You didn't really think that was funny, right?

Cordesman, snr adviser to McChrystal says another 45k US troops needed in AFG (via @NYkrinDC)

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:14 -0400

Cordesman, snr adviser to McChrystal says another 45k US troops needed in AFG (via @NYkrinDC):

Lots of interesting tidbits in this one:

In order to “deal with the threat from the Taleban the size of the Afghan National Army might have to increase to 240,000….”

45k increase “would mean sending another nine combat brigades…in addition to the 21,000 already approved by President Obama. This would bring the total American military presence in Afghanistan to about 100,000….”

Despite their tactical failings, the Taliban “have expanded their areas of influence from a presence in some 30 of Afghanistan’s 364 districts in 2003 to one in some 160 districts by the end of 2008, while insurgent attacks increased by 60 per cent during October 2008 to April 2009 alone….”

The article suggests that such an increase would likely force the Brits to up their own contingent…at the same time that they are, once again, considering plans to cut infantry battalions:

“Tonight a former head of the British Army said it would not be possible for Britain to meet its commitment to support Afghanistan for decades if ministers approved a proposal to cut three infantry battalions…. As part of a current internal Ministry of Defence review, a reduction in the size of the infantry, from 36 to 33 battalions, has not yet been ruled out, because of the short-term savings….”

Interesting to see what sort of response McChrystal will get if he makes such bold recommendations. Sad to see the Brits continue the downward spiral their military has been on for the past decade or so.

"Despite the financial meltdown and for all the lather over neoliberalism, young Latin Americans are..."

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:27:46 -0400

“Despite the financial meltdown and for all the lather over neoliberalism, young Latin Americans are still in favor of free-market capitalism. In a PODER/Zogby poll commissioned earlier this year by NEWSWEEK, 63 percent of Latin Americans ages 18 to 29 said they believe that free trade is not only good but “benefits all people.” The same number saw Colombia’s FARC guerrillas as terrorists or drug traffickers, and two thirds named Chávez as the leader worst suited to lead the region in the future.”

- http://www.newsweek.com/id/210808?from=rss

"Viewed through the lens of America’s great Industrial Age wars, the Civil War and the 20th century’s..."

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 07:55:18 -0400

“Viewed through the lens of America’s great Industrial Age wars, the Civil War and the 20th century’s two World Wars, fighting a war by sitting down to tea with a tribal sheikh and his entourage may seem odd.”

- http://www.american.com/archive/2009/july/is-foggy-bottom-ready-for-irregular-warfare

"We’re still in a brick-and-mortar, 30-students-to-1-teacher paradigm…but we need to get out of..."

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 17:36:19 -0400

“We’re still in a brick-and-mortar, 30-students-to-1-teacher paradigm…but we need to get out of that framework to having 200 or 300 kids taking courses online, at night, 24/7, whenever they want.”

- -William M. Habermehl,

As Classrooms Go Digital, Textbooks May Become History - NYTimes.com

inky: Savage Chickens (via doodlepipski) Tachekiller — never...

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:02:09 -0400

inky:

Savage Chickens (via doodlepipski)

Tachekiller — never Beardkiller!

inky: Gibraltar Airport To my knowledge, it is the only one...

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:01:47 -0400

inky:

Gibraltar Airport

To my knowledge, it is the only one where the runway actually intersects with a major highway. When a plane has to take off or land, traffic is shut down.

(via Trivium)

tumblweed: This dude is the definition of bad ass. 1. Sweet...

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:01:20 -0400

tumblweed:

This dude is the definition of bad ass.

1. Sweet Bike

2. Leather Jacket

3. Tactical 12 gauge shotgun with folding stock

He is straight out of Mad Max.

From The New York Times: Journalism Rules Are Bent in News Coverage From Iran By BRIAN STELTER...

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:12:09 -0400

From The New York Times: Journalism Rules Are Bent in News Coverage From Iran By BRIAN STELTER “…publish first, ask questions later. If you still don’t know the answer, ask your readers.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/business/media/29coverage.html

Semi-Submarines, Stealthily Plying Pacific, Arrive as a Way to Smuggle Cocaine - washingtonpost.com

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 19:27:13 -0400

Semi-Submarines, Stealthily Plying Pacific, Arrive as a Way to Smuggle Cocaine - washingtonpost.com:

Bottom line: If demand isn’t reduced, suppliers will innovate to defeat countermeasures designed to deter the flow of product. This is the same lesson learned in Iraq regarding IEDs: they went away when the insurgency that was “demanding” IEDs dried up. Efforts to defeat the specific devices only accelerated innovation among suppliers.

"Why does one crash cause minimal damage to the financial system, so that the economy can pick itself..."

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:17:08 -0400

“Why does one crash cause minimal damage to the financial system, so that the economy can pick itself up quickly, while another crash leaves a devastated financial sector in the wreckage? The hypothesis we propose is that a financial crisis that originates in consumer debt, especially consumer debt concentrated at the low end of the wealth and income distribution, can be transmitted quickly and forcefully into the financial system. It appears that we’re witnessing the second great consumer debt crash, the end of a massive consumption binge.”

- Steven Gjerstad and Vernon Smith Explain Why the Housing Crash Ruined the Financial System but the Dot-com Collapse Did Not - WSJ.com

"The third argument says we have to change. We have to develop content that metamorphoses in sync..."

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:42:00 -0400

“The third argument says we have to change. We have to develop content that metamorphoses in sync with new ways of experiencing it, disseminating it and monetizing it. This argument concedes that it’s not possible to translate or extend traditional analog content like news reports and soap operas into pixels without fundamentally changing them. So we have to invent new forms. All of the fascinating, particular, sometimes beautiful and already quaint ways of organizing words and images that evolved in the previous centuries - music reviews, fashion spreads, page-one news reports, action movies, late-night talk shows - are designed for a world that no longer exists. They fail to address existing desires, while conscientiously responding to desires people no longer have.”

- NYT: Content and Its Discontents

"If there is movement to talk to the Taliban in Afghanistan, then there should be some effort to talk..."

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:39:53 -0400

“If there is movement to talk to the Taliban in Afghanistan, then there should be some effort to talk to the fundamentalists in Somalia. If the Islamists were permitted to form a viable, functioning and effective government, this shattered land might be able to return to the community of nations — and supertankers will be able to deliver oil to the United States without fear of getting hijacked.”

- Op-Ed Contributor - Grand Theft Nautical - NYTimes.com

NYT: As Taboos Ease, Saudi Girl Gro

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:38:40 -0400

NYT: As Taboos Ease, Saudi Girl Gro:

Love to read articles like this…but I’m always concerned about what happens to a liberalizing Middle East if oil prices stay low and prosperity (which is driving liberalization) fades.

Guarding the U.S.-Mexico border, live from suburban New York - CNN.com

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:20:22 -0400

Guarding the U.S.-Mexico border, live from suburban New York - CNN.com:

Fascinating. Of course, the flip side is “only four arrests since November.”

"There are sleeper cells in the U.S. They’re here, they’re here in the United States."

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:18:32 -0400

““There are sleeper cells in the U.S. They’re here, they’re here in the United States.””

- Police: U.S. teens were hit men for Mexican cartel - CNN.com

Why Does "Dream" = "Ideal"?

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:11:37 -0400

yourmonkeycalled:

I’m always puzzled when people refer to their “dream girl,” or their “dream house,” when they’re talking about their ultimate ideal. Why is the word “dream” synonymous with “ideal”? My nighttime dreams never reflect what I really want. For example:

=====

On my ideal date, a pretty lady laughs at my jokes over a delicious meal. We end the night by making passionate love.

On my dream date, my 7th grade science teacher points and laughs at my teeth as they slowly crumble into the gravy boat. Our sommelier, Nick Nolte, brings us a bottle of live ants.

=====

At my ideal job, I get paid ridiculous sums to write short, pithy articles for a famous magazine.

At my dream job, it’s 5 minutes before the big presentation and I still can’t get the photocopier to work. I have to share a cubicle with a black version of Nick Nolte, who won’t ever let me use the bathroom and makes me pee in Ziploc bags at my desk.

=====

On my ideal vacation, my family and I stroll through Central Park on a perfect autumn day.

On my dream vacation, we get on the wrong plane which is not a plane but a giant dying tree and why is black Nick Nolte sitting on the branch next to me and I can’t see what’s happening but my children are in trouble and shit shit shit there go my teeth again.

"So the problem with Apple’s iLife apps is that they’re too good, and kids never learn that they need..."

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:00:04 -0500

“So the problem with Apple’s iLife apps is that they’re too good, and kids never learn that they need to struggle with technical issues before using software to express themselves creatively.”

- -Jon Gruber

Daring Fireball Linked List: That’s Quite an Argument

jnunemaker: Hilarious.

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:23:14 -0500

jnunemaker:

Hilarious.

inky: (via moosegarden & elclon)

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:21:07 -0500

inky:

(via moosegarden & elclon)

"We have to stop the existence of parallel societies within our society."

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:40:05 -0500

““We have to stop the existence of parallel societies within our society.””

- From the left, a call to end the current Dutch notion of tolerance - International Herald Tribune