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Arms and Influence

Arms and Influence - political uses of violence

The Arms and Influence blog, run by 'Kingdaddy' who has PhD in political science, has two types of posts, "official" and "incidental." The blog outlines at length the classic principles of military strategy, the preferred methods of guerrillas and terrorists, and the applicability of all this theoretical stuff to current events.

An official post is when you see the sub-headings THEORY and PRACTICE in the text. You can see the complete outline of the discussion so far in the left-hand column of the blog, under the heading CORE TOPIC. Incidental posts, on the other hand, are things written when Kingdaddy notice something interesting in the news. They're not as long as the official posts, and they always start with the heading, IN THE NEWS.

A little background on Kingdaddy: I've spent my whole life thinking about the connection between violence and politics... I always wanted the United States to take the little wars and our opponents in them more seriously. However, what the United States has done since 9/11 is, in my opinion, not serious. It's a spastic reaction at best, and at worst, a cynical use of a national tragedy to pursue other agendas. What's obviously missing from the picture is expertise in government, and enlightened discussion outside of it. Paul Wolfowitz, for all his claims of being sufficiently informed about the issues swirling in the Iraq vortex, demonstrates very little facility in these areas.

Public discussion has degenerated into shouting matches, with groups of well-intentioned citizens arguing about completely different things when they think they're debating the same thing. And few people are ever held to the standard, "Do we know what we're talking about? How do we know if we're doing the right things or not?" I have a great deal of sympathy for my fellow citizens, and an abiding faith in them. I believe that people understand the limits of their knowledge, and to be good citizens, they need to make more informed choices.

Democracy cannot function without a debate that leads somewhere. By tying what I know about military theory, revolutionary warfare, US national security, and other issues to current events, I hope to engender a better debate, whatever you believe about Iraq, George Bush, the PATRIOT Act, or Osama bin Laden.

To enter the world of arms and influence click View button below.

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With two States waiting weeks for election results, the political culture of Australia seems decidedly messy and confused.

In Tasmania, a large vocal minority of Greens will have the balance of power in a hung parliament, there will be infighting and bickering until the Liberal Opposition claims a minor majority and thrusts forward its impotent Premier into the melee.

In South Australia, Rann will win, but his bravado and virility will be curbed as his ability to nonchalantly wave around his policy penis becomes hampered.

What all this seems to show is that Labor is slipping, the Greens and the environment movement are gaining a lot of traction and Australia is divided.

Hopefully not to the point where Red and Blue States form which look at each other with systemic suspicion, but it does seem that these divides are becoming increasingly irreconcilable.  

Bet Labor wishes they could turn back the clock two years when they controlled every government at State and Federal level and do things a bit differently.

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4 mar

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We thought the Bale de Rua was aweful. Choreography was terrible - set design, music and costumes were lacklustre. The dancers however were very athletic and graceful. - Jules

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I just wonder who decides if what ever you chose to do in life, is mediocre or not. Sounds like with standards like yours, this article with its poor structure and soap box appeal may also be considered by many as, in-fact, mediocre. - Khedra

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Re: The Assassins of Langley

Yes, Mr. Neville. Odious, heinous assassins sold body and soul to Luciferian entities who pull the strings (the last of them, I want to believe) from the shadows. Philip Aggeee and John Stockwell portrayed them quite well. They are NOT heroes, nor are the gangbangers of East Los Angeles who spray grafitti in Iraq, where they most certainly train for urban warfare on our streets. Good riddance to them all!

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A hero's welcome for the famous Iraqi shoe thrower

Terrorist! Please do your research first before writing such dangerous things, we was insulting Bush by throwing the shoe as he was disgraced with him, not trying to topple the largest super power in the world by throwing a shoe. I cant believe you have put those words up. Ashamed

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Re: How to Report the News

Having worked as a TV news reporter I found Charlie's piece very amusing - some of us have long believed reporting like this is a rubbish way to do things! But even if a journalist wants to tell stories in a more authentic and engaging way, the constraints of the so-called "house style" in many news organisations make it difficult to achieve. What's needed is a massive culture shift and a complete re-think of what we understand quality broadcast news reporting is. And guess what? That's exactly what's happening, though you'd never believe it from what we're still mostly seeing on TV. Anyway, the new digital technologies, and shake up of "old school/old mainstream" journalism means new platforms and styles of "news" storytelling can now emerge. Let's hope fresh and appropriate ways of funding appear too, so we can kill off this dreadful formulaic reporting and delivery, and clear the way for more natural and interesting ways to treat stories and content.

Much love, Ian Aspin.
www.twitter.com/ianaspin

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You're pushing 60, well I'm pushing 70 and still having to scrounge around for my pot. It's tragic that when I first came to Australia it was $30 an ounce, and now I have to pay nearly $350 - Peter

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Re: Killing Indian Students: Australia's Favourite New Sport!- by Sean Maguire

How about the indian guy who slashed his wife's throat, is still australia to blame for?..may be , for accenpting them to move over!I am an immigrant myself but I love this country, there is no perfect place on Earth but australia is one of the best! - Michael

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This entire fiasco is an incredible over reaction. Australia is an easy target. Why? because we are honest, transperant and we talk about our failings. Is there aggression and iolence in Australia? Sure, like any country. But we face it head on and we work to eliminate it. What about the stories of the 100’s of thousands of Indian workers who are treated as slaves in the middle east and nobody says anything? What about the fact that India still has entrenched pedophilia in terms of child brides? What about the crushing poverty embraced by more than 60% of the Indian people while this nation runs around building nuclear warheads? A storm in a teacup, an over reaction, and a diversion from some the really bad issues facing India. What is really happening here is that students are being unnecessarily frightened. meaning they will miss out on what could be the opportunity of their lifetime. - Daryl
 
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I couldn't agree with Sean Maguire's article more on the recent Indian attacks. For all those who like the pretend the attacks are merely based on coincidence, try to imagine how we would react if the boot were on the other foot and an uncharacteristic number of Australia's had been murdered in India. Would you push for a travel ban? Would you be scared for your children in a seemingly hostile environment so many miles away?  - Kara Jensen-Mackinnon

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