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Cliopatria

  • Aug 4, 2005

    Noted Here and There ...

    by Cliopatria

    The Cranky Professor hosts the inaugural rendition of Carnivale as an ancient and medieval history festival tomorrow, 5 August. Please send your nominations of posts that have gone up in the last three months about the period prior to about 1450 CE to him at professor*at*crankyprofessor*dot*com.

    Mr. Sun! thinks that the Bush administration's new"

  • Aug 4, 2005

    American Imperialism

    by Cliopatria

    We have had Niall Ferguson argue in his book Colossus and now in an article in Daedalus (Spring 2005) that Americans need to buck up and admit that they are imperialists and that they have created an empire. As he writes, we have invaded two countries in the last 3 years and replaced their governments. Empire? Of course!

    What stops us from admitting this basic fact? Well, the obvious one is that we are uncomfortable wearing an imperial crown such as might have fitted Napoleon co
  • Aug 3, 2005

    Cole's Version of Aacdemic Freedom

    by Cliopatria

    This morning’s Chronicle brings news that Columbia is devoting $15 million on behalf of gender and racial diversity in its faculty. The initiative is being coordinated by Jean Howard, Columbia's vice provost for diversity initiatives. Howard, you might recall, served on the special committee that looked into allegations of bias in Columbia’s MEALAC Department. Even though she signed a petition demanding that Columbia div
  • Aug 3, 2005

    The United States’ Deliberate Use of Torture

    by Cliopatria

    The Washington Post has a major article today on an Iraqi General who was tortured to death. If anyone needed more proof that torture was an accepted—and indeed encouraged--form of interrogation under the Bush administration, here it is. If this isn’t enough proof, what is?

    Generals are clearly subject to the Geneva Convention. Generals don’t “fall through the cracks” and then get beat up by

  • Aug 3, 2005

    More Noted Things ...

    by Cliopatria

    You, alas, are too young to remember"the Incomparable Hildegarde." I, fortunately, am not. Nearing the end of her prime when I was a child, she died yesterday at 99.
    I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places
    That this heart of mine embraces all day through,
    In that small café, the park across the way,
    The children's carousel, the chestnut tree,
  • Aug 3, 2005

    The Atomic Bomb: A Different Perspective

    by Cliopatria

    Each year on August 6, the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima is accompanied by a mass reflection on atomic warfare. This year, in preparation for the 60th anniversary of these tragic events, HNN has put together a large selection of pieces discussing whether the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima was a wise and necessary decision. Already Leo Maley III and Uday Mohan’s article, in particular, and that of Herbert Bix have sparked considerable discussion. I do not wish, by any means, to disco
  • Aug 2, 2005

    Sugar to Shiraz

    by Cliopatria

    Not that I am interested in bashing David Adesnik, but the man writes some serious inanities. In his latest post - sticking up for Irshad Manji - he concludes:"Wouldn't it be curious if American Muslims became the driving force behind the anti-terrorist movement in the Islamic world? These days, Americans talk more and more about exporting democracy to t
  • Aug 2, 2005

    The Pilot Who Survived After Falling Out of His Plane

    by Cliopatria

    Chris Vaughn, in the Houston Chronicle (7-31-05):

    On a bone-chilling, miserably windy day in 1952, Capt. Fred C. Seals Jr. fell out of his airplane.

    Right out the side of the C-46 Commando.

    Four hundred feet above the snow-covered ground in the middle of the Korean War.

    Improbably, Seals lived to tell the tale. The story has been retold on "Ripley's Believe It o
  • Aug 2, 2005

    Singling Out Israel

    by Cliopatria

    I’m just back from a trip to Israel, which is currently experiencing a tumultuous debate over Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip. I had supported construction of the security barrier before I went, but getting to see the fence in several places gave me a much better sense of its necessity; I didn’t speak to even one Israeli, regardless of their political opinion, that didn’t support completing the fence. I also was struck by the dramatically different perspective on the war in
  • Aug 2, 2005

    Supremely Modest Proposal

    by Cliopatria

    or, Building a Bridge to the 18th Century
    Time for America's favorite parlor game: let's change something! kill time talking about something that'll never change!

    Why does a 21st century nation have an 18th century legal system? Don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing for a shift in constitutional powers or against the Enlightenment and English roots of the glorious American legal tradition. I'm just wondering why the system still functions the same way it did

  • Jul 29, 2005

    Hattiesburg Bleg

    by Cliopatria

    I'm currently stationed at Camp Shelby, Mississippi for training -- or, this being the army, for a period of "standing by" prior to the emergence of hypothetical future training -- and will be allowed off post for the first time on Saturday. I'll be staying in a hotel near the USM campus, and have no idea at all what there is to do in Hattiesburg. Any Cliopatria readers in the area? What should I do with myself? Post suggestions below, or email me at chrisabray - at - yahoo - dot - com
  • Jul 29, 2005

    Where's the Outrage Against John Roberts?

    by Cliopatria

    Over at Tom Engelhardt's TomDispatch.com he rails today at the Democrats for their failure to rail on John Roberts. It's the old story again, he suggests, of weak Democrats being afraid to stand up for their beliefs. Democrats after all should be outraged that Roberts went down to Florida to give advice to the Republicans in 2000. That makes him a partisan gunslinger, doesn't it?

    I sent Tom a friendly note this morning: <
  • Jul 29, 2005

    Dog Days at UC, Irvine ...

    by Cliopatria

    I don't know about yours, but Atlanta must have the worst electrical power service of any major city in the United States. Our power goes out with some regularity – in almost every rainstorm and, occasionally, without any obvious cause at all. It stormed yesterday in Atlanta, but we had no long term outage. Instead of that, the electricity flashed on and off for about an hour and a half. When that happens, there are consequences. The burner on the coffee maker had been off when the storms began.