Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007
THE STRATEGIST EN FUEGO!
I liked these posts quite a bit; nicely done Strat.
“How to Survive in Modern Times“
My survival kit has cheaper whiskey, I fear.
Archive for the ‘Blogroll’ Category
Saturday, September 29th, 2007
NEW(ish) TO THE BLOGROLL
Recent additions to my blogroll, all worthy of attention, though having little in common, certainly not politically or topically, other than that fact.
Network Weaving ( Valdis Krebs’ blog)
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
RELATED DISCUSSION
Swedish Meatballs Confidential:
“If we are to take the idea and actions of the Long War seriously then we must immediately come to terms with the full spectrum of consequences of our nation engaged in COIN everywhere and always. For this, only IO against self can provide us the slightest of chances for persevering without being sundered from within by the trauma of old school losses coming back to gnaw at a Will reared on the decisive and temporally compartmentalized wins of the history books that have reared us. Otherwise we would do best in working for outlooks and solutions beyond the framework of the Long War. However, such choices are perhaps best left for consideration by more driven and invested minds.
So what do you say, Bernays – any hidden costs? Is this where democracy ends or perhaps where democracy only truly can begin?”
Matt at MountainRunner:
“The answer: Yes and no to both. In part, Smith-Mundt is a response to Bernays’ activities thirty-five years earlier. During the massive restructuring of the United States to counter the emerging ideological threat coming from all angles (remember the National Security Act of 1947 was passed during the two years of debate on Smith-Mundt), Smith-Mundt was to protect democracy, not from itself but from the outside. Protection inside was mainly for the broadcasters, which Benton vigorously and successfully courted the broadcasters and continued to do so afterward its passage in a period of increasingly rapid (relatively) news cycles and accessibility.
The Swede is right, something significant needs to be done with Smith-Mundt, but attempts at an outright dismissal will be met by a swift and emotional counter-reaction. What is necessary is a conversation on the topic to understand its purpose and intent. “
Nice.
A few days ago, I discussed H-Diplo (a Listserv) as weaker platform than a blog, despite the past richness as a community of interest ( some folks feel the time of H-Net is long over). Today, I featured an H-Diplo roundtable that could only be most easily put together by a high-powered community of vertical-thinking experts. That is a listserv operating at it’s best, showcasing an exchange of real scholarly depth and nuance.
Nevertheless, the exchange that just occurred between SMC and Matt would never have happened on a moderated forum like H-Diplo. Too cross-disciplinary. Too idiosyncratic. Too controversial. Too much a square peg in the round hole. Too…too…undisciplinary!
Either platform serves a purpose but one is fading and the other is rising.
Saturday, September 15th, 2007
MEANWHILE…BACK AT THE BLOG
I have a number of posts in the works but professional and personal committments are sharply reducing blogging time. Should have some new posts up either later this evening or early tomorrow. Things should hopefully lighten up around Tuesday.
However, I did help spark a cross-blog conversation on 5GW and generations of war theory between ProgressiveHistorians and Dreaming 5GW. Pundita was also kind enough to feature a few remarks of mine that I sent via email. Check out the discussions.
Finally, congrats to A.E. of Simulated Laughter for being the latest to join the impressive stable of writers that Curtis has given a home to at Dreaming 5GW.
Going offline now….over and out!
Thursday, September 13th, 2007
THE VIRTUE OF RECIPROCITY
If you are a blogger and you link to me, and, heretofore, I have not linked to you or generally appear to be unaware of your existence, drop me an email so that I can check out your blog. I like to extend reciprocal blogroll linkage, except where ppl seem like they might be a little bit crackers and wearing one too many layers of Reynold’s Wrap on their cranium.
If you are a diamond in the rough, I’ll try to bring you to the attention of smart ppl in my network.
