Thanks to dkemp, edd7, finn-san, hardcharger, mae, and of course prosenberg. Lots of Hanukkah and Christmas links this week, including a "Carol of the Bells" you haven't heard before. Children and control seem to be an entwined and recurring theme, mostly for reasons that are more important than recent shootings.

There's also a strong discussion of class in America: Producer class, Government class - and a Praetorian class? On the technical field, we have medtech roundup, more on spying home appliances, and the US Intelligence Council's 2030 "megatrend" forecasts. The latter are, of course, already getting sharp criticism.

And what the heck... how about reliving the biggest armored clash from Desert Storm? Or having Carl Sagan explain the wonders of the universe. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good read.

To simplify your scans, I've divided the links into sections: your weekly Copybook Heading, plus Economos (global economy), Ekpolitismos (culture & civilization), Polis (domestic politics), Techne Logos (tech), Stratiootika (geopolitics & military), plus 1 Good News This Week item to brighten your week and/or make you better. Enjoy!

Weekly Copybook Heading - Write out 10 times :-)

"Liberalism, by the inner dynamic of its logic, was forced to become an instrument of social control in order to avoid the chaos which it created by its own erosion of tradition and morals. Democratic man could not be left to his own devices; chaos would result. The logic was clear. If there is no God, there can be no religion; if there is no religion, there can be no morals; if there are no morals, there can be no self-control; if there is no self-control, there can be no social order; if there is no social order, there can be nothing but the chaos of competing desire. But we cannot have chaos, so therefore we must institute behavioral control in place of the traditional structures of the past -- tradition, religion, etc. Abolishing tradition, religion and morals and establishing "scientific" social control are one and the same project."
  - E. Michael Jones, Libido Dominandi - Sexual Liberation and Political Control at The Great Zero Gate

Polis

Bill Whittle talks to Evan Sayet about his new book, "Kindergarden of Eden." If you've ever talked to a leftist and felt that you were never really talking about the issue at hand... you're likely right. Evan is a "9/13 Republican", and Hollywood gave him lots of research subjects. His conclusion is interesting, and plausible. Basically, he says that Jack's "Infantilizomania" thesis is almost right, but it's missing something really important. If you like the interview and want a fuller exposition, Sayet's 47 minute speech at the Heritage Foundation offers the full rundown. It does snap a lot of things you've wondered about into perspective:

• The Rise of the Praetorian Class (Casey Research, Jan 1/12). prosenberg: An important article, which clarifies the emerging Latin American model (in truth, one far older than that) in the USA.



• The Working Class and the Government Class and How the Government Class Lives (Daniel "Sultan Knish" Greenfield, Dec 1-3/12). "Our class warfare is not determined by paycheck size. The United States has only two classes. The working class and the government class." [JK: the article up top adds 1 important one]



• [TSA/DHS] Application To Make [Entire] U.S. Into An Airport Screening Zone (Dollar Vigilante, Dec 11/12). mrapp: It won't surprise me when "Your license and registration" turns into "Papers please." The United Police States of America is alive and well.



• Massive New Surveillance Program Uncovered by Wall Street Journal (Slate, Dec 13/12). "The Wall Street Journal reported today that the little-known National Counterterrorism Center, based in an unmarked building in McLean, Va., has been granted sweeping new authority to store and monitor massive datasets about innocent Americans."



• The Strategic Concentration of Modern Children (Dec 18/12). edd7: "What any ruling class wants is to get children away from the influence of their parents...." See Jack's (member's only) "Infantilizomania" for his riff on this.



• Guns, Mental Illness and Newtown (WSJ, Dec 17/12). jkatzman: "There were 18 random mass shootings in the 1980s, 54 in the 1990s, and 87 in the 2000s." But guns were more available in the 1980s. And mental illness may be a factor in 47%, but there aren't more of them out there now. So, what has changed, what has steadily gone up, decade after decade?



• "You ARE the Genie. You Own and Run the Bottle." (Peggy Noonan, Dec 19/12). jkatzman: A few words for Hollywood.

Ekpolitismos (Civilization, Culture)

Is your playlist like Paul Ryan's: starts with AC/DC and ends with Zeppelin? Then strap in, as rock guitar maestro Gary Hoey gives us a great "Carol of the Bells". Merry Christmas, man!

• The Darkness and the Light (Daniel "Sultan Knish" Greenfield, Dec 13/12). "We cannot always expect oil to burn for eight days, just as we cannot always expect the bullet to miss or the rocket to fall short. And yet even in those moments of darkness the reminder of the flame is with us for no darkness lasts forever and no exile, whether of the body of the spirit, endures. Sooner or later the spark flares to life again and the oil burns again. Sooner or later the light returns."



• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (SteynOnlone, Dec 11/12). mae: SteynOnline celebrates the composers and lyricists of the Christmas songbook. Includes audio.



• Emptiness, Part 3: "And a little child shall lead them" (Word Around the Net, Dec 22/07). jkatzman: To my Christian friends, I offer an essay that may help to illuminate one of the most popular carols. Merry Christmas!



• Sunday Meditation: The Children Whom Reason Scorns (By The Doctor is In, Dec 5/04). " Several weeks ago, it became widely known that the Dutch were expanding their "euthanasia" program to formalize the previously informal murder of "inconvenient" children and other human beings at the hands of doctors..."



• Healing Faith (The Doctor Is In, Sept 26/12). "The problem of pain has never been an easy one; in our day, it has not been solved, but rather worsened, by our delusions of perpetual comfort and expectations of a trouble-free life. Until we come to terms with suffering, we will not have comfort; until we embrace our pain, peace will never be ours.



• Do Yourself A Favor And "Voucherize" The Christmas Thing (Forbes, Dec 6/12). jkatzman: There's still time to take his advice.

Economos

• Outrageous HSBC Settlement Proves the Drug War is a Joke (Rolling Stone, Dec 13/12). prosenberg: The HSBC story. If you didn't get this from your news source, why not? [JK: What it says is, they'll never criminally prosecute any big member of the financial cartel, for anything.]



• Taxing the Poor (Thomas Sowell, Dec 11/12). From edd7: "But a welfare mother is unlikely to be able to buy real estate or gold. She can put a few dollars aside in a jar somewhere. But wherever she may hide it, inflation can steal value from it without having to lay a hand on it."



• Who'll pull the trigger on the eurozone? (Business Spectator, Dec 6/12).



• The French Death Rattle (Project Syndicate, Dec 14/12). "In fact, this negative [Moody's rating] barely scratches the surface of France's predicament. The full picture emerges only after examining the motivations behind the government's inadequate response."

Techne Logos

• The Year in Medicine 2012: News That Made a Difference (Medscape, Dec 4/12). hardcharger: Medscape is an on-line weekly newsletter which normally is subscribed-only. However, this story has 23 slides with a brief explanation of each. The first 16 slides are open to the public, give 'er a try...



• Smart TVs can spy on their owners (Russia Today, Dec 15/12). prosenberg: "A security firm discovered that Samsung’s Smart TV can give hackers access to the device’s built-in camera and microphones, allowing them to watch everything you do.... [and] access any and all personal data stored on the TV." The purpose of life, after all, is to watch more TV, isn't it? Recall last week's bit about Verizon's set top spybox patent.



• New Imaging System Could Make America's Stealth Technology Obsolete (Business Insider, Dec 18/12). From mae. This outlet makes mistakes, and it's a long way from this to effective, fielded systems, so we'll see. But there's also R&D into passive electro-magnetic systems. Stealth will find itself more and more challenged.



• Police Raid 9-Year-Old Pirate Bay Girl, Confiscate Winnie The Pooh Laptop (TorrentFreak, Nov 22/12). prosenberg: The ugly face of Hollywood. "CIAPC, the company that had The Pirate Bay blocked by ISPs in Finland, tracked an alleged file-sharer and demanded a cash settlement. However, the Internet account holder refused to pay.... this week police raided the home of the 9-year-old suspect and confiscated her Winnie the Pooh laptop."

Stratiootika

The battle of 73 Easting. Actually, the Iraqis were firing a bit more than the CGI would indicate, but the M1s had a disturbing habit of absorbing hits and then shooting back.

• National Intelligence Council Forecasts Megatrends (Pentagon, Dec 11/12). From hardcharger. Past history suggests maybe betting the other way. "Sultan Knish" is relentlessly and deservedly critical of at least one prediction.



• Brazil's Defense Industry: Re-emerging? (ISN, Dec 19/12). jkatzman: My podcast interview re: Brazil and its reviving defense industry.



• ASTROS 2020 MLRS: Brazil Moves to Revive Avibras (DID, Dec 17/12). jkatzman: And provides a waypoint in the coming global spread of long-range, precision strike battlefield weapons from new arms manufacturers.



• Red Flag Over the Atlantic: China is angling to take over a U.S. airbase in the Azores. (National Review, Nov 5/12). From finn-san. See also the Pentagon's Dec 13/12 announcement.



• Egypt to Spend up to $3.2B Adding to F-16C/D Fleet (DID, Dec 18/12). jkatzman: You read the news reports right: Egypt is buying 20 more F-16s. We include parallel political coverage, too. Short note: we've already sold equally advanced F-16s to Iraq and Pakistan, so protecting "secret technologies" is way too late.

Over The Hump: Good News This Week

Cosmos (Videos, Timeless). jkatzman: Carl Sagan's fantastic TV series is available via the Internet, in its entirety, thanks to his estate. Merry Christmas! I still miss the world's best science teacher.

For The Constitution!

Joe Katzman