From Russia The Conjecturer, with love.
Defense & The War
- SimIraq? Could make for an interesting variant of the latest Sim City game, which looks interesting enough to pirate.
- Triple Canopy for sale? Oh noes! Meanwhile, a federal grand jury has convened to investigate the Blackwater Massacre. They’re being charged under MEJA. That’s good! But the realities of a warzone mean they’ll never be able to present incontrovertible evidence, even when far less is needed to convict soldiers of a similar crime. That’s bad! But the laws supposedly work. That’s good! Unfortunately, there’s no way to enforce them as currently conceived in a warzone. That’s bad! But at least the laws might work. That’s good! Unfortunately, this will most likely turn into another example of the absolute impunity with which contractors behave without real consequence. That’s bad!
- Oh look, it only took 18 months to file charges against that imprisoned journalist in Iraq. Who said the justice system is broken?
Around the World
- “Fox anchor confuses Apple and Abu Dhabi.” That’s all you really need to know, aside from her co-anchor saying, “oh the Arabs.”
- Germany is something of a tricky wicket. It won’t fully participate in operations in Afghanistan because of both domestic political pressure and a desire not to be seen as the big bad Germanic horde again. It cleverly scales back its sanctions on Uzbekistan for no return gesture on the part of Islam Karimov. It scrambled for a way not to get snowballed by Russia’s overflight game. Now Angela Merkel’s party seems to be fishing for ways to alienate China. I don’t get it.
- Oh, Michael O’Hanlon thinks we’re going to be able to do whatever we want in Pakistan? Where will he get the troops? Of a similar tack: notice normally level-headed Anne Applebaum saying one thing about Iraq, and then the opposite about Iran? Ugh—talk about insipid. Her argument against Iraq is almost the same as it is for Iran, yet she can’t seem to make that jump.
- Applebaum seems to ignore something I have argued before, namely that we have a perfectly workable reason we’ll never have to worry about a nuclear-armed Iran: deterrence.
- Talking smack about anti-Americanism. Seeing opportunities to boost America’s image while doing the right thing.
Back at Home
- Why do I love Jezebel? They can have blithe discussions about the price inelasticity of oil without blinking or calmly explaining to their fashion-magazine readers. It’s so hot.
- I wanna throw out a hearty congratulations to my buddy Mike, who records under the name “We Were Pirates,” for making several judges’ #1 pick in the This American Life song contest. His wife is the saucy vixen responsible for those brilliantly humiliating faux art-house photos of me I keep posting.
- Long-arming the libel tourist.
Yes,you are right!