Category talk:Homeland security
Can someone explain the difference between "national security" and "homeland security", with particular reference to the SourceWatch categories?
If there is a difference, can articles (which?) be linked to BOTH? or if there is no substantive difference, should all articles of one belong to the other? Is #REDIRECTion applicable?
Is there a way by which these categorizations can improve simple understanding and organization, rather than to increasingly obfuscate relevance in a swirl of confusion?
--Maynard 11:23, 16 Jun 2005 (EDT)
M .. re "rather than to increasingly obfuscate relevance in a swirl of confusion?" .. don't know what you're taking, but maybe I need some ???
First, will answer your question with a question ... is it possible to clearly differentiate between them anywhere?
Theoretically, "national security" covers international concerns as well as terrorism/terrorist concerns (as they apply to "national security") and "homeland security" is supposed to be focused on domestic concerns (i.e. in the homeland), although the edges blur for both when it comes to intel gathering/sharing, data bases, etc., which obviously spreads confusion, period.
The Bush regime "national security" / "homeland security" bureaucracy is out of control.
I have attempted to separate national from international when possible, but there are obviously many crossover articles that encompass both and I don't see them as mutually-exclusive. How to clearly delineate? .. I have no idea, .. nor do I think it is appropriate to lump them all together.
Perhaps, after all the discussion with Common Man, I have at least one clear idea on the role of categories: they are a good finding aid, much as a good index functions in any text. An SW table of contents would be overwhelming, but categories -- just as the list of lists does -- help to bring together related articles and topics to enable SW users as well as SW contributors to find related topics. The "search" helps to some extent -- at times -- but I know that it does not always assist in finding related articles, for me at least. However, general categories which come up in the search, such as "national security" or "homeland security", provide significant linkage. I doubt that we could ever categorize every article into an exact category ...
In some ways it boils down to the same game when using Google or any other search engine, what is going to work best to provide a link to what you are looking for? Back in the day, I conducted research days on end, skimming through tables of contents, indices, footnotes, endnotes, etc. ... now I am elated to have so many ways to find the same information, in fact, an internet search often provides too much information, such as numerous repetitions of SW articles ... which means something is working quite right, IMO.
Which brings up another related issue: not all brains work or search alike .. you say "tomayto", I say "tomahto," .. "national security," "homeland security" ...
Not a solid answer, perhaps, but my 5-cent perspective for the moment. Artificial Intelligence 12:23, 16 Jun 2005 (EDT)
