Defending the Loop
Following my posting of Russia’s Sisyphean Loop, the influential East-Central Europe expert, Vlad Sobell, wrote up an interesting critique at the Untimely Thoughts Russia Discussion Group. It addresses what may be considered some weak, or at least not thoroughly explained, points from the original article, so I

Russia’s Sisyphean Loop
Anatoly Karlin @ www.SublimeOblivion.com PDF version | DOC version Russia’s Sisyphean Loop The Eternal Return to the Future? In this article I attempt to explain Russia’s historic

Philosophical Musings #1
1. Long Live Death! Why is everyone so afraid of death? Granted, it is directly opposed to our instinct of self-preservation; but in reality, our intellect should recognize it as the road to the ultimate freedom – a world free of boxes, restrictions, the prison of existence itself. As the Japanese saying goes, “while duty is heavier than a mountain, death is lighter than a feather”. Life is a constant barrage of insults, injuries and injustices, punct

Diasporas and Barbarians
During one conversation at Sean’s Russia Blog, the commentator Evgeny referred me to a work by Russian political analyst & nationalist Konstantin Krylov, Поведение (”Behavior”). In it he tries to classify the world’s civilizations into four ethical systems (South – tribal, East – collectivist, West – indiv

We Need a Fat Tax! (or revolution)
Somewhat more than a year ago I argued that introducing a fat tax is a good idea on the grounds that fatty foods are unhealthy and addictive (like drugs), and that a fat tax is socially progressive and would encourage healthier eating lifestyles. This argument is especially persuasive in countries where people who consciously l