This one’s a bit tough. Hanna Reitsch was simultaneously a very complicated, and a very simple person: she loved to fly and would pretty much love anyone who let her fly – and the person who gave her airplanes was Hitler.
But, holy shit, could she fly.
Imagine if Mexico decided the US needed “regime change” after Donald Trump gets elected, and then began destabilizing the country by pouring weapons and support to anti-government militias. But then, the Cliven Bundy militia in Utah breaks away and begins trying to establish the sovereign state of Utah. So the Mexican air force begins launching air strikes against the Bundyites. The US, to counter-balance the Mexicans, invite the Canadians to help. Then ensues a crazy proxy war, with the Mexicans bombing parts of Utah while the Canadians are bombing the Mexican-sponsored insurgency. Somehow none of this is warfare. It’s just a great big bomb-b-que or something.
The national security state has, to put it mildly, “flipped its shit” over Edward Snowden. And in information security, where I work, it’s become de rigeur to call Snowden’s actions a wake-up call. But, really? It’s more like a snooze alarm.
Allepo, before and during “regime change.”
When does authoritarianism shift to totalitarianism?
Politically, authoritarianism is a system in which the state asserts its supreme power over a region, then uses that power to dictate rules and behaviors. There are a variety of authoritarianisms, including Stalinism, Maoism, Putinism, Fascism, Kimism, dictatorship, tyranny, aristocracy, monarchy and so forth.
In my previous entry I described the process of front-loading and political engineering in DoD procurements. As I was writing it, I happened to look over at PZ’s blog and saw there was discussion of Ray Kurtzweil… So I thought I’d maybe Kurtzweil a bit about the DoD.
Conservatives will tell you they favor small government, reduced taxes, and traditional social values. Oddly, in the US today, that somehow translates into “there is no amount of money that is too large to spend on the military.” We’re treated to a constant barrage of pleas for financial assistance from the pentagon, particularly, and its bootlickers, in general, in spite of the pentagon’s claiming it doesn’t have any way to tell where the money is going. Basically, the taxpayers are pouring money into a bucket that has the bottom knocked out, and the crooks holding the bucket keep shouting “It’s EMPTY! Pour FASTER!”
This staggers my brain and leaves me flailing around for words. 1% of the population of the planet are refugees.
In 1612 Miyamoto Musashi and Kojiro Sasaki fought a duel on the beach of Ganryu Island. Both were excellent swordsmen, well-matched. Kojiro was famous for his “swallow cut” style and his extra-length sword* “clothes hanger-pole” which gave him a bit of reach, which he had taken great advantage of in several duels.
I’m reading this rather lengthy article on NYT interactive, and it feels like I’m immersed in a documentary film. It’s not fun reading, but I think it’s important. If you have an hour or two to spare, you may wish to check it out yourself.