How Turkey treats famous novelists like Asli Erdoğan

Asli Erdoğan

 
How shocking this is: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/30/turkish-novelist-asli-erdogan-reveals-detention-ordeal 

Iranian dissidents write to President-elect Trump

President Obama studiously ignored Iranian dissidents; maybe President-elect Trump will listen: http://taghato.net/article/30837

The Tsar and the Sultan

http://quadrant.org.au/

Here is my latest piece for Quadrant Online: http://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2016/12/tsar-sultan/

Zomblog: "Trump's victory is a pivotal turning point in human history"

Here is an interesting read: http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=2143

Operation Euphrates Wrath

The bestial rule of the Islamic State in Raqqa could soon be coming to an end    

The YPJ (Women's Protection Units) have played an important role in the increasingly successful Operation Euphrates Wrath: http://aranews.net/2016/12/kurdish-female-fighters-playing-key-role-in-battle-for-raqqa/

Vale George Michael (1963-2016)

Wikipedia on George Michael: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Michael

Once upon a time - around 1984 - George Michael was my favourite living musical performer (John Lennon having died in 1980). I particularly liked the song by Wham! called "Freedom". It was a good listen then and a good listen now. A lot happened since those days, and I am not sure George Michael himself took those lyrics seriously, but maybe he should have: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff7IY1kPafM
Here's a different film clip - based around their tour of China in the mid-1980s - of the same song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFwOs-jy53A This setting, of course, gives another meaning to the song.      

Have we survived eight years of Obama's "radical realism"?

Barack Obama's latest anti-Israel move at the United Nations tells us what we should already know - the man is a dangerous New Left radical who wears the mask of reasonableness: http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-officials-us-abstention-exposes-true-face-of-obama/

I have written about Obama's duplicity many times, including in 2013: https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2013/01-02/barack-obama-v-the-party-of-lincoln/

And in 2014: https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2014/09/radical-realism-barack-obama/

And also in 2014: https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2014/06/obamas-bad-bargain/

And in 2015: http://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2015/09/obamas-munich-moment/

And in 2016: https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2016/09/obama-great-divider/

And also in 2016: https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2016/09/obama-great-divider/