This weekend, I watched (again) one of my childhood favorite movies, WarGames. This is a classic, and a must see for anyone involved in technology. Some of the concepts used, are accurate (war-dialing) while others, a little far-fetched (war-dialing into NORAD). Anyways, in one scene the WOPR is running a simulation of a USA/Russia attack. One of the computer technicians views his screen and sees the continental US surrounded by 10 – 15 ‘red’ submarines. He turns to his colleague and says “Hope you like vodka…”. 
I then thought to myself, what an interesting state of mind to be in. Growing up, and even today, I would laugh at the idea of another country attacking us, and having any sort of success. But, I realize there was/is a time in our history (and today) where we have vulnerabilities, and we’re not necessarily the huge powerhouse I grew up thinking we were. That said, it was interesting to see the characters in the movie, playing technicians in one of the safest places in the world, and they assume the Russians would clean up.
July 27th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
To laugh at the idea of a foreign nation invading the US or to be engaged in a war that cannot be won is simply naive.
The United States possesses a military might that the rest of the globe (less England or maybe Israel) could never in a million years stand up to if utilized properly.
However we are also living in the troughs of filth carved out by the likes of Bush, Clinton, Bush and now (God help us) Obama. These leaders have effectively declared victory over the world and deemphasized the importance of national and military security.
As such we now are in a very real position of potential decline. Pride cometh before the fall.
July 27th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Amen, there Chris. Somehow beating up on third world countries increases our security. Perhaps instead of worrying about national security, we’ve been worried more about spreading our version of capitalism to the world. (Read confessions of an economic hit-man.)
As for other suggestions of geek movies go here: http://engtech.wordpress.com/2006/12/09/81-movies-for-geeks-that-do-not-suck-ggg7/