Tag Archives: Switzerland

Are You A Swiss Army Knife Or A French Army Knife?

Posted on June 28, 2016 by

One of the jokes that people have of me is that I am a Swiss army knife.  This is not a particularly unusual joke, in that throughout my entire life I have been recognized for the sheer immense scope of … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Musings | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Faces Of Neutrality

Posted on August 27, 2015 by

Faces Of Neutrality: A Comparative Analysis Of The Neutrality And Other Neutral Nations During WWII, by Herbert R. Reginbogin This book, despite its lengthy and almost pedantic title, promising something that most people find boring, a comparative analysis [1], is … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Book Reviews, History, International Relations, Military History | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Unser Leben Gleicht Der Reise Eines Wandrers In Der Nacht

Posted on August 26, 2015 by

While idly spending some time this afternoon, I came across the following poem, originally written in 1792 by Karl Ludwig Giesecke, a Swiss poet, and attached to the tragic tale of the fate of Swiss mercenaries during the Russian invasion … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, History, Military History, Musings | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Cantonization of India

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

The word canton, as a noun referring to a district of a nation, is best-known in the context of the Swiss cantons, which form the basis of the Swiss Confederation to this day. A complicated and organic history of these … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Musings | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Prisoner Of Chillon

Posted on August 22, 2013 by

In 2004, I went to the feast in France, and as part of the tours that year, we went to a small town that I had not known very well beforehand called Montreux. Among the highlights, or lowlights, of the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Music History, Musings | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Gimme Shelter

Posted on November 12, 2012 by

Recently, Switzerland has been invaded by tax collectors [1]. This is not entirely unexpected, but it provides an ominous hint of what governments do when they suspect (not entirely without reason) that people are attempting to escape or minimize their … Continue reading →

Posted in History, International Relations, Musings | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment