21st Century
Postcard from Mumbai
After a long, hot site visit in Panoli, a small industrial town in Gujarat, the traffic on the main Ahmedabad to Mumbai highway was even more hideous than usual. It was the last day of [more…]
Islam
20th Century
Afghanistan as it was (1973)
After several requests from fellow Puffins, I finally got off my arse to rummage around in the attic and miraculously unearthed a bunch of diaries from over fifty years ago, and most importantly the one [more…]
History
Israel and Iran, an Eternal War?
The history of relations between Jews (and later Israel) and Persians (later Iran) stretches back over two and a half millennia and is more than a simple narrative of continuous hostility. For much of that [more…]
20th Century
Tanker Wars
All has changed. Or has it? We have been here before, literally. The Puffin is a well-travelled bird with a good memory and can recall rolling dunes, desert villages, remote sun-drenched harbours and trails of [more…]
Diary
A View From The Outside Bit; More In Common?
I’d say that I’m at about 95% on my road to recovery, still one or two niggling issues, but I’m hoping time will sort them out. I did manage a few pints and a decent [more…]
Islam
Death in Lyon
When our neighbours travel, we look after the cat. Being a feline, at feeding time we go to it, not it to us. But upon their return, her owners come to us bearing a present. [more…]
Democracy
Gorton & Denton By-election: The Constituency
Last time, we looked at the three serious candidates in the forthcoming Gorton and Denton by-election: representing the Greens, Labour and Reform UK. This time, we will look at the constituency. Part of it lies [more…]
Authoritarianism
The Shame of Our Cities, Part Three
G-P correspondent AW Kamau responds to Armin Rosen’s Minneapolis dispatches, noting the Kenya connection. Local Kenya taxi driver seeking asylum in Canada used a Kenya broker (Kalenjin, same tribe as Ruto) witnessed numerous Somalis at [more…]
America
The Shame of Our Cities, Part Two
Looting, pillage, theft, billions in disbursements, all on the honour system We are all Somalis now In Minnesota, the bear hug of American liberal virtue, with its self-congratulatory sense of generosity and its lack of [more…]