Tag Archives: Freedom

Afghanistan National Institute of Music

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

A year and a half ago I was caught up in a wild effort to spirit the Afghanistan National Institute of Music from Kabul. For days while HKIA (the airport) was protected by US Marines, and besieged by panicked mobs … 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 →

Posted in International Affairs, philosophy | Tagged | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in International Affairs | Tagged | 3 Comments

The Silk Roads and Slavery

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

There was a thread running through “The Silk Roads: A New History of the World” that demands attention: the issue of slavery. Slavery as a constant. The empires of the past all became wealthy on the slave trade; and it … Continue reading →

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We Need a ‘Solutions Rebellion’

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Have you noticed that our massive government is no longer able to solve the problems of the real world that affect us? Whatever you believe is the greatest problem – environmental degradation, inflation, crime, health care, world peace – pick … Continue reading →

Posted in America | Tagged | 4 Comments

Hic Sunt Dracones

Posted on June 12, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

I often entertain conversations with colleagues one or two generations older than I about past adventures. Hitchhiking from Johannesburg to Cairo, bussing through northern Uganda and Southern Sudan and to Juba catching a boat to Khartoum and upward downriver. St. … Continue reading →

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Goodreads Year In Review – 2021

Posted on December 19, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

I like to look back upon the books I read during a given year. A sense of accomplishment, a feeling that I’ve learned something. To remember things that moved me; where I was or what I was doing. Sitting in … Continue reading →

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The New America?

Posted on June 7, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

“Go see the new America,” I was advised by a not-altogether-well-meaning friend. “See how America has changed.” “America has changed a lot in the last nine years,” said another friend, “and not all for the better.” And yet again, “America … Continue reading →

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A Short Story Worth Dying For

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

Sometimes you stumble across something that is majestic. That’s what happened with “Farewell Aylis”, by Azeri novelist Akram Aylisli. Specifically, of this “Non-Traditional Novel”, the second short story – Stone Dreams. Stone Dreams is a story of an Azeri man … Continue reading →

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On 9/11

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

Remains true, so long as we remain optimistic: “We are sometimes naïve in our goodness – Americans are. It’s part of the nature of our life lived in a free society; part of our ‘social contract’ in which we each … Continue reading →

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