June 3, 2009

You thought the Hummer being put on the block was symbolism? This is symbolism: the bloated, militaristic, fuel-guzzling cultural trope itself is being sold to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery. Yes; an unheralded outfit from the deep west, not even Shenzhen or Shanghai. Seeing as its core business is making construction gear, tankers, and off-road…

Read More giant symbol crashes and overturns, killing billions of dollars

This is interesting; the US Army in Afghanistan has an official Twitter account. The interesting thing is the explanation: If prevailing wisdom about “population-centric” counterinsurgency holds, why is the U.S. military using Twitter to post body counts? Apparently, it’s about maintaining the support of the population back at home. In a must-read article, Michael Phillips…

Read More twittering the home front