{"id":22675,"date":"2015-09-25T19:28:36","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T09:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=22675"},"modified":"2015-10-02T16:12:21","modified_gmt":"2015-10-02T06:12:21","slug":"aspi-suggests-25sep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aspi-suggests-25sep\/","title":{"rendered":"ASPI suggests"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>The red carpet was rolled out in Washington DC this week as some A-list visitors hit the town. On Thursday, Pope Francis became the first pontiff to address US Congress\u2014full text and video here<\/a>. In his speech, the Pope challenged US policymakers to \u2018make a difference\u2019 on a wide range of issues, from environmental degradation to the abolition of the death penalty. DefenseOne<\/em> carries an interesting piece<\/a> on the Catholic Church\u2019s zero tolerance stance on nuclear weapons, which sits in contradiction to Ash Carter\u2019s defence of the US nuclear budget<\/a> last week. For more on the papal visit, check out this excellent photo essay<\/a> from Sam Ellis, and The Atlantic<\/em>\u2019s break-down<\/a> of the address to Congress. And for all the transportation fans out there, The Washington Post <\/em>has a short history of the Popemobile<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chinese President Xi Jinping\u2019s much-anticipated first state visit to the US began within hours of the Pope\u2019s departure on Thursday, after the GOP failed to have the visit cancelled<\/a>. US National Security Advisor Susan Rice defended the visit<\/a> on Monday, branding alternative views as \u2018dangerous and short-sighted\u2019\u2014a burn that was reportedly directed at ex-GOP presidential candidate Scott Walker, who dropped out of the race<\/a> earlier this week. Check out CSIS for some quality reads on two of the meatier topics expected to be addressed at the Summit: cybersecurity<\/a> and US\u2013China economic relations<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Climate Council<\/a> this week released a cracking new report called \u2018Be Prepared: Climate Change, Security and Australia\u2019s Defence Force<\/a>. Their effort is well worth a read.<\/p>\n If you love a good map as much as we do, head over to The True Size<\/a> to play around with an interactive map that will give you a real sense of country size\u2014a perspective that you won\u2019t get from the familiar Mercator presentation<\/a>. The project was inspired by the West Wing and a similar infographic that focused on Africa<\/a> (PDF).<\/p>\n Dark Fields of the Republic<\/a>, <\/em>a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in DC, shines a light on the battlefield photography of Alexander Gardener, whose dramatic images show the ravages of the US Civil War. The BBC<\/em> carries a compelling piece<\/a> that highlights the collection, Gardner\u2019s story and some of the abiding questions around the appropriateness of war photography.<\/p>\n CSIS\u2019s drip-feed of South China Sea satellite images has been collected by the ABC, which has compiled some handy before-and-after snapshots of China\u2019s land reclamation work across seven different reefs. Catch up with it here<\/a>. New PM Malcolm Turnbull this week said that China\u2019s efforts in the South China Sea have been \u2018pushing the envelope\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n Foreign Policy<\/em> has given a whole new meaning to #flashbackfriday by shredding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad\u2019s Instagram account @syrianpresidency<\/a>. Sifting through pages of happy, shiny images taken around Syria, FP has chosen some choice shots<\/a> from the account, and contrasted them with what was actually happening in Syria at the time they were captured.<\/p>\n Head over to The Economist<\/em> for a primer on Japan\u2019s recently passed security bills<\/a>, as well as some consideration of the Chinese reception to the legislative changes.<\/p>\n Laser-drones: the future is nigh\u2014and it\u2019s awesome! San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is aiming to mount a 150-kilowatt solid-state laser onto an Avenger drone<\/a> to create a new generation of military weapon by 2017. Or, if mounting weaponry on drones is too high-tech for your taste, why not try dogs? Visual Engineering has created the Cerberus camera system<\/a>, which can be attached to the backs of military and police dogs to give their human counterparts advantages in warzones.<\/p>\n Podcasts<\/strong><\/p>\n As part of its Global Thinkers series, Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Elizabeth Dickinson and Yemeni activist Farea al-Muslimi sat down to chat about how the West could contribute to a solution for the Middle East\u2019s proxy wars, and why Saudi Arabia is taking big risks in Yemen. Listen here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Bridge<\/em> recently featured a piece<\/a> which argued that returning foreign fighters actually present a marginal threat to their homelands, and evaluated counter-radicalisation efforts. The author, Collin Hunt, was recently interviewed<\/a> by The Loopcast.<\/p>\n Videos<\/strong><\/p>\n Brookings recently hosted a discussion with Will McCants<\/a> on ISIS\u2019s strategy and the future of jihadi terrorism, on the back of the launch of his recent book, The ISIS Apocalypse<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security advisor to President Jimmy Carter, sat down with Jon Alterman and Ben Daus-Haberle as part of a three-part series<\/a> on foreign policy, global politics and global crisis. In part one<\/a> (6 mins), Brzezinski thinks about how the US should approach its relations with China and Russia.<\/p>\n Events<\/strong><\/p>\n Canberra<\/u>: The AIIA\u2019s National Conference will kick off on 19 October, and is set to include a stellar line-up of speakers, such as Julie Bishop, Tanya Plibersek, Gareth Evans and Brian Schmidt. Be sure to register your interest here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The red carpet was rolled out in Washington DC this week as some A-list visitors hit the town. On Thursday, Pope Francis became the first pontiff to address US Congress\u2014full text and video here. In …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":22676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[478],"tags":[52,283,402,471,274,1471],"class_list":["post-22675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aspi-suggests","tag-china","tag-climate-change","tag-drones","tag-south-china-sea","tag-syria","tag-the-pope"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n