The liberation of Palmyra from different perspectives

Palmyra has been liberated from the Islamic State for some two weeks now. It is fascinating to look at the different versions of what that means. Russia's Sputnik agency is furious that the Western media has downplayed the significance of this development. (Interestingly, this link shows that Sputnik has now been banned in the Islamic Republic of Turkey.)


John Darlington, writing in Apollo magazine, argues that the Islamic State destroyed Greco-Roman and Persian historical treasures for ideological reasons.


Here, on the other hand, is Lindsey Hilsun of the UK's Channel 4, asserting on the ABC's PM programme that the Islamic State's intentions in Palmyra were primarily mercenary rather than ideological - and that most of the damage in Syria is perpetrated by Syrian and Russian airforces.      

How not to defeat Donald Trump #1

What "tough q", my friend?

Members of the anti-Trump brigade, conservative and progressive alike, are proving to be truly clueless. They have no idea what populist wave "The Donald" is riding. A journalist's risible accusation against Corey Lewandowski will now make Team Trump stronger: http://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-campaign-manager-corey-lewandowski-prosecuted-alleged-incident/story?id=38377739 Too bad the said journalist could not have asked an intelligent question at the press conference prior to the "alleged battery" rather than engage in this kind of malarky. In fact, is there a journalist in America capable of confronting Trump with an intelligent question - sorry, with a "tough q"?

And consider this: http://gotnews.com/washington-posts-ben-terris-shake-corey-lewandowskis-hand-witnessing-alleged-assault/

We might finish with this: http://video.foxnews.com/v/4846656496001/trump-campaign-manager-speaks-out-after-charges-dropped/?intcmp=hpvid1#sp=show-clips
           

Opulence Meets Paranoia

King Salman bin Abdulaziz is met by Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Courtesy of the Guardian newspaper)

"Quietist" Salafism says hello to activist Salafism: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/12/saudi-king-salman-bin-abdulaziz-begins-visit-turkey

When does the West begin to defend itself against Erdogan's Islamo-fascism?

Turkey's Erdogan is a Muslim Brotherhood-associated thug but few leaders in the West are ready to protect us from him: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_TURKEY_ERDOGAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-04-06-16-07-02

The "Blood of the Martyrs" is on Erdogan

Destroying his country to save it

Over the years many Turkish citizens have supported Erdogan as the "strong man" who would sort things out. Tragically, they have miscalculated entirely: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/04/turkey-clashes-pkk-erdogan-kurdish-war-impasse.html?#

The April 2016 edition of Quadrant is now out!

Quadrant

Violent apocalyptic millennialism and Palmyra

The Temple of Baalshamin in Palmyra before its destruction in August 2015 by the Khmer Rouge...I mean, the Islamic State

An Australian Greens parliamentarian, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, once referred to the Islamic State at The Other. In short, the Islamic State should not be "demonised" as "terrorists": http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=CHAMBER;id=chamber%2Fhansards%2F49cdeae9-b762-449e-9e05-7239b8940f5f%2F0090;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2F49cdeae9-b762-449e-9e05-7239b8940f5f%2F0142%22

This article from The Guardian tells a very different story: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/01/isis-destruction-of-palmyra-antiquities-revealed-in-new-pictures

And then there is this: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-02/palmyra-mass-grave-islamic-state-victims-found-syria-army-source/7294904