Category: Defense and Security

Turning the Page

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No, This is Not About Politics or Philosophy; It’s About Music (Mostly…)

What May Seem Small Can Count a Great Deal

I have attended two classical music concerts in recent days and watched one on Youtube. All three reminded me that seemingly small contributions can have great value and are worthy of our attention.

In this case, I speak of the humble Page-Turner (that is the actual title of such an individual), the individual who stands next to a performer playing an instrument, turning the page on the sheet music at the right moment.

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Whose Land Is This? Lessons from Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel – and the US

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Almost Every Place on Earth Has Had Previous “Owners”

What Conveys Whose Land This Is? It’s Tricky Applying Modern Standards to Historical Facts

I have a difficult time thinking of any sizeable piece of ground (or waterway) on this planet that does not come with multiple, conflicting claims of whose territory this is or should be. This disagreement has long been a leading cause of human conflict from our very beginnings as an identifiable species.

In the modern era (“modern era” being what we call the present time. Amusing to think about how others will call this ancient times before too long),

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Clarity About the Trump Illegal Papers Caper

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The Facts are Not Complicated. The Right’s Reaction is Shameful

A Short Recap of What Led to the Raid

  • Trump and team were specifically briefed before the end of that Administration about what the law required for documents security.
  • The National Archives knew from about the time Trump left office that sensitive papers had been illegally taken. They reached out early on and repeatedly to Trump to get this corrected.
  • Several months ago, officials went to the Trump compound in Florida and took back 15 boxes (!) of illegally and improperly taken papers.

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Three BIG Problems – One Simple Solution

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Most of Us Ignored the First Two – Until the Third One Affected All of Us

Its All About People

We have had two long-running, serious – and interrelated problems for decades. The third one is a bit more recent. All three revolve around people – what people want and how people treat each other on a national and personal level.

Problem 1

The first of these is border security. Ignore the nonsense of the Trumpists; they actually made the problem worse, with their infantile focus on a mythical wall. But setting that aside,

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National Planning is Like Hiking on a Rough Trail

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It’s the Half-Hidden Roots and Rocks that Will Trip You Up

 Three Key Elements Most of Us Seldom Think About

The global economic, production, and transport disruptions caused by COVID and the war started by Russia have brought to the front some important elements of life and security that are often overlooked until they become a crisis.

To their credit, the Biden administration saw these as concerns early on, and have moved early and aggressively in the face of these recent escalations.

But we are in no way out of the woods on any of them.

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The Select Committee on the January 6 Insurrection

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One hearing Down, five to Go. How it is Going, What Stands Out

 

Some Very Quick Observations

The next hearing is this Monday morning- Today – 10 AM ET.

About everyone who has the means to do so has been writing about the hearings. That is mostly a good thing, but I don’t want to add to the long list. Besides, a lot of us watched it live (more on that shortly).

Therefore, some very short observations on the way forward and where we are.

First, the Historical Analogies –

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Four Great Reasons to Quit Carbon Energy

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No Matter Your Politics or Economics, Now is the Time

Energy Remains a Defining Element of Human Life

The ability to harness energy has been a defining qualify of human existence for a very long time. So much of what we know, do, and assume is based on harnessing energy. That is not going to change any time soon. More likely is that it will never change.

While I admire, and to at least some degree support, calls to minimize energy usage, it is most unlikely that we will economize our way out of the problems this posting highlights.  

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Two Completely Unrelated Thoughts

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OK, Not Completely Unrelated. JUSTICE is the Common Thread

Two Topics

Two subjects have taken up much of my consciousness in recent days. At first they are world’s apart. One is domestic, one is international. But as I began thinking about this blog, I recognized that the simple, foundational matter of justice connected these two issues in important ways.

Justice is a powerful, powerful concept. We should devote a blog or two to talking about that as a central human issue sometime. The longer I look around, the more I cherish justice over peace or any other desirable outcome.

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Big & Little Things Noted Lately

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Funny How Things Catch Your Attention. Here are a Few That Caught My Eye Today

 TV Interviews at Home

 One thing the pandemic made routine was people on tv being interviewed in their homes. We have been doing this for two years now, and some people are on tv regularly being seen from their homes.

For these repeaters, I am really surprised that we see that we are in their bedrooms, or kitchen, or some other space that looks unprofessional. By now, one would think they would put up a background screen or use one of the electronic backgrounds readily available,

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A Unique Thought About How History Plays Out

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History is Full of Unforeseen and Unintended Consequences. How to See Then Coming?

You Are Living in History Right Now

There may have been a time when such a statement as the one above might have sounded a bit too pompous or heavy handed to many of us. I bet not so much now. After two years of a global pandemic, a war in Europe that reeks of the dark past and threatens a new world war, and foundational challenges to our own democracy, we get it – history is alive and all around us. We make it,

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