tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post3583196301740901327..comments2024-03-28T14:07:18.682-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: A secret of college life... plus controversies and science!David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-28657907746309399182010-07-28T14:15:03.716-07:002010-07-28T14:15:03.716-07:00A quibble: In the fanfic, Harry isn't raised ...A quibble: In the fanfic, Harry isn't raised by "step-parents", but his aunt (mother's sister) and uncle. They are therefore "adoptive parents".<br /><br />A step-parent is someone who marries one of a person's actual parents.The Monsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15291546809967159683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-55611876367876237152010-06-27T18:31:40.373-07:002010-06-27T18:31:40.373-07:00"Arcane Designs" suggests that in tracki..."Arcane Designs" suggests that in tracking historical trends in violence, one should take into account advances in medical technology that reduce morbidity and mortality from the violence that occurs.<br /><br />This seems one-sided. Should one not also take into account advances in weapons technology that increase morbidity and mortality from the violence that occurs?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-8552025302439079292010-06-26T10:17:47.914-07:002010-06-26T10:17:47.914-07:00The link I posted on Afghanistan didn't paste ...The link I posted on Afghanistan didn't paste in full, so it's not working, and this is a tinyurl of it:<br /><br />http://tinyurl.com/3a3na9u<br /><br />and here it's the article in Foreign Policy, you have to look for the original to see the pics, that showed a country not so much different from, say, Southern Italy in the '50s. Yes, I understand it was a airbrushed and prettified portrait, but...)<br /><br />Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan...<br />Record stores, Mad Men furniture, and pencil skirts -- when Kabul had rock 'n' roll, not rockets.<br /><br />BY MOHAMMAD QAYOUM<br />On a recent trip to Afghanistan, British Defense Secretary Liam Fox drew fire for calling it "a broken 13th-century country." The most common objection was not that he was wrong, but that he was overly blunt. He's hardly the first Westerner to label Afghanistan as medieval. Former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince recently described the country as inhabited by "barbarians" with "a 1200 A.D. mentality." Many assume that's all Afghanistan has ever been -- an ungovernable land where chaos is carved into the hills. Given the images people see on TV and the headlines written about Afghanistan over the past three decades of war, many conclude the country never made it out of the Middle Ages.<br />But that is not the Afghanistan I remember. I grew up in Kabul in the 1950s and '60s. When I was in middle school, I remember that on one visit to a city market, I bought a photobook about the country published by Afghanistan's planning ministry. Most of the images dated from the 1950s. I had largely forgotten about that book until recently; I left Afghanistan in 1968 on a U.S.-funded scholarship to study at the American University of Beirut, and subsequently worked in the Middle East and now the United States. But recently, I decided to seek out another copy. Stirred by the fact that news portrayals of the country's history didn't mesh with my own memories, I wanted to discover the truth. Through a colleague, I received a copy of the book and recognized it as a time capsule of the Afghanistan I had once known -- perhaps a little airbrushed by government officials, but a far more realistic picture of my homeland than one often sees today.<br /><br />A half-century ago, Afghan women pursued careers in medicine; men and women mingled casually at movie theaters and university campuses in Kabul; factories in the suburbs churned out textiles and other goods. There was a tradition of law and order, and a government capable of undertaking large national infrastructure projects, like building hydropower stations and roads, albeit with outside help. Ordinary people had a sense of hope, a belief that education could open opportunities for all, a conviction that a bright future lay ahead. All that has been destroyed by three decades of war, but it was real.Marinonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-67471897939788031992010-06-23T17:32:37.842-07:002010-06-23T17:32:37.842-07:00@Robert -
I don't know, the ability of the Li...@Robert - <br />I don't know, the ability of the Libertarian / Tea Partiers to rationallize cuts in government spending that they themselves (or their sister, or nephew, or neighbor) have benefited from is deeply amazing. The medical bills resulting from violence could just be seen to be the responsibility of the abuser; if one cannot be found it is the "invisible hand of the market" yet again. A strawman, I admit, but one rooted in experience in argument.<br /><br />"abiling" - libertarian aid to the Saudi oilgarchsmatthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757867868731829206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-34603484194026334512010-06-23T14:34:18.880-07:002010-06-23T14:34:18.880-07:00Now that is the ultimate taxation question: will w...Now that is the ultimate taxation question: will we see politicians state "we need to raise taxes to pay for the medical bills of victims of violence. Unless of course you want to just let them die... and imagine for a moment that this victim was your sister... or mother... or wife... or daughter."<br /><br />I think it would be more difficult to cut funding to assist victims than it would be to cut Social Security. I mean, who wants to be painted to be a complete monster?<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-35582867294689227152010-06-23T14:26:27.186-07:002010-06-23T14:26:27.186-07:00RE: death rate
Our prosperity allows us to suppo...RE: death rate <br /><br />Our prosperity allows us to support crippled survivors of violence. However, if too many survive, society will be unable to support them and new decisions will have to be made: Don't save victims of violence?awnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-14225513346170445232010-06-23T14:17:23.629-07:002010-06-23T14:17:23.629-07:00I've been watching the resurgence of fiscal co...I've been watching the resurgence of fiscal conservatism in the European Union lately with some curiosity; in many ways this is a test of Keynesian economics. The European nations are struggling to climb out of the global recession that the banking industry ignited with their greed and foolishness. These same banks that insisted they needed to be bailed out are now trying to suck as much money as possible out of the nations by lessening their credit ratings so they can charge higher interest rates for loans.<br /><br />At the very time when the global economy needs money to be injected into it, the money is being drawn away by the banks. And my money is on a double-dip recession striking the European Union as the lackluster economic recovery flames out due to a lack of fuel (money). (I'd even be willing to bet that some in the finance industry are betting on this happening and are trying to benefit from this - similar to the policies which allowed bankers to make money off of defaulted loans.)<br /><br />Sadly, even should this happen, I suspect that the new-found fiscal conservatives among Republicans will claim that it was a fluke, and that Keynesian economics is mistaken, even if the U.S. manages to stay out of a second recession through its own borrowing habits.<br /><br />------------<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20100622/NEWS/100629962/1144?Title=Oil-threatens-key-Gulf-algae-and-its-ecosystem&tc=ar" rel="nofollow">It seems likely that the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf is going to devastate the Gulf ecology</a>, with Sargassum algae and the sealife that dwells in it becoming befouled by the oil and washing ashore. The problem is that this algae buds to reproduce... which means that a widescale dieoff of the algae will affect the Gulf for years. What's more, the Sargassum also is drawn by the Loop current into the Atlantic... which means that even if the oil itself remains in the Gulf, we could see the Atlantic fisheries taking a hit as a result.<br /><br />-----------<br /><br />Finally, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10393633.stm" rel="nofollow">scientists have been able to measure the speed of winds on a hot Jupiter (HD209458b) orbiting a star over 150 light years distant</a>. I have no idea how they can determine the speed of winds on an object that cannot even be directly observed, but it is truly amazing what they're doing these days in astronomy.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-46962832685646890622010-06-23T08:01:34.896-07:002010-06-23T08:01:34.896-07:00SpaceX, ULA, and Rorcozmos means three vendors, ev...SpaceX, ULA, and Rorcozmos means three vendors, even if none of the smaller companies spacecraft plans ever make it off the ground. <br />Not all of those players are in the USA, so Wallstreet might have a harder time 'collectivizing' them. <br /><br />Here in Canada (not exactly outside of Wallstreet's reach) PlanetSpace still seems to be developing its Silver Dart spaceplane (FDL-7 lifting body with an all metal TPS, what they should have done for the Shuttle in the first place); last I heard they were doing atmospheric flight tests with quarter-scale UAVs... though it's a slow-burn development right now, and they were teamed with Lock-Mar and ATK for their COTS bid, so who knows when, if ever, it'll see orbit. <br /><br />You've also got billionaires like Jeff Bezos and his ever-mysterious VTOL program, who aren't likely to be bought out easily. <br /><br />All in all, I'm cautiously optimistic about the prospects of a diverse launch market in coming years.Tyler Augusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14171092329566960436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-5066821035614303122010-06-23T04:29:14.856-07:002010-06-23T04:29:14.856-07:00Yes!, Three would be ideal. If it happens Wall $tr...Yes!, Three would be ideal. If it happens Wall $treet may immediately start planning mergers and shut downs of "Excess capacity", in the name of "Efficiency", what is their attachment to collectivization?<br /><br />"ingin", the destiny of stuffed olives.Tim H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58627226520774459312010-06-23T04:28:25.698-07:002010-06-23T04:28:25.698-07:00David Brin said...
If you have three commercial en...David Brin said...<br />If you have three commercial entities launching people, then a tragedy doesn't freeze everything. You investigate, scream some blame, fix problems... while the other guys keep launching.<br /><br />It depends on wether the said entities use also different vehicles.<br />If a plane is found defective after a disater, all airlines using it usually land them and they are recalled for mantainance. <br />And the market for launchers and spacecraft won't be the classical market with many participants and low barriers to entry, but quite the opposite. So, probably two out of three will use the same launcher the same way most airlines use either Boeing or Airbus planes.Marinonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-77874196272604738062010-06-22T15:49:36.313-07:002010-06-22T15:49:36.313-07:00If you have three commercial entities launching pe...If you have three commercial entities launching people, then a tragedy doesn't freeze everything. You investigate, scream some blame, fix problems... while the other guys keep launching.<br /><br />It's time.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-84954358662907342232010-06-22T13:17:16.197-07:002010-06-22T13:17:16.197-07:00Please note, I stated that I understand Glenn'...Please note, I stated that I understand Glenn's reservations concerning private industry sending people (and materials) into space, not that I agreed with him. <br /><br />Here's an interesting question: could a smaller and more viable cargo-carrying space shuttle be built that is able to carry wide loads similar to the current space shuttle? With life support systems removed, the shuttle should be smaller and significantly less expensive to operate (and you could even include the ability to launch humans into space in the cargo-hold, possibly in a capsule similar to the Dragon and Constitution systems).<br /><br />We could even abandon the existing tile structure and utilize a solid-piece heat shield (possibly utilizing some of the current spray technologies to coat the robotic craft); the coating could even be renewed after the craft returns to Earth should it be sufficiently damaged (unless of course spray technology isn't able to cope with such repairs, risking the coating peeling away from damaged regions).<br /><br />I could even imagine a long-term job for some of these robotic shuttles: put an ion drive on them for LEO work and have them chase down some of the larger or more dangerous debris, capture it, and once the cargo hold is full, return to Earth with all that junk. (And then bill the companies that left the debris in orbit.)<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-34193964337408561042010-06-22T11:44:17.800-07:002010-06-22T11:44:17.800-07:00Rob, I like about half of your argument, Shuttle c...Rob, I like about half of your argument, Shuttle costs entirely too much to refurbish, and the decision to go with thermal tiles instead of inconel and a metallic heat shield still haunts us, but a commercial successor will not be inexpensive, or risk free. Mind you, SpaceX looks like the way to go, for now, but it's another small step. When the fare to LEO is less than the price of a small car, we can call it serious progress.Tim H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-54177962956400442742010-06-22T08:35:45.724-07:002010-06-22T08:35:45.724-07:00Well, John Glenn has joined into the armchair disc...Well, John Glenn <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gtO8Yk4uXyGyAGNzAD8Ku3mW3uyQD9GFQG8O1" rel="nofollow">has joined into the armchair discussion concerning the retirement of the space shuttle</a>, insisting that we need to keep the Shuttle running until we come up with a replacement. He also states his reluctance on relying on private industry to put people into space because they're not proven. Never mind the fact that NASA has blown up more than its share of rockets on the pad, and lost a number of astronauts. And hey, let's not worry about the fact that the space shuttle was proven to be unreliable after losing two of the craft.<br /><br />His math is also a bit odd. Apparently it costs about the same to keep the shuttle running (I believe it costs $200 million per month to keep the shuttles operational) as it does to send astronauts into space through Russia (at $51 million a pop). Hmm. I didn't realize we were sending four people into space a month using the Russian rockets.<br /><br />I'm sorry... I mean, I understand concerns about private rockets and the like. But Glenn's math is wonky and he doesn't seem worried about the potential loss of life if we lose yet another shuttle due to either debris from launching the craft... or debris in orbit smacking into the shuttle and breaking tiles. You have to wonder what matters more to Glenn: a thousand government contract jobs to keep the flying bricks flying, or the lives of our astronauts who are at risk when they fly on those overgrown bathtubs.<br /><br />(And why don't we just automate them? They mostly fly themselves. The Russians had their own version of the shuttle that flew remotely. So if we need the shuttle that badly, just build a robotic one to do the job far safer.)<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-8138829319807885122010-06-22T07:36:49.206-07:002010-06-22T07:36:49.206-07:00Wikileaks update: Assange seems to have come out o...Wikileaks update: Assange seems to have come out of hiding, according to this <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10373176.stm" rel="nofollow">BBC article</a>Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-69030745906346777612010-06-22T07:13:29.911-07:002010-06-22T07:13:29.911-07:00I've always thought it would be nice to have a...I've always thought it would be nice to have a two-part college education. Have the first part be the broad liberal arts foundation. This is the part where you broaden your mind, lose your provincial attitude, drink and party, gain confidence, pick up some political causes, have a series of high spirited flings with members of the opposite sex, or if applicable, come out of the closet.<br /><br />Then you work in a factory for three years.<br /><br />Then you go back for your math and science classes and work like the rest of your life depends on it.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17774230311169357530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-44356883984550495362010-06-22T05:22:41.086-07:002010-06-22T05:22:41.086-07:00The one bit of advice I have for people headed off...The one bit of advice I have for people headed off to college (seeing I've no kids of my own and likely won't unless the stars align unexpectedly) (okay, so I'm a cynic) is this: no matter how lousy you feel, no matter how behind you are on your homework, never. skip. class.<br />Naturally, if you have a vital project you're working hard on and if you don't pass it in on time, you can make an exception. But in that case, you're still doing something school-related.<br /><br />Every class a kid skips is the equivalent loss of a grade in the class - from an A to an A-, a B- to a C+, and so on. This was pointed out in a seminar called "Where There's A Will, There's An A" and I noticed that this is very very true. <br /><br />Hell, I passed half my classes just by showing up. Though Calculus II was almost the death of me and I only passed that one because the third time I took the class, the professor said "anyone who takes Calc II three times deserves to pass." (I got a C-. Which means I failed and was given a sympathy grade. ^^)<br /><br />Robert A. Howard, <a href="http://www.tangents.us" rel="nofollow">Tangents Reviews</a>Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58884382958531676322010-06-22T05:00:18.814-07:002010-06-22T05:00:18.814-07:00My own advice to kids on their way to the Freshman...My own advice to kids on their way to the Freshman dorms is more to the point:<br /><br />1. Don't get drunk and fall off of a hotel balcony. <br />2. It is the expectation of Mrs. T. and myself that any grandchild of ours will be raised by two parents who are married to each other. Plan accordingly.<br /><br />Of course, I address the motivational issues earlier. When they are mulling the college option I tell them that if they know what they want to do, then go straight at it. Adversity has never stopped a member of our clan from attaining his goals, and frankly, after generations of this the Universe no longer seems to be bringing the A game. (sample size insufficient to judge outcomes for females in our family).<br /><br />But, if they do not know what they want to do, seriously consider taking a year off. Work. Save up some cash. Get a backpack and see europe or central America. A moderate stretch of seeing the world as it is should induce some clarity.<br /><br />The risk of course is that you end up with a backpacker bum, ever on the move to the next indulgent beach. Its a variant of the horrid infantalization of our young adult population, and one that seems especially risky for males.<br /><br />But so far so good, the one who went straight to college is conquering his niche of the world, and the one who took time off to do something else (and something very impressive in its own right) is now filling out college apps.<br /><br />Tacitus2Tacitus2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-49359399660957823292010-06-22T04:40:52.010-07:002010-06-22T04:40:52.010-07:00OT, but showing how much sci-fi became mainstream:...OT, but showing how much sci-fi became mainstream:<br /><br />today in Italy we hold the nationwide state examen at the end of the HS courses. The first day is devote to a test in Italian language and literature, and one of the proposed arguments is writing an essay on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, under the title "Are we not alone"?; students were given texts from Kant, Hawking et al. to comment and debate in said essay.<br />So, sci fi has gone mainstream...<br />(pity I'm no more a student, approaching the big six-oh... I bet I had mentioned the Uplift universe for sure)Marinonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-59162571280864405782010-06-22T00:54:05.107-07:002010-06-22T00:54:05.107-07:00wow Tony, good description...wow Tony, good description...David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-31176702883491592932010-06-22T00:27:48.257-07:002010-06-22T00:27:48.257-07:00Interesting article from John Michael Greer... wit...Interesting article from John Michael Greer... with discussion of David in the comments!<br /><br />http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2010/06/waiting-for-millennium.html<br /><br />"Waiting for the Millennium: Part 1: Peak Oil Goes Mainstream"<br /><br /><br />http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2010/06/waiting-for-millennium_16.html<br /><br />"Part 2: The Limits of Magic"<br /><br />In the comments:<br /><br />Joel: "David Brin is the only other blogger I've read who acknowledges just how important magic was to the solidarity of Hitler's followers, and how incantatory the Tea Party is.<br /><br />A debate between you and him would be fascinating. Well, it would fascinate me, and probably bore both of you terribly."<br /><br />JMG: "I enjoy Brin's SF, though of course you're right that he has the common rationalist habit of despising what he's never taken the time to understand."<br /><br />My own thoughts on the article, and Greer's works in general:<br /><br />Greer, while he doesn't call himself a "doomist", is obviously on the very pessimistic end of the Peak Oil debate. While he claims that he's being a clear-headed Cassandra surrounded by people headed off a cliff of wishful thinking, I detect a fair bit of his own wishful thinking in his arguments. He pretty much writes off everyone else's energy math except his own, and favors a very steep "declinist" position- that, coincidentially, will bring about the sort of new agrarian society that he, as a Druid and a romantic, longs for and works in preparation for. He's also highly America-centric, completely ignoring other countries which maintain modern industrial bases and standards of living on far smaller per-capita energy expenditures and are enacting long-range plans to deal with coming shortages (foremost being China, but the other countries of East Asia are similar). His whole argument amounts to "No, we can't, and we'd better not even try for fear of making things worse." Unlike many eco-romantics, however, he's very clear about what this will mean in practice- you can see his science fiction work-in-progress for a view of where he sees things headed:<br /><br />http://starsreach.blogspot.com/<br /><br />I, for one, find his future and it's consequences both ghastly and unlikely. He underestimates the resourcefulness with which people would react during a time of steep decline to preserve our culture, science and knowhow. He ignores existent second and third-world nations which have working "intermediate technologies" that can be run for a long time to come while we build an industrial base on a sustainable foundation. He also seems to ignore the simple fact that the first stages of the industrial revolution- in fact, everything existent when Karl Marx wrote "Capital"- was created with energy inputs that could be sustained by renewables for thousands of years to come. There's no need for our society to look as primitive as the 13th century, when the sophistication of the early 19th century was possible without a drop of oil.<br /><br />In short, I have a lot more faith in our society than he does. In a world with more educated minds than any time in history, networked globally under a universal language. A world where our largest nations are training scientists, engineers, and knowledge workers by the millions. A world where all the resources of humanity are rapidly being brought to the table and laid out for all to see. Whether or not they'll come up short of what we need to survive... well, isn't that the question?Nicholas MacDonaldhttp://www.facebook.com/#!/namacdonaldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-19828487889957990352010-06-21T21:49:11.678-07:002010-06-21T21:49:11.678-07:00Rowling's Dumbledore infuriated me by scheming...<i>Rowling's Dumbledore infuriated me by scheming and plotting in secret</i><br /><br />I think Rowling intended Dumbledore's behaviour to be infuriating to the reader.<br /><br />blomp: a blimp whose field tests suggest that it needs further work...Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-46374594705348871512010-06-21T21:44:38.535-07:002010-06-21T21:44:38.535-07:00Spiders are go, eh? (well I'll give Mr Farley ...Spiders are go, eh? (well I'll give Mr Farley marks for promptness!)<br /><br />By coincidence (can you spell 'wikileaks'?) the ABC had <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/classic/throsby/#listen" rel="nofollow">an interview</a> this morning (Jun 22) with Dr Peter Bowden.<br /><br /><i>Researcher and teacher in ethics - including advisory work for the United Nations, World Bank and other international agencies<br /><br />He also has a special interest in Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblowing)</i> <br /><br />(I haven't heard it yet.)Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-65860866015671825722010-06-21T19:18:12.068-07:002010-06-21T19:18:12.068-07:00(In other words, Dumbledore did not commit a horri...<i> (In other words, Dumbledore did not commit a horrific crime, but put him with the best muggles he could find, duh?) </i><br /><br /><br />Interesting analysis.... There's a surprise for you in Chapter 17!<br /><br /><br />I <i>love</i> Yudkowsky's Dumbledore. Rowling's Dumbledore infuriated me by scheming and plotting in secret, often deceiving the other characters <i>on his side</i>, and leaving them puzzling about what he was doing (the biggest example of this being his planned death). Yudkowsky's Dumbledore seems to be hiding his plotting behind a veneer of insanity, so any action that doesn't make sense is attributed to madness... or, he actually is insane!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15030764857062052822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-54087625801778741682010-06-21T18:04:45.917-07:002010-06-21T18:04:45.917-07:00By complete coincedence, I attended a SROE (Standi...By complete coincedence, I attended a SROE (Standing Rules of Engagement) CLE Tuesday (hosted by the WSBA's Legal Assistance to Military Personnel Section). We passed around a couple of the blue cards our troops are periodically issued outlining when and how and at who you can "engage".<br /><br />I don't doubt that people are trying to do the right thing, both as individuals and as an organization. However, at the same time, we are putting them in places and giving them orders that ensure the wrong thing will happen. If you are given an illegal order, it is your duty to refuse BUT you will then be tried to determine whether the order was in fact illegal, and if you lose .... you lose big. Couple this with the bonding that occurs at the unit level which, in my admittedly limited observation, appears to override merely intellectual processes such as legal reasoning, and you have a recipe for fatal errors.<br /><br />I suppose an ombudsman could do no harm. That's part of the role of the Chaplin, and no doubt it sometimes works, but I have been told that sometimes troops are reluctant to take things to channels because the risk of retaliation is severe. For example, it is not unknown for the victims of MST (Military Sexual Trauma) to themselves be prosecuted for making allegations. There is also the problem that the (possibly) wrongdoers may be your bunkmates, armed to the teeth, trained to violence and guarding your back ... not a situation in which everyone would feel comfortable narc'ing on them.<br /><br />I have no idea what the right thing to do in any particular case may be, but the basic problem we have at this time is the strategic direction given by the civilians to the uniforms.rewinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14008105385364113371noreply@blogger.com