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As my “life odometer” ticks over more and more years, I’ve begun checking items off my “bucket list.” Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve been fascinated by what lies over the horizon, and having degrees in geography has only encouraged the wanderlust I’ve felt all my life. One of the items on my…

The generally accepted academic definition of “citizen soldier” includes four traits: Military service must be obligatory (compulsory service fulfilling part of one’s duties as a citizen), universal (reflective of the nation as a whole, not just one segment of the population), have legitimacy by democratic standards (or strong popular support), and personnel identify themselves as civilians first, rather than as soldiers. The…

I’m a “spiritual free-lancer,” i.e., I don’t subscribe to any formal religion. I’ve explored many different religions taken a pinch of this and a dash of that to concoct my own belief. Still, lately, I’ve read articles from scholars of the three Abrahamic (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) faiths discussing the end of the world and…

The world has watched in horror as Russian soldiers and Gaza terrorists have committed horrible, unthinkable atrocities. So, what turns a man into a monster? The short answer: Drugs. The long answer: drugs, indoctrination and prejudice against other groups or ethnicities. Over the past three months, European authorities have seized numerous Captagon pills, an amphetamine-based…

Modern tales, much like the old ones, revolve around humans and trolls. In the deep caves of a cyber mountain somewhere, sinister individuals sit, enticing unsuspecting travelers with their alluring calls, turning them into their victims – not devoured this time like in the old tales, but rather brainwashed and transformed into troll offspring by…

Are we circling the drain? Are we entering a wilderness? Bitching about politics is a time-honored American pastime. Still, lately, the country’s political mood has plunged to a seemingly all-time low. And if you’re anything like me, you’re experiencing recurring bouts of disaster fatigue and information overwhelm in today’s polarized political atmosphere. Conspiracy theories flourish,…

You’ve heard the military’s recruiting slogans before: “Be all that you can be,” “Aim High … Fly-Fight-Win,” “Forged by the Sea” and “The Few, The Proud.” But what if the next recruitment catchphrase was, “Join us and age slower!” It might sound like science fiction, but nothing is off the table in the wild world…

In the age of digital dominance, a new frontier has emerged – the enigmatic realm of cyber warfare. But what exactly constitutes cyber warfare on the modern digital battlefield? It’s a question that sparks debate among cybersecurity experts, and its implications are profound. The line between attacker and defender blurs in this digital arena, and…

I’m pretty sure we’ve all heard about burnout – right? I recently ran across a new term describing a condition similar to burnout called boreout. I was surprised to discover that this under-recognized condition is caused by a lack of challenging work. My initial thought was to laugh until I realized that being bored out…

Have you ever wondered why some animals seem to be in charge while others are at the bottom of the pecking order? Have you ever wondered who’s the boss? Social hierarchies, or how animals organize themselves into social groups with different levels of status, are often determined by who’s the most dominant. Humans, on the…