The Roman engineer and architect Vitruvius believed that one of Italy’s special gifts was its geographical location. The nation was so situated, he believed, to combine the positive aspects of both cool and warm climates. In his treatise De Architectura (VI.11), he notes that
This podcast accompanies my most recent article. In it, we explore two additional dimensions of the “plutocratic insurgency”: (1) the techno-palaces of the global elite, and (2) the creeping confiscation of public lands by private actors. The end result of these two trends is to accelerate the already destabilizing wealth imbalances in societies across the globe.
We have previous discussed in these pages a new and largely ignored form of insurgency warfare: the globalized elite’s coordinated, targeted efforts to dispossess the general public. Dr. Robert Bunker (on the staff of the US Army War College) and Pamela Bunker coined the term “plutocratic insurgency” to describe this novel form of warfare. In a brilliant series of articles published on the Small Wars Journal website, Bunker has made a compelling case that what he calls “extra-sovereign actors” (i.e., globalized elites moving themselves and their capital freely across international boundaries) have been permitted to wage non-traditional warfare against the societies in which they operate.
A reader of Rudyard Kipling’s collected verse may find his 1893 poem “Soldier an’ Sailor Too.” It contains the following lines:
One feature of great men is that they generally know how to handle themselves in a variety of situations. They tend to be flexible and agile; they will know when to scold, when to chastise, when to use the velvet glove, and when to use the hammer. Only the experience of life can impart this kind of wisdom. But we can at least prepare ourselves in some ways. One of these ways is to read the letters of such men. See how they interact with their peers. Study how they solve various problems or issues that fall on their desks. You will spend a good part of your life “putting out fires” at work and at home, so you might as well learn from the masters.
Information is like a living organism; it expands to fill the container in which it is kept. Put some life form (it does not matter which) in some environment, and it will instinctively probe the outer limits of its habitat. Knowledge is like this, too. It can be suppressed for some time, but in the end, it cannot be held back forever. It always disseminates in one way or another. No matter how effective propaganda, official lies, and ideological correctness may seem, they can never hold back the tide of truth for an indefinite duration.
In this podcast (a companion piece to my article posted here yesterday), we discuss the legal merits of Michelle Carter’s appeal of her involuntary manslaughter conviction in the notorious “texting suicide” trial.
What were the relevant issues in the case?
Was the conviction proper?
What is the likelihood of the conviction surviving appellate review?
For many years in the West there has been a lack of understanding of Vladimir Putin and his policies. His personality, motivations, and objectives have been clouded in obscurity by the Western press, which almost always reverts to its simplistic “black and white” view of the world. Not all of the fault for this lies with the West, of course. The Russian president’s own media apparatus has little interest in encouraging critical analysis or speculation that falls outside the range of permissible opinion. But leadership is as much about perception as anything else, and every leader in the modern age must take care to cultivate his image. In this regard, Russia is no different from the United States, France, or England. In the media age, it cannot be otherwise.
Our society seems to be producing more dirtbags than ever before. They’re everywhere, and they love to seek out people to take advantage of. We discuss how to spot a dirtbag, and how to deal with the common games (the “dirtbag shuffle”) that dirtbags love to play. The only person who cares about you is you, and knowing a few key points will help you protect yourself from their connivance and trickery.
Abu Bakr Al Turtushi (ابو بكر محمد بن الوليد الطرطوشي) was a political philosopher and doctor of the Malikite sect. He was but one of that avalanche of philosophers, poets, writers, scientists, and theologians produced by the energy and brilliance of Andalusian Spain in the medieval period. Many–probably most–of these Andalusian writers are completely unknown today in the West, a fact that I have made efforts to change in previous articles here.
Quintus Curtius 
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