How one of my ‘jobs’ allowed a unique insight into a public awards spat. Talented and capable artists should perhaps not feel like they need to ‘fix’ the industry. It maybe isn’t broken quite where they think it is. I can’t publish this piece yet — why should become apparent…

How one incident has revealed all the craziness currently in play, and could help debunk some very bad ideas. It could also help set in motion very destructive events. Like, even superpower collapse level events. So much has been written and said about the trial, and the incident itself, that…

Have we confused ourselves into missing everything important? It’s perhaps not surprising that such a shocking event would generate as much misunderstanding and confusion as the surprise attacks on the United States of September 11th, 2001. …

How a surprising amount of what we see today began with events of that year. And how little it had to do with the West. In the same way that orienting yourself on 20th century history is often well set up through study of WWI, understanding many of the forces…

I hate to say this, but that 75,000 strong Taliban army the POTUS said last month were ‘no threat’ has within a few days become a 400,000+ strong army, supplied with the very best of modern military technology — including helicopters and other combat aircraft, artillery, missile tech, drone tech…

I wrote this in response to an article written in Jan 2021 by Tarik Ata, published by HKIND on this site. The article put forward a strong, well researched and technically accurate criticism of US involvement and folly in the Middle East and South America. …

By no means comprehensive, these books help explain the complex forces that keep the Middle East from finding stability. Recommendations are personal opinion, and should not be taken as expert. I offer them to anyone seeking a deeper knowledge. Authors and/or titles themselves are linked to references and further information. …

Two taxi rides in one night. Starkly different experiences. Late 2018, I was living a fairly casual existence and indulging some long earned personal pursuits. This included attending some lectures and appearances by various people. This time I was listening to Malala Yousafzai speak at Melbourne’s Convention and Exhibition Center…

Sometimes when we least expect it, the shock of violence shows us who we are. It can be messy. September 2018, Saturday 29th, around 18:40. The AFL Grand Final has been played and won a few hours ago. I’m walking our 9 year old Staffordshire Stanley around the neighborhood, as…