Slender Threads / Global Citizens / Public History: Global Citizens

Swimming Hormuz Strait

Jim Buie — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 21:15:16 GMT

It's disconcerting to see war headlines about a place my wife and I, along with other UAE residents, considered a weekend getaway. Through the Dubai Natural History Group, we rented a dhow, sailed, swam, fished, snorkeled, picnicked, slept, and explored remote villages and islands in the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Strait of Hormuz (latest news). It …

Any Hope for Iran?

Jim Buie — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 05:17:00 GMT

As the U.S.-Israel war with Iran enters its eighth day, the conflict has spread to 14 countries, moving beyond the Middle East to Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka, and near Turkey.

Since I taught in the UAE through 2017, I’ve communicated with several Emiratis, former students. The UAE is less than 100 miles across the Persian/Arabian Gulf from Iran. In the fir…

Sudden War With Iran

Jim Buie — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 04:48:14 GMT

What do you think of this sudden war? Reply to this email or post in the comments below.

“Holy s--t!” my son exclaimed when I told him that hotels we’ve visited in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, were attacked by Iran on Saturday. At the airport in Abu Dhabi, one person was killed, and seven were injured from drone debris.

The UAE successfully intercepted Ir…

2500 BC to Today: Comparing, Contrasting Ancient and Modern Empires

Jim Buie — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 13:32:50 GMT

After visiting ancient ruins and monuments in Turkey, Greece, Italy, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, feeling as if I had time-traveled back thousands of years, I have often imagined what it would be like to time-travel 2000 or 4000 years into the future, visiting the ruins of the modern era. I imagine that if the future involves catastrophic man-made climate…

Germany Rearms. American Jews Return

Jim Buie — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 12:46:35 GMT

For the first time since the end of WWII in 1945, Germany is dramatically increasing defense spending and rearming because it no longer believes it can rely on the United States to protect Europe against Russia, especially given the Trump administration’s stance on Ukraine.

European historians see the re-emergence of competition among the continent’s on…

America's Allies Seek Divorce, Assert Their Own Power

Jim Buie — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 14:06:17 GMT

When a partner is abusive or doesn’t recognize a spouse’s needs, divorce frequently occurs. On the world stage, something similar is happening. Donald Trump’s threats to forcibly annex Greenland and unilateral tariffs are causing America’s global trading partners to rethink the relationship and assert their own power.

“Something inside has died, and I c…

We Were Rescued By A Shelter Dog

Jim Buie — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 18:52:18 GMT

“Bobby - Our Heart and Our Hero, 2013 - 2026,” my wife Lucia Holliday Buie posted on Facebook.

Our Canadian friend Julie recalled that Bobby had the amazing habit of pacing himself with passing vehicles and running faster than cars on the other side of the fence at the Abu Dhabi Dog Park. Local police clocked him going 80 kilometers per hour.

He had a gr…

Learning About Totalitarianism From Travel

Jim Buie — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 17:01:35 GMT

The most vivid images of totalitarianism in practice — fascism, communism — that I witnessed in my travels were goose-steppers in East Germany and in the Soviet Union in the late 1970s. They symbolized regimentation and blind obedience. George Orwell famously observed in "England Your England" (1941) that the goose step was used only in countries where …

What If Christianity, Judaism and Islam Never Existed?

Jim Buie — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 19:00:19 GMT

Turkey Shuts Down Opposition Party

Jim Buie — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 05:31:16 GMT

Every so often, I like to re-watch this 6-minute video of life in Turkey because it makes me nostalgic for the two years I spent there. What a charming, safe, welcoming country of warm and friendly people and deep culture we found it to be.

Russia: ‘A Terrible Country,’ Humorous Historical Fiction By Keith Gessen Chronicles Family Story

Jim Buie — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 02:05:31 GMT

When I picked up a copy of A Terrible Country, a thinly disguised memoir by a Russian literature instructor, journalist, and emigre to America, Keith Gessen, I was instantly intrigued by its clear, humorous, self-deprecating cadence and the setting: Moscow, Russia, in 2008. Ironically, it could resemble Trump’s America in the latter years of the 2020s o…

Keeping Scottish Diaspora and Heritage Alive

Jim Buie — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 14:54:40 GMT

Voices Over the Water (PBS documentary, 2023): “Examine the Scottish diaspora and how they keep their heritage alive. The image of the Scotsman as a colorful tartan-clad warrior is instantly recognizable and has often been depicted in films, paintings, songs, and poems. But what are the origins, and what is the real history of the Highlands of Scotland?…

Depolarization: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally

Jim Buie — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 17:18:02 GMT

When I visited Belfast, Northern Ireland, during “the troubles” between Catholics and Protestants (1960s through the 1990s), sectarian neighborhoods were cordoned off with gates and green or orange banners. Soldiers stationed at neighborhood entrances frisked visitors before they entered. I thought, “Thank God America is not like Northern Ireland!” with…

Exploring Alaska's Vast Wilderness

Jim Buie — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 22:45:35 GMT

My extended family of six and I spent four days in Denali National Park and Preserve, established in 1917. It encompasses six million acres or 7,408 miles of Alaskan wilderness. I only saw Mt. Denali, aka McKinley, briefly, from a far distance on the drive up from Anchorage. It's the highest peak in North America at 20,310 feet above sea level. No, I di…

Respite From DC News

Jim Buie — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 17:46:16 GMT

As a trained journalist and proud newsaholic, I hate to agree with the sentiment of this meme. But I do. It's summer, now August, which used to be the month when little news happened in America or the world, and engaged citizens could safely and without guilt take time off from the news to go on vacation and recharge their civic batteries.

Now I am afra…

A Mind-boggling 13 Days in Alaska

Jim Buie — Sat, 02 Aug 2025 21:18:45 GMT

What an adventure!

A once-in-a-lifetime experience was taking a helicopter to a glacier for dog sledding and hiking.

We got glimpses of:

whales (photo by Matthew Buie-Nervik).

swam and kayaked near seals;

spied moose, caribou, Dall sheep, Arctic ground squirrels, wolverine, and our new best friend, a grizzly bear (from the same distance of a bus).

Alaska feels a bit like a foreign country -- prices for food, gas, and hotels are generally more expensive than in the lower 48. You can still hear Russian and other Slavic languages spoken on the street in some towns. While it’s challenging to distinguish between tourists and natives, Alaskan Russians are a distinct phenomenon.

The year-round residential population of Alaska is less than 800,000 (represented by one member of Congress), but there's an influx of nearly 2 million tourists between May and September. Thousands of skiers and hunters come in the winter.

Did you know that if you placed Alaska on a US map, it would span from San Diego to Florida?

After a magnificent seven-day vacation on Princess Cruises with my extended family, we explored Denali National Park and Preserve, which encompasses more than six million acres.

Starting from Vancouver, B.C, we sailed up the Inside Passage, through Glacier Bay, and disembarked at Anchorage, a city where 300,000+ or 40+% of the state's population reside. Despite the state’s rural nature, most of the population lives in cities.

The population that moves here seems to come from states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, where they are accustomed to the cold, snow, and short winter days. Others come from Ok and TX because they have jobs in the oil and gas industry, which employs at least 10,000 people. Sitting in the Anchorage airport, I saw an airline especially for ConocoPhillips employees.

As alluring as Alaska is in the summer, I don't think I could survive the winters here with just 4 hours of sunlight.

I would highly recommend a trip to Alaska.

Canada: How Little I Know

Jim Buie — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 03:31:38 GMT

As I and my extended family took off on a 2+-week vacation in Canada and Alaska, I reflected on how little I know of Canadian history and politics.

Canada may be America’s closest ally, neighbor, and the world’s second-largest country in land mass. But it has been overlooked in U.S. curricula, history books, and media.

I know Canada’s population is nearl…

Flora MacDonald, Scotland’s Trailblazer

Jim Buie — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 03:34:17 GMT

National Galleries: “Flora Macdonald (1722-1790) courageously helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape ‘over the sea to Skye’, a story that is one of Scotland’s most enduring legends. After Prince Charlie’s disastrous defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, he was on the run from the British Army and hiding in the Hebrides. Flora took a huge personal risk …

Could Vietnam War Turn Out Differently?

Jim Buie — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 03:26:01 GMT

On a trip to Southeast Asia, my wife and I hired a Vietnamese historian near Da Nang to take us on a tour of important sites from the American War. He changed my perspective on the war, as I explained in this short clip, less than 2 minutes.

I reflected on what seemed to be the capitalist vibe of Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, South Vietnam, in this short clip.

These clips are part of a presentation I made to the Ethical Humanist Society of the NC Triangle, a retrospective on the Vietnam War. Nearly everyone in the audience was old enough to remember the war, and were very engaged in conversation about it. My presentation begins at the 21-minute mark.

The full meeting, recorded by Chris Kaman and posted on YouTube, is embedded above.

The Ethical Humanists have had lots of other interesting speakers whose sessions are also available on YouTube. They meet on Sunday afternoons in Chapel Hill and are a friendly group of intellectually curious people.

My lecture was based on several of my Substack posts:

‘Eat, Pray, Admit You’re From An Empire’

Jim Buie — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 18:40:22 GMT

“Americans will never understand their own country until they see it as the rest of the world does,” wrote Suzy Hansen in The Guardian, in an excerpt from her book, Notes on a Foreign Country.

She called it “the myth of American innocence.” It might also be called willful ignorance of the world, blindness, or a belief that if we do not assert our power a…