Death Be Not Proud

Ok readers- I'll let you in on a secret. I may have a comic book or two floating around my room. Among them is The Other Side, a five-issue series that came out in 2006 about the Vietnam War. Our class discussion of soldiers' experiences during war reminded me of these comics, as they really focused on the psychological aspect of both a Vietcong soldier and an American following their deployment and respective death and life afterwards.

It was really an interesting asterisk (that term has become a class-cliché at this point, I gotta think of another way to phrase that) to the regular portrayal of Vietnam that we're used to. It was gritty and realistic, similar to Saving Private Ryan in that respect, yet in showing both sides it also reminded me of Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. As both stories were meaningfully juxtaposed throughout the book, both soldiers' lives, though drastically different, appear similar as they both undergo the horrors of war. It was a powerful read, and I highly reccommend it (and I'm sure you can find it on Amazon.com if a comic book store is too scary).

The picture included was a scene from the comic, and the poem his helmet is referring to is a famous piece by John Donne, which I'll leave you with to ponder for yourself, comment with your own thoughts on it's meaning in reference to the context of the war.

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

New technology could in fact, destroy technology

(via Discovery.com)

The concept of an EMP bomb is not all that new, however last week FOX News brought attention to a new, smaller version of the weapon that is being produced.

EMP stands for Electromagnetic Pulse, the article stating that it creates, "a supermassive blast of electricity, usually from a nuclear blast high above ground, that fries electronic circuits for miles around, crippling computers, cars and most other modern gadgets." What this means in terms of war is that an entire infrastructures can be shut down, in varying lengths of time and scope.

Our discussions in class have touched on the ethics of warfare, as well as what is considered war. This technology begs the questions- is shutting down electricity ethical in war? Is this more or less damaging than other attacks, such as bombing?

The article focuses on the possibility of groups outside of the military being able to construct these, as well,

Israeli counter-terrorism expert Yael Shahar tells New Scientist magazine. "And much of this could be built from off-the-shelf components or dual-use technologies. Shahar says she's especially worried about two devices — one called a Marx generator, which beams an EMP at a target, and the other with the "Back to the Future"-like name of flux-compression generator."

If seemingly anyone willing can have access to this technology, how will it change warfare? Perhaps in the future we will see wars of limiting resources and shutting down civilian life as opposed to killing soldiers- is this for the better or the worse? Moreover, is the fact that we are asking ourselves this question the problem in the first place?