Author: Brandon Christensen

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. UCLA and its new ideological litmus tests Erik Gilbert, Quillette
  2. Sovereignty and the Latin American experience Greg Grandin, London Review of Books
  3. How good is television as a medium of history? Castor, et al, History Today
  4. SETI’s charismatic megafauna Nick Nielsen, Centauri Dreams

From the Comments: Mexican communist art at San Francisco’s public colleges

Brandon Christensen Comments, Culture , , , ,

My college (City College of San Francisco) has a “Diego Rivera Theater” featuring a mural by the artist that spans the width of the building. It is the cultural asset of which the college is most proud. It is very nice to look at. Here’s a picture.

That’s from David Potts, who teaches philosophy at City College of San Francisco and blogs at Policy of Truth.

I’ve seen the real thing. It’s absolutely beautiful. If you’re doing the tourist thing in San Francisco, or if you live there and are looking for something to do, make sure you hit up CCSF.

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Pontius Pilate: the first Christian? Branko Milanovic, globalinequality
  2. Politics and forgiveness – a leftist proposal John Holbo, Crooked Timber
  3. Bumps on the road to pot legalization Irfan Khawaja, Policy of Truth
  4. America’s bewildering imperialism Damon Linker, the Week

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. The battle for truth in Soviet science Michael Gordin, Aeon
  2. Governing least: a New England libertarianism Dan Moller, Bleeding Heart Libertarians
  3. A tale of two paths Michael Koplow, Ottomans and Zionists
  4. 10 walls that have actually been built – My latest at RealClearHistory

Afternoon Tea: Frozen Assets (1931)

Brandon Christensen Culture , , , ,

This is from the communist Mexican artist Diego Rivera:

nol art rivera frozen assets 1931
Click here to zoom

Created during the Great Depression, this one is almost too predictable. It’s beauty alone, though, makes it worthy of an afternoon with tea.

Here is more from NOL on the Great Depression.

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. In defence of prejudice Chris Dillow, Stumbling & Mumbling
  2. Escaping our Ship of Fools Mark Pulliam, Law & Liberty
  3. Against libertarian populism Zak Woodman, NOL
  4. How the Left continues to destroy itself Conor Friedersdorf, the Atlantic

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. The world nationalism made Liah Greenfeld, American Affairs
  2. Remember the Kurds Shikha Dalmia, the Week
  3. The Kautilyan Prime Minister Kajari Sahai, Pragati
  4. Being Nigerian in Ghana Titilope Ajayi, Africa is a Country

Afternoon Tea: Le Coq (1938)

Brandon Christensen Culture , , ,

A Picasso:

nol art picasso le coq 1938
Click here to zoom

This one is in a private collection somewhere…

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. How Mao took over the CCP Francis Sempa, Asian Review of Books
  2. Pentagon walks back Trump idea of using Iraq base to counter Iran Jack Detsch, Al-Monitor
  3. Hayek against the planners Anne Rathbone Bradley, Modern Age
  4. The internal contradictions of liberalism and illiberalism Scott Sumner, EconLog

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. A visit with Dr Quack (feeling just fine) Liam Taylor, 1843
  2. Rushdie’s deal with the Devil Kevin Blankinship, Los Angeles Review of Books
  3. The importance of recognition (Venezuela) Elsy Gonzalez, Duck of Minerva
  4. Should judges pay attention to Trump’s tweets? Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, FiveThirtyEight

Afternoon Tea: Tramps. Homeless. (1894)

Brandon Christensen Culture , , , ,

From the estimable Russian artist Ilya Repin:

nol art repin tramps homeless 1894
Click here to zoom

If anybody knows where this is displayed today, please let me know either by email or simply in the ‘comments’ section.

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. How Eric Hobsbawm remained a lifelong communist Richard Davenport-Hines, Spectator
  2. Chris Dillow’s favourite economics papers Chris Dillow, Stumbling & Mumbling
  3. The dark individualism of Watchmen Titus Techera, Law & Liberty
  4. The miracle we all take for granted Marian Tupy, CapX

RCH: MacArthur’s battles

Brandon Christensen History, Links , , , ,

That’s the subject of my weekend column over at RealClearHistory. There’s not a whole lot of information out there about Douglas MacArthur’s battle history, so it’s gotten a lot of attention. I think most people avoid writing about MacArthur because he’s such a polarizing figure. At any rate, here’s an excerpt:

8. Battle of Chosin Reservoir (Nov.-Dec. 1950). Fought on the Korean Peninsula, take a quick moment to reflect on the rapid, violent change that catapulted the United States from regional hegemon in 1914 to world power less than half a century later. And MacArthur served in the military throughout the whole change. The Battle of Chosin Reservoir decisively ended MacArthur’s plans for reuniting Korea under one banner and established the two-country situation of the Korean Peninsula found today. One hundred and twenty thousand Chinese troops pushed 30,000 American, Korean, and British troops out of what is now North Korea and changed the trajectory of the Korean War once and for all. It also led to MacArthur’s political downfall, as his increasingly public calls to attack China’s coastline (with atomic bombs) angered Washington and eventually led Truman to dismiss MacArthur.

Please, read the rest…

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Olive Oatman Ann Turner, 3 Quarks Daily
  2. Don’t let the rise of Europe steal world history Peter Frankopan, Aeon
  3. Africa’s forgotten empires David Olusoga, New Statesman
  4. Colonialism: Myths and Realities Brandon Christensen, NOL

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. The ideas of Harold Demsetz, 1930-2019 Thomas Hubbard, VoxEU
  2. A golden moment in the Golden State? David Schleicher, Niskanen
  3. Ethiopia’s Tewahedo churches (incredible photos!) Alison Abbott, Nature
  4. In defense of cultural appropriation Graham Daseler, American Conservative