Iran is obstinate, prideful, ambitious, and, yes, sometimes paranoid.

He was opaque and playfully cryptic, already a little paranoid perhaps justifiably so.

More importantly, rallying the world solely against Russia would mean taking Russia s great power pretensions too seriously.

Or, less likely, he could embrace some megalomaniacal and over reaching vision of government intervention, as others have tried.

Authoritarian, crude, and somewhat megalomaniacal (almost as though he were a king himself), Thaksin was a Thai version of Silvio Berlusconi.

And China s reactions toward Japan are far more paranoid since a non LDP government took power.

Illusions of Democracy

Austere Illusions

The 2,000 year old city of Beijing should be transported into hyper modernity, whereas his father s 1936 Berlin design was, in his words, simply megalomania.

Yunani Tanpa Ilusi

Turkey s Lost Illusions

Stock Market Fantasies

Medvedev seems less fearful of NATO than his semi paranoid predecessor, but Putin has in the past shown surprising flexibility on some strategic issues.

Britain s Populist Fantasies

That is no excuse for paranoia and repression, but just because the Party has outlasted predictions of its demise does not mean that it has no Achilles heel.

Japan s Beheaded Illusions

Crazy!

Beyond Revolutionary Disillusion

Reefer Madness?

Sheer madness.

The Facebook Furor

This is crazy.

The Paranoid Style in Economics

These hopes have proven illusory.

India s New Path to Greatness

Nor can they achieve greatness alone.

Second, political paranoia is rising on the German right everybody supposedly just wants Germany s money our Anglo Saxon partners' real aim is to weaken us and the financial markets will not rest until Germany has invested all of its wealth and has thus endangered its economic success.

Breivik had fantasies of being a knight fighting the enemies of the West.

This is crazy and unhistorical.

The Lingering Shadow of Mad Cow Disease

In fact, Santorum s fantasies were swiftly refuted in the US itself.

David Hoffman shares his Sputnik mania

I have had enough of the craziness of our lives.

May Day Madness

But it also sees itself as vulnerable. A young population with no memory of the Islamic Revolution is desperate for the jobs that its leaders have failed to provide.

In fact, a strengthened Hamas may play into the hands of the Israeli hardliners currently in power.

People said, That's crazy. You can't.

Seventy nine years ago, Germany went mad.

And they have no illusions about the potential for effective global policy coordination.

But the safe haven status of US government securities is an illusion.

This is lunacy. We all know the Earth isn't moving.

The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

So the type of magic I like, and I'm a magician, is a magic that uses technology to create illusions.

To negotiate with Syria for peace, though without illusions as to the probability of success.