“My fist clenched; the hair on the back of my neck stood up. … I gritted my teeth and said [to the aide], ‘I’ll be willing to do that, as soon as I can get your ass qualified to fly low enough and slow enough to do it.’”
Critical Review: Sheri Berman - Lessons from Europe
In Sheri Berman’s article Lessons from Europe, (published in the Journal of Democracy, Volume 18, Number 1) she criticizes those who seek to reduce the democratization debate to “Preconditionists” and “Universalists.” Preconditionists believe that “democracy generally emerges from a particular set of conditions and experiences” and Universalists “claim that it can come about in all sorts of ways and settings.” In her article, Berman uses the history of Europe to argue for a synergy of the two schools of thought for a more historically accurate view of democratization. This view disproves those who seek to over-simplify the history of the world by placing the democratization process into a cozy little school of thought.
Foreign Policy magazine is up with its 2010 Failed State Index, a massive project that tries to figure out what countries are on the verge of total collapse thanks to corruption, war, crime, and everything in between.
Somalia, with a score of 114.3 out of 120, comes out on top, with Aghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan close behind.
I took sixty-five men to war and brought sixty-five home. I gave them everything I had. Together, we passed the test. Fear didn’t beat us. I hope life improves for the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, but that’s not why we did it. We fought for each other. I am proud.
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| — | Nathaniel Fick (One Bullet Away) |
These people don’t give a fuck about democracy right now. They need clean water. They need to know that they won’t get shot in the middle of the night. People put their money on the horse that looks like a winner. We need to convince them that we’re the winner.
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| — | Nathaniel Fick (One Bullet Away) |
The best OEF/OIF casualties infographic I’ve seen. Not only will it show you who, where and when these men and women died - but where they came from and you can click on each person and learn more about who they were. Like a communal memorial.
Greydon Square: Iraq War veteran. Outspoken atheist. Hip hop artist. Today he studies computer science at Arizona State Univeristy and works on his music.
Preferring more intellectual, thought-provoking confrontational lyrics to those that talk about sippin’ on Barcardi in the club, Greydon Square has even been name-dropped by the likes of Richard Dawkins.
Bad. Ass.
How can I not support an Atheist who is also a OIF Veteran (even if it was Army) and ASU student (my alumnus)? Give it a listen if you like hip-hop/rap.
