COLUMN ARCHIVE
Dyer Straight
Most recent stories
May. 16, 2012 / 865: Road Trips
Is there hope in Egypt?
Protests continue as radicals are removed from the race for president
Gwynne Dyer
After 11 demonstrators were killed outside the Ministry of Defence in Cairo early this month, Mohammad al-Assaf, a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF),… Read more »
May. 02, 2012 / 863: Cold Specks
Sudan is not the norm
War in Africa is on the decline, but South Sudan hasn't got the message
Gwynne Dyer
President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan has been having some fun with language recently. He has come up with a new name for the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM),… Read more »
Apr. 18, 2012 / 861: The Long Game
Declare victory and leave
More will die in the no-win scenario in Afghanistan
Gwynne Dyer
In the midst of the Taliban attacks in central Kabul on Sunday, a journalist called the British embassy for a comment. "I really don't know why they are… Read more »
Apr. 12, 2012 / 860: Beowulf
Nice try, but ...
For Syria, the prospect of a non-violent transition to democracy has vanished
Gwynne Dyer
"We, the undersigned armed terrorist groups, hereby promise to stop all violence in Syria and surrender all our weapons to the Syrian regime. We will no longer carry… Read more »
Apr. 04, 2012 / 859: Spring Style
Open mic
Obama's "zero nuke" policy behind comments to Medvedev
Gwynne Dyer
We have just had the second Nuclear Security Summit, in Seoul. It got surprisingly little attention from the international media although 53 countries attended. For the media, nuclear… Read more »
Mar. 21, 2012 / 857: Ben Folds
Anyone but him
France is looking for any reason to vote out Sarkozy
Gwynne Dyer
Faced with renewed allegations that Muammar Gaddafi had poured up to 50 million euros into his presidential campaign in 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy finally lost it. "If… Read more »
Mar. 07, 2012 / 855: (Re) cycling
Twelve more years!
Putin's inevitable a win is a pyrrhic victory
Gwynne Dyer
Vladimir Putin is going to win the presidential election in Russia on March 4. In theory, that gives him six more years in power, and the right to… Read more »
Feb. 29, 2012 / 854: Gobal Visions
Painting the roses red
In the name of good PR Calcutta will be painted blue
Gwynne Dyer
I am not making this up. They're going to paint Calcutta blue. Some firm of public relations consultants has persuaded the West Bengal state government that all official… Read more »
Feb. 22, 2012 / 853: Folkways
Continental divide
Pressure is growing on the Christian-Muslim divide in Africa
Gwynne Dyer
Sudan was bombing South Sudan again last week, only a couple of months after the two countries split apart. Sudan is mostly Muslim, and South Sudan is predominantly… Read more »
Feb. 15, 2012 / 852: The Coffee Issue
Mistaken strategy
Syrian opposition forces should stick to non-violent playbook
Gwynne Dyer
As the Syrian opposition abandons non-violent protest for armed resistance, many people think this means that President Bashar al-Assad and his Baathist regime are in even deeper trouble… Read more »
