"To the extent that there are still staunch backers of Assad, they will point fingers in all manner of directions - blaming the crippling sanctions and the loss of Syria’s east for the economic strangulation of the regime, crying about treachery among the army’s officer corps for failing to fight, bemoaning the failure of Iran and the “axis of resistance” to come to Assad’s aid. The reality is that the Syrian regime had clearly reached the point of exhaustion: unable to adequately pay its soldiers, uproot corruption in the army, or motivate men to fight for it. This was a checkmated regime with a fictional army, and it is not surprising that Iran and Russia decided to wash their hands of it before it became an unbearable geostrategic albatross around their necks."
-- Big Serge
“The decline of community in the modern world has as its inevitable religious consequence the creation of masses of helpless, bewildered individuals who are unable to find solace in Christianity regarded merely as creed.”
Robert Nisbet
American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history. America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism. Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory.
The White House
The National Security Strategy Document
Games stimulate the mind. Kids thrive on mental stimulation. Games teach kids to triumph over challenging problems.
This story out of India: Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha was born in 2022. At 30 months he started learning chess. By age three he had defeated five ranking members of the International Chess Federation, earning him his own official ranking. What’s next? Recognition as a grand master as he continues learn about how chess works, and how victory is achieved against some of the most active minds of his generation.