I’m frankly astonished at the scale, frequency and anger of protests held in solidarity for Palestinians in Gaza, which variously call for a ceasefire, call for “freedom” for Palestine and which variously accuse Israel of atrocities, using the language and statistics issued by the Gazan totalitarian theocrats. It is driven by a coalition of communists,…
Some questions for those protesting for Palestine
Some questions for those protesting for Palestine
15 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice, war and peace
Sen. Sanders said he doesn’t know that a ceasefire is possible with Hamas. Hamas must go.
13 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, war against terror
Why Germany Lost the First World War (Documentary)
11 Nov 2023 1 Comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: World War I
November 9, 1918: Collapse of the German Monarchies
10 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, war and peace Tags: Germany, World War I
As the first Word War was drawing to a close, throughout the month of November 1918, all 22 monarchs within the German Empire were either forced to abdicate, or stepped down of their own accord. After the Oberste Heeresleitung stated the German front was about to collapse and asked for immediate negotiation of an armistice, […]
November 9, 1918: Collapse of the German Monarchies
Charming The Poles – The Central Powers Look For New Allies I THE GREAT …
10 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: World War I
Who ruled Germany before Hitler? Weimar Republic (1918–1933)
09 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, war and peace Tags: Germany, Nazi Germany, World War I
International Law in War
08 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics
A follow-up to my post on Bombing Your Way To Proportionality as one Natasha Hausdorff discusses more than just that aspect of waging war. She’s a barrister who got a law degree at Oxford University and an LL.M. specialising in public international law. She then clerked for the President of the Supreme Court of Israel […]
International Law in War
The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East by Christopher Phillips (revised edition, 2020)
08 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, economics of crime, energy economics, International law, law and economics, Public Choice, war and peace Tags: Iran, Israel, Middle-East politics, Syria, war against terror
There are quite a few book-length studies of the Syrian Civil War. The distinctive thing about this one is that academic and author Christopher Phillips insists that other regional countries weren’t ‘drawn into’ the conflict once it had got going but, on the contrary, were involved right from the start, helped to exacerbate the initial […]
The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East by Christopher Phillips (revised edition, 2020)
Was Cavalry Useless in the First World War?
06 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: World War I
War of Attrition On The Italian Front – The Ninth Battle of the Isonzo I…
05 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: World War I
Māori doctors reckon they have the right medicine for the Middle East – but will they be joining Médecins Sans Frontières?
03 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
The Māori Party and Māori medics have something in common: they have diagnosed what’s gone wrong in the Middle East and prescribed a remedy for the Israel-Hamas conflict. They are pressing for a Free Palestine. The mainstream media seem not to have noticed that the Māori medical professionals have taken sides in a matter with […]
Māori doctors reckon they have the right medicine for the Middle East – but will they be joining Médecins Sans Frontières?
Is the NYT buying and publishing information that helps Hamas?
02 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Middle-East politics, war against terror

This accusation comes from the “Elder of Ziyon” site, which is pro-Israel. But remember that much of the the information you get about the war comes from sites that take one side or the other (or, in the case of papers like the NYT, directly from the mouth of Hamas), so be judicious. In this […]
Is the NYT buying and publishing information that helps Hamas?
ISIS: The State of Terror by Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger (2015)
02 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, energy economics, law and economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Iraq, Middle-East politics, war against terror
Asymmetrical warfare is defined by asymmetry. Any terrorist ideology that can attract five recruits and the contents of their bank accounts can make headlines for months. A terrorist group with twenty recruits and half a million dollars can make headlines for years. (ISIS: State of Terror, page 191) ISIS is the crack cocaine of violent […]
ISIS: The State of Terror by Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger (2015)
CHRIS TROTTER: Failing the “Leftist” litmus test
31 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, war against terror
LIKE THE WAR in Ukraine, the war in Gaza is serving as a remarkable litmus test for the Left. It is testing its moral compass, its understanding of international law, its grasp of geopolitical realities and, not least, its awareness of what the PR mavens call “the optics”. A substantial portion, even, perhaps, a majority,…
CHRIS TROTTER: Failing the “Leftist” litmus test
My conversation with Richard Dawkins
31 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, economics of education, economics of religion, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: free speech, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
About ten days ago I had an hourlong conversation with Richard Dawkins for his Substack site, “The Poetry of Reality“. The video, from YouTube, is embedded below. As Richard says in his written introduction: We covered a myriad of controversial topics plaguing our world today: from the religious conflict in Gaza to modern-day struggles with […]
My conversation with Richard Dawkins
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