Algorithmic, Fully Autonomous Killing is a Trap for the Power Using It
Setup A recent report says the Pentagon is closer to approving autonomous drones killing human targets, a decision that would likely backfire in ways that do more damage than good to the United States. (This article does not address close range fully autonomous weapons systems on battlefields set apart from civilian populations and employed by…
Utilize Russians Fleeing Draft to Write Russians at Home
There is a mass exodus of Russians avoiding Putin’s war observed by media in and outside of Russia, with up to 700,000 Russian men according to unnamed Russian official sources cited by Forbes, Russia. Reuters has been using the words “tens of thousands.” Russian exiles have native literacy, fluency, and knowledge to write colloquially and credibly…
Appease Putin and Lose Freedom
Putin kindled then started wars against Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine seeking one thing: Imperialist control over two continents. His nationalists have told us so, and Putin has embraced their warmongering extremism and called it patriotism. And Putin has embraced something much deeper than that: Chinese imperial interest and interference in Russia’s fundamental economic survival. That…
Can You See The Moon in the South China Sea?
In 2014, the visionary lunar scientist, geologist, and author Paul D. Spudist (who passed on in 2018 due to cancer) forecast Chinese preparations to dominate the moon by reviewing China’s goals at the time for Smithsonian Magazine. Most of the goals Dr. Spudist discussed, China has since met. Over the summer, a popular U.S. media show, Today aired…
Turkey playing both sides with decided preference for autocracy
One would think Putin would have yanked S-400 contracts with Turkey, angered by Ankara’s Bayraktar combat drone deals with Kyiv. He has not. Instead, he is pursuing a Bayraktar drone plant in Russia to use the combat drones against Ukraine. If a conflict with NATO broke out Putin would not want S-400’s operational over Turkish…
Putin’s impulsion trends in leadership error
Vladimir Putin’s military build-up on the Ukraine border and partial pull-back today, combined with visible anger in his red-line rhetoric threatening harsh punishment for those who disrespect Russia’s security interests showed signs of impulsiveness in one inexperienced at commanding military forces. It was interesting that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu signaled the pullback. A breakthrough…
Debilitating counter-espionage mindset regarding China
It is common for us to vent or joke about China’s “stealing.” While this has limited use against China’s public relations campaigns, the mental impression formed from the repeated theft conversation is a sense of moral triumph, disgust, and anger. Yet these emotions can shroud our minds from understanding our adversary. For the Chinese state,…