New Waziristan Loya Jirga, Late Evening Pakistan update

Posted on April 15, 2007 by Thanos

The Nation reports on a new Loya Jirga and new accords in North Waziristan

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Senior Al Qaida Leaders Captured in Iraq

Posted on April 15, 2007 by Thanos

Please stop by Fourth Rail for important full details, this looks like a good breakthrough in Anbar Province. From Bill Roggio:

 U.S. and Iraqi forces maintain the pressure on al Qaeda and the insurgency nationwide. Combined U.S. and Iraqi raids inside Baghdad led to 129 captured insurgents and the discovery of two bomb factories over the past 48 hours. Iraqi security forces, with the help of the Anbar Salvation Council, killed Ahmad Hadid, the leader “Islamic State in Fallujah,” and Ibrahim Keitan, Al-Qaeda’s military coordinator in Al-Anbar.

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Capitalism Conquers Death

Posted on April 15, 2007 by Thanos

In March at TED (Thinking, Entertainment, Design), Hans Rosling gave a presentation that clearly demonstrates the great strides the world has made by adopting Capitalism over the past forty years. Please watch this in its entirety, there are things that will amaze you throughout.

Pay attention to China’s adaptation of Capitalism, and Bangladesh’s, and what inevitably followed.

(Hat tip to Pajamas Media for the pointer to this important presentation)

Before you think this is revolutionary thought I’ll point out that Science Fiction writers are generally ahead of the academic crowd when it comes to observations like this, see David Brin’s post from 2005. Also, if you want to play with the graph he’s using yourself, or track particular countries, please go to the sidebar link to “Gapminder” under the info and think-tank blogroll.

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Posted in Energy, Freedom, Politics, Science, Technology, The Future | 2 Comments

Recent additions

Posted on April 15, 2007 by Thanos

In the sidebar under information and think tank resources I’ve added two links, one to TED, (Thinking, Entertainment, Design), and the other to Gapminder. Both of these present great data, and challenging thinking constructs. While some of the presentations and data are occasionally presented in the antiquated shroud of last century’s class-warfare “MarxThink”, the data itself is valid and important.

Please take a moment to hit Gapminder and view the stats on infant mortality, wealth, longevity, and especially the overall trend of wealth growth throughout the world. It might cheer you up. On the other hand, if you are of a nihilistic bent, the small exceptions to the growth will depress you, or the reason for the growth might make you angry about the countries that grew in wealth. If that’s the case then you need to step back and look in the mirror at yourself because that anger’s about you, not the trend.

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Pakistan Sunday Update

Posted on April 15, 2007 by Thanos

Events have settled to quasi-equilibrium in Pakistan this weekend. The country still faces a constitutional crisis until the Supreme Court Chief Justice detention is resolved one way or the other. The first hearings and petitions start review Monday in Pakistan (Sunday Evening US time.) Meanwhile the sectarian violence in Parachinar area has quieted, as well as the anti-Uzbek Al Qaida war in Wana.

The back and forth over “is Pakistan doing enough against terrorism” continues, and the sniping from all quarters is beginning to tell, empowering a lot of oppostion and chatter against Musharaaf. The two largest opposition parties are partnering with the lawyers in protests, but they are not rallying large amounts of protestors, which they could do if they wanted to.

In his latest statement Musharaaf vehemently opposed the concept of joint Pakistani-ISAF forays against terrorists. In his country and in his position he must do that, before you automatically object think about it a moment. When Musharaaf says that the whole countryside would go up in arms, he’s making a true statement, buoyed by historical evidence of the same. IF you then say “well what do we care?” then ask if you care about genocide, because at some point it would get to that.

Captain Ed over at Captain’s Quarters has the right read on this.

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China Destroys Satellite With a Missile

Posted on April 14, 2007 by Thanos

chinese-rocket-lauch.jpgChina has become the first nation to successfully shoot down a low-earth orbit satellite with a ballistic missile. Russia, opposed to space weaponry, criticizes the US for the Chinese shoot-down (typical,) and this is certain to heat up the Asian Space Race.

Many countries in the region are advancing their space programs by leaps and bounds over the past few years, which why it’s terribly important for us to keep our efforts going. With this threat, China could create a “Space based Pearl Harbor” since much of our defense integration and network centric warfar methods are based on GPS satellites and other recon sats.

The clear worry of all space faring nations is the potential of one nation taking the “high ground”, and by doing so control access to space for all time.

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Crazed Youth I

Posted on April 14, 2007 by Thanos

Many days I awake in sheer wonder that I am still alive. You might ask why and when you do scenes flash before my mind of my crazed and misspent youth. I was highly intelligent when I was young, but I really wasn’t experienced enough to be smart.

So, in the hopes of preventing stupidity I’m creating a new category and tag for my online journal, “Crazed Youth” in which I will occasionally confess my own foolishness.

parks-hwy.bmpIn Alaska the Parks highway stretches about 360 miles between Anchorage and Fairbanks, and it’s a wonderful, scenic drive in the summer. During the winter after it was first built you were taking your life in your hands whenever you drove it. After construction there were few facilities, houses, or anything else along the way but for wilderness and bitter winter cold (one gas station midway, the Tesoro Igloo.)

The problem was that in Fairbanks it was dark, cold and miserable in the depths of winter so occasionally one of us would yell “Road Trip!” in the wee hours of the morn, and we would all pile into my ’74 Plymouth Satellite and take off for Anchorage to get Sushi, or to see women in bars in dresses instead of parkas.

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Remember Them

Posted on April 13, 2007 by Thanos

As length of tours extend, please remember them for they are the very best part of us.

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Al Qaida Schisms

Posted on April 13, 2007 by Thanos

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.  — Yeats

Events in multiple theaters over the the past six months have pointed to ever-widening schisms between the Taliban/AQ, within the Taliban, and the same holds true for other Al Qaida aligned groups. The recent battles in Wana seen here in many earlier posts, and the continuing segmentation of Al Qaida point to a clear lack of central organized leadership. For the latest good news in this continuing story please stop by The Fourth Rail, where Bill Roggio details the rifts in Iraq, which are even wider and more disastrous for AQ than those in Pakistan. [Editor’s note: all written content of this blog is copyrighted, however the jpg posted in this article only titled “al-qaida-schism.jpg” may be used by anyone, feel free to copy it.]

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Restive Delusions

Posted on April 12, 2007 by Thanos

The current code word in heavy use by news agencies to describe violent, terroristic actions, or sectarian violence, or any militance by Islamic extremists is “Restive“.  It’s just been pointed out to me that in paraphrasing some news accounts that I used it as well.  Time to fix that – strikethrough and put the proper phrase in place.

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