News Brief, Some Loud Thunder Edition
Joshua Foust on Sep 06 2007 at 1:51 am | Filed under: Developmental economics, Domestic Politics, Economics, Foreign affairs, Media, Military Matters, Notes on the war
At loggerheads over at The Conjecturer.
Defense & The War
- The DoD has crossed its arms, pouted, and insisted the GAO report on Iraq is wrong. Meanwhile, living among the world of verifiable measures of progress is news that “the number of Iraqi corpses found dumped on street corners was higher in August than before the security offensive began and the number of Iraqis leaving their homes has increased significantly in recent months.” But I mean, we won’t really know if the surge is working until 9/11/07, when Ambassador “Whack-A-Mole” Crocker and General “Not Bush” Petraeus give their report to Congress… since we can’t rely on those pessimists who bother to talk to actual Iraqis to gauge how good things are because, I mean, they have narratives and stuff.
- Meanwhile, flailing for more reasons to keep occupying the country, Bush has expanded the Surge to include “containing Iran,” an objective that not only winds up being at odds with “defeating al-Qaeda” (another supposed non-Iraq pillar of the occupation) but can be served equally well through other means. Sigh.
- Are we really arming the Suuni insurgents to create a “competing armed interest group,” as former Petraeus aide David Killcullen writes? Or is that just a misunderstanding somehow?
- This image will be amusing to probably only a small subset of you, but it made me lol all over my own face.
- Interestingly, John Robb also sees clever marketing as one of the main reasons the war will probably drag on indefinitely—despite several ways in which we simply do not measure up as a fighting force (such as our glacial innovation cycle).
- Oh and it’s kind of funny and sad how something as highly classified as propeller design—a legitimate secret, given the extreme importance attached to stealthy subs—can be made available, for free, on the Internet, with private satellites.
Around the World
- South Korea certainly has a lot to think about in the aftermath of the hostages’ (mostly) safe return from Taliban clutches. Meanwhile, Jacob Sullum touches an old sore spot of mine, which was the Administration’s insistence that Colombia provided a successful model for counternarcotics that should be exported to Afghanistan. Colombia, meanwhile, has a nasty problem of rogue Israeli mercenaries arming and training the violent insurgents who harvest and smuggle cocaine. Mountain Runner asks, “Remember when countries were held accountable for their citizens?” Well, I certainly don’t, but I’m a youngster… and I know doing that is in no one’s best interests anymore.
- Ready for some unsurprising, but nevertheless really cool economic news? For the first time in 10,000 years, farming is not the world’s dominant industry. That’s a big deal, as in non-Western economies, a lot of which still rely on subsistence farming, it means there is surprising progress we might not necessarily pay attention to. For more context, dig this exploration by Ron Bailey of the 2005 World Bank Report, “Where Is the Wealth of Nations,” which considered intangible human capital as the world’s primary driver of wealth, rather than resource exploitation or farming.
- Astounding glimpse of the economics of China: “Chinese citizens are willingly paying twice as much for an inferior, illegal version of a product [the iPhone] that is made in their own country.” Christ. Ironically, that post’s title also ably explains the new iPod Touch.
- A fascinating look at what for-profits economics at the base of the pyramid may look like.
- Glimpsing inside the North Korean tribute elementary school in Ulaanbaatar.
- A worrisome look at the rise of blatant xenophobia and racism in Switzerland’s largest political party. This is, unfortunately, a consequence of Europe’s unwillingness to address its issues with assimilation and growing immigrant populations. I hope it doesn’t turn into violence… again.
- Equally worrisome are Putin’s attempts to remake Stalin’s image so good ol’ Uncle Joe is kind of soft and fuzzy, much like his beard. And not, you know, one of the most horrendous criminals in all of recorded history.
- It may be difficult to navigate the many regulatory structures, but if traveling to Tajikistan gets me access to this, I’m up for it. Hell, I’d be up for it no matter the regulations.
- I recently hit two stories at Registan.net that might be meta-related: the first and most recent is a piece on the incredibly lazy reporting by Big Media on the various Islamist splinter groups that may or may not be planning bomb attacks on our precious freedoms; the second is a look at the glorious days of Soviet propaganda in the early 1980’s, and how things have changed since the Fall.
Back at Home
- Yes, I do indeed need reminding that Project Runway isn’t about hilarious catty bitches, but really about the fundamental nature of humanity. Glad I got that cleared up.
- I wholeheartedly support the use of VLJs in air taxis systems… especially if I can convince my current and future employers to adopt them as well.
- Here’s a neat equation: iPhone - phone = ZOMG iPodTouch, the iPod priests love to listen to!
- Anyone else want to join me at the Reason meet and greet next 9/11? ‘Cause I’m going to be there. Email me if you’d like to meet up.
Your Ad Here
Trackback URI | Comments RSS
