Unqualified Offerings

By Thoreau
The latest Economist has an interesting article on training armed forces to fight insurgencies. One refreshing part is where the author toys with the idea that maybe “4th Generation Warfare” isn’t quite as new and unprecedented as people like to think.  It’s not like the past few decades showed the world’s first instances of [...]

By Mona
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If you found my post below and especially attendant links regarding the email exchanges between Col. Steven Boylan and Glenn Greenwald too much to wade through, here is a concise version of the matter by Greg Mitchell of E&P. That publication thinks the story has legs. Excerpt:

For months the popular blogger [...]

By Mona
[See above post.]
The right-o–phere thinks they’ve caught Glenn Greenweald in this horrible lie and misrepresentation vis-a-vis the bizarre and unprofessional email he received — and then posted about — yesterday from General David Petraues’ spokesman, Colonel Steven Boylan.
As one Bluto — in post that memorandum shows is getting linked [...]

Lots of talk about yesterday’s hero-in-errorspotting. The passages that most struck me were:
His latest job: To press Iraq’s central government to use early security gains from the surge to deliver better electricity, health, education and local security services to Baghdad neighborhoods. That’s the next phase of the surge plan.
Which is an interesting formulation, since “press [...]

By Thoreau
In the midst of a book review, the Economist observes the following about Emperor George’s campaigns in 2000 and 2004:
In 2000 he beat an incumbent vice-president after eight years of peace and prosperity: the wry slogan among his inner circle was: “Things have never been better. Vote for change.” Four years later, with the [...]

Now seems a good time to point out that The Editors got the Iraq War wrong when it mattered.
On the bright side: 4-12 is alive!

By Thoreau
But only if the amnesty is granted by a special prosecutor.
And only in exchange for testimony.  (Credit for this phrasing goes to joe at Hit and Run.)
I want orange jumpsuits.  I want US Marshals serving warrants at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the Naval Observatory, and Fort Meade.  I want perp walks.
Of course, I also want [...]

By Thoreau
Let’s say that you are the leader of a party that holds a narrow majority of the seats in a legislative body. And let’s say that a truly godawful bill comes forward. And let’s say that a few members of your caucus are thugs who think that torture, warrantless wiretaps, detention without [...]

By Mona
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Notwithstanding the lavishness of the new U.S. Hilton Embassy compound in Baghdad, The State Department cannot find 50 qualified internal volunteers to staff it. So, they are going to order diplomats there, something not done since Vietnam. Cernig has some suggestions for avoiding such heavy-handed measures, namely, recruiting the patriotic [...]

Don’t have a Mac. Can’t afford a Mac. So, can’t use Scrivener. But want a writing program for NaNoWriMo. Who has experience with any of the following and wants to sound off, please?
yWriter
RoughDraft
PageFour
Liquid Story Binder
I’m clicking around the homepages and reading up on features. Of the programs above, Liquid Story Binder sounds and looks like [...]