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Civics on the Rocks

Civics on the Rocks

Written by: Anne Trominski
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A history teacher and an engineer walk into a bar…ouch! Except there isn’t a bar. But there are dad jokes. And whiskey. Two guys who know a few things, have been around a few blocks, and a few cocktails, discuss politics, science, history, technology, and the planet Earth. They also warp through rabbit holes in both the Federation and the Galactic Empire, and toast the ashes of the Twelve Colonies. And did I mention dad jokes? Yeah. Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and join us for Civics on the Rocks.

Oh, and if you want some merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/CivcsRocks/shop?asc=u

Copyright 2026 All Rights Reserved Political Science Politics & Government World
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    In this episode, we tackle war crimes. Please note that we record episodes in the month before they are posted—just in case you are wondering why we aren’t talking about one big event in particular. REFERENCES People have desecrated corpses throughout history: Breed, Allen G. “Desecration of the Dead is as Old as War Itself.” January 13, 2012. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/nation-world/2012/01/14/desecration-dead-old-war-itself/15184013007/ Like a flag of truce: Little, Becky. “How Did the White Flag Become a Symbol of Surrender?” Updated May 27, 2025. History.com. https://www.history.com/articles/when-did-the-white-flag-become-associated-with-surrender Don’t kill the messenger: Frank, David. “Chapter 19 – The Classical Origins and Modern Expressions of ‘Don’t Shoot the Messenger’.” September 4, 2025. Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/dont-shoot-the-journalists/classical-origins-and-modern-expressions-of-dont-shoot-the-messenger/97A99431730AA8701715ECB376467643 The Defenestration of Prague: Britannica Editors. “Defenestration of Prague.” May 16, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/event/Defenestration-of-Prague-1618 One of the things that began the Thirty Years’ War in Europe: Britannica Editors. “Thirty Years’ War.” Updated January 6, 2026. https://www.britannica.com/event/Thirty-Years-War It ends with the treaty called the Peace of Westphalia: Gesley, Jenny. “The Peach of Westphalia.” October 24, 2017. Library of Congress. https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2017/10/the-peace-of-westphalia/ The world today is composed of nation states: Comstock, Nancy. W. “Nation State.” 2024. EBSCO. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/politics-and-government/nation-state Basically, at some point Europe colonized almost the entirety of the world: Becker, Bastian. “European Overseas Colonies and Their Colonizers Over Time [Interactive map].” September 18, 2023. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/european-overseas-colonies-and-their-colonizers?time=earliest This is probably not the video Steve was referencing, but it illustrates the point that everyone goes to war: ABC News (Australia). “Dozens Killed in Tribal Fighting in Papua New Guinea [Video].” August 23, 2023. https://youtu.be/EhVpKBJESB8?si=3pIXT2kaNlcmKxQp The most famous being the Hauge conventions: HCCH. “Conventions and Other Instruments.” https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions Most of the modern war crimes were as a result of World War II: Penrose, Mary Margaret. “Post-World War II Developments: Genevea Conventions.” December 10, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/war-crime/Post-World-War-II-developments The Napoleonic Wars gave rise to some: Britannic Editors. “Napoleonic Wars.” November 24, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Napoleonic-Wars The Geneva Convention in 1864: International Committee of the Red Cross. “Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. Geneva, 22 August 1864.” https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gc-1864 A list of war crimes, right now: BBC. “War Crimes.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/overview/crimes_1.shtml How to treat prisoners of war: United Nations. “Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.” August 12, 1949. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/geneva-convention-relative-treatment-prisoners-war Respecting flags of truce: Arnold, Roberta. “Flags of Truce.” May 2006. Oxford Public International Law. https://opil.ouplaw.com/display/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e297 In ’49, Geneva conventions: International Committee of the Red Cross. “Geneva Conventions of 1949, Additional Protocols and Their Commentaries.” https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/geneva-conventions-1949additional-protocols-and-their-commentaries A lot of rules about treatment of noncombatants: United Nations. “Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.” August 12, 1949. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/geneva-convention-relative-protection-civilian-persons-time-war The idea of total war: Britannica Editors. “Total War.” December 5, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/topic/total-war Dresden: Dawsey, Jason. “Apocalypse in Dresden, February 1945.” February 13, 2020. The National WWII Museum. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/apocalypse-dresden-february-1945 Fire bombing of Tokyo: History.com Editors. “Firebombing of Tokyo.” Updated January 31, 2025. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-9/firebombing-of-tokyo Hamburg: Curatola, John. “Operation Gomorrah: The First of the Firestorms.” July 10, 2023. The National WWII Museum. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/operation-gomorrah-first-firestorms The Blitz: Curatola, ...
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