Politics

The Middle East Policy of “Creative Inertia”

I have written 2 posts on this matter including an approach forward on a resolution so I refer to those rather than repeating myself; Leaders reject Netanyahu calls for Jewish mass migration to Israel: Commentary A Cosy Relation with an expected Policy Dictation What I would like to take on here are 2 […]

Read More

The Other Side of WWII

As one who enjoys reading/viewing documentaries about WWII I will be posting material I find interesting and/or significant yet little is known about on this major historic event that helped shape what is termed as the current world order-after we all need to know where we are coming from so […]

Read More

The Hybrid Nature of Warfare & The Role of the Military (Part 2 due January 2017)

The Crimea Factor-Establishing Context Old Techniques within New Context/Terminology: The perception by Western analyst of Russian actions against the Ukraine in 2014 as a new style warfare is one that is misplaced. In fact these are old Soviet style/previously dormant foreign policy techniques that include disinformation and subversion. Steady Re-Emergence […]

Read More

Going Cyber: The New Way

Preface  In this section (a bit long I have to admit) I would like to provide some background context in terms of Motives behind doing the research/posting this blog and the Format I intend to follow/reasoning behind it. Motives a) As some of you may know I am an IT […]

Read More

Behavioral Economics and The Pattern of Thought

A very interesting interview about Biases in Human Judgement, here are key take aways; The area of Behavioral Economics pioneered by 2 Israeli social scientists; Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky Human Mind not wired to make probabilistic judgements a) Blindness to statistical truths b) Better in story telling-skewed in predictable […]

Read More

NATO contracting in Afghanistan: The Problem of Principal–Agent Networks (Commentary)

A very interesting paper demonstrating the challenges of building a supply chain for military operations in Afghanistan. The thrust of this article is the over-reliance on Private Military & Security Companies (PMSCs) for things like; Logistics Support Maintenance/Repair Military Training Armed Protection However the increased reliance on these PMSCs has caused […]

Read More

The Boris Doctrine of "Gaffemism"

Though I am no supporter of Saudi Arabia with its largely negative influence in the Middle East, it is NOT the role of the Foreign Secretary to deliver inflammatory speeches that risk diluting any remaining influence we may have in the region. Diplomacy is about offline interactions that help find […]

Read More

Elements of Good Governance: A Refresher Course Customised & Freely Available to the British Government

1. Rule of Law Fair legal frameworks that are enforced by an impartial regulatory body, for the full protection of stakeholders. 2. Transparency Information is provided in easily understandable forms and media; that it should be freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by governance policies and […]

Read More

Italian PM Matteo Renzi resigns: Commentary

Seems to me that what we should be seeking throughout the west are strong leaders that have the confidence/vision to stand for Liberal values and make globalisation work for all. Weak leaders make us all loose, fast. We also need Liberal parties to set aside non-core differences and make an […]

Read More

European Economy & Financial Future: An American View: by Professor Lawrence H. Summers

Lecture was hosted by The American Academy in Berlin. Some talking points include; German Centrality to Europe Recent Financial Crisis in Europe as Compared to 1920 where a similar technological boom occurred (demonstrating importance of achieving both Economic growth + Financial Management/balanced income distribution) Reflection on European Single Market & Monetary […]

Read More

Robots threaten $4 billion worth of upcoming Australian outsourcing deals: Commentary

While applying efficiencies through innovation/technology is indeed the future it is also critical that we do so in a prudent/incremental manner in line with socio-economic implications (re-aligning our labour force through re-training is a big part of the equation). We need to have a multi-dimensional view of progress otherwise innovation/technology […]

Read More

US Election: Who is Stephen Bannon?

  Antiestablishment/Political Correctness/Aristocracy; Terms representing positive Political Activism for grass root movements to build a more equitable future for all in response to policy failures has been hijacked by the ultra right to legitimize Racism/Bigotry/Xenophobia. Well guess what, this ain’t gonna work simply because it is a fight against Reality […]

Read More

"Civility" – On The Brink

While following US elections I came across this interview with Katie Hopkins. Now please excuse my ignorance but I have never heard of/or seen her before. That said I must admit I am not going to loose too much sleep on that because to me it was a lousy introduction. […]

Read More

Disinformation-The Real Threat

The threat of Disinformation is real and needs to be dealt with as a matter of government priority. In the good old days of the cold war geographic/information isolation was a mean of controlling hearts/minds. Now it turns out people, through the power of disinformation, have been empowered to live […]

Read More