I don’t think this means what Thomas Barnett thinks it does. He argues that the demand for armoured patrol vehicles in Iraq is an example of conflict between the objectives of his “SysAdmin” force, and the Washington-cented, tech-heavy “Leviathan”. Of course, it’s an example of conflict between the centre and the front line, but that’s…
Read More Built-In StupidityI don’t know why Danger Room is so surprised about this; apparently one of the Hungarian Air Force’s new Saab Gripens managed to claim a shootdown of a Eurofighter Typhoon during an exercise (is that the first encounter between 4th generation fighters?). The first point is that the Gripen isn’t second-rate at all, as DR…
Read More Gratuitous Dogfight BloggingSo dodgy Russians have bullied Fasthosts into darking Craig Murray’s blog, as well as a gaggle of others on the same virtual machine. (Iron-clad integrity *and* technical chops; what more do you want?) Naturally, this has only spread the poison; so here’s the complete text. Kindly post it on your own blog. In a creative…
Read More Mirrorball: Usmanov vs Craig MurrayThis list of Blackwater boss Erik Prince‘s campaign contributions has been getting heavy-traffic blogger attention due to his donation to a fake Green Party candidate. There’s better, though: consider these two line items in relation to one another. Prince, ErikMcLean, VA 22102Prince Group/Chairman PRINCIPLES EXALT A NATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1,000 primary 01/04/06 Principles, eh?…
Read More Principles!OK, so professional War On Terror bullshitter Alexis Debat worked for super-War On Terror bullshitter Amir Taheri. Those of you who use this blog’s Updated category to check corrections will have noticed that I have corrected some posts about Pakistan that used material from his writings. But I’m struggling to make out the pattern; Debat’s…
Read More Cunning tricksterWhat a weekend, eh? That’s the first run on the bank I’ve ever seen, so in the future I’ll be able to say “Well, I remember back in the Panic of ’07…what, you don’t remember the Northern Rock? What do they teach these people today? Yes, they had branches then; and cash!” “You’re not my…
Read More Build upon the Rock and not upon the…whoopsOK, so they invited some “milbloggers” to see the commander guy, and what did Defensetech find to ask him? Sweet fuck all of any consequence. Too busy gawping at teh White House crockery. Hell, I suppose I should have expected this; the creation of Wired‘s Danger Room essentially stripped it of talent, with David Axe,…
Read More Defensetech is obsoleteRemember this post regarding the trainwreck that is the NHS National Programme for IT? In it, we discussed the institutional factors that made it a trainwreck, and specifically the way demands for commercial secrecy made it impossible to involve the users in designing the system. Well, now there’s a discussion at Kevin Drum’s about how…
Read More HOWTO Build a Healthcare Computing SystemBring back the Office of Technology Assessment, say the Hoofnagles at Scienceblogs. Good point; for about thirty years, the US Congress had its own staff of scientists and engineers whose task it was to provide the legislature with independent technical advice, until it got zapped by Newt Gingrich. I’m sure it would do them some…
Read More Office of Technical AssessmentAnbar? Here’s your salvation. This frankly terrifies me; didn’t anyone think to restrain the commander guy? This was about the only counterinsurgency success they’ve had, and it’s been pissed away for the sake of a good TV picture-with-the-sound-off. Seriously. Once Bush shook hands with him on live television, he was as dead as if he’d…
Read More Whacked