Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Military, Media and Mishpucha


I'm going through my notes from yesterday's Michigan Small Tech event and decided to go ahead and post the rest of the intro I gave before my panel on defense and security. Those who were there will notice some variation from what I actually said because, thankfully for the audience, I made some on-the-spot edits because this intro was much too long. I guess blogs are supposed to be ego- and well as news-driven, so I thought this might give the few people who care a glimpse into "my motivation" when it comes to military technology and the media. I haven't discussed military nano all that much, but I plan on writing more about it.

OK. There's probably just one of my regular readers who might really care about "my motivation." Hi, Mom.

When last we left your humble narrator, he had just redefined the meaning of the word "joke." We'll pick it up from there:

"Just a brief introduction. I'm Howard Lovy, news editor at Small Times Media. I oversee a network of correspondents around the world who contribute news to Small Times' Web site and print magazine. I also oversee Michigan Small Tech's Web site and Small Tech Advantage, which is a subscriber-only news clipping service. I'm also a proud alumnus of Wayne State University, although I have to admit that this is the first time I've ever set foot in any building labeled "engineering." I mostly hung out over in the journalism and English departments.

"For many reasons, journalism and the military have experienced a tempestuous relationship since the Vietnam era. I'd like to think that I have a somewhat unique perspective because my father served in Vietnam from 1967-68 as a surgeon with the 101st Airborne. I grew up listening to my father grumble about how the media can distort and misreport military actions and policies based, largely, on ignorance of how the military works. I think my dad believes I'm still going through my teenage rebellion phase by going into journalism. But I do have an understanding of what the men and women in uniform face, and some of the special challenges also faced by people like my dad, whose job was not to kill but to try to heal on the battlefield. I also have a little brother who is now serving in the U.S. Marine Corp. Thank God he's in a relatively safe place now, serving in Okinawa.

"So, for me, issues involving safety of soldiers in the field is more than just theory, and that's one of the reasons I'm fascinated by the work being done by our panelists and others involved in using small tech in the quest to make our soldiers safer in the battlefield, and all of us safer in the war on terror here at home."

Related Post:
'Integration' and 'Vision' at Michigan Small Tech

Discuss


The Future of War: Power, Technology & American World Dominance in the 21st Century The Future of War: Power, Technology & American World Dominance in the 21st Century

The authors make a brilliant case that the 21st century will be the American Century.



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