Polemology Positions

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Reliable Sources: DECLASSIFIED!

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Reliable Sources: DECLASSIFIED!

Some stuff I read, watch, and listen to

Matt Osborne
Dec 5, 2022
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Reliable Sources: DECLASSIFIED!

www.polemology.net

Sometimes I name and link to sources here, but for various reasons, I choose to obscure most citations. If I mention a historical volume, for example, that means I did read it, and applied my understanding throughout the newsletter. I just don’t bother citing page references. I may feel differently behind a paywall.

Reliability is important. Do your own research I say, and so here are some sources I find reliable. Feel free to research them as much as you want. Or blast me for using sources you don’t like. Whatever. I have a broad range of inputs. Here are just a few.

First is William Buckner. Fair warning, some of the anthropology he cites can be disturbing, particularly when violence is involved. When, like most Amazon Prime viewers, I watched the first two episodes of Rings of Power series and then stopped watching, I thought he might write about the elements of hunter-gatherer living portrayed by the Hobbits Harfoots. He did not disappoint me.

Of course, deep sociology is not necessarily good television, just like hyper-accurate, epic films about the Battle of Gettysburg are overlong and objectively boring. But critics should stop accusing the Harfoots of being “evil” because their values are all too human. People need to stop talking about their ancestors that way.

Traditions of Conflict
The Culture of the Harfoots in the show 'The Rings of Power'
As soon as the Harfoots first appear in the show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, we are given a great deal of insight into their culture. We see a few Harfoots disguised amongst the grasses, spying on two large hunters with ornamented antlers, and successfully remaining unnoticed…
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2 months ago · 10 likes · 3 comments · William Buckner

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Second is Perun. Australian defense economist by day and video game streamer by night, he started posting explanatory videos after Vladimir Putin relaunched the invasion of Ukraine in February, becoming one of the best strategic analysts of the war. In this episode, he explains the material realities of cold weather warfare and provides a glimpse into what will matter most over the next three months.

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Little electronic tribes with electronic tools, having electronic reputational wars. Humans made it to cyberspace but brought the worst of themselves. Mandy Stadtmiller writes the first draft of history on internet cultures, large and small.

Rabbitholed
Rabbitholed #77: The TikTok Celeb Who Recorded a Mean Girl in the Wild; TikTokers Who'll Gleefully Doxx You PLUS (Free) Tech That Gives You an AI Art Director AND (Paid) Tech That Lets You Find Anyone
Today’s Rabbithole: It is one of the most fascinating interactions ever recorded at a party—a mean girl bullying a less-mean-girl and kicking her out. Perfectly captured, it is a teaching tool demonstrating the power of sheer peer-pressure dominance within human dynamics, in the wild…
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2 months ago · 9 likes · 6 comments · Mandy Stadtmiller

Russia will not beat the oil price cap. Yes, I do read sources casting doubt on its viability. But Moscow has not secured enough shipping to export the oil and gas that are no longer going through pipelines into Europe. This implies that production will decline, a nasty problem for drillers, who lose roughly half their wells in shutdown. How do I know all this? Because I watch Joe Posnanksi, aka Joe Blogs.

Dr. John Schindler is a genuine military history and intelligence scholar. His book Double Eagle on the Battle of Galicia remains the best English language text on the Austro-Hungarian army during the disasters of 1914. He has a good eye for random news that interests me.

TOP SECRET UMBRA
YourINT SITREP (01 DEC 2022)
Rise in Iranian assassination, kidnapping plots alarms Western officials Pentagon considers dramatically expanding training of Ukrainian forces, US officials say Russian Forces Attack in East, Strengthen Positions in South, Ukrainian Military Says Belarusians at Kyiv’s gates…
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2 months ago · John Schindler

One reason I like Schindler is his emphasis on SIGINT (signals intelligence), a key part of electromagnetic warfare history, something I try to cover here. I am a member of the Association of Old Crows, an industry organization that publishes the Journal of Electromagnetic Dominance. Whereas the rest of these links are recent, I am reaching a few months back to recommend this podcast episode about three women who revolutionized electromagnetic warfare.

Finally, lethal violence is a skill that requires regular training. The economics of the gun are complex, for they are an ancient market with hard numbers to study, so I let other people do that work for me as much as possible. It’s just more efficient.

Black Lagoon
The Economics of Gun Ownership
Hey friends. Hope your week is going well. As 2022 wraps up, I’m taking into account all my expenditures for the year, and thought it might be useful to make a quick writeup on the costs of gun ownership. Let’s dive inBlack Lagoon is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber…
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2 months ago · 2 likes · BowTiedCaiman

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