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Based on chemical signatures in a piece of calcite from a cave near Jerusalem, a team of American and Israeli geologists pieced together a detailed record of the area’s climate from roughly 200 B.C. to 1100 A.D. Their analysis, to be reported in an upcoming issue of the journal Quaternary Research, reveals increasingly dry weather from 100 A.D. to 700 A.D. that coincided with the fall of both Roman and Byzantine rule in the region.
There are lots of people looking at the role of climate in history these days, and it’s generally a good idea. But this one misses the mark. You could just as easily say that the period of dry climate coincided with the rise of Byzantium as the fall. A much more interesting climatic event that relates to the collapse of Rome in the east is the year without summer, around 535.
Now your daily pirate update:
And this one that ties piracy together into the broader crisis over the international order:
The question is: What if anything can outside powers do to bring the rule of law to these troubled lands? In the 19th century, the answer was simple: European imperialists would plant their flag and impose their laws at gunpoint.
Like plenty of neocons, you don’t have to agree with Max Boot’s conclusions to agree that he’s asking some pretty interesting questions. The current international system doesn’t provide a lot of options that were available to the Concert of Europe, and Boot’s examples of Bosnia and Kosovo are hardly reassuring symbols of stability.
I don’t know why I follow this story so closely. It’s kind of morbid:
And this:
Blue Origin is developing New Shepard, a rocket-propelled vehicle that takes off and lands vertically and is designed to routinely fly multiple astronauts into suborbital space at competitive prices.
Flight tests of the suborbital craft have been staged at a private launch site in Texas.
Blue Origin is now noting that, in addition to providing the public with opportunities to experience spaceflight, New Shepard will also provide frequent opportunities for researchers to fly experiments into space and a microgravity environment.
