Politics

The Legacy Of Barack Obama

An excellent CNN documentary about one of the most consequential presidents in U.S. history. I do believe history will judge him well, and I can say many are already missing his vision/leadership less than a month into the Trump presidency. One can also say that there may be a silver […]

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Marine Le Pen hails patriotism as the policy of the future (Commentary)

The Convenience of Terminology Adaptability, a strategy used by the far right to promote shallow narrative for change (used since Nazi Germany); Racism (becomes) Patriotism/Nationalism & Anti-Corruption/Reform (become) Anti-Establishment. It’s all about punchlines and stirring negative emotions to help drive change through fear & divisive politics. I believe that this […]

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BBC Panorama -Trump: The Kremlin Candidate?

An excellent documentary about Russian influence on US elections and history of Trump relationship with Russia. Predictions are not all that rosy for a Trump presidency, but this is all the more important that we go into it more aware/wired into this “unique” situation and the ramifications resulting from it so […]

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"Multiculturalism": The Elephant that Overtook the Room

Defining the Problem There continues to be debate about the value of “Multiculturalism” and whether it has failed to live up to its nobel intentions pertaining to a multiethnic/multicultural society we live in today. Some politicians even pronounce the concept of Multiculturalism as already “Dead”. This is certainly a serious & […]

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Obama's Farewell Speech: Please Listen!

A great speech from a wise leader who I hope (and suspect from this speech) will continue to play a key in revitalising the Democratic party while at the same time defending liberal/democratic values over trends of nationalism & xenophobia. The ultra right surely know how influential he can be and […]

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To Lobby or NOT to Lobby; That is the Ultimate Question

What captures my fancy in this news article about Israeli diplomat filmed saying he wanted to “take down” Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan are these lobby groups that keep popping up all over our political echo system; Conservative Friends of Israel Liberal Democrats Friends of Palestine (and Israel in another LibDem […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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