Articles written by Stephen Shea

How To Guides |
Community

About me - Stephen Shea

Not exactly a workaholic, I still manage to get a lot of weird things done. Like two MAs in History. Like learning Zulu and Afrikaans. Like playing piano for four years. Not particularly useful for me now, but awfully energetic pursuits at the time.

I live

+ more bio information

RSS Feed

Society & Lifestyle > African & Middle Eastern Culture Commentary: African leaders, corruption and colonialism: 1 of 7

Few African leaders since independence have given up power peacefully. Then again, few of the colonizers did, either. We may not be able to agree on a definition of "power hungry" that applies specifically to African leaders. However, we can compare undemocratic African leaders to undemocratic leaders elsewhere, and identify...
Home & Garden > Weeds & Pests How you can choke weeds out of your garden: 1 of 6

You have three choices when fighting garden and yard weeds: pull, spray or starve. The most successful approach in most cases would be a combination. Pulling is the most labor-intensive, often the most effective for a season (but this depends a lot on conditions), and the best for the environment. It's also good, mellow acti...
Politics, News & Issues > War & Peace Setting a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq is a terrible mistake: 10 of 43

Setting a timetable for troop withdrawal is the only way to bring this daily worsening situation to a close. Why not a classic military victory? There is no enemy force to sign a surrender. Therefore, there will be no peace treaty. Without a peace treaty, we have three choices for ending the conflict. First, completely subdu...
Arts & Humanities > Ancient History The importance of river valleys to ancient civilizations: 5 of 11

Four of the world's ancient civilizations emerged along large rivers in dry climates, around 6000-4000 BCE, and it was not by chance. The rivers played a key role in the emergence of ancient China, the Indus Valley civilization, Mesopotamia, and ancient Egypt. Broadly speaking, the rivers not only made the civilizations poss...
Religion & Spirituality > Atheism & Agnosticism Understanding what constitutes atheism: 8 of 17

Atheism can be negative or positive. Negative atheism is lack of belief in a deity. It would be easy for a person born into a religion to lose touch with faith and become a negative atheist. A negative atheist accepts the possibility of deities, but does not believe in any particular one. By contrast, positive atheism is the...
Home & Garden > Real Estate (Other) Qualities to look for in a neighborhood: 27 of 56

Things to look for in a neighborhood. When picking the ideal neighborhood, first consider what you plan for your life this year, in five years, and in ten years. If you're buying, give these three time frames the same importance. If renting, this depends on how flexible you are about moving. Next, look at these four big area...
Arts & Humanities > Asia, Africa & Mideast History The Mongols' effect on early China: 1 of 1

For centuries before the Mongol conquest of northern China, Turkic nomads like them had threatened China from the north. Much of China's national policy, from the unifying Qin Dynasty onward, was oriented toward the defense of the northern border. The 13th century Mongol conquest justified that focus, and pointed out the cos...
Arts & Humanities > Language Learning Tips The best techniques for learning languages: 12 of 15

The best technique for learning new languages that I have found I call "walk-jump-swim." Step 1: WALK - Walk into a language by getting familiar with its basics. How do you greet people? Does it matter how you're related, what time of day, what you want? This was enough for me to be polite while traveling in France. I learne...
Arts & Humanities > Asia, Africa & Mideast History The legacy of Hammurabi to Ancient Mesopotamia and the world: 7 of 8

Just about 38 centuries ago, Hammurabi of Babylon ordered the inscription of the earliest surviving set of written laws. The immediate legacy of his Code of Laws was a more secure and orderly existence for his subjects. The greater legacy was the perhaps unintended concept of laws that survived, and therefore transcended, ru...
Politics, News & Issues > International Politics (Other) The country predicted to be a world power in 50 years: 9 of 10

In 2007, the United States is running out the clock on its "unipolar moment." We have lived as the world's only superpower for almost two decades, and we are wasting our wealth and our international status on consumption and ill-advised military adventures. Four countries appear poised to take up the role of world's most pow...