Fans of the NFL will be familiar with the unnecessary roughness rule; it’s one of those features of America’s most popular game that sometimes causes bemusement, even to those who consider themselves long-time devotees. In a game memorably described as ‘young men running around risking spinal injury’ or ‘an endless series of head-on collisions’, thereContinue reading “Chemical Weapons and the ‘Unnecessary Roughness’ Rule”
Category Archives: Military History
Crossfit and the Military: A Way Forward
As a long-time member of Crossfit South Brooklyn, I have blogged here on Crossfit-related issues before (posts on Crossfit and the military, Crossfit and women, and of course, some training notes on weightlifting.) I’m not done yet writing about Crossfit, especially when it comes to issues of inclusiveness. On that note, I’m glad to welcomeContinue reading “Crossfit and the Military: A Way Forward”
On Meeting a Veteran
I have lived in New York City through the ten years that the twin wars of our time, the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan, have been waged. In that time, I’ve met a few members of the armed forces who have served in those operations. (Their willingness to talk about their experience has varied: someContinue reading “On Meeting a Veteran”
Mark Twain on General Baby
In 1879, at a banquet in Chicago, given by the Army of the Tennessee to their commander General Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain rose to propose a toast to a oft-ignored ‘minor’ entity: You soldiers all know that when that little fellow arrived at family headquarters you had to hand in your resignation. He tookContinue reading “Mark Twain on General Baby”
Murakami on Japan’s ‘Years of Trial’
Like most ‘Western’ students of the world wars, my reading has largely been confined to American and English sources; this is revelatory of both provincialism and laziness on my part. In the case of the Second World War, I’ve read a few German sources but very few Russian or Japanese ones. Thus it was withContinue reading “Murakami on Japan’s ‘Years of Trial’”
Diego Marani, Europanto, Blinkenlights, and Hacker Neologisms
In reviewing Diego Marani‘s Las Adventures Des Inspector Cabillot, Matthew Reynolds notes his invention of Europanto, a ‘mock international auxiliary language‘: Marani’s ability to see humour in his longing for a universal language has flowered in his creation of Europanto, a jovial pan-European language which began in his office [presumably, either the the Directorate-General for Interpretation of the European Commission,Continue reading “Diego Marani, Europanto, Blinkenlights, and Hacker Neologisms”
Shrapnel is Still Deadly, No Matter Where It Strikes
Many years ago, while talking to my father and some of his air force mates, I stumbled into a conversation about munitions. There was talk of rockets, shells, casings, high-explosive rounds, tracer bullets, napalm, and all of the rest. Realizing I was in the right company, I asked if someone could tell me what ‘shrapnel’Continue reading “Shrapnel is Still Deadly, No Matter Where It Strikes”
Courage in the Face of Terror, Elsewhere
After 9/11, we were told how brave New Yorkers were, how resilient this city was, how its people would come together in the face of adversity, how it had seen worse and endured and would do the same again. After 7/7 we were told that Londoners, who lived in a city that had survived theContinue reading “Courage in the Face of Terror, Elsewhere”
Ten Years After: War Criminals Still Walk Free
You call someone a ‘mass-murdering war criminal’, you best not miss. And so, when I use that term to describe the unholy troika of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld–as I have in the past–I should have very good reasons for doing so. Fortunately, that isn’t hard to do: a pretty systematic caseContinue reading “Ten Years After: War Criminals Still Walk Free”
Glaucon and the Basic and Advanced Polis, Contd.
Yesterday’s post on Glaucon and the preferred forms of the polis for him and Socrates sparked off an interesting discussion on Facebook with Alex Gourevitch. I’m reproducing it here as Gourevitch’s responses are wonderfully rich and worth responding to carefully. Here is the sequence of comments on Facebook, followed by my response last. Alex: IContinue reading “Glaucon and the Basic and Advanced Polis, Contd.”
Samir Chopra 