It has been five months since protests in Tripoli sparked widespread 'civil unrest'/war, a NATO enforced no fly zone, and partial (and unclear) international interventions. Rough death toll figures range from 10,000-30,000. Perhaps the biggest uncertainty is how this will all end. While there is some hope that rebel forces will tip the balance of power, Gaddafi's forces are strong and have made recent advances.One possibility that hasn't been...
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Friday Nugget Blogging
Since I see Dan is kindly filling in on Friday Nerd Blogging while I'm on vacation, my casual Fridays post this week (if it is indeed Friday, I really have no idea...) takes a different tack, following on an old tradition from my days at Lawyers, Guns and Money... Quote of the week is from my youngest little nugget, quoted in an NPR story on how American kids are reacting to the Women's World Cup:"I've watched every one of their games. I'm...
Harry Potter, Social Misfits, and the Popular Crowd
Amanda Marcotte (via Zack Beauchamp):"Harry isn't a nerd," I said, "Harry is a jock." I mean, Harry has an existential crisis that gives him some depth, but social outcast and/or geek he's not. The opposite, in fact. I realized then that the "band of misfits" theme has so much power over the American imagination (maybe not the British, which could explain Rowling's choices) that people just sort of shove Harry and his friends into that mold,...
Friday Nerd Blogging: Late to the Party (Part the Second)
We saw HPatDHpt2 (as the young'ns are calling it) this evening. It was quite good: action-packed, emotionally satisfying, and all that. We sat next to a group of hipster teenagers who were extremely psyched throughout the whole thing--they clapped, they cheered, and were very upset when my daughter interjected commentary ("That's a lot of Death Eaters!"). This provided an important reminder of how a whole generation of kids grew up with -- or,...
Impunity Gap: Sri Lanka
(see first post in this series: Mind the Impunity Gaps)There is increasing pressure for justice in Sri Lanka for crimes committed in the long civil war between the Government and secessionist Tamil Tigers (LTTE) and that ended in May 2009. While the Sri Lankan government has publicly pledged to ensure justice, there are legitimate concerns its current approach will not be genuine and sufficiently punitive, and will place the burden of guilt for...
Friday Nerd Blogging: Continuing the Tradition (Part the First)
When I was in graduate school I tried my hand at writing speculative fiction (SF) and fantasy. I even hung out on usenet groups and joined an online writing circle. I flatter myself that, with enough work, I might have improved the quality of my scribblings from "crappy" to "passable." It turns out that I chose the wrong career. It isn't just in the social sciences that atrocious writing, wooden characters, and unimaginative plot lines present...
Pan-Social-Media Bleg
I'm looking for good histories of Taiwan; I'm particularly interested in political histories.Cross-posted, in various forms, at Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.
Mind the Impunity Gaps
This is the first of a series of posts on "impunity gaps" in justice for atrocities that constitute genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. There has been a resurgence of optimism for international and transitional justice because the ICC's judicial intervention in Libya and recent high-profile arrests and trial completions at the ICTR and ICTY. But I would like to shed some light on impunity gaps that persist for and within...
Demanufacturing
E-waste in ChinaPhoto Source: GreenpeaceDemanufacturing is the process of disassembling, recycling, remanufacturing, or refurbishing outdated industrial and consumer products, particularly electronics (i.e. e-waste management, asset recovery, or urban mining) but also including activities such as shipbreaking, automobile shredding, devulcanization of rubber tires, etc. The tail end of the capitalist industrial production process was...
Narrative Horror and the Downfall of Leaders #1: Rupert Murdoch
You have devoted your life to creating a great empire, one that stretches around the world and wields influence over politics and culture in a number of countries. Decades of criticism and conspiracy about the pernicious effects of your empire only testify to your importance. You have groomed your successors and shaped the climate they will work within. Biographers will not be able to knock the magnitude of your achievements. Your story is...
Stuff Political Scientists Like #6 — Soaking and Poking
This one was inspired by Kate Weaver, and her dirty, dirty mind. Sometimes numbers just won't do. Political scientists occasionally require real-world knowledge and must come to terms with face-to-face human interaction. They have to do field research. Political scientists like to soak and poke.Stop that. Don't make this sexual. Get your mind out of the gutter. This is serious business. There is no room for juvenile humor in a discussion of...
Wine, War and Alexander
As the Ashmolean Museum shows in its latest exhibition, Alexander of Macedon was the spectacular bearer of Hellenism into Asia who inspired dreams of a unified humanity. His royal dynasty boasted a rich court life in vast palaces with ample room for dinner parties. The tombs of the Temenids contained beautiful artifacts.On slow afternoons they would graduate into manhood by hunting big lions.Less prominent in the exhibition is the flip-side:...