Yugoslavia’s Lessons Learned

Spanish philosopher George Santayana famously wrote that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But what of those who can? Over and over, in the past few weeks, Yugoslavia has been on the lips – and minds – of Russians and Ukrainians, as the crisis in Ukraine threatens to erupt into … Continue reading “Yugoslavia’s Lessons Learned”

Unforgiven

On Wednesday, March 26, Barack Obama gave an impassioned speech at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, condemning Russia’s "assault" on Ukraine and extolling the virtues of the Atlantic Empire. Eleven years since his predecessor’s invasion of Iraq, fifteen years since the U.S-led NATO aggression in Serbia, Mr. Obama tried to lecture Moscow about "the … Continue reading “Unforgiven”

Promised Land

On Sunday, March 16, two polls will be held in Eastern Europe. One will be a complete mockery of democracy, resulting in a government determined to trample a country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The other will be a referendum on independence in the Crimea. The same powers that launched the illegal, illegitimate war of aggression … Continue reading “Promised Land”

Ukraine, Bosnia on Pyres of Empire

If one is to believe the folks calling themselves modern-day Vikings, the Norse apocalypse starts tomorrow. Ragnarok, the "Twilight of the Gods," was described in a 13th-century poem as the end of Asgard and a new beginning for the world. How has Hollywood not been all over this? Though the prospect of some divine apocalypse … Continue reading “Ukraine, Bosnia on Pyres of Empire”

Lords of Chaos

Throughout the Cold War, the West (calling itself the "free world") argued that the Communist bloc wanted to conquer the world, because for Communism to triumph it could allow no alternatives. Yet the Communist faction advocating a global revolution –Trotsky and his followers – were purged by Stalin, whose own doctrine was "Socialism in One … Continue reading “Lords of Chaos”

Applied Rovian Denialism

In spite of the abundant revelations in the preceding year, 2014 in the Balkans seems to portend more of the same. Everyone is still in full-on reality denial mode. Or, rather, entrenched in the imperial belief that assertions can "create their own reality." Still a Lie In "Kosovo," a province of Serbia occupied by NATO … Continue reading “Applied Rovian Denialism”

Moments of Revelation

It was a year much like any other – until it wasn’t. In the Balkans, the tone for 2013 was set in December 2012, when the Empire-installed regime in Belgrade pledged to break Serbia in exchange for lording over its ruins. But the understanding of Empire’s Balkans policy was much illuminated in late January, by … Continue reading “Moments of Revelation”

The Long Retreat

One of the pitfalls of writing history is that things that happened tend to seem inevitable in retrospect. Coupled with wishful thinking, this can lead to a dialectic mindset, in which the course of human events seems preordained somehow. The “end of history” wasn’t the invention of “liberal democrats” – before them, Communists and Nazis … Continue reading “The Long Retreat”