We all know who Anne Frank was: the young Jewish-German girl who spent the last two years of her short life hidden with her family in a secret room in her father’s office in Amsterdam — only to be discovered and incarcerated by the Nazi regime at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she died just two months before the end of World War II.
Anne Frank (1929-1945)
And most of us have heard of the diaries she kept during those two years — diaries rescued by employees of her father’s firm, and later published as a book by her father, Otto Frank, who miraculously survived the war.
Her words belie her youth and inexperience; her undaunted spirit inspires us still. And this one sentence particularly speaks to me in today’s atmosphere of political uncertainty:
“People can tell you to keep your mouth shut, but that doesn’t stop you from having your own opinion.”
– Anne Frank, “The Diary of a Young Girl”
That teen-aged girl, who was forced to keep silent for fear of discovery yet found release in her writing, is a compelling reminder that the most dangerous thing we can do in difficult times is to surrender our opinions and our freedom of expression.
They are everywhere, not just in Vladimir Putin’s archipelago of prison camps, but held by brutal regimes around the world for purely political reasons. And so this weekly column is being renamed.
Welcome to “The World’s Hostages – Bring Them Home.”
Sadly, this change was inspired by news of yet another American, 64-year-old Dennis Coyle of Colorado, who has spent the last year in a basement room in Afghanistan, under the watchful eye of the Taliban.
Dennis Coyle
For nearly 20 years he had been conducting academic research and assisting the Afghan community, when he was forcibly taken from his apartment in January of 2025 by Taliban forces. It was nine months before his family in the United States learned that he was alive.
From the occasional phone calls that he is permitted to make, his mother and three sisters have grown increasingly concerned for his mental health due to his prolonged isolation. In the words of one of his sisters, Molly Long:
“With each phone call that we get from him, we get more and more desperate to get him home.” [Damita Menezes, Chris Cuomo, News Nation, January 15, 2026.]
He has been declared by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained, which prioritizes official efforts for his release. Ms. Long said that the family has been assured by administration officials, including Dr. Sebastian Gorka and U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler, that Coyle’s release is a top priority.
Adam Boehler
But . . .
Why, then, during an interview with News Nation on January 21st, did Donald Trump not even know who Dennis Coyle is?
When host Katie Pavlich spoke about Trump’s efforts on behalf of various hostages, and asked about a U.S. citizen who was reportedly being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, he said:
“Well, if you give me the name” . . . despite the fact that she had just told him. She repeated, “Dennis Coyle,” and he responded, “Well, if you give me some information, I’ll take care of that.” [Edith Olmsted, The New Republic, January 21, 2026.]
The exchange continued:
Pavlich:“I know that your administration is working on it . . .”
Trump:“I know they are. But I could do some things on the internet that are pretty impactful.”
Pavlich then asked if Trump had a message for the Taliban about Coyle, who had been taken “for no crime,” to which he replied:
Trump: “Well, I’m not happy about them holding anybody. And especially if he’s not guilty of anything. And it sounds like— from what I’ve heard, and again I’m not that familiar with it like you are, but I will certainly take a very strong position on it.” [Id.]
Well, that will certainly be reassuring to Dennis Coyle and his family: Trump will jump onto the internet — presumably his Truth Social platform — and take a “very strong position.” Whoopee!
*. *. *
I certainly hope that the people actually negotiating on behalf of Dennis Coyle and all of the other hostages being held on specious charges are more aware of what is going on than Trump appears to be. And as a further reminder to them, here again is my list — admittedly incomplete — of their names and locations:
Victims of Greed:
The President, First Lady, and citizens of Venezuela
Europeans Under Threat:
The Nation and the People of Greenland The people of NATO and EU member states
Prisoners of War:
The 19,500 Kidnapped Ukrainian Children The People of Ukraine
Immigrant Detainees in Russia:
Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
Endangered Exiles:
Mikita Losik Yulia Navalnaya Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents
Andrei Chapiuk Uladzimir Labkovich Andrzej Poczobut Marfa Rabkova Valiantsin Stafanovic Yuras Zyankovich
In Georgia:
Mzia Amaglobeli
In China:
Chenyue Mao (American)
In Russia:
The “Crimea 8”: — Oleg Antipov — Artyom Azatyan — Georgy Azatyan — Aleksandr Bylin — Roman Solomko — Artur Terchanyan — Dmitry Tyazhelykh — Vladimir Zloba
James Scott Rhys Anderson (British) David Barnes (American) Gordon Black (American) Hayden Davies (British) Antonina Favorskaya Konstantin Gabov Robert Gilman (American) Stephen James Hubbard (American) Sergey Karelin Timur Kishukov Vadim Kobzev Darya Kozyreva Artyom Kriger Michael Travis Leake (American) Aleksei Liptser Grigory Melkonyants Nika Novak Leonid Pshenychnov (in Russian-occupied Crimea) Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler) Sofiane Sehili (French) Igor Sergunin Dmitry Shatresov Robert Shonov Grigory Skvortsov Eugene Spector (American) Joseph Tater (American, disappeared) Laurent Vinatier Robert Romanov Woodland (American)
Regardless of what Donald Trump thinks, you can’t un-ring a bell.
Disaster at Davos – January 21, 2026
On the heels of his deranged performance at Davos earlier this week, someone in his inner circle must have summoned up the courage to convince him that he needed to do some major damage control, specifically with regard to his insulting comments about the British and other NATO military forces.
Following serious push-back from Prime Minister Keir Starmer — as well as from Prince Harry, who served beside American troops in Afghanistan — Trump condescended to post this on Truth Social:
“The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America! In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken. The U.K. Military, with tremendous Heart and Soul, is second to none (except for the U.S.A.!). We love you all, and always will!” [Kevin Liptak and Lauren Kent, CNN, January 24, 2026.]
Well, that’s almost an apology.
As though a social media post — almost certainly composed by a White House staff member — will erase the memory of the words he spoke extemporaneously from Davos:
“We’ve never needed them [NATO]. We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan or this or that. And they did. They stayed a little back, little off the front lines.” [Id.]
. . . or ease the loss to the families of the British soldiers and Marines killed in Afghanistan:
Returning Home to England – June 29, 2010
If only we could excise his tongue and deep-six his phone.
The world doesn’t need another Hundred Years’ War. But it’s beginning to feel as though that’s what we have . . . and no one feels it more than the people of Ukraine, suffering through their fifth frigid winter of Russia’s “special military operation.”
Winter in Wartime Ukraine
The actual Hundred Years’ War between England and France (1337-1453) was fought between armies on horseback and on foot, with spears, swords, and bows and arrows. This one in Ukraine has targeted civilians — women, children, the elderly and infirm — with missiles and drones. And no amount of diplomatic effort has been able to end it, because of the intransigence of one man: Vladimir Putin.
And the inconceivable ignorance of another: Donald Trump.
This week has seen yet another round of talks designed to buy more time for Russia, but with an added twist: an attempt by Putin to gain the release of frozen Russian assets . . . and with the help of the hapless Trump.
It started on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at Davos, with a chat between the money men from the U.S. and Russia. From there, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner followed Kirill Dmitriev to Moscow, where they met with Putin for three hours on January 22nd in what was described by Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov as “exceptionally substantive, constructive, and, I would say, extremely frank and confidential.” [Helen Regan and Darya Tarasova, CNN, January 23, 2026.]
In other words, contentious and open-ended, as confirmed by Ushakov’s next statement, warning that “without resolving the territorial issue . . . one should not count on achieving a long-term settlement.” He added that, until a final agreement is reached, Russia would continue to pursue its objectives “on the battlefield, where the Russian Armed Forces hold the strategic initiative.” [Id.]
Vladimir Putin, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner – Moscow, January 22, 2026
The one thing that did come out of the discussion in the Kremlin was an agreement to convene a long-sought-after trilateral meeting in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, described by Ushakov as the “first meeting of the trilateral working group on security issues.” [Id.]
And it did take place as announced: two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, which Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said in advance would focus on “the parameters for ending Russia’s war and the further logic of the negotiation process.” [Stephen Quillen and Usaid Siddiqui, Al Jazeera, January 24, 2026.]
The result? Anybody’s guess.
The talks concluded today without an announcement of any result. And as the meetings were underway, Russia confirmed Ushakov’s warning by continuing its air attacks on Kyiv and Kharkiv, killing at least one person and injuring dozens of others.
The Onslaught Continues
Ushakov did also say that it would be the “first meeting,” so we should probably assume there will be others. But will they be any more productive, as long as Putin refuses to offer the slightest concessions toward a settlement? Or as long as Trump continues to mollify him?
Thus far, all we’ve seen is a lot of people burning up untold amounts of jet fuel as they hop around the globe in search of a resolution. And I’m beginning to think we (the U.S.) may need to send in a whole new team of negotiators, with an entirely new modus operandi.
*. *. *
And what about those frozen Russian assets? Well, that little wrench was thrown into the works when Trump invited Putin to join his new “Board of Peace.” And Putin — ever the opportunist — responded that he would consider it, and would pay the $1 billion fee for a permanent seat on the Board, if Trump would help to unfreeze the Russian assets being held by the West since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Putin promised that when that happened, he would turn over the $1 billion.
And if Trump buys that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell him.
Nick Cave is the front man for the Australian rock band, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I admit that I have never heard their music . . . in fact, I had never heard of them at all until I found this one brief line in a search for today’s quote on the subject of risk-taking.
Nick Cave
What led me along this path was the thought of all of the multi-billionaires who might now be preparing to jump wallets-first into Donald Trump’s scheme for the construction of a new city on the Gaza Strip. And, while Nick Cave’s music is said to be “characterised by emotional intensity and lyrical obsessions with death and violence” [en.wikipedia.org], I found this one bit of lyricto be oddly comforting:
“If you’re gonna dine with them cannibals Sooner or later, darling, you’re gonna get eaten.”
– Nick Cave, “Cannibal’s Hymn”
In some perverse way, it gives me hope for the future awaiting all of those MAGA “cannibals” out there . . . both the leaders and their mindless followers . . . when karma finally catches up with them.
Is there anyone — anyone at all? — who honestly believes it was a coincidence that, immediately following Donald Trump’s sales pitch and signing ceremony for about 20 suckers . . . er, members . . . for his newly-formed “Board of Peace,” his son-in-law, realtor Jared Kushner, did his own little dog-and-pony show, announcing a “masterplan” for the rebuilding of Gaza?
Jared Kushner – Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026
Or that the plan begins with a “coastal tourism” zone with room for up to 180 skyscrapers, many likely earmarked as hotels? [Andrew Carey, CNN, January 22, 2026.]
And a residential zone consisting of high-end homes and apartments, schools and medical facilities to accommodate . . . whom? Certainly not the impoverished, starving people battered by more than two years of relentless attacks.
The Reality of Gaza Today
As presented by Kushner, the rebuilt region would be a new Dubai — yet another Middle Eastern playground for the rich and corrupt. And the plan is non-negotiable. Speaking on behalf of his father-in-law and the “Board of Peace,” he said:
“We have a masterplan. . . . There is no Plan B. If Hamas does not demilitarize, that will be what holds back the people of Gaza from achieving their aspirations.”[Id.]
“Their” aspirations? Really? I should think the only thing the people of Gaza are aspiring to right now is surviving: having sufficient food, water, medical care and shelter to stay alive. And maybe, if they’re very lucky, jobs to allow them to afford those basic necessities.
But this is a representation of what Trump & Co. have in mind:
Trump’s Vision of a New Gaza
The so-called master plan would be comprised of two urban developments, to be known as New Rafah and New Gaza.
“New Rafah” would offer more than 100,000 permanent housing units, over 200 schools, and more than 75 medical facilities. While that sounds good, consider that there are an estimated two million people living in the whole of the Gaza Strip, with nearly half of them still in the devastated northern region — and not a single one likely to be able to afford one of the new housing units.
Furthermore, with completion of construction estimated to take between two and three years (at best), how are they supposed to survive in the meantime? Has any provision been discussed by Kushner’s development company for livable refugee camps, mobile home communities, or any sort of interim accommodations? I suppose that will be up to someone else — certainly not the “Board of Peace.”
What Gaza Needs … NOW!
Then there is the second area, “New Gaza” — a center of industry, supposedly providing 100% full employment. But what sort of employment, and for whom? Who will retrain the local citizens for jobs in the region’s new high-tech industries or the five-star hotels and resorts? Or will they simply be consigned to the lower-level, lower-paying jobs, further ensuring their inability to afford that beautiful new housing?
Finally, Kushner came to the question of who would be paying for this dream city of the future, and the answer was: “Governments.” Remember those billion-dollar admission fees to the Board of Peace? But even if as many as 50 countries were to sign up for it, it wouldn’t be nearly enough to finance a project of this scope.
So Kushner then launched an appeal to — surprise! — the private sector, promising “amazing investment opportunities.” He told his audience of daddy-in-law’s billionaire friends:
“I know it’s a little risky to be investing in a place like this, but we need you to come, take faith, invest in the people.” [Id.]
“A little risky,” he said. “A little risky”??!!! Even to the Musks, the Bezoses, and the Zuckerbergs of the world, this has to look like what it really is: another pie-in-the-sky dream designed to boost Donald Trump’s ego and his net worth . . . and possibly win him that elusive Nobel Prize. Still, taking risks is what earned each of them their first million . . .
*. *. *
Senior Palestinian officials have yet to react to the plan. But Ramy Abdu, the Palestinian founder of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor group, posted this on X:
“Palestinians face a plan to eliminate their very presence, based on domestication, subjugation, and control.”
And there you have it: Plan A. At the moment, there is no Plan B.
Oh, no! Mark Carney has been uninvited from Donald Trump’s Most Magnificent Board of Peace Party because of the speech he gave at Davos, which was more popular — not to mention more eloquent and (GASP!) truthful — than Donnie’s.
Mark must have forgotten to genuflect. And now Donnie’s feelings are hurt.
Well, kid, maybe it’s time to grow up. I know it’s a hard pill to swallow, but life isn’t always fair — even to you.
As for Mark, he’ll be just fine. He’s got lots of real friends, including millions of Americans.
And don’t forget that big new trade deal with China . . .
Yes, that’s a term I made up: an apparent oxymoron, but more readily understood once you’ve read today’s quotes.
Omar El Akkad is an award-winning, Egyptian-Canadian-American author and journalist currently living in the United States. He has covered the war in Afghanistan, military trials at Guantanamo Bay, the Arab Spring in Egypt, Black Lives Matter, and other devastating, world-altering events. His novels are influenced by his experiences, and his 2025 non-fiction “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” is about the war in Gaza.
Omar El Akkad (1982 – present)
On October 25, 2023, after three weeks of covering Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, El Akkad tweeted this message, which has now been viewed more than ten million times:
“One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.”
Posthumous foresight.
And then he wrote his non-fiction book about that experience, which included these passages:
“There is an impulse in moments like this to appeal to self-interest. To say ‘these horrors you are allowing to happen, they will come to your doorstep one day.’ to repeat the famous phrase about ‘who they came for first’ and ‘who they’ll come for next.’ But this appeal cannot, in matter of fact, work. If the people well served by a system that condones such butchery ever truly believed the same butchery could one day be inflicted upon them, they would tear the system down tomorrow. and anyway, by the time such a thing happens, the rest of us will already be dead.
“No, there is no terrible thing happening coming for you in some distant future. But know that a terrible thing is happening to you now. You are being asked to kill off a part of you that would otherwise scream in opposition to injustice. You are being asked to dismantle the machinery of a functioning conscience. Who cares if diplomatic expediency prefers you shrug away the sight of dismembered children? Who cares if great distance from the bloodstained middle allows obliviousness? Forget pity. Forget even the dead, if you must. But at least fight against the theft of your soul.”
– Omar El Akkad, “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This”
Gaza – 2025
And that applies, not only to Gaza, but to the rest of the world as well.
The list of Donald Trump’s failed business enterprises, including six bankruptcies, is long and tedious. Here are just a few, not including the numerous hotel and casino fiascos:
> Trump Airlines (1989-92) (defaulted on loans) > Trump Mortgage (2006-07) > Trump Vodka (2006-11) > Trump Steaks (2007) > GoTrump.com (2006-07) (travel search engine) > Trump University (2005-10) (settled $25 million in fraud law suits) > The Trump Network (2009-12) (selling supplements and urine tests) > Trump Magazine (1997-2009) > Trump: The Game (1989 & 2004) (a Monopoly wannabe) > Trump Ice (2000s) – Bottled water > Tour de Trump (1989-90) (an imitation Tour de France) > New Jersey Generals (1980s)
In other words, the man who claimed to be the world’s preeminent businessman; who published the supposedly authoritative “The Art of the Deal” as though he knew what he was talking about; and who still claims to be smarter than Vladimir Putin . . . that man has destroyed practically everything he touched.
And now he is inviting world leaders to join his so-called “Board of Peace.” Originally touted as a limited group with a mandate to oversee the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, its stated purpose has quickly expanded to include settlement of conflicts throughout the world, presumably based on his alleged success in ending eight “wars” thus far. Oddly, the draft of its charter, as sent with the invitations to the various countries’ leaders, is said to make no reference to Gaza at all.
It is, bluntly, Donald Trump’s attempt at achieving immortality.
His presidential term is finite, with just three years to go and no third term possible. What will happen to him then? Will he retire gracefully, like Harry Truman? Take up good works, like Jimmy Carter? Be sought out for his statesmanlike wisdom, like his nemesis Barack Obama?
Or will he end up, finally, in prison when he is no longer immune from prosecution of all of those pesky felony convictions?
None of those roles would suit the man who must always be the center of the Universe. But if he were to have his own organization, potentially eclipsing the United Nations . . . well, that might suffice.
And so he has formed the nucleus of a Board comprised of Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Mark Carney, Tony Blair, Marc Rowan, Ajay Banga and Robert Gabriel, with himself as Chairman. Hoping to sign on at least 35 countries at this week’s World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, he attracted fewer than 20.
Gathering at Davos
Thus far, those who have formally declined include Denmark, France, Norway, Slovenia (his wife’s native country), Sweden and Belgium. Some 28 diverse countries that have received invitations — including Russia, China, Canada, Switzerland, Ukraine, Belarus, the United Kingdom, and the Vatican (yes, the Vatican!) — have not yet responded.
But at least 20 others have joined. Not surprisingly, the list reads like a Who’s Who of autocracies: Bahrain, Morocco, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan. [Source: Meg Hilling, News Nation, January 22, 2026.]
It is not yet known how many, if any, have agreed to pay the $1 billion optional contribution for a permanent membership. Perhaps countries like Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia can afford to gamble that kind of money on a risky (to say the least) Trump venture; but I hope the others are smart enough to go for the free three-year introductory offer.
*. *. *
Is this Trump’s last stand: his mad desire to rule the world? Or is it just another manifestation of his envy of Vladimir Putin, whose BRICS — founded in 2009 as a counterpoint to western economic dominance — now boasts of a membership representing a quarter of the global economy and nearly half of the world’s population?
BRICS Summit in Brazil – 2025
Perhaps he envisions the two groups working in tandem, one in the economic sphere and the other politically oriented. Or maybe he hasn’t thought that far ahead.
At this point, nothing would surprise me. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t worry me.
Most of us know about the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution that overthrew the centuries of Tsarist rule in Russia and ushered in 74 years of communist control and the creation of the Soviet Union.
Depiction of Vladimir Lenin and the 1917 Revolution
But how many have heard of an earlier revolt that became known as the Blood Sunday Massacre?
On January 22, 1905 — with Russia in the midst of a losing war against Japan, and general unrest among the populace due to poor living conditions, government corruption and authoritarian rule — a group of workers led by a radical priest, Georgy Apollonovich Gapon, marched to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg with a list of demands. Instead of the negotiation they were seeking, they were met with gunfire from the Imperial forces.
Hundreds were killed and wounded. In response, strikes and riots broke out throughout the country, forcing Tsar Nicholas II to promise the creation of a series of representative assemblies known as Dumas, to work toward reform. [“This Day in History, History.com, January 22, 2026.]
Bloody Sunday – January 22, 1905
But the promised changes failed to materialize. And during the next decade, revolutionary groups began to form, including Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks, until — on October 25, 1917 (old calendar) — that first blank shot was fired from the AURORA in St. Petersburg, signaling the start of the revolution that changed the world forever.
The Opening Volley from the AURORA – 1917
“Bloody Sunday” was a sort of rehearsal for the real thing, and while it didn’t seem at the time to have accomplished anything, it was the first step in the Russian people’s march toward what they hoped would be a better life. But there are two, antithetical lessons to be learned from that day:
First, you gain nothing if you don’t try; and even though the desired result may not be immediate, any effort is better than doing nothing; and
Second, be careful what you wish for. As it turned out for the Russians, the next 74 years were just a different kind of hell.
A Different Kind of Despot
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep trying. We just need to be sure, before destroying what we have, that there is something better waiting to take its place.
The Blog About Everything … and Sometimes Nothing 