Sudan: Darfur Update, June 30

Mystical Politics has a slew of good articles covering Sudan and the ongoing conflict in Darfur, where it would appear that black people are being ethnically cleansed from the region by their fellow Muslims.

Inkgrrl's Roadmap Roundup: 2004-06-30

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Israel and its neighbours in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, et. al., courtesy of the inimitable Inkgrrl.

TOP TOPIC

• They're calling it Sderot Syndrome... I'd call it echoes of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, as this essay nicely outlines. The voluntary pullout of Israeli settlers from Gaza is slated to start this August; cleanup of recalcitrant settlers from the Gaza Strip will begin on September first. Arafat's still not happy and opened the UN conference on Palestinians in South Africa by shadow-boxing over the Gaza pullout.

• It takes one to know one? Lebanon has become a favorite hunting ground for American and other security contracting companies looking for experienced mercenaries willing to work in Iraq for relatively low pay. Makes sense, after all, Lebanon's still got that old-time flyover/anti-aircraft action going on. There's an old Arabic saying... the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Or is it the bank account of my enemy is my friend? Wait, no, it's the bank account of the capitalist Zionist dogs is my friend... yeah, that's it.

Other Topics Today Include: Raising 'Em Up Right, Pre-Emptive Weasel Strikes, Sderot Syndrome, Hizbollah's Road Show, Radio Free Syria, Lebanese Cherry Picking, (Queen) Colonel Rania of Jordan, $300M in aid to Egypt, On The Difficulty of Buying a Vowel in Egypt

read the rest! »

Illegal Insanity

Well, this is idiotic. No matter how violent or dangerous some criminals may be, the police in many U.S. cities cannot use the most obvious tool to apprehend them and remove them from the streets - their immigration status:

In Los Angeles, for example, dozens of gang members from a ruthless Salvadoran prison gang have snuck back into town after having been deported for such crimes as murder, shootings, and drug trafficking. Police officers know who they are and know that their mere presence in the country is a felony. Yet should an LAPD officer arrest an illegal gangbanger for felonious reentry, it is the officer who will be treated as a criminal by his own department -- for violating the LAPD's rule against enforcing immigration law."

What a sick joke. The CIS article aptly notes:

read the rest! »

No Shame

I'm not sure how many of you have had the experience of reading Paul Kugman's column today in the New York Times. It's entitled "Who Lost Iraq?" and, like so many other columns and op-eds that have been written since the onset of the Iraqi insurgency, seeks to castigate the usual suspects for getting us into this Quagmire™ to begin with.

Must be why the new Iraqi government has no support among the common people.

In any case, my problem with Krugman on this one is not his argument per se (though, as one might imagine, I take issue with that as well) but rather the means through which to go about making it. To put it quite simply, the man crossed the line.

read the rest! »

Canadian Election: June 2004

Canada had its elections last night (results here: Liberal 135, Conservative 99, Bloc Quebecois seperatists 54, NDP socialists 19, Independent 1). Only 33,554 ballots cast nationwide for the Marijuana Party, who seem to have perennial problems with supporter turnout for some reason.

The Conservatives gained but not as much as they had expected, while the Liberal Party was reduced to minority status. They'll probably try to govern now with the support of the NDP, and if so Canada-US relations can be expected to decline even further.

read the rest! »

Robi & Nitin's S. Asia Briefing: 2004-06-28

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on South Asia, courtesy of Robi Sen and Nitin Pai of The Acorn

THE THAW AND THE MELT

• There was positive movement on the diplomatic level between India and Pakistan. Diplomats formalized nuclear risk reduction measures (NRRMs), agreed to disagree on Indus river water sharing, and began high-level discussions on the Kashmir dispute. The latter included a quiet low-profile meeting between J N Dixit, India's National Security Advisor and Tariq Aziz, General Musharraf's key point-man.

• Even as there is progress on the diplomatic front, cross-border infiltration and terrorism in Kashmir follow set patterns, with violence picking up come summer, as melting Himalayan snows open infiltration routes that even India's over 700km long fence is unable to completely plug. In the days immediately preceding the talks, jihadi terrorists slit the throats of a railway engineer, and massacred 12 villagers including several young children.

Other Topics Today Include: Double agents and nuclear con-men in India; Palace intrigues and provincial rebellions in Pakistan; Nuclear Proliferation; India and Israel; Much ado about something in Bangladesh; Potential missteps in Afghanistan; Dalai Lama rejects Colonel Saunders in Tibet.

read the rest! »

Is NATO A Real Alliance?

Instapundit links to Oxblog's analysis of the Istanbul Summit, and publishes part of an email by reader Eric Bainter, who worked in NATO during the 80s and 90s. Bottom line: given NATO's gaps in both capabilities and will, how real is the alliance? It's an important question, and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's recent comments (quoted later in this post) are sobering.

Patrick Belton's fine summary of the key issues facing NATO is solid, and he also throws some worthwhile advice for both Bush and Kerry. In some ways, however, he begs the larger question about NATO and its future - and there was one item in particular that could be misleading. We'll address both issues.

Patrick notes:

"What comes out of this is a capabilities gap. Of 1.4 million soldiers under Nato arms in October 2003, allies other than the US contributed all of 55,000."

read the rest! »

The Iraq Handover: Iraqi Bloggers Speak

As you're all aware, sovereignty was formally handed over to the interim Iraqi government yesterday, a couple days ahead of schedule (But do you know that a blogger scooped CNN et. al?).

So, what are the Iraqi bloggers saying about all this?

• Omar at Iraq the Model is overjoyed in Go Iraq Go. "Our hope and our goal is to see the day when we can elect our representatives freely and more important is to be aware that the process is moving as we wish and there will be no room for those who dream of bringing back the past."

• "Sam" at Hammorabi notes that the handover's timing didn't just mess up the terrorists. It also surprised Al-Jazeera and the Arab media, who had an attack or two of their own planned.

read the rest! »

Metallica & the Cats: Enter Surroundablog

When it comes to music, Ron Wheeler is damn near a genius - and that isn't a term I throw around lightly. He spent a long time in the industry, and even though he's been out for a while they still seek his opinions. Hmm... are you thinking what I was thinking?

Yup. Enter SurroundaBlog.com, Ron's platform to discuss music & culture, review albums, and turn you on to some of the outstanding new audio formats like DVD-Audio, DTS, HDAD, and SACD. In one of Ron's early installments, Metallica in full-on surround sound meets his cats:

"In searching my library of dvds to review I decided to grab Metallica's "Black" album. It seemed like a timely pick as the band prepares to release their documentary "Some Kind of Monster" on July the 9th.

As an aside, it was also an attempt to get my stinking cats to stop using the grills of my reference series Klipsch speakers for scratching posts...... #$%*#&*%#(*($#%*$#$&$$@#$#@....!"

Bad kitty! I'm sure you want to hear what happened to Ron's cats as Metallica got rolling in surround sound and the volume crept toward "11"...

Andrew's Iraq Report: June 28/04

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from Iraq that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. This briefing is brought to you by Andrew Olmsted of Andrew Olmsted dot com.

TOP TOPICS

• JK: In a surprise move, the USA has handed over formal sovereignty to the new Iraqi government 2 days earlier than planned. That ought to distrupt a few terrorist timetables - and probably doesn't do Reuters and The New York Times any favours, either. Here's a roundup of reaction from the Iraqi blogosphere.

• Al Jazeera is reporting that an Iraqi terrorist group has captured a U.S. Marine and will behead him unless the U.S. released certain Iraqi prisoners. The Pentagon has confirmed that a Marine has been missing since June 21, but cannot confirm that this Marine is actually a captive or not. One thing is certain: if the Iraqis follow through on their threat and behead a Marine, terrorists facing Marines in future combats won't need to worry about being mistreated at Abu Ghraib.
  UPDATE: There are reports that PFC Keith Maupin has been executed.

• President Bush is meeting with the heads of state of NATO for a two-day summit in Istanbul that will include discussion of NATO's role, if any in Iraq as the transitional government takes charge. The U.S. is hopeful it can gain at least limited NATO support for training and technical assistance to the new Iraqi government. If successful, the summit will garner some valuable international support for the new Iraqi government; if not successful, the Bush administration may have to go to the well yet again to draw on American forces to provide the necessary training. More NATO analysis here.

Other Topics Today Include: how 1AD beat al-Sadr; Violence continues in Iraq; Car bombing updates; Sovereignty's limitations; A new (Iraqi) sheriff is coming to town; An al-Qaeda terrorist recants; Books for Iraq; Toys for Iraq; How to support the troops.

read the rest! »

Dan's Winds of War: June 28/04

Welcome! Our goal is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Today's "Winds of War" is brought to you by Dan Darling. of Regnum Crucis.

TOP TOPICS

• A member of the Eritrean Islamic Jihad has confessed to planning attacks on Eritrea from Sudan. The Eritrean Islamic Jihad is a key part of bin Laden's terrorist coalition in East Africa and this is a key point to remember when discussing Sudan with respect to its ongoing genocide in Darfur - it is not simply a past state sponsor of al-Qaeda - it is a current one.

• The Saudi princelings have offered an amnesty to al-Qaeda fighters in the Kingdom in the wake of al-Muqrin's death. I think Cox and Forkum summarizes my thoughts fairly accurately on this one. Prince Nayef, meanwhile, is assuring us that al-Qaeda hasn't infiltrated Saudi security forces. Right.

• If only it were that simple, for al-Quds al-Arabi reports that even despite the recent surge of violence, some Saudi princes are still funding al-Qaeda. This would seem to square with reports that the princes are divided over how to deal with bin Laden's thugs.

Other Topics Today Include: Iran Reports; USA Homeland Security Briefing; violence back on the rise in Kashmir; Ingush violence round-up; Turkish terrorists and cops in action as NATO summit begins; Spaniard arrested for selling explosives used in 3/11; Switzerland used by al-Qaeda as a logistics base for 9/11; Zarqawi's wife sez he's a good man; Dr. Azahari in Bandung; 40 JI in the Philippines; Abu Sayyaf leader killed in Tawi-Tawi; GSPC massacres 5; Bosnia a way station for Islamist extremists; Taliban kill election workers; and North Korea's Soylent Green.

read the rest! »

Sufi Wisdom: Master & Slave

(Part of our weekly Sufi Wisdom series, which covers the practices Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali described as Ihya' ulum ad-din, or "Giving Life to the Sciences of the Religion." T.L. James is moving, so I'm taking this on again for the next few weeks.)

This week's teaching tale comes from Fadiman & Frager's Essential Sufism, as told by Frager's teacher Sheikh Muzaffer:

A sultan was riding through the country surrounded by courtiers and soldiers. Everybody bowed as the sultan passed, except for a single dervish.

The sultan halted the procession and had the dervish brought to him. He demanded to know why the man did not bow to him.

read the rest! »

Hasidic Wisdom: Wise vs. Clever

Rabbi Brody of The Lazer Beam writes:

"Someone once asked me what the difference is between a wise person and a clever person...."

Read his simple & educational answer - then follow the link he gives for a real life example.

So, where do you get wisdom? Reading, even reading Rabbi Brody, will only take you so far. Sometimes the trigger needs to be a real life experience, and when that happens wisdom doesn't always come in expected - or even welcome - guises. Take Rabbi Brody's advice to a suicidal, bankrupt businessman, for instance. In the comments section, meanwhile, Luis David Albright proves that the story can end well. In wisdom.

UPDATE: See this week's Sufi Wisdom for a related story from Sheikh Muzzafer.

Afghanistan's New Employer

Winds of Change.NET reader Joe Manfre sends in this bit of good news:

"Overstock.com is the biggest private employer in Afghanistan now. People making good money making handmade rugs and crafts. Overstock.com also has an Afghan refugee managing the Worldstock division of the company."

I'd call that progress. Overstock.com were also tremendously helpful to Chief Wiggles' Toys for Iraq effort. They seem like a fine bunch of people, with a really neat concept.

Microbial Fuel Cells

Well, this is interesting:

"Every now and then we hit upon a story which really feels like a glimpse into the desired future. The idea of using microbes to simultaneously clean the water supply and generate power is almost too good to be true. But it's in the labs now, and it's getting closer to the real world every day."

Worldchanging.com has the details.

Nike Hellas!

If you don't think Greece's stunning 1-0 win over France in the Euro 2004 quarter finals is good news...

...You obviously don't live anywhere near Toronto's Danforth district. Opa!

New blog: World Changing.com

Three words: This. Blog. Rocks.

I have discovered my kindred spirits in the blogosphere. You'll be hearing a lot more about them here at Winds of Change.NET in the days and months to come.

The Decentralized Force: Smart Citizenry Suggestions?

Armed Liberal has talked about this before in "Distributed Defense." Now Jason R. Wells writes:

I'm writing you because you're the admin of a blog which seems linked to a lot of great things (Spirit of America, the briefings, list of ways to help, good people/posts, etc.) and so I thought you might be receptive to another idea. A big one.

Reviewing the events of 9/11 and the failure if the system, Glen is talking about what I'll call "decentralized force" as the day's lone success.

But there is one problem with it. He and the others who've noticed the "decentralized force" trend point it out, and then ask why the centralized authorities don't take advantage of it. Well, they're centralized. So why not act as the dectralized force they say we are, and take advantage of it ourselves?

Do you think you could put a post up saying as much with a general request for ideas? Two that come to mind immediately to start the list out:

read the rest! »

Time to Bury Some Memes... Iraq & al-Qaeda

Today I was quite surprised to read this story in the New York Times because while I was quite familiar with the topic at hand, I can't in all honesty believe that the Times agreed to print this given that they've been sitting on it for quite awhile now.

I would strongly suspect that there's a correlation between when they got ahold of the story and Mr. Clarke's debut back in April. The issue of when the Times chooses to publicize what it does is, of course, beyond my ken, so I will solely reside myself to killing a few common memes with respect to Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda.

"Contacts between Iraqi intelligence agents and Osama bin Laden when he was in Sudan in the mid-1990's were part of a broad effort by Baghdad to work with organizations opposing the Saudi ruling family, according to a newly disclosed document obtained by the Americans in Iraq."

read the rest! »

Moore's Iraq Report: June 25/04

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from Iraq that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday.

Auditions are in progress, and today's Iraq Report is brought to you by Thomas Moore of Backsight Forethought.

Top Topics

• The Green Side has a new letter up. The Green Side is a series of letters from USMC Major David G. Bellon, currently stationed in Iraq in the Fallujah area. Fans of primary intelligence will enjoy his site, as the news from the eyes of the boots on the ground is often at odds with what we see on the nightly news. In the same vein, Marine Corps Moms has daily updates with letters and articles about Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. Stories like this one make your visits worthwhile.

• Wretchard over at the Belmont Club, has a brief analysis of the Iraq insurgency. If you're not a regular reader of his, you should be.

• The Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq issued an appeal to the American media to provide more balanced coverage of the situation in his country. The appeal seems to have gone largely unreported.

Other topics today include: Zarqawi threatens Iraq's Prime Minister; More Falluajh action; Zarqawi claims responsibility for recent attacks; Reports from the Iraqi blogosphere; The ongoing saga of Sadr; End of Sadr's uprising?; Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary & Netherlands reaffirm commitment; Iraq/al-Qaeda ties controversy; World reactions to Kim Sun-Il's beheading; Abu Ghraib investigation; Interrogation techniques; How to support the troops; Spirit of America needs YOU!

read the rest! »

Business & The Exchange Principle

Found this one via this week's Carnival of the Capitalists. In response to a comment along the lines of "do what you love and the money will follow," David St. Lawrence of the blog Ripples writes:

"Let me share the most basic facts I know to be true about business:

read the rest! »

Sean's Winds of War: June 24/04

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report.

Auditions are in progress, and today's Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Sean Manion.

TOP TOPICS

• As of Wednesday evening (EDT) the eight British servicemen taken into custody in Iran still remain. Earlier reports of their release were premature, and it has been pushed back until Thursday. Hopefully, this situation will end quickly, but Belmont Club has some observations should it turn into a protracted crisis.

• A South Korean translator, Kim Sun-il, taken hostage in Iraq in May and threatened with execution unless South Korea pulled its troops out of Iraq, has been beheaded. The video of the killing has been posted on an Islamist website, where the devout Christian translator is referred to as a missionary. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun refuses to pullout troops and still plans to send more.

• The White House has released memos detailing what was and wasn't approved of with regards to prisoner treatment. Intel Dump has all of the details.

Other Topics Today Include: Iran v. IAEA; Portland 7:And then there were none; Saudi Amnesty; Fighting in Waziristan; Indo-Pakistan Talks; Pakistan denies link with al Qaeda; Canada leaving Afghanistan; Elections; Moore 9/11; NK proposal; Igushetia raids; and supersooldiers of the future

read the rest! »

Michael Moore's Betrayal of His Craft

I wish I could say that Michael Moore was original, but mostly he brings to mind Lillian Hellman, the Stalinist playright of whom Mary McCarty once said: "Every word [Hellman] writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the.'"

Yep, sounds like our boy.

Watching mainstream media coverage of Moore, one reflects how fortunate the man is to have so much kissing space on his ass. Nonetheless, his hard-earned reputation for being less than truthful is beginning to catch up with him - and not just on the right.

Reader Mike Daley points to a devastating review by Armond White of The NY Press, who is not exactly a member of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. White's points about Moore's class vice and the link between the Entertainment Industrial Complex and the Military Industrial Complex are worth reading. His description of Moore's work as amounting to "Liberalism with a fascist face" is a pithy summary of a literate and sophisticated aesthetic argument.

Meanwhile, leftist enfant terrible Chris Hitchens (no friend of Stalinists either) annihilates Farenheit 9/11 right to its foundations in "Unfairenheit 9/11: The lies of Michael Moore." Some choice excerpts:

read the rest! »

Behold my fearsome visage!

Roger Simon is here at AEI this week and was kind enough to bring along a camera, so if any of you are interested in seeing what I or Dr. Ledeen look like, feel to take a look here. Don't worry, we censored everything within proper security precautions, though who would have ever suspected that Michael Ledeen had a Darth Vader mask on his desk?

Now, onto the more substantive stuff...

• Ingushetia (near Chechnya) where extremely brutal fighting is in progress.
• Algeria's al-Qaeda ally the GSPC has its leader Nabil Sahraoui killed - what are the implications?
• Saddam Fedayeen & al-Qaeda.
• Dumb assumptions people still believe.

read the rest! »

Randinho's Latin America Briefing: 2004-06-23

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Latin America, courtesy of Randy Paul.

TOP TOPIC

• The referendum is on in Venezuela, but El Presidente Chávez is stacking the deck - and the courts.

Other Topics Include: More on Venezuela; Referendum question; Chavez & Pinochet - peas in a pod; Colombia's FARC & AUC violence continues; Movement toward peace from the other leftist guerillas in the ELN; Worrisome vigilante violence in Bolivia; Brazil's WTO victory on cotton subsidies is confirmed; OAS member nations agree to address corruption; Augusto Pinochet opens his mouth. Will he pay the consequences?

read the rest! »

USA: The Centrist Dilemma

Many centrists in the USA are having problems making up their mind as the election approaches. CenterFeud has a source who sums up their dilemma, and based on our comments section it seems to resonate with peoples' feelings. There's a fine discussion going on here that adds real depth to the post, so come on back and check it out when you're done.

UPDATE: Michael Totten describes his own journeys and dilemmas, and some interesting political research about polarization.

4 Outcomes & The 1st Terrorist War

Donald Sensing lays out 4 possible outcomes to the War on Terror. I think he has it right.

Gerald Van der Leun, meanwhile, offers up a very good overview and analysis of our current situation in "The First Terrorist War." Why does he use that name? Because of the things he values:

"Beyond victory in the First Terrorist War is a greater goal. What we must seek is not merely the "control" and "containment" of terror, for terror in this guise cannot be controlled or contained. We must come to the deeper understanding that only a complete victory over the global Radical Islamic forces can prevent the onset of a confrontation more terrible than the current war.

What we must press for in the Terrorist War is a victory so decisive that we can, in the end, avoid the larger war lurking on the not-so-distant horizon - - a true war between civilizations. That war, should it come, will not take the name of The Terrorist War, but of The Islamic War."

There's a lot more to his post, and it's all worth reading.

Anti-Semitism in France & the U.N.

Prof. Anne Bayesfsky wonders if the U.N. is finally ready to get serious about anti-Semitism, as she speaks at a U.N. conference on the subject. I can't say I'm optimistic - her stark description of the very real anti-Semitism practiced within the U.N. is chilling. This paragraph in particular struck home:

"U.N.-led anti-Semitism moves from the demonization of Jews to the disqualification of Jewish victimhood: refusing to recognize Jewish suffering by virtue of their ethnic and national identity. In 2003 a General Assembly resolution concerned with the welfare of Israeli children failed (though one on Palestinian children passed handily) because it proved impossible to gain enough support for the word Israeli appearing before the word children."

Imagine that those were your children, and that the U.N. had just declared that they didn't deserve security from murder and violence. What would you call it? Would you accept that organization as an honest broker for peace?

Worse, this kind of demonization carries very real consequences on the ground worldwide.

read the rest! »

A Word in The Palestinian Ear

Winds of Change.NET's Cairo correspondent Tarek Heggy has quite a few articles here on Winds of Change.NET, not to mention our best wishes for his new Egyptian paper Al-Masri Al-Youm and ICFS think tank. The Arabic version of this article was posted by the Elaph web-site on 25th May, 2004.

by Tarek Heggy

A friend recently bombarded me with the following questions:

"Why is it", he said, "that not one single writer in any Arab country has tried to envisage an alternative scenario to the one that transpired in 1948, to speculate on what would have happened if the Arabs had accepted the UN Partition Plan to divide Palestine into two separate states, one Arab (Palestine), the other Jewish (Israel)? How would events have played out if that had been the case? Has the choice our leaders made at the time fulfilled the prophecy of Ismail Sidki in 1947, when he warned that we would lose what was attainable while striving for the unattainable?"

No waiting for an answer, he proceeded to the next question:

read the rest! »

SpaceshipOne's Successful 1st Flight

SpaceShipOne was launched this morning 10 nautical miles east of Mojave, California, then hauled skyward to 47,000 feet and released from its 'White Knight' carrier aircraft to rocket up into low-earth orbit at 100 km/60 miles. Mike Melvill was the pilot for this historic first full flight of a privately-funded space plane.

As Space.com reports:

"According to a flight report issued by Scaled Composites, separation between the two vehicles was clean and positive.... Handling qualities of the vehicle as it sped through the air were reportedly in close correlation with ground-based simulations. Onboard avionics and cockpit displays that gave the pilot handling information during the glide test performed flawlessly. The vehicle made a smooth touchdown, with the entire flight – from launch to touchdown – viewable from the ground.

Full schematics, photos, etc. available here. Meanwhile, spaceblogger Rand Simberg is blogging from on site. From attending the pre-flight spectators' rave (not bad for an old guy) to his pre-flight report from the scene, and follow-ups to this successful flight.

UPDATE: In fact, the flight was not entirely successful - it was a very near thing. But that's why they have test flights, and I'm sure the Scaled Composites team will be right back at it. Ad astra, per aspera....

West Winds' Winds of War: June 21/04

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Auditions are in progress, and today's Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Lilith Paloma of West Winds.

TOP TOPICS

• JK: Iran seizes 3 British naval vessels in the narrow Shatt-al-Arab waterway between Iran & Iraq. Full details in our Command Post entry.

• In anticipation of the June 30 "sovereignty" hand-over in Iraq, this was the "week that was"—so filled with newsworthy eyeopeners and horror one hardly knows where to begin. Let us look at the terrible truth that will not go away anytime soon: Terror up, not Down: U.S. Wrongly Reported Drop in World Terrorism in 2003

• Dan Darling has an exhaustive pair of reports on the 9/11 commission and its findings (Part 1 | Part 2). "I'm not sure how interested you are in the nuts and bolts aspect of this kind of stuff, but I just figured I'd throw this your way to show you just how truly whacked-out the findings of this commission are entirely apart from the issue of Iraq and al-Qaeda. If this is the state of our intelligence agency, the whole WMD thing is starting to make a lot more sense now."

• American Hostage Killed, Terror Group Says. "...The Web site showed three pictures of what appeared to be Johnson's severed head -- one showed the bloodied head propped up on the back of a body in an orange jumpsuit with a knife leaning on the face."

Other Topics Today Include: More on Johnson's beheading & Islamic practice; Iraq's leader believes insurgents are foreign; S. Korea will go ahead with troops to Iraq; Bombings in Iraq coverage; More on the 9/11 report; Iran moves troops to Iraq's border; Nukes; Iran Diary looks at all aspects of Iran.

read the rest! »

Blog Business World's Carnival of the Capitalists

This roundup of the best in business and economics related blogging can be found here this week.

Al-Qaeda and the Geneva Conventions

Bob Harmon is a former military policeman, and a California state Democratic Party official. He is currently Director of the Marin County, California ACLU. Bob comes highly recommended by Trent Telenko, despite Trent's firm belief that the national U.S. Democratic Party is "dead and damned." Bob replies that "I am not a member of any organized political party, I'm a California Democrat."

"Nothing can destroy a government more quickly than its failure to observe its own laws, or worse, its disregard of the charter of its own existence."
-- Justice Tom Clark, Mapp v. Ohio, 1961

Some commentators of late, notably Jonah Goldberg at National Review Online – and see this rejoinder to him in NRO The Corner -- as well as some correspondents on this site, seem to have the idea that the Geneva Conventions are reciprocal, some kind of contract that Osama bin Laden is not a party to (and thus, we don't have to obey it either, allegedly). In addition, Robin Burk's "The Discussion We Need to Start Having" (see also her questions in The Command Post's comments section, and the follow-up debate) raises a number of issues associated with these subjects.

In order to put these discussions on a sound footing, it's worthwhile to discuss America's legal obligations as they relate to the War on Terror and illegal combatants.

read the rest! »

Oh, Those Terrorist Prosecutions

Paul Krugman's recent column criticizes U.S. Attorney-General John Ashcroft for having almost no successful terrorist prosecutions on his watch. There's only one problem with that argument, says new columnist-blogger Michelle Malkin: it bears no resemblance to the truth. Welcome to the blogsphere, Michelle!

Spirit of America Update: June 18/04

Spirit of America.NET founder Jim Hake is back from Iraq with some stories to tell. Some key excerpts:

"Back at Camp Blue Diamond we met with the two officers (Maj. Chandler and Maj. Dunham) responsible for providing the TV equipment donated by Spirit of America to the 7 Iraqi stations in Al Anbar. When we met about 1/2 of the equipment had been delivered to the stations and technical training was being planned. With the new equipment Iraqi personnel at one of the stations took to the streets with camcorders to do "man in the street" interviews. When they broadcast the interviews they received numerous calls with positive feedback. Things like that associated with a free press that we take for granted are entirely new in most of Iraq.

Also back at Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi we met with the Director of Economic Development for Al Anbar Province. He is spearheading the creation of women's sewing centers in the Ramadi-Fallujah region. These centers will provide women with a chance to make money, some for the first time, and improve their lives and their families. Marines Commanding General Jim Mattis is very enthusiastic about the project- both for its economic impact and because it will provide women a place to discuss women's issues (day care is provided). He has asked if we can help by providing the sewing machines. For starters we are looking for people to buy the first 50 sewing machines costing $475 each.... If things go well with those, we'll do our best to provide 950 more, thus helping 1000 women.

Jim concludes with a look at their future strategic focus and promises some updates:

read the rest! »

The Aldridge Report & NASA's Future

Early Wednesday morning, June 16, 2004, the President's Commission on Moon, Mars and Beyond delivered its report to the White House. The report, titled "A Journey to Inspire, Innovate and Discover" (PDF format) was later released to the public.

Winds team member T.L. James took time out of his interstate move to summarize the report's findings and key recommendations. Thanks, Tom!

Meanwhile, Transterrestrial Musings has a few cogent, uh... transterrestrial musings covering space policy, NASA and the private sector. Overall, he thinks it's a very good report but believes that leaving out public space travel was a mistake. He also points us to a great blog post on this subject by Alan Boyle of MSNBC's Cosmic Log.

We've talked about these policy questions before, in blog posts like "Ad Astra, Without NASA." It's nice to see them being raised, at last, in official documents.

Sufi Wisdom: To An Enquirer

(Part of our weekly Sufi Wisdom series. T.L. James is moving, so I'm taking this on again for the next few weeks.)

From Idries Shah's "Knowing How to Know" comes a more straightforward Sufi lesson that has a lot of direct applications here in the West:

"You think I am being foolhardy when I say: "You will never be able to profit from what I am communicating."

Here is the explanation: I am, on the contrary, being extremely careful. I am making sure that you will not become a 'follower' of mine, for I can see that you are a person who can lose himself in discipleship. Such a development, far from being a profit to anyone, would mean a loss of a human being - because obsession, by whatever name, is a disaster.

But my initial 'violence' in its effect upon you will never be erased. So you will not now be so prone to indoctrination.

Our relationship, yours and mine, may not be that of teacher and disciple. But neither will it be that of supplier and consumer.

How refreshing!"

Good News: Winds of Discovery

"Discovery" is part of our motto, and a growing focus here at Winds of Change.NET. Glenn Halpern of HipperCritical ran a report on Friday that takes readers on a wild ride across the spectrum of science and discovery.

• Biotech & Medical
• Public Policy
• Invention & Discovery
• Space
• The Environment
• The Animal Kingdom

Topics this week included: Alzheimer's doesn't affect all memories; Human brains work like robots; Voles and the science of love; Fifty new embryonic stem cell lines; Double-click patent; The energy debate; Bioterror research - defense or offense?; Diabetes breathalyzer; Self-replicating robots; Discovering Atlantis; Wild 2 comet is strange; The youngest black hole; Water on Mars; Science and religion; New clues on climate change; Drunken worms; Safe fugu; Beetle love

Illusion, Detachment & Awakening

This one comes from Zen and the Art of Insight:

"Zen master Zhenjing said: 'When you recognize illusion, you become detached, without performing any expedient techniques. When you detach from illusion, you become awake, without any gradual process."

Wonhyo's story illustrates this in action.

The 9/11 commission statement, Part 2

This is the second part of my critique of Statement #15 of the 9/11 commission, in particular with regard to its apparent numerous errors as far as the nature, structure, and activities of al-Qaeda are. These errors are quite disturbing, as the purported purpose of this commission is more or less to determine what went wrong concerning the intelligence failures that led up to 9/11 - that doesn't work too well if the commission persists in perpetuating many of those exact same errors.

As in the previous, most of my counter-claims are not sourced due to my own time constraints and reliance on hard-copy sources for this particular project. If you want a source, let me know and I will do my best to be accomodating on this one. I should also probably add the caveat, suggested by another lovely young intern at AEI, that it is entirely possible that I am incorrect concerning the commission's apparent errors with reference to this statement. Granted. It is also entirely possible that Laurie Mylroie's characterization of al-Qaeda as a nothing more than a front for the former Iraqi regime (and apparently a very successful one, given that the former is still in business even when the latter is not) is also accurate.

Please indulge me on this one.

read the rest! »

The 9/11 commission statement, Part 1

I'm reading over the statement released by the 9/11 commission, "Overview of the Enemy" and the word that comes to mind at the end of everything is "garbage." For a commission that purports to be looking into the intelligence failures that led up to the 9/11 attacks it would seem that the only success that has occurred here is to ensure that those errors are being perpetuated, at least until the next major terrorist attack on US soil.

As regular readers of Regnum Crucis know, I'm quite fond of doing a point-by-point critique (commonly referred to as "fisking" within blogosphere) because I think that this is the best way to formulate my argument as well as to avoid the temptation to caricature an opponent's position. A great deal of this critique is based primarily on published hard-copy reports as much as anything else, so this isn't going to be all that extensively sourced. If there is a particular item that I reference that you want documentation of, just let me know in the comments section and I'll do what I can to provide a link or point you to the relevant source.

With that being said, let us begin ...

read the rest! »

Copyfights

This Slashdot URL has lots of links, and the full text of a proposed new American law:

"C|Net News is reporting that a new copyright bill, to be introduced next week by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), will likely overturn the Betamax decision [JK: which held that VCRs were not illegal because they also had legitimate non-infringing uses] and threaten all sorts of innovation. EFF broke the story and Copyfight has been all over it. Don't miss the comments of law professor Susan Crawford who says, 'This is amazing. Now we're waaaaaay beyond contributory and vicarious theories of liability, which are court-created and pretty darn broad on their own.' "

Meanwhile, Cory Doctorow walks into Microsoft and proceeds to give their view of Digital Rights Management (DRM) a hard shove:

"Here's what I'm here to convince you of:
1. That DRM systems don't work
2. That DRM systems are bad for society
3. That DRM systems are bad for business
4. That DRM systems are bad for artists
5. That DRM is a bad business-move for MSFT "

These are our rights and our futures they're talking about. Some fascinating issues, too.

Russian Intel: Saddam Was Planning Terrorism Against the USA

Well, how's this for a bombshell?

"Russian intelligence services warned Washington several times that Saddam Hussein's regime planned terrorist attacks against the United States, President Vladimir Putin has said. The warnings were provided after September 11, 2001 and before the start of the Iraqi war, Putin said Friday, according to the Interfax news agency."

Hmmm.....

Hatewatch Briefing 2004-06-18

Welcome! This briefing will be looking hard at the dark places most mainstream media seem determined to look away from, to better understand our declared enemies on their own terms and without illusions. Our goal is to bring you some of the top jihadi rants, idiotarian seething, and old-school Jew-hatred from around the world, leaving you more informed, more aware, and pretty disgusted every month. This Winds of Change.NET HateWatch briefing is brought to you by Lewy14. (Email me at my handle "hatewatch" here at windsofchange.net). Entil'zha veni!

HIGHLIGHTED TOPICS

• Dehumanization watch: Selected readings.

• Censorship or incitement? We report, you… know the drill…

• Skinheads in Moscow: And root causes revisited.

• Iran: credible self declared enemy? Credibility has its downside.

• La Voz de Aztlan: Why is La Raza so preoccupied with the Jews?

• International ANSWER: Exhuming McCarthy?

• Schools out: And so is the jury regarding the campus “indafada”…

• Neo-Cobainism: A primer.

• The Passion, Reloaded: Ann Catherine Emmerich is back in the news.

• On a hopeful note: grounded in reality.

read the rest! »

Winds of Discovery: 2004-06-18

Welcome! This is the 2nd edition of "Winds of Discovery", a bi-monthly report by Glenn Halpern of HipperCritical that will take you on a wild ride across the spectrum of science and discovery.

Topics this week include: Alzheimer's effects not all memory; Human brains work like robots; Voles and the science of love; Fifty new embryonic stem cell lines; Double-click patent; The energy debate; Bioterror research - defense or offense?; Diabetes breathalyzer; Self-replicating robots; Discovering Atlantis; Wild 2 comet is strange; The youngest black hole; Water on Mars; Science and religion; New clues on climate change; Drunken worms; Safe fugu; Beetle love

If YOU have a link suggestion send it to discovery, here @windsofchange.net. Regular topics include:

• Biotech & Medical
• Public Policy
• Invention & Discovery
• Space
• The Environment
• The Animal Kingdom

read the rest! »

Egypt's Role In Gaza

Colt of Eurabian Times has a very good set of links and analysis covering Egypt's role and options re: the Gaza Strip and its future. His piece is thorough and realistic, which makes it doubly worthy.

It's critically important to understand the roles, pressures, and options that the countries involved are really dealing with, rather than any fantasies about how we wish things might be.

The Discussion We Need to Start Having

Today's Wall Street Journal online has an important opinion piece written by Michael Chertoff, a judge with the 3rd Circuit US Court of Appeals. In it, he notes some of the critical policy and legal issues we as a nation need to debate and decide if we are to effectively defend against terrorism in a coherent way while balancing security against civil liberties.

The positions we take on these matters will have a huge impact on our lives and on the tenor of US democracy over the next months, years and probably decades. Most of us here at Winds of Change aren't lawyers, but we (especially those who are US citizens) have a responsibility to think these matters through carefully and make the difficult tradeoffs that must go into an effective response to the challenges of terrorism abroad in our time.

So ... here are the judge's comments. Your thoughts and responses solicited.

read the rest! »

Sudan: Darfur Update & Genocide Watch

Nicholas Kristof continues in Sudan.

I suggest that President Bush invite to the White House a real expert, Magboula Muhammad Khattar, a 24-year-old widow huddled under a tree here. The world has acquiesced shamefully in the Darfur genocide, perhaps because 320,000 deaths this year (a best-case projection from the U.S. Agency for International Development) seems like one more boring statistic. So listen to Ms. Khattar's story, multiply it by hundreds of thousands, and let's see if we still want to look the other way.

A full update from a number of articles follows:

read the rest! »

The Boeing Military Contractor Scandal

Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.

Darleen A. Druyun, a former top Air Force official who later joined, and was fired, from Boeing, is meeting with federal prosecutors to tell them all she knows about possible misconduct at the company, the nation's second-largest military contractor behind Lockheed.

Once one of the toughest negotiators at the Pentagon, with a reputation so fierce she was nicknamed the Dragon Lady, Ms. Druyun had held sway for years over billions of dollars in contracts for fighter jets, cargo planes and other hardware. But after leaving the Air Force in 2002 to work at Boeing, she was found to have illegally negotiated her Boeing job contract while still working at the Pentagon.

Now, disgraced and facing up to five years in jail, Ms. Druyun is cooperating with a number of investigations in order to win a reduced sentence. Already, one former Boeing executive, Michael M. Sears, once its chief financial officer, has been identified in court as having conspired with Ms. Druyun in her job negotiations, and many are wondering how much further Ms. Druyun's finger pointing will go.

read the rest! »

The Original Abu Ghraib Video

In a phone conversation with Dan Darling the other day, he mentioned an AEI event where they showed some torture videos from Abu Ghraib* - under Saddam's rule. Reporters were invited, of course.

* = MP4 file, may not play in Windows Media. If so, Apple's QuickTime will work. Warning, these videos are very unpleasant, definitely R-Rated and beyond. View at your own discretion.

LGF (who has now implemented registration for commenters, a development I'm watching with interest) notes that very few reporters showed up. But then, this is not unexpected. One is entitled to ask why some stories seem to receive endless front-page treatment, while others are being thrown down the memory-hole. Accuracy in Media does:

read the rest! »

The 9/11 Commission Report: A Flawed Document

I've read over their complete statement on the subject and am in the process of preparing a full point-by-point critique of it, but just based on what I've read so far, this reads like a media report rather than a serious piece of analysis.

There are so many omissions of rather important points of data, misleading statements, or claims that are demonstrably false, notably the claim that the al-Qaeda role in the Riyadh National Guard and Khobar Towers bombings was ambiguous or that there is uncertainty as to whether or not al-Qaeda was involved in either the 1993 World Trade Center bombing or the proto-9/11 Oplan Bojinka. The frequent references to bin Laden's public statements on subjects like the Riyadh bombing as providing insight into whether or not he actually ordered the attack is not exactly a ringing endorsement of the commission. The claim that the public signatories of bin Laden's declaration of war did more for show than anything else is likewise more than enough to make anyone who has carried out a serious study of the Egyptian or Pakistani Islamists grit their teeth.

read the rest! »

Special Analysis: Iran's Nukes

Winds of War audition candidate Bill Roggio has done a special analysis piece on Iran's nuclear program, and where it sits right now. This is a good basic primer.

UPDATE: Caerdroia adds more details and links. His conclusion is stark: "I believe that it is time for the US to strike at Iran's nuclear capability. I do not believe we can afford to wait for the elections; I do not believe that time is on our side; I do not believe that we can wait for Israel to act." Read why not.

Iceman's Iraq Report: June 17/04

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from Iraq that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Auditions are in progress, and today's Iraq Report is brought to you by Larry Ice.

TOP TOPICS

• The 2 week warning has sounded, with only 14 days until the handover the bad guys are mounting an all out push with attacks on infrastructure, individuals, and military targets. It can be argued that the latter attack is a smokescreen for the former attacks, as James Carville is so fond of saying, "It's the Economy Stupid!"

• Iraqis have identified their assailants as out-of-towners, and Al-Qaeda, in their never ending quest to become martyrs and get laid, has been kind enough to take credit.

• Meanwhile, back at Galactic Headquarters, it is easy to imagine the military versus political arguments are flying behind closed doors regarding the handover of the great evil one himself - Saddam Hussein. Of course, his defense lawyers, like all great lawyers who can simultaneously defend their client and shamelessly promote themselves, are insisting the the interim government is unfit to try him.

Other Topics Today Include: U.N. Explains WMD Mystery; Iraqis Anger Proved in Poll; $500 million for Army Reconstruction Fund; Mehdi Army retreats; Al Sadr changes tactics; A fine Zarqawi wine; Iranian Army on the Move; Concerns about Future Iranian Influence; and Contractor Immunity.

read the rest! »

Post-9/11, the Internet and Privacy - should we "get over it"?

Back in 1999, Scott McNealy (CEO of Sun Microsystems) stirred up a controversy when he said consumer privacy issues are a 'red herring'. "You have zero privacy anyway ... get over it."

Sun's JAVA software and their UNIX-based, networked servers have been major factors in the spread of the Internet, the World Wide Web and many of the things we do online together. So when McNealy warned that we have "zero privacy" already, it was a red flag for many people who visit web sites, buy things online or post to bulletin boards (and now blogs) anonymously.

The issue hasn't gone away.

read the rest! »

AfricaPundit's Regional Briefing: 2004-06-16

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Africa, courtesy of AfricaPundit.

TOP TOPICS

• Oil exports from Libya to the U.S. begin...

• But a plot to assassinate the Saudi Crown Prince, allegedly hatched by Qaddafi, should cool the burgeoning US-Libya relationship...or should cause some people to have second thoughts. Winds of Change has more.

• A failed coup attempt in the Congo raised new questions about the stability of Joseph Kabila's government. Mostly Africa has more

Other Topics Today Include: Sudan; Violence and vaccines in Nigeria; African solidarity watch; African trade and development; Zimbabwe's $200M arms deal; French quagmire in Ivory Coast; Chad's dictator in the making; and more.

read the rest! »

Israel & Gaza: What Now?

Colt of the Eurabian Times has a lengthy analysis of Israel, Egypt, and Gaza. He looks at where we may go from here, and what Gaza might be like following an Israeli withdrawl. He's a pessimist, and offers solid reasons and research to back that belief up. (Hat Tip: twisterella)

For an alternative scenario and future that is every bit as detailed but more positive for the Israelis, I refer you all to Steven Den Beste's magisterial presentation of one possible Israeli strategy re: Gaza, the West Bank, and The Security Fence: Up Against The Wall.

Which of these scenarios and analyses is right? The truth is, nobody can be sure - and any action taken now is essentially a high stakes bet. Which is the better bet? Or are both off base? Read and decide for yourself.

Kruk's Quote of the Day

Today's quote of the day comes from former Philadelphia Phillies ballplayer John Kruk, who's every bit as funny as you'd imagine him to be. From his recent ESPN column, as he discusses shows like "the Bachelor":

"Now, these girls seem nice enough. They seem like they come from good families. But they all must have some J-Lo in them -- meaning, how can you be hot and have everything going for you, but no guy wants to stick around with you for very long."

Kruk's caustic comments on baseball's amateur draft, deserved slamming of deceptive reality show "Superstar U.S.A.", and further comments re: J-Lo are all worth a read. Another gem courtesy of The Batters Box blog and its comments section.

Special Analysis: Here a little, there a little ...

Still hard at work here at AEI (memorizing the complete works of Leo Strauss is tough, but then the benefits of becoming a second-degree neocon far exceed the risks ;), but I thought I'd drop by long enough to point out a few items of note.

• Zarqawi has become the new al-Qaeda operations chief according to Dr. Rohan Gunaratna among others. This is the second time that these sentiments have floated to the fore in recent weeks and it certainly makes sense to me that Zarqawi and his buddy Mustafa Nasar are filling the void in al-Qaeda left behind by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. I would add, however, that the threat doesn't just end with Zarqawi but rather ultimately leads to his boss Saif al-Adel, who is currently holed up in Iran with the rest of the surviving al-Qaeda leadership.

Other Items Include: The role & importance of tribes in Iraq; Norway gives up against Mullah Krekar; Transfer of sovereignty in Iraq; Iran massing on Iraqi border; What's up in Saudi Arabia; Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's relatives arrested. Oh, and Dan's birthday...

read the rest! »

Tom Cheek's Blue-Collar Blues

What does it mean to be "the voice of the Blue Jays"? Well, consider this:

Cal Ripken's famous streak of 2,632 consecutive games - 16 years without taking the day off - is the longest of any player in baseball history. Tom Cheek was the Blue Jays' radio announcer when the franchise was inaugurated in 1977. From that day forward, Cheek called 4,306 consecutive regular season games, plus 41 more in the postseason. That's over 30 years - and Tom has been a class act every step of the way.

That remarkable blue-collar record was snapped last Thursday because of the unexpected death of his father Tom Cheek Sr., at the age of 86. Now comes darker news still for the Jays' long-time announcer:

read the rest! »

The Law And The President

Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.

The larger issue of current public debate is far greater than torture.

In past wars, presidents have claimed special powers. During the Civil War, President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and allowed accused traitors to be tried before military courts. Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an order authorizing the military to intern thousands of Japanese Americans.

In those instances, however, the president acted with the approval of Congress. Rarely, if ever, have the president's advisors claimed an authority to ignore the law as written by Congress.

The legal memo, written last year for the Defense Department and disclosed this week, did not speak for President Bush, but it claimed an extraordinary power for him. It said that as the commander in chief, he had a "constitutionally superior position" to Congress and an "inherent authority" to prosecute the war, even if it meant defying the will of Congress.

read the rest! »

Site R

Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.

Site R arises again as a topic. Drudge says this, as of a "flash" a short time ago:

WHITE HOUSE ANGER AFTER TIME MAGAZINE DETAILS LOCATION OF CHENEY'S 'SECRET BUNKER' Tue Jun 15 2004 11:11:34 ET

Top White House officials expressed anger after TIME magazine detailed the location of Vice President Dick Cheney's secret bunker, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

In new editions, TIME revealed "Site R," an underground bunker on the Maryland-Pennsylvania border where the Vice President spent much of his time in 2001.

read the rest! »

Christianity Changing China?

China's rise onto the global stage is one of the geopolitical issues that will define the 21st century, and the kind of country China becomes matters a great lot. The current regime is promoting attitudes that could easily morph into something akin to fascism (xenophobic nationalism + dictatorial government + 'thwarted destiny'). In contrast, religions like Falun Dafa and Christianity offer something else:

"Moreover, embracing Christianity brings Chinese seekers into a mindset that replaces traditional Chinese nationalism and xenophobia with the community of believers. Under Communism the central relationship is between the individual and his master, the state. Replacing this threatened, isolated understanding of the self is one of the crucial tasks in renewing a society that has suffered through totalitarianism. Even non-Christians should welcome the spread of Christianity in China as an extraordinarily good sign for that country's renewal. (Aikman also argues that Christianization has the potential to transform China from an antagonist of the United States into an ally.)"

This is a very quiet story - and a very big one. Eve Tushnet has the details.

Dan Darling has relayed the phrase "The Constantinization of China" to describe the strong upsurge in Christian belief there, and what it may portend. This is a story worth keeping a long-term eye on.

Nathan's Central Asia "-Stans" Summary: 2004-06-15

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Central Asia & the Caucasus, courtesy of Nathan Hamm of The Argus. Nathan served in Peace Corps Uzbekistan from 2000-2001.

TOP TOPIC

• In its quest to reassert sovereignty over all of its territory, Georgia has been putting pressure on South Ossetia, a province that seeks to become part of Russia. In recent developments, Georgia alleges that Russia has transported weaponry into Ossetia to dissuade Georgia from aggression. Russia, of course, denies the charges and the OSCE backs them up.

Other Topics Include: More on South Ossetia; Russian and Chinese Great Game Moves; Kazakstan and Uzbekistan Dabbling in the Space Game; Kazakstan's Slick Opposition Party; Continuing Erratic Behavior in Turkmenistan; A US Free Trade Deal in Central Asia; Armenia Fights For Its Rights (to Nuclear Power); Violence Flares in Afghanistan; Vikings Returning to Central Asia; and much more.

read the rest! »

Ted Rall, In One

Geitner Simmons has the cartoon that perfectly nails the loathsome cartoonist Ted Rall.

Baha'i Blogs?

Hi, all. I've just finished adding the beginning of a Religious Blogs section to our blogroll. I have Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and Buddhist sources... but I was wondering if there are any good blogs out there that discuss the Baha'i faith?

Recommendations for Baha'i blogs or other worthy religious blogs should go in the Comments section. Just type them as:
"Blog Name":http://blogurl.com

Bug-Out Kits and Other Emergency Prep

(updated June 16, 2004)

I know at least 5 bloggers that have full emergency kits ready to go in case of earthquake, flood, fire, major terrorist attack, etc. Not to mention beefed-up first aid kits for general use. They're great ideas, and they can and do save lives - but what should go in them?

You have questions, Winds of Change.NET has answers - plus some real people you can talk to for clarifying information, if you wish:

read the rest! »

Dave Schuler's Blog: The Glittering Eye

Frequent (and frequently intelligent) Winds of Change.NET commenter Dave Schuler has a blog: The Glittering Eye. Terribly sorry that I hadn't noticed until now.

I really liked the piece about journalism, accuracy, and the standards they deserve to be held to (including reporter Seymour Hersh, who is not above them). Not to mention his recent shot across the bow in "Memento Meets the New York Times." But there's other good stuff, too.

Bill Roggio's Winds of War: June 14/06

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Auditions are on, and today's Winds of War briefing is brought to you by blogger Bill Roggio of the fourth rail.

In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today.

TOP TOPICS

• Pakistan continues to press the hunt for al Qaeda in the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, with former Taliban leader Nek Mohammed as a main target. Pakistani President Musharraf is under domestic pressure to halt operations and is also working to purge the military of radical Islamists and reform their intelligence services. Spring cleaning in Pakistan is rough work.

• Iran insists the world must accept it as a nuclear power and will not tolerate further efforts to limit its capabilities (here's the long-term link). Iran's quest for nuclear weapons, sponsorship of terrorism and supporting attacks on American soldiers in Iraq makes it difficult to ignore for much longer.

• A Libyan intelligence agent and American Abdurahman Alamoudi are implicated in a plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. Early reports are Libya contracted al Qaeda to do the job, and the plot was uncovered by new Saudi finance laws designed to track the movement of money in country. See Dan Darling's Special Briefing - and the real question is, whom do you root for?

• Several European nations begin a serious crackdown on terrorism after the 3/11 Madrid attacks. A potential chemical attack on the United States as well at plots against NATO headquarters and other European targets are discovered. Seventeen al Qaeda suspects are arrested.

Other Topics Today Include: Padilla's duds, the Patriot Act fails a test, Britain's asylum policies insane; Something smells bad in Cologne, Afghan offensive, Al Asqa and Fatah on the ropes?, Bombs for kids, Everything's fine in Saudi Arabia, A general is targeted, Democracy in the Middle East, Fireworks for the Philippines, Olympians are worried, Israeli settlers prepare to leave Gaza, and 2003 Terrorism report is half baked.

read the rest! »

Joel's Iraq Report: June 14/04

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from Iraq that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Auditions are in progress, and today's Iraq Report is brought to you by Joel Gaines of No Pundit Intended.

Our "Winds of War" coverage of the global War on Terror is also up for perusal.

TOP TOPICS

• Twenty Al Samoud 2 missile engines were found in a Jordanian scrap yard. Along with the missile parts, other equipment which could be used to manufacture weapons of mass destruction was found - including some equipment, which appeared to be new and had not been tagged by UN weapon's inspectors for monitoring.

• Al-Sadr "militia" thugs broke the Najaf ceasefire on Thursday by overrunning a police station. The "militia" killed five Iraqis and wounded 29 more, while releasing prisoners, overseeing looting in the neighborhood, and burning eight new police vehicles. Questions are being raised about whether or not Al-Sadr is still in control of his "militia".

• Foreign Ministry Director, Bassam Qubba, was assassinated in a drive by shooting on Saturday. The attack occurred in the al- Adhamiya district of Baghdad. His driver was wounded in the attack.

Other Topics Today Include: Troop movements; Analysis of the American Soldier; Wounded Army Chaplain Update; Marines honor iraqi soldiers; BlackFive Presents Colonel Morganthaler; Iraqi citizens foil refinery attack; Al-Sadr supports new government; US Super-Embassy Baghdad; Dutch troops extending their commitment; South Korea to send more troops; US Led Democracy from viewpoint of Iraqi Blogger

read the rest! »

Special Analysis: Alamoudi and the Libyan plot

There's recently been some juicy new details concerning Abdurahman Alamoudi, an American Muslim leader now in US custody over involvement in financing terrorist groups. Alamoudi was a high-profile Washington activist and Muslim leader who held to a number of radical views including, just going off of his own words, supporting Hamas and Hezbollah. While the Alamoudi case is particularly interesting for a number of reasons, most notably his ties to Grover Norquist, it also provides a case illustration of just how flexible things are these days in the world of international terrorism.

read the rest! »

Cassini Mission Nears Saturn

Reader Mike Daley notes that NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission, launched back in 1997, is now less than 2 weeks away from Saturn. It will spend the next 4 years studying Saturn's rings and moons.

Cassini-Huygens is an international collaboration between 3 space agencies and 17 nations. Here's NASA JPL's backgroud site for the mission, a CNN interactive story that describes why the mission was/is controversial, and some technical details (and a further update) from spaceblogger Jay Manifold.

So why is this important? for one thing, Saturn's rings have puzzled scientists for a long time. In addition, we know that Saturn's moon Titan has its own atmosphere. Some even believe that life could be possible there, and the Huygens probe will be landing on Titan to tell us more. Stay tuned.

Cathy's Story: Rabbi Brody's Spiritual Weight Loss Program

Some of you may be familiar with The Lazar Beam blog, courtesy of Ashdod's Harley-riding Rabbi Lazar Brody. A little while ago, he got this letter:

"Dear Rabbi Lazer,
I don't know if there's a 17 yr. old more miserable than me. I'm 5'4", but I weigh 264 lbs. At school, nobody knows my real name. Boys walk by me and "moo", and the girls call me chubzie or big bertha. Life is a humiliation. I've tried every diet there is, but lack will power. You should see my diary - it's written poetically, and every page is tear-stained.
"Each pound of my fleshy frame
Suffers immeasurably in untold shame".
I should mention that I'm an honors student, but straight A's don't give me the will to live. Can you help me, Rabbi Lazer? I'd be eternally grateful. Signed with an aching heart, Cathy from the USA"

The Rabbi wrote back:

"Dear Cathy, Your soul is unbelievably delicate and pure. Your inner beauty shines bright from two short paragraphs. Your future is so promising - you'd make a superb writer or journalist. Don't tell me that you lack willpower - straight A's don't come without hard work. By the way, your social suffering has given you a maturity and an outlook on life way beyond your tender years. I think you're a magnificent person. With the good Lord's help, in a few short weeks, you'll be as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside..."

So far, nothing unexpected. But Rabbi Brody followed that opener with nothing less than a simple spiritual weight loss program. Now, 11 weeks later, Cathy's parents have sent their report. Did the Rabbi's program of steady weight loss and spiritual gain work? Holy Moly, did it ever!

South Beach diet? Atkins? Nothin wrong with them, but they only fix your body. Looks like Rabbi Brody just fixed a lot more than that.

Ala'uddin al-Bukhari al-Attar would have understood.

UPDATE: Rabbi Brody answers some questions about the program and its underlying philosophy.

Legacies

"You've lost a cornersrtone of good," said James Brown, "And that always hurts real bad." Actually, we lost a couple of people whose good works live on all around the world.

LaughingWolf leads with some thoughts on legacies as his "Food for Thought Saturday" post... and then we have a whole bunch of positive legacies for you in the worlds of politics, music, science, and beyond! What really gratifies me is how many of them we've run as features during the week, and not just on Good News Saturdays:

read the rest! »

Sufi Wisdom: Hodja's Bargain

(Part of our weekly Sufi Wisdom series. T.L. James is moving, so I'm taking this on again for the next few weeks.)

Today's wisdom comes from the popular folk tales of Hodja, a.k.a. Nasreddin Hodja, a.k.a Mullah Nasruddin, via Fadiman & Frager's Essential Sufism. Like all Sufi stories, it has multiple layers of meaning, one of which makes it a useful story to tell in business:

Hodja wanted to learn how to play the lute. So he approached a music teacher and asked him, "How much do you charge for private lute lessons?"

"Three silver pieces for the first month; then after that, one silver piece a month."

"Oh, that's very fair," exclaimed Hodja, "I'll start with the second month."

The thing about telling this story in a business context is that the people it's aimed at just laugh, and don't notice the barb. But this story has other meanings and analogies as well. Care to share your thoughts in the Comments section?

Love: Frankenstein's Grandmother

Let's talk about love. Not the fairy-tale kind or empty platitudes, but real love, and real stories. Got a story of your own, or an URL worth visitng? This topic is now a regular "Good News Saturdays" feature, so use the comments or drop us a line via "lovestories", here @ windsofchange.net. Lots of room for Guest Blogs.

This week's feature is a letter from Anglo-Irish feminist and writer Mary Wollstonecraft, to the philosopher and writer William Godwin. It was written while she was recovering from her previous passion for Gilbert Imlay, who fathered a daughter with her and then abandoned her. Mary had tried to drown herself in the Thames afterward, but as fate would have it she survived. Looks like her next beau was made of better stuff:

October 4, 1796

I would have liked to have dined with you today, after finishing your essay - that my eyes, and lips, I do not exactly mean my voice, might have told you that they had raised you in my esteem. What a cold word! I would say love, if you will promise not to dispute about its propriety, when I want to express an increasing affection, founded on a more intimate acquaintance with your heart and understanding.

I shall cork up all my kindness - yet the fine volatile essence may fly off in my walk - you know not how much tenderness for you may escape in a voluptuous sigh, should the air, as is often the case, give a pleasurable movement to the sensations, that have been clustering round my heart, as I read this morning - reminding myself, every now and then, that the writer loved me....

There's more, of course. As for Mary's connection to Frankenstein, you're just going to have to follow the link...

Read The Rest »»

The Genius Hits The Road

Ray Charles died at 11:35 a.m. (2:35 p.m. ET) yesterday, in Beverly Hills, California. The cause was of complications from liver disease. To quote James Brown:

"We lost a genius and we lost my brother... You've lost a cornerstone of good, and that hurts real bad."

"Music is nothing separate from me," Ray Charles used to say, "It is me... You'd have to remove the music surgically."

Or this way. But even Ray's death can't remove his music from us. Blocritics founder Eric Olsen has some good thoughts over at MSNBC.com, and of course there's a great roundup at Blogcritics.org. All I have to say about Georgia's incomparable Soul Man is this:

In the kingdom of the sighted, the blind man was king.

PRC News: 2004-06-11

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. Today's Regional Briefing focuses on China, courtesy of Adam Morris in Tianjin.

• In the lead-up to June 4th (Tienanmen Square Massacre Anniversary), there was the usual increase in security and various dissidents were detained. The most perplexing and unusual development, however, is the detainment and possible arrest SARS whistleblower and apology-demanding Jiang Yanyong. "The authorities were gradually building up to their final retaliation against him, possibly in the form of connecting him with overseas hostile organisations and charging him with subversion." Sounds like the usual recipe for an all-out blitz.

Top Stories this Month:

Tiananmen Square's Fifteenth Anniversary passes without protest but not without comment, Blockage of Wikipedia, publicly-available information documenting job discrimination, more promised reform, and Chief Executive of Hong Kong's political plight.

read the rest! »

Eyes on Korea: 2004-06-11

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. Today's Regional Briefing focuses on Korea, courtesy of Robert Koehler in Seoul.

TOP TOPICS

• Budaechigae has been managing to post some outstanding material concerning the changes that the U.S. military is currently undergoing on the Korean Peninsula. This is his military affairs archive -- start reading. This post on the Global Defense Posture Review Process is a must read.

• I discuss anti-Americanism in South Korea and its influence on the changing Korea-U.S. alliance.

On Tap This Month

South Korea-U.S. alliance in turmoil, China thows down the gauntlet, Pyongyang peddling uranium, John Kerry on North Korea, intra-Korean military talks, tiger traps, dumplings you wouldn't want to eat and much, much more!

read the rest! »

EU, USA and the Economic Gap

A new report by a Swedish thinktank shows that the economic gap between the US and the European Union countries (not counting the new entrants, who are poorer) is much larger than Europeans would like to admit:

France, Italy, Great Britain and Germany have lower GDP per capita than all but four of the states in the United States. In fact, GDP per capita is lower in the vast majority of the EU-countries (EU 15) than in most of the individual American states. This puts Europeans at a level of prosperity on par with states such as Arkansas, Mississippi and West Virginia. Only the miniscule country of Luxembourg has higher per capita GDP than the average state in the USA.

And that is because the GDP includes cash flows into Luxembourg's banks. Moreover, there are some arresting comments about the poor in the US:

read the rest! »

United States Marines! If You Can Hear Us, Yell Or Tap!

A reminder.

Karnes hadn't been near the World Trade Center. He wasn't even in New York when the planes hit the towers. He was in Wilton, Conn., working in his job as a senior accountant with Deloitte Touche. When the second plane hit, Karnes told his colleagues, "We're at war." He had spent 23 years in the Marine Corps infantry and felt it was his duty to help. Karnes told his boss he might not see him for a while. Then he went to get a haircut.

The small barbershop in Stamford, Conn., near his home, was deserted. "Give me a good Marine Corps squared-off haircut," he told the barber. When it was done, he drove home to put on his uniform. Karnes always kept two sets of Marine fatigues hanging in his closet, pressed and starched. "It's kind of weird to do, but it comes in handy," he says. Next Karnes stopped by the storage facility where he kept his equipment—he'd need rappelling gear, ropes, canteens of water, his Marine Corps K-Bar knife, and a flashlight, at least. Then he drove to church. He asked the pastor and parishioners to say a prayer that God would lead him to survivors. A devout Christian, Karnes often turned to God when faced with decisions.

read the rest! »

Hail The Revolutionary People's Movie Reviews!

Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala. For various reasons, Joe has okayed direct referrals to Amydala posts as an option - and specifically requested this one for some reason.

Yes, it's the Maoist International Movement's movie review page! For real! How could you live without this wise guidance, comrades? You can't, you paper tiger counter-revolutionary bourgouis!

The ever-fine Dr. Frank pointed us to this (and the similar Maoist music review page), and has his own excellent and funny comments.

I have my own spin; being me, I'm particularly interested in the proper Maoist view of science fiction. Read their hilarious reviews, of Star Trek, of The Matrix, of Charlie's Angels, and more, with my, um, commentary, and links.

You'll find these excerpts as good as a re-education camp, comrade! Go! The revolutionary peace-loving peoples of the world demand it!

Demosophia's Iraq Report: June 10/04

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from Iraq that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Auditions are in progress, and today's Iraq Report is brought to you by Scott Talkington of Demosophia.

Our "Winds of War" coverage of the global War on Terror is also up for perusal.

TOP TOPICS

• It almost goes without saying that the biggest news is the ahead-of-schedule dissolution of the Governing Council and the creation of the Iraqi Interim Government, with the appointment of a PM: Iyad Allawi, and President: Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer. The Kurds, however, feel a little left out. (See item under Iraqi Politics subheading.) Also take a look at The Khalifa and JFK from Omar, for a "buck-up" local perspective, and this WSJ article by Paul Wolfowitz for administration perspective on where and how it will be going.

• Major militias agree to join Civil Defense Force raising the number of anti-"insurgent" troops by 100,000. So far the militias being folded into the pack don't include Muqtada al-Sadr's gang. The Christian Science Monitor is one of the few mainstream media sources presenting a balanced account of events in Iraq, and it has a nice story on the militia agreement. Their take is that Allawi is proving his worth, but there's an outstanding question about the allegiances of these co-opted fighters.

• In a major victory for the White House the UN unanimously approved a US-British resolution formally ending the occupation and authorizing a US-led peacekeeping force. The mandate is set to expire in January 2006, but unless the Iraqis ask the US-led coalition force to leave early the US only pledges to "coordinate" with the Iraqi government, which will not have the veto over military actions that France and Germany prefer. However, because ultimate authority for the presence of outside troops (if not their actions) rests with the Iraqis the measure unambiguously constitutes full sovereignty for Iraq.

Other Topics Today Include: Coalition rescue of Italian and Polish hostages; Car bombings in northern Iraq; Oil sector reclaimed from UN babysitter; Thoughts from Iraq the Model on leadership; Kurds make a tactical threat of independence; Lessons Learned Report from Operation Iraqi Freedom released; John Keegan publishes new book on Iraq War; Hugh Hewitt writes about the milblogs; and a concise good news roundup from Chrenkoff.

read the rest! »

Conjecturer's Winds of War: June 10/04

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Auditions are in progress, and today's Winds of War briefing is brought to you by blogger Josh Foust of The Conjecturer.

In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report up today.

TOP TOPICS

• The biggest story, of course, is that the U.N. has officially adopted the U.S. Resolution transferring sovereignty in Iraq from the CPA to an interim government. It was passed unanimously, though many Iraqis doubt how representative the new government will be. Despite those doubts, the general tone has been positive.

• The U.S. will drastically reduce its forces on the Korean penninsula. By December 2005, approximately 12,500 soldiers will be sent back to the United States. ROK is waffling a bit, though, which may indicate that the security situation on the penninsula is about to undergo some rapid changes. Lately, the South Korean government has had to balance an apathetic populace with a U.S. seemingly eager to disengage. Neither scenario contributes much to South Korean security as long as DPRK remains nuclear. JK UPDATE: Intel Dump sees this move as part of a much larger shift.

• One of the Madrid bombers was arrested on Tuesday. "Mohammed the Egpytian"(Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed) was picked up in a coordinated sweep across Italy, France, Belgium, and Spain. According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, "Mohammed"is one of the masterminds of the March 11 bombings.

Other Topics Today Include: Increased torture in Iran; Iran-Russia nuclear collaboration continues; the comeback of TIA; Doctors murdered in Afghanistan; Malaysia excluded from regional defense pact; Turkey & Israel; Recall for Venezuela's Chavez?; and ancient Albanian curses.

read the rest! »

Watching The Bear, And Other Stories

In March, 2001, the CIA and Princeton University sponsored an academic conference to examine the historical record of CIA's history of success and failure at analyzing the Soviet Union.

The CIA released over 80,000 pages of newly declassified materials relating to its role in providing intelligence to US policymakers on the Soviet Union. Several well-known scholars were asked to review these and earlier released materials and to critique CIA's analysis of Soviet political, economic, military, and science and technology developments. This volume is the result of that effort.

Read The Rest Scale: I'll let you know when I'm done; meanwhile, read as interested.

Also interesting is this review of Action This Day, Edited by Michael Smith and Ralph Erskine:

read the rest! »

Special Analysis: European anti-terrorism sweep

Over the last several days, a multi-national initiative by several European nations has succeeded in disrupting al-Qaeda's infrastructure in no less than 3 separate nations. While most of this is directly related to the renewed European anti-terrorism drive following the tragic events of 3/11, it has also succeeded in uncovering what appears to be, at least on the surface, a definite threat to the United States.

read the rest! »

The Soviet Terrors: Truth At Last

Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.

For example, newly uncovered high-level political documents from 1931 to 1934 finally destroy the argument, canvassed even quite recently, that there were no disputes in the post-1930 Politburo—that Stalin ruled unopposed. This is crucial to both historical and biographical insight: it confirms that Stalin's fight to retain power was not only a struggle against the people but also, and concomitantly, a struggle against any signs of independence, or even wavering, within his own apparat.

[...]

Sebag Montefiore's treatment of the greatest horrors of Stalin's rule—the terror-famine of 1933, the "Great Terror" of 1937-1938, and the postwar terrors, with their climax in the antiSemitic "Doctors' Plot"—likewise makes able use of newly available sources.

read the rest! »

Diary of an Anti-Chomskyite

"This blog is dedicated to the permanent and total discrediting of the work of Noam Chomsky and his fellow travelers. VIVA LA COUNTERREVOLUTION!"

Go get him, Benjamin - and here's some more ammo for you.

Military Blindness in the Media - And Beyond

Writing in Reason Online, Chris Bray pens an excellent article full of telling bon mots. From the journalist who is awed by the fact that Army Rangers carry machine guns and grenade launchers, to the Wall St. Journal colleague who asked if the Marines fought in WW2, Bray's article is worthy for its anecdotes alone. But he also has a serious point, and it's one worth paying close attention to:

"Schneider’s piece is symptomatic of news media that often don’t have the foggiest idea how the military works, and don't really appear to care.... "To many young reporters these days," said longtime journalist James Perry in a 1997 lecture at Washington College, "wars and soldiers and serving your country are vague concepts....

Reporters who cover the military without understanding it don’t just muff a few basic facts about what kind of soldier carries what kind of gun, or which service does what. They also fail to apply the right skepticism in the right places, or even the right credulity in the right places, and so end up swinging in a wild arc between breathless adulation and naive condemnation. They surrender many of the necessary tools for questioning the authority of the armed forces, and render nearly useless the check and the balance of the Fourth Estate on a major power of government. They create confidence where there should be wariness, and fear where there should be strength.

They get it wrong, and it counts."

They do, often - and it does. Dale Franks of QandO has the links. It seems like a simple problem that could be cured by some basic diligence, research; and professional standards that demand real subject expertise to the same level as, say, sports journalism. But that doesn't seem to be happening, which leads one to wonder why not.

So it's doubly interesting to note that this problem may extend beyond the media. Former Clinton NSC staffer Heather Hurlburt leveled an eerily similar criticism at the Democratic Party back in November of 2001:

read the rest! »

Auditions for Winds of War!

A little while ago, we put out a recruiting call for our famous Winds of War briefings. The response has been great, and now it's time to choose. But first, everyone will get a fair shot - then it's up to them to earn their place. "The Brain Trust" (Aussie Command Post veteran Alan E. Brain and his British pal Max) led with Monday's Winds of War, and others will follow.

Here's the schedule, which includes our regular Monday Iraq briefings from Maj. Andrew Olmsted, other Iraq Report slots, and our global Winds of War series. As the contestants post their work, I'll update this with links:

read the rest! »

The Governator Speaks

Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.

This is a rather interesting interview with the man, done by Daniel Weintraub, certainly one of the most expert writers on the politics of Sacremento. Some excerpts that particularly interested me:

read the rest! »

Profit Magazine Says: Get a Blog!

My colleague Tracy was skimming through Profit Magazine's PROFIT 100 the other day, when she discovered an article entitled "Management Tips: The 9 best tips and tactics of the PROFIT 100 CEOs."

Tip #9: "Get a Blog." Read why.

The Sea People

Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.

We report, you decide.

Read The Rest Scale: depends upon your interest, but this seems a quite credible speculation.

Quantum Leap

Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.

It's a small net, ma. Still...

The first computer network in which communication is secured with quantum cryptography is up and running in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Read The Rest Scale: 3 out of 5 if interested.

Good News About Egypt

Our Cairo correspondent Tarek Heggy has some good news. If you've been reading his columns here, you'll know he's one of the good guys and that he's working hard to create reform in his part of the world. If you've been reading sources like LGF or MEMRI, who show us the blatant cultivation of hate that is often featured in Egypt's press, you'll especially understand why this report is good news. He writes:

"The first issue of “Al-Masry Al-Youm” is in every journal kiosk in Egypt today (Monday 7th June, 2004). This is the first independent daily political paper to be permitted in Egypt since 1954. This new paper does not have any link with governmental bodies or political parties.

There's more.

read the rest! »

USS Jimmy Carter: A Quiet Christening

Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.

The headline on the press release simply says "Navy To Christen Submarine," which is not terribly exciting. The rest has some less usual aspects:

read the rest! »

Go, Spaceship One, Go!

(Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.)

UPDATE: 1st FLIGHT SUCCESSFUL!

Winds of Change.NET has covered this before, with pictures yet. Burt Rutan is ready.

A team funded by billionaire Paul Allen will attempt to launch the first nongovernmental manned flight into space June 21, the group said Wednesday. They hope to send SpaceShipOne, created by aviation designer Burt Rutan, to an altitude of 62 miles on a suborbital flight over the Mojave Desert.

The rocket plane reached an altitude of about 40 miles during a test flight May 13.

[...]

If the attempt is successful, the SpaceShipOne team will compete for the Ansari X Prize, a competition in which $10 million goes to the first reusable rocket able to carry three people into space on a suborbital flight, return them safely to Earth and repeat the feat within two weeks with the same vehicle.

read the rest! »

The WSJ Reports On The President's Possible Assertion Of A Right To Torture

(Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.)

WSJ is the Wall Street Journal, of course, and here is the full article. (Via Ogged.)

I'm going to highlight by quoting a number of the most salient 'graphs, and then present the whole article below the fold.

"Bush administration lawyers contended last year that the president wasn't bound by laws prohibiting torture and that government agents who might torture prisoners at his direction couldn't be prosecuted by the Justice Department.

The advice was part of a classified report on interrogation methods prepared for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after commanders at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, complained in late 2002 that with conventional methods they weren't getting enough information from prisoners.

The report outlined U.S. laws and international treaties forbidding torture, and why those restrictions might be overcome by national-security considerations or legal technicalities. In a March 6, 2003, draft of the report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, passages were deleted as was an attachment listing specific interrogation techniques and whether Mr. Rumsfeld himself or other officials must grant permission before they could be used. The complete draft document was classified "secret" by Mr. Rumsfeld and scheduled for declassification in 2013.

read the rest! »

Dosvedanya, Ronald Reagan

(Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.)

There are two groups; those who welcomed his part in their liberation from Communist rule, and those who resent his part in contributing to the fall of their great empire.

Andrei Zorin was practicing his English that memorable day back in 1983, listening to the forbidden BBC World Service on the shortwave radio when President Ronald Reagan made his declaration that the Soviet Union was an "evil empire" that must be defeated.

Zorin, a dissident-minded literary scholar, was so stunned that he risked speaking openly on the telephone to his friends to tell them about Reagan's forceful words. "I jumped out of my chair and started calling," he recalled Sunday. "Of course, to us it was no surprise that the Soviet Union was such an empire, but the idea that somebody would say it from the podium, out loud, was a revelation." For many Russians, Reagan was then, and remains today, a hero whose challenge to communism in the 1980s led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and inspired a generation of pro-democracy activists. "Walls are crushed by words," Zorin said.

read the rest! »

Donkeys In The Desert

(Gary Farber's home blog is Amygdala.)

As The New Yorker notes, not everyone in Iraq working for the CPA or to help Iraqis is a Republican.

"In late April, a group of Americans serving in Iraq sent a letter to John Kerry, appealing to the candidate as both an ex-soldier and a peace seeker. It read, in part, “Put bluntly: we believe you need to get over here, suck in some sand and sweat a bit in the desert heat while talking to, among others, U.S. soldiers, Iraqi technocrats, Coalition officials, private sector reconstruction contractors, and tribal leaders. Perhaps only then will you begin to get a real sense of the real Iraq, for Iraq cannot be understood from the halls of Washington or via briefing papers alone.” The letter concluded, “As our next Commander-in-Chief, the sooner you get over here, the better,” and it was signed, “Donkeys in the Desert.”

The Donkeys in the Desert are a small but increasingly vocal minority of Democrats working under the auspices of the Coalition Provisional Authority. They now number about two dozen, up from an original eight, last fall, and most of them are based in Baghdad, although satellite members can be found on the front lines in places like Baqubah and Ramadi. Roughly a third of the Donkeys are soldiers (from sergeants to colonels), and the rest are civilians working in various C.P.A. divisions—force protection, trade, foreign affairs—through private contractors or assorted government agencies.

read the rest! »

A Revolutionary New Sleep Aid

Search everything said by a Member of the British House of Commons since 2001, as recorded in Hansard's.

Seriously, the usefulness of this for discussion of British politics is obvious. And it's a sleep aid! (Less so than would be a similar engine for the U.S. Congress, though.)

Shadow Of The Past

(Gary Farber regularly posts at Amygdala.)

Someone with past experience with U.S. military involvement in his country has a view.

At an event that Rumsfeld attended Saturday morning in Singapore, Cambodia's co-defense minister urged the secretary to persevere in Iraq despite recent outrage over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in U.S. custody, saying, "Let's not have the lesson of Cambodia repeated in Iraq."

Recalling how the Khmer Rouge slaughtered more than 1 million Cambodians after the United States stopped bombing the group's havens in Indochina, the co-defense minister, Prince Sisowath Sirirath, spoke softly during a question-and-answer session after Rumsfeld's speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional security conference sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"Speaking purely from the experience I had in my country," he said, "barely two years after the announcement of halting of the bombing in Indochina by U.S. forces, Cambodia, South Vietnam and Laos collapsed. So I am against those who call for the United States to [set] a timetable for U.S. forces and its allies to withdraw from Iraq."

I've personally been horrified at the events at Abu Ghraib, and gravely disillusioned at precisely how incompetently the civilian administration of the Bush Administration has been at planning for and executing the post-war scenario in Iraq.

read the rest! »

Toughness, Moral Equivalency, and Justice

(Gary Farber regularly posts at Amygdala.)

Leon Wieseltier makes necessary points, as he so often does.

"This is wartime, which is no time to be soft. The terrorists are tough, and so we must be tough. I am feeling tough, and toughly I feel also that too many children are being killed by the right side in this war, by my side, by Americans and by Israelis, in whose actions I am differently and willingly implicated. It is not all the same war, of course, unless one accepts the Bush administration's reduction of all our enemies into one enemy, a simplification better suited to sermons than strategies. [...] But, as I say, I am suddenly haunted, and perhaps I should be ashamed of the suddenness, by the images of the dead children. Whatever the precise numbers of the dead Iraqi children in Mogr al-Deeb and the dead Palestinian children in Rafah, they are too high. [...] I was not taught by any of my traditions to look away from such developments. A war that asked for a quickening of conscience cannot now ask for a relaxing of it. I understand that this makes me no longer trustworthy among the "warriors" in town, but all I can say is that the injury to trust has been mutual.

But what about the death of Israeli children at the hands of Palestinians? I resent the question for its assumption that sympathy is compromising, a moral deformation, a kind of infidelity; that decency should accept political direction; that you can be sickened by Palestinian children with guns or by Palestinian children in shrouds, but you cannot be sickened by both. Still, the question deserves an answer.

read the rest! »

Darfur & the Genocide Warning

(Gary Farber regularly posts at Amygdala.)

Sudan, again, in the Washington Post.

"I was seeing with my own eyes what I had been hearing about for several months: Children are dying almost every day in refugee camps in eastern Chad, despite a vigorous international effort to get food, water and other essentials to the more than 100,000 who have fled in fear from the Darfur region of neighboring Sudan.

They are among the 1 million Darfurians who have been displaced from their homes, most of whom are still in Sudan , according to aid groups....

...Person after person in the camps told me that they had fled after attacks on their villages by Arab Janjaweed militias, who have burned hundreds of villages and killed thousands of civilians belonging to black African ethnic groups. To make matters worse, the Janjaweed are backed by the Sudanese government, which wants to put down rebels drawn from those tribes.

There's more.

read the rest! »

The Brain Trust's Winds of War: June 7/04

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report. Today's Winds of War briefing is brought to you by down-under blogger Alan E. Brain, and his British associate "Max".

TOP TOPICS

• The resignation of CIA chief George Tenet has raised more questions than it's answered. The additional resignation of James Pavitt, the Deputy Director of Operations, raises even more. Instapundit has a roundup of who's saying what. I'm inclined to take things as they appear until there's data to the contrary. And Once is Happenstance, Twice is Coincidence, Three times is Enemy Action. So far it's only twice.

• Focus on Shipping : With International Summits to Individual Threat Statements in the news, a major hole in our defences is gradually being plugged. The Next Big Thing in the War against Terror is to increase surveillance of merchant ships that possibly carry WMDs, either for delivery to third parties, or detonation in Western Ports. The first step in this is to decrease the number of merchant vessels pirated in the SE Asian region.

Other Topics Today Include: Big Name Terrorist Captures in Chad and Iraq; Moderate Islam in Britain; UK Terror Group List; Repression in Iran; First-hand reports from Iraq.

read the rest! »

Andrew's Iraq Report: June 07/04

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from Iraq that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. This briefing is brought to you by Andrew Olmsted of Andrew Olmsted dot com.

TOP TOPICS

• Moqtada al-Sadr began withdrawing from Najaf and Kufa, possibly signalling an end to the two-month old uprising, but Shiite fighters were blamed for two attacks in Baghdad, a strike on a convoy in Baghdad that left four civilians dead and the bombing of a U.S. convoy that left two soldiers dead and two wounded. Al-Sadr met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani over the weekend as well, though, which could be an opportunity to give Sadr an out as he backs down from his confrontation with the Coalition.

• JK: An American filmmaker based in Berlin has spent the better part of the last year in Baghdad shooting two films. The latest, Gunner Palace, follows a troop of young soldiers over a few months. Michael Tucker says: "This is the war you haven't seen on the news." As a soldier says in the film, "For y'all this is just a show, but we live in this movie."

• The National Guard may be reaching its breaking point under the strain of massive deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. There are no reports of shortfalls in enlistments or reenlistments as yet, however, so it is open to question whether or not the strain is really as bad as Guard commanders are claiming.

Other Topics Today Include: violence ramps up in anticipation of 1 July; gas subsidies taken to the next level; Sistani gives the new government a tentative thumbs up; Iraq's new government releases a military plan; Congress may start looking into Abu Ghraib.

read the rest! »

How Much Ass Could a Kick-Ass Kick...

Add one to the Winds of Discovery pile. This item was mailed in by loyal reader J.K.L., and comes from a recent edition of Good Morning, Silicon Valley:

"With the help of their colleagues at Stanford and Impact Measurement, scientists at PARC have developed a garment that allows martial arts judges to better assess the force of blows to the body in sparring matches. The garment uses wireless piezoelectric pressure sensors to translate the force of impact into a readable electrical signal that can be used to score the match. Currently being tested in tae kwon do matches, the technology could also be used for sensing impact in other contact sports."

Word has it that the company is eagerly seeking test subjects to wear the tutu model into local biker bars...

Blackfive's D-Day 60th Anniversary Blogburst Salute

Blackfive has a large compilation of posts from various bloggers about all aspects of D-Day, including 2 posts right here that cover Allied deceptions before D-Day and the Canadians at Juno Beach. Lots of fascinating stuff, from first-person accounts to in-depth reports to special equipment and operations to alternative histories had D-Day failed.

Like Blackfive's D-Day 60th Anniversary Blogburst Salute, this post will remain near the top of our pages until June 7th.

Walmart & America

I finally decided to buy a small fridge for my office after the food I stashed in the shared kitchen fridge at work got dumped along with the mutating new life forms left by someone already off at another job. After a few phone calls to find out who had one for sale this early in the summer, I headed off to WalMart, hoping to get there before the Saturday crowds.

As I got out of my Jeep, I noticed the following parked around me:

• a Toyota Prius (hybrid gas/electric)
• several Honda Accords, Ford Escorts, Toyota Corollas & Camrys
• half a dozen or more minivans, mostly newish
• several full-sized vans, most pretty beat up
• two Lexus SUVs
• one Land Rover
• two VW bugs
• a lovingly restored 1960-ish Cadillac El Dorado with whitewall tires and a gleaming landau roof

and (to my surprise)...

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Ronald Reagan: Tribute

President Ronald Reagan is dead, after a prolonged battle with Alzheimer's Disease. While his death is certainly not good news, his life was.

Some Americans like Reagan, some do not. Regardless of how one feels, the fact remains: Reagan played a leading role in the global demise of an empire that had slain over 40 million people in its bloody history, and of an ideology whose democide count has topped 100 million. Millions and millions of people around the world will mourn in the next few days - because what this man did changed their lives, and their futures, for the better. That ought to inspire a certain level of respect.

Laughingwolf has a fast take, and some links. Naturally, we can also depend on former Peace Corps volunteer Nathan Hamm for excellent coverage - including Reagan's memorable D-Day speeches at Omaha and Ponte du Hoc.

Who would have thought that Glenn's news of recent Alzheimer's research would seem so vivid? Or Bart Hall's gripping Memorial Day love story last Saturday would have such an echo? But it does, in the love story of Ronald and Nancy - in its sweetness, and its end.

UPDATE: Gary Farber takes a look from the Russian side in Dosvedanya, Ronald Reagan. Reagan, he says, was right.

Sufi Wisdom: Bribery

(Part of our weekly Sufi Wisdom series. T.L. James is moving, so I'm taking this on again for the next few weeks.)

This week's tale comes from Idries Shah's book, A Perfumed Scorpion: A Way to the Way. The book has many fine stories like this, and takes the time to set them in context too.

"Mulla Nasruddin is about to engage in litigation. He says to his lawyer: 'If I sent the judge 100 gold pieces, what effect would that have on the ruling of my case?'

The lawyer is horrified. 'You do that,' he says, 'and he'll find against you for sure - you might even be arrested for attempted bribery!'

- 'Are you sure?'

'Quite sure, I know that judge!'

The case was heard, and the Mulla won.

'Well,' said the lawyer, 'you did get justice after all, you can't deny that...

'Mind you, said Nasruddin, 'the gold pieces also helped...'

'You mean you actually sent the judge money?' howled the lawyer.

'Oh yes,' said Mulla Nasruddin - 'but of course, I sent the gold in the other man's name!"

Most Sufi tales operate on several levels, and this one is no exception. What is it trying to tell us?

Winds of Discovery: 2004-06-04

Welcome! This is the 1st edition of "Winds of Discovery", a monthly report by Glenn Halpern of HipperCritical that will take you on a wild ride across the spectrum of science and discovery.

Topics this week include: Sperm storage record broken; UK advances on embryonic stem cell research; Leroy Hood's latest venture; Search continues for Alzheimer's Disease cure; Nanotech turnaround?; The first nanochips; Metal rubber; Venus crosses the sun; Size of the universe; Birth of the sun; Space elevators; Lomborg thinks like Hitler?; Maunder minimum; Running out of oil?; Ban on trans-fats; Monsanto wins patent case; Dinosaurs fried within hours; Must we love cicadas?; Hippo sweat.

If YOU have a link suggestion send it to discovery, here @windsofchange.net. Regular topics include:

• Biotech & Medical
• Nanotechnology
• Space
• The Environment
• Public Policy
• The Animal Kingdom

read the rest! »

Tenet's Resignation

I assume that many of our readers are wondering about this. Why Tenet? Why now? My answer: beats me. It's so out of left field that his stated reason re: his family may in fact be true. A Washington Post reporter who has spoken with Tenet's close friends seemed to lend to credence to that view on TV last night.

Instapundit draws a blogosphere parallel that resonates with me, and also has a full set of coverage offering various points of view. I certainly hope that the dark scenario isn't what's really going on here.

Hayes' book: Iraq & al-Qaeda

Yesterday both myself and fellow Winds of Change correspondent Robi Sen got the pleasure of attending an AEI conference on The Connection: How al Qaeda's Collaboration with Saddam Hussein Has Endangered America. The panel consisted of former CIA director James Woolsey, CNN terrorism expert Peter Bergen, former senior intelligence officer Judith Yaphe, Weekly Standard writer Stephen Hayes, and was moderated by AEI scholar Michael Ledeen.

read the rest! »

Jean Chretien In Iran

Stephen Hachemi had an open letter in the National Post yesterday to Canada's recently-departed Prime Minister Jean Chrtien. Hat tip to Blog Iran for this one:

"Like many Canadians, I recently learned of your coming visit to Iran as a representative of a Calgary-based oil company. It is reported that the purpose of your trip is to conclude a deal with the Iranian government on behalf of this firm.

I write to congratulate you.

Your failure to ensure justice was served in the case of my mother, Zahra Kazemi -- who was murdered by the Iranian regime while you were prime minister -- has apparently paid off: You are now most welcome in Tehran."

Appallingly typical is the best way to describe this. Somehow, the usual blather from Canada and Europe about morality and human rights seems to get lost when Iran is involved. I wonder why that is? Here's the whole letter.

Jews & Liberalism: A Fracturing Consensus?

For most of my readers, news about a Canadian election doesn't rate very highly. There is one interesting phenomenon afoot, however, which may serve as a bellwether for trends in the USA. Traditionally Jewish support for lib-left parties has been rock solid at very hgh levels, a phenomenon that has seemed completely divorced from trends that created defection in other groups. At the recent Victor Davis Hanson speech in Toronto, however, I was surprised by the number of Jews I talked to who were turning away from these parties in a visceral way. The willingness of other Jews to give conservative political parties and ideas a serious hearing was also somewhat new.

Now Ted Belman of Israpundit goes and gives me a great anecdotal example to point to, highlighting this new point of view and also giving us a window into the intra-community struggles it's touching off. I should note that for various reasons, this kind of fracture would mean more in the USA - and it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming U.S. elections.

UPDATE: If you are interested in analysis of the Canadian elections, Collin May of Innocents Abroad and national columnist Andrew Coyne of AndrewCoyne.com are excellent choices.

D-Day: The Canadians at Juno

This post is part of Blackfive's D-Day 60th Anniversary Blogburst Salute. Citizen Smash also points out that June 3rd is the 62nd Anniversary of the decisive Battle of Midway in the Pacific Theater.

June 6, 1944. The Americans had Utah and Omaha. The British had Gold and Sword. But Juno Beach, an 8 km stretch of coast backed by small seaside villages, was an all-Canadian assignment. They performed brilliantly, driving deeper into France than any of the other landings - and engaging the 21st Panzer Division before it could crush the American beachhead at Omaha.

This is the story of one of the Canadians at Juno: Jim Wilkins, B Company, The Queen's Own Rifles:

"...Oh yes we're going to get some help from a squadron of the 1st Hussars tank regiment. They're going to land before us and take out the pillboxes and machinegun nests – it didn't happen.The 45 boats start in – at about 1500 yards we can see the wall in back of the beach. It looks to be maybe 8 feet high. We are told to stand up. 

Beside us was a ship that fires L.C.R. rockets. The forward deck is cleared and pointing up are maybe a dozen tubes or mortars at a 45 degree angle. All of a sudden they fire a salvo – great clouds of smoke and flame engulf the boat. Ten minutes later they fire again. You can follow the rockets by eye as they curve upward. We watched one salvo go high over the beach just as a Spitfire came along. He flew right into it and blew up. That pilot never had a chance and was probably the first casualty on Juno Beach. Overhead we can hear the roar of large shells from battleships, cruisers and destroyers. Beside us is a boat with pom poms (anti-aircraft) guns shooting away at church steeples and other high buildings which had observers who where spotting for the German ground troops.

Soon we are only 500 yards from the beach and are ordered to get down...

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Hope Street: Open Source Policy Development

A little while ago, Armed Liberal noticed a group called Hope Street. As he put it:

"They support what they call the 'opportunity economy', in which market incentives are created and market barriers lowered to ensure that everyone has a chance to participate. I definitely like the sound of that. The details, however, need a bit of work."

Then he went on to offer an in-depth critique of their housing policy proposals. Guess it left an impression:

"The Hope Street Group, a non-partisan policy think tank founded and operated by young business leaders from the private sector, today launched Hope Street Blog, a new weblog that will serve as both a discussion forum and a mechanism for the development of innovative policy proposals. The new blog is being implemented as part of the Hope Street Group’s open source participation model for policy development."

Speaking for myself, I'm encouraged to see blogs begin to play a role in this kind of serious policy discussion and formulation. First Dan Darling's entree into a Washington think tank, via blogging. Now a think tank's entree the other way, into blogging. Pay close attention, folks. There's much more to this medium than just media.

Special Analysis: The Al-Khobar Attack 2004

I'm still getting settled into DC, and apologize for not having had time to publish my usual Winds of War coverage. It should hopefully resume shortly. In the meantime, allow me to console you all with a little look back at last weekend's events at the Oasis luxury compound in al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

It ain't pretty.

read the rest! »

D-Day: Allied Deceptions

by J.K.L. This post is part of Blackfive's D-Day 60th Anniversary Blogburst Salute. Citizen Smash also points out that June 3rd is the 62nd Anniversary of the decisive Battle of Midway in the Pacific Theater.

The mental image that I have of D-Day comes from old newsreels and from movies. Chaos. Chaos and frail human bodies, burdened with heavy packs, slogging through the tide, across the beach, through a storm of bullets. Brave men fighting and, all too often, dying.

But the aspect I find most fascinating is the extent of the campaigns of disinformation and deception. They were truly audacious. Imagine preparing to land more than 1,000,000 men on 50 miles of beach. There will be more than 2,700 ships, 2,500 landing craft and 700 warships. Preparations for an assault on this scale couldn’t be hidden or kept totally secret, so what could be done protect the identity of the actual target and confuse the enemy?

read the rest! »

Spirit of America: Get Ready!

When Marc "Armed Liberal" Danziger came out as Spirit of America's new COO here at Winds of Change.NET, he spoke of big plans ahead. More on those in a few days.

Citizen (Lt.) Smash has a fine roundup of reactions and early efforts across the blogosphere. Meanwhile, famed techblogger Joi Ito calls SoA an "excellent example of the use of technology and grass roots organization." Hey, Joi, trust me - you ain't seen nothin' yet.

Marc isn't kidding when he talks about an army of volunteers for this non-partisan cause - be one of them. From Howard Dean campaign staffer Britt Blaser (fine set of SoA links) to Roger L. Simon (we love the graphics) to the invaluable Michele Catalano (we love her), this campaign is begining to roll right across the spectrum.

Some gave all. Now YOU can give some. If you're a blogger, email ltsmash, over @cox.net. If you just want to sign up, head over here and subscribe via the button in the upper left corner.

Lessons from the Eurofighter Flop

Instapundit pointed to an article about the Eurofighter program yesterday. Almost 20 years in the making, beset by politics, and facing cost overruns and performance issues, the next-generation fighter jet looks like a poster-child ad for the hopelessness of the EU joint approach in the defense industry.

The news that Britian will look to sell almost half its fleet abroad before the first planes are even delivered, and will take delivery of the most needed variant (ground attack) last, is just another nail in the coffin.

It's a sad end, no doubt. But look closer. The Eurofighter was beset by the European disease - but it's also heir to a larger trend that has significant implications for the U.S. defense industry.

read the rest! »

Robi's S. Asia Briefing: 2004-06-02

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on South Asia, courtesy of Robi Sen and Nitin Pai of The Acorn

TOP TOPIC

• Karachi is starting to seem like Baghdad with four major bombings in less than two weeks, assassinations, and major riots. The US recently put out warnings, saying there would most likely be more attacks and it seems like Al Queda is behind the bombings trying to create instability in Karachi it can exploit. No matter who is to blame Karachi is a powder keg that needs very little to ignite.

Other Topics Today Include: Saudi bombings send ripples through Asia; India post-election: democracy abhors inequity; Pakistan's assassination plots; Pakistan's chickens come home to roost; Nuclear proliferation reports; India & Israel: shifting alliances; Bangladesh - Islamic extremism and internal woes.

read the rest! »

Iran: A Plea for Western 'Soft Power'

Blog Iran passes on this impassioned plea from Ramin Parham:

"In my article, I related the story of Tannaz, an Iranian student, and asked the question the West is facing: Between Jannati, Secretary of the Guardian Council of the Iranian theocracy, and Tannaz, which one will you choose? A few years ago in Serbia, between Milosevic on one hand and the Serbian students and Zoran Djindjic on the other, a united West chose the students and their leaders. Today, the entire Balkan region has been stabilized and democratic nations are being built. Tomorrow, in Iran, which way will the West go? Will we all harvest the seeds of democracy or the grapes of wrath and resentment of a disillusioned youth? That is the question.

For Reggie, Charlie, and Tannaz to celebrate Democracy Day in a freedom parade in Tehran, we do not need bullets. Rather, to witness the Iranian D-Day we need the West's immense information-projection power....

read the rest! »

Jeff Jarvis on Spirit of America

"Think of it as open source nation building," he says. Something like that - I personally prefer Dr. Martin Luther King's "Everyone is great because everyone can serve," but you get the idea.

Jeff's entire post is a very worthwhile read, and explains how his efforts, and those of many other bloggers, have made Spirit of America.NET what it is today. Still, this is just the first step. We all have much more we can do. More on that tomorrow.

And lest we forget the British, have a look over at leftist blogger Harry's Place and his "Do Something" category.

Bernard Lewis: Freedom & Tyranny

From Bernard Lewis, "What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East." It's worthy of note that Lewis goes on to point out that new ideas inspired by the Enlightenment eventually did make their way to the Middle East. Still, on a cultural level this is instructive:

"Muslims have always given considerable attention to what in Western parlance might be classed as both political science and constitutional law. For Muslims, it was part of the dively ordained Holy Law that dealt with the ruler and the relationship between him and the body of believers that constituted his subjects. Westerners have become accustomed to think of good and bad government in terms of tyranny and freedom. In Middle Eastern usage, liberty or freedom was a legal not a political term. It meant one who was not a slave, and unlike the West, Muslims did not use slavery and freedom as political metaphors [JK: i.e. it literally meant legal slavery, or its absence].

For traditional Muslims, the converse of tyranny was not liberty but justice. Justice in this context meant essentially two things, that the ruler was there by right and not by usurpation, and that he governed according to God's law, or at least according to recognizable moral and legal principles. The first of these raised important questions concerning succession, which became increasingly urgent after the abolition of most of the monarchies in the region. The second was sometimes discussed in terms of arbitrary versus consultative government. Both remain critical issues at the present day."