'Fair dinkum’ is an Australian term meaning ‘true, genuine, real’. It is an expression that reflects my preference for understanding the world through the prism of history, reality and cause and effect.

I am now in my 40s and was lucky enough to be born (in Tokyo, as it happens) into a diplomatic family, which meant that I spent the first 20 years of my life travelling to all parts of the world. This gave me my lifelong interest in geopolitics and it was my time in the USSR, immediately followed by three years in the United States that probably sewed the seeds of my political conservatism.

I will use this blog to present an Australian’s views on world events including Islam, the United Nations, the European Union and other matters of importance. I have always taken an interest in US politics and I’ll be posting on that, also.

Thank you for visiting. Come back often.