“Stalin acted ‘entirely rationally’ in executing and imprisoning millions of people in the Gulags”

The descent of Russia back into the GAP is quite noticable and continues: Stalin acted ‘entirely rationally’ in executing and imprisoning millions of people in the Gulags, a controversial new Russian teaching manual claims. Fifty-five years after the Soviet dictator died, the latest guide for teachers to promote patriotism among the Russian young said he [...]

“…the ideal tools for cold-blooded Machiavellian strategists like Thomas Barnett…”

Really, Fabius – “Cold Blooded Machiavellian”? Cheap shot aside, I also don’t think that is what TPMB has in mind for the Sys Admin force. Barnett has stated that the sysadmin force could/should significantly come from China or India. It is not meant to be primarily a war-fighting force. It is a System (states,institutions,rule-sets, security) [...]

“The best argument for the Nagl Advisory Corps plan is how it offers the prospect of preventing large-scale U.S. COIN missions from becoming necessary in the future”

WestHawk on Nagl’s Army Advisor Corps idea: The best argument for the Nagl Advisory Corps plan is how it offers the prospect of preventing large-scale U.S. COIN missions from becoming necessary in the future. By making it a regular practice for small U.S. advisor teams to work in all four corners of the globe, assisting [...]

A Private SysAdmin Example

From the Entrepreneurial Mind: Startup New Orleans is, instead, looking to free enterprise to rebuild the city one entrepreneur at a time. To attract more of these types of individuals, Start Up New Orleans has been established by four of the city’s young business leaders. A resource for entrepreneurs seeking information and connections to other [...]

Future SysAdmin or Homeland Security Corps Members

“Engineers Without Borders“

The Mission For Our Generation and The Next

TDAXP writes (and cross-post at Dreaming 5GW): The anti-Communist 5GW that was built up at the beginning of the Cold War is still functioning in spite of widespread recognition that is has been obsoleted by its own success. The anti-Disconnectedness 5GW that must be built up at the beginning of this Long War must be [...]

Book Notes: The Entrepreneurial Imperative by Carl J. Schramm

The book The Entrepreneurial Imperative by Carl J. Schramm is subtitled “How America’s Economic Miracle Will Reshape the World and Change Your Life”. This is not a book on entrepreneurship, but rather a book on why entrepreneurship (practice of, promotion of, as foreign policy) is important to the a public policy for future USA. Right [...]

Expeditionary Police – US Constabulary Service

Barnett linked to a Small Wars Journal article on the need for Expeditionary Police. Here is what I jotted down when I read (limited Internet Access has reduced my postings): US Constabulary Service Office of the Justice Department (or future Department of Peace) for International Deployment Separate Uniformed Service Runs international police academies and schools [...]

Model Constitution

My Mom emailed me this joke: (2 ) Our Constitution “They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don’t we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, and it’s worked for over 200 years. And, we’re not using it anymore.” Funniness (or lack of funniness) of [...]

Department of War, Department of Peace [Updated]

I have been meaning to post some ideas on re-orging the The US National Power effort. To a large extent, I have bought into Tom Barnett’s ideas. How do we get there from here though? I have already outlined how DHS could be ripped apart. He are my initial thoughts on the Military: 1) Closeout [...]

The President’s Civil Reserve Corps and The Non-Kinetic Part Of National Power Projection

MountainRunner has a post called the “The President’s Civil Reserve Corps” in which he lays out possibilities for the President Bush’s call: …to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire [...]

He’s Back, and Surprise – He’s Still a Communists!

Daniel Ortega is back. It looks likes he will join the support network for South/Central American Totalitarian regimes too. The ALBA is sort of an alternative globalization (non-capitalistic). So, there are at least three globalization movements (competing, supporting, and conflicting): Capitalistic Globalization (Barnet’s Globalization v3) Islamo-Globalization Totalitarian Globalization

Spire’s Fundamental Law of Internet Dynamics

“Badness scales better than goodness”. Hmm. Ramification for Globalization/Connectivity Corollary? Discuss.

Globalization as Soft Power

Thomas Barnett Writes: The ultimate invasive species argument, and why we won’t need to “invade all countries resisting globalization.” Our stuff simply sells. Globalization as Soft Power is in America’s interest for the most part. The problem with Soft Power is that it has magnitude, but it is hard to focus/aim. It is large magnitude/non-kinetic/low-directability [...]

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: 2-Sigma Solutions for the Gap

Look at and understand the last photo. I think the thirds photo may be the PNM version of the Jedi Mind trick.

United States is lobbying to be in charge of all UN peacekeeping operations

(ht Lakeshore Laments) Times Online Reports: The United States is lobbying to put an American, possibly a general, in charge of all UN peacekeeping operations in a move that could offer Washington an exit strategy in Iraq. … The Bush Administration is said to want to name a general to the UN post. “What they [...]

Posts I am Too Lazy to Write: Domestic PNM Theory With Applications to Metro Milwaukee

Thoughts: Apply PNM Theory domestically Aim ad urban/suburban split Metro areas have vast ungoverned spaces with residents disconnected from the rest of the metro area economically, politically, and socially Apply to Milwaukee for examples Blah, Blah, Blah, etc. Maybe I will write it someday. References: Coming Anarchy is the originator of this idea with this [...]

Nobel Prize Winner Phelps on “Dynamic Capitalism”

Edmund Phelps writes in the opinion Journal on “Dynamic Capitalism: There are two economic systems in the West. Several nations–including the U.S., Canada and the U.K.–have a private-ownership system marked by great openness to the implementation of new commercial ideas coming from entrepreneurs, and by a pluralism of views among the financiers who select the [...]

A Bold Choice for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize

Just when I want to dismiss the prize and their recipients out of hand, the committeee goes and does this: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006, divided into two equal parts, to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank for their efforts to create economic and social development from [...]

Sunday Afternoon LinkSpasm

These are interesting things you might like to read. It is a long post though…

War and Incentives and SysAdmin Economic Thinking

From commenter Jim at Marginal Revolution: Milton Friedman, in a recent interview, argued that perhaps the key mistake of the occupation period was not setting up a private oil industry in Iraq with shares of common stock distributed to the people of Iraq. I agree. This would have provided an economic incentive for the populace [...]

Entrepreneurial Peace Theory Thoughts

Just some thoughts I scribbled into a notebook over the weekend on Entrepreneurial Peace Theory (because Democratic Peace Theory and PNM Theory‘s Gloabilization = Building Connections = Peace seem to be incomplete to me): It is not capitalism or business or globalization that is the key It is the exercise of entrepreneurial capital and creative [...]

“It’s better for the U.S. to shut up”

(via REDDIT) Yahoo News reports: Sha Zukang, China’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that American concerns about his country’s growing military might were misguided. “It’s better for the U.S. to shut up,” Sha said. “Keep quiet. It’s much, much better.” Sha said the world need not worry about [...]

Purpleslog Revisted: “No Cease Fire, Please! What Should Come After Israel Has Finished Its Work”

About a month ago, I blogged on what should come after the fighting is done in Lebanon. We must allow Israel to finish what it has started. We didn’t. Israel was on a “timetable” granted by the “international community” from the start. The US/UN/Whatever should not be trying to force a cease fire and moving [...]

US Policy For A Post-Castro Cuba Should Begin Now

There are reports (Milwaukee Journal / AP) circulating on U.S. Plans to assist Cuba post-Castro. The plan seems to be sysadmin-ish. My feeling is – why wait? No I am not suggesting anything military-wise. The US should simply end the embargo of Cuba now and let the economic and social connections start to grow between [...]