Good morning Ducks. Â Hope your summer is off to a good start. Â Here are some links to start off your week…
- Joshua Foust argues that a technology ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems (e.g. autonomous drones) will not work.  (I agree but then again I am putting all of my money down on the ED-209 cleaning up Detroit.)
- Ahsan Butt says there’s not enough historical empirics taught in grad school. Â In particular, he asserts that a sanitized version of war is taught to IR graduate students. Â (I know Phil Arena would disagree, but I think Ahsan has a point.)
- Guam and Hawaii? Â China needs to think big. Â I recommend L.A. and Seattle. Â Nothing like checking up on your investments in person…
- The uncivil war in Iraq resulted in >1000 deaths last month.
- Syrian rebels have shelled the outskirts of Baalbek, a Lebanese town with one of the most beautiful and massive Roman ruins in the world. Â The rebels’ ire is not surprising to anyone who has spent time in the Bekaa Valley, which is clearly a Hizballah stronghold.
- So they’re trying to pave paradise and put up a mall. Â How could that go wrong? #OccupyGezi
- And finally … “to get the perfect fit, please mention the sex and weight of your falcon.” (Next year, for an extra challenge maybe they could have the Apprentices scour Dubai to find an Emirati working in the private sector?)
Image: The Duck-Drone
Image Source: Sean Nicholls, “Duckvionics – The ‘Science’ of Duck-Drone Aviation.”
Hard to disagree, I think, with the bottom line of Ahsan Butt’s post: more history. (But of course that’s not likely to happen, at least not in IR as taught to grad students in the U.S.)