Monthly Archives: March 2011

Looking for luck in Libya

Posted on March 30, 2011 by reallytom

the Hindu Kush, 30 March 2011 There’s an ancient saying in the Peruvian Andes: Where there’s a will, there’s a protracted legal dispute. Even as the Inca empire yielded to the flattening, crowding attributes of European colonialism, executing an Andean … Continue reading →

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Hoping for Arab Mandelas

Posted on March 26, 2011 by reallytom

Dahlak, 26 March 2011 As a not very ancient Malay proverb has it: With great hope comes great chaos. Add to that piece of wisdom — mockers can call it airport bookstore wisdom if they want; in this instance, the … Continue reading →

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Tight Squeeze, Taunting Flag

Posted on March 25, 2011 by reallytom

You’ll have to pardon me: as I write this, I’m crammed into the tiny cabin bathroom of the private jet of an assistant to the Qatari emir. We are on our way to Japan, where he is interested in taking … Continue reading →

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Tribes with flags

Posted on March 23, 2011 by reallytom

the Gambia, 23 March 2011 A colleague of mine recently posed the question about the tsunami of youthful rebellion that was sweeping the Arab world until its flames were doused by the real tsunami: market fears of sovereign-debt default. By … Continue reading →

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Washington versus the merciless

Posted on March 20, 2011 by reallytom

Southern Rhodesia, 19 March 2011 It’s impossible to read the news this week, from the Seychelles to Upper Volta, without acknowledging three technicalities: Technically, I’m on vacation; I’m always kind of on vacation, but if I write about something while … Continue reading →

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The $110 billion dollar question

Posted on March 8, 2011 by reallytom

the Maghreb, 6 March, 2011 With the tyrant-flattening lava flow of youthful, Internet-bred rebellion flattening tyrants from Tunisia to Egypt with the notable exception of Libya, Americans are right to wonder: What is it we’re paying for, exactly? I learned … Continue reading →

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This is just the start

Posted on March 8, 2011 by reallytom

Kurdistan, 2 March, 2011 While the world of Davos was sleeping, and the world of Porto Allegre was hybridising soyabeans to tolerate a tropical climate, I was reading an eight-week-old copy of The Economist on an Aeroflot hop to Luxor. … Continue reading →

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