Monthly Archives: January 2007

If I were a terrorist… part 2

Posted on January 31, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

Ever notice those grey metal cylinders hung on telephone poles? Those are distribution transformers. They step down the high voltage electricity from the power lines to what gets delivered to your house. I only notice them because I once worked … Continue reading →

Posted in Terrorism | 11 Comments

If I were a terrorist… part 1

Posted on January 29, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

A few years before 9/11 I gave a presentation at the Ethnographic Museam in Belgrade called, “Weapons technology and culture: is the world becoming the Balkans?” In it I made the point that modern technology had put the capability of … Continue reading →

Posted in Terrorism | 3 Comments

Ruminations

Posted on January 23, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

* The Battlestar is back, after what one reviewer called an agonizingly long wait – two months. Tough – last year I think it was six months. Galactica has been moved to Sunday. Usually a move is a sign that … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Ruminations, Social Science & History | 1 Comment

Robert Anton Wilson R.I.P. (or not)

Posted on January 18, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

Novelist/philosopher Robert Anton Wilson died last week. I’ve been enjoying reading the obits all around the Internet – and he would have too. We know this because a few years ago he did have the pleasure of reading his own … Continue reading →

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Anti-Semitism Part 2: the religious factor

Posted on January 17, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

Years ago I had a class in Medieval Hebrew Civililzation, taught by the director of the local Hillel Foundation. Towards the end of the semester, Dr. Rubin* asked if anyone cared to try and explain anti-Semitism in the Western world. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

I didn’t know my child was ODD – I just thought he was ornery

Posted on January 13, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

The other day my wife and I were in Barnes & Noble bookstore and while browsing around we saw this book http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780878339631&itm=1 The Defiant Child: A Parent’s Guide to Oppositional Defiant Disorderby Douglas Riley *From the Publisher: The American Psychiatric … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal, Social Science & History | 7 Comments

It’s all about choices…

Posted on January 12, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

I suppose everybody has thought about the choices they made in life, and how things might have been different if they’d chosen differently. I also suppose that everyone has deep regrets about things they’ve done, and wish they hadn’t or … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | 6 Comments

Gorale, Polish highlanders

Posted on January 11, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

This is an article I published a few years back in the Warsaw Insider, an English-language monthly published in Poland. Since it was a tourist article, I had to gush a bit. But now I can tell a couple of … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Science & History | 6 Comments

Anti-Semitism Part 1

Posted on January 9, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

In the early 1930s in Germany, a Nazi brownshirt stops an elderly Jewish man and demands that he answer a question, “Who is responsible for all of Germany’s problems today?” “The Jews and the bicycle riders” the old man answers. … Continue reading →

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A place to kipple

Posted on January 8, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

Those who read an early post of mine here http://rantsand.blogspot.com/2006/08/have-you-ever-kippled.htmlknow I’m a Rudyard Kipling fan. Recently I found this web site http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/kipling_ind.html where the Complete Kipling Verse is online, all poems listed in alphabetical order. I can’t seem to find … Continue reading →

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