punished. The mills are turning.
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.
Hun Manet now PM but father still in charge
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 14/08/2023
» On Monday, the most amazing political survivor of the 20th century, Hun Sen, formally passed the rule of Cambodia down to his eldest son Hun Manet after about 38 years in power.
Is Najib Bukele the world's coolest dictator?
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 07/08/2023
» 'It's not perfect, but it's good. We've done something really good here," said El Salvador's vice-president, Felix Ulloa, defending the government's no-quarter war against the street gangs that have dominated the Central American republic for decades. President Nayib Bukele agrees, calling himself "the instrument of God".
When legal battles shake democracies
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 10/08/2023
» Three of the world's biggest democracies, all with past, present and/or prospective leaders facing prison at the same time. In the end, it's the courts that decide.
Sahel coups are just another 'Great Game'
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 01/08/2023
» If you are a democratically elected leader in one of Africa's Sahel countries -- let's say, Niger -- and you suspect that the army is plotting to overthrow you, what's the best countermeasure? Should you: