Bashar al-Assad has been the President of Syria since 2000, inheriting power from his father, Hafez al-Assad. His presidency has been marked by widespread human rights abuses, war crimes, and violations of international law, particularly during the Syrian Civil War that began in 2011. As the leader of the Syrian government, Assad’s policies and military […]
It looks like the Assad regime which has ruled Syria since 1971 may be about to crumble. The Civil War started 13 years ago but was thought to be at a stalemate, but suddenly two major cities have fallen, and opposition forces are approach Damascus. The fact Iran and Russia have started to evacuate their […]
Here is a gloomy account from Vladimir Mirov: Ruble depreciation will contribute to inflation even further, as Russia is continued to be heavily reliant on imports – this is a kind of self-sustaining spiral. I also strongly disagree with those who say that cheaper ruble is “good” for exporters and the budget. Exporters have yet […]
The most recent Oxford Union debate was both odious and raucous, and you can read about it in a piece by Niall Ferguson at The Free Press (archived here). An excerpt: Something is rotten in the state of Britain. It was epitomized by a recent [Nov. 28] event at the Oxford Union, the 201-year-old debating […]
As if the Middle East is not rent by enough warfare already – with Israel fighting Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in South Yemen, all proxy fighters for Iran, which itself has attacked Israel twice with mass bombardment of missiles and been counter-bombed by Israel once, plus numerous smaller scraps between the proxies of Saudi […]
A guest post by Lucy Rogers: On 8 November 2024 Max Harris wrote an op ed for The Dominion Post on the Israel – Lebanon conflict. Harris’ article was profoundly misleading in numerous respects and I immediately wrote a response which was submitted to the editor of the Post on 9 November. To that email […]
(The scene around the U.S. Marine Corps base near Beirut, Lebanon, following a massive bomb blast that destroyed the base on Oct. 23, 1983) On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an unspeakable terrorist attack on Israel killing over 1200 men, women, and children, and seizing over 200 hostages. The Israeli response was a brutal attack […]
Hedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, Austria, is best known for her work as a Hollywood actress during the Golden Age of cinema. However, her contributions to science and technology, particularly her co-invention of a technology that laid the groundwork for WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS, have garnered increasing recognition. Lamarr’s […]
On November 8, 1939, Adolf Hitler narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in Munich. The attempt took place in the Bürgerbräukeller, a popular beer hall where he annually commemorated the anniversary of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, an early failed coup that Hitler had led in an attempt to seize power in Germany. The bomb was […]
Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert”. - J Robert Oppenheimer.
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