When you get it...
Showing posts with label war. Show all posts
Showing posts with label war. Show all posts
Monday, January 16, 2012
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Link Dump - 20 August 2011
Crime:
People tend to overestimate their own intelligence. Funny story at the beginning of the article.
There are other articles out there that are better on one aspect of it, but this is by far the best overview of the spread and damage done by the Stuxnet worm.
Gives some great perspective on how the Wikileaks Afghan War Logs got leaked. Also, nice to read the unedited logs to get the whole perspective (although it takes some skipping around).
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Original article. Well worth a read. Great investigative journalism.
Economics:
Answer: get some practical experience. In the US for engineers, the Senior Project is looked at very closely by employers.
China seeks to displace Korea as the king of the shipbuilders. Korea will start concentrating on higher-value ships (LNG tankers, for example) as China's government pumps money into the shipbuilding industry to build capacity.
Note the article focuses only on Mexican immigrants (not other Latin American countries). Economic progress and less corruption keeps Mexico's best and brightest home.
Discussion of choosing between technical track and managerial track positions. I don't necessarily agree with everything that's presented in the article, but the comments at the end are also good.
Shocking article. Also mentions the USCG/MMS hearings in New Orleans.
Energy
Also check out the 'Chats with nuclear dad' on the Georneys blog. A PhD candidate in geology interviews her nuclear engineer dad on Fukushima and other nuclear topics.
Lots of the early missions are still classified (NRO/NSA satellite launches, mostly) and there were some incidents that were never widely known.
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Note that many major oil companies have negative reserve replacement ratios and don't even have a plan to reverse that trend; they'd rather live high on the hog on booked reserves. If you look at oil patch history, on the long run, it's cheaper to find and book barrels today rather than wait until tomorrow....
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If I ever become dictator, everyone will drive stickshifts. It will stop distracted driving, lower energy consumption (and hence oil prices), and be safer.
From the Houston Chronicle, with hilarious appeal to 'stop sending us those crazy emails'
War:
A history of the Littoral Combat Ship
Syrian soldier's view on being ordered to shoot at his neighbors.
Politics:
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For lesson in shared sacrifice, send Congress to boot camp - CNN.com
Lt. General Russel Honoré thinks Congress should be sent to boot camp: "Put them in tents with no air conditioning, have Army drill sergeants teach them teamwork and physical sacrifice. When they recognize their responsibility to the people of America, they can return to D.C."
List of books read by Obama over the past ~2 years.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Bunch o' Book Reviews
It's been a while since I did a book review, but since I finished the P.E. exam and don't have any grad school (yet), I've been filling my time with book and depleted my "to read" pile.
Here are a whole bunch of quick reviews (with covers from Good Reads):
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes.
Loved it. Exhaustive technical coverage of the making of the bomb. It teaches lots of physics and project management. I wish I had read this book when I was in college. Rhodes has a writing style I really like. I've picked up Dark Sun and The Twilight of the Bombs. I've read Twilight of the Bomb and that one covers more of the political side (although the part where the IAEA tracks down the pieces and parts of Iraq's nuclear program is fantastic). Nuclear Renewal is dated crap and is to be avoided.
Lords of Misrule: Mardi Gras and the Politics of Race in New Orleans by James Gill.
Fantastic. A must-read to understand New Orleans history and why New Orleans society is structured the way it is. There was a speech in one of the last Treme episodes where the old plutocrat describes how each successive generation tried to keep the next one down ('until the Standard Oil men left for Houston').
One Hundred Days: The Memoirs of the Falklands Battle Group Commander by Sandy Woodward.
The Falklands War was a surprisingly nasty little war that everyone has sort of forgotten about (partly because the US was incredibly embarrassed by it; the Reagan administration loved the staunchly anti-communist Junta and the Brits, of course were Robin to our Batman). Woodward gives a lot of credit to the 'Argies' ("We should have realized a country that made great Formula One drivers also made for great fighter pilots"). Had the Argentinians either waited for the British to scrap their carriers or waited for the assembled fleet to fall apart from rust and overdue boiler maintenance, they would have won.
Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945 by Leo Marks.
Candice read it and then got me to read it. It's all about SOE's operations and field ciphers. Note that you always hear about Bletchley Park's cryptography, but never allied codes (except for maybe the Navajo codetalkers); that's because the allied codes were crap. One of the German cryptographers wrote a book about "Operation North Pole." The book itself is a bit frustrating at first. There's a lot of discussion about the confusing nature of SOE's command hierarchy. Leo Marks doesn't really understand it (which is the point), but it slows the beginning down. A lot of reviewers also thought it was way too technical, but I thought that was the best part of the book (explaining WOK's and one-time-pads). A very sad ending as well.
The Control of Nature by John McPhee.
I firmly believe that all engineers should read 1 'engineering disaster'-type book per year. I thought that To Engineer Is Human would do it, but I hated the explanation of fatigue failure, so I gave up on the book and moved on. I found the Control of Nature thanks to XKCD and loved it. Like a combination of Rising Tide, Bayou Farewell, and Inviting Disaster. It covers 3 topics: the Atchafalaya/Old River Control Structure, volcanic eruptions in Iceland, and debris flow in Los Angeles. The only drawback was the analogies (5 million gallons per minute is like ______) droned on too many times and I didn't like some of them.
The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer*.
A French/German kid from Alsace-Loraine enlists into the Grossdeuchland Division of the Wermacht. You rarely read histories of the losing army. This is another one Candice got me to read. This is, despite 50 years and the stumbling block of translation, one of the greatest war accounts ever written. Starkly anti-war. Almost the entire book is the long, slow retreat from Stalingrad. You'll be reading the book and you'll get to a part that really just reaches out and grabs you and shakes you. In one part of the book, he remarks how reading war accounts shouldn't be 'in the comfort of your own home, in a nice cozy chair, but instead in a field, cold, starving, tired, standing for hour after hour.'
UPDATE- More random thoughts.
On The Control of Nature: geologists must get pretty cocky around engineers. Geologists study mountain chains being worn down by erosion and here are the engineers proposing 'taming' a river.
On Silk and Cyanide: There's a great quote where Marks is visited by another cryptographer and they talk about political matters and then, as Marks writes, "He paid me the greatest compliment: he got technical." LOVE THAT QUOTE!
_______________
* There's a little controversy about Sajer. Some think the book is a forgery, but I don't find that view very credible, although Sajer admits that it's more of an emotional book than a strictly factual reference. Guy is apparently still alive in Paris.
Here are a whole bunch of quick reviews (with covers from Good Reads):
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes.
Loved it. Exhaustive technical coverage of the making of the bomb. It teaches lots of physics and project management. I wish I had read this book when I was in college. Rhodes has a writing style I really like. I've picked up Dark Sun and The Twilight of the Bombs. I've read Twilight of the Bomb and that one covers more of the political side (although the part where the IAEA tracks down the pieces and parts of Iraq's nuclear program is fantastic). Nuclear Renewal is dated crap and is to be avoided.
Lords of Misrule: Mardi Gras and the Politics of Race in New Orleans by James Gill.
Fantastic. A must-read to understand New Orleans history and why New Orleans society is structured the way it is. There was a speech in one of the last Treme episodes where the old plutocrat describes how each successive generation tried to keep the next one down ('until the Standard Oil men left for Houston').
One Hundred Days: The Memoirs of the Falklands Battle Group Commander by Sandy Woodward.
The Falklands War was a surprisingly nasty little war that everyone has sort of forgotten about (partly because the US was incredibly embarrassed by it; the Reagan administration loved the staunchly anti-communist Junta and the Brits, of course were Robin to our Batman). Woodward gives a lot of credit to the 'Argies' ("We should have realized a country that made great Formula One drivers also made for great fighter pilots"). Had the Argentinians either waited for the British to scrap their carriers or waited for the assembled fleet to fall apart from rust and overdue boiler maintenance, they would have won.
Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945 by Leo Marks.
Candice read it and then got me to read it. It's all about SOE's operations and field ciphers. Note that you always hear about Bletchley Park's cryptography, but never allied codes (except for maybe the Navajo codetalkers); that's because the allied codes were crap. One of the German cryptographers wrote a book about "Operation North Pole." The book itself is a bit frustrating at first. There's a lot of discussion about the confusing nature of SOE's command hierarchy. Leo Marks doesn't really understand it (which is the point), but it slows the beginning down. A lot of reviewers also thought it was way too technical, but I thought that was the best part of the book (explaining WOK's and one-time-pads). A very sad ending as well.
The Control of Nature by John McPhee.
I firmly believe that all engineers should read 1 'engineering disaster'-type book per year. I thought that To Engineer Is Human would do it, but I hated the explanation of fatigue failure, so I gave up on the book and moved on. I found the Control of Nature thanks to XKCD and loved it. Like a combination of Rising Tide, Bayou Farewell, and Inviting Disaster. It covers 3 topics: the Atchafalaya/Old River Control Structure, volcanic eruptions in Iceland, and debris flow in Los Angeles. The only drawback was the analogies (5 million gallons per minute is like ______) droned on too many times and I didn't like some of them.
The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer*.
A French/German kid from Alsace-Loraine enlists into the Grossdeuchland Division of the Wermacht. You rarely read histories of the losing army. This is another one Candice got me to read. This is, despite 50 years and the stumbling block of translation, one of the greatest war accounts ever written. Starkly anti-war. Almost the entire book is the long, slow retreat from Stalingrad. You'll be reading the book and you'll get to a part that really just reaches out and grabs you and shakes you. In one part of the book, he remarks how reading war accounts shouldn't be 'in the comfort of your own home, in a nice cozy chair, but instead in a field, cold, starving, tired, standing for hour after hour.'
UPDATE- More random thoughts.
On The Control of Nature: geologists must get pretty cocky around engineers. Geologists study mountain chains being worn down by erosion and here are the engineers proposing 'taming' a river.
On Silk and Cyanide: There's a great quote where Marks is visited by another cryptographer and they talk about political matters and then, as Marks writes, "He paid me the greatest compliment: he got technical." LOVE THAT QUOTE!
_______________
* There's a little controversy about Sajer. Some think the book is a forgery, but I don't find that view very credible, although Sajer admits that it's more of an emotional book than a strictly factual reference. Guy is apparently still alive in Paris.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Links of the day - 6/11/09
Lots to peruse:
World:
Netanyahu Clashed With Obama, Congress On Trip. M.J. Rosenberg of the Israel Policy Forum wrote that it was "the first time in memory" that "an Israeli prime minister went up to the Hill only to be bombarded with criticism."
Little Green Footballs - IAEA Reports Weapons-Grade Uranium Found in Egypt. HEU (highly enriched uranium) found in Egypt?
Pakistan expanding Nuclear Weapons Facility. Wired notes the possibility of a nuclear Civil War.
David Kilcullen. Petraus' brain? Be sure to read the end of the article.
Fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan... in pink boxers. SecDef praised the soldier for a "special kind of courage."
Obama's Speech already undercutting extremists? Maybe.
Economics:
Faltering Country Clubs Inviting Public Inside OMG! BEER SWILLING PROLETARIAT INVADE BOURGEOIS COUNTRY CLUBS! THE HORROR!
Goldman Sachs names ex-SEC chief Levitt as adviser. The colony of leeches gets bigger.
Italian Police Seize Japanese Nationals trying to Smuggle $134 Billion in Bonds. Either stunningly well counterfeited, or, even scarier, genuine articles.
Politics:
My dear American Neighbors. Northern Neighbor gives an honest take on "the Canadian way."
Cheney Lost to Bush. Interesting chronicle of the inside politics at the White House. Reminds me of the PBS documentary.
Bernard Kerik indicted for lying to Feds. Remember, he was Giuliani's pick to head DHS.
Robert Gates: Bureaucrat Unbound. Cheesy title, but so many people are singing his praises.
Baseball:
Pitchers are sissies. "Bone chips," HA! Published in 1946.
Deadspin - Why Scott Boras Isn't As Evil As You Think He Is. Scott Boras for commissioner of baseball? Couldn't be any worse than Selig...
Palin visits Yankee Stadium. Highly concentrated evil. Now if only Jeter would give her an STD and knock her up with a 1/4 black baby...
Random:
Either the coolest thing ever or incredibly wrong. Still can't decide which.
Hot Stuff in a Squeeze Bottle - NYT. Siracha hot sauce.
Phoonan Devi. Inspiration for Kill Bill? "They gang raped her, so she came back with a gun and some friends, and killed twenty-two men. Unsure of the identity of her rapists, she killed most of the males in the village just to be on the safe side"
Poster advertising Bachelor/ette Parties at a Gun Range. You mind will explode trying to process it all.
World:
Netanyahu Clashed With Obama, Congress On Trip. M.J. Rosenberg of the Israel Policy Forum wrote that it was "the first time in memory" that "an Israeli prime minister went up to the Hill only to be bombarded with criticism."
Little Green Footballs - IAEA Reports Weapons-Grade Uranium Found in Egypt. HEU (highly enriched uranium) found in Egypt?
Pakistan expanding Nuclear Weapons Facility. Wired notes the possibility of a nuclear Civil War.
David Kilcullen. Petraus' brain? Be sure to read the end of the article.
Fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan... in pink boxers. SecDef praised the soldier for a "special kind of courage."
Obama's Speech already undercutting extremists? Maybe.
Economics:
Faltering Country Clubs Inviting Public Inside OMG! BEER SWILLING PROLETARIAT INVADE BOURGEOIS COUNTRY CLUBS! THE HORROR!
Goldman Sachs names ex-SEC chief Levitt as adviser. The colony of leeches gets bigger.
Italian Police Seize Japanese Nationals trying to Smuggle $134 Billion in Bonds. Either stunningly well counterfeited, or, even scarier, genuine articles.
Politics:
My dear American Neighbors. Northern Neighbor gives an honest take on "the Canadian way."
Cheney Lost to Bush. Interesting chronicle of the inside politics at the White House. Reminds me of the PBS documentary.
Bernard Kerik indicted for lying to Feds. Remember, he was Giuliani's pick to head DHS.
Robert Gates: Bureaucrat Unbound. Cheesy title, but so many people are singing his praises.
Baseball:
Pitchers are sissies. "Bone chips," HA! Published in 1946.
Deadspin - Why Scott Boras Isn't As Evil As You Think He Is. Scott Boras for commissioner of baseball? Couldn't be any worse than Selig...
Palin visits Yankee Stadium. Highly concentrated evil. Now if only Jeter would give her an STD and knock her up with a 1/4 black baby...
Random:
Either the coolest thing ever or incredibly wrong. Still can't decide which.
Hot Stuff in a Squeeze Bottle - NYT. Siracha hot sauce.
Phoonan Devi. Inspiration for Kill Bill? "They gang raped her, so she came back with a gun and some friends, and killed twenty-two men. Unsure of the identity of her rapists, she killed most of the males in the village just to be on the safe side"
Poster advertising Bachelor/ette Parties at a Gun Range. You mind will explode trying to process it all.
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Mystery of the Varyag
Looks like I'm finally close to being done moving. It's a pain. I guess moving is punishment for being a materialistic capitalist swine.
Anyway, wanted to finally get back to posting. Looks like a lot of people have cut way back on their posting. Hopefully it will pick back up. Anyway, on to a post I've had in my head for a while.
*******************
The aircraft carrier Varyag is something I've had my eye on for a while. It's a fascinating story that could have been written by Ian Fleming. China acquired a partially constructed hulk of a Soviet aircraft carrier from Ukraine. The purchase price was way above scrap value. The company that purchased the Varyag was headed by a bunch of retired PLA-Navy officers. They wanted to purchase the vessel for a floating casino in Macau, despite the harbor not being deep enough for a ship the size of the Varyag.
The vessel gets purchased, along with the blueprints, but Turkey won't let it through the Dardanelles because it could sink and block the channel. After intensive diplomatic negotiations, Turkey lets it through. Over many months, the ship is towed to the other side of the world. The Varyag is towed past Macau all the way to China. It arrives not at a civilian port, but a PLAN shipyard. The same day it's tied up to the military wharf, the "casino" company went bankrupt and disappeared.
Varyag World has been covering the story for a while. After it arrived, it sat there for a while. China made several other deals for carriers and carrier aircraft. The carriers were purchased (with blueprints) and slowly scrapped to learn as much as possible about carrier construction. China also purchased several sets of carrier landing equipment to start training pilots.
After a while, the shipyard dry docked the vessel, sandblasted, and painted the vessel and started prepping the deck for takeoffs and landings. Then the Varyag just sat there for a while. Just a few weeks ago, though, the Varyag was brought to a new wharf with many large cranes. The deck is covered with equipment. It looks like the Chinese are adding environmental controls and, finally, propulsion.
Other interesting tidbits: Jane's Information Services reports the PLAN has given it the name "Shi Lang," the first Chinese emperor to capture Taiwan. Could the Varyag be the training platform/stopgap for the first native-built aircraft carriers?
There are a lot more little twists and turns, but that hits some of the high notes. More discussion here.
The other thing that makes the whole saga interesting is carriers might now be a obsolete as big gun battleships were on December 6th, 1941. No surface ship can survive long against a sophisticated foe on the modern battlefield. The military historian Sir John Keegan has said since the Falklands War, surface ships are seriously vulnerable to missile attack. Even the deployment of Close-In Weapons Systems, like the Phalanx don't fully counter the threat. They only counter sea-level missiles. Steeply approaching missiles go right over the protective cover. Also, how long does it take to reload the Phalanx under fire? You can bet, unlike the Exocets and the British during the Falklands, future carriers will have more than 5 missiles to worry about. They'll get cut to ribbons. The only thing in carriers' favor is that the two best ways to hunt a submarine are 1- another sub (included in all carrier battle groups), 2- a squadron of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Helicopters (which carriers just happen to carry).
Supposedly, China has been focusing in on building out their submarine force and saying carriers are just for show. Why the sudden change in thinking?
One final China-related note: "Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang" was just published. Ziyang was the head of China that instituted the economic reforms that launched its incredible economic boom that lasts to this day. He was removed for refusing to take a hard line against the Democratic protesters in Tienanmen Square. His memoirs will give a peak into Chinese politics, a very rare thing.
Anyway, wanted to finally get back to posting. Looks like a lot of people have cut way back on their posting. Hopefully it will pick back up. Anyway, on to a post I've had in my head for a while.
*******************
The aircraft carrier Varyag is something I've had my eye on for a while. It's a fascinating story that could have been written by Ian Fleming. China acquired a partially constructed hulk of a Soviet aircraft carrier from Ukraine. The purchase price was way above scrap value. The company that purchased the Varyag was headed by a bunch of retired PLA-Navy officers. They wanted to purchase the vessel for a floating casino in Macau, despite the harbor not being deep enough for a ship the size of the Varyag.
The vessel gets purchased, along with the blueprints, but Turkey won't let it through the Dardanelles because it could sink and block the channel. After intensive diplomatic negotiations, Turkey lets it through. Over many months, the ship is towed to the other side of the world. The Varyag is towed past Macau all the way to China. It arrives not at a civilian port, but a PLAN shipyard. The same day it's tied up to the military wharf, the "casino" company went bankrupt and disappeared.
Varyag World has been covering the story for a while. After it arrived, it sat there for a while. China made several other deals for carriers and carrier aircraft. The carriers were purchased (with blueprints) and slowly scrapped to learn as much as possible about carrier construction. China also purchased several sets of carrier landing equipment to start training pilots.
After a while, the shipyard dry docked the vessel, sandblasted, and painted the vessel and started prepping the deck for takeoffs and landings. Then the Varyag just sat there for a while. Just a few weeks ago, though, the Varyag was brought to a new wharf with many large cranes. The deck is covered with equipment. It looks like the Chinese are adding environmental controls and, finally, propulsion.
Other interesting tidbits: Jane's Information Services reports the PLAN has given it the name "Shi Lang," the first Chinese emperor to capture Taiwan. Could the Varyag be the training platform/stopgap for the first native-built aircraft carriers?
There are a lot more little twists and turns, but that hits some of the high notes. More discussion here.
The other thing that makes the whole saga interesting is carriers might now be a obsolete as big gun battleships were on December 6th, 1941. No surface ship can survive long against a sophisticated foe on the modern battlefield. The military historian Sir John Keegan has said since the Falklands War, surface ships are seriously vulnerable to missile attack. Even the deployment of Close-In Weapons Systems, like the Phalanx don't fully counter the threat. They only counter sea-level missiles. Steeply approaching missiles go right over the protective cover. Also, how long does it take to reload the Phalanx under fire? You can bet, unlike the Exocets and the British during the Falklands, future carriers will have more than 5 missiles to worry about. They'll get cut to ribbons. The only thing in carriers' favor is that the two best ways to hunt a submarine are 1- another sub (included in all carrier battle groups), 2- a squadron of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Helicopters (which carriers just happen to carry).
Supposedly, China has been focusing in on building out their submarine force and saying carriers are just for show. Why the sudden change in thinking?
One final China-related note: "Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang" was just published. Ziyang was the head of China that instituted the economic reforms that launched its incredible economic boom that lasts to this day. He was removed for refusing to take a hard line against the Democratic protesters in Tienanmen Square. His memoirs will give a peak into Chinese politics, a very rare thing.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Saturday, November 8, 2008
News of Note - 8 November '08
America's actions Tuesday summed up in this photo set.
Proposition 8 passed in California. Mormons donated heavily to its defeat, so they should worry about the Governator launching an invasion of Utah. Gays are pissed and will boycott Mormon businesses.
I like this Op-Ed from the SLC Tribune: What's more harmful to society - two well-dressed men getting married and settling down, or two idiots tying the knot and cranking out any number of additional idiots?
Remember all of those unruly protesters at the DNC in Denver? Well, turns out a bunch of them were undercover cops. Don't worry. The Agent Provocateur undercover cops got pepper sprayed by cops in riot gear
This is some of my coworkers:
Between Obama and Nick Saban, they're going to need some Prozac.
Georgia committed widespread atrocities against the Ossetians and Russians during the Ossetian War.
In Somalia, Islamic Millitants stoned a 13 year old rape victim to death in front of hundreds while she begging for her life. Chilling description from the BBC.
In New Orleans, the Facility Master Plan for NOPS was passed. Only one board member voted against it. For more, check out Eli.
Lee Zurick takes on Trashanova. Trashanova strikes again. Now dumping raw sewerage on St. Bernard.
Nagin's non-endorsement endorsement of Dollar Bill.
End on a happy note: Otto the Octopus gets annoyed with bright lights.
Proposition 8 passed in California. Mormons donated heavily to its defeat, so they should worry about the Governator launching an invasion of Utah. Gays are pissed and will boycott Mormon businesses.
I like this Op-Ed from the SLC Tribune: What's more harmful to society - two well-dressed men getting married and settling down, or two idiots tying the knot and cranking out any number of additional idiots?
Remember all of those unruly protesters at the DNC in Denver? Well, turns out a bunch of them were undercover cops. Don't worry. The Agent Provocateur undercover cops got pepper sprayed by cops in riot gear
This is some of my coworkers:
Between Obama and Nick Saban, they're going to need some Prozac.
Georgia committed widespread atrocities against the Ossetians and Russians during the Ossetian War.
In Somalia, Islamic Millitants stoned a 13 year old rape victim to death in front of hundreds while she begging for her life. Chilling description from the BBC.
In New Orleans, the Facility Master Plan for NOPS was passed. Only one board member voted against it. For more, check out Eli.
Lee Zurick takes on Trashanova. Trashanova strikes again. Now dumping raw sewerage on St. Bernard.
Nagin's non-endorsement endorsement of Dollar Bill.
End on a happy note: Otto the Octopus gets annoyed with bright lights.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
War in South Ossetia
Stuff's been blowing up and the US isn't (directly) involved. Here's some interesting reading on the war:
Secretary Rice now admits Georgia attacked first.
Gary Brecher recaps the war.
...and possible future Neo-con plans for the country. Suggestion: don't book any vacations there anytime soon.
What if a major news network conducted an extensive, exclusive interview with a major head of state and hardly aired a minute of it? Well, that network would probably face retaliation from that country... CNN is already none too popular in China and now they're pissing on Russia. Nice move. Here's the interview. Putin, on the whole, sounds quite reasonable. Especially for a pedophile.
Secretary Rice now admits Georgia attacked first.
Gary Brecher recaps the war.
...and possible future Neo-con plans for the country. Suggestion: don't book any vacations there anytime soon.
What if a major news network conducted an extensive, exclusive interview with a major head of state and hardly aired a minute of it? Well, that network would probably face retaliation from that country... CNN is already none too popular in China and now they're pissing on Russia. Nice move. Here's the interview. Putin, on the whole, sounds quite reasonable. Especially for a pedophile.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Sound of Ben Bernake being dead wrong...
Fed Chief downplays risk of Stagflation. You can just picture the author screaming "BULLSHIT!" to Bernake as he writes this article. At the exact same time that Bernake was speaking, Oil his the highest level ever (adjusted for inflation) and the dollar reached a new low against the Euro. Think the two could be related?
Dare I throw in a third thread responsible for the other two? Iraq. Nobel economist analyzes Iraq. $3 Trillion is his MOST CONSERVATIVE estimate of spending to date. He includes some budgetary vignettes that are priceless. Like how the army requires soldiers to pay for damaged helmets, even if the damage comes from an enemy bullet or bomb.
Bernake is quietly wishing Greenspan was there to help him out. Oh, whoops, Greenspan is fiscally cockblocking Bernake by advising Gulf States to drop their dollar pegs. On a related note, the much ballyhooed Iranian Oil Bourse opens on the same day oil closes above $100 for the first time ever. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) had traded above $100 during the day and had closed once at $100, but never over that figure.
Warren Buffet gives the Fed the benefit of the doubt, but makes some interesting observations about the economy (and investing in general). Well worth a read.
UPDATE- ...And the next day, the Dow falls 315 points.
Dare I throw in a third thread responsible for the other two? Iraq. Nobel economist analyzes Iraq. $3 Trillion is his MOST CONSERVATIVE estimate of spending to date. He includes some budgetary vignettes that are priceless. Like how the army requires soldiers to pay for damaged helmets, even if the damage comes from an enemy bullet or bomb.
Bernake is quietly wishing Greenspan was there to help him out. Oh, whoops, Greenspan is fiscally cockblocking Bernake by advising Gulf States to drop their dollar pegs. On a related note, the much ballyhooed Iranian Oil Bourse opens on the same day oil closes above $100 for the first time ever. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) had traded above $100 during the day and had closed once at $100, but never over that figure.
Warren Buffet gives the Fed the benefit of the doubt, but makes some interesting observations about the economy (and investing in general). Well worth a read.
UPDATE- ...And the next day, the Dow falls 315 points.
Monday, July 23, 2007
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