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Final thoughts As I was walking down the street this morning, my last in Thailand, I saw a baby elephant just strolling along… Only in Bangkok… Before I offer some finals thoughts about my research, a quick little story: I held a...
by Sarah Lane Schoenbrun at August 5, 2008 11:24 PM -05:00 GMT

Kilcullen's views on the decision to invade Iraq My last post quoted David Kilcullen in the Washington Independent. However, there has been some discussion about the particular quote that jumped out at me (and that I highlighted). Kilcullen has since blogged that: Spencer Ackerman, in yesterday’s Washington Independent,...
by jon_mendel at August 3, 2008 11:55 PM +00:00 GMT

Back and Forth So I totally ended my last post in a cheesy and abrupt way—what a terrible combination. I promise to never again joke about rising fuel prices, or compare networking efforts to wildfires (did I really?). More importantly, I’ll try to...
by Belinda Navi at July 31, 2008 07:00 AM -05:00 GMT

Obamamania Revisited I just had a very interesting exchange over the blogsphere with my good friend, Maha, a fellow Brown graduate, who is an argent Hillary supporter and is still not sold on Obama. See her posts and my comments here. Staying...
by Kevin Xu at July 29, 2008 11:33 PM -05:00 GMT

Beware of Terrorism First of all, apologies for the hiatus in my posting. Campaign work has been very busy, and I've recently decided to move to North Carolina to work on the Obama for America campaign, helping to convert a state that's been...
by Kevin Xu at July 28, 2008 10:14 PM -05:00 GMT

David Kilcullen: the decision to invade Iraq was "f***ing stupid" Via the Small Wars blog, I learned about an interesting Washington Independent article on how After nearly seven years of costly strategic ignorance in the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a coming handbook written mostly by a former top...
by jon_mendel at July 28, 2008 12:32 PM +00:00 GMT

Foreign process Although the Iraq war has been a dominant foreign policy issue in the presidential election, it certainly is not the only conflict to demand the candidates' attention. The conflict in Afghanistan has gained increasing prominence in the campaigns of Republican...
by Daniel Widome at July 24, 2008 11:29 PM -08:00 GMT

Research Paper - A Hard Landing for Virtual War: Iraq, Land and Insurgency As I've blogged before, I've recently been doing some research for the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation: analysing the role that Iraqi resources have played in the post-invasion disorder in the state, and opportunities to improve the situation there. I'm pleased to...
by jon_mendel at July 24, 2008 02:20 PM +00:00 GMT

Trip to AIDS temple A couple of weekends ago, I went to a Buddhist temple turned HIV/AIDS hospice and orphanage in a town called Lop Buri that was one of the most unsettling and depressing places that I have ever been. To explain a...
by Sarah Lane Schoenbrun at July 21, 2008 12:42 AM -05:00 GMT

American Dreams: counterinsurgency and American, Iraqi and Afghan cultures As part of their American Dreams radio series, the BBC has ran an excellent programme looking at 'cultural' training for US forces in Fort Riley (listen here, while still available). 'Transition Teams' are trained here before heading out to Iraq...
by jon_mendel at July 20, 2008 02:23 PM +00:00 GMT

Overdue first post! Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand! This entry is long overdue, so first I apoloize for not being more current with my postings. I've been very busy with work and research recently, and the end of my time in Thailand seems to...
by Sarah Lane Schoenbrun at July 20, 2008 10:24 AM -05:00 GMT

Schneier on chinese cyber attacks There's an interesting post on Bruce Schneier's blog, arguing that The popular media conception is that there is a coordinated attempt by the Chinese government to hack into U.S. computers -- military, government corporate -- and steal secrets. The truth...
by jon_mendel at July 14, 2008 04:18 PM +00:00 GMT

The Story and The Plan I took my first warm shower this morning, one week into my stay in the Philippines. I wanted to wait longer—perhaps two, three weeks (for dramatic effect)—but the opportunity presented itself, and I decided to end my winning (?) streak,...
by Belinda Navi at July 8, 2008 05:55 AM -05:00 GMT

i have a great respect for teachers i feel like my short stint as a teacher helps me empathize more w them and solidifies my belief that it is one of the most undeservedly underappreciated jobs there is. sometimes i feel like i'm bipolar b/c i want...
by Eunice Chyung at July 7, 2008 05:21 AM -05:00 GMT

Early Gold Medal for Team China The Beijing Olympics may be still a month away, but Team China has already struck gold. After the pre-meetings of the G8 Summitt in scenic Hokkaido, President Bush and PM Fukuda have both stated their commitment to attend the Opening...
by Kevin Xu at July 6, 2008 11:02 PM -05:00 GMT