“If they don’t pay,” President Donald Trump warned of NATO allies, “I’m not going to defend them.” Currently, his official position is that the United States would reconsider its defense commitments if its allies fail to demonstrate resol...
In the 16th century, a tiny village nestled in the valleys of Bohemia known as Jáchymov struck gold—or rather, silver. After a period of crisis in the Bohemian mining industry, the discovery of rich veins of silver exploded across Europe. Th...
“I’m proud to be an American and believe in disseminating the truth, and that is why, after this newscast, I’m resigning.” Liz Wahl had gone off script. In 2014, the American anchor resigned live on air on Russia Today (RT), a Russian state-f...
In early June, a nation-wide rallying cry for the reassertion of democracy in Turkey was sparked by Prime Minister Erdogan’s autocratic tactics: cracking down on the press, stifling legitimate political opposition, imposing building projects and mo...
In early June, a nation-wide rallying cry for the reassertion of democracy in Turkey was sparked by Prime Minister Erdogan’s autocratic tactics: cracking down on the press, stifling legitimate political opposition, imposing building projects and mo...
“Gentlemen do not read others’ mail.” –Henry L. Stimson. “One might expect Europeans to protest loudly — if only to appease their offended publics — but then revert to type and do little concrete in response. After all, America&...
“Gentlemen do not read others’ mail.” –Henry L. Stimson. “One might expect Europeans to protest loudly — if only to appease their offended publics — but then revert to type and do little concrete in response. After all, America&...
It began in a small park in Istanbul and very well might end in Brussels. Turkey’s protestors are now nearly silent after a month of abuse at the hands of riot police, their revolutionary spirit seemingly moved across the Atlantic to Brazil. Their ...
It began in a small park in Istanbul and very well might end in Brussels. Turkey’s protestors are now nearly silent after a month of abuse at the hands of riot police, their revolutionary spirit seemingly moved across the Atlantic to Brazil. Their ...
by Meghan Koushik Afghan history brings to life George Santayana’s maxim: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” For the last two centuries the nation has witnessed a stream of failed occupations by foreign invaders wh...
by Meghan Koushik Afghan history brings to life George Santayana’s maxim: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” For the last two centuries the nation has witnessed a stream of failed occupations by foreign invaders wh...
Thatcher Does Not Sow. Margaret Thatcher is dead, and hagiography on the former British Prime Minister—brilliantly interrupted by Ken Loach’s petition to privatize her funeral—has already piled up to stratospheric heights. I would not be surpri...
Thatcher Does Not Sow. Margaret Thatcher is dead, and hagiography on the former British Prime Minister—brilliantly interrupted by Ken Loach’s petition to privatize her funeral—has already piled up to stratospheric heights. I would not be surpri...
Uranium. Campaign checks. Oil. What’s really going on in Mali. France is at war. At the time of writing, 4,000 French soldiers are deployed in Azawad, the northern half of Mali, fighting a combination of Islamist and separatist insurgents who t...
Uranium. Campaign checks. Oil. What’s really going on in Mali. France is at war. At the time of writing, 4,000 French soldiers are deployed in Azawad, the northern half of Mali, fighting a combination of Islamist and separatist insurgents who t...
In his recent column on the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute between China and Japan, Carter Johnson raises several interesting points. I agree with most of them, and after reading the article I found myself thinking on a historical analogy of the conf...
In his recent column on the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute between China and Japan, Carter Johnson raises several interesting points. I agree with most of them, and after reading the article I found myself thinking on a historical analogy of the conf...
Last week I missed an important reason why Spain is in a state of absolute disarray. This of course is the growing strength of independence movements, both in the Basque Country (Euskadi) and Catalonia –which may have crossed the Rubicon in its dec...
Last week I missed an important reason why Spain is in a state of absolute disarray. This of course is the growing strength of independence movements, both in the Basque Country (Euskadi) and Catalonia –which may have crossed the Rubicon in its dec...
There are cultural moments when I switch into impartial observer, not the usual crazy-eyed denizen, of the blogosphere left. Say, perhaps, when the Commentariat explodes with excitement curiosity regarding whether a Pope might imminently be thrown ...
There are cultural moments when I switch into impartial observer, not the usual crazy-eyed denizen, of the blogosphere left. Say, perhaps, when the Commentariat explodes with excitement curiosity regarding whether a Pope might imminently be thrown ...
In reading the New York Times yesterday, it struck me that following the news about Syria is becoming almost unbearably frustrating. More and more are dying, and there still doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Instead, we are treated to an endl...
In reading the New York Times yesterday, it struck me that following the news about Syria is becoming almost unbearably frustrating. More and more are dying, and there still doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Instead, we are treated to an endl...
There is a famous Spanish saying, éramos muchos y parió la abuela –we were too many, and then grandma had a baby. In military jargon this is summarized as a clusterfuck: a situation in which everything, everywhere, falls apart at the same time. A...
There is a famous Spanish saying, éramos muchos y parió la abuela –we were too many, and then grandma had a baby. In military jargon this is summarized as a clusterfuck: a situation in which everything, everywhere, falls apart at the same time. A...
Fears of ‘Grexit’ has yet to wane, but the press is talking about another country’s possible retreat from the EU—Britain. The Economist claims that ‘Brexit’ has become “increasingly possible;” a columnist at Reuters even warns, “Bre...
Fears of ‘Grexit’ has yet to wane, but the press is talking about another country’s possible retreat from the EU—Britain. The Economist claims that ‘Brexit’ has become “increasingly possible;” a columnist at Reuters even warns, “Bre...