Summary: Recent events, such as the Greek election and the speeches of GOP congressmen, suggest it was premature to declare the “end of history”. As the post-WWII era ends, each day brings forth new developments from the basement of humanity’s collective mind and soul. We must wait to judge, but such political developments suggest that …
Darkness slowly descends on the world (two examples: Greece and USA) Read More »
Summary:  America peaked in 2000. Events since then have sent us on downward trajectory, accelerated by our bad decisions in response. Now the grim reality of future geopolitical and economic problems presses on our imaginations, the end of our hegemonic delusions of power founded on unlimited borrowing at low interest rates. In response we retreat into …
America enters the dreamland, part of our culture of defeat Read More »
I like books that challenge my views, as in the saying attributed to Mark Twain “What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.” So here are two recommendations of books that challenge our views, esp about the things we know for sure. The …
More thoughts on the “dreamland” described by Wolfgang Schivelbusch in The Culture of Defeat.   In the concluding chapter he says… The West’s victory in the Cold War was, however, the first to be achieved explicitly by the economy in its own name. Perhaps it is for this reason that the economy received a new nom de …
Our metastable Empire, built on a foundation of clay Read More »
Anthony H. Cordesman has provided some of the most comprehensive and reliable information about the Iraq War, so his latest report deserves attention. “The Situation in Iraq: A Briefing from the Battlefield“, Anthony H. Cordesman, Center for Strategic and International Studies (13 February 2008) Two things I find fascinating about this report: The US-centric perspective. …
Another perspective on Cordesman’s “A briefing from the battlefield” Read More »
