I finished reading Osman’s Dream: A History of the Ottoman Empire by Caroline Finkel in early 2026. It primarily covered the political history of the Ottoman Empire, but did so in a very comprehensive, if somewhat dry, manner. It wasn’t the most enjoyable read in the world, but
I have just started a new job this week and so have had a lot less time to write as I adjust. As a result, last week and likely for the next few weeks I'll be posting some old essays. I have a few new writings coming up
I read Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism by Richard Wolff some time back in 2015-2017. Shortly after I finished reading it, I wrote the following brief review (really just some of my thoughts on the book), which I will re-post here now, 10 years later. It
After a 2-month break on current events to discuss Israel and Palestine, we’re back with a short current events post. I originally wrote this on 7/5, and in the interim the MoU between the US and Iran has been “officially" abandoned, but otherwise the remainder of
Introduction: This is a compilation of Parts 1-8 of my essay series on Israel and Palestine. (because of its length, your e-mail previewer is likely to cut this post off, and I recommend reading it on the website) The creation of the state of Israel almost 80 years
Introduction: The creation of the state of Israel almost 80 years ago and the conflict between its citizens and the displaced Palestinians and surrounding countries has become one of the most polarizing geopolitical topics in popular discourse. Those with any “skin in the game,” so to speak, (eg. Israelis, Palestinians,
Introduction: The creation of the state of Israel almost 80 years ago and the conflict between its citizens and the displaced Palestinians and surrounding countries has become one of the most polarizing geopolitical topics in popular discourse. Those with any “skin in the game,” so to speak, (eg. Israelis, Palestinians,
Introduction: The creation of the state of Israel almost 80 years ago and the conflict between its citizens and the displaced Palestinians and surrounding countries has become one of the most polarizing geopolitical topics in popular discourse. Those with any “skin in the game,” so to speak, (eg. Israelis, Palestinians,
Introduction: The creation of the state of Israel almost 80 years ago and the conflict between its citizens and the displaced Palestinians and surrounding countries has become one of the most polarizing geopolitical topics in popular discourse. Those with any “skin in the game,” so to speak, (eg. Israelis, Palestinians,
Introduction: The creation of the state of Israel almost 80 years ago and the conflict between its citizens and the displaced Palestinians and surrounding countries has become one of the most polarizing geopolitical topics in popular discourse. Those with any “skin in the game,” so to speak, (eg. Israelis, Palestinians,
Introduction: The creation of the state of Israel almost 80 years ago and the conflict between its citizens and the displaced Palestinians and surrounding countries has become one of the most polarizing geopolitical topics in popular discourse. Those with any “skin in the game,” so to speak, (eg. Israelis, Palestinians,
Introduction: The creation of the state of Israel almost 80 years ago and the conflict between its citizens and the displaced Palestinians and surrounding countries has become one of the most polarizing geopolitical topics in popular discourse. Those with any “skin in the game,” so to speak, (eg. Israelis, Palestinians,
Essays
Introduction The creation of the state of Israel almost 80 years ago and the conflict between its citizens and the displaced Palestinians and surrounding countries has become one of the most polarizing geopolitical topics in popular discourse. Those with any “skin in the game,” so to speak, (eg. Israelis, Palestinians,
Current Events
This is going to be a shorter, more “ramble-y”, post, but in the last few weeks, I’ve written about why the American attack on Iran was so shortsighted, haphazard, and fundamentally poorly thought out. That does not, however, mean that I support the Iranian government. So how should
Current Events
Recent events: Following the events of October 2023, Israel began an intensive bombing campaign in Gaza, followed by a ground invasion. In solidarity with the Palestinians, Hezbollah would eventually, almost reluctantly, launch rockets from Southern Lebanon into Israel, almost certainly at the urging of their Iranian puppetmasters. Israel would retaliate,
Current Events
I’ve previously written about how haphazard the initiation of this war with Iran was. The chosen strategy was an extensive air campaign, but it isn’t entirely clear what the goal was. Was it regime change? Control of shipping in the Persian Gulf? A permanent solution to the Iranian
Current Events
As of writing this post (4/20/26), there continues to not be a clear indication for how this war with Iran will end. There is very inconsistent news coming from this administration in regards to what the Iranians are or are not agreeing to. Last Friday (4/17), there
Current Events
As of writing this post on 4/14/2026, the war in Iran continues. The latest official news is that this latest round of negotiations, the “highest-level negotiations since 1979” between the Iranian government and the US have failed after about 24 hours. This is not necessarily surprising. The
Essays
This is an old essay of mine that I initially published 6/2025, and I've reposted here. There has a lot of coverage in the new lately about the activity of ICE in Los Angeles, as well as protests against their immigration raids. Activity of ICE agents: Activity
Book/Podcast Reviews
This was a fairly good podcast I enjoyed listening to. As of the time of writing this 4/2026, the podcast is still ongoing, although I am caught up. It took me several months to get through, as I primarily listen to podcasts during my commute. As of writing this,