bridging the divide

11/15/2025

https://substack.com//note/c-168784224?r=8mv1u&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web

Please help Yassin as a matter of charity and justice:

https:
//substack.com//note/c-168784224?r=8mv1u&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web

08/18/2025

https://davidholdridge.substack.com/p/crs-at-war-desert-storm-the-lonely?r=8mv1u

Book 5 ( Eurasia), Chapter 1, The Water Above

09/18/2024

David Holdridge has written an irresistible tale of war, madness, love, devotion, and the moral quagmires of American imperialism and international aid. A story of “recuperative wanderings” after Vietnam and work overseas, his protagonist's personal, familial, and political agonies are powerfully rendered, and triumphs hard-won. Our grand narratives, thought to be over, are brought back to life through Michael’s voice, whose thoughts, visions, and dreams of hallucinatory intensity contemporize the genius of the greats (Di
ckens, Joyce, Twain) while giving the reader a rare insider perspective into today's crises of military intervention and masculinity. The Water Above is a masterpiece.

Virginia Konchan is the author of four poetry collections and a collection of short stories. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The New Republic.

For more Information....Please visit David's website---davidrholdridge.com

04/13/2022

The original intent of 'bridging the divide' was to promote citizen to citizen impact and empathy across borders by employing the new technologies to close down the erstwhile intermediaries--the middle men--Big Charity--who profited so egregiously from controlling the investments and the conversations between rich and poor.

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'btd' ceased doing business in 2012 but its raison d'etre is alive and well between the covers of 'Avant Garde of Western Civ' , winner of Prize Americana and available at Amazon/Barnes.

03/25/2013

New technologies and civil society engagement can provide better results through foreign assistance from the US to the Middle East.

03/01/2013

David Holdridge's latest article featured in the Fair Observer:

David Holdridge, a frequent visitor to Qatar over the past decade, argues that sooner rather than later the US will realize that it should distance itself from the autocr

02/17/2013

There were those days, back in March of 2011, when Bashar Al Assad could have jumped the curve and pre-empted the catastrophe before him and the people of the Middle East. At least in theory.

David Holdridge, who was awarded permission by the Syrian Government in 2008 to set up a Relief and Development office in Damascus, warns of the untoward outcomes of US intervention in the Syrian Civil War.

01/09/2013

As new technologies change the way war is waged, important new 'sociologies' emerge - both within the nations inventing and using the new weapons and among those upon whom they are inflicted. Read more by clicking the link below.

12/31/2012

Fair Observer: Best of the Middle East
25 DECEMBER 2012
FAIR OBSERVER

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Fair Observer's five best Middle East articles of 2012.

1: A Particular Province of Syria: Civil War and Civil Hope— Nicholas A. Heras

This article is the last of a multi-part series exploring Tripoli, Lebanon. The series is based on Nicholas A. Heras’ extensive experiences in the city between 2006 and 2011, and the continuing lessons its residents have given him. View bonus feature here.

2: The Hegemon at the Crossroads — David Holdridge

As the US presidential election looms, David Holdridge argues that Washington must make some fundamental changes if it is to be relevant to the new global dynamic, particularly in the Middle East.

3: Syrian Refugees in Lebanon — Lana Asfour

Lana Asfour talks to Syrian refugees in Lebanon near the Syrian border.

4: Who Should be Egypt's Next President? — Casper Wuite

Egyptians are preparing to vote for a new president and complete the transition to civilian rule. With candidates vying for an ill-defined but crucial position it is imperative for voters to ignore the political demagogy that has led Egypt astray so many times since the Revolution. Rather, while deciding who should be president, they should take into account three issues that will determine the success of Egypt's transition to democracy.

5: Natasha Smith: Is This Egypt? — Natasha Smith

Sexual harassment is endemic in Egypt, and increasing numbers of women have begun speaking out against it. Fair Observer's Natasha Smith asks how this deep-seated problem affects women in Egypt and what can be done to stop it.

Image: Copyright © Shutterstock. All Rights Reserved.

12/04/2012

David Holdridge's latest article has been featured in the Fair Observer. Have a look!

Stripped of the usual polemics and accompanying rhetoric, here, in the wake of Operation Pillar of Defense, an American humanitarian worker tries to give a citizen's

11/13/2012

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist” - farewell address by President Dwight Eisenhower, January 17, 1961

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.

11/06/2012

Here is the link to David Holdridge's latest article featured in the Fair Observer.

As the US presidential election looms, David Holdridge argues that Washington must make some fundamental changes if it is to be relevant to the new global dynamic, partic