Winslow Wheeler: Marine Aviation in the Toilet (Ethically, Technically, & Financially)

Last week I circulated a piece discusing an eight page advertising special in The Washington Post, paid for by Lockheed-Martin and Boeing (and a credit union).  The huge ad commemorated the 100th anniversary of Marine Corps aviation.  (My piece with a link to the advertisement is at the end of this message.)  In the special …

Robert Steele: Clandestine Operations 101 + Personal Comment

Clandestine Operations 101 Here’s how to create a clandestine service that is not the laughing stock of the planet: 00  Stop confusing secure field operations with any need for access to official secrets.  The primary reason CIA is such a mess is the ascendance of security ignorance and myopia combined with sedentary overly fearful managers …

Patrick Meier: Advice to Future PhDs from 2 Unusual Graduating PhDs – Blog Twitter Hybrid Teach-Consult Dissertation Focus

Advice to Future PhDs from 2 Unusual Graduating PhDs Next week I will be attending my official graduation from The Fletcher School to receive my PhD diploma. It is—in a word—surreal. I’ve been working on my PhD for almost as long as I’ve known my good friend and colleague Chris Albon, which is to say, a …

Chuck Spinney: Neo-Liberalism Actually Neo-Serfdom

One of the pillars of the neo-liberal economic policies adopted by Republicans and Democrats alike in the UK and the US is privatization of government services on the theory that free market pressures will generate greater economic efficiencies.  The UK is a case study of how neo-liberal privatization policies promoted by Thatcher, Blair, and Cameron, …

Marcus Aurelius: Marine Corps Bans Audible Farting in Afghanistan

Washington – The United States Marine Corps has banned audible farting in Afghanistan because it is culturally offensive to civilians working with the military and members of the Afghan National Army. The Military Times Marine Corps blog, Battle Rattle recently posted the news that “audible farting has been banned for some Marines downrange because it …