Paul (internet tech, privacy, economics). Citizen K (hydrocarbon industry), and "devry" (online security, economics, Personal Plan B) are aboard. We also congratulate TTPers edd7, hardcharger, and mrapp for freelance link suggestions that met the test.

This week has a couple of themes to it, but the general thread focusses on the sometimes-hidden instabilities in the system around us, and the jockeying as those strains become evident. Some of it is seriously nasty. I didn't think anything could push the VP pick out of the top political slot this week - but I was wrong.

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

Polis

You know, there's a reason this guy electrified the primaries. President? I dunno. On TV providing enfilade fire? Absolutely.

• Full Spectrum Operations in the Homeland: A "Vision" of the Future (July 25/12). jkatzman: The guy who ran a key officer training school for the US Army, and still teaches there, breaks every professional rule in a scenario that has the US Army deployed against the Tea Party in South Carolina, to use the tactics and weapons of Iraq and Afghanistan against Americans ("full spectrum"). We'll be unpacking this some more, but having a faction of the Army planning for a shooting war against an American political movement is a really, really serious thing.



• Why Is Homeland Security Buying 450 Million Rounds of Hollow Point Bullets? (The Blaze, March 30/12). prosenberg: Why exactly does DHS need hollow-point bullets, which our military cannot use? And why does it need 450 million .40 cal rounds? MarketWatch's original press release is gone, but ATK's original release isn't. And now DHS has an RFP out for 750 million MORE rounds. WTF!?!



• The fight's on for America's future (Charlie Gasparino, NY Post, Aug 12/12). jkatzman: Gasparino is best known for his Wall Street coverage, but the size of recent lines and crowds adds weight to his political assessment.



• Boom and Zoom Vs Turn and Burn (Belmont Club, Aug 11/12). jkatzman: One of the best commenters on national and international affairs today is a web-based writer who grew up in the Philippines. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Richard Fernandez, discussing the Ryan pick.



• Why the WikiLeaks Grand Jury is So Dangerous: Members of Congress Now Want to Prosecute New York Times Journalists Too (EFF, July 23/12). prosenberg: Regardless what we think of Wikileaks, how might control of the press be used, if it becomes a precedent? Jefferson was right that the press must be left alone, even if abominable.

Techne Logos

• How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking (Aug 6/12). mrapp: This guy lost his Google, Twitter, and Apple accounts, and had all of his computers wiped clean - and it was easy to do. Treat your online presence seriously.



• Wikileaks revelation raises privacy concerns in US (Daily Tattler, Aug 15/12). devry: Trap Wire is Watching You. Time is running out for individuals that wish to secure their liberty and prosperity to make the necessary lifestyle changes. Complacency is the worst option. Prosenberg adds this link.



• The New Total War (Belmont Club, Aug 10/12). jkatzman: "Think of a world in which there is no sanctuary, where no flight or concealment is possible. A reality in which millions of distributed cameras, augmented by intercepted emails, cell phone video, and imagery make it impossible to lose one self in a crowd. It will be a world without front lines, without a clearly identifiable friend or foe. This, and terrorism too. Conceive of living in such a universe; and realize that perhaps you may be living in it already."



• You have zero privacy. Get over it. (IT Wire, Aug 15/12). devry: Without an understanding of an individual's fundamental, natural rights, one is simply a neo-feudal serf. The decimation of individual privacy, including financial privacy, is the last straw before the rest of one's rights are trampled by corrupt governments. The only hope for individuals that want to ensure liberty and security for themselves and their families is to take a proactive approach of educating themselves about rights vs. laws and taking action to avoid losing one's privacy. The article is misleading: personal privacy exists today, but only with individual effort.

Economos

• Market Structure & The Near Miss (The Big Picture, Aug 6/12). hardcharger: And how can you not love the George Carlin video at the end?"



• Kass: Revenge of the Nerds (The Street, Aug 6/12). jkatzman: "Kill the quants, before they kill us." See also the article he links to about Wall Street technology and high-frequency trading glitches, WIRED's "Raging Bulls."



• Blaming the Spanish victim as Europe spirals into summer crisis (The Telegraph, July 22/12). hardcharger: We're at the stage of finally, belatedly realizing there is a major problem. Blame is the game right now coupled with a scramble by TPTB (the powers that be) to rearrange the deck chairs to ensure they are not blamed and that they make it into the lifeboats first.



• Reality Bites (Mike Krieg, July 26/12). Expands on that last bit about the lifeboats.



• When will the euro collapse? It's already dead (WSJ MarketWatch, Aug 15/12). jkatzman: It takes more to make a currency than just paper notes, and the Euro has already lost some of those things.



• The Bond Market's China Syndrome (Minyanville, Aug 6/12). jkatzman: "We are blaming Europe for our current economic problems, but in reality they are doing us a favor by providing a blueprint for how a bond market meltdown can unfold."



• Five years on, the Great Recession is turning into a life sentence (The Telegraph, Aug 12/12). "Much of the debt will have to be written off. Whether this done by inflation (1945-1952) or default (1930-1934) will be the great political battle of this decade. Pick your side. Pick your history."

Stratiootika

From mrapp:

• Bearish On China (Instapundit, Aug 13/12). jkatzman: A number of good and insightful links. Glenn Reynolds is a good candidate for your daily read.



• Active-duty personnel costs projected to spike (Gannett's Marine Times, July 12/12). jkatzman: "...jumped 50 percent since 2001, to $158,000 per year, with even faster growth predicted in the future." New weapon purchases are only 15% or so of the defense budget - this spiral is going to devour them.



• Repositioning the Legions - the USN in 2020 (Thin Pinstriped Line, June 2/12). jkatzman: And what this means for America's allies.



• Inside Iraq: the British peacenik who became key to the US military, Part 1 | Part 2. (The Guardian, July 15/12). jkatzman: "In the construction of houses, choice of woods is made.... Good strong timber, though it be gnarled and knotted, can always be used discreetly in construction." - Miyamoto Musashi.

Over The Hump: Good News This Week

edd7: Lose that jaded attitude and open your doggone eyes to the wonders of the world!

• Oral Sex Cures Morning Sickness (CBS DC, Aug 10/12). jkatzman: It's true, I tell you! Would CBS lie?