by Jon Western | 6 Sep 2012 |
The violence in Syria is spiking. 1,600 killed in the past week and 100,000 new refugees in the past month. After a year-and-a-half of violence, the UN reports that there are now more than 230,000 refugees, 1.2 million internally displaced persons, more than 2.5 million in need of humanitarian aid. Lakhdar Brahimi, the new UN/Arab League envoy called the violence "staggering." Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo yesterday condemned Assad's...
by Robert Kelly | 6 Sep 2012 | Featured
There is KJI in the middle – he was even born in uniform Actually, he was probably born in the USSR during the war. Here are parts one and two of this series. 5. Pyongyang the Potemkin Village? The usual line is that Pyongyang is a potemkin village compared to the rest of the country. I can’t say, but I think so. Unfortunately, we only saw the capital, Nampo, and the Mt. Paektu area. And what we saw was quite controlled of course. We were told...
by Dan Nexon | 6 Sep 2012 |
#DNC2012, days 1-2 -- Biography as politics: 1, Arithmetic: 1, Foreign Policy: 0.Jim Baggott explains how the "Higgs mechanism creates mass."The rise of beer culture in Asia.Hayes Brown defends the UN Peacekeeping Mandate. The Chinese satirical critique of the United States that's generating a lot of attention. Ever wondered which countries are eligible to purchase US drones? Now you know. Mali requests (restricted) military assistance. Joshua...
by Dan Nexon | 5 Sep 2012 |
When I asked for suggestions for interview subjects for the NBinSFF podcast, Alastair Reynolds was high on the list (albeit mostly over email channels). Well, he agreed, and I'm scheduled to interview him tomorrow. The focus is Blue Remembered Earth. If anyone has suggestions for questions or themes, let me know. Also, this seems as good a time as any to ask for more suggestions for interview subjects.A few additional items:Interesting thing...
by Dan Nexon | 5 Sep 2012 |
My colleague, Charles King, has a great piece (gated) in Foreign Affairs on what the success of the Scottish National Party says about secesssionist movements everywhere.Opinion polls suggest that the Scots are unlikely to approve independence outright. Instead, they will probably settle for some form of "enhanced devolution," an increase in the considerable policymaking power granted to Scotland over the last decade and a half. But the rise of...
by Dan Nexon | 5 Sep 2012 |
by Dan Nexon | 5 Sep 2012 |
Cambridge University Press has un-gated the New Orleans issues of Perspectives on Politics until 16 September. From the release.This issue, themed "Post-Katrina New Orleans and Politics of Reconstruction," takes an in-depth look at the various political and cultural issues involved in rebuilding the Big Easy, including social triage, structural violence, and more. For more background on the issue, read Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey C. Isaac's...
by Dan Nexon | 5 Sep 2012 |
The New Books in Science Fiction and Fantasy channel of the New Books Network launched today. In its inaugural podcast, I interview Ken MacLeod about The Night Sessions. From my summary:As I hope comes through in the interview, I found The Night Sessions (Pyr, 2012) both fun to read and intellectually stimulating. It centers on DI Adam Ferguson as he investigates the murder of a priest in a near-future Edinburgh. Following the “Faith Wars” of...
by Dan Nexon | 5 Sep 2012 |
#DNC2012, day 1 -- Biography as Politics: 1, Foreign Policy: 0.What's up next for drone warfare?BLTN: Colin Kahl debunks the Obama-abandoned-Israel argument. British scientists claim that "stereotypes 'evolve like language.'"Steve Walt didn't like that "leading from the front" manifesto. Rejoice, for Phil Arena is refining his military-capabilities measurement. At zenpundit, J. Scott Shipman reviews Inventing Grand Strategy and Teaching...
by Dan Nexon | 4 Sep 2012 |
Dan Trombly defends the relevance of aircraft carriers against Robert Haddick. This strikes me as Robert Farley territory.A new strain of wheat fungus discovered in South Africa.The quest to coin a phrase for Obama "grand strategy" continues. Meh. Matt Fay knocks around the Romney campaign's obsession with the Polish third site. I can't help wondering, though, if GOP advisors from the Bush Administration are merely angry that the Obama...
by Robert Kelly | 3 Sep 2012 | Featured
I have 50+ similar pictures of me standing with KIS murals, statues, busts...I went to NK this summer. In my first post, I noted how NK should probably be re-named Kim-land. Here are some more impressions:1.a. Kim Jong Un was not so emphasized.In passing, it is worth noting that KJU was not stressed that much. At the Arirang games, portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were put up, but not KJU. Nor did we see any images of him at all. No...
by Dan Nexon | 3 Sep 2012 |
Sun Myung Moon, head of the Unification Church, died today. At the National Interest, Jacob Heilbrunn dissects John McCain's "Neocon Manifesto."The 3QD-Dialogue Advisory Group symposium on the "New Interventionism."Thomas Wright: "What if Europe Fails?" (PDF).Daniel Little summarizes a Tsinghua University conference on the "Great Divergence."Kindred Winecoff's #virtualAPSA2012 panel. The 2012 Hugo Award Winners.