Some people aspire to greatness. Some have greatness thrust upon them. Having had it thrust upon him without his leave, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has carried greatness with the grace of a Nelson Mandela. My admiration for the man knows no bounds…. Read More ›
Everything You Wanted to Know About What’s Going On in the World But Were Afraid to Ask
PROPAGANDA
When Iraq invaded Kuwait back in ’91, it was reported that Iraqi soldiers were looting incubators from premie wards. I remember wondering at the time whether this was an invention of some Madison Avenue PR firm hired by the Kuwaiti… Read More ›
RE-ERECTING THE IRON CURTAIN FROM THIS SIDE
We’ll take Russian oil and gas. We just won’t pay for it. So they’ll cut us off. It’s spring. We’ll shiver, but we won’t freeze. We’ll have to chow down on a little crow from Iran and Venezuela. And we’ll… Read More ›
THE BUCHA MASSACRE
What’s not in dispute is that the hundreds of civilians who’ve been killed in the suburbs around Kyiv would be alive today but for the Russian invasion. No doubt some were collateral damage, though the Russians will call them human… Read More ›
UKRAINE, RUSSIA, AND THE DOOLITTLE RAID
Suppose I accuse you of wearing a blue tie on a Tuesday. Surely the most obvious response is, What’s wrong with wearing a blue tie on a Tuesday? Well, Russia is accusing the Ukrainians of having bombed a fuel depot… Read More ›
THE TRUE MEANING OF LIFE
In his Introduction to Metaphysics, Martin Heidegger asked, “Why is there something rather than nothing?” It’s a stupid question only in the sense that the answer is so self-evident. Of all the nigh-infinite worlds that could be, there’s only one… Read More ›
UKRAINE AND THE EICHMANN DEFENCE
The Eichmann Defence – “I was just following orders!” – didn’t work for Eichmann, nor should it have. Nor did it work for William Calley at Mai Lai. It’s a scandal, then, that we all let it pass for Romeo… Read More ›
SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE CURRENT WAR
Since the Six Day War of June ’67, tank battles have been won in the skies above them. Zelenskyy can’t match Putin on the ground – at least not indefinitely – nor, without NATO, in the air. So it’s no… Read More ›
… BUT FEAR ITSELF
Until now in this blog I’ve been pressing my views, for what little they’re worth, on what’s happening in the world, but I’ve assiduously avoided touting myself as some kind of expert in the matters on which I’ve opined. But… Read More ›
NO FREE LUNCH (Russia/Ukraine)
Since I specialize in the Philosophy of War, I suppose I’m expected to say something, however banal, about recent events in Eastern Europe. So here is that banal something. Ethnic and political borders seldom coincide. So there’s a longstanding tradition… Read More ›
Paulosophical Vimplications 