Saideman's Semi-Spew

Ok, couldn't sleep very well so more short posts: “The social norm is that you should respond within a couple of hours, if not immediate...

Excellent article in NYT on limits of fighting corruption, especially in Africa, full of great quotes. “Going after big fish hasn’t worked,...

Today’s focus was on the work—two interviews and no tourism. But I did notice a couple of things along the way: * I don’t remember Roma (Gy...

Once again inspired by a Drezner post, I wanted to address the question of the academic career. As the Chronicle of Higher Education sugges...

So, I have not been able to see Colbert rock Iraq, since his show is not on any of my channels in Paris. but this quote says it all: “I kno...

Just a quick mention of a piece in the NY Times. It does a nice job of illustrating the challenges facing the US, NATO and the Afghan gover...

Today, I started to do real work. Well, the interview was at 4pm, so I still had more time for more tourism. I did not go to the top of th...

My trip has been chock full of good and bad timing . It was good timing to go to the Musee d’Armee a couple of days after the 65th Anniver...

I was lucky enough to get almost until 4pm (local time) sans rain. But my streak of days within rain in Paris remains perfect. Took more p...

While I hang out in the hotel room, resting my feet, I thought I would post a few observations and report on a few experiences during my fir...

I am currently in Paris, getting ready to interview officers and politicians about France's Afghanistan missions this week, and then nex...

President Obama has been labeled a Realist . But is he? Does it matter? Well, IR theorists have long cared about Realism, defined in a ve...

As this article points out, the issue of race (or any key cleavage in any society) is just tough to handle. Minorities get asked to be spo...

In today's NY Times, there is a piece on Tiananmen Square [see also Slate ]--amazing that it has already been 20 years. The pictures o...

In today's newpaper , there is a story about a possible opponent to Mayor Gerald Tremblay: Louise Harel, the woman who pushed for the me...

I am headed to Europe a couple of times over the next few weeks. First to Paris and then Berlin to ask the folks in each capitol about thei...

I was never in the habit to watch the MTV Movie Awards, but enjoyed last night's show. The highlights were, of course, the Andy Samberg...

Devil: Did you know, beginning in the late 19th century, corporations were granted all the rights of the individual, but none of the annoyin...

This weekend was a religious event for the Saideman clan as my brother's girls were bat mitzahed. This tradition is actually somewhat n...

When I first moved to Montreal, I was surprised to see so many people wearing fur. Not a majority, of course, but far more than I saw in Ve...