The Video

or hit the link and see video in top-right...

http://www.terraplexic.org/review/2009/2/12/the-cybernetic-way-of-warfare-at-the-ica-23-feb.html

CTLab: Feral Cities and the Scientific Way of Warfare

The guys over at CTLab are really on to something at the moment. I attended a lecture at the ICA (with my partner in academic crime) on Monday given by Antoine Bousquet who speaks here. So what does happen when the command and control structure is flattened...

Places that don't Exist: The Caucuses

While at university several years ago a little-known BBC4 documentary series became popular amoung my (Politics and International Relations) course mates. First broadcast in early 2003, journalist Ben Anderson posing as aninquisitive 'tourist' presented a strangely knowledgable travel programme from the six countries President Bush had recently described as an 'Axis of Evil'. This excellent series applied a long-standing television-format to some of the least known countries of the world and provided a highly entertaining, much-needed backdrop to our daily studies. The cult success of the series allowed it's producers to take the idea and run with it.

As a result, in May 2005, following on from Holidays in the Axis of Evil, journalist, potential boy-band member, and thoroughly nice-bloke Simon Reeve picked up where Ben Anderson left off. Titled 'Places that don't Exist', Reeve travelled to the world's breakaway states and unrecognised nations. One of best shows in this series covered the Caucuses and the regions several states that were trapped in international limbo. You can check out an interview with Reeve here, download the video here, or watch a full version of the Caucuses episode below.

The reason this show has so much value is the snap-shot it provides of life in Georgia, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia before the Russia-Georgia conflict. Throughout the episode, Reeve warns of the real possibility of the stalemate in the region flaring into a full-scale military conflict. When watching, I remember being sceptical of Reeve's claims, but why wouldn't I be? Russia entering into post-Cold War military conflicts? Really?

How rapidly the game has changed.

A quick note on my tubing system...

As this blog develops I aim to deliver more than my current offering of written comment and analysis. I will be hosting downloadable and streamable video and audio from here onwards. As I am unlikely to be the creator of this content, this probably places me in contravention of numerous copyright and intellectual property laws. More so as most of the content I will be posting will be difficult to obtain in a blog-friendly format anywhere else. So I would like to present this disclaimer as an appeal to any disgruntled content providers.

Your content is posted here with no intention of deriving profit, influence, or any personal gain from it's distribution. I am including this content on the blog in the spirit of fair use. I do not seek to undermine your copyright or the intellectual property of the content's original creator. I am posting this content to provide further information to the readers of this blog, and to act as further reference to the ideas and comments contained within the blog. If, as a content provider, you feel I have unfairly used this content within my blog, please contact me requesting the content is removed and I will be happy to assess the legitimacy of your complaint. If I feel your request is valid, I will remove the content from my blog.