Category Archives: International Affairs

Kaplan on Order

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

Continuing on, adding some thoughts here about “The Tragic Mind” by Robert D. Kaplan, the issue of order continues to weigh on me. When I was a fellow at the George W. Bush Institute, and before, I was part of … Continue reading →

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On Being a Refugee

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

I never expected to become so heavy of heart as I have found myself recently. I suppose it should not have come as a surprise, though it did. When we are growing up we are imbued with optimism. Our parents … Continue reading →

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To Talk of Many Things… (Vol. #16 – Russia)

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

I read a lot of Russian literature and history. It is after all the great unknown; a land that lies behind a snowy curtain long after the Iron Curtain fell. A place of philosophy as deep as the cold dark … Continue reading →

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On Home

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

We are all born for somewhere else, I think. While we all have a sense of place coded deep within our DNA, a source of conflict and anger to be sure but also something that gives a tremendous sense of … Continue reading →

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Our Age of Un-Ideas

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Listening to the United Nations General Assembly today, which I do out of habit not interest, was uninspiring. The Iranians blasted ‘hegemony’ (whatever that means); the Argentines complained about how the U.S. treats Cuba (and demanded the Falkland Islands back). … Continue reading →

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Money

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Continuing on my theme, though it has not been universally well received, of a ‘reality’ check – I felt it was important to address the issue of money. There are a lot of misconceptions about money; most hovering around ideas … Continue reading →

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Moron Clusters

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Michael Gorbachev has died in Russia. He was a key node in a ‘Genius Cluster’, groups of men and women who somehow magically appear during monumental moments in history to help see humanity through. As the Soviet Union was coming … Continue reading →

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Afghanistan’s Republic Within the Republic

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Republics fail, and then they fall. To be sure, sometimes they just fail and then stay on life support. And then, by the time they have fallen nobody remembers that they had been a republic in the first place. Most … Continue reading →

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A Work of Tremendous Evil

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

This book has been called the most dangerous book ever written. Julius Evola was said to have inspired Mussolini, whose spiritual power he feared. It inspired Goering and Goebbels. More recently, it is often on the tongue of Aleksandr Dugan, … Continue reading →

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Colombia – A Death I Foretold

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Five years ago, when the political restrictions were lifted on Colombia’s terrorist guerilla murderers and kidnappers, I wrote about it, as I am wont to do. I assumed Colombia would fall in a generation. It fell in one election cycle. … Continue reading →

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