Important Note:
Opinions are fun. My friends tell me I am someone with lots of opinions and that's fine since I don't get mad at others when they disagree with me. In this same spirit I am interested in hearing yours views as long as you are able to share your views without boiling over. I look forward to hearing from you. I tend to write in the form of short essays most of the time, but contributions do not need to be in this same format or size. Some of the content here will date itself pretty quickly, other content may be virtually timeless, this is for the reader to judge.
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All wars kill innocents
Posted at: Mar/20/2024 : Posted by: Mel
Related Category: Politics & Gov, Watching America, World Watching,
If you have watched “Band of Brothers” on television, you may have noticed that it does not spend much time on the civilian casualties and regional destruction reaped on Germany and German occupied portions of Europe. Stephen Ambrose’s book and the mini-series production by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks instead focuses on the reality of war as seen and experienced by members of the E-Company, 2nd.....read more…
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The Failed state of Russia
Posted at: Sep/30/2022 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Politics & Gov, World Watching,
I know, it is likely a little optimistic to say so, but there are a lot of signs for everyone to see. It sure looks like Russia has gone from failing, to being a failed state. The first step in Russia’s disintegration was Vladimir Putin’s painstaking construction of a fascist political system centered on him and his personality. In the lifecycle of a dictatorship it is not unusual for the lea.....read more…
Tactical lessons from Ukraine
Posted at: Mar/21/2022 : Posted by: Mel
Related Category: Historical Insights, Politics & Gov, World Watching,
For anyone not aware, the Russian army after spending months building up their forces along the Ukrainian border, ultimately invaded Ukraine on Feb 24 of 2022. This has devolved from a military action to genocide and humanitarian crisis. While I don’t wish to ignore the scale of human tragedy that is unfolding, there are some serious lessons to be learned about the Russian military and its tactic.....read more…
What keeps me up at night
Posted at: Mar/14/2022 : Posted by: mel
I would like to believe that as I have matured in life, I have gotten my emotions under control. When things go well, I enjoy the moment while trying not to celebrate to a level that belittles someone else. When things have not worked out as I have hoped, I try to focus on what should happen next and minimize any outward appearance of being upset or disappointed. There is another emotional situ.....read more…
ISIS and the anemic west
Posted at: Dec/08/2015 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Society, World Watching,
The barbarism of the attacks ISIS inspired attacks in Paris in November of 2015 marks a new low in terror. The attacks were not directed against national symbols or government targets as would be the case in a historical insurgency. Instead, these attacks were clearly designed simply to kill innocent men, women and children in the course of their daily activities. More criminal than insurgent, the.....read more…
One heck of a speech in Russia
Posted at: Mar/30/2014 : Posted by: mel
Vladimir Putin's made a rousing address before Russian parliamentarians and officials a couple of days ago (March 18, 2014). The speech was in response to the fall of the Ukrainian government and the prompt annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia under Putin’s leadership. Reading the translation of Putin’s speech, one could easily be lulled into the notion that the Russian people have been.....read more…
Is it Munich or Beijing all over again?
Posted at: Dec/05/2013 : Posted by: mel
The United States and many of its allies have had a very bitter relationship with the Iran for nearly 34 years. During the last 3 months Iran has been engaged in a series of negotiations to relax some of the myriad of international sanctions imposed on it to pressure a freezing any further development with respect to their nuclear development program. For President Obama this could be a crucial.....read more…
What about North Korea?
Posted at: Apr/30/2013 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Historical Insights, World Watching,
History has a strange but consistent way of repeating itself. Anyone who tells you they know what Kim Jong Un and North Korea will do next is really just guessing. Nevertheless, historical events give us a lot of insight into patterns of cause and effect. Understanding the players, local status quo and regional history are useful. It is also important to understand that just because something s.....read more…
The Eurozone, only half a solution
Posted at: Jun/07/2012 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Economics, World Watching,
Let me paint a background. It is June of 2012 and the great recession has been under way for 4 years. Economist and politicians claim the recession ended nearly 2 years ago, but for those of us in the real world those words are merely words. As tough as things may seem in America, they are worse in Europe. Ireland has adopted austerity rules imposed by Germany and is currently borrowing at over.....read more…
Bread and Circuses
Posted at: Feb/16/2011 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: World Watching,
Have you heard the term “Bread and Circuses” before? The phrase originates from a Roman poet named Juvenal from around 100AD (now CE). In content the phrase points to how the Roman populace had given up its birthright of political involvement for bread and circuses. Specifically, Juvenal was pointing to how Roman politicians no longer attained power through heroism, instead they acquired their .....read more…
