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To compare the Internet with a ship or smoke signals requires a level of ignorance and cognitive dissonance that I simply cannot fathom.

jacquesm 11y ago
Empire building is about war, pure and simple. Communications lines and information are a tool in the hands of those that wish to build empires and those that wish to bring them down. But since you're framing the argument in terms of ignorance and such I think I'll bow out here.
- unprepare 11y ago
  but the discussion isnt about building an empire, increasing its land holdings or anything of the sort. Its about maintaining an empire, which i think is an important distinction. I dont see the US waging war against anyone who is trying to dethrone them as a superpower. The ways that other countries are trying to dethrone the US are much more economic. Economic war can be waged over the internet quite well, without any ships or smoke signals.
  - emp_zealoth 11y ago
    Why do you assume only external threats? Keep going with the extreme (and accelerating) inequality and there will be a breakdown. Look at your debt levels. Look at internal issues. Education/healthcare hyperinflation. Disrepair of infrastructure. Massive incanceration rate. Exploitative employment practices. Wage stagnation. Police brutality. Corruption/wastage in public projects (Big dig, for example, hyperoverpriced subway) Do you think it can be fixed in time? Is it even possible to have a factual, problem oriented discussion, when both sides of political discourse are too tangled into ideology to try and solve the real, underlying problems? How long is it before it all boils over? And lets not even go to the actual military might - a lot of your current procurement programs are completely dysfunctional: the helicopter contract, Bradley controversy, F-35 fiasco, Ford carriers issues, the LCS joke, Raptor cancellation, just from the top.

jacquesm 11y ago

Empire building is about war, pure and simple. Communications lines and information are a tool in the hands of those that wish to build empires and those that wish to bring them down. But since you're framing the argument in terms of ignorance and such I think I'll bow out here.

unprepare 11y ago
but the discussion isnt about building an empire, increasing its land holdings or anything of the sort. Its about maintaining an empire, which i think is an important distinction. I dont see the US waging war against anyone who is trying to dethrone them as a superpower. The ways that other countries are trying to dethrone the US are much more economic. Economic war can be waged over the internet quite well, without any ships or smoke signals.
- emp_zealoth 11y ago
  Why do you assume only external threats? Keep going with the extreme (and accelerating) inequality and there will be a breakdown. Look at your debt levels. Look at internal issues. Education/healthcare hyperinflation. Disrepair of infrastructure. Massive incanceration rate. Exploitative employment practices. Wage stagnation. Police brutality. Corruption/wastage in public projects (Big dig, for example, hyperoverpriced subway) Do you think it can be fixed in time? Is it even possible to have a factual, problem oriented discussion, when both sides of political discourse are too tangled into ideology to try and solve the real, underlying problems? How long is it before it all boils over? And lets not even go to the actual military might - a lot of your current procurement programs are completely dysfunctional: the helicopter contract, Bradley controversy, F-35 fiasco, Ford carriers issues, the LCS joke, Raptor cancellation, just from the top.