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Sunday, February 15, 2026

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Gwynne Dyer

Gwynne Dyer is a United Kingdom-based independent journalist who writes a column for The Hill Times.

Surviving the population crash

  • The challenge is how to make our way safely down from the old high-birth-rate regime to a new low-birth-rate future because the present pace
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 12, 2026
France's Marine Le Pen, left, the United Kingdom's Nigel Farage, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and United States President Donald Trump. A phalanx of right-wing populists either in power or closing in on it are painting immigration as a threat, and peddling ‘great replacement’ narratives to the angry and the ignorant. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Flickr

Surviving the population crash

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 12, 2026
  • The challenge is how to make our way safely down from the old high-birth-rate regime to a new low-birth-rate future because the present pace

Surviving the population crash

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 12, 2026
  • The challenge is how to make our way safely down from the old high-birth-rate regime to a new low-birth-rate future because the present pace
France's Marine Le Pen, left, the United Kingdom's Nigel Farage, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and United States President Donald Trump. A phalanx of right-wing populists either in power or closing in on it are painting immigration as a threat, and peddling ‘great replacement’ narratives to the angry and the ignorant. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Flickr

The curious case of China’s disappearing generals

  • All six members of China’s highest military body have been dismissed on suspicion of corruption, including last month the vice-chair, Zhang Youxia, one of
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 9, 2026
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping
China’s highest military body is the Central Military Commission, with President Xi Jinping himself in the chair in his parallel role as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The curious case of China’s disappearing generals

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 9, 2026
  • All six members of China’s highest military body have been dismissed on suspicion of corruption, including last month the vice-chair, Zhang Youxia, one of

The curious case of China’s disappearing generals

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 9, 2026
  • All six members of China’s highest military body have been dismissed on suspicion of corruption, including last month the vice-chair, Zhang Youxia, one of
Xi Jinping
China’s highest military body is the Central Military Commission, with President Xi Jinping himself in the chair in his parallel role as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The last arms control treaty expires

  • The American president knows nothing about nuclear weapons, and doesn’t care. He is not a man who will put any effort into rebuilding a
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 5, 2026
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin
United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, pictured in July 2018, are both reckless men, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead

The last arms control treaty expires

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 5, 2026
  • The American president knows nothing about nuclear weapons, and doesn’t care. He is not a man who will put any effort into rebuilding a

The last arms control treaty expires

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 5, 2026
  • The American president knows nothing about nuclear weapons, and doesn’t care. He is not a man who will put any effort into rebuilding a
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin
United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, pictured in July 2018, are both reckless men, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead

Is Iran pretending to have nukes?

  • Iran’s former ayatollah declared the development and use of weapons of mass destruction forbidden on moral and religious grounds. We should take this decree
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 4, 2026
It’s possible that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, pictured, has followed the same stupid strategy as Saddam Hussein did in Iraq, and is approaching the same ugly consequences, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Is Iran pretending to have nukes?

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 4, 2026
  • Iran’s former ayatollah declared the development and use of weapons of mass destruction forbidden on moral and religious grounds. We should take this decree

Is Iran pretending to have nukes?

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 4, 2026
  • Iran’s former ayatollah declared the development and use of weapons of mass destruction forbidden on moral and religious grounds. We should take this decree
It’s possible that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, pictured, has followed the same stupid strategy as Saddam Hussein did in Iraq, and is approaching the same ugly consequences, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Iran an active case study on whether massacres work

  • The regime will effectively be an occupation force that rules only by terror—but such regimes can last a long time if they are ruthless
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 29, 2026
This month’s killing in Iran is on a whole different scale in the nation’s history, and the past is no guide to the future, writes Gwynne Dyer. Screenshot courtesy of BBC News

Iran an active case study on whether massacres work

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 29, 2026
  • The regime will effectively be an occupation force that rules only by terror—but such regimes can last a long time if they are ruthless

Iran an active case study on whether massacres work

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 29, 2026
  • The regime will effectively be an occupation force that rules only by terror—but such regimes can last a long time if they are ruthless
This month’s killing in Iran is on a whole different scale in the nation’s history, and the past is no guide to the future, writes Gwynne Dyer. Screenshot courtesy of BBC News

After Davos, Trump confronts an inflection point

  • Prime Minister Mark Carney’s remarkable speech at Davos said what many political and economic elites were thinking: don’t let the bullies win; fear is
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 26, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, went into last week’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, full of bluster, but he ultimately back-tracked on threats to Greenland, and tariff nations that support the territory, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the World Economic Forum/Ciaran McCrickard

After Davos, Trump confronts an inflection point

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 26, 2026
  • Prime Minister Mark Carney’s remarkable speech at Davos said what many political and economic elites were thinking: don’t let the bullies win; fear is

After Davos, Trump confronts an inflection point

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 26, 2026
  • Prime Minister Mark Carney’s remarkable speech at Davos said what many political and economic elites were thinking: don’t let the bullies win; fear is
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, went into last week’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, full of bluster, but he ultimately back-tracked on threats to Greenland, and tariff nations that support the territory, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the World Economic Forum/Ciaran McCrickard

One Danish soldier

  • If even one soldier dies in Greenland due to American aggression, NATO nations would be forced to step in.
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 22, 2026
United States President Donald Trump often changes his mind, and the number of times he has said he will use force on Greenland is far greater than the times he has said he won’t, writes Gwynne Dyer White House photograph by Molly Riley

One Danish soldier

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 22, 2026
  • If even one soldier dies in Greenland due to American aggression, NATO nations would be forced to step in.

One Danish soldier

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 22, 2026
  • If even one soldier dies in Greenland due to American aggression, NATO nations would be forced to step in.
United States President Donald Trump often changes his mind, and the number of times he has said he will use force on Greenland is far greater than the times he has said he won’t, writes Gwynne Dyer White House photograph by Molly Riley

Trump versus NATO, target Greenland

  • For Canada, the problem is that all the (false) American arguments to justify annexing Greenland apply equally to Canada. The strategy seems to be
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 19, 2026
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Why is U.S. President Donald Trump so obsessed with Greenland? The best guess in NATO circles is that it’s an extension of his old mania of putting his name on every hotel he owned. In this case, it gets his name in American history books, writes Gwynne Dyer.  White House photograph by Joyce N. Boghosia

Trump versus NATO, target Greenland

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 19, 2026
  • For Canada, the problem is that all the (false) American arguments to justify annexing Greenland apply equally to Canada. The strategy seems to be

Trump versus NATO, target Greenland

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 19, 2026
  • For Canada, the problem is that all the (false) American arguments to justify annexing Greenland apply equally to Canada. The strategy seems to be
Donald Trump
Why is U.S. President Donald Trump so obsessed with Greenland? The best guess in NATO circles is that it’s an extension of his old mania of putting his name on every hotel he owned. In this case, it gets his name in American history books, writes Gwynne Dyer.  White House photograph by Joyce N. Boghosia

Why America intervening in Iran is a bad idea

  • LONDON, U.K.— Any day now, the United States will “come to the rescue” of the protesters in the streets of Iran’s cities, and American
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 15, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised too much already to do absolutely nothing about the massacre of protesters in Iran, but he should do the absolute minimum he thinks he can get away with, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

Why America intervening in Iran is a bad idea

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 15, 2026
  • LONDON, U.K.— Any day now, the United States will “come to the rescue” of the protesters in the streets of Iran’s cities, and American

Why America intervening in Iran is a bad idea

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 15, 2026
  • LONDON, U.K.— Any day now, the United States will “come to the rescue” of the protesters in the streets of Iran’s cities, and American
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised too much already to do absolutely nothing about the massacre of protesters in Iran, but he should do the absolute minimum he thinks he can get away with, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

How NATO members can take on Trump’s Greenland—and Canadian—obsession

  • Ottawa should offer military forces to protect Greenland from Russia and China, and ask the Europeans to send some troops to Canada for protection.
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 12, 2026
If U.S. President Donald Trump invades Greenland then NATO, the military alliance that has played a large part in preventing a nuclear war for the past 75 years, dies, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Molly Riley

How NATO members can take on Trump’s Greenland—and Canadian—obsession

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 12, 2026
  • Ottawa should offer military forces to protect Greenland from Russia and China, and ask the Europeans to send some troops to Canada for protection.

How NATO members can take on Trump’s Greenland—and Canadian—obsession

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 12, 2026
  • Ottawa should offer military forces to protect Greenland from Russia and China, and ask the Europeans to send some troops to Canada for protection.
If U.S. President Donald Trump invades Greenland then NATO, the military alliance that has played a large part in preventing a nuclear war for the past 75 years, dies, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Molly Riley

Trump’s case for a Greenland invasion is utter hogwash

  • Despite what the U.S. president says, Greenland is a region of zero strategic importance. If Washington wants to base more troops there, it has
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 8, 2026
President Donald Trump has insisted that the United States needs ‘Greenland from the standpoint of national security.' White House photograph by Molly Riley

Trump’s case for a Greenland invasion is utter hogwash

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 8, 2026
  • Despite what the U.S. president says, Greenland is a region of zero strategic importance. If Washington wants to base more troops there, it has

Trump’s case for a Greenland invasion is utter hogwash

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 8, 2026
  • Despite what the U.S. president says, Greenland is a region of zero strategic importance. If Washington wants to base more troops there, it has
President Donald Trump has insisted that the United States needs ‘Greenland from the standpoint of national security.' White House photograph by Molly Riley

Imagining a post-Ayatollah Iran

  • Of the Iranian regime’s proxies, all but one are defunct or gravely weakened. Syria has changed sides, Hamas in the Gaza Strip is defeated
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 6, 2026
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is facing protests as the country struggles under the collapse of its currency and the explosive rise in the cost of living. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Imagining a post-Ayatollah Iran

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 6, 2026
  • Of the Iranian regime’s proxies, all but one are defunct or gravely weakened. Syria has changed sides, Hamas in the Gaza Strip is defeated

Imagining a post-Ayatollah Iran

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 6, 2026
  • Of the Iranian regime’s proxies, all but one are defunct or gravely weakened. Syria has changed sides, Hamas in the Gaza Strip is defeated
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is facing protests as the country struggles under the collapse of its currency and the explosive rise in the cost of living. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Trump, Venezuela, and seriously bad decisions

  • From Napoleon in Spain two centuries ago to the U.S. army in Iraq two decades ago, military occupations by foreigners usually generate armed resistance
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 5, 2026
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Without boots on the ground, U.S. President Donald Trump has limited leverage on the Venezuelan regime, which has not been seriously crippled by the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

Trump, Venezuela, and seriously bad decisions

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 5, 2026
  • From Napoleon in Spain two centuries ago to the U.S. army in Iraq two decades ago, military occupations by foreigners usually generate armed resistance

Trump, Venezuela, and seriously bad decisions

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | January 5, 2026
  • From Napoleon in Spain two centuries ago to the U.S. army in Iraq two decades ago, military occupations by foreigners usually generate armed resistance
Donald Trump
Without boots on the ground, U.S. President Donald Trump has limited leverage on the Venezuelan regime, which has not been seriously crippled by the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

Derzhavnost and ‘respect’

  • LONDON, U.K.—The Russian word “derzhavnost” is usually translated as “great power status,” but the real meaning is closer to the gangland concept of “respect.”
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 22, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump, pictured on Aug. 15, 2025, at the Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Maybe all this time we have been looking in the wrong place for an answer to the question: why does Trump always yield to Putin? Photograph courtesy of the White House/Daniel Torok

Derzhavnost and ‘respect’

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 22, 2025
  • LONDON, U.K.—The Russian word “derzhavnost” is usually translated as “great power status,” but the real meaning is closer to the gangland concept of “respect.”

Derzhavnost and ‘respect’

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 22, 2025
  • LONDON, U.K.—The Russian word “derzhavnost” is usually translated as “great power status,” but the real meaning is closer to the gangland concept of “respect.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump, pictured on Aug. 15, 2025, at the Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Maybe all this time we have been looking in the wrong place for an answer to the question: why does Trump always yield to Putin? Photograph courtesy of the White House/Daniel Torok

Rubio’s fantasy and the risk of forever war in Venezuela

  • ‘In my opinion, the three regimes that exist in Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba are enemies of humanity,’ said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 18, 2025
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is a second-generation Cuban-American whose parents immigrated several years before Fidel Castro’s Communist regime took power. That history has shaped his politics, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Rubio’s fantasy and the risk of forever war in Venezuela

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 18, 2025
  • ‘In my opinion, the three regimes that exist in Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba are enemies of humanity,’ said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Rubio’s fantasy and the risk of forever war in Venezuela

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 18, 2025
  • ‘In my opinion, the three regimes that exist in Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba are enemies of humanity,’ said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is a second-generation Cuban-American whose parents immigrated several years before Fidel Castro’s Communist regime took power. That history has shaped his politics, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Geoengineering for grown-ups

  • We need to use every viable technique to hold the average global temperature down while we work frantically to end our emissions.
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 16, 2025
A majority of early-career climate scientists now see geoengineering as necessary and inevitable, while many senior ones are still in transition, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Pixabay

Geoengineering for grown-ups

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 16, 2025
  • We need to use every viable technique to hold the average global temperature down while we work frantically to end our emissions.

Geoengineering for grown-ups

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 16, 2025
  • We need to use every viable technique to hold the average global temperature down while we work frantically to end our emissions.
A majority of early-career climate scientists now see geoengineering as necessary and inevitable, while many senior ones are still in transition, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Pixabay

Trump’s many ‘peace’ deals turn sour

  • The U.S. president has tried to end warring in Gaza, the Congo, and along the Cambodian-Thailand border. He’s also tried to take credit for
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 11, 2025
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
United States President Trump’s hyperactive foreign policy record is clearly driven by his obsessive pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

Trump’s many ‘peace’ deals turn sour

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 11, 2025
  • The U.S. president has tried to end warring in Gaza, the Congo, and along the Cambodian-Thailand border. He’s also tried to take credit for

Trump’s many ‘peace’ deals turn sour

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 11, 2025
  • The U.S. president has tried to end warring in Gaza, the Congo, and along the Cambodian-Thailand border. He’s also tried to take credit for
Donald Trump
United States President Trump’s hyperactive foreign policy record is clearly driven by his obsessive pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

Venezuela strikes are nothing but performative murder

  • We are all back in the 19th century when the Western Hemisphere was the exclusive domain of the U.S.
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 8, 2025
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, President Donald Trump, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Trumpworld is going to be a place in which the great powers do what they want, limited only by the strength of other great powers, while the lesser countries do what they are told, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

Venezuela strikes are nothing but performative murder

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 8, 2025
  • We are all back in the 19th century when the Western Hemisphere was the exclusive domain of the U.S.

Venezuela strikes are nothing but performative murder

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 8, 2025
  • We are all back in the 19th century when the Western Hemisphere was the exclusive domain of the U.S.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, President Donald Trump, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Trumpworld is going to be a place in which the great powers do what they want, limited only by the strength of other great powers, while the lesser countries do what they are told, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

Bibi awaits the next Trump distraction to dodge legal troubles

  • The ceasefire in Gaza intensifies the Israeli prime minister’s legal problems since he can no longer demand postponements in his trial proceedings due to
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 1, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, in 2022. Netanyahu has asked Herzog to pardon him in his ongoing corruption trial. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Bibi awaits the next Trump distraction to dodge legal troubles

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 1, 2025
  • The ceasefire in Gaza intensifies the Israeli prime minister’s legal problems since he can no longer demand postponements in his trial proceedings due to

Bibi awaits the next Trump distraction to dodge legal troubles

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 1, 2025
  • The ceasefire in Gaza intensifies the Israeli prime minister’s legal problems since he can no longer demand postponements in his trial proceedings due to
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, in 2022. Netanyahu has asked Herzog to pardon him in his ongoing corruption trial. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Trump and Putin’s goal is to destroy the international rule of law

  • Powerful people are deliberately trying to destroy the rule. Putin knows the rule but ignores it, while Trump doesn’t even know it.
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 26, 2025
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin participate in a joint press conference after their meeting at the Arctic Warrior Event Center at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 2025. Trump and Putin are trying to destroy the international rule of law, writes columnist Gwynne Dyer Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok

Trump and Putin’s goal is to destroy the international rule of law

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 26, 2025
  • Powerful people are deliberately trying to destroy the rule. Putin knows the rule but ignores it, while Trump doesn’t even know it.

Trump and Putin’s goal is to destroy the international rule of law

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 26, 2025
  • Powerful people are deliberately trying to destroy the rule. Putin knows the rule but ignores it, while Trump doesn’t even know it.
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin participate in a joint press conference after their meeting at the Arctic Warrior Event Center at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 2025. Trump and Putin are trying to destroy the international rule of law, writes columnist Gwynne Dyer Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok

Ukraine: once more around the loop

  • Every month brings another chance for some political, economic, or technological change that alters the current equation, and gives Ukraine a better bargaining position
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 25, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s job is to know if and when the morale of the Ukrainian army and the general public is starting to break, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

Ukraine: once more around the loop

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 25, 2025
  • Every month brings another chance for some political, economic, or technological change that alters the current equation, and gives Ukraine a better bargaining position

Ukraine: once more around the loop

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 25, 2025
  • Every month brings another chance for some political, economic, or technological change that alters the current equation, and gives Ukraine a better bargaining position
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s job is to know if and when the morale of the Ukrainian army and the general public is starting to break, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

Iran: drought, incompetence, and maybe revolution

  • A prolonged drought in Iran might accomplish what other challenges failed to do: destroy the rule of the religious extremists who seized power in
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 19, 2025
Maharloo Lake, a hypersaline wetland in the highlands of Iran. Severe drought in the country could be the trigger for an uprising that finally dispatches a regime that has overstayed its welcome, columnist Gwynne Dyer writes. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Iran: drought, incompetence, and maybe revolution

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 19, 2025
  • A prolonged drought in Iran might accomplish what other challenges failed to do: destroy the rule of the religious extremists who seized power in

Iran: drought, incompetence, and maybe revolution

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 19, 2025
  • A prolonged drought in Iran might accomplish what other challenges failed to do: destroy the rule of the religious extremists who seized power in
Maharloo Lake, a hypersaline wetland in the highlands of Iran. Severe drought in the country could be the trigger for an uprising that finally dispatches a regime that has overstayed its welcome, columnist Gwynne Dyer writes. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Trump, the BBC, and a bad edit

  • With video editing, there is an honour system which says that you can edit the shot, but you must not change the meaning.
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 12, 2025
Pro-Trump rioters occupied Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021. Ahead of the protest in Washington, D.C., Donald Trump had posted it would 'be wild.' Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Trump, the BBC, and a bad edit

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 12, 2025
  • With video editing, there is an honour system which says that you can edit the shot, but you must not change the meaning.

Trump, the BBC, and a bad edit

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 12, 2025
  • With video editing, there is an honour system which says that you can edit the shot, but you must not change the meaning.
Pro-Trump rioters occupied Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021. Ahead of the protest in Washington, D.C., Donald Trump had posted it would 'be wild.' Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

COP 30 unlikely to shift political will

  • Money is tight, wars are a huge distraction, and the climate has become unfashionable, so we’ll just have to wait and hope for better
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 10, 2025
Nothing very impressive is likely to come out of the UN climate conference despite the urgency of the situation, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph courtesy by Kiara Worth

COP 30 unlikely to shift political will

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 10, 2025
  • Money is tight, wars are a huge distraction, and the climate has become unfashionable, so we’ll just have to wait and hope for better

COP 30 unlikely to shift political will

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 10, 2025
  • Money is tight, wars are a huge distraction, and the climate has become unfashionable, so we’ll just have to wait and hope for better
Nothing very impressive is likely to come out of the UN climate conference despite the urgency of the situation, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph courtesy by Kiara Worth

Sudan: another partition?

  • The biggest city in western Sudan, swollen to half a million or more people due to minority ethnic groups fleeing genocide, fell to rebel
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 6, 2025
Displaced people arrive in South Sudan from Sudan through the Joda border crossing. Killing in Sudan has been non-stop since October. It’s the worst massacre yet in a civil war that has already killed 150,000 people and made one-third of the population refugees, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the United Nations by Ala Kheir

Sudan: another partition?

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 6, 2025
  • The biggest city in western Sudan, swollen to half a million or more people due to minority ethnic groups fleeing genocide, fell to rebel

Sudan: another partition?

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 6, 2025
  • The biggest city in western Sudan, swollen to half a million or more people due to minority ethnic groups fleeing genocide, fell to rebel
Displaced people arrive in South Sudan from Sudan through the Joda border crossing. Killing in Sudan has been non-stop since October. It’s the worst massacre yet in a civil war that has already killed 150,000 people and made one-third of the population refugees, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the United Nations by Ala Kheir

Trump’s game of ‘Made You Look’

  • If there are new revelations about Trump and Epstein on the way, then the U.S. leader needs useful distractions—like invading Nigeria.
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 3, 2025
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump can infallibly trick the public into drawing their attention away from something else that he doesn’t want them to see, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

Trump’s game of ‘Made You Look’

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 3, 2025
  • If there are new revelations about Trump and Epstein on the way, then the U.S. leader needs useful distractions—like invading Nigeria.

Trump’s game of ‘Made You Look’

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 3, 2025
  • If there are new revelations about Trump and Epstein on the way, then the U.S. leader needs useful distractions—like invading Nigeria.
Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump can infallibly trick the public into drawing their attention away from something else that he doesn’t want them to see, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

An Arab nadir driven by clueless hegemons

  • We are at a point where Trump’s America and Netanyahu’s Israel have established complete domination over the Middle East. 
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 29, 2025
Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu
Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still wants to get the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip, but this may no longer require a confrontation with Donald Trump, writes Gwynne Dyer White House photograph by Daniel Torok

An Arab nadir driven by clueless hegemons

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 29, 2025
  • We are at a point where Trump’s America and Netanyahu’s Israel have established complete domination over the Middle East. 

An Arab nadir driven by clueless hegemons

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 29, 2025
  • We are at a point where Trump’s America and Netanyahu’s Israel have established complete domination over the Middle East. 
Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still wants to get the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip, but this may no longer require a confrontation with Donald Trump, writes Gwynne Dyer White House photograph by Daniel Torok
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After Merkel: Scholz looks like a shoo-in as next chancellor

  • LONDON, U.K.—Last January Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) were ahead in the German opinion polls by 15 points. She was stepping down after 16
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 23, 2021
Thanks mostly to the under-performance of his opponents, Olaf Scholz has emerged over the past four months as the odds-on favourite as successor to Angela Merkel, pictured, as German chancellor, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr

After Merkel: Scholz looks like a shoo-in as next chancellor

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 23, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Last January Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) were ahead in the German opinion polls by 15 points. She was stepping down after 16

After Merkel: Scholz looks like a shoo-in as next chancellor

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 23, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Last January Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) were ahead in the German opinion polls by 15 points. She was stepping down after 16
Thanks mostly to the under-performance of his opponents, Olaf Scholz has emerged over the past four months as the odds-on favourite as successor to Angela Merkel, pictured, as German chancellor, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr

AUKUS: an alliance is born

  • LONDON, U.K.—When the 9/11 attacks struck New York and Washington in 2001 and the U.S. Armed Forces went on full alert, national security adviser
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 20, 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. You could tell that the three wise leaders involved hadn’t spent a lot of time negotiating the nature and role of the new U.S.-U.K.-Australian alliance, because Biden couldn’t even remember the name of the Australian prime minister, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Commons Wikimedia and Flickr

AUKUS: an alliance is born

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 20, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—When the 9/11 attacks struck New York and Washington in 2001 and the U.S. Armed Forces went on full alert, national security adviser

AUKUS: an alliance is born

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 20, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—When the 9/11 attacks struck New York and Washington in 2001 and the U.S. Armed Forces went on full alert, national security adviser
U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. You could tell that the three wise leaders involved hadn’t spent a lot of time negotiating the nature and role of the new U.S.-U.K.-Australian alliance, because Biden couldn’t even remember the name of the Australian prime minister, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Commons Wikimedia and Flickr

Auto-eugenics in America

  • LONDON, U.K.—Eugenics was a 20th-century pseudo-science that purported to improve the human breed by weeding out the ‘least fit,’ often by measures like compulsory
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 13, 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden, pictured in this file photo, was on national television on Sept. 9 urging unvaccinated Americans to get the jabs, and declaring 'vaccine mandates' that oblige federal employees and companies that employ more than one hundred people to do so. He even allowed himself a little anger towards the more than 80 million Americans who are still refusing vaccination. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikimedia

Auto-eugenics in America

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 13, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Eugenics was a 20th-century pseudo-science that purported to improve the human breed by weeding out the ‘least fit,’ often by measures like compulsory

Auto-eugenics in America

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 13, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Eugenics was a 20th-century pseudo-science that purported to improve the human breed by weeding out the ‘least fit,’ often by measures like compulsory
U.S. President Joe Biden, pictured in this file photo, was on national television on Sept. 9 urging unvaccinated Americans to get the jabs, and declaring 'vaccine mandates' that oblige federal employees and companies that employ more than one hundred people to do so. He even allowed himself a little anger towards the more than 80 million Americans who are still refusing vaccination. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikimedia

It didn’t change the world forever

  • LONDON, U.K.—‘Changed the world forever’ is the most hackneyed phrase in journalism, and if you can get through this week (the 20th anniversary of
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 9, 2021
With the benefit of hindsight, how much has the world changed as a result of 9/11? There was virtually no lasting impact on Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, or East and South-East Asia, where even the phrase ‘9/11’ is meaningless to most people, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikimedia

It didn’t change the world forever

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 9, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—‘Changed the world forever’ is the most hackneyed phrase in journalism, and if you can get through this week (the 20th anniversary of

It didn’t change the world forever

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 9, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—‘Changed the world forever’ is the most hackneyed phrase in journalism, and if you can get through this week (the 20th anniversary of
With the benefit of hindsight, how much has the world changed as a result of 9/11? There was virtually no lasting impact on Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, or East and South-East Asia, where even the phrase ‘9/11’ is meaningless to most people, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikimedia

China targets income gap with new ‘common prosperity’ policy

  • LONDON, U.K.—Never mind the destruction of the relatively free society of Hong Kong (no emergency airlift like Kabul, but the number of people fleeing
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 8, 2021
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping
Income disparities in the United States have been widening years, as they have in China, with grave social consequences for both. But being democratic doesn’t enable the U.S. to deal with it any better. Maybe it’s just a question of size. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

China targets income gap with new ‘common prosperity’ policy

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 8, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Never mind the destruction of the relatively free society of Hong Kong (no emergency airlift like Kabul, but the number of people fleeing

China targets income gap with new ‘common prosperity’ policy

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 8, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Never mind the destruction of the relatively free society of Hong Kong (no emergency airlift like Kabul, but the number of people fleeing
Xi Jinping
Income disparities in the United States have been widening years, as they have in China, with grave social consequences for both. But being democratic doesn’t enable the U.S. to deal with it any better. Maybe it’s just a question of size. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Afghanistan: keeping the elephants away

  • LONDON, U.K.—A man is sitting in a train somewhere in Europe, tearing sheets of paper into little pieces and throwing them out the window.
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 2, 2021
Evacuees wait to board a C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Aug. 30. The notion, repeatedly applied to the Taliban, that terrorists must have ‘bases’ belongs to the James Bond universe. Its constant use in reference to the Afghanistan invasion is an essential device for those who are still trying to justify that misbegotten adventure, but it was never true, not even in 2001, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of U.S. Department of Defense

Afghanistan: keeping the elephants away

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 2, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—A man is sitting in a train somewhere in Europe, tearing sheets of paper into little pieces and throwing them out the window.

Afghanistan: keeping the elephants away

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 2, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—A man is sitting in a train somewhere in Europe, tearing sheets of paper into little pieces and throwing them out the window.
Evacuees wait to board a C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Aug. 30. The notion, repeatedly applied to the Taliban, that terrorists must have ‘bases’ belongs to the James Bond universe. Its constant use in reference to the Afghanistan invasion is an essential device for those who are still trying to justify that misbegotten adventure, but it was never true, not even in 2001, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of U.S. Department of Defense

Tigray proving to be a Sparta in Africa

  • LONDON, U.K.—“We have to deal with anyone who’s still shooting,” said Getachew Reda, spokesman for the Tigrayan forces, early this month. “If it takes
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 31, 2021
If Ethiopia's prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, pictured at a UN address, makes a quick deal with the Tigrayans that ends the blockade and recognizes their independence and borders, he may have enough troops and credibility left to suppress the Oromos and other ethnic insurgents who will soon come out into the open, writes Gwynne Dyer. Screen capture via UN's YouTube page

Tigray proving to be a Sparta in Africa

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 31, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—“We have to deal with anyone who’s still shooting,” said Getachew Reda, spokesman for the Tigrayan forces, early this month. “If it takes

Tigray proving to be a Sparta in Africa

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 31, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—“We have to deal with anyone who’s still shooting,” said Getachew Reda, spokesman for the Tigrayan forces, early this month. “If it takes
If Ethiopia's prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, pictured at a UN address, makes a quick deal with the Tigrayans that ends the blockade and recognizes their independence and borders, he may have enough troops and credibility left to suppress the Oromos and other ethnic insurgents who will soon come out into the open, writes Gwynne Dyer. Screen capture via UN's YouTube page

Climate change and the new space race

  • LONDON, U.K.—If you’re worried about your “carbon footprint” – a concept foisted on the world in 2004 by British Petroleum to persuade people that
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 26, 2021
Virgin Galactic's VSS1 Imagine craft. Virgin is one of several businesses pioneering commercial space flight tourism. Photograph courtesy of Virgin Galactic

Climate change and the new space race

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 26, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—If you’re worried about your “carbon footprint” – a concept foisted on the world in 2004 by British Petroleum to persuade people that

Climate change and the new space race

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 26, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—If you’re worried about your “carbon footprint” – a concept foisted on the world in 2004 by British Petroleum to persuade people that
Virgin Galactic's VSS1 Imagine craft. Virgin is one of several businesses pioneering commercial space flight tourism. Photograph courtesy of Virgin Galactic

Violent Islamist strategy still a failure and ultimately a dead end

  • LONDON, U.K.—Violent Islamist movements, as current events in Afghanistan demonstrate, have had some success in Muslim countries that have been invaded by the United
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 25, 2021
Osama bin Laden, pictured in 1997, the founder of al-Qaeda, was responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The notion that the Taliban take-over in Afghanistan will lead to a huge new wave of Islamist terrorism is absurd, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Violent Islamist strategy still a failure and ultimately a dead end

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 25, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Violent Islamist movements, as current events in Afghanistan demonstrate, have had some success in Muslim countries that have been invaded by the United

Violent Islamist strategy still a failure and ultimately a dead end

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 25, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Violent Islamist movements, as current events in Afghanistan demonstrate, have had some success in Muslim countries that have been invaded by the United
Osama bin Laden, pictured in 1997, the founder of al-Qaeda, was responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The notion that the Taliban take-over in Afghanistan will lead to a huge new wave of Islamist terrorism is absurd, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Humiliation can be good for you

  • LONDON, U.K.—The footage on Aug. 16 of a giant USAF transport taking off from Kabul airport with desperate Afghans clinging to its fuselage—and then
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 18, 2021
U.S. soldiers, pictured in Afghanistan, June 16, 2010. The humiliation in Afghanistan is a chance for Americans to reconsider their country’s behaviour. As Rudyard King wrote at the end of the second Boer War in 1901, 'We have had no end of a lesson: it will do us no end of good,' writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of U.S. Army/Staff Sgt. William Tremblay

Humiliation can be good for you

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 18, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—The footage on Aug. 16 of a giant USAF transport taking off from Kabul airport with desperate Afghans clinging to its fuselage—and then

Humiliation can be good for you

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 18, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—The footage on Aug. 16 of a giant USAF transport taking off from Kabul airport with desperate Afghans clinging to its fuselage—and then
U.S. soldiers, pictured in Afghanistan, June 16, 2010. The humiliation in Afghanistan is a chance for Americans to reconsider their country’s behaviour. As Rudyard King wrote at the end of the second Boer War in 1901, 'We have had no end of a lesson: it will do us no end of good,' writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of U.S. Army/Staff Sgt. William Tremblay

The conquest of Mexico: some history is inevitable

  • LONDON, U.K.—Friday, Aug. 13, is the 500th anniversary of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The capital of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan, fell to the
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 9, 2021
An artistic depiction of an Inca army. French writer Laurent Binet’s book, Civilisations, offers an alternate history in which the Incas and Aztecs conquered Europe.  It’s fiction, of course, but it makes you think, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The conquest of Mexico: some history is inevitable

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 9, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Friday, Aug. 13, is the 500th anniversary of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The capital of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan, fell to the

The conquest of Mexico: some history is inevitable

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 9, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Friday, Aug. 13, is the 500th anniversary of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The capital of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan, fell to the
An artistic depiction of an Inca army. French writer Laurent Binet’s book, Civilisations, offers an alternate history in which the Incas and Aztecs conquered Europe.  It’s fiction, of course, but it makes you think, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Afghanistan: how did they think it would end?

  • LONDON, U.K.—“I will never kneel before such a destructive force (as the Taliban),” declared Ashraf Ghani, the soon-to-be-ex-president of Afghanistan. “We will either sit
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 5, 2021
Ashraf Ghani, the soon-to-be-ex-president of Afghanistan, said the U.S. troop withdrawal was too abrupt, but after 20 years of troops in the country and an April notice from the new U.S. president the military would be leaving, it was hardly a quick exit, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikimedia

Afghanistan: how did they think it would end?

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 5, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—“I will never kneel before such a destructive force (as the Taliban),” declared Ashraf Ghani, the soon-to-be-ex-president of Afghanistan. “We will either sit

Afghanistan: how did they think it would end?

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 5, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—“I will never kneel before such a destructive force (as the Taliban),” declared Ashraf Ghani, the soon-to-be-ex-president of Afghanistan. “We will either sit
Ashraf Ghani, the soon-to-be-ex-president of Afghanistan, said the U.S. troop withdrawal was too abrupt, but after 20 years of troops in the country and an April notice from the new U.S. president the military would be leaving, it was hardly a quick exit, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikimedia

Peru’s Castillo probably not a Lula, but maybe a Morales

  • LONDON, U.K.—Peru holds the current record for revolving presidents (three came and went in a month last November), for coronavirus deaths (almost 6,000 per
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 3, 2021
Peru's new president Pedro Castillo is clever, charismatic, and he may do some good. He certainly couldn’t do worse than most of his predecessors, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Braian Reyna Guerrero via Flickr

Peru’s Castillo probably not a Lula, but maybe a Morales

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 3, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Peru holds the current record for revolving presidents (three came and went in a month last November), for coronavirus deaths (almost 6,000 per

Peru’s Castillo probably not a Lula, but maybe a Morales

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 3, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Peru holds the current record for revolving presidents (three came and went in a month last November), for coronavirus deaths (almost 6,000 per
Peru's new president Pedro Castillo is clever, charismatic, and he may do some good. He certainly couldn’t do worse than most of his predecessors, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Braian Reyna Guerrero via Flickr

Democracy is the default mode

  • LONDON, U.K.—At first I was going to write about the ‘Arab Problem,’ because there is not a single functioning democracy in the Arab world.
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 28, 2021
Leaving actual killers aside, the ‘alpha male’ model of leadership is still successful in many countries that are formally democratic: Vladimir Putin in Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey, and Viktor Orban in Hungary. Indeed even genuine democracies of long standing can be seduced by a ‘great’ leader, like De Gaulle in France. No, I don’t know where Donald Trump fits in this Pantheon, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Commons Wikimedia and Flickr

Democracy is the default mode

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 28, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—At first I was going to write about the ‘Arab Problem,’ because there is not a single functioning democracy in the Arab world.

Democracy is the default mode

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 28, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—At first I was going to write about the ‘Arab Problem,’ because there is not a single functioning democracy in the Arab world.
Leaving actual killers aside, the ‘alpha male’ model of leadership is still successful in many countries that are formally democratic: Vladimir Putin in Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey, and Viktor Orban in Hungary. Indeed even genuine democracies of long standing can be seduced by a ‘great’ leader, like De Gaulle in France. No, I don’t know where Donald Trump fits in this Pantheon, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Commons Wikimedia and Flickr

A seabed setback and the Pacific island of Nauru

  • LONDON, U.K.—A month ago, it seemed to be just another tale of ruthless miners and desperate poor people conspiring to wreck the environment while
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 26, 2021
An aerial view of the Island of Nauru, a tiny independent island in the Western Pacific. The main function of the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority is to control mining on the Earth's seabed in the areas beyond the reach of national laws, but so far it has only issued exploration permits, writes Gwynne Dyer. Image courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

A seabed setback and the Pacific island of Nauru

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 26, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—A month ago, it seemed to be just another tale of ruthless miners and desperate poor people conspiring to wreck the environment while

A seabed setback and the Pacific island of Nauru

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 26, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—A month ago, it seemed to be just another tale of ruthless miners and desperate poor people conspiring to wreck the environment while
An aerial view of the Island of Nauru, a tiny independent island in the Western Pacific. The main function of the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority is to control mining on the Earth's seabed in the areas beyond the reach of national laws, but so far it has only issued exploration permits, writes Gwynne Dyer. Image courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

Climate change conversation reaching an inflection point

  • LONDON, U.K.—Zeitgeist is a slippery word. At best it’s just a fancy German way of saying “the spirit of the times;” at worst it
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 21, 2021
The BC Wildfire Service, pictured responding on July 20 to the Tremont Creek wildfire, located approximately southeast of Ashcroft. We’re there at last: the heat waves and the storms of this northern hemisphere summer have been so far beyond the usual that the donkeys are finally getting the message, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Twitter via BC Wildfire Service

Climate change conversation reaching an inflection point

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 21, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Zeitgeist is a slippery word. At best it’s just a fancy German way of saying “the spirit of the times;” at worst it

Climate change conversation reaching an inflection point

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 21, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Zeitgeist is a slippery word. At best it’s just a fancy German way of saying “the spirit of the times;” at worst it
The BC Wildfire Service, pictured responding on July 20 to the Tremont Creek wildfire, located approximately southeast of Ashcroft. We’re there at last: the heat waves and the storms of this northern hemisphere summer have been so far beyond the usual that the donkeys are finally getting the message, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Twitter via BC Wildfire Service

‘Let the bodies pile high’: Boris Johnson’s gambling with people’s lives

  • LONDON, U.K.—“Let the bodies pile high in their thousands,” expostulated Boris Johnson in his private office, but the door was open and a number
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 19, 2021
On July 19, with new COVID-19 cases zooming past 50,000 a day and currently doubling every two weeks, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson ended all pandemic restrictions. He’s rolling the dice with his own people, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

‘Let the bodies pile high’: Boris Johnson’s gambling with people’s lives

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 19, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—“Let the bodies pile high in their thousands,” expostulated Boris Johnson in his private office, but the door was open and a number

‘Let the bodies pile high’: Boris Johnson’s gambling with people’s lives

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 19, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—“Let the bodies pile high in their thousands,” expostulated Boris Johnson in his private office, but the door was open and a number
On July 19, with new COVID-19 cases zooming past 50,000 a day and currently doubling every two weeks, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson ended all pandemic restrictions. He’s rolling the dice with his own people, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Today Zuma, tomorrow Trump

  • LONDON, U.K.—Sooner or later ex-U.S. president Donald Trump is bound to be indicted for some crime. It doesn’t matter which—it could be a fraud
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 15, 2021
Though protesters came out in large numbers after former South African president Jacob Zuma, pictured in 2012, was jailed, Zuma’s future does not look bright, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph by Mark Garten

Today Zuma, tomorrow Trump

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 15, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Sooner or later ex-U.S. president Donald Trump is bound to be indicted for some crime. It doesn’t matter which—it could be a fraud

Today Zuma, tomorrow Trump

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 15, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Sooner or later ex-U.S. president Donald Trump is bound to be indicted for some crime. It doesn’t matter which—it could be a fraud
Though protesters came out in large numbers after former South African president Jacob Zuma, pictured in 2012, was jailed, Zuma’s future does not look bright, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph by Mark Garten

A president’s assassination: a Haitian puzzle

  • LONDON, U.K.—The presidential dogs were still alive, which meant that something was very wrong with the official explanation of the assassination of Haitian President
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 12, 2021
Haitian President Jovenel Moise, pictured in Port au Prince on Feb. 7, 2017, after being sworn in as the 58th president of Haiti. The puzzle of who killed Moïse and why may never be solved, although which candidate emerges victorious from the current cluster of three rivals claiming the presidency will be a pointer in the right direction, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr

A president’s assassination: a Haitian puzzle

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 12, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—The presidential dogs were still alive, which meant that something was very wrong with the official explanation of the assassination of Haitian President

A president’s assassination: a Haitian puzzle

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 12, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—The presidential dogs were still alive, which meant that something was very wrong with the official explanation of the assassination of Haitian President
Haitian President Jovenel Moise, pictured in Port au Prince on Feb. 7, 2017, after being sworn in as the 58th president of Haiti. The puzzle of who killed Moïse and why may never be solved, although which candidate emerges victorious from the current cluster of three rivals claiming the presidency will be a pointer in the right direction, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr

Afghanistan’s likely fall: Taliban look to take over country after troop withdrawal

  • LONDON, U.K.—Five times in the past two weeks, government soldiers in Badakhshan and Takhar provinces in northern Afghanistan have fled across the border into
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 7, 2021
Canadian soldiers pictured in Afghanistan in 2018. The last German, Italian, and British troops left Afghanistan last week, and the U.S. is leaving now. The northern provinces that are now falling to the Taliban so fast are the areas they never controlled during their last time in power. They will not just win quickly this time. They will win completely, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Department of National Defence

Afghanistan’s likely fall: Taliban look to take over country after troop withdrawal

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 7, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Five times in the past two weeks, government soldiers in Badakhshan and Takhar provinces in northern Afghanistan have fled across the border into

Afghanistan’s likely fall: Taliban look to take over country after troop withdrawal

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | July 7, 2021
  • LONDON, U.K.—Five times in the past two weeks, government soldiers in Badakhshan and Takhar provinces in northern Afghanistan have fled across the border into
Canadian soldiers pictured in Afghanistan in 2018. The last German, Italian, and British troops left Afghanistan last week, and the U.S. is leaving now. The northern provinces that are now falling to the Taliban so fast are the areas they never controlled during their last time in power. They will not just win quickly this time. They will win completely, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Department of National Defence

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