| Wednesday,
December 5, 2007
We have considerable material on
Barnett and his analysis of the future.
On Barnett.
I've corresponded extensively with Dr. Barnett, read
both his books (autographed copies; we met when he gave the Nimitz Memorial
Lecture in National Security Affairs at UC Berkeley, in 2005), and read his
weblog daily:
<http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/weblog/>
Dr. Barnett is not an advocate of empire, he is a
near-rabid advocate of immediate, literal CoDominium.
With the Chinese.
And not in twenty years, or fifty years, or at some
indeterminate point in the future when they've finally decided to drop the
whole totalitarianism gig in favor of Fukuyamist liberal democracy.
Now. This instant. Without concessions or
modifications of any kind.
Think about that.
He is essentially (and openly) Marxist in his
analytical viewpoint, liberal Catholic/Fukuyamist (pre-apologia) in his
animating philosophy, which explains his drive to 'civilize' the planet. The
protege and prize pupil of VADM Art Lebrowski, the famous proponent of
Network Centric Warfare, Dr. Barnett has proven hugely influential with the
junior officer corps of all the services over the last 4-5 years (I
witnessed this phenomenon in person, at Berkeley) and with the junior
bureaucrats in organizations such as State, where he is viewed as
subversively urging the younger generation to get on with the business of
taking up The Last Man's Burden.
Barnett's making a lot of headway and gaining a lot of
mindshare, because, essentially, he's the only game in town - the only Man
With A Plan. If he had been placed in Bremer's job, the true test of the
neocons' theories would've taken place, as he's extremely energetic,
detail-oriented, and pragmatic to a fault.
Barnett is smart, and ruthless. He believes in the
inevitability of the ChiCom's liberalization, and believes this will come
about by essentially loving them to death, and attacking their youth with
our cultural weapons of mass destruction. He is perfectly willing to take
the view that the Chinese must break some eggs in order to cook an omelette;
he refuses to entertain the thought that they might be cooking another dish
entirely, and spicing it with arsenic.
Barnett is the bete noir of William Lind and the
Fourth-Generation Warfare (4GW) school; he is about 90 degrees out of phase
with John Robb, the 'Global Guerillas'/Open Source Warfare theorist).
Barnett has some nice things to say about the 4GWers and Robb; Robb has some
nice things to say about Barnett, but Lind and co. can't stand him.
I like Dr. Barnett personally and respect his
intellect and drive, even as he is opposed to just about everything I
believe in, and dangerously wrong (not naive; he has no illusions about the
ChiCom regime) about the eventual disposition of China, which I view as the
greatest threat to this nation, and to the cause of human freedom, in the
history of the world. If we're going to build a CoDominum (or even an
empire), he's well-suited for it; I don't want to embark upon the project in
the first place, and certainly not with the Communist Chinese!
But, if we are going to build a CoDominium, we need
Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett and willing, ruthless men of similar abilities, to
administer it. As things stand, the influence he has over our junior officer
corps is going to have a very large impact in the coming years; his notions
strike them as romantic and inspiring, as it provides them with a raison
d'etre and a mission to essentially save the world. Since the service
academies have become so politically correct and declined generally in the
quality of their academic instruction, these young officers don't have the
grounding in history and philosophy necessary to see the inherent dangers in
Barnett's plan, rendering them all the more susceptible to its allure.
I like him. But I fear him - or, more properly, I fear
the long-term results of his influence on the officer corps. But I guess
that's because I'm old-fashioned, and prefer the Old Republic to a shiny
new, free-trade-driven, technocratic CoDominium.
It is important to understand that the Barnetts of the
world are quite eager to sweep reactionaries like you and me into the
dustbin of history. While I have no doubt that human nature will frustrate
their ultimate ambitions, when we're gone, no one will remember or possess
the necessary erudition to understand that there was in fact another course
available to these United States; by the lights of Dr. Barnett and his
fellow determinists, those of us who oppose what they perceive as Manifest
Destiny are not only stupid but actively selfish and evil, and therefore
ought to be shunned, if not actively censured.
-- Roland Dobbins
Most junior officers are always
enthusiastic for Empire. It is only after long experience that they begin to
understand history.
Competent Empire is much better than
incompetent Empire.
It may well be that we Old Guard of the
Old Republic are destined for the dustbins. I trust I have enough friends
among the senior officer corps to warrant an honorable exile, not to be sent
to some small windy island.
==
Despite my strong misgivings about Barnett, here is an
example of why I like and respect him, even so.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/33
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/dec/02/gift-from-the-son-of-a-preacher-man/
-- Roland Dobbins
=========
Of course, there's one way to deal with this situation
quite thoroughly and efficiently, had we the stomach for it.
Of course, there's one way to deal with this situation
quite thoroughly and efficiently, had we the stomach for it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2007/12/01/AR2007120101618_pf.html
Given that we don't, we'd be well advised to stop
making noises about 'democracy' and 'elections', and instead do everything
we can to keep South Asia's closest analogue to Ataturk firmly at the helm.
Roland Dobbins
========
Subject: An American Soldier and Gentleman
Jerry,
These are the last two paragraphs of a letter written
to Senator Ron Paul by an American soldier and gentleman. The link to the
rest is at
http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=52180 Although I
don't think foreigners should interfere in the domestic politics of other
Nations as a rule, I do think Mr Carter's letter warrants the widest
distribution
John Edwards.
Quote begins:- Why are we the world's policeman
when our own country is being openly violated? Why are we borrowing
money hand over fist from nations not exactly our friends, just to spend
it on our out-of-control foreign policy? I am starting to feel like the
powers that be do not have America’s interests in mind at all. It’s
starting to feel like our ruin is their objective. From our factories
closing and moving overseas, to the plunging value of our dollar,
America is crumbling. Yet I love her far to much to watch her fall
apart.
This is why I am taking my personal revolution and
joining forces with Dr. Ron Paul’s revolution. His “bring all the troops
home” non-intervention foreign policy and plans to put America first
again are just what we need at this time in our history. I don’t expect
you to agree with everything he says, but I do hope we can all put our
differences aside and join him in seeing that ALL the troops come home,
the Republic is restored and America saved.
Thank you and God Bless.
Zakery Carter
Is Ron Paul a Senator?
===========
Subj: Fermi Paradox: Is it the metallicity?
http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=1608
A recent paper by Russian researchers finds that "[a]pproximately
5 billion years ago average metallicity began to systematically increase,
and its dispersion and the average relative magnesium abundance - to
decrease."
So "stars like ours may not have been able to form in
our area of the galaxy until about the time the Sun first appeared. ... [T]his
would offer a take on the Fermi Paradox: They’re not here because we’re the
first, or at least we’re early on the scene in a galactic neighborhood
that’s relatively young in terms of living planets."
Not the first instance I've seen of the "we're (one
of?) the first" resolution of the FP, but the first I've seen that offers an
astrophysical *mechanism* for making us (one of?) the first.
Rod Montgomery==monty@starfief.com
==========
Subj: Colonel Falkenberg, Northrup-Grumman has your
new desktop
http://www.ms.northropgrumman.com/touchtable/index.html
Rod Montgomery==monty@starfief.com
=========
Bolos LIVE!
Looks like one of the first might come from Carnegie
Mellon...
http://science.slashdot.org/science/07/12/01/2221230.shtml
Thanks for all that you do!
Stan Field
=========
Subject: datapoint in public education debate
Too many students attend college
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20071202/OPINION03/712020312/1031
MZ
We've known this for a long time. But the
Iron Law of Bureaucracy applies very much to colleges and universities.
==========
Subject: Ron Paul, MC
Dr. Paul is, as a well-known science/science fiction
writer is wont to say, a congresscritter. He ran for Senate once upon a
time, but was defeated in the Republican Primary by former Senator Gramm.
Apropos of absolutely nothing, Phil Gramm is one of those old-fashioned,
small-government republicans that seems to be lacking, sorely, in the
government.
Rod
Actually I knew that but it's well to make
it clear. My friend Ed Clarke who was once the Libertarian Party candidate
for President, is supporting Ron Paul although with no high expectation of
success. Paul is of all the candidates the most likely to try to restore the
Old Republic.
=========
Subject: Cell phone fiction tops
best-selling novels list (in Japan!)
Dear Jerry,
I read the following article on the train on my way to
work. It reminds me of your articles about the demise of paperback and the
recent debate on Kindle. Well, here in Japan, people have to commute to work
on crowded trains. Cell phone games, Internet access, emails, and now novels
are among the most common scene you will find on a train in Japan.
I have tried for years using WinCE, PDA (Palm and now
Zaurus with Linux on it!), ultrasmall notebooks to read eBooks, but I still
end up reading my broadsheet paper-based newspaper instead!
Maybe I should try to get a Kindle over Christmas.....
Regards Ken Ho
The article is is a cut&paste from Yomiuri web site,
the article can be found at this URL
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20071205TDY02308.htm
However, Yomiuri only allows free access on the day of
the publication (presumably Tokyo time). Hence I included it here.
Cell phone fiction tops best-selling novels
list
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Three novels that were originally published
on cell phone Web sites were the three best-selling novels of 2007,
according to leading book distributor Tohan Co., it was announced
Tuesday.
Of the top 10 sellers, half were originally
published as so-called cell phone novels, a type of publication that is
popular among middle and high school girls.
The fact that such novels written by
amateur writers became million sellers despite an overall drop in sales
of literary works, is sending shock waves through the publishing
industry.
In top place on the list was "Koizora"
(Love Sky) written in two volumes by a writer known only as Mika.
Published by Starts Publishing Corp., it sold 2 million copies from
December 2006 through November and was made into movie that became a big
hit, attracting 2.4 million people so far in the month it has been on
the big screen.
"Akai Ito" (Red String) by another writer
who goes by just one name--Mei-- placed second. The novel, published by
Goma Books in two volumes, sold a total of 1 million copies.
Mika's "Kimizora" (Your Sky) also published
by Starts Publishing filled out the top three.
When cell phone novels are printed, the
text is laid out horizontally across the page unlike regular novels,
which are read vertically. The novels emerged about five years ago as
contributions to Web sites such as "Maho no i-land." Written mainly by
young women in their teens and 20s, the stories deal with themes such as
pregnancy or the death of a lover, and often are based on personal
experience. <snip>
Picture of the future?
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