“Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.” — Lao Tau CHRIS WOOD: NATURAL SECURITY July 18, 2014 More than on most days, the handcart in which we are all riding toward a very unpleasant destination feels like we’re
“Few parts of the world have avoided the destructive influence of social dislocation – if not always of violence — inspired by religious extremism, based often on racial ultra-nationalism,” writes International Affairs analyst Jonathan Manthorpe in today’s column. Excerpt: It is not just fanatical
Jim McNiven, author of F&O’s Thoughtlines column, tackles the factored global university system — not to condemn it, he writes in today’s column, but to try and explain the harsh reality: “A system whose structures and incentives were created around 1900 has
JONATHAN MANTHORPE July 18, 2014 It is not just fanatical believers in an intolerant, violent, evangelical and racist brand of Islam that are spreading a shameful stain on the pages of human history in the 21st century. All major religions have in recent
What sets Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi apart from all other would-be Caliphs, including Osama bin Laden and his successor as al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri, is that he is supremely qualified, writes International Affairs analyst Jonathan Manthorpe, of the current battle in Syria and Iraq. An
JONATHAN MANTHORPE July 16, 2014 Half a dozen so-called Islamic states have been created out of countries in crisis in the last 20 years, and each new one is more brutal and bloodthirsty than the last. The latest is the “caliphate” created by
Hollywood has its comedies. Scandinavia does dark thrillers. British dramas are legendary. And Yukon … will recognition come to the Canadian territory for wildlife documentaries as authentic as the far north? This month Yukon conservation officers captured a black bear and her
“Spy versus spy games are one thing, but spying on the work of a parliamentary committee of one of Washington’s closest allies is worse than stupid. It is very rude,” writes International Affairs analyst Jonathan Manthorpe, pondering the scandal which prompted Germany to
JONATHAN MANTHORPE July 11, 2014 The name “Intelligence Agency” often seems to be an oxymoron because spies frequently do incredibly dumb things. But before labelling the entire profession a collection of buffoons, it’s as well to remember that most intelligence agency work is
The FIFA World Cup in Brazil brought back odd memories for International Affairs analyst Jonathan Manthorpe — not about football, not about the host country Brazil, a former Portugese colony … but about food. “Of all the restaurants I have patronized around the world, three