Boston will always have a special place in my heart. In October of 2010 I was called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was asked to serve in the Boston-Massachusetts Mission. I accepted the call and for the next two years New England was my […]
A collection of articles, essays, and blog post of merit. This collection is a large one. TOP BILLING Our Internet Surveillance StateBruce Schneier. Schneier on Security. 25 March 2013. The Internet is a surveillance state. Whether we admit it to ourselves or not, and whether we like it or not, we’re being tracked all the […]
“The primary objective of any COIN operation is to foster development of effective governance by a legitimate government. Counterinsurgents achieve this objective by the balanced application of both military and nonmilitary means…. Governments described as “legitimate” rule primarily with the consent of the governed; those described as “illegitimate” tend to rely mainly or entirely on […]
Infographic from Ty Morteson. Image Source.One might add “Governments consistently bails out corporate interests with tax-payer money” to the center of the diagram. Several months ago I published a post that describes how the extreme partisanship emanating from Washington is a really just a surface veneer that covers a plutocratic consensus lying beneath. [1] Ashwin Parameswaran, blogging […]
Scrolls containing the Seven Military Classics of the Chinese strategic canon. Image Credit. Last month I wrote a post on the difficulties Westerners face learning about China’s military history and expansive strategic canon. Reflecting on this military tradition, Martin Hewson (who blogs at Breviosity) posed a few interesting questions: Why does China have such a sophisticated tradition […]
How well do you know Indian politics? High school history text books often include political cartoons students must interpret to demonstrate their understanding of the period in question. When I saw the following political cartoon, published in Outlook India earlier this week, it occurred to me that modern political cartoons can be just as useful a test. Krish […]
©Dave Walker, image from weblogcartoons.com After a two year hiatus the Scholar’s Stage opened up its doors to discussion once again. All significant essays published since the re-boot began in February are posted below. I thank all of the readers and commentators that make posting here a rewarding experience. THE REPUBLIC Ominous Parallels: What Antebellum America […]
What impact does culture have on cognition? Psychologist Richard Nisbett has conducted dozens of studies to find out the answer to this question. Presented in The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently, the results of his study are fascinating – and their implications far reaching. “Perception: How Germans and Chinese See Each Other” from […]
The Capitol Building, c. 1910. Image Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, “Detroit Publishing Co. Collection” no. 039985. [Link] The corruption of the United States Congress by monied interests and its eclipse by the other branches of the federal government is a topic we regularly return to. [1] It is not difficult to show that this […]
Terra Cotta Soldiers — Image Source Via Zenpundit comes an interesting article written by Tonio Andrade for The Diplomat. This online magazine has some of the world’s best coverage of Asian-Pacific affairs and I always read its contents with interest. Mr. Andrade’s piece introduces his readers to the Sino-Dutch war of 1661, China’s “first” war with […]