The Duck of Minerva

Good mornin' ducks...  Here's some linkage you might want to read (on stuff other than the NSA)... The IMF admitted to violating its own rules to bailout Greece and that the austerity program which accompanied the bailout did not restore market confidence. The housing bubble in America is back with a vengeance as bidding wars are heating up in the major urban markets.  I think we know where this story goes next...  But wait, where is this cold hard cash coming from? At least some of it is from China. The US imprisons 430,000 people each year on immigration charges (with several hundred kept...

Good morning Ducks.  Hope your summer is off to a good start.  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.   In particular, he asserts that a sanitized version of war is taught to IR graduate students.  (I know Phil Arena would disagree, but I think Ahsan has a point.) Guam and Hawaii?  China needs to...

Good mornin' ducks.  Happy Memorial Day. The US public today, despite strong support for the military, is the least connected to the institution.  Only about 0.5% of the population has served on active duty since 9/11 (roughly 9% of the population served in WWII). The FAS revisits the potentially staggering costs of a war with Iran under different scenarios in the wake of the passage of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act. Is al-Assad and the new National Defence Force winning the civil war in Syria?  (The article has some useful graphics) The US is happy that India has cut...

Good mornin'.  Here's your linkage... Paolo Sorbello critiques the elegantly fixed steps and rhythms of the last Waltz. Roger Mac Ginty at Plato's Cave discusses the construction of "greatness" in IR and the cult of followership. Thomas Meaney tries to explain why a passionate history of global alternatives to liberal capitalism becomes an exercise in nostalgia. Jason Ralph wonders if Headley Bull's Revolt Against the West thesis is appropriate for understanding contemporary international society. Oliver Steunkel asks: "Could the BRICS provide loans without conditionalities?" Siddharatha...

Here's you linkage (...in case you're still trying to avoid grading...) Manan Ahmed of Chapati Mystery fame has an op-ed in the New York Times on Pakistan's Tyrannical Majority. Praveen Swami asks whether it really matters to India who is the Prime Minister of Pakistan? Fahad Deshmukh did a wonderful little piece on Pakistan's election symbols. (Vote Bucket!) Shaik Ubaid argues that Bangladesh is heading for a religious civil war ever since a war crimes trial was politicized. Olga Khazan examines the collective action problem and charging a quarter per garment to improve worker safety in...

Good morning ducks!  Here's your update from District 12... Kalpona Aktar just wants you to know who is making your clothes. Myra MacDonald argues that the TTP has a plan to influence the elections and the people do not.  The "bewildering bloodbath" will go on and the only way to keep track is to count the dead children. These photos make the exercise of biopower seem so clean and clinical. Jean Valjean is living below the poverty line again ... for a week. Is this classified as democracy promotion in the budget? Niraja Jayal unpacks concepts of citizenship. A new translation of Manik...

Good morning...  These aren't the linkages you're looking for... Owen Jones reviews the hierarchy of death in the wake of the Boston bombing or what Judith Butler, in Frames of War, might call (un)grievable lives. Deepak Sarma at Racialicious writes about "Being Brown After the Boston Bomb Blast." (Hey the dudes who did it turned out to be white.  Brown and black people can chill now right? right?? Those false early reports about "dark skinned" suspects were just an honest mistake... Yeah, let's move on...) Tom Scocca at the Gawker asks, "Is the New York Post Edited by a Bigoted Drunk who...

Good morning ducks!  Here are your links... Even more well off people will be able to exempt themselves from TSA's airport security theater thanks to Visa credit cards.  Well, it's not like potential hijackers could afford the annual fee or first-class tickets anyway.  Oh wait... Do you enjoy being frisked, finger printed, and rapiscanned at airports? Then you'll be delighted to know that Homeland Security will be expanding its use of biometrics to US immigration offices.  Already a citizen? Great! Because the FBI is planning to amass data on US citizens gathered by law enforcement...