http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/opinion/17kristof.html
In light of our discussion about selfishness and giving, I thought I would include the article that I referred to in class about altruism. Enjoy (whether you agree or not).
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Blackwater
January 2010: Adam Ciralsky on Blackwater Politics & Power: vanityfair.com
Blackwater is infamous. It is accused of reviving a practice that has been dead in the West for more than a hundred years. Mercenaries or soldiers for hire was a common practice among many European powers during their imperial periods through the 16th and 18th centuries. The ancient world also used them. In fact, Rome despised Carthage because it used them to fight. The Roman Republican believed that wars should only be fought with one's own citizens. It was the duty of a citizen to fight. Well, the rise of Blackwater and other private military contractors has raised the question of whether we should be relying on them to help fight our battles. This Vanity Fair piece provides a nice account of who Blackwater is.
Blackwater is infamous. It is accused of reviving a practice that has been dead in the West for more than a hundred years. Mercenaries or soldiers for hire was a common practice among many European powers during their imperial periods through the 16th and 18th centuries. The ancient world also used them. In fact, Rome despised Carthage because it used them to fight. The Roman Republican believed that wars should only be fought with one's own citizens. It was the duty of a citizen to fight. Well, the rise of Blackwater and other private military contractors has raised the question of whether we should be relying on them to help fight our battles. This Vanity Fair piece provides a nice account of who Blackwater is.
Snipers
Febraury 2010: William Langewiesche on American Snipers Politics & Power: vanityfair.com
Vanity Fair has had some really excellent articles about the War on Terror. This one is an incredible personal account of the internal horror of being a sniper and how critical these fighters are becoming in Afghanistan.
Vanity Fair has had some really excellent articles about the War on Terror. This one is an incredible personal account of the internal horror of being a sniper and how critical these fighters are becoming in Afghanistan.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Border Security
Watch CBS News Videos Online
60 Minutes had a very nice piece on some techniques the Department of Homeland Security is using to control the border. It raises some very interesting points about not only the difficulty of managing the Southern Border, but what is the best way to go about it. It seems that there is a range of opinions, but one method is to rely on technology. We have tried a physical fence; now, we are in the process of using a virtual fence. As you will see, tech solutions are not full-proof.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Comparing 9/11 and the Christmas Bomber
Op-Ed Contributors - How 12/25 Was Like 9/11 - NYTimes.com
This is a nice article that compares 9/11 to 12/25. Two underlying administrative issues behind the attacks on 9/11 was the inability to coordinate information. The CIA, FBI, and NSA had pieces to the puzzle, but refused to share. Another issue was the inability of the state to gather intelligence. Administrative agencies didn't have the means to gather what was needed. Well, we were supposed to fix both of those problems. It seemed that we addressed the second one, even though many argue that we sacrificed our civil liberties for security. We gather billions of pieces of intelligence daily. The problem is how to coordinate and conflate those pieces of data in order to stop attacks. As the Christmas bomber showed, we clearly haven't figured out how to connect the dots.
This is a nice article that compares 9/11 to 12/25. Two underlying administrative issues behind the attacks on 9/11 was the inability to coordinate information. The CIA, FBI, and NSA had pieces to the puzzle, but refused to share. Another issue was the inability of the state to gather intelligence. Administrative agencies didn't have the means to gather what was needed. Well, we were supposed to fix both of those problems. It seemed that we addressed the second one, even though many argue that we sacrificed our civil liberties for security. We gather billions of pieces of intelligence daily. The problem is how to coordinate and conflate those pieces of data in order to stop attacks. As the Christmas bomber showed, we clearly haven't figured out how to connect the dots.
Basic Idea
Shields and screens are fairly basic concepts. One is fairly an old defensive tool while the other is a modern technique. A shield is a simple instrument used to defend oneself. It is also used as an identification measure. A screen, however, is a bit more complicated. A screen can be used to project a particular image to oneself or the world. They are also used, like shields, as a protective measure. In fact, both are relied upon for protection and presenting. What this blogs seeks to do is to analyze and critique how the state and society use both shields and screens in everyday life to control and care for their populations. This securitization of the state in a world of terror is both very necessary and very dangerous.
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