My Life and Times

Quote of the week

macengr — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:34:26 +0000

“Clausewitz’s claim to contemporary relevance has more than the prevalence of civil wars and of conflicts between non-state actors with which to contend…those who now reject Clausewitz, like all those who have done so in the past, do so on the basis of a selective reading of a vast body of material. On War is itself unfinished: the text which we have is a work in progress and its judgments are not consistent. That is the very source of its enduring strength.”

—Hew Strachan

Tweets of the Week

macengr — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:01:34 +0000

I’m starting to filter these so they’re not so long, and hopefully of more value to you.

Rosa Brooks ‏@brooks_rosa : A Drone of One’s Own – By Rosa Brooks | Foreign Policy http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/03/21/a_drone_of_ones_own#.UUuYTV2p-Sc.twitter …

J. Scott Shipman ‏@jscottshipman : Thus far; excellent: Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King http://www.amazon.com/dp/0142000159/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_HbYsrb007PG0M …

Text Message Retention Policies http://bit.ly/15x1aTC

What a novel concept: What’s Missing from the Iraq Debate? Iraqis – By Marc Lynch http://atfp.co/YIN7q0

*headdesk* x 100 : Are Urban Explorers Really a Threat to Our National Security? http://bit.ly/YIMWuT

When Technology Overtakes Security http://bit.ly/ZzZDLK

Global Cities of the Super-Rich http://bit.ly/ZAWefG

Booming Asian Cities Are Tugging The World’s Center of Light East http://bit.ly/Y0aqQr

Ebay style feedback could secure military networks http://bit.ly/ZefEDL

Rachel Held Evans ‏@rachelheldevans : Christianity Today Gleanings: International Justice Mission Wins ‘Landmark’ Sex Trafficking Conviction in India http://buff.ly/ZLzys6

Calestous Juma ‏@calestous : Global Evolution of Biomanufacturing http://bit.ly/10iNpsi

Small Wars Journal ‏@smallwars : The Trajectory of Intelligence Practice from DESERT SHIELD to IRAQI FREEDOM to Today http://bit.ly/YpHxcQ #Iraq #Intelligence

On Modern-Day Slavery: Today We’ve Disappeared by April Yamasaki http://feedly.com/k/XpULGi

Daniel Solomon ‏@Dan_E_Solo : All politics are local, gendered edition: what role for women in northern #Mali’s insurgency? http://bit.ly/YFL3z1 . (via @sahelblog)

After the Aircraft Carrier: 3 Alternatives to the Navy’s Vulnerable Flattops http://bit.ly/YVOUet

5 Trends That Will Drive The Future of Technology http://bit.ly/Y4cTvm

Three wars that will define America’s future: Silicon, Iron, and Shadow – By David W. Barno http://atfp.co/15ZYu2Z

Tyrannicide and the Lost Republic http://bit.ly/ZsL4cP via @zenpundit

Pitt professor lands $3.4M NIH grant for wearable artificial lung http://bit.ly/WE3rg8

FinSpy surveillance software package: http://bit.ly/15YL732

A consumer’s guide to 3D printers: See:… http://bit.ly/Y0ed2o

Summary article on the state-sponsored Gauss malware: Gauss http://bit.ly/11eYDAy

China’s BGI to Sequence 2,200 Geniuses In Search For “Smart” Genes http://bit.ly/XWYEX9

Marissa Mayer and Einheit: Desperate measures http://bit.ly/109rYK8

China replaces Britain in world’s top five arms exporters: report http://reut.rs/ZC2qTC via @reuters

10 Years After the Iraq War, How Has Baghdad Changed? http://bit.ly/116BzjM

This is VERY cool: Turning a Persian Rug Into a City http://bit.ly/YkzYqU

How Many Steps Do You Really Look Ahead? http://bit.ly/YNngjW

To COIN or Not? – An FP Roundtable http://atfp.co/115qVcR

Argo http://bit.ly/11a77ZG @zenpundit gives it a thumbs up.

Potential drought resilience strategies for the Horn of Africa http://bit.ly/WRwcY2

Everyday Leaks From Sewer Systems Lead to Alarming Amounts of Sewage in Our Waterways http://bit.ly/Wy89Mo

Lessons in Self-Defense for Women, From Tahrir Square http://bit.ly/134LTOc

Big Data and You http://bit.ly/ZDWBoH

Ummm…YES! Should We Set Up Drone Guidelines? http://bit.ly/Wy56Ea

Guess who’s coming to dinner…Bruno Maisonnier: Dancing, tiny robots! http://bit.ly/WufigW

Scary stuff: How Drones Can Live off the Land for Years http://bit.ly/WufcpF

Biomedicine Update: Progress on the AIDS/HIV Front http://bit.ly/YkJg3d

The Rise of the Cossacks Amidst Russia’s Decline http://bit.ly/ZKsA5i

Agriculture and Husbandry: The Slow-Motion Singularity http://bit.ly/ZKrma0

Washington “Cancels” Fourth Stage of European Phased Adaptive Approach http://bit.ly/ZAKAjP

Science of Digital Fabrication – Materials and Mechanisms: 3D Printing http://bit.ly/XQgg6I

Quote of the week

macengr — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:54:24 +0000

“The history of war represents fully half the tale of mankind’s social interactions, and one cannot understand war without understanding its political and social underpinnings (Conversely, one cannot understand political history or cultural development without understanding war.”

Caleb Carr, Introduction to the Modern Library War Series

Tweets of the week ending March 14

macengr — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:20:04 +0000

A Brief History of Suburbia’s Rise and Fall http://feedly.com/k/XMjx72

News: Why Pope Francis Excites (Most) Evangelical Leaders http://feedly.com/k/13WsoGO

There’s always a catch:

Carbon nanotubes as a potent cancer promoter – new data from NIOSH http://feedly.com/k/16wLe7g

Space junk is a major problem:

FYI, We’ve at least 500,000 objects moving around 18,000… http://feedly.com/k/XcoaDJ

On Secrecy http://feedly.com/k/13YqyW7

Saddam a tyrant, but war was wrong http://feedly.com/k/Xco534

Stuxnet is Much Older than We Thought http://feedly.com/k/16wHN0c

Mission Creep in the War on Terror – By Rosa Brooks http://atfp.co/ZLAwEC

Hacked credit agencies info all over P2P networks http://bit.ly/WKAtfQ

Curious as to @davidgraeber ‘s thoughts on this:

In Defense of Homo Economicus http://bit.ly/ZKRvH7

‏@RobertDKaplan RT @stratfor: George Friedman and Robert D. Kaplan discuss how realism and morality both affect politics http://bit.ly/Znzr66

Will be interesting to see what blowback they get:

Moscow Says ‘No’ To New Mosques http://feedly.com/k/ZPtroy

Nationalism on the Internet http://feedly.com/k/15OfCso

The Future Of E-Commerce For Small Businesses http://feedly.com/k/ZPsHQl

Are We Ready for an Internet Cold War? via bigthink http://feedly.com/k/ZqjEU5

connected-marketing by Chris Anderson:

Peer production, open source,… http://feedly.com/k/ZPskFx

Pope Francis I, economic crusader http://feedly.com/k/ZqjiNe

Starring Pittsburgh’s own @woycheck :

SXSW, Pittsburgh-style: Guest blog http://bit.ly/YbKUUP

Energy Update: Japan First to Extract Natural Gas from Ice http://bit.ly/13Wudny

Beyond 3D Printing: Self Assembly – Even as 3D is just slowly… http://bit.ly/WnVJ8A

Security Theater on the Wells Fargo Website http://bit.ly/YoFIPG

South Africa’s economic outlook in 2013 http://bit.ly/15MHo8t

Why and how to map the new economy in your city http://ow.ly/iR7HY

Reflections on “The Future of Evangelicalism” http://bit.ly/15MHkWk

Interested in #foodsecurity ? You should probably see this movie:

What ‘food industry’ actually means http://bit.ly/16s633H

Why Big Data Marketing Can’t Do It All http://bit.ly/YnFkAZ

The Outsized Role of Britain in the Modern World http://bit.ly/13W01c7

Excellent infographic on tomorrow’s world:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130102-tomorrows-world … http://bit.ly/XtQFm6

“Iraq In The Year 2023″ Simulation Executive Summary http://bit.ly/15MGpVT

And so it begins: China plans first commercial trip through Arctic shortcut in 2013: http://bit.ly/Y9ivyy

5 big problems of big data http://bit.ly/16s4GBW

Why It’s Nearly Impossible to Make GPS Work for India http://bit.ly/13Tbbhl

Hacking Best-seller Lists http://bit.ly/16s413m

Window Cleaning Robots Making Their Way To Skyscraper Happy United Arab Emirates http://bit.ly/15MET6e

Cisco IP Phone Hack http://bit.ly/16pNhtK

Cool concept:

Can Floating Architecture Save This Nigerian Slum? http://bit.ly/XoZs8W

I’d say very much.

Iraq 10 Years Later (1): How Culpable is Academic International Relations? http://bit.ly/15KCkSg

Energy Update: New Molten-Salt Reactor Company a Spinoff from MIT http://bit.ly/16pye2Z

Never thought this was realistic:

The SysAdmin was meant to be “light” http://bit.ly/16py5wC

Whither China-US relations?

The Good Ol’ Cold War http://bit.ly/Yj7OvC

“The Logic of Surveillance” http://bit.ly/15KBRzu

CMU unveils CHIMP designed to help in a disaster http://bit.ly/XoXvt3

Links – AI & Robots http://bit.ly/13RsoYH

Technological trends in agriculture http://bit.ly/16pvgvp

SpaceX’s Grasshopper Rocket Launches, Hovers, and Lands [Video] http://bit.ly/YpPZrC

By the author of the excellent Wired for War, @peterwsinger

The Global Swarm – By P.W. Singer http://atfp.co/Yf7TAh

Environment Update: New Study Indicates Northern Vegetation is Changing with Rising Temperatures http://bit.ly/Yf7Pka

Why the Afghan ‘peace conference’ idea keeps bombing http://bit.ly/Y6ntw3

Gizmos & Gadgets: 3D Desktop Scanning Makes Replicating 3D in Print a Lot Easier http://bit.ly/10E0VZF

Peter Ellyard – Rapid Prototying the Future http://bit.ly/Wi2JUD

What do STEM employers want? http://bit.ly/YnJVjj

The elder entitlement conundrum: raising retirement age doesn’t get you what you want http://bit.ly/YnJw0t

James Bridle on the Canon Drone http://sto.ly/ZueNQ2

If We Want Competitive Economies, We Must Manage Our Water Better http://bit.ly/ZfxFDZ

WWF plans to use drones to protect wildlife | Environment | The Guardian http://bit.ly/YdwcPl

Iranian leader brings the crazy, via @hipbonegamer on @zenpundit :

Chavez and the Second Coming? http://bit.ly/YdxkCg

Is Software Security a Waste of Money? http://bit.ly/YW3Sh4

Embracing the Autocatalytic City http://bit.ly/ZfxeJC

Infinity Journal is always worth a read:

Strategic Theory Monday Twofer http://bit.ly/16m8HHX

Fearsome UK Robot Aircraft Is Semi-Autonomous and Will Fly in 2013 http://bit.ly/16m8C7j

Books I Read in 2012

macengr — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 17:18:05 +0000

It’s that time of year again. My reading was down a little this year due to the fact that I was working full time and reading some longer books.

January

1.) Christ Empowered Living: Celebrating Your Significance in God - Selwyn Hughes

2.) Regeneration (Species Imperative #3) - Julie Czerneda

3.) Chaos: A Graphic Guide (Introducing Series) - Zaiuddin Sardar and Iwona Abrams

4.) Catching Fire (The Hunger Games#2) - Suzanne Collins

5.) Astrobiology: A Brief Introduction - Kevin W. Plaxco and Michael Gross

6.) Thinking in Systems: A Primer - Donella H. Meadows

7.) Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) - Suzanne Collins

8.) Life in Space: Astrobiology for Everyone - Lucas John Mix

9.) War - Sebastian Junger

February

10.) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C. S. Lewis

11.) The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy - Sasha Issenberg

12.) Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics - John Derbyshire

March

13.) Stuff: The Materials the World is Made Of - Ivan Amato

14.) Success through Failure: The Paradox of Design - Henry Petroski

15.) One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way - by Robert Maurer, Ph. D.

16.) Centauri Dreams: Imagining and Planning Interstellar Exploration - Paul Gilster

17.) The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade - Pietra Rivoli

April

18.) Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking - Charles Siefe

19.) Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis - Lauren F. Winner

May

20.) The Silver Chair (Narnia) - C. S. Lewis

21) Caesar’s Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar’s Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome - Stephen Dando-Collins

22) Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think - Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler

23) The Detachment (A John Rain novel) - Barry Eisler

24) Fifty Shades of Grey - E. L. James

25) Fifty Shades Darker - E. L. James

26) Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next - Greg Lindsay and John D. Kasarda

June

27) Private Dancer - Stephen Leather

28) Fifty Shades Freed - E. L. James

29) Dubai Dreams: Inside the Kingdom of Bling - Raymond Barrett

30) A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy - Miyamoto Musashi

31) Dubai: Gilded Cage - Syed Ali

32) Amped - Daniel H. Wilson

July

33) China Safari: On the Trail of Beijing’s Expansion in Africa - Serge Michel, Michel Beuret, Paolo Woods

34) All Fall Down - Vern McGeorge

35) City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism - Jim Krane

36) Looking for trouble: Adventures in a Broken World - Ralph Peters

37) When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne 1405-33 - Louise Levathes

38) Ice: Stories of Survival from Polar Exploration - Clint Willis, ed.

39) Night Without End - Alistair Maclean

August

40) Untapped: The Scramble for Africa’s Oil - John Ghazvinian

41) Birds of Prey: The Battle Within - Gail Simone et al (Comic Book Graphic Novel)

42) Filters Against Folly: How to Survive Despite Economists, Ecologists, and the Merely Eloquent - Garrett Hardin

43) The Twelfth Imam - Joel C. Rosenberg

44) Batman: Battle for the Cowl - Tony S. Daniel et al (Comic Book Graphic Novel)

45) Batman: The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul - Grant Morrison et al (Comic Book Graphic Novel)

46) Birds of Prey: Metropolis or Dust - Sean McKeever et al (Comic Book Graphic Novel)

47) Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil - Nicholas Shaxson

48) Implosion: Can America Recover From Its Economic & Spiritual Challenges in Time? - Joel C. Rosenberg

49) Knocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World - Lisa Randall

September

50) Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West - Tom Holland

51) The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love - Kristin Kimball

52) Grow the Good Life: Why a Vegetable Garden Will Make You Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise - Michele Owens

53) Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success - By John R. Wooden et al.

54) Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Life - Joel C. Rosenberg

55) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food - by Barbara Kingsolver

October

56) Why the West Rules – For Now: The Patterns of History and What They Reveal About the Future - Ian Morris

57) Eastward to Tartary: Travels in the Balkans, the Middle East, and the Caucasus - Robert D. Kaplan

58) Treasure Islands: Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens - Nicholas Shaxson

59) Fractions and Decimals Made Easy (Making Math Easy) (with Jacob) – Rebecca Wingard-Nelson

60) Isaac Asimov’s Robot City: Prodigy (Robot City #4) - Arthur Byron Cover

61) Fraction Fun - (with Jacob) David A. Adler

62) The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization - Jonathan Lyons

63) Working With Fractions - (with Jacob) David A. Adler

64) Hopping On the Number Line (Little World Math Concepts) (with Jacob) - Nancy Allen

65) Estimation (A Young Math Book) (with Jacob) - Charles F. Linn

66) Learning to Eat Soup With a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam - John A. Nagl

67) What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East - Bernard Lewis

November

68) Pump Six and Other Stories - Paolo Bacigalupi

69) The Great Divorce - C.S. LewiS

70) Philosophical Tales: Being an Alternative History Revealing the Characters, the Plots, and the Hidden Scenes That Make Up the True Story of Philosophy - Martin Cohen

71) Contemporary Security Studies, 2nd Edition - Allan Collins, editor

72) What Do Muslims Believe: The Roots and Realities of Modern Islam - Ziauddin Sardar

73) Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church - James K. A. Smith

74) Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books - Azar Nafisi

75) Engineering Systems: Meeting Human Needs in a Complex Technological World - Olivier L. de Weck, Daniel Roos, and Christopher L. Magee

76) Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order - Steven Strogatz

77) Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson

78) Celtic Vision: Prayers, Blessings, Songs, and Invocations from the Gaelic Tradition - Esther de Waal (editor)

79) Five Golden Rules: Great Theories of 20th-Century Mathematics and Why They Matter - John L. Casti

December

80) Constantinople: The Forgotten Empire - Isaac Asimov

81) Female Soldiers in Sierra Leone: Sex, Security and Post-Conflict Development - Megan H. MacKenzie

82) Omnipotence and other Theological Mistakes - Charles Hartshorne

83) The Teeth of the Tiger - Tom Clancy

84) Exit Plan - Larry Bond

85) e: The Story of a Number - Eli Maor

86) Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic - Tom Holland

Down the Rabbit Hole: International Security and Gender

macengr — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:43:36 +0000

“…through understanding and placing notions of gender at the centre of any debate on security we unleash a series of interlocking understandings of the way people of either sex relate to fear, violence, insecurity, violence, and the institutions of war and peace.”

–Caroline Kennedy-Pipes, “Gender and Security”

Source: Contemporary Security Studies, 2nd edn, by Alan Collins, Oxford University Press, NY, NY, 2010

I feel like I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole with this one. Dr. Megan MacKenzie and I had a discussion on Twitter about women in combat (I wrote a blog post here) and for years, I interacted with Kelly Smith, a pastor in the United Methodist Church, who is a feminist.

Now you have to understand where I’m coming from – I’m a white, male, Christian, conservative. You can probably guess that I know little of feminism and what I do know, I generally don’t agree with. Yes, yes, women are equal to men and have the same rights, of course I believe that. It’s the more, shall we say, liberal aspects that I tend to disagree with.

Anyway, having recently finished Contemporary Security Studies, I find that my knowledge of philosophy is woefully lacking for understanding the various schools of thought (constructivism, post-marxism, neoliberalism, etc.). In particular, the Copenhagen School seems to be very influential these days and so I’ve gone back and started reading to try to fill the gaps in my knowledge. Reading Dr. MacKenzie (see the first chapter of her book, Female Soldiers in Sierra Leone) introduced me to Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida, as well as feminist theory – and believe me, it never occurred to me that feminist theory would have ANYTHING at all to do with the subject – I mean, I grew up on Rambo and (the original) Red Dawn under Reagan.

Also, I went to Seminary many moons ago, and briefly had my face rubbed in Feminist Theology, but I bailed – I wasn’t ready, and I freely admit it – to engage the subject.

Now I am, and so into the exploration of gender and security and theology and technology and how they relate to feminism I go. Half of the world is female, and many female scholars working in International Relations and Security have studied these concepts, so I think it’s worth it to at least understand it, even if I don’t agree with it. I’m starting with Judith Butler’s Undoing Gender. I’ll keep you posted…

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-11-10

macengr — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:51:43 +0000

16h RT @USATODAY Nearly 40% say marriage is becoming obsoletehttp://usat.ly/9CEuJ4

9 Nov Nils Gilman ‏@nils_gilman

Counterinsurgency as a catalyst for information technology revolutions: http://www.juancole.com/2012/11/americas-coming-space-wars-mccoy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29&utm_content=Google+Reader …

21h SpaceRef Business ‏@spacecommerce

ESA’s IXV reentry vehicle prepares for soft landing http://srs.gs/l3O

21h Dilithium? Space Time Crystals – Scientists have devised a method to create… http://bit.ly/TgkTSQ

21h Covert War with Iran Knows No Boundaries http://bit.ly/RN0SDe

21h Headlines at 21st Century Tech for November 9, 2012 http://bit.ly/S5kFMs

21h China Makes It Official: Game of Thrones Is On http://bit.ly/TQ4Ygj

8 Nov US AFRICOM ‏@USAfricaCommand

Eight Navies Complete East African Exercise Cutlass Express 2012http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=8434&lang=0 … #AFRICOM @NAVEUR_NAVAF

9 Nov J. Scott Shipman ‏@jscottshipman

Largo Man’s Labors of Love: Good Food and Warfare http://j.mp/ZdoGDO

23h Gary McGraw on National Cybersecurity http://bit.ly/XpHBNa

23h Taliban suicide bomber attacks Rangers HQ in Karachi http://bit.ly/XpHzFc

9 Nov @jason_d_carr Exactly. The same thing that resulted in US jobs going there – they didn’t learn from history!

9 Nov China Losing Jobs to Vietnam http://bit.ly/RMKZNf

9 Nov We’re doomed: Poll: Nearly One Third Of Americans Would Accept ‘TSA Body Cavity Search’ in Order to Fly http://bit.ly/UqWSNl

9 Nov More al Qaeda links to Cairo terror cell reportedly foundhttp://bit.ly/Q1NGxK

9 Nov How Terrorist Groups Disband http://bit.ly/RJnHJy

9 Nov I’d say this is stretching it a wee bit… Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations http://bit.ly/RMHKFH

9 Nov Building Resilient Cities: A Conversation With Andrew Zolli and Jonathan Rose http://bit.ly/RJo9rj

9 Nov Still want to know when he’s returning that peace prize: War Plans for Mali Leaked http://bit.ly/UqU175

8 Nov Bionic Limbs Step Up – Thought-Controlled Prosthetic Leg Climbs 2,100 Stair Building http://bit.ly/PH17BL

8 Nov US drone strike near Yemeni capital kills AQAP commander, 2 fighters http://bit.ly/UbIz9p

8 Nov The Race to a Billion Billion Operations Per Second: An Exaflop by 2018? http://bit.ly/YQRp25

8 Nov Some suggestions to the GOP from @zenpundit : The Republican Party: A Strategic View http://bit.ly/VHMcKk

8 Nov Profitable climate fixes are too tempting for rogue geoengineers to resist: http://guardian.co.uk http://bit.ly/XmMKFN

8 Nov Kepler’s Conjecture falls: Pitt professor cracks 400-year-old math mystery http://bit.ly/SwFwcg

8 Nov Possible Habitable World in a Six-Planet System http://bit.ly/PGA4Xj

8 Nov Trouble at the Top in China http://bit.ly/VVbIXQ

8 Nov Game of Thrones: Anglosphere Moves as Australia and Canada Boost India Ties http://bit.ly/VV9Yhj

8 Nov *headdesk* Pennsylvania gives billions to companies, gets little back, studies say http://bit.ly/VV69Zs

7 Nov Taliban suicide bomber kills 5 people in Peshawar http://bit.ly/Uln3F9

7 Nov Milena Rodban ‏@MilenaRodban

US stocks plunge after Election Day; major indexes close more than 2% down - @CNBC http://bit.ly/UlcD8u

7 Nov Regulation as a Prisoner’s Dilemma http://bit.ly/RJ7qCQ

7 Nov Mogadishu on the Mend http://bit.ly/VTBf3I

7 Nov Fiscal Cliff Notes – By Gordon Adams http://bit.ly/Suhq1C

7 Nov In Laos, Xayaburi dam to go ahead http://bit.ly/VTApUv

7 Nov Zawahiri says raids on diplomatic facilities were ‘defeats’ for UShttp://bit.ly/RHT9q6

7 Nov Wow. This would be historic indeed. Puerto Rico…the state: The most important election result? http://bit.ly/YL3gi1

7 Nov RT @Wikistrat: Will environmentalists halt economic development of Arctic region? #HowTheArcticWasWon simulation analyzes cc:@arcticfutures

7 Nov Singularity Hub ‏@singularityhub

New at the #Dentist - 3D Printing Dental Crowns While you Wait | Singularity Hub http://singularityhub.com/2012/11/07/new-at-the-dentist-3d-printing-dental-crowns-while-you-wait/ … @sironadental #3dPrint #CAD #CAM

7 Nov Big Think ‏@bigthink

One culture, one society. “Multicultural society” is a physical (and sociological) impossibility. @SatoshiKanazawa http://bigthink.com/e-pur-si-muove/why-multicultural-society-is-a-logical-impossibility …

7 Nov US AFRICOM ‏@USAfricaCommand

African Students Learn the Truth about Securityhttp://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=8431&lang=0 … #AFRICOM

6 Nov Dear Chris Matthews: No, YOU’RE the idiot:http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/11/matthews-thirdparty-voters-are-idiots-148639.html …

View summary

6 Nov Jacob ‏@Darjeelingzen

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” H. L. Mencken

6 Nov In light of the PA voting machine screwup, Democrats: Don’t get cocky: http://bit.ly/VRoDKk

6 Nov Biomedicine Update: Building a Better Human Using Medical Technology http://bit.ly/VRn8vN

6 Nov On Pakistan and nukes: @cchristinefair : Great article in Foreign Policy! http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/05/pakistani_power_play …

6 Nov CIA Spy Girl ‏@CIAspygirl

Small Favor: Please don’t post any #Election2012 results or comments. I’m tivo-ing the election & will watch this weekend after#Homeland.

6 Nov ISAF captured IMU weapons trafficker in northern Afghanistanhttp://bit.ly/YEgi0T

6 Nov Laura Walker ‏@LauraWalkerKC

Special Forces and Navy SEALS Head to Polls, Counter Black Panther Presence http://shar.es/GHOyi

6 Nov Jane McGonigal ‏@avantgame

It’s amazing how many people are tweeting at me who believe the myth that voter fraud is common. http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/11/05/1139141/mccain-strategist-admits-voter-fraud-doesnt-really-exist/?mobile=nc …

6 Nov Good read: RT @angie_a: When in doubt, ACThttp://www.andreaanastasiou.com/2012/11/06/when-in-doubt-act/ …

6 Nov Teratocracy Triumphant? http://bit.ly/QlfRYb via @cascio

6 Nov New CEO at RedZone Robotics http://bit.ly/VRd4mz

6 Nov He called it: Carl Sagan on politics in the age of informationhttp://bit.ly/SWQfha

6 Nov Small Wars Journal ‏@smallwars

Dual Use? #Iran‘s nuclear program http://bit.ly/RC0ARj

6 Nov Pakistani General to Civilian Leadership: Don’t Mess with Ushttp://bit.ly/SVZApt

6 Nov mObi – The Latest Arrival To The Crowded Telepresence Robot Scene http://bit.ly/SqN0xn

6 Nov Is Japan heading for a Zombie future? http://bit.ly/YRTE4c

6 Nov Another Sunday, Another Attack on African Christians http://bit.ly/RDie7f

6 Nov Al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bomber kills 31 at Iraqi Army base in Tajihttp://bit.ly/YCxt2Q

6 Nov KurzweilAINews ‏@KurzweilAINews

Blind mole rats may hold key to cancer: Some 23% of humans die of cancer, but blind mole rats — which can live f… http://bit.ly/RQuIFd

6 Nov American Suzuki to file for bankruptcy, end U.S. auto saleshttp://lat.ms/YCcRI1

6 Nov Already had this book in my anti-library: Book Review: Lords of the Sea by John R. Hale http://bit.ly/UvinHl via @zenpundit

6 Nov Lots of good links here: China linkage: Party Congress, round-tripping, Mao’s thought, mega dams and more http://bit.ly/VQtDPu

6 Nov @stcolumbia Or retaliation by those countries, either. We’d never do one in Russia or China…

View conversation

6 Nov Thomas P.M. Barnett ‏@thomaspmbarnett

China bad sign #2: young professionals leaving in record numbershttp://thomaspmbarnett.squarespace.com/globlogization/2012/11/6/china-bad-sign-2-young-professionals-leaving-in-record-numbe.html …

6 Nov New Vulnerability Against Industrial Control Systems http://bit.ly/U6AByb

6 Nov Future of logistics, supply chain management, freight,… http://bit.ly/SUPqFJ

6 Nov Uncertainty Increasing, Which Is Postnormal http://sto.ly/Ug6XfS

6 Nov A Christian view of the election: This Is Not A Democracyhttp://bit.ly/VygEq1

5 Nov Kind of puts it in perspective: CHART – U.S. Corporate Profits Vs. Employee Wages http://bit.ly/WsuprH

5 Nov Losing Yemen – By Gregory Johnsen http://bit.ly/REUSws

5 Nov 12 Catastrophes the Next President Must Avoid – By David Rothkopfhttp://bit.ly/SOIfRS

5 Nov Syrian Rebels Get Better at Fighting But Not at Governinghttp://bit.ly/RES827

5 Nov Erdogan Goes to Gaza http://bit.ly/Qj32h1

5 Nov China: big bad sign #1 (money leaks out) http://bit.ly/RahJzV

5 Nov Chemical Plant Protest in China Highlights Growing Popular Powerhttp://bit.ly/SOP3yP

5 Nov Al-Qaeda on the Run in Algeria? http://bit.ly/QiGIUG

5 Nov Another anti-Taliban leader assassinated in northwestern Pakistanhttp://bit.ly/SIKrte

5 Nov The future of news: automated, crowdsourced, and better than everhttp://bit.ly/YLUK1w

5 Nov Game of Drones? Asian Militaries Shift Toward Cutting Edge Techhttp://bit.ly/QiDNLT

5 Nov US adds Haqqani Network suicide operations chief to list of global terrorists http://bit.ly/PS0g2i

5 Nov Towers Of Vegetables Go Up As Singapore Builds First Vertical Farmhttp://bit.ly/TFHbQ8

5 Nov Vesta: A Protoplanet’s Mutable Surface http://bit.ly/R93KdO

5 Nov Wearable Breast Cancer Test Detects Tumors Before Doctorshttp://bit.ly/SIb80Y

5 Nov Curiosity s Methane Hunt Comes Up Empty http://bit.ly/fYkQSh

4 Nov Stuart Candy ‏@futuryst

How is Singapore integrating foresight into government? @aaronmaniam explains https://vimeo.com/52808255 #governance #futures/cc @dunagan23

4 Nov Taliban claim over 20 insider attacks in 8 months http://bit.ly/RCUkHt

4 Nov Perceptive blog post by @ericgarland : This is what we mean by systemic fragility http://bit.ly/RCRbHB

4 Nov Blogfest Asia 2012: a thought or two http://bit.ly/RIFBJ6 via @faineg

4 Nov Milena Rodban ‏@MilenaRodban

#Israel announces plans to boost Iron Dome #missile interceptorhttp://reut.rs/U2BsQB

4 Nov Anti-Taliban commander assassinated in Buner http://bit.ly/SKd8V5

4 Nov European Crisis: Five More Years http://bit.ly/SKd33N

4 Nov The New Industrial Revolution http://bit.ly/SKcsio

4 Nov Scary: Fracture the Empire-States to Enhance Democracy – Global Separatism http://bit.ly/SKchDK cc: @ericgarland

4 Nov Something I need to remember, via @hipbonegamer and @zenpundit: Details, nuances and blind-spots… http://bit.ly/UaOxgD

4 Nov No Dystopian Future For Me! http://bit.ly/YG5RJh

4 Nov New Pitt lab aims to move quantum computing http://bit.ly/SGKiX5

4 Nov Jihadists suspected in deaths of 3 Egyptian policemen http://bit.ly/YG4SZx

4 Nov Good question from Pundita: Why didn’t NYC Mayor Bloomberg think to ask visiting marathoners to pitch in and help http://bit.ly/PQ6n7f

4 Nov New book out – recommended: History of the Renaissance Worldhttp://www.amazon.com/History-Renaissance-World-Rediscovery-Constantinople/dp/0393059766/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352027290&sr=1-1 …

4 Nov Does Xi’s Rise Mean a More Aggressive China? Not Necessarilyhttp://bit.ly/YG37eT

4 Nov Campaigns Embrace Big Data, Algorithms, Mobile Tech…They Know Who You Are http://bit.ly/TsNcNK

3 Nov Dan Trombly ‏@stcolumbia

Via @aelkus, this is an article about how cholera caused WWII by killing Clausewitz early. http://jmb.rsmjournals.com/content/13/2/108.abstract …

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-11-02

macengr — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 12:23:33 +0000

I may have to do this more than once a week…

10h ‏I read Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi http://bit.ly/SjiA08

13h ‏Actually, this scares me: Health Care of the Future http://bit.ly/TWZsV3

17h ‏Biomedicine Update: Are We About to Slay Viruses Forever? Mark 2022 on Your Calendar http://bit.ly/RuH2hx

17h ‏Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and the US Trafficking in Persons Laws http://bit.ly/PJKXZs

20h The War on Terror Opens A New Front http://bit.ly/U0K67U

20h Self-Healing Concrete and Other 21st-Century Miracles http://bit.ly/Sf6vJi

20h Resource Rapture: China’s play for African gold, at what cost?http://bit.ly/Sf6tBb

20h Egyptian security official dismisses reports of foiled terror plot in Sinaihttp://bit.ly/VcCyPm

21hNukes of Hazard ‏@nukes_of_hazard Latest IAEA report on #Iran released on August 30. Ehud Barak now touting its conclusions. Better late than never http://ow.ly/eWsms

20hSarah Emily Duff ‏@sarahemilyduff The Communist Manifesto, illustrated, http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/11/01/fernando-vicente-communist-manifesto/ … via @brainpicker

21h Rachel Armstrong ‏@livingarchitect Astronauts take spacewalk to find ammonia leak (Update)http://phys.org/news/2012-11-astronauts-spacewalk-ammonia-leak.html … via @physorg_com

21h Rachel Armstrong ‏@livingarchitect New discovery shows promise in future speed of synthesizing high-demand nanomaterials http://phys.org/news/2012-11-discovery-future-high-demand-nanomaterials.html … via@physorg_com

21h ‏Bloomberg Businessweek shows another reason its subscribership is declining: http://bzfd.it/SzKrN9

21hLaura Walker ‏@LauraWalkerKC

What really happened in Benghazi? - http://CNN.com http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/01/opinion/bennett-benghazi-obama/index.html … Blistering and pointed #Benghazi #7HoursofHell

21h What Could the Future of Work Look Like? http://bit.ly/VFJGiQ

22h Ai Weiwei: The Internet vs. The Chinese Government | The Way of Ai Weiwei | Big Think http://bit.ly/RufTeB

22h Good question: Does Culture Trump Strategy? http://bit.ly/TVYLLH

22h G-Class Outliers: Musings on Intelligent Life http://bit.ly/SeVUhh

22h Unraveling Animal Speech http://bit.ly/VFDQOE

22h Palestinians Caught Up in Syrian Conflict http://bit.ly/QWw7Mh

31 Oct @VenessaMiemis Group Deck of Cards: Coversations that matter:http://howtosavetheworld.ca/2012/10/30/conversations-that-matter/ …

31 Oct A Sign of Things To Come: Israeli Police Network Hackedhttp://bit.ly/ScFEh6

31 Oct George W. Bush signed off on 50 drone strikes, Obama has approved more than 350: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7a4114be-19ce-11e2-a379-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2Al61vAXy …#pleasereturnpeaceprize

31 Oct Game theory and war: Regional Variation in the Explanatory Power of War and Reason http://bit.ly/VDtpLu

31 Oct Video reportedly shows key suspect from Benghazi attackhttp://bit.ly/TudCkm

31 Oct Tom Barnett endorses Romney http://bit.ly/Uh1fEV

31 Oct Swansong Earth: Refuges for Life http://bit.ly/RsyZC5

31 Oct The Long Third War – By Micah Zenko http://bit.ly/Sv5eBd

31 Oct EPIC FAIL: UN Peacekeeping in Africa http://bit.ly/T5lkiw

31 Oct The Benghazi Debacle http://bit.ly/Scb3QH

31 Oct What Jesus Might Say About Sandy http://bit.ly/T5l5UH

31 Oct I read What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Is… by Bernard Lewishttp://bit.ly/Q62NWF

30 Oct The passion of Jonah Lehrer, and a people addicted to Insightshttp://bit.ly/RuhTSy via @ericgarland

30 Oct The long-term threat of debt http://bit.ly/SspovM

30 Oct Surprise – the man who ‘jumped from space’ doesn’t like space exploration http://bit.ly/XTEGuV

30 OctLeah Farrall ‏@allthingsct RT @zenpundit: “On behalf of Charles Cameron…..” http://zenpundit.com/?p=16400

30 Oct Fascinating. Many links from this story: Bank of England’s Haldane: Occupy was right http://bit.ly/SsjVVD

30 Oct futurist-foresight: Trends: Looking at the tech trends of the future…http://bit.ly/VBtLSA

30 Oct Plot to attack tourist sites in Sinai reportedly thwarted http://bit.ly/SalmVb

30 Oct Satellite pictures suggest Sudanese weapons factory hit by air strikehttp://bit.ly/Ssg0Z5

30 Oct These Unbelievable Pictures of Sandy’s Destruction Are Actually Realhttp://bit.ly/VBhs93

30 Oct Asteroid Deflection: The Paintball Solution http://bit.ly/SbnqfU

30 Oct Technology and War – Part 3: War’s Impact on Transportation Technology http://bit.ly/TTj16C

30 Oct Afghan policeman kills two British soldiers in Helmand http://bit.ly/TRSSPH

29 OctJ. Scott Shipman ‏@jscottshipman Mark Helprin: America’s Capsizing Naval Policy - http://WSJ.com http://j.mp/TPZH4a

30 Oct US AFRICOM ‏@USAfricaCommand #Dempsey hits rumors about #Africom chief’s departure http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/29/dempsey-hits-rumors-about-africom-chiefs-departure/ …

29 Oct Voice of the Martyrs ‏@VOM_USA Several Christians have been arrested in a mostly-Muslim nation. For security reasons, we can’t say more. Please #pray for them.

30 Oct Six storms that changed the course of history: Winds of Change – By Ty McCormick http://bit.ly/VBaAZ8

30 Oct Iran dispatches warships to Sudan after Israeli airstrike on missile base http://bit.ly/VBae4P

30 Oct Superstorm Sandy Seen In a Beautiful Map of Pure Windhttp://bit.ly/PEIqQc

30 Oct Curiosity Sits on Rocks Similar to Ones in Mexico http://bit.ly/fYkQSh

30 Oct No One Knows When New York’s Subway Will Reopen http://bit.ly/TT8R67

30 Oct Why You Should Text, Not Call to Check on Loved Ones Post-Sandyhttp://bit.ly/TT8uZg

30 Oct International Jihadis Descend on Mali http://bit.ly/RtFmDm

30 OctNoah Raford ‏@nraford And it begins RT @nils_gilman: Bioweaponry meets the drone imaginary (“targeted killing” vs. WMD): http://bit.ly/SZTaW5 #biogreygoo

30 OctSmall Wars Journal ‏@smallwars Russian COIN in Chechnya – Winning the Battle, Losing the War, 1994-1996 http://bit.ly/SXch3c

30 Oct On The Relevance Of Celtic Christianity To Today http://wp.me/p1xhs-6q

30 Oct I read Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife by John A. Naglhttp://bit.ly/SaUODC

29 Oct Open Foresight: A New Model for Public Futurism http://bit.ly/VzOd6A

29 Oct Boyd: A3, Einheit, and the conceptual spiral http://bit.ly/RjS9Xf

29 Oct Nanotubes Rescue IT Revolution http://bit.ly/PDmmpn

29 Oct Military strategy is like Battleship Game Theory – By John Arquillahttp://bit.ly/TR36Wr

29 Oct The Arctic is the Mediterranean of the 21st century: Open Seas – By James Holmes http://bit.ly/WWnZ3h

29 Oct Lessons Learned from Red Bull Stratoshttp://www.itstactical.com/centcom/news/ ing-the-envelope-lessons-learned-from-red-bull-stratos/ …

29 Oct Detecting Fake Hurricane Photographs http://bit.ly/VzKd5O

29 Oct The Benghazi mess and its consequences http://bit.ly/WWmBgS

29 Oct Where Will The Next Pandemic Come From? And How Can We Stop It? http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-08/out-wild …

29 Oct Will Future Mobility Lead to Future Instability? http://bit.ly/SVer3j

29 Oct America’s Foreign Legion http://bit.ly/Spv6hW

29 Oct Was an ExxonMobil Executive Assassinated in Brussels? http://bit.ly/S9xXZf

29 Oct Trying to Start Religious War in Nigeria http://bit.ly/VzIP3e

29 Oct A Tour of the Cell http://bit.ly/TqXekw

29 Oct The failure of light-footprint intervention to provide long-term stabilityhttp://bit.ly/QQJ3TV

29 Oct Hello, Pittsburgh? Does Your City Need a Transit Riders Union?http://bit.ly/SplYKi

29 Oct Hurricane Sandy Is a Category 1 Cyclone, But It Has the Eyewall Of a Category 3 http://bit.ly/RjzOcQ

29 Oct Fellow Christians: fastest way to alienate unbelievers – say this storm is God punishing us. #seriously? #eyeroll

29 Oct Benghazi Attack Timeline: http://wecheck.org/wiki/Benghazi_Attack_Timeline …

29 Oct Reading about Environmental Security is apropos as Hurricane Sandy approaches. Specifically, the work of Jon Barnett of U of Melbourne

29 Oct Small Wars Journal ‏@smallwars Rebalancing the US military for 21st Century Threats: An Interview with Janine Davidson http://bit.ly/Tixx18

29 Oct Nukes of Hazard ‏@nukes_of_hazard As Hurricane Sandy bears down, re-upping @Nickolas_Roth on why nuclear weapons arent a good way to prevent major stormshttp://ow.ly/eQCqH

29 Oct Photo: Hurricane Sandy vs Hurricane Irene: Sandy is MUCH bigger:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203880704578084502987456668.html?mod=e2tw#project%3DSLIDER_1027SANDY%26articleTabs%3Dinteractive …

28 Oct Tanja Hichert ‏@TanjaHichert RT @iftf: The World’s First Commercial Vertical Farm Opens in Singapore - http://inhabitat.com/the-worlds-first-commercial-vertical-farm-opens-in-singapore/ … #FoodFutures

29 Oct @faineg Saw this article this weekend:http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/myanmar-how-quickly-things-can-change-9065/ …

28 Oct Wall Street Journal ‏@WSJ Hurricane #Sandy is wider, stronger than Irene. A side-by-side comparison: http://on.wsj.com/SQ8WTo

29 Oct Richard Florida ‏@Richard_Florida The 66% – America’s Growing UnderClass – My latest in@AtlanticCities - http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/10/66-americas-growing-underclass/3618/ …

29 Oct Adam Elkus ‏@Aelkus Anatol Lieven on Afghan war after 2014 http://americanreviewmag.com/opinions/The-Afghan-gamble …

29 Oct Crispin J. Burke ‏@CrispinBurke The Iliad and the Long War http://vsb.li/7B99gE

29 Oct Jodi Beggs ‏@jodiecongirl #hurricaneentertainment RT @WSJ: All of WSJ is free for everyone to read and share today: http://WSJ.com

29 Oct Provocative: Why the UK doesn’t want to prosecute financial crimeshttp://bit.ly/RrGVls

29 Oct Pentagon annual Rept on China Military – hopefully more accurate than Soviet military reports were: http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/2012_CMPR_Final.pdf …

29 Oct Ediplomacy: The revolution continues http://bit.ly/S83xXk

29 Oct Founder of African Institute for Technology: TEDxChange TEDxAMS – Ndubuisi Ekekwe http://bit.ly/S83smi

29 Oct Prayers out for all in its path: Hurricane Sandy’s Track: 10 Million People Could Lose Power http://bit.ly/PC8Vpr

29 Oct What Tumblr can tell us about the future of media — Tech News and Analysis http://bit.ly/S83avR

29 Oct attackerman ‏@attackerman Only “30 to 50 percent” of Predator & Reaper drone data feeds are encrypted, 4 years after Radio-Shack Iraq hack. By @dangerroom &@daxe.

29 Oct New estimates: Sub Saharan African countries lost $814bn in capital flight http://bit.ly/STBHib

29 Oct Google Activates Hurricane Sandy Tracking Map http://bit.ly/S6JDN0

29 Oct Sony Playstation 3 Master Key Leaked http://bit.ly/RoNYgf

29 Oct Cool History of Congress partisan and ideological make-up infographic at XKCD: http://bit.ly/PfYmaj

29 Oct Schwab Foundation ‏@schwabfound Apply by Nov 16 @acumenfund Global Fellows Programme ,world-class leadership training for social entrepreneurs http://wef.ch/l1Z9t

28 Oct Kelsey D Atherton ‏@the_boy there’s a cartoon with a story arc about supporting an insurgency. Over at #BlogTarkin, @CrispinBurke dives into ithttp://blogtarkin.com/2012/10/28/charlie-kenobis-war/ …

28 Oct SpaceX ‏@SpaceX Raw video of #Dragon‘s splashdown into the Pacifichttp://youtu.be/W_bF6ZciBxQ

28 Oct US Navy tests first drone…ship: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2224165/Now-drones-seas-U-S-Navy-launches-unmanned-combat-boats-firing-missiles-time.html …

27 Oct The World Is Not Enough: Google and the Future of Augmented Reality – Alexis C. Madrigal – The Atlantic http://bit.ly/Tn8Tkk

27 Oct Mechanical Pencil That Draws Carbon Nanotubes Developed By MIT Researchers http://bit.ly/VvM3VA

27 Oct CIA Found Terror Links A Day After Libya Attack http://bit.ly/RmBUvP

27 Oct Syrian War Threatens Regional Stability http://bit.ly/Tn8CxX

27 Oct Do Ceasefires Ever Work? – Page Fortna http://bit.ly/Pci1b9

27 Oct Italy Sinks Further Into Chaos http://bit.ly/RmiKqb

27 Oct Foreign jihadists continue to pour into Mali http://bit.ly/Rb8q0w

On The Relevance Of Celtic Christianity To Today

macengr — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 12:04:41 +0000

I have always had an interest in Celtic Christianity. What is that, you ask? Well, it’s what people like St. Patrick practiced, before Rome ordered them to fall in line with the official way of doing things. Here are some of the tenets they followed, as described in a great post at the Celtic Voices blog by Cindy Thomson:

“· A genuine love of nature and a passion for God’s creation, coupled with a sense of closeness between the natural and supernatural.

· A love of art and poetry, seen within surviving illuminated Gospels and other works.
· Although they seem to have been theologically orthodox, there was a distinct emphasis on the Trinity, respect for Mary the Mother of Christ, the Incarnation and the use within worship of early forms of liturgy.
· Within their religious life we see an emphasis on solitude, pilgrimage and mission, sacred locations and tough penitential acts.
· There were few boundaries between the sacred and the secular
· We see an emphasis on family and kinship ties.
· There seems to have been greater equality for women than we see generally in the Church today.
· A generous hospitality was an important part of everyday life.”

Should Women Fight in Combat?

macengr — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 14:02:06 +0000

I’m stepping on a hornet’s nest with this post, and butting heads with Dr. Megan MacKenzie, a professor at the University of Sydney and who has published a large body of literature – whereas I’m just a keenly interested amateur (although I hope to become a professional at some point!).

Dr. MacKenzie has published a book, Female Soldiers in Sierra Leone: Sex, Security, and Post-Conflict Development, and has a twitter account at @meganhmackenzie. She’s worth a follow, especially if you have any interest in gender and international security.

Today, Dr. MacKenzie has a post up on the Daily Beast regarding women in combat. This will also appear in longer form in the November-December issue of Foreign Affairs. She and I have differing views on this and we engaged on twitter. She accused me of stereotyping, which I thought was unfair, and since it’s hard to argue in 140 word bytes, I thought I’d post more here on my blog.

In her article, Dr. MacKenzie writes,

Yet the U.S. military, at least officially, still bans women from serving in direct combat positions. As irregular warfare has become increasingly common in the last few decades, the difference on the ground between front line and support roles is no longer clear. Numerous policy changes have also eroded the division between combat and noncombat positions. More and more military officials recognize the contributions made by female soldiers.

She then notes some of the major objections:

Unsubstantiated claims about the distracting nature of women, the perils of feminine qualities, and the inherent manliness of war hardly provide a solid foundation on which to construct policy. Presumably, some levels of racism and homophobia also persist within the military, yet it would be absurd, not to mention unconstitutional, for the U.S. government to officially sanction such prejudices. The U.S. military should ensure that it is as effective as possible, but it must not bend to biases, bigotry, and false stereotypes.

The whole thing is worth a read, so check it out.

My objection to women in combat is different. I want to note that I firmly believe that women can fight as well as men. In my experience (yes, it’s anecdotal) women are often better shots than men, and although I am in pretty good shape I’ve met women that are faster and stronger than I am. Obviously, physical differences are not a good argument against including women. And as far as constitutionally being able to fight, women have fought everywhere from the ancient Celts to Iraq. Women in the Israeli army, and the female Russian snipers in Stalingrad were good soldiers.

My concern is demographics. If we look at the experience of England in World War One, they lost a good portion of their “best and brightest” men on the battlefield, which had severe repercussions for the future of the Empire. Granted, the United States hasn’t been involved in a major war since World War Two. But if the US were to be drawn into one involving, say, China or a resurgent Russia, then we could be facing the loss of a generation of men AND women. To put it crudely: One man, twenty women can still produce twenty babies. One woman, twenty men, gives you one baby.

Note that in an essay in Contemporary Security Studies, Dr. Caroline Kennedy-Pipe addresses my reasoning and says that States may force women to be “breeders” because of demographic demands. Specifically, she states, “Arguably the most intimate of human activities for women were less important than the demands of male political and religious elites that women provide a functional and biological service to the state. This role of women as ‘breeders’ remains imperative for the health of many wealthy industrialized societies.”

Perhaps she’s right. But if your country no longer exists, than your values may be overtaken by those who defeat you. Without children to carry on your civilization, you’re in danger of losing it. This isn’t a polar issue – there are shades of grey, and I think it’s worth exploring.

Still, there are women who are determined to fight, who feel called to that career. Is there a way to allow them to participate? I don’t know. That may be a slippery slope. I suppose a compromise would be to allow women to fight in combat that want that duty, but not to include women in a general draft.

What are your thoughts?

Scott