Morning Coffee Videocast: Crossing the Rhine with Fire and Sword

In which I drink my coffee, and muse on the fact that the years since 1945 have been the longest period since 113 B.C. in which no army has crossed the Rhine with fire and sword.

For April 30: Crossing the Rhine with Fire and Sword

Comments

[Bruce Wilder]

Flash good.
Camera, [no comment].

that's my opinion.

example of flash:
http://www.columbia.edu/~xs23/WDI/incomeDistrAnimation_DRAFT_030924_.exe

[WaPoCritic]

Brad,

Can I plead with you to generate a transcript as you record the daily coffee.

Some days, I just can't spare the bandwidth or the time to watch and absorb at spoken word speed.

I don't know whether you can easily set up MacSpeech iListen and have the program transcribe the 'cast as you create it, but it sure would be nice...

[Karlsfini]

Brad, the most depressing book on my shelf is "The Sorrows of Empire" by Chalmers Johnson (2004.)

I know Johnson took a degree in economics there at Berkeley and is emeritus at UC San Diego, but just the same, he's worth listening to. (smiley face)

The book picks up where "Blowback" (2000) leaves off. "Blowback" is probably an even more important book to read, though not quite as depressing as this latest one.

After reading those books, I no longer care whether Bush is impeached or not, or what his poll numbers are. He's a clown, nothing more.

Johnson makes a pretty good case that only military and economic disasters are likely to put an end to our imperial over-reach.

Even then, there's no reason to believe things will get better, only that they'll be different.

I defy any American to read either of those books and be cheerful afterward. Just the same, everyone needs to read them.

I'm on strike today, so will have lots of time to think evil thoughts.

[Anderson]

Possibly French 20-somethings will soon storm across the Rhine bridges, demanding German support for EC-subsidized unemployment pensions?

[jim]

For some reason I'm reminded if Sellars and Yeatman:

"For some reason the Romans neglected to overrun the country with fire and the sword, although they had both of these."

[Bernard Yomtov]

Should we really hope that peace depends on interdependence rather than an understanding of the horror of war?

[Jonathan Lundell]

The smallest of nits: the constant portion of your video titles, "Morning Coffee Videocast", is so long that the distinguishing part gets elided in the Google sidebar.

How about just "Morning Coffee"? Or even "Morning Coffee Video"? Or switch to tea....

[wood turtle]

Who cares about fire and sword?

As long as they aren't crossing it with nukes!

[Nick Kaufman]

Which is also at least part of the explanation in the first place.

[sm]

"Johnson makes a pretty good case that only military and economic disasters are likely to put an end to our imperial over-reach."

This has been pretty clear to me, from outside the USA, since April 2004: Fallujah and Abu Ghraib.

[Anderson]

"As long as they aren't crossing it with nukes!"

ROME (AP): Proconsul G. Julius Caesar has launched a preemptive attack into Gallic territory, based on reports that the Gauls possess weapons of mass destruction, including fire and swords.

An anonymous source in Caesar's camp told the Roman Tempus that Rome "cannot tolerate the possession of these WMD's by long-haired togaless savages." Responding to objections by M. Porcius Cato and others that the Gauls were not actually threatening Rome, the source scoffed that "we cannot wait until the imminent threat becomes a smoke cloud over the Tiber."

[sm]

Pretty close to the facts, Anderson.

[elephant man]

wow, this morning coffee was the nerdiest one yet.

[Anderson]

"Pretty close to the facts, Anderson."

I believe Cato accused Caesar of starting an illegal war, but to little effect.

[Ed]

Brad :

Sorry - but it wasn't clear in the broadcast - what work is the most depressing on your bookhelf?

[Ed]

Brad :

Sorry - but it wasn't clear in the broadcast - what work is the most depressing on your bookhelf?