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robertogreco + military   72

Porter and Mykleby: A Grand Strategy for the Nation on Vimeo
"Naval Captain Porter and Col. Mykleby of the Marines, military strategists working at the highest level of government, present highlights from their paper, “A National Strategic Narrative.” Their ideas—less military force, more social capital and more sustainable practices in energy and agriculture—have caused a recent stir in policy communities."

[See also: http://poptech.org/popcasts/a_grand_strategy_for_the_nation ]
grassroots  complexity  agriculture  military  socialcapital  nationalstrategicnarrative  policy  energy  us  government  systemsthinking  markmykleby  wayneporter  poptech  sustainability  via:steelemaley 
february 2012 by robertogreco
Twitter / @demilit/dmccomfdef
"Demilit Central Command Follow Defenses" (Lines on the ground)
twitterlists  twitter  news  military  demilit 
february 2012 by robertogreco
Make, DARPA, and teens: A match made in hackerspace · demilit · Storify
"Well, well, well... What have we here? How painfully ironic this is. How shocking, in fact. And yet, this bit of news has flown under the radar for the past week. To put it bluntly, Tim O'Reilly's Make magazine and his cohort are working with the Pentagon. More specifically, DIY-zine Make and its folks are taking money from DARPA to create "makerspaces" for teens (aka the "Manufacturing Experimentation and Outreach," or "MENTOR" program)."
pentagon  teens  hackerspaces  makerspaces  militaryindustrialcomplex  military  education  2012  saulgriffith  oreilly  makemagazine  make  ethics  darpa  demilit  javierarbona 
january 2012 by robertogreco
After September 11: What We Still Don’t Know by David Cole | The New York Review of Books
"How much are we spending on counterterrorism efforts? According to Admiral (Ret.) Dennis Blair, who served as director of national intelligence under both Bush and Obama, the United States today spends about $80 billion a year, not including expenditures in Iraq and Afghanistan (which of course dwarf that sum).1 Generous estimates of the strength of al-Qaeda and its affiliates, Blair reports, put them at between three thousand and five thousand men. That means we are spending between $16 million and $27 million per year on each potential terrorist. As several administration officials have told me, one consequence is that in government meetings, the people representing security interests vastly outnumber those who might speak for protecting individual liberties. As a result, civil liberties will continue to be at risk for a long time to come…"

"The rule of law may be tenacious when it is supported, but violations of it that go unaccounted corrode its very foundation."
9/11  waronterror  priorities  policy  civilliberties  us  georgewbush  politics  economics  money  spending  barackobama  torture  democracy  constitution  resistance  ruleoflaw  liberty  law  freedom  citizenship  equality  dueprocess  fairprocess  justice  margaretmead  history  dignity  terrorism  learnedhand  guantanamo  security  military  patriotact  nsa  cia  lawenforcement  lawlessness  war  iraq  afghanistan  alqaeda  2011  via:preoccupations  has:via  from delicious
september 2011 by robertogreco
Why did Japan surrender? - The Boston Globe
"Sixty-six years ago, we dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. Now, some historians say that’s not what ended the war."
wwii  ww2  japan  us  history  surrender  hiroshima  nagasaki  war  military  from delicious
august 2011 by robertogreco
‪Teddy Cruz Presentation‬‏ - YouTube
"We can be the producers of new conceptions of citzenship in the reorganizing of resources and collaborations across jurisdictions and communities…We could be the designers of political process, of alternative economic frameworks."<br />
<br />
[via: http://www.diygradschool.com/2010/06/professor-teddy-cruz-ucsd.html ]
teddycruz  cities  citizenship  sandiego  tijuana  watershed  conflict  borders  community  communities  militaryzones  military  environment  infromal  formal  collaboration  2009  housing  crisis  density  sprawl  natural  political  art  architecture  design  urban  urbanization  urbanism  recycling  openendedness  open  vernacular  systems  construction  economics  culture  pacificocean  exchanges  flow  landuse  neweconomies  micropolitics  microeconomies  local  scale  interventions  intervention  communitiesofpractice  crossborder  from delicious
july 2011 by robertogreco
Rhizome | Drone Ethnography
"And then if you want a little bit a speculation about drones, you pick up the paranoid defense blogging of Danger Room  or the design-fiction of sousveillance and cyborg specialists like Tim Maly . And then you—<br />
<br />
Okay. I thought it was clear, but if you want me to spell it out for you, I will. You are obsessed with drones. We all are. We live in a drone culture, just as we once lived in a car culture. The Northrop-Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is your '55 Chevorlet. You just might not know it yet.<br />
<br />
I have thirty-five browser tabs open, and each contains a fragment of the drone-mythos. Each is a glimpse at a situation, a bird’s eye view of the terrain. So many channels, showing me the same thing: near-infinite data collection. With the help of Google, I’m drone-spotting—I'm turning a new critical perspective that I'm calling Drone Ethnography, back on itself."
ethnography  military  technology  drones  diy  adamrothstein  2011  timmaly  from delicious
july 2011 by robertogreco
Bridgepoint Booms Over Troubled Waters - voiceofsandiego.org: Pounding The Pavement
"Bridgepoint's business model depends on one thing: Getting people into college who wouldn't otherwise go.<br />
That involves paying hundreds of recruiters in San Diego office buildings to call around the country and find tens of thousands of people willing to enroll in a tiny college in rural Iowa. Ninety-nine percent of those students won't ever have to set foot in Iowa, since they'll be studying online.<br />
And the bulk of the revenue Bridgepoint receives for educating students — at least 85 percent last year — comes straight from the federal government in the form of student loans.<br />
Bridgepoint CEO Andrew Clark and other company officials declined interview requests through corporate spokespeople. But, as a publicly traded company, Bridgepoint's financial success story has been well-documented.<br />
<br />
More than anything else, two factors have played into Bridgepoint's extraordinary success. One was the company's genius business idea; the other was a stroke of good fortune…"
education  andrewclark  bridgepointeducation  sandiego  iowa  scams  forprofit  highereducation  money  greed  2011  colleges  universities  freemoney  government  military  veterans  from delicious
july 2011 by robertogreco
WIL WHEATON dot TUMBLR, Everything you need to know summed up in three graphs
us  culture  politics  policy  money  spending  military  war  prisons  prisonindustrialcomplex  militaryindustrialcomplex  socialspending  socialprograms  families  children  shame  from delicious
june 2011 by robertogreco
Is America Addicted to War? - By Stephen M. Walt | Foreign Policy
"The top 5 reasons why we keep getting into foolish fights."
foreignpolicy  exceptionalism  us  policy  war  militaryindustrialcomplex  military  intervention  foolishness  2011  from delicious
april 2011 by robertogreco
Demilit: The City is a Subwoofer
landscape  military  space  activism  architecture  javierarbona  demilit  urban  urbanism  infrastructure  playingthecity  thecityisasubwoofer  sound  from delicious
april 2011 by robertogreco
Bezoar — War Resistance films and videos at Other Cinema
"Javier Arbona, Nick Sowers & Kate Chandler present an experimental live slide-, sound- and video-show on the emergence of drones as America’s killing machine of choice. PLUS Steev Hise’s American Business Adventures and Code Pink’s confrontation with the Blackwater mercenaries. Free bread and roses!"
javierarbona  nicksowers  katechandler  drones  sanfrancisco  events  film  multimedia  todo  military  war  warresistance  video  blackwater  militaryindustrialcomplex  from delicious
march 2011 by robertogreco
WH forces P.J. Crowley to resign for condemning abuse of Manning - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
"On Friday, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley denounced the conditions of Bradley Manning's detention as "ridiculous, counterproductive & stupid," forcing President Obama to address those comments in a Press Conference and defend the treatment of Manning. Today, CNN reports, Crowley has "abruptly resigned" under "pressure from White House officials because of controversial comments he made last week about the Bradley Manning case." In other words, he was forced to "resign" -- i.e., fired.<br />
<br />
So, in Obama's administration, it's perfectly acceptable to abuse an American citizen in detention who has been convicted of nothing by consigning him to 23-hour-a-day solitary confinement, barring him from exercising in his cell, punitively imposing "suicide watch" restrictions on him against the recommendations of brig psychiatrists, & subjecting him to prolonged, forced nudity designed to humiliate & degrade. But speaking out against that abuse is a firing offense. Good to know."
torture  barackobama  neveragain  military  terrorism  politics  democrats  shame  glenngreenwald  matthewyglesias  mockdemocracy  2011  bradleymanning  dissent  from delicious
march 2011 by robertogreco
The Big (Military) Taboo - NYTimes.com
"Eisenhower gave strongest warning: “Every gun made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, …theft from those who hunger, those who are not clothed.” …Robert Gates has argued military spending…should expect closer, harsher scrutiny…& for more investment in diplomacy & development aid.<br />
…troops in Afghanistan are strongest advocates of investing more in schools…see firsthand that education fights extremism far more effectively than bombs.…cost of 1 US soldier in Afghanistan for 1 year = ~20 schools.<br />
… a few signs of hope…Simpson-Bowles deficit commission proposes cutting money for armaments, along w/ other spending…Hillary Clinton unveiled signature project…calls for more emphasis on aid & diplomacy…<br />
[Republicans] should remind themselves that in 21st century, our government can protect its citizens in many ways: financing research against disease, early childhood programs that reduce crime later, support for community colleges, diplomacy that prevents costly wars."
2010  spending  nicholaskristof  us  policy  foreignpolicy  education  diplomacy  militaryindustrialcomplex  war  politics  growth  military  afghanistan  security  simpson-bowles  deficit  hillaryclinton  from delicious
december 2010 by robertogreco
The 10 Greediest People of the Year | Economy | AlterNet [via: http://diegueno.tumblr.com/post/2404339520/san-diego-home-of-the-greediest-person-of-2010]
"in economy still reeling from fraud, a new high-growth industry—for-profit higher ed sector—is hoodwinking vulnerable young people into taking on taxpayer-financed student loans they can’t possibly repay.<br />
<br />
& now this industry, facing federal regulations that aim to rein in deceit, is waging massive media campaign based on phony premise that Washington wants to make it “harder to get the education” students “need to succeed.”<br />
<br />
No one is personally profiting more…than CEO of San Diego-based Bridgepoint Education, an enterprise that specializes, of late, in going after returning military vets…Andrew Clark, last year took home $20.5 million.<br />
<br />
For-profit colleges didn’t pay any particular attention to military vets until 2008. But Congress that year gave veteran tuition benefits a significant hike…Bridgepoint's military enrollment soared to 9,200 in 2009, up from just 329 three years earlier…<br />
<br />
Bridgepoint last year spent more on marketing & promotion than on educating students."
sandiego  andrewclark  forprofit  education  bridgepointeducation  bridgepoint  profiteering  greed  military  2010  from delicious
december 2010 by robertogreco
Toward a Taxonomy of Secrets
"While most of the literature on information security accepts the existence of secrets as a given and proceeds to develop various solutions for the preservation and handling of secrets, it is our intent to step back from this and consider briefly the basic nature of secrets. We will explore the various types of secrets and the different motivations that lead to the creation and keeping of secrets. The information presented on this topic may be viewed as a rudimentary taxonomy of secrets, which may be fleshed out further if it is deemed useful by the community. We will also consider the implications that might be drawn about how best to deal with secrets. In all cases where we refer to the keeper of the secret, it should be assumed that this term may refer to either an individual or an organization, such as a corporation, religious body, or government, unless other distinctions are explicitly made."
cryptography  government  taxonomy  secrets  security  privacy  research  secrecy  military  from delicious
november 2010 by robertogreco
War Is Business | who benefits?
"Earlier this week I posted a small excerpt from “War Is A Racket,” a 1935 pamphlet by Smedley Butler, one of the most decorated men ever to serve in the US Marine Corps. Today—Armistice Day—is a fine occasion to share more about why this warrior eventually disclaimed the enterprise.<br />
<br />
Keep this in mind as you read Butler’s accounting of World War I profiteering:<br />
<br />
In 2001, the revenues of the largest US defense contractor, Lockheed Martin, totaled just under $24 billion a year, and its operating profit came to $888 million. By the end of 2009, Lockheed’s annual revenues were $45 billion, not quite double where they were before the invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. But now, the company is making nearly six times its pre-war profits—$5.2 billion a year.<br />
<br />
Not bad, as Butler said."
war  profiteering  greed  money  us  history  military  militaryindustrialcomplex  from delicious
november 2010 by robertogreco
Dangers in the Air: Aerosol Architecture and Invisible Landscapes: Places: Design Observer
"Aerosolized pig brains [see first paragraph] and various forms of weaponized air suggest we have underestimated the presence of air, and what it can potentially do. Whatever the spur, we need to take seriously the materiality of air. And today, in fact, a growing number of artists and architects are engaging air in new ways. They are exploring air as a design component, studying how airborne particles can be manipulated into various textures, surfaces and spaces. They are transforming the scales at which architects typically work. And they are bringing the multiple temporalities of air into play through designs that actually collect and archive air from different times. This work could bring about a new consciousness and perhaps an expanded understanding of the meaning of a public architecture — an effort to reclaim the air from those who've attempted to control it in irresponsible and dangerous ways."
javierarbona  air  architecture  atmosphere  aerosol  aerosolarchitecture  history  design  smell  pollution  military  landscape  light  art  books  urban  urbanism  health  from delicious
november 2010 by robertogreco
Oh DADT! You rascal. | Dinosaurs and Narrative [via: http://scudmissile.tumblr.com/post/1363927791/oh-dadt-you-rascal]
"Well DADT is back in place, we better be careful, not only can we not have openly gay members of our military destroying unit cohesion, neither can we risk alliances with nations that could potentially have our troops working side by side their horribly demoralizing gay troops.<br />
<br />
Therefore we must end our alliances with Albania, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. (which is most of NATO,) Australia, Colombia, Honduras, Hungary, Philippines, and Poland cannot be part of a second coalition of the willing. Neither Ireland nor New Zealand are proper American allies either.<br />
<br />
Instead we should ally only with countries that deny openly gay women and men to defend their countries, such as Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Pakistan."
2010  dadt  military  policy  gayrights  us  international  comparison  from delicious
october 2010 by robertogreco
Greening the Armed Forces - Multimedia Feature - NYTimes.com
"The American military, facing increasing insurgent attacks on fuel supply convoys in Pakistan and Afghanistan, is pushing aggressively to develop, test and deploy renewable technologies to decrease its dependence on fossil fuels."
military  technology  sustainability  pakistan  afghanistan  fuel  renewable  from delicious
october 2010 by robertogreco
A Taste of Home in Foil Packets and Powder - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com
"Troops from nearly 50 lands dine on combat meals in Afghanistan — each reminding them of where they’d rather be."

[This links to images of meals from 15 different countries. The article is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/weekinreview/05gilbertson.html via: http://charliefinn.tumblr.com/post/1070455364/a-taste-of-home-in-foil-packets-and-powder ]
food  afghanistan  rations  military  us  australia  britain  canada  denmark  germany  italy  lithuania  poland  spain  sweden  norway  ukraine  comparison  2010  classideas  from delicious
september 2010 by robertogreco
HAARP [Look at the thing. Wow.]
"HAARP is a scientific endeavor aimed at studying the properties and behavior of the ionosphere, with particular emphasis on being able to understand and use it to enhance communications and surveillance systems for both civilian and defense purposes." [via: http://chriswoebken.tumblr.com/post/964066970/via-www-haarp-alaska-edu]
atmosphere  haarp  auroral  environment  military  space  science  research  radio  wireless  weather  aurora  physics  nature  technology  ionosphere  from delicious
august 2010 by robertogreco
Weekend Essay by Jonah Lehrer: How Power Affects Us - WSJ.com
"Contrary to the Machiavellian cliché, nice people are more likely to rise to power. Then something strange happens: Authority atrophies the very talents that got them there."
jonahlehrer  machiavelli  authority  corruption  ethics  politics  business  leadership  power  psychology  behavior  brain  management  military  human  markhurd  2010  empathy  transparency  hierarchy  administration  tcsnmy  accessibility  isolation  from delicious
august 2010 by robertogreco
Are the American people obsolete? - U.S. Economy - Salon.com
"Have American people outlived their usefulness to rich minority in the US? A number of trends suggest the answer may be yes.<br />
<br />
In every industrial democracy since end of WWII, there has been a social contract btwn the few & many. In return for receiving disproportionate amount of gains from economic growth in capitalist economy, rich paid disproportionate % of taxes needed for public goods & safety net for majority.<br />
<br />
In N America & Europe, economic elite agreed to this bargain because they needed ordinary people as consumers & soldiers. W/out mass consumption, factories in which rich invested would grind to halt. W/out universal conscription in world wars, & selective conscription during Cold War, US & its allies might have failed to defeat totalitarian empires that would have created a world order hostile to market economy.<br />
<br />
Globalization eliminated 1st reason for rich to continue supporting this bargain at nation-state level, while privatization of military threatens other…"
northamerica  globalization  economy  economics  future  outsourcing  rich  money  capitalism  immigration  politics  history  michaellind  class  disparity  emmigration  labor  war  military  privitazation  elite  socialdemocracy  taxes  society  poverty  international  capital  from delicious
august 2010 by robertogreco
Solitude and Leadership: an article by William Deresiewicz | The American Scholar
"Excellence isn’t usually what gets you up the greasy pole. What gets you up is a talent for maneuvering. Kissing up to the people above you, kicking down to the people below you. Pleasing your teachers, pleasing your superiors, picking a powerful mentor and riding his coattails until it’s time to stab him in the back. Jumping through hoops. Getting along by going along. Being whatever other people want you to be, so that it finally comes to seem that, like the manager of the Central Station, you have nothing inside you at all. Not taking stupid risks like trying to change how things are done or question why they’re done. Just keeping the routine going. I tell you this to forewarn you, because I promise you that you will meet these people and you will find yourself in environments where what is rewarded above all is conformity. I tell you so you can decide to be a different kind of leader..."
via:anne  leadership  education  conformity  tcsnmy  risk  risktaking  williamderesiewicz  learning  culture  life  philosophy  bureaucracy  business  careers  change  military  management  administration  solitude  concentration  thinking  independence 
august 2010 by robertogreco
Lara Logan, You Suck -- RollingStone.com
"If I'm hearing Logan correctly, what Hastings is supposed to have done in that situation is interrupt these drunken assholes & say, "Excuse me, fellas, I know we're all having fun & all, but you're saying things that may not be in your best interest! As a reporter, it is my duty to inform you that you may end up looking like insubordinate douche bags in front of two million Rolling Stone readers if you don't shut your mouths this very instant!"...
afghanistan  matttaibbi  media  journalism  politics  propaganda  television  rollingstone  military  ethics  iraq  us  2010  laralogan 
july 2010 by robertogreco
A Hidden Geography by Richard Walker
"The Golden Gate is inescapable. Draped in cloud, drenched in sun, swept clean by inexhaustible tides, the Gate and the bridge are always there, dutifully magnificent, stoically radiant. The Golden Gate anchors the San Francisco we carry around in our heads. City by the Bay. Gateway to the Pacific. City on the Hill. It fills the postcard, frames the visit, defines the experience. It captures the imagination of all who pass by.
berkeley  california  climate  landscape  military  geography  sanfrancisco  richardwalker 
april 2010 by robertogreco
Trevor Paglen [via: http://shannonspanhake.vox.com/library/post/whats-in-a-name-smart-grid-and-spy-networks.html]
"The city of San Diego is synonymous with the military. It is chock-full of defense contractors and military bases, and it’s sky is filled with so many F-18s and Blackhawk helicopters that it feels like an occupied country. In mid-January 2005, we undertook an expedition to view some of the more peculiar sites in this military city."
politics  research  technology  sandiego  ucsd  military  tcsnmy 
march 2010 by robertogreco
#siteoffice - a gallery on Flickr [photo of mine in this gallery - worth a look]
"Some visual inspiration for the current work-in-progress.
glvo  ego  olpc  siteoffice  california  sanfrancisco  solar  military  rubble  archigram  energy  portability 
february 2010 by robertogreco
Op-Ed Columnist - The Happiest People - NYTimes.com
"Cross-country comparisons of happiness are controversial and uncertain. But what does seem quite clear is that Costa Rica’s national decision to invest in education rather than arms has paid rich dividends. Maybe the lesson for the United States is that we should devote fewer resources to shoring up foreign armies and more to bolstering schools both at home and abroad."
conversation  happiness  society  culture  education  economics  psychology  environment  military  trends  nicholaskristof  costarica  tourism  americas  green  2010  well-being  priorities 
january 2010 by robertogreco
Marginal Revolution: *The End of Influence*
"Asian export-led growth model must transform itself to domestic consumption & prosperity models. American borrow&import model will also have to shift to a model of consumption-at-the-level-you-produce...the need to keep confidence of those who have the money that their money is well placed in the US serves as a constraint on US policy in a way that it has never been before." ... "authors describe the various stimulus attempts as something that will "buy time," but will not be sufficient to alter this basic trajectory." In the comments: "Our greatest assets are our current inefficiencies: we can tap into cost reduction, such as, reducing military spending (a free good to the rest of the world), reducing the cost of medical care (you may once again, although you do not want to do this, have to participate in managed care), improving energy efficiency (our balance of payments problem is largely due to energy imports). Hey, if you are fat, you don't have to eat as much to get in shape."
economics  money  us  asia  china  future  policy  exports  imports  books  military  healthcare  2009  marginalrevolution  debt  borrowing  change  consumption 
december 2009 by robertogreco
We Have A President - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan
"What we are seeing… is what we see everywhere with Obama: a relentless empiricism in pursuit of a particular objective & a willingness to let the process take its time. The very process itself can reveal - not just to Obama, but to everyone - what exactly the precise options are. Instead of engaging in adolescent tests of whether a president is "tough" or "weak", we actually have an adult prepared to allow the various choices in front of us be fully explored. He is, moreover, not taking the decision process outside the public arena. He is allowing it to unfold w/in the public arena…What strikes me about this is the enormous self-confidence this reveals. Here is a young president, prepared to allow himself to be portrayed as "weak" or "dithering" in the slow & meticulous arrival at public policy. He is trusting the reality to help expose what we need to do. He is allowing the debate - however messy & confusing & emotional - to take its time & reveal the real choices in front of us."
barackobama  afghanistan  confidence  leadership  politics  debate  via:migurski  andrewsullivan  foreignpolicy  military  terrorism  analysis  policy  process  empiricism  2009  middleeast  us  presidency 
november 2009 by robertogreco
Op-Ed Columnist - More Schools, Not Troops - NYTimes.com
"For roughly the same cost as stationing 40,000 troops in Afghanistan for one year, we could educate the great majority of the 75 million children worldwide who, according to Unicef, are not getting even a primary education. We won’t turn them into graduate students, but we can help them achieve literacy. Such a vast global education campaign would reduce poverty, cut birth rates, improve America’s image in the world, promote stability and chip away at extremism.
afghanistan  education  schools  politics  military  us  policy  pakistan  girls  women  nicholaskristof  2009 
october 2009 by robertogreco
Obsidian Wings: Yeah, About that ACORN Law
"The problem is, in enacting a law that makes it possible to hold a group like ACORN responsible for the actions of its employees, the GOP might have opened up Pandora's box. Consider, for example, some other groups that receive government funds (far in excess of $53 million over 15 years) whose employees have committed far more grievous crimes (ie, rape and murder for employees of KBR, Blackwater and other private contractors). Ryan Grim on some of the implications:"
law  military  congress  acorn  politics  2009 
september 2009 by robertogreco
Stimulus funds in California mostly go to routine projects, study says -- latimes.com
"Critics say the money is being used for projects that would have been built anyway, instead of on ways to change how Californians live. Case in point: Army latrines, not high-speed rail."
losangeles  via:cityofsound  california  infrastructure  politics  economics  recession  stimulus  2009  wastedopportunities  military  otaymesa  sandiego  borders 
august 2009 by robertogreco
Border bunker battle
"On a windswept hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the remains of what constituted border security almost 70 years ago maintain an uneasy coexistence with present-day border fortifications.
borders  california  sandiego  military  construction  architecture  history  wwii  preservation  via:javierarbona 
august 2009 by robertogreco
The Soldier in Later Medieval England
"The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has awarded a Research Grant worth just under £500,000 to Dr Adrian Bell of the ICMA Centre and Professor Anne Curry of the University of Southampton to challenge assumptions about the emergence of professional soldiery between 1369 and 1453.
england  history  military  databases  soldiers  medieval  genealogy  database  archives 
july 2009 by robertogreco
Monbiot.com » Stop Building Tanks
"The last time we faced a crisis on the scale of the global climate crash, the rational solution was to build tanks. Now the rational, least painful solution is to stop building tanks, and use the money to address a real threat."
via:blackbeltjones  georgemonbiot  globalwarming  environment  economics  defense  military  politics  uk  climate  solutions  change  gamechanging  reform 
july 2009 by robertogreco
BBC NEWS | Magazine | Size matters - smaller is better: Want to go large on housing, schools, prisons, hospitals or simply pricetags? Bad idea - keeping a lid on size is the way to go, says Katharine Whitehorn.
"they told Belisarius that an army of 100,000 troops was mustering against him, he calmly said: "Very few generals can manage an army of 100,000." And when they said: "It's now 150,000", he'd say: "Even fewer generals can manage an army of 150,000." Exactly...The question of size is not just about organisational efficiency. It also affects what motivates people to do what they do...I've heard it said that 11 is the maximum useful unit, for example, for those asked to do anything really dangerous and difficult. The same number for frontline soldiers and people 100 feet down a mine. A man will put himself at serious risk to save one of his mates, but not for the 29th miner down the line. ""No matter how many communes anybody invents, the family always creeps back," said anthropologist Margaret Mead. Communes aren't in fashion right now, it's conglomerates and global empires. But in the end we can all relate only to a certain number of people; a unity more or less like a family."
size  numbers  community  family  connectivity  complexity  groups  organizations  tcsnmy  leadership  margaretmead  society  management  administration  coordination  military  business  control  brain  history  families  creditcrunch  2009  corporations  growth  architecture  advice  via:preoccupations 
march 2009 by robertogreco
Neighborhoods - Mapping L.A. - Data Desk - Los Angeles Times
"Welcome to the Los Angeles Times' map of L.A.'s neighborhoods. So far, Times staffers have laid out 87 communities within the city limits. Many of these include well-known smaller neighborhoods--such as Larchmont or Little Tokyo--which are listed under larger communities, at least for now.
losangeles  mapping  maps  crowdsourcing  california  geography  cartography  neighborhoods  interactive  tcsnmy  offcampustrips  demographics  cities  urban  census2000  data  ethnicity  income  population  housing  families  education  age  military  ancestry  immigration  community  latimes 
february 2009 by robertogreco
Seed: The True 21st Century Begins: From the fevered mind of Bruce Sterling and his alter-ego, Bruno Argento, a consideration of things ahead.
"The year to come is best approached as a learning opportunity. It offers a golden chance to bury our dead prejudices and learn how to properly feed the living. Once we stop shaking all over and scolding Americans, we will recognize the tremendous potential this new century offers the people of the world. The sun still shines, the grass still grows, we are still human. If we stopped pretending to be puppets of an invisible hand, we would not fret over the loss of the 20th century's strings. We might see that life is sweet."
brucesterling  brunoargento  crisis  copyright  futurism  italy  21stcentury  environment  economics  politics  science  future  aging  us  military  2009 
january 2009 by robertogreco
Feral cities - The New Strategic Environment | Naval War College Review | Find Articles at BNET
" The putative "feral city" is (or would be) a metropolis with a population of more than a million people in a state the government of which has lost the ability to maintain the rule of law within the city's boundaries yet remains a functioning actor in the greater international system...social services are all but nonexistent, and the vast majority of the city's occupants have no access to even the most basic health or security assistance. There is no social safety net. Human security is for the most part a matter of individual initiative. Yet a feral city does not descend into complete, random chaos..."
urbanism  ruins  sciencefiction  scifi  urban  cities  population  future  politics  economics  culture  military  terrorism  law  dystopia 
december 2008 by robertogreco
Ry Cooder’s American West - NYTimes.com
"El Mirage Dry Lake sounds like a place one step away from nonexistence, but it’s about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, out among the Joshua trees. It’s not far from Edwards Air Force Base, in the Mojave’s military-paranormal sector, where secretive government installations lie low among the jackrabbits — a land of spy planes, space aliens, off-road vehicles, sturdy reptiles and people with freaky desert habits, like racing vintage hot rods on dry lakebeds.
via:javierarbona  west  us  music  culture  space  travel  tourism  military  landscape  extopia  utopia  utopian  nytimes  races  california  drugs  economics  elmiragedrylake  mojave  desert  rycooder 
november 2008 by robertogreco
Futurism: Five Signs the United States Is Withering Away
"1. Too many internal divisions 2. A decadent culture 3. Too much military, not enough social welfare 4. Citizens do not trust their government 5. No science and engineering leadership"
us  futurism  future  decline  government  society  media  culture  military  money 
july 2008 by robertogreco
Troy Paiva Photography
see also: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostamerica/
urbandecay  exploration  photography  tonypaiva  decay  us  urbanexploration  urbanism  travel  architecture  cars  military  landscape 
june 2008 by robertogreco
Lost America: Wheels
see also: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostamerica/
urbandecay  exploration  photography  tonypaiva  decay  us  urbanexploration  urbanism  travel  architecture  cars  military  landscape 
june 2008 by robertogreco
Terrorist Triage | Print Article | Newsweek.com
"Why are the presidential candidates—and so many counterterrorism experts—afraid to say that the Al Qaeda threat is overrated?"
alqaeda  military  news  politics  psychology  terrorism  policy  risk  us  war  elections  2008 
may 2008 by robertogreco
Ten things that won't change (no matter who gets elected) | FP Passport
"America's relationship with China, partisan divide, Dependence on foreign oil, decline in manufacturing jobs, flow of illegal drugs, Military spending, influence of lobbyists, U.S. support for Israel, Ethanol subsidies, The primary system"
china  change  geopolitics  politics  us  elections  2008  policy  history  drugs  military  oil  energy  ethanol  manufacturing  economics  foreign 
february 2008 by robertogreco
Sputnik Mania
history  documentary  russia  sputnik  us  space  spacerace  military  film 
february 2008 by robertogreco
Military Mitochondria Hacking | Beyond the Beyond from Wired.com
"Folks, if this scheme works out, there is going to be absolute hell to pay. The world will be littered with ex-military mitochondria ubermenschen, energetic, youthful, tough, smart, militant and violent."
science  lifespan  biology  human  military  war  mitochondria  posthuman  metabolism 
january 2008 by robertogreco
Illiberal democracy « Mike Love’s blog
"To keep the realm needs many soldiers, horse and foot; To keep these soldiers needs much money; To get this money, the people must be rich; For the people to be rich, the laws must be just."
democracy  military  politics  war  development  freedom  via:migurski  transitions  wealth  reasources  history 
january 2008 by robertogreco
Subtopia: Floating Prisons, and Other Miniature Prefabricated Islands of Carceral Territoriality
"The deeper I get into it, the more I realize an entire book could probably be written about the subject of floating prisons -– and who knows, maybe in another dream one day I’ll write it... but for now, let’s just settle for a quick and dirty Googl
activism  architecture  psychogeography  politics  prisons  colonialism  culture  transportation  water  shipping  ships  history  government  sea  borders  boats  landscape  economics  islands  justice  chile  esmeralda  military  future  ocean  discipline  floating 
january 2008 by robertogreco
Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep
"In what sounds like a dream for millions of tired coffee drinkers, Darpa-funded scientists might have found a drug that will eliminate sleepiness."
sleep  drugs  health  future  performance  productivity  psychology  medicine  military  neuroscience  transhumanism  cognition  cognitive  brain  science  mind 
december 2007 by robertogreco
travelling slowly: Unlucky Numbers
on the naming/numbering of Chile's regions
chile  geography  names  military  numbers  politics  superstition  naming 
december 2007 by robertogreco
How Technology Almost Lost the War: In Iraq, the Critical Networks Are Social — Not Electronic
"geek vision to change nature of how war is waged: information technologies, networked computers, battlefield sensors...But the shortcomings of wired combat are forcing troops to improvise a new, socially networked kind of war."
government  intelligence  military  internet  strategy  iraq  war  social  technology 
november 2007 by robertogreco
Original Vehicles - Überschwerer Kampfschreitpanzer "Thorshammer"
"The immense, awe-inspiring, Überschwerer Kampfschreitpanzer (Superheavy Armored Walking Tank) is thought to be the brainchild of notorious Nazi (mad) scientist Doctor Siegfried Qual, who built the initial prototype as a gift to Adolph Hitler."
germany  humor  machines  military  nerds  photography  politics  starwars  ww2 
november 2007 by robertogreco
What Does Iraq Cost? Even More Than You Think.
"Set aside question of what could have accomplished at home with energy and resources devoted to Iraq & concentrate just on national security. Here, hidden cost of the war, above all, is that US has lost much of its ability to halt nuclear proliferation."
economics  war  us  iraq  korea  nuclear  military  security  politics  policy  strategy  trust  geopolitics  energy  cost  tylercowen 
november 2007 by robertogreco
Trevor Paglen - Secret Military Landscapes and the Pentagon's "Black World."
"Projects exploring and documenting hidden military landscapes. Subject matter extends from hidden installations and bases in the remotest regions of the desert to massive military infrastructures hidden in plain sight."
art  government  politics  cia  military  landscape  pentagon  activism 
november 2007 by robertogreco
How to Save the World - The Future of Education: A Conversation with Rob Paterson
'I think we have a complete mismatch between the education establishment and the kind of people we will need to get through peak oil, overpopulation, all those kind of things."
education  learning  future  schools  apprenticeships  children  students  deschooling  unschooling  johnholt  homeschool  society  lcproject  technology  knowledge  skills  business  colleges  universities  military  organizations  credentials  testing  social  socialnetworks  networks  learningnetworks  boys  peakoil  overpopulation 
november 2007 by robertogreco
Now on Google Earth: Map where Congress spends your tax dollars | Tech news blog - CNET News.com
"The Sunlight Foundation on Tuesday released a downloadable Google Earth layer that plots what it says are some 1,500 earmarks attached to a proposed U.S. House of Representatives defense spending bill."
maps  money  politics  government  defense  military  spending  taxes  googlemaps  googleearth  google  mapping  geography 
november 2007 by robertogreco
guerradelapaz.com
art  artists  installation  military  sculpture  glvo  photography 
october 2007 by robertogreco
radicalcartography - U.S. TERRITORY [Bill Rankin, 2007]
"What is the “territory” of the United States?..This wall map is my attempt at an answer. As the subtitle suggests, what I think emerges isn't a unified system of territoriality, but a hodgepodge of different attitudes toward the land and its inhabita
cartography  government  infographics  maps  mapping  us  military  states  territory  geopolitics  influence  world  international  global  geography 
october 2007 by robertogreco
Danger Room - Wired Blogs
"These "kids grew up hearing nothing but praise, all the time, everywhere. Recent childhood has been defined by ego-stroking... [They] can get disgruntled if not praised for simply 'showing up' at work," according to the report, which calls the millenials
millennials  myspace  socialnetworks  socialsoftware  socialnetworking  trends  military  demographics  generations  humor  war  parenting  youth  children  culture  psychology  self-esteem 
september 2007 by robertogreco
US Navy calls MySpace kids an "Alien Life Force" - Boing Boing
"And because the kids are such "coddled," "narcissistic praise junkies," they'll be beyond tough to bring into the military. Propensity to join the armed forces among these so-called "millennials" has dropped to as little as 3%; that's down from 26% in 20
millennials  myspace  socialnetworks  socialsoftware  socialnetworking  trends  military  demographics  generations  humor  war  parenting  youth  children  culture  psychology  self-esteem 
september 2007 by robertogreco
Biblical Living: Following Every Rule for One Year - Newsweek Beliefs - MSNBC.com
"What if you spent one year following every rule in the Bible? A. J. Jacobs did exactly that."
bible  reviews  religion  books  kevinkelly  structure  military  life  rules  choice  happiness  trends 
september 2007 by robertogreco
A year of following all the rules in the Bible - Boing Boing
see comments for further discussion
bible  reviews  religion  books  kevinkelly  structure  military  life  rules  choice  happiness  trends 
september 2007 by robertogreco
Conceptual Trends and Current Topics - A Year of Following All the Rules in the Bible
"As a devout Christian I find the experiment in this new book, The Year of Living Biblically, fascinating. The guy who wrote The Know-It-All, a book about reading the entire Encyclopedia, recently spent a year trying to follow all 700 plus rules he found
bible  reviews  religion  books  kevinkelly  structure  military  life  rules  choice  happiness  trends 
september 2007 by robertogreco
Boston Dynamics: The Leader in Lifelike Human Simulation
military  research  robotics  robots  science  biology  biomimicry 
september 2007 by robertogreco
Beyond the Beyond - Wired Blogs - Big Dog's Even More Horrible Little Robot Sister
"*That horrid little mutilated frog... don't let children under 12 watch this, as they may wake screaming, staring under their beds..."
robots  military  dogs  animals  robotics 
september 2007 by robertogreco
BBC NEWS | Middle East | British blamed for Basra badgers
"British forces have denied rumours that they released a plague of ferocious badgers into the Iraqi city of Basra."
animals  military  badgers  iraq 
july 2007 by robertogreco
Finding secrets of bats' flight could change military aircraft - The Boston Globe
"A team of engineers and biologists at Brown University has discovered that bats, the mysterious nocturnal mammals that are guided by sound and helped inspire Dracula and Batman, may hold the secret to more efficient flying machines."
animals  bats  flight  military  aircraft  flying  nature  research  biology 
july 2007 by robertogreco
BBC NEWS | Health | Bear robot rescues wounded troops
"The US military is developing a robot with a teddy bear-style head to help carry injured soldiers away from the battlefield."
robots  technology  war  ux  animals  bears  military 
june 2007 by robertogreco

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