Denial of Authenticity - Lessons from coaching those who have to lie
Those who work in sales are constantly pressured to create and project an image that does not correspond to their reality. Perhaps among the most problematic situations involve people resigned to maintaining a sometimes hypocritical and often false communication. They may come to hate what they have to do day after day. A manager who […]
Medical marijuana offers great promise but age old challenges
Like many, North Macedonia has enthusiastically embraced the potential of medical marijuana. In only three years, it has licenced 29 growers and processors. However, the failure of a planned law change highlights the issues facing the industry. A weak banking sector and over-indebted companies means its processing sector struggles to meet export standards. The new law would have allowed the export of dried cannabis flower buds and by-passed these problems but at the expense of the domestic industry.
Ramadan
Likely date, religious, social and business implications. there is always uncertainty and frequently disagreement. This year a Moroccan astronomer has forecast that Ramadan will probably begin on Tuesday 7 May, but the National Astronomy and Geophysics Institute of Egypt has forecast Monday 6 May, probably the starting date for Saudi Arabia and the UAE also.
Gold as Monetary Arbiter - Modern Monetary History
Michael Taylor looks at the evolving role of gold and how central banks have (mostly) learned that in the absence of the discipline of gold, their principal job is to protect the financial stability which alone confers value on scrip money.
My Father, Ezra Pound
An interview with Mary de Rachewiltz, daughter of Ezra Pound, from her retreat in the Italian Tyrol. “My father always managed to be on the wrong side”
In the Medina
Green is the colour of Islam, presumably because it is emblematic of paradise. Fertility in a climate of extreme heat and vast deserts cannot be taken for granted. It may seem to a believer God-given, a blessing. The surprise is how green much of Morocco seems. Even in the intense heat of Africa, there are […]
Newsletter
To all our readers, we have an announcement to make. The editors Allston Mitchell and Gillian McBride will be moving on after ten years running The Global Dispatches. It has been a great pleasure and we hope you have enjoyed the magazine as it has developed over time. As a farewell from us we are […]
Putin’s Patriarch
The Orthodox Church is filling a political void left by the collapse of the party system in Russia. Kirill I, the Patriarch of Moscow, is forging stronger links with the Kremlin, attacking what he ominously describes as “anti-Russian” behaviour, including homosexual propaganda, the all-female pop group “Pussy Riot” and even more bizarrely the works of Lenin.
Restoring the Mosaics of San Vitale
The VI century Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna is a unique example of Byzantine art and culture. In recent times an important conservation project has restored the basilica’s mosaic wall decorations to their full glory. Livia Alberti was one of the leaders of the restoration team.
Tree of the Wooden Clogs
Robert Arnold looks back at Italian director Ermanno Olmi’s masterpiece “The Tree of Wooden Clogs” (L’Albero degli Zoccoli), winner of 14 awards including the Palme d’Or for Best film at Cannes in 1978 and the César Award in the same year for Best Foreign Film.