National Security State

Perfect Storm-Ularity:
 Simultaneous Tipping Of Climate, Pandemic, Economy & Politics

Wrong Rice? Close enoughIf an American civilization survives the next decade, perhaps it will infer numerological significance from the fact that each of the tipping points, which is discussed below, probably became inevitable on or around February 20, 2020, which was the 20th day of the 2nd month of the 20th year of the 20-numbered century, i.e., my birthday.I.

The Future of Surveillance: 500,000 AI Facial Scans Per Month in China

An abandoned panopticon prison in Cuba (source). Being publicly observed, or the knowledge that they may be being observed at any one time, keeps prisoners under control.by Thomas NeuburgerAll regimes with an overriding need to control their populations — including the U.S. and China — depend on public surveillance as a key element in their control mechanism.

Blowback: The Costs of War Continue to Soar in the Trump Era

As I was putting the finishing touches on my new book, the Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute published an estimate of the taxpayer dollars that will have gone into America’s war on terror from September 12, 2001, through fiscal year 2018. That figure: a cool $5.6 trillion (including the future costs of caring for our war vets). On average, that’s at least $23,386 per taxpayer.

The Story of 2017 (Part 1)

by Gaius Publius2017 has been an such unusual year in so many ways that its unusuality has masked the ways in which it has been a very usual year, a very more-of-the-same series of months.For one thing, "The Resistance" has gone from being a meaningful idea to something almost seems like it could be added to anything to indicate added value — "Dove soap, now with #Resistance." I've seen "resistance" claims from those who fought

JFK: Victim of the National Security State

Following the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, President Kennedy announced he would ban the testing of nuclear weapons. He called for an end to the Cold War and the removal of troops from South Vietnam. Kennedy also put an end to the Pentagon's plan to invade Cuba and refused to provide air support for the Bay of Pigs invasion. It was the last straw when he forced the resignation of Allen Dulles, the director of the CIA. The National Security State said Kennedy had to go. They said he was a threat to national security.