Category Archives: Regimes

Jamal Khashoggi’s death and Saudi ‘intelligence’ service?

Andrew L. Urban. It’s not over yet, but I feel this is a crucial moment in the evolution of the story about the shocking death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Let’s take stock of what we know – and ask … Continue reading

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American tragedy

By Andrew L. Urban. America’s current (June 2018) crisis over illegal immigration, family separations and border policies generally, have highlighted and exacerbated the nature of America’s unfolding socio-political tragedy. Watching America rip itself apart – needlessly – is the greatest … Continue reading

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Kim Jong-un: even ‘respectable circles’ can only guess

By Andrew L. Urban With the gratuitous opening sentence, “Keep your eyes on North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.” The Australian’s veteran Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan signals his credential superiority, but soon drops his guard. “ … so far, in relation to … Continue reading

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Free speech criminalised in UK

Back in the UK after 16 months travel, David Sergeant is aghast at the drastic changes to freedom of speech, expression and association, all squeezed by laws. Yes, in the UK. (This is an extract from his report in Spectator … Continue reading

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Israeli victory essential for Middle East peace

The moment is right for fresh thinking in order to dispatch the old and stale Palestinian-Israeli conflict, writes Daniel Pipes.* With Arabs focused on other issues – the Iranian nuclear weapon build-up, civil wars in Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, … Continue reading

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What Kim Jong-un wants

By Andrew L. Urban. What does young Kim of North Korea want? That’s what political junkies and politicians around the world are wondering, as are columnists and journalists, in the long lead up to the proposed May 2018 meeting between … Continue reading

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George Soros: wealthy, not wise

By Andrew L. Urban ‘In the United States, President Donald Trump would like to establish his own mafia-style state but cannot, because the Constitution, other institutions, and a vibrant civil society won’t allow it.’ That’s the third sentence in an … Continue reading

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RIP Liu Xiaobo – dream of Chinese democracy lives on

Edited extracts from The Economist, July 15, 2017, with commentary by Andrew L. Urban. Liu Xiaobo, who died on July 13, was hardly a household name in the West. Yet of those in China who have called for democracy, resisting … Continue reading

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North Korea – a ‘no launch’ policy

By Andrew L. Urban. Trump is stumped, Putin is powerless, Macron and Merkel are as if mute and we, all over the world, are a little concerned about North Korea’s missile rattling and the nuclear gun bulging in its pocket. … Continue reading

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Hungary’s upcoming national consultation

By Andrew L. Urban. “Here we go again. A new ‘national consultation’ is under way,” writes Eva S. Balogh on her blog (April 3, 2017) about Hungary’s upcoming national consultation, ‘Let’s stop Brussels!’ The tone of her article remains cynical … Continue reading

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