Feral Jundi

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Books: Trust Me, I’m Lying, By Ryan Holiday

Filed under: Books,Media News — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:38 PM

You are probably wondering why a book like this would be reviewed on a website like Feral Jundi? Well for one, FJ is a blog and blogs are a crucial element to media marketers and their schemes. So after hearing about this book over at Global Guerrillas and at Shlok Vaidya, I wanted to check it out.

In the book you will hear about simple but effective methods that Ryan Holiday uses to get a story of his choosing, be it fake or whatever, up to the national levels of media. One of them is called ‘trading up the chain’, and it basically a how-to on how to hack the media machine. Very useful information to marketers, and very dangerous information for those with malicious intentions in mind.

Specifically, Ryan discusses the Terry Jones Koran Burning incident as one example of a lethal ‘trading up the chain’ scheme. To quote Ryan from the book, he says this about the incident.

One kook, one overeager young journalist, unintentionally show why trading up the chain–feeding the monster–can be so dangerous (though for Jones, very effective). They weren’t just turning nothing into something. The beast these blogs built up was set off needless bloodshed.

You can trade up the chain for charity or you can trade up it to create funny fake news–or you can do it to create violence, hatred, and even incidentally, death. I’ve done the first two, while others, out of negligence or malice, have done the latter. At the end of the day, intentions are not a justification I’m going to hide behind. There is enough blame to go around. -Page 29

The ‘one’ journalist he was talking about was a college student named Andrew Ford, a freelancer working for Agence France-Presse. This was the guy that broke the media blackout directed at Terry Jones and his scheme, and once Andrew decided to post a story about Terry actually burning the Koran, the rest of the media could not resist. Especially the second tier blogs that highly depend upon pageviews and advertising. Then once those sites grabbed the story, the national media could not resist either, and then the thing just blew up all over–causing a stir throughout the world of Islam–and causing riots/deaths in places like Afghanistan.

So the question is, could a person or group ‘trade up the chain’ in order to kill or cause harm to an enemy?  Imagine hiring Ryan to conduct a campaign against Al Qaeda or the Taliban, and tasking him to use his dark arts of media manipulation to cause some serious headaches for these folks?

Also imagine the enemy reading such a book, and further adding to their ability to hack the media and create buzz for their cause?

This trading up the chain method was also comically evident in the military and technology blogging industry recently. The Duffle Blog posted a funny but fake story about a new bayonet system the DoD was about to purchase, and the popular upper tier Gizmodo blog picked it up as a ‘real’ story. Of course they finally figured out that it was not true, and they had to make the edit. But I wonder how close this was to being picked up by the national media? Or if this story got legs in some corner of the world where they actually thought it was real? Interesting stuff.

The other reason why I was interested in this book is I wanted to understand how I can protect the integrity of this site, but also if I could gain any insight as to why stories go viral–or what gives a post legs. Stuff like how to format a title, or what really grabs a reader.  For that, there are ideas in the book that are extremely valuable. Check it out and let me know what you think? –Matt

Buy the book here.

Buy the Kindle version here.

 

Trust Me, I’m Lying

By Ryan Holiday

You’ve seen it all before. A malicious online rumor costs a company millions. A political sideshow derails the national news cycle and destroys a candidate. Some product or celebrity zooms from total obscurity to viral sensation. What you don’t know is that someone is responsible for all this. Usually, someone like me.
I’m a media manipulator. In a world where blogs control and distort the news, my job is to control blogs—as much as any one person can.
In today’s culture…
1) Blogs like Gawker, Buzzfeed and the Huffington Post drive the media agenda.
2) Bloggers are slaves to money, technology, and deadlines.
3) Manipulators wield these levers to shape everything you read, see and watch—online and off.
Why am I giving away these secrets?  Because I’m tired of a world where blogs take indirect bribes, marketers help write the news, reckless journalists spread lies, and no one is accountable for any of it. I’m pulling back the curtain because I don’t want anyone else to get blindsided.

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Monday, June 25, 2012

Cool Stuff: A Georgia Town Takes The People’s Business Private

Filed under: Books,Cool Stuff,Georgia,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 1:19 AM

I got a kick out of this article, and I really enjoyed reading the contract methods and processes that these towns went through in order to accomplish efficiency and privatization. There are a lot of great quotes in this one, and I figured I would share a few that jumped out at me.

The first is about the process in which the city of Sandy Springs moved to this privatized model and how it seems to be working really well for them.

As a fan of Ronald Reagan and the economist Friedrich Hayek, Mr. Porter came naturally to the notion that Sandy Springs could push “the model” to its nth degree. His philosophical inclinations were formed by a life spent in private enterprise, and cemented by a visit to Weston, Fla., a town that had begun as a series of gated communities.
Mr. Porter tells this and other stories in “Creating the New City of Sandy Springs,” a book that will leave readers with one indelible lesson: incorporating a city is dull. Super duper dull. The book is composed mostly of the codicils, requests for proposals and definitions of duties that were required to jolt Sandy Springs to life. Without a love of minutiae and a very long attention span, forget it. But this is intended as a blueprint, not a gripping narrative. Mr. Porter regards the success of Sandy Springs as a way out of the financial morass that has engulfed so many cities in the aftermath of the Great Recession.
“Many are on the verge of bankruptcy,” Mr. Porter says. “They have significant unfunded liabilities, like pensions and other benefits. It’s almost like a poison that a lot of people are unaware of, and this model could be an answer.”

There are a couple of things here that I recognized, that has some commonalities with today’s contingency contracting game in the war. That FOB’s in war zones are basically small cities, that are a public/private partnership in a few ways. FOB privatization is quite evident if you ever have a chance to work on one. From the KBR chow halls, to the Dyncorp auto shops or aircraft servicing, to CADG/IAP construction, to security performed by contractors on the perimeter and the various internal camps. The key offensive duties are performed by the military, but everything else is privatized.

Not only that, but this move to privatize as much as you can during wartime also reflects budgeting realities. A contractor does not have legacy costs like a soldier does. Things like a pension and other long term personal costs are things that add up over the life of that veteran, and you do not have to worry about that with contractors. To give you an example of how big the costs are, and how worried the pentagon is about these legacy costs, check this quote out from another article I found.

The Pentagon’s retirement benefits bill will only get larger after 2014, creating a major financial problem as annual military spending is slated to decline after a decade of war.
Yearly military retirement payments alone are expected to more than double by 2035, growing from $52.2 billion in 2011 to $116.9 billion, according to an estimate prepared by the Defense Business Board, which reports directly to the defense secretary.
More broadly, the Bipartisan Policy Center study further highlights what some call the military’s “people problem.”
“In 2017, the DOD plans to have 100,000 fewer troops, but still spend as much on personnel as today,” states the report.…Military officials said they have spent around $245 billion on personnel costs in 2010, more than a third of the $636 billion appropriated that year to the Defense Department. Some analysts put the actual number at more than $300 billion.
Pentagon officials are increasingly concerned about the growing costs, saying health care expenditures alone have swelled over the last decade by over $30 billion, from $19 billion to $50 billion annually.
James Jones, a former national security adviser to President Barack Obama and a retired Marine Corps general, told reporters last week that when any organization spends so much on its employees it has “big problems.”

I highlighted that last part, just to emphasize that what is happening in the military is what was happening to Sandy Springs, and this city made the jump to privatize just so they can stay in the black.

The other part that perked me up is the contracting method that the city uses. I liked their Miss America analogy. lol

Mr. McDonough, the Sandy Springs city manager, says the town has sidestepped such problems. The key, he explains, lay in the fine art of drafting contracts.
Initially, and for the first five and a half years of its life, Sandy Springs used just one company, CH2M Hill, based in Englewood, Colo., to handle every service it delivered. Mr. McDonough says CH2M saved the town millions compared with the cost of hiring a conventional public work force, but last year Sandy Springs sliced the work into pieces and solicited competitive bids.
When the competition was over, the town had spread duties to a handful of corporations and total annual outlays dropped by $7 million. (Representatives of CH2M, which still has a call-center contract, said at the time that they were “deeply disappointed” by the results, but wished the city well, according to a local news report.)
To dissuade companies from raising prices or reducing the quality of service, the town awarded contracts to a couple of losing bidders for every winner it hired. The contracts do not come with any pay or any work — unless the winning bidder that prevailed fails to deliver. It’s a bit like the Miss America pageant anointing the runner-up as the one who will fulfill the winner’s duties if, for some reason, Miss America cannot.
“In most cases, Miss America serves her whole term,” Mr. McDonough says, warming to the analogy. “But every once in a while something happens and they don’t have to run a whole new competition.”

I kept scratching my head here to see if this contracting method was derived from something being done in contingency contracting now, or if there is a different term for it. (feel free to say so in the comments)

The big one here is that the town found a way to navigate the principal-agent problem, and write up contracts that benefit both parties. That the city actually has a means of booting out the poor contractor and instantly go to the backup contractor, as opposed to going through the whole rebidding process again. Nice.

It is that mechanism that allows a city to exercise their right to demand good service, and punish for bad service without a major shock to the system. If only today’s contingency contracting for wars was set up to be more fluid like this. To be able to have standby contractors, ready to jump in if another contractor fails to deliver, and have a government contracting agency that actually fires poor contractors when they suck. That would be great, but I also realize that the size/scope/complexity of contingency contracting just doesn’t lend itself to easily do something like that. But still, there might be something we can learn from Sandy Springs…. –Matt

 

 

A Georgia Town Takes the People’s Business Private
By David Segal
June 23, 2012
If your image of a city hall involves a venerable building, some Roman pillars and lots of public employees, the version offered by this Atlanta suburb of 94,000 residents is a bit of a shocker.
The entire operation is housed in a generic, one-story industrial park, along with a restaurant and a gym. And though the place has a large staff, none are on the public payroll. O.K., seven are, including the city manager. But unless you chance into one of them, the people you meet here work for private companies through a variety of contracts.
Applying for a business license? Speak to a woman with Severn Trent, a multinational company based in Coventry, England. Want to build a new deck on your house? Chat with an employee of Collaborative Consulting, based in Burlington, Mass. Need a word with people who oversee trash collection? That would be the URS Corporation, based in San Francisco.
Even the city’s court, which is in session on this May afternoon, next to the revenue division, is handled by a private company, the Jacobs Engineering Group of Pasadena, Calif. The company’s staff is in charge of all administrative work, though the judge, Lawrence Young, is essentially a legal temp, paid a flat rate of $100 an hour.
“I think of it as being a baby judge,” says Mr. Young, who spends most of his time drafting trusts as a lawyer in a private practice, “because we don’t have to deal with the terrible things that you find in Superior Court.”
With public employee unions under attack in states like Wisconsin, and with cities across the country looking to trim budgets, behold a town built almost entirely on a series of public-private partnerships — a system that leaders around here refer to, simply, as “the model.”

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Thursday, June 21, 2012

Books: The Privateering Stroke, By Capt. Michael Rustein

Filed under: Books,History,Letter Of Marque — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:43 AM

Henry Adams stated flatly that “the privateers contributed more than the regular navy to bring about a disposition for peace in the British classes most responsible for the war.”

For those of you that have been following along with the blog’s focus on privateering, letter of marque and reprisal, and offense industry, then you will know why this book would interest me. I have not had a chance to check it out yet, but from the sounds of it, it was written by a privateering ‘maven‘.

The author has actually built a schooner called the Fame, based on the first privateering vessel to capture a prize during the War of 1812. He has written several books on the subject and even has a business that teaches the public the history and the workings of a privateer vessel. I would say that would be defined as pretty passionate about the subject. lol

Probably the most interesting aspect of this book from the description below, is the author’s focus on how important privateers really were during the war. This was the ultimate in old school privatized warfare and offense industry in overdrive.

An entire industry focused on attacking the weakness of an enemy, and Britain’s weakness was their commerce/trade. There is no way our navy and privateers could have taken on the Royal Navy directly, so instead we did like most small disadvantaged forces would do in that situation, and attacked their poorly defended commerce/trade. Check this quote out.

Deprived of customs duties, the United States government was in dire straits by the end of 1814. Had the conflict continued, the nation would have been incapable of defending itself without a central bank, new taxes, and conscription. Meanwhile, America’s privateers were waging a highly effective war against British trade. They captured an estimated 2,000 prizes worth $40 million, sent insurance rates to unprecedented levels, and drove up prices at a time when Britain’s economy was groaning under the strain of two decades of warfare. The British public was outraged; merchants bombarded the government with protests and appeals. With the United States incapable of maintaining the initiative in Canada, privateering became the nation’s last, best, and only offensive weapon. 

Pretty neat and this book would be another good one to check out. Especially if you are a student of ‘offense industry’ or are interested in the letter of marque concept. This would also be a good read for those of you interested in naval history and guerrilla warfare. –Matt

The Privateering Stroke

By Capt. Michael Rustein
Book Description
Publication Date: March 25, 2012
High school and even college textbooks oversimplify the War of 1812 — when they don’t ignore it completely. Popular histories emphasize the military as opposed to the economic and political aspects of the war. The U.S. Navy’s role has been written about ad nauseum. Meanwhile, we are still waiting for a definitive work on the equally important contributions of American privateers. While the Navy’s outstanding performance in single-ship engagements remains a source of national pride, those victories did not change the course of the war one iota. Had Constitution defeated a dozen British frigates, the thousand-ship Royal Navy would still have blockaded our coasts, strangled our commerce, bottled up our warships, and hunted down those that escaped. Even her former commander, Tyrone Martin, conceded that Constitution’s victories were “no more than pin pricks” that “had no direct effect on the course of the war.”

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Books: Apache Tactics 1830-86, By Dr. Robert Watt

Filed under: Books,History — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 1:09 PM

This is a small book and a quick read, but packed with some fantastic information about the Apaches. These guys were certainly masters of guerrilla warfare back in the day, and definitely gave the Mexican and American forces a run for their money.

As to the tactics discussed, and what led to Apache success in the face of such large forces, is what I was most curious about. I was also really interested in what eventually ‘defeated’ the Apache. Books like this help to understand what makes for a successful guerrilla force, and also helps to understand today’s enemies. It is fun to read this stuff, and compare it to other successful guerrillas campaigns in history.  Or compare it to the wisdom of Sun Tzu or Boyd. (like attacking weakness with strength, Cheng and Ch’i, etc.)

The Apache were really into raids in order to maintain their stores of weapons and ammunition. By attacking and taking horses or cattle, or anything else of value that could either be used or sold, they could further sustain their way of life and war out in the field.  So raids were a big part of their thing.

If Apaches were killed, then ‘attacks’ or ‘ambushes’ would be in order to get revenge.  So raids and attacks went hand in hand for the type of guerrilla warfare they waged.

They were also keen on how to attack the large cumbersome forces of the Mexicans and Americans. Many of the attacks the Apaches conducted involved decoys or trying to sucker these large forces to pursue these small bands of warriors.  They would try to anger the forces, and let that anger cloud out their better judgement. Meaning, if they could get a troop of cavalry to chase them into a narrow canyon or into really rough terrain, the Apache then could ambush those forces in advantageous terrain.

By getting these forces to pursue in rough terrain would also destroy their horses and mules. The Apache knew that if they could destroy those animals, they could take away the mobility of the cavalry. They could get those soldiers on the ground, and on the ground is where the Apache really shined. Matter of fact, the Apache also targeted the mounts during ambushes, just to destroy that unit’s ability to be mobile. (the book discussed how many horses and mules the Army lost during those years, and it was very significant)

Once their target was without a horse or mule, they could then apply their ground game to annihilating this force. That’s if that force was not prepared to fight on the ground. The Apaches were smart fighters, and they knew when to fight and when to go.  But they weren’t really going anywhere.  If anything, they would break contact and hope that the enemy would chase them, all so they could ambush them again. Hit and run, hit and run, hit and run…. And it is that process that would weaken a large force that is highly dependent on carried supplies and horses/mules, and does not have the stamina or fighting skills or knowledge of terrain to compete with the Apache.

Other tactics used were decoy methods. They would have a lone woman act like she was caught in the open and start running away if a force spotted her. The hope was that the force that spotted her, would give chase. Then the Apache could ambush that force as they get sucked into an ambush. They would try anything and everything to get these forces to chase them into ideal ambush sites.

They would also attack in areas where their prey would not suspect, just to keep their ambushes unpredictable. Like attacking on flat ground as opposed to compressed canyons that look perfect for ambushes.  Or they would position ambushers in areas just on the other side of small canyons, knowing that a force would think they were in the clear once they reached the other side. The point was to attack the enemy when they least suspected an attack–when they were at their most relaxed and unguarded.

Some other cool little tidbits included the Apache method of attacking communications. The telegraph was key to the Indian Wars and the expansion out west. You could call up more reinforcements, or communicate that you needed more ammo. You could also give quick intelligence reports via telegraph as to the location and size of enemy formations. The Apaches knew all of this, and they frequently targeted the telegraph wires/poles.

The method they used was to cut the wire close to the tree or pole, then reconnect the wire with leather strapping to make it look like it was still connected in the tree or pole.  That way the repair crew would have to climb every pole and tree, just to see where the line was broken. lol This tactic would help to frustrate those who depended upon the telegraph, and drain more resources for the ‘secure’ repair of these lines.

As to Apache brutality, they had plenty there. One of their favorite methods was to cook their captives to death on a tree or wagon wheel over a fire. The idea was that they wanted folks to ‘fear’ them, which would also help in ambush or raids in the future. If a homesteader feared being tortured if caught, they would run away during an attack, and the Apache could take the horses and cattle. In the thirties, they did more of this type of thing, but later on in the war they did not have the time for this stuff because they were always on the move. They would just kill prisoners on the spot or not even care to take prisoners, and move on.

The Apache would also stick around after the ambush. A force might see the dead and be compelled to think that the Apache were long gone, or that force would be driven by emotion to rescue or bury the dead–and then the Apache would ambush that force. Or they would purposely let a survivor of the ambush run back to the fort, just so a rescue force would come out.  Anything to anger that force, and get them to chase the Apache into prepared battlefields.

I also thought it was cool that the Apache culture was very much geared towards this kind of warfare. You could not be a warrior until you completed four raids. Leadership positions were based on merit. That successful operations with minimum casualties and lots of loot captured was the key to becoming the head honcho.  Hunting and tracking was a way of life, and stamina and the ability to run long distances in brutal terrain was something the Apache trained for and celebrated. These guys were truly the ultimate guerrillas.

Finally, and this is the part of the book that I really enjoyed. What ‘defeated’ the Apache? There were three areas that led to their defeat. One was attrition–or just losing folks due to constant warfare over the years. Eventually their numbers began to dwindle and they just could not sustain the fight against Mexico and America in the border areas.

The next area was ammunition. It became increasingly harder for them to get enough ammunition, and especially if they were constantly on the run. They had to depend upon raids and buying ammo and weapons from arms dealers, and because the Apache was not organized logistically to help disperse this loot to all other friendly tribes, that war fighting suffered. So what is true for large armies, was true for these fighters. Beans and bandages were easy for the Apache, but bullets is something they had to depend on others for. You saw this in Libya as well, and getting organized and having a steady source of good ammunition and weapons is vital to sustain combat.

The final area that was identified, and the one that I have touched on in the past, is the use of Apache Indian Scouts to fight Apaches. It is odd to think that Apache would hunt and kill Apache for the Mexicans or Americans, but they did. The hatred they had for other Apache tribes was strong enough where they would join forces with the Mexicans or Americans so they could defeat those other tribes. It is these tribal wars and feuds that were used to great advantage by the Mexicans and Americans to defeat them all.

These Indian Scouts would also require management that knew the land and how to track just as well as they did. Contractors like Tom Horn or Buffalo Bill Cody were hired as guides by the US Army and used as Chief of Scouts for these Indian Scouts. These men were the guys that understood the ways of these various tribes, and could keep tabs on what their scouts were really up to. Plus, these men lived in these areas and their profession was scouting. The military units would cycle folks in and out of these areas, and new officers would need advisers who knew how to fight Apache.

The cavalry units were highly dependent upon that system of Indian Scouts in order to fight the Apache.  In other words, it takes an Apache to find and defeat an Apache.(echoes of ‘it takes a network to defeat a network‘) It is how Geronimo was found and forced to give up, and this war of attrition wore down the Apache into defeat.

Pretty cool stuff and I recommend this book. One thing I will not give away and allow the reader to check out on their own, is the Apache’s choice and use of weapons. Fascinating stuff, and the book covers a very interesting angle on their tactics and lethality with such tools. Nor will I give up how they were able to evade the forces hunting them and what tactics were used to ensure survival.

I have put this publication in the Jundi Gear locker if anyone wants to come back to it in the future and it would make a fine addition to anyone’s military history collection. Also, I have put the Kindle e-book version in the locker as well, and you can check that out at this link. –Matt

 

About the Book
Publication Date: January 24, 2012
The Apache culture of the latter half of the 19th century blended together the lifestyles of the Great Plains, Great Basin and the South-West, but it was their warfare that captured the imagination. This book reveals the skillful tactics of the Apache people as they raided and eluded the much larger and better-equipped US government forces. Drawing on primary research conducted in the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona, this book reveals the small-unit warfare of the Apache tribes as they attempted to preserve their freedom, and in particular the actions of the most famous member of the Apache tribes – Geronimo.
About the Author
Dr Robert Watt is a lecturer at the University of Birmingham where he teaches a course on the Indian Wars for the History Department. He has previously published a number of articles for American history journals on both the Apaches and their campaigns throughout the 19th century and has travelled widely throughout Arizona and Mexico researching the subject.
Buy the book here.

Buy the Kindle e-book version here.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Books: Homer Lea–American Soldier Of Fortune

Filed under: Books,China,History — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 10:40 PM

Fascinating. This book popped up on my radar screen recently and it is another book that might be of interest to the readership here. I have yet to pick up a copy but it looks super interesting.

Basically Homer Lea was a guy that leveraged his knowledge of military history and Asia to carve out quite a career. He was also an author that wrote some very prophetic books about the coming world events and wars of that time. The crazy thing is that he never served in the military because he was too ill.

But what he lacked physically, he certainly made up for mentally. He is like a Stephen Hawking of military strategy and history–combining it all in his drive to be a player in China and shape world events. (all with the blessing of the US) Homer also combined it all to write some incredible books, which some were turned into movies back then. That says much about his influence and impact.

Probably the one little tidbit about Homer that really intrigued me was that he was very fond of Sun Tzu’s Art of War. The first English translation of this book was in 1905, and I imagine Homer was able to draw much from this book and express these ideas in his thoughts about current events back then. He was also probably one of the few westerners of the time that was actually heavily influenced by this book, as well as the Civil War and other wars in Europe.

The author of the book also has a research center dedicated to Homer Lea. It is worth your time checking out, and it will give you a good picture about this incredible individual. Homer would have been a really cool blogger to read if he was alive during these times.lol

Anyways, check it out and enjoy. I will keep it in the Jundi Gear locker if you ever want to come back to it and find it. If anyone has read this book, I would love to hear your input about it. –Matt

 

 

Homer Lea: American Soldier of Fortune
By Lawrence M. Kaplan
As a five-feet-three-inch hunchback who weighed about 100 pounds, Homer Lea (1876–1912), was an unlikely candidate for life on the battlefield, yet he became a world-renowned military hero. In the Dragon’s Lair: The Exploits of Homer Lea paints a revealing portrait of a diminutive yet determined man who never earned his valor on the field of battle, but left an indelible mark on his times.
Lawrence M. Kaplan draws from extensive research to illuminate the life of a “man of mystery,” while also yielding a clearer understanding of the early twentieth-century Chinese underground reform and revolutionary movements. Lea’s career began in the inner circles of a powerful Chinese movement in San Francisco that led him to a generalship during the Boxer Rebellion. Fixated with commanding his own Chinese army, Lea’s inflated aspirations were almost always dashed by reality. Although he never achieved the leadership role for which he strived, he became a trusted advisor to revolutionary leader Dr. Sun Yat-sen during the 1911 revolution that overthrew the Manchu Dynasty.

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