Tag: military

Military Astroturfers

To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented 10000s of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world. Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance

if you get your “analysis” from an old talking head on tv, you get what you deserve

Military Nanotechnology

The book’s most controversial thesis is not that MNT is plausible and should be taken seriously; it is that the only coherent response to this technology’s military implications is to develop global governance structures that supersede existing national powers. “The traditional way of guaranteeing national security–namely the threat of armed force–may no longer be compatible with the advance of technology,” he argues. And since security “can no longer be reliably ensured by national armed forces,” he prescribes “strengthened international institutions and international law, in particular criminal law with prosecution of perpetrators, moving into a direction toward an international monopoly of legitimate force, strong enough to prevent or punish threats or use of illegal force.”

a book that talks about MNT dangers as of ca. 2003 does not assuage your concerns, exactly. things are moving much faster than that..

Arcade Recruiting

The US Army has developed a stand-up arcade version of its video-game “America’s Army” and it will seed it in arcades around the country. This is straight out of a science fiction novel, but what would be even more skiffy is if they were to put these in arcades outside of the US. I’m surprised they’re charging to play these games — the natural thing would be to make these the only free games in the arcade, so the poorest and most desperate kids would dominate them, absorbing messages about signing up.

straight out of starship troopers