Was pleased to find a freshly fallen shroud of snow in our neighborhood (and across the town as it turns out). Of course, being new parents, we couldn't resist the photo op.

Christmas Photos are here. Thanks for looking

Enspired by another post at the Oregon Blog: I enrolled at Lewis and Clark College in 1987, and was friends with some of the debate nerds. It was a crucial time in the world (fall of the Berlin wall and all that) and LC reflected that. Between 1987 and 1992 LC underwent a dramatic change in culture, educational goals, and political make up. We endured divestment from South Africa, divestment from same sex bathrooms, Political protests against Gulf War I (including a shanty town, symbolic graveyard, and the attack and abuse of protestors by fellow students), the rise of the Campus Republicans, the establishment of the Internet and World Wide Web, having the light shown on date rape, to a security department that could and would track your movements from dorm to dorm. It was a fun fun time. The recently departed President Mooney was hired on to fund raise pure and simple and to steer the college toward a strong role in international circles and scientific advances. The arts and humanities were deliberately left behind. Mooney oversaw the largest hike in tuition and the largest growth in administrative positions. Those professors and administrators who were not on board with the new philosophy were kindly shown the door, and if they wouldn't leave, had life made very difficult for them. Due largely to the increased costs, more students were transferring out of LC to two year and public colleges than were transferring in. Dorm rooms sat empty as those that remained fled the campus. And yet, that was just the beginning of the every mounting cost of higher education (and the process of learning to think critically about the world) that we still see today. As an Alum, I am still asked every year to donate to the school, but I can't bring myself to do so. LC is not the same institution I applied to and enrolled in. Any learning I took with me from the school came not from the classroom, but from the activities I found myself involved in. Student Gov't, Student Publications, Political Protests, Discussion Groups, etc... I can even point to the one instance that changed my life forever. I was a freshmen (sorry, first year student) just walking through The Templeton Center when the Student Body President (Kelly ??? I think) grabbed me by the shoulder and asked, "Do you support divestment from South Africa?" When I nodded my head affirmatively, she directed me to one of the meetings rooms and told me. "Stand here and don't leave. We're going to prevent the Board of Trustees from meeting unless they agree to divest." Then she left to recruit more students and I was hooked by activism.

Turkey Day at Nanny Rhoda's. Indigo's First Trip to Disneyland and more. All in photos. Enjoy!

It's amazing I work for a company that doesn't own its own Coffee Maker. So I am forced to walk next door to the Corner Market and buy from them. This does give me the advantage of theorizing over the most diabolical coffee cup problem. No, not styrofoam that will exist for 1000 years in the dump, nor the chemicals used to make said cup, not even the chemical addiction that caffiene causes... no. But rather the conundrum of the seam.

When you're using one of those lids with the raised small sip lip, you inevitably attempt to take a drink only to have some of the coffee leak out from the spot where the lid and the seam meet forming an imperfect union. I leave the actual hard mathmatics of this up to someone else, but I've worked out some of the simpler stuff.

A lid and the top of the cup both are round and therefore have 360 degrees. The seam itself takes about 1% or 3 degrees of the cup, but the raised portion of the lid, the most upstable part, is more like 20% or 72 degrees. So you have a 1 in 5 chance of putting on the top and and having the seam be somewhere in the drip zone. Can someone please solve this problem that is causing real anqst for us all???

Read this post. And had a few words to say. Don't know if you might be interested. But if you weren't you wouldn't be reading this blog now would you?

Hey, if Boston can have the Big Dig, we can have the Giant Swamp. Take everything from Memorial Colliseum down to Ross Bridge and Oaks Amusement Park and return it to its natural state. Cause, heck that will look better than a bunch of concrete. Seriously, I haven't lived in Portland for a while. I actually moved to SoCal to escape the traffic mess and poor economic options. Anything that would revitalize the economy is good with me. Heck, we here in Nevada (I've moved again)have a 100,000 tons of Nuclear waste we'd be happy to send Portland's way along with all the promised economic benefits it will bring. What Portland is really missing, and the true cause of Oregon's economic slump, are two senators who really weild power in Washington. Hatfield and Packwood, for all their faults, were really good at bringing home the bacon. Our once strong ties to the cash pipeline that is Washington have been long severed (the same thing that is happening in Nevada, btw) and our chances at benefiting from the 'war budget' are slim to none. NIKE can only make so many shoes and jackets for our special forces and most of those jobs are going to China anyway. So would an eastside Giant Swamp... er Big Dig... be golden? Yes, of course. Could the traffic be managed? Sure, but not like described on the website. It will require big ugly concrete somewhere, just not within sight of the river.

Now why didn't I think of this first.... Postcards from Las Vegas. Bender Style.

Neil Gaiman is asked 13 questions, in which we find out he carries a moleskin notebook. I guess my brother and I are in good company.

What are our national priorities (pdf file). Put it another way, what could we buy if we weren't dumping our national economy down the toilet that is Iraq.

Forget Spell Check

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it

deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig!

A few years ago, just before I left The Capital Group to move to Vegas, I wrote down some ideas on Mass Transit. I had planned to turn these into a whitepaper of sorts. I still might, but I haven't yet so it's probably best that I just hang them out to the world for consideration. Anyway, as we move toward a working monorail system and a potential high speed railway here in Vegas, let me present the...

Ten Unspoken Rules of Mass Transit

10. Mass Transit must move people from one place (entertainment, commercial, or residential) to another (entertainment, commercial, or residential) of a differing type.
9. Mass Transit is a web, not a straight line.
8. Monthly passes must be cheap. Daily transport must be affordable
7. Mass Transit must be accessible
6. Mass Transit must be clean and safe
5. The average transfer rate per trip should be within .25 of 1
4. Zoning laws surrounding stations must maximize pedestrian/carpool access to station
3. Transit corridors should, whenever possible, be established years before actual construction begins.
2. Pedestrian/Bikepaths feed -> Busses feed light rail loop -> light rail feeds intra-city/county lines.
1. Mass Transit must be exciting.

To #2 I'd add Segway to the Pedestrian/Bikepath bit. Obviously this needs to be expanded upon. Meanwhile check out monorails.org for great pictures of the Las Vegas monorail in its testing phase.

All writers of Fan Fiction need to read this. Just a small subsection of a very helpful website. It's amazing what is going on behind the public's back in the name of the DCMA and 'Copyright protection.'

Okay. Big news. Now that I've been cleared to go back to work (with limited lifting) by my doctor, I have an announcement to make. I'm employed again. I'm working as a Marketing and Internet/Ebay Salesperson for a Las Vegas company called "Front Row Sports." Most of FRSs sales are through their six local brick and mortar stores. They started their Ebay store 6 months ago and it is already outpacing their best selling B&M store. So, I've been hired to help out with the volume, try to increase sales, and do a little marketing work for the company as a whole. I'm excited to get back to work and have been thinking about ways to make their ebay store perform better all week. So, more on this later, of course.

I'm also excited because my cousin Kelly Doherty and her family will be in town. Haven't seen her since her wedding, I think.

Five Second Rule? Think again. It's amazing how large an impact science can have on our everyday life.

Apparently, I share my birthday with these celebs... funny that Ione Skye bit.

Beyonce Knowles 1981 Houston, Texas
Damon Wayans 1960 New York, New York
Dick York 1928 Ft. Wayne, IN
Ione Skye 1970
Judith Ivey 1951 El Paso, TX
Mitzi Gaynor 1930
Wes Bentley 1978 Jonesboro, Arkansas

Oh. I'm so happy. I got my first Zimbabwe scam email. I'll post it here in all its glory for your edification.


FROM:MRS,XXX XXXXX
E-MAIL:XXXXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com
PHONE:NN-NN-NNN-7008.

DEAR SKYE,


MY NAME IS MRS, XXX XXXXX THE WIFE OF KENNEDY XXXXX WHO WAS
RECENTLY MURDERED IN THE LAND DISPUTE IN ZIMBABWE.YOU MIGHT
BE A SURPRISE TO YOU ABOUT WHERE I GOT YOUR CONTACT
ADDRESS.I GOT YOUR ADDRESS FROM THE AFRICAN CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE IN JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA.

DURING THE CURRENT WAR AGAINST THE FARMERS IN ZIMBABWE
FROM THE SUPPORT MUGABE"S IDEAS, MUGABE SUPPOTERS
INVADED MY HUSBAND FARM AND BURNT EVERYTHING IN THE
FARM,KILLING MY HUSBAND AND MADE AWAY WITH A LOT OF
COSTLY FARM EQUIPMENTS IN MY HUSBAND FARM.

DURING THE CRISES AND BEFORE MY HUSBAND DEATH HE HAD
TAKEN ME AND MY ONLY SON TO DEPOSITED WITH ONE OF THE
FINANCE AND SECURITY COMPANY IN JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA
THE SUM OF US$ 15 MILLION DOLLARS AS IF HE FORESAW THE
LOOMING DANGER IN ZIMBABWE.THIS AMOUNT WAS MENT FOR THE
PURCHASE OF NEW MACHINES AND CHEAMICAL FOR THE FARMS AND TO
ESTABLISHED OF NEW FARMS IN SWAZILAND.


WE THEN DECIDED TO LOOK FOR AN OVERSEAS FIRM AND
COMPANIES THAT WOULD BE OF ASSISTANCE TO MOVE THIS
FUND OUT OF SOUTH AFRICA BECAUSE AS ASYLUM SEEKERS WE
ARE NOT ALLOWED TO OPERATE ANY BANK ACCOUNT OR BUSINESS
WITHIN SOUTH AFRICA BASED ON THEY LAW.

WE HAVE AGREED TO OFFER YOU 20%OF THE TOTAL SUM FOR YOUR
KIND ASSISTANCE,10%WILL BE MAPPED OUT FOR ANY EXPENSES THAT
MAY BE INCURED IN THE COURSE OF THIS TRANSACTION AND
70%WILL BE FOR ME AND MY FAMILY TO INVEST IN YOUR
COUNTRY-UNDER YOU SUPERVISSION.

SINCE,I GOT THIS ADDRESS IS TRUE THAT I DID NOT KNOW
YOU IN PERSON,I DONT KNOW WHY I HAVE SUCH INTEREST IN
YOU.I STILL THANK GOD BECAUSE I WILL LIKE TO HAVE YOU
AS MY EVER PARTNER IN LIFE,WHEN I COME TO YOUR COUNTRY
TO INVEST.

I MRS,XXX AND MY SON (XXXXXX XXXXX)HAVE MUCH TO
DISCUSS WITH YOU BUT IT WILL BE WHEN YOU COME TO SOUTH
AFRICA TO HELP US FOR THE TRANSFER OF THIS FUND AND FOR
THE RELEASE OF THE FUND FROM THE SECURITY COMPANY.

ALL I WANT YOU TO DO IS TO FURNISH ME WITH YOUR ENTIRE
PERSONAL PHONE AND FAX NUMBERS FOR EASY COMMUNICATION.

NOTE THAT THIS TRANSACTION IS 100%RISK FREE AND
ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENTAIL-SINCE ALL THE VITAL DOCUMENTS
REGARDS TO RELEASE OF THIS FUND IS WITH MY SON BILLS
HERE IN JOHANNESBUERG,AND IF YOU ARE INTRESTED TO HELP US
PLEASE CONTACT MY SON XXXXXX THROUGH HIS E-MAIL OR
PHONE(E-MAIL:(XXXXXXXXXXXX@hotmail.com)PH:NN-NN-NN-7008.WHILEI
IMPLORE YOU TO MAINTAIN THE ABSOLUTE SECRECY REQUIRED IN
THIS TRANSACTION.

BEST REGARDS

MRS,XXX XXX,
UNBEHALF OF MY SON.


I feel like my life is complete now.

Heya,

It's been a busy 11 days since Indigo was born. He's a great kid, sleeps a lot and is only really fussy when he has gas troubles. I've promised you more details, but those will have to wait a bit.

Stacey's mom, Rhoda, was here until yesterday and my mom, Patricia, is coming in today. It's nice to have an extra pair of hands around the house to help us take care of the little things (like cooking, sweeping, etc.) and let us concentrate on Indigo's needs.

Meanwhile, I've started to list some stuff on ebay again. Check it out if you're interested.

Guess What?!?!?! I'm a papa! Here's proof:



Ma and child are home and doing well. More deets later. I promise.

This is either a very good idea, or a recipe for mass murder. We report. You decide.

Another reason why Texas should be quarantined.

PlayTarot, taking child toys to new levels. Everyonce and a while a website makes me say, "Now why didn't I think of that." This is one of those.

Announcing the return of one Hunter S. Thompson. Was he ever really gone? See him predict of 'Big Darkness" to come and believe!

I find this a frighteningly real possibility. In the modern age of information running everything. Those who have the information will remain in control.

Rebecca Blood makes a few interesting points about the direction cultural literacy is taking. In one phrase, "Pattern Recognition." (see William Gibson's same titled book.)

Spam attacks Spam. Film at Eleven. Hormel should just give up and save itself the lawyer fees. The funny thing about this article is they got the origin of the slang use wrong. It actually began on MUDs, Multi-User Domains/Dungeons, where are interacting text based environments where users can roleplay or chat. The term Spam was coined when a newbie, or a user with malicious intent, would log on and start to post large volumes of text just to get attention. So the important dialogue would get 'Spammed' off the screen. This was a real problem as most people were on 2400 baud modems or slower at the time. Eventaully the offender would get @toad'd (turned into a toad) and forced to behave or be kicked off the MUD.

Thus endeth the history lesson for today.

Webcasters fight back. The internet offers many new exciting technologies. Among those are the ability to provide mini-radio stations where content can be tailored to micro-audiences (around 100 to 1000 listeners at time). Something I would love to do. However, with the way royalties are set up now, the cost would be prohibitive even though the technology is dirt simple.

The old saying on the internet is "Information wants to be free." Free as in free from constraints, one of which is high prices. If prices are high enough to be considered censorship (by the owner of the information of the gov't) then the internet will consider that as damage and route around it. The information will then be made available in some other manner.

In this case, I think it behoves the recording industry to practically pay people to set up these micro internet stations. It's free publicity of the good kind. Right now all they're getting is bad press and they're not winning over any new customers that way.

Posit for the day. Are the Harry Potter books an allegory for the publishing world? Do the forces of Dumbledore the JK Rowling's of the world represent the people who write for the masses? How about Voldemort's group? Are they the high-falutin writers penning for the elite readers? And the muggles? The general audience for whom the fight for control over.

I don't know. But it's an interesting reading of the texts.

You Are A Pirate!


What Type Of Swashbuckler Are You?
brought to you by Maddog Varuka & Dawg Brown

Falling Angels Art: Air Force 1st Lt. Tamara Long Archuleta was killed on Sunday March 23, on a Mercy mission in Afganistan when the helicopter she was co-piloting crashed. This site has been left up as a tribute to her.

This poor guy deciphered a code that was used as a PR stunt for Neal Stephenson's latest novel. Worth a read.

Amazon World: reviews of various Amazon.com reviews. Hilarious!

Here's a brief guide to the amazing depth of acting ability possessed by one of my favorite actors.

Okay. My Dad's nickname is 'Otter'. Although he collects pictures, cartoons, stuffed animals, etc.. of the furry creature, he has never ever considered going as far as the owner of Plushie Forest. Thank God!

More interesting reading regarding the Medical Malpractice 'crisis'. These doctors and insurance companies have probably spent more money of PR in the last year than medical malpractice payouts.

Quote for the day: Kids are like pancakes... you always mess up the first one.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

It doesn't get much uglier than this. My website if designed by some color blind nut.

An absolutely wonderful look at Portland architecture through the years. The Las Vegas area had no significant population or industry until the early 40s and there is little if no respect for buildings from the past here. I do think Portland's solution to urban sprawl would work in the Las Vegas valley. However, we are limited by our water use as much as a geographic bounderies.

Christopher Elkins's reminds me of a great passtime -- Movie Location Hunting. I'm always on the lookout for places where movies have been filmed. It was a bit easier when I lived in Bubank, but there have been a number of films shot in and around Las Vegas. Surprisingly, CSI, although set in Las Vegas, does most of its filming in the LA area.

I'm reading one of my favorite books again, "Beauty" by Sheri S Tepper. The whole book is a unique retelling of some of our common fairytales leading upto a death and redemption of the earth and all its beauty. I've just come to one of the crucial passages and was struck, as I am each time I read it, by the gravity it lends to the situation of the world today. So, if Ms. Tepper does not mind, I will repeat the passage, in which our heroine is attempting to save the earth via an environmental group, here:

We have been thwarted at every turn by god. Not the real God. A false one which has been set up by man to expedite his destruction of the earth. He is the gobble-god who bids fair to swallow everything in the name of a totally selfish humanity. His ten commandments are me first (let me live as I please), humans first (let all other living things die for my benefit), sperm first (no birth control), birth first (no abortions), males first (no women's rights), my culture/tribe/language first (no human rights), my politics first (lousy liberals/rotten reactionaries), my country first (wave the flag, the flag, the flag), and, above all, profit first.

We worship the gobble-god. We burn forests in his name. We kill whales and dolphins in his name. We pave prairies in his name. We have retarded babies in his name. We sell drugs in his name. We set bombs in his name. We worship him everywhere. We call him by different titles and commit blasphemies in the name of worship.

I've never read this blog before today, but Waldo Jaquith makes a couple of excellent points in this post and the one that proceeds it. With approx. $8000 in time and equipment he'll save his town millions and turn a downtown street into a mecca for tech and business types.

Had to steal this from the ol' FutureCulture e-list:

It started out innocently enough.

I began to think at parties now and then to loosen up. Inevitably though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker.

I began to think alone - "to relax," I told myself - but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time.

I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?"

Things weren't going so great at home either. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's.

I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day the boss called me in. He said, "Skippy, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another job." This gave me a lot to think about.

I came home early after my conversation with the boss. "Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking..."

"I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!"

"But honey, surely it's not that serious."

"It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any money, so if you keep on thinking we won't have any money!"

"That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently, and she began to cry.

I'd had enough. "I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door.

I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche, with a PBS station on the radio. I roared into the parking lot and ran up to the big glass doors...they didn't open. The library was closed!

To this day, I believe that a higher power was looking out for me that night.

As I sank to the ground clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. "Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked.

You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinker's Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was "Caddyshack." Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting.

I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed... easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking.

Now that makes you think, doesn't it?

The Motely Fool talks about Disney killing off it's line of Disney Stores. As you suspect, I have a comment or two.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why the Disney Co can't make The Disney Stores work. I don't think it has anything to do with over extending, at least on a nationwide basis. Certain local markets may have been over saturated. But that should be corrected market by market. Don't be afraid to close or 're-target' a store that is under performing...

Under-performing... that's one of the keys. I think the late 90's early 00's pressure to produce a 20 percent profit in every division has been the real killer for TDS. In consumer products, this has resulted in the shift to online catalogs and low end stores (target, walmart) being allowed to sell more of the high profit items (t-shirts, plush, school items) taking these profitable items away from TDS (and even worse, perhaps, defusing the 'magic' of TDS) and the product lines that don't produce 20% profit consistantly were just too much of a risk and were cut (mainly the more expensive to produce adult clothing, watches, collectibles, etc..).

Now, rather than going back to a product mix that worked, although at less than the optimal 20%, they're closing stores.

I try to give the Veeps at the Consumer Products division the benefit of the doubt. Surely they've run the numbers on the feasibility of changing the product mix back to what it was. Maybe opened a few trial stores. Offer a few new products that would excite consumers... but I don't think that they have. I don't think they're willing to take the effort it takes to be 'excellent' again.

You can trace many of the companies current woes back to the fact that they've fallen off the path of the 'search for excellence'. Instead they're on the path to make 20% profit in every division even if they have to cut to do so.

This isn't a black and white situation, some cuts are necessary to eliminate programs that didn't work, red tape, excess supply, etc.. But when your cuts affect the core brand (in this case 'the Disney magic' (or the reputation of having the 'magic')) then you're going the wrong direction even if you're meeting the profit directive. In the long run (like after the 3-5 year market correction we're in now) if no one trust the brand*, then all those cost saving cuts were for nothing as it will cost you ten times as much to build the brand back up.

So back to the Disney Stores. They've seriously mucked up the brand by all their penny pinching and product dilution (ie, the $4.99 t-shirts at Target and the $9.99 snow globes at hallmark). What was the brand -- "A Disney Themepark/Experience In Your Store". What is the brand they representing now? -- "A pre-teen princess store with the Disney Label". Which one interests you more.

My solution: Phase out as much of the target/wallmart/hallmark product licenses as possible. Revitalize the product mix at the store as soon as possible. Bring back many of the old items, some new 'tech' items (like hte Pal Mickey), and some synergy items. Also open up terminals in each store for online catalog shopping. Check each market for over saturation. (Can you get from one store to another in less than 25 minutes would be a good test.) Target one store in each market to highlight collectibles AND (this is important) housewares.

Finally, I'd like to see a few of Ken's 'Disneytowns' built. I think they'd work well in other touristy destinations. Places that already have high foot traffic (Las Vegas, San Antonio, The Seattle wharf). The important aspect of any new Disneystore or Disneytown would be synergy with existing product/brand and with upcoming product. These places should be meccas for Disneyfans to get an extended preview of the next Disney film, see a model of the latest themepark attraction, test market new food products, etc).

The Disney Store is still a 'killer concept' and to pass it off to a 'buyer' who is not invested in the overall success of all Disney products would be a failure anyway.

* let's not even talk about how they've lost the 8-10 year old boy market and have completely given up on the 11-14 year old boy market. Without Pixar they'd have lost them all. Reruns of 'The Apple Dumpling Gang' on Hallmark channel isn't going to bring them back either.

Cory Doctorow, author of "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom", has a few good suggestions for Disney. Any of which might inspire a turnaround.

Poker Player turns $40 into $3.2 million. Only in Las Vegas.

Untelevised nicely sums up my take on the Democratic party candidates.

Ever wonder what "fo' shizzle my nizzle" means?

A quick update. Sorry I haven't been writing much, although I really want to. My powers of concentration have waned tremendously since the accident. I get little headaches after a short while, plus the lower back pain is always there.

I have, however, picked up a moleskin notebooks (as suggested by my Bro). I sketched out two ideas for a childrens book (gee, I wonder why that is on my mind) the other day and hope to expand them shortly.

My life is almost all waiting these days. Waiting for the Bureau of Disability to decide if I get Disability Insurance. Waiting for the accident insurance to settle. Either of which would allow me to start the career counseling and retraining process. I'm waiting for my back to heal, to see if the latest procedures will work, to see if I will ever heal.

It sounds depressing, I know. But I don't spend all my time thinking about it. Life goes on, even if it is in slow motion sometimes. Plus, little Indigo is on the way and I have new responsibilities to him now.

Happy Birthday Stacey!

Hey. My brother has a new blog. It links to mine and I'll provide a permalink back as soon as I can figure out how to install Moveable Type on my host. Meanwhile read David's commentary while he studies in Austria for the next 4 months.

Farmers Put Live Chickens in Wood Chippers! Somethings are just beyond words. I wonder if they've ever seen the movie 'Chicken Run'.

Digby has gone to the dark side. Where is Luke Skywalker when you need him.

btw, I'm back from a self-imposed two days of news and internet blackout (well gray out). Guess what, life goes on even while the cable news runs 24/7 war coverage.

America's new Scapegoats. Very much like the old ones (via tbogg).

I was very saddened to learn that David Bloom of NBC Today show fame died this morning. I knew him like most of America, as a talking head and reporter on TV. But I felt closer to him than I do most reporters, perhaps due to his personality and his position on morning talk shows. Over these last three weeks or so, I followed Bloom's reports with a deep fascination, this man was living one of my dreams (and I'm sure one of his) and doing it with such class and intelligence, that his work would be remembered with a wealth of awards and with incredible historical significance. It's difficult to express how I feel about the loss of this one human. I do recommend you read Partygirl, a blogger I've been following since 9/11, actually met him and shares her very personal story. My best wishes go out to his friends and family. They have experienced a tremendous loss and will not soon recover.

Again from kottke.org. He links to an important article from Dan Gillmor on how the American public is losing the civil liberties battle. It's all too reminiscint of Orwell's horrible depiction of world gone crazy with doublespeak in 1984.

Thin Ice. Another excellent E-sheep production. While you're there check out Rush Limbaugh Eats Everything. An oldie, but a goodie. (via Kottke.org)

The Globe and Mail prints a letter from Margaret Atwood to America. I've been fan of Atwood's since reading/seeing her "Handmaid's Tale" in college. Can't say I disagree with her sentiments here. In fact, the letter is like a litany of areas the U.S. left needs to focus on for the next election.

Digby thinks GW may be certifiable. Too bad this isn't like Star Trek where Bones can kick Kirk out of the command seat.

In another volley aimed at securing a Democratic White House, Kevin Drum at CalPundit serves up this excellent point:
"Rich countries rarely go to war against each other, and rich people rarely become terrorists — Osama may be a rich man, but his followers aren't. Therefore, if we truly want to be safe from terrorism in the long term, we need a foreign policy aimed at making poor countries rich. Tolerance and democracy will follow. This is an enormously sensitive and difficult problem, and I don't pretend to know how to attack it, but it's imperative that it be our goal. Nothing else will work."

He's talking about how the next Democratic presidential candidate can formulate a viable foreign policy in the wake of Bush's major mess. Something to think about.

Craig at BookNotes has a good roundup of war news that has flown under the wire of the major media.

Terminus has a post talking about political correctness coming from the right this time. Worth a read.

Oddly soothing. (requires flash)

There’s a serious argument to be made that terrorism throws the whole notion of just law on its ear. How is it possible to defend oneself against unseen forces except by aggressive policy? It’s an interesting hypothesis. But in order for it to carry any water as a just strategy, it cannot be pre-emptive and unilateral, both of which the US reserves as its right. If a new dispensation is going to be added to just war theory—that just cause includes pre-emptive strikes—it must also include further conditions. In the case of pre-emption, it must include a condition of international support.

-- Notes on the Atrocities.

Go read more of the above from Emma Goldman (another anonymous blogger). However, Emma leaves out the real justification for Bush's war with Iraq... spreading democracy throughout the region. I'd like to see her opinion on that.

Winds of Change starts to provide an answer to the question: "Where do they get young men like this?

Jeanne D'arc's Body and Soul posts a very important letter concerning the long debate over extremism vs. centrism. Needless to say this debate has been going on since the first conceptualism of liberalism, I don't think it will end anytime soon.

Counterspin echos my earlier post on what future foes might want to start investigating as far as defense.

Arundhati Roy, author and commentator for the Guardian/UK, pens a long piece on her view of the US and UK invasion of Iraq. It's definately worth reading, bringing up many of the arab street's usual complaints and a few new ones. My big problem with this piece is that it offers no alternate path to the one suggested by Bush and his Neocons.

In fact, if the goal is to bring democracy and human rights to these countries, I haven't heard a workable alternate suggestion from anyone. The only alternate offered has been stronger sanctions. The reason being they worked in South Africa and should work again. But sanctions in Iraq only resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. The difference was that there was a resistance movement in South Africa that asked for sanctions where the Iraqi people did not. So that would not work in Iraq. Nor is it likely to work in Saudia Arabia, Egypt, Iran, etc. The only country it is likely to work on is Israel, as the resistance is crying out everyday for sanctions against Israel from the west. But we're on other side of the fence there, just like we were for many years in South Africa.

So, while I continue to be a strong believer in the importance of spreading human rights, including the right to representation (ie, democracy), across the globe, I cannot currently invision a path that will get us there without use of force. Any suggestions?

Gary Hart, the once-again presidential candidate, has a blog. What amazes me about this is his willingness to open himself up to criticisms and debate (read the comments). Exactly what I want from my next president. (btw, Howard Dean has a good website, but so far no personal journalesque writings from him, but there is a Dean Blog tracking the campaign.)

"Where Do They Get Young Men Like This? Embedded CNN reporter emits what is sure to be one of the lingering memories of this war. (via "Lt. Smash)

Eject! Eject! Eject! writes a long essay about the reasons for war and some historical perspective on what we're fighting for. Here's a quote:
Now it seems fair to say that you can boil down the opinions of many of those opposed to the War in Iraq to a question uttered by leading anti-war activist Susan Sarandon, who asked, “I want to know what Iraq has done to us.”

There are two reasons to fight this war. One is so that History will never be able to answer that question. I don’t ever want to read about the VX attacks that left 16,000 dead at Atlanta Hartsfield airport. I don’t want to see the video of makeshift morgues inside the LA Coliseum as more anthrax victims are emptied from the hospitals. And I don’t want to look at helicopter shots of a blackened, radioactive crater where Times Square used to be, or of millions of dead bodies burning in funeral pyres, like columns of failure, dead from starvation and disease in the worldwide depression that such an attack on New York would produce.

I personally have a hard time justifying "peace from the end of a gun barrel" as a reason to go to war. 'Pax Democracia' is a noble goal but if lives are lost unnecessarily and unjustly in obtaining it, then the goal will feel hollow (and probably unreachable). Fear of imperialism (a reasonable fear based on past experience) makes warfare an almost impossible option and therefore it should be the final resort. This seems to be the key point that the Bush regime has missed in the eyes of anti-war camp. The pro regime change camp believes they have tried everything and that waiting is no longer an option.

So is the barrel necessary? Even knowing Saddam's history, if I could truly believe that Iraq had a part in 9.11.01, had WMD and planned to use them (again), or was an imminent threat to his neighbors (the most provable of the three) then I would feel better about regime change. As it is, I think this war is being fought for different reasons. The fact that Iraq is our target is just due to the incompetence of Saddam (he could have defused this whole thing 12 years ago and instead be in the same position N. Korea is right now). We would be at war with someone right now because the people in power want a war to prove their theories of 'pre-emptive strikes' and that even a 'semi-democracy' is better than being ruled by a ruthless dictator (as William Kristol said on 'Fresh Air' tonight). And, since they have a President who is partial to their ideas already, now is the time to implement then.

Now, I'm not opposed to those ideas in every instance. I can see cases where a 'pre-emptive strike' is required (JFK's embargo of Cuba, which was an act of war for one) or would have been preferable to our isolationist politics (WWII, when we waited for Pearl Harbor). But when the goal from the outset is to 'install democracy' instead of 'to root out evil' then I'm on the fence. So, until I have proof from a trusted third party (I just can't trust the Bush regime) that a 'pre-emptive strike' was as necessary in this case as it was in those other cases, then I remain unconvinced this war is a good thing. And if you can't convince me (an Eagle scout), then how can you convince the Arab Street or the rest of the world.

Btw, the time for convincing the rest of the world is before you launch your attack, or shortly there after. The window is swiftly closing for the Bush regime. America will have to act decisively in 2004 to save face if the case for attack can't be made to the rest of the world.

So here we go... hoping for the best, afraid of the worst, not knowing what either side has up its sleeve, nor how long this will take. I hope the loss of life on both sides is minimal from here on out. I am afraid that the slaughter through the sights of our advanced weaponry will continue. I hope the regime change comes swiftly. I'm afraid that WMD will be used. I hope that when the war is over, peace and rebuilding come swiftly. I'm afraid that the war will only spread to Syria, Iran, and N. Korea. Only one thing we can be sure of, the future will be interesting.

First go read Talk Left. Then for more on 'American Global Leadership' (a euphemism for Global Domination) listen to the April 1st 'Fresh Air' on NPR. The first guest will scare you with his analysis of current events. The second guest (William Kristol) will send chills down your spine with his earnest beliefs that have led the world down this dangerous road.

Phil Carter is a must read today.

Untelevised reminds us of this age old arab proverb:
Myself against my brother. Myself and my brother against my cousin. Myself, my brother and my cousin against the foreigner.
I think we haven't even seen the beginning of our troubles in the middle-east. The sooner this is over the better.

Unruled has a great piece on the Economics of bombs. Read all the way to the bottom to find some great stuff on cement bombs. (via Jim Henley)

I just posted the following on The Agonist's bulliten boards. Thought I'd share it here too.

Collaborative websites are examples of what I call 'Tribal Journalism'. In Internet speak, tribes are virtual communities of users who share common cultural viewpoints (usually because they share the same information sources). The core body of participants in each web site make up the tribe and together they filter the truth from a variety of sources.

Tribes are porous bodies and there is often a lot of overlap with neighboring tribes. What becomes shared knowledge in one tribe evnetually spreads to other tribes where it goes through the same filtering process before it becomes accepted knowledge. All knowledge is questionable always. Hard facts are rare and are usually 'proven' scientifically somehow.

The Agonist is unique in that all knowledge is filtered through one person at some point. But there is still a wide tribe of users who supply sources and debate its accuracy. I think this allows for a slightly wider spectrum of viewpoints being held within the tribe. But that remains to be proven (as does all knowledge).

French 'Spiderman' Makes Anti-War Climb. FYI, the building he climbed is the HQ of the oil giant TotalFina Elf. The Bush family is heavily invested in ELF and Bush I servered on its board before he was president.

The Patriot Act is now the law. You want some freedom with those fries?
So far, that's my favorite quote from this whole affair.

Ampersand, over at Alas, a blog, poses an interesting question. What would happen if the Democrats in the US Senate fillabuster all future Bush judicial nominees, including Supreme Court ones.

Charlie writes on the Electrolite comments:
... the common belief in the US media that the incident in Mogadishu involved a grand total of eighteen deaths.

Don't the five hundred dead and roughly a thousand injured natives, most of them civilian by-standers, count? ...

...

Or the tendency to count Gulf War One as an overwhelmingly bloodless war, with under 200 casualties (and somewhere in the 50-250,000 range on the other side, but they're wogs so they don't matter).

Modern warfare is not bloodless, but these right-wing pundits would like us to think that it was because it serves their murderous agenda. There's a revolting racist undertone to the deliberate discounting of foreign death tolls, and it's been adopted uncritically across all the US media, as far as I can see, including such relatively mainsteam outlets like the New York Times and CNN.

Important points to keep in mind as we hear about "The War Plan."

Digby gives more insight into the workings of the White House. Also read TPM for more background.

Another quote from the Newsweek article quoted before, [the adminstration] "developed a language and diplomatic style that seemed calculated to offend the world. (President Bush has placed a portrait of Theodore Roosevelt in the White House. TR’s most famous words of advice are worth recalling: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”) Key figures in the administration rarely traveled, foreign visitors were treated to perfunctory office visits, and state dinners were unheard of. On an annual basis, George W. Bush has visited fewer foreign countries than any president in 40 years."

Just becareful where you poke that stick or you might find a hornet's nest. N'est ce pas?

Interesting column in the Dallas Fort Worth areaStar Telegram. The author quotes a Newsweek article "I've been all over the world in the last year, and almost every country I've visited has felt humiliated by this administration." Upon reading this a little light went off in the dark recesses of what passes for my brain. The lack of support for this war are the chickens coming home to roost for the U.S. gov't, and specifically for this administration.

Bush is running this company like a private corporation, he's the CEO, and the cabinet is the board of trustees. In the world of business if someone is not a team player there are a dozen people lined up to take their corner office. In the world of business if a vendor cuts a better deal with a competitor, you renegotiate or you find a new vendor. On the other hand, if you are a large enough company, then you can treat a vendor horribly, but they'll keep coming back because they can't afford to lose your business. Bush's oft quoted saying, "If you're not with us, you're against us" comes from the belief that if you're not affecting the bottom line in a positive way, then you're dead meat to be cut away before you rot out the rest of the profits.

In the world of foreign affairs the rules of the business world do not apply (It's more like a playground, as I'll get to later). You can only treat a trading parter like a vendor for so long before it begins to chafe. And if you treat them horribly, refusing to play by the rules (Kyoto, World Court, Steel tariffs, etc), eventually they're going to cut you out of the deal.

Bush's administration isn't the only U.S. regime to play this way. I think we're reaping what we've sown since the Nixon administration. All our attempts at "nation building" through supporting despots, anti-communist thugs, death squads, muslim extremists, etc... are coming back to haunt us. The world has finally decided they don't like the rules of our game and they refuse to play anymore. Blair is like the bully's sidekick who holds the playground victim while the bully pulverizes them and steals their lunch. He sticks by the bully because he knows that in the past, that has always been the safest place to be. But in the new playground, where the rules have changed and the rest of the kids have banded together against the bully, even the sidekick can't last for long before changing sides.

The ol' U.S. of A. will soon be alone on the playground, ignored by the other kids (even worse than a fight, where we at least have a chance to pass out some black eyes), and isolated from the only system that might assist us (in this case the UN and the World Trade Organization, both of which the Bush administration has chosen to piss off).

ABCNEWS Nightline reports on how lucky the U.S. is regarding homeland terror.

Robert Parry states essentially the same thing I have below, only better.

It's a slow news day today. But it gives me a chance to reflect on how lucky I think the U.S. and its military has been. First of all, it has been 12 days since Bush's ultimatum to Hussein and so far we've escaped any terrorism on our shores or against our holdings overseas. I'm sure some of this can be attributed to the skill of our anti-terrorism forces (FBI, CIA, etc), but the complete lack of any attack makes me think we’ve been over estimating Hussein’s ability to strike out either through their supposed friends Al-Queda or other agents. If so, then we’ve lost some of the justification for this war. I hope I’m not proven wrong on this point.

Second, I think the U.S. and U.K. forces have been tremendously lucky so far. Iraq has had 12 years to prepare for this invasion and we’ve provided him juicy targets by stringing out our supply lines over 300 plus miles. Although the news may be suppressed, I haven’t heard of a single gas tanker being blown up (they’re not armored at all). So far, only one car bomb. But this tactic will be much more effective once foot patrols enter cities that have supposedly been pacified. Hussein should have been building tunnels and bomb shelters throughout the region where his troops could pop out and ambush allied forces supply lines. Instead, they are sending ‘technical’ vehicles in suicide missions against tanks.

Quotes from the brave men of the U.S. and U.K. forces indicate that it is a totally one sided battle out there. In interviews on CNN and MSNBC commanders recount dozens of men rushing them with small arms and grenades (both useless against our armor) only to be cut down instantly. To me these are very sad instances. I’m reminded of the movie Zulu where tens of thousands of Zulu warriors throw themselves at a small group of British soldiers time and again only to be slaughtered on each approach. In that movie, the Zulus eventually retreated leaving thousands dead on the battle field, but most lived to fight again another day. I hope the Iraqi forces will soon do the same thing.

But I doubt they ever will retreat. Most of those behind the fighting belong to the Baath party or other leadership groups. They are the ones who will be tried for war crimes and who will suffer the most in the rebuilt Iraq. They have little to lose by fighting. I ask you to put yourself in their shoes. Imagine a Red Dawn scenario. Would you not want to pick up arms and revolt somehow. You wouldn’t just capitulate and start to study Russian or Chinese (as the case might be), no you’d find someway to fight. The reports of people returning to Iraq from across the region to pick up arms are truly frightening. If for some reason Bush decides we need to go into Syria or Iran then this becomes a whole different story (see my earlier post).

Lately, the word from the Pentagon is that they are expecting Baghdad, meaning the leadership, to crumble from the inside. They must have some sort of intel that leads them to believe that. But I hope it is stronger intel then that which made them believe the regime would crumble after a little operation called ‘Shock and Awe’. The worst thing, casualty wise, for the U.S. and U.K. forces would be a door to door street fight in Baghdad and Tikrit, but it might take that for real regime change to occur. But if the regime fails to crumble we have little choice than to lay siege to the Hussein strongholds or to surround them, interdict all food and water, and wait them out. Either way we suffer greatly in world opinion. Sieges are bloody things on both sides, and starvation campaigns will hurt the very people we are trying to help the most first. Militarily we might be winning this war, but politically, we might already be in a quagmire many times larger than Vietnam ever was.

My greatest wish is for this war to be resolved quickly and the slaughter be over. As I read around the net (the sites to read are: TPM, The Agonist, DailyKos, Counterspin, Tacitus, and Body and Soul) I see very little hope that the end is near. If the Pentagon has a plan to end this war, I hope they implement it soon, and prove us all wrong.

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall. Go read everyword he has written today.

Cold Fury is afraid that the Christian groups who will enter Iraq to provide aid to the Iraqi people might do more harm than good.

Don't forget, Iraq is home to a large christian group. Tariq Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister (ex-foreign minister) is the highest ranking christian in Iraq. So, I'm sure there will be groups of christians welcoming aid from people with a like religion. That said, 'persuading people', should it happen, is very last century and should be avoided.

The inclination towards tyranny, the wielding of absolute power by the few over the many, knows no ideological boundaries and is not confined to one time or space. I never trust anyone who says: "It can't happen here." Otherwise ethical people will commit the most serious injuries as long as they believe they are doing their "duty" - committing these injuries in a good cause. Lenin was not alone in believing that the end justifies the means: lots of people believe it, or act as if they do. It takes bravery of a different sort to maintain that the means defines the end: risk it during a time of high group stress and you're likely to be called naive, or a traitor.
- Margaret Atwood writing about her book The Handmaid's Tale, recently made into an Opera.

If one of the goals is to win the hearts and minds of the Arab Street, then according to this story we've already lost the war.

A history lesson we all need to remind ourselves of.

Not drawing any conclusions at this point... however, those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

"You will kill ten of our men and we will kill one of yours and in the end, it is you who will tire." - Ho Chi Minh

Reports of Booing in the France section of Disneyland's it's a small world. Will the madness ever stop?

Dolphin goes AWOL. Apparently Takoma has defected.

Quote to remember:

"Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters." -- Daniel Webster

Another must read article. Daniel Ellsberg and William Kristol on CSPAN's Washington Journal.

Boy. I'm full of ideas tonight.

Steven Johnson posts that whatever the U.S. spends invading Iraq, it should be forced to spend rebuilding the country. An idea I'm not totally against. However, why even go through the invading step. If each year we invested $85-100 billion dollars building infrastructure, education, and industry in 3 or 4 needful countries in exchange for separation of church and state, freedom of speech, the right to representation... (you get the idea), I guarantee we will quickly see countries lining up to 'reform' and get a piece of the pie, and if they leaders aren't willing to, then the people will revolt (at which point we send in our forces to assist). The EU could do the same thing if they desire a balance in world economic power. Not only would this be cheaper than waging war, it will build the world economy and in turn, our economy.

Mac posts the following in the comments section at The Agonist:

...the idea of such a preliminary strike is an "aggressive war" since we're attacking a country that has not attacked us nor has threatened to do so. This is in "material breach" of the UN Charter and ironically violates the very language we originally crafted; so we now have international war criminals running our country, which suggests the real reason for our withdrawal from the World Court in the Hague.

The use of "preliminary strikes" also sets a dangerous precedent for the rest of the world. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. What other members of the so-called "Axis of Evil" may now be thinking that a "preliminary strike" against us is now reasonable given our threatening stance against them? For that matter, what about other nations that have severely strained relations, such as Pakistan and India?

Saddam is a deadly despot, and removing him from power is a good thing. In this case it's clear that the end does not in any way justify the means. By engaging in this illegal aggressive war we probably have opened a Pandora's Box that ultimately may have deadly repercussions all over the world. The ultimate death toll may make the misery exacted by Saddam's death squads and torture chambers negligible by comparison.


The second paragraph makes me think of an interesting point. By launching a preliminary strike we are essentially declaring war against the world. At any point another country feels threatened by the ol U.S. of A.(and the launch of a preliminary strike would certainly threaten me if I was Korea) all they have to is claim the 'Bush Doctrine' and launch a preliminary strike instead. There is no mutual destruction assurance here as along as only convential weapons are used, so they old cold war boundaries are completely gone. It's enough to make one paranoid (which might explain a lot of Washington DC's actions these days).

The Scotsman paints a picture of Iraq's likely guerrilla tactics and how they will draw out this war. The longer the war goes on, the more likely the scenarios in my previous post will come to pass. Frightening.

The scenario described on Tacitus is what frightens me the 2nd most (almost as much as a second war erupting in Korea which will no doubt happen if our forces become stretched too thin in the mid-east). If we call up all our reserves we certainly have enough manpower to fight Iraq, Iran and Syria/Lebanon at the same time. Israel will certainly get involved and that means we're suddenly fighting the whole region and guess what, we're surrounded. Our ships will be stuck in easy to target waterways. Our ground forces will not all be able to receive air support at the same time (especially during any sand storms). Nor will our ground forces be able to receive new supplies as quickly (and we are already stretched out and supplies can be slow). Our JDAM munitions will have to be managed and targets chosen carefully or we will run out of them. Our existing bases in Arabic countries will suddenly find themselves in hostile territory (CENTCOM will have to quicly relocate).

The second war front is even more frightening. By the time we are able to get a significant number of ground forces to Korea, they will occupy the whole pennensula having overrun our troops (with a tremendous loss of life) and leveled Soeul (again tremendous loss of life). We will have to invade from the sea again using some of the same Marines forces currently involved in the mid-east right now. (Again terrible loss of life.) Chances are that China will become involved as well, probably against their will (they would like to have another 10 years of technological developement before they plan to confront the US), but they cannot be seen as impartial to the U.S. fighting so close to their border.

Suddenly we are in WWIII. The good news is that while Russia can probably claim neutrality because of the geographic location, the rest of Europe will be forced to choose sides and will most likely join up with the western allies. The $75-150 billion this war is likely to cost will triple or quadruple, which will provide exactly the kind of stimulus the economy needs right now. If you can't find a job, the defense industry will always be hiring, that is if you aren't drafted first. President Jeb Bush will declare the policies of his assassinated brother a grand success as the world tumbles into darkness.

Of course, maybe that's all just doom and gloom. I certainly hope so.

File under bizarre! Time Traveler makes a bundle off Stock Market.

As more of our troops are being deployed to the mid-east, I am left wondering at what point do we have to re-instate the draft? The seems to be a general consensus that we can handle a two front war (Iraq and N. Korea) with no problem. But without the involvement of other allies, what do we do if a third front (Syria, Iran, Indonesia, etc...) opens?

Great reporting from a NYTimes reporter caught in the middle of a firefight.

Anonymous Blogger Emma Goldman posts further thoughts on the potential problems of installing a democracy in a country that might elect Islamic extremists. Be sure to read the original Tacitus post too.

The truth comes out!

... time is not on our side. The main risks of this war were never military but political. Sure we could pulvirise Iraq and occupy it, that was never really in doubt. But Shrubco needed a quick bloodless win for its own agenda ( oil, military bases, intimidation of neighboring powers) without excessively antagonizing the Iraqi people, the Muslim world, and world opinion in that order, and also to forestall a double dip recession which looks more and more certain at this point.
Finally, I believe the Bushistas wanted to keep the Iraqi Army intact for another reason -- to turn around and use it as part of their Army of occupation, so as not to deploy as many American soldiers as occupiers. I think this is why they went to such lengths to try and persuade commanders to switch sides. And if they negotiated like they did with the UN, no doubt they pissed off all the Iraqi commanders, and garaunteed a fight.

-- JeffC posts on the Kos comment boards

Anybody disagree?

Jeanne at Body and Soul writes a very personal heartfelt essay that everybody from the President down should read. Make sure you have.

In other news: Nanotechnology has begun to make its impact in comsumer goods. This is the start of another major technological revolution.

A good "War on Iraq" resource list from the Law School at my alma mater.

Read Digby for some important commentary on the affect micromanagement from the Bush administration is having on the waging of this war.

E-sheep is back with a look at our leader's policies. While there, be sure to check out the

Think about the future...

If I were a nation state that feels it might be threatened by the U.S. in the future and I was looking at the current progress of this war, the technological advantage, the ‘smart’ bomb capability, the vast air superiority, I’d be very worried. But I wouldn’t feel completely hopeless. Instead, I would be quickly retooling my defense infrastructure.

I would stop building airplanes and I would find someway to counter the ‘stealth’ capability of America’s main bombing force. I would stop building nuclear weapons and I would find a way to counter-strike the e-bomb (An Electro Magnetic Pulse weapon that disables/melts all electronics within a certain range) with one of my own (indeed I would develop an anti-aircraft EMP weapon). Instead of buying long range missiles, I would want to find someway to ‘jam’ the Tomahawk missiles.

I would stockpile my e-bomb around the world so it could be launched at appropriate forces in the event I am attacked. I would target financial and technology centers first, then military bases only when I have enough e-bomb’s stockpiled. I would also find a way to launch anti-aircraft e-bombs so they are small enough to not register on radar.

Finally, I would want to make sure I had a powerful media empire established around the world. I would launch cable stations, radio broadcast, and internet web sites (official and ‘grassroots’), to push my agenda even before the first bomb falls.

The object, of course, to make waging war against me such an large economic cost that the U.S. won’t want to get involved and to have the potential to keep world opinion on my side.

So while am I telling you this now... because, if I can think of it, I guarantee you North Korea and China already have.