VP Biden Accidentally Suggests U.S.-Asia Influence Waning

December 5th, 2013, Vice President of the U.S. (VOTUS) Joseph R. Biden, speaking to a conference room-full of PRC diplomats and dignitaries after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, made an accidentally revealing comment: The United States has a profound stake in what happens here, because we need—we are, and will remain—a Pacific power, diplomatically, economically, and … Continue reading “VP Biden Accidentally Suggests U.S.-Asia Influence Waning”

New news items related to my blog posts, November 2013

Updates on stories I’ve presented As we say goodbye to November, here is a summary of November news items that add to, echo, or relate to, past posts from my blog. 1. Tea Partier fears about being in China’s debt On November 11th, I published an essay on the blog: Beijing’s Marshall Plan for the … Continue reading “New news items related to my blog posts, November 2013”

Beijing’s Marshall Plan for the United States

So, I’ve been considering the real causes of “red state” radicalism, and wrote an entire post on my attempts to grok the rapidly changing political landscape. I learned a great deal from my investigation, which you can read here.  But I want to go deeper on the economic roots of the situation, so I’m writing … Continue reading “Beijing’s Marshall Plan for the United States”

Best Of Nick’s Crusade Blog, So Far

I’m happy that some of my blog posts have become particularly well-trafficked resources on the interweb. I’ve often written about historical topics that interest me, and, oddly enough, those posts get more hits than posts about disability, politics and injustice, the main subjects of my Nick’s Crusade Blog. This is a survey of the most … Continue reading “Best Of Nick’s Crusade Blog, So Far”

The Religion Century: Challenged By European Atheists? No.

In my post in September 2006, The Religion Century, I argue that now that the world is no longer bi-polar, the only pole left is the US, and in place of a conflict between nation-states, we have clashing cultures and ideologies.  Religious fervor, among Muslims, Christians and Jews, not to mention European paganism and the ancient … Continue reading “The Religion Century: Challenged By European Atheists? No.”

How Will Gender Imbalance Affect China’s Future?

This topic occurred to me after reading Larry Kramer’s long rant in the Huffington Post claiming that because men outnumbered women 6 to 1 in the original Jamestown colony in 17th century America, that lots of gay sex had to be going on, and that historians are erasing gays from history out of homophobic bigotry.   … Continue reading “How Will Gender Imbalance Affect China’s Future?”

China’s Age of Discovery: The Voyages of Zheng He

Blogging History: China’s Islamic Christopher Columbus Decades before Christopher Columbus was even born, 18 years before Europeans began their “Age of Discovery,” an Admiral from the Chinese Empire sailed west, explored unknown lands, visited with strange “barbarian” peoples, and projected Imperial might as far away as Africa, covering more than 50,000 kilometers in his 7 … Continue reading “China’s Age of Discovery: The Voyages of Zheng He”

Of Continents and Subcontinents (animation by Nick)

I whipped up this simple, amateur animation to make a point. India and Europe are roughly the same land area, but India is considered a subcontinent. Why is Arabia dubbed a “peninsula” and not a subcontinent? These are all pretty arbitrary designations based on little but cultural history. We forget that about 40% of humanity … Continue reading “Of Continents and Subcontinents (animation by Nick)”

For 2006 Republican Leadership, Support For Slave Labor Runs Deep

For 2006 Republican Leadership, Support For Slavery Runs Deep More Revelations In Marianas Scandal Show GOP Chairman Involved Yesterday, I shed light on the disgusting Republican effort to protect deplorable labor conditions on the American-controlled Northern Marianas Islands, where Chinese immigrants are kept in sweatshops with little to no pay and not allowed to leave. … Continue reading “For 2006 Republican Leadership, Support For Slave Labor Runs Deep”