Plain and Simple Chaos
Hey folks! As I write this, I'm preparing to go see The Dark Knight with Disc Golf Champ. I'll be out late, so I'll be sleeping late, which means that I have a short time to get this written.
Following my frustration with Senator Obama this morning, he appears to have made amends with yet another gaffe. Remember how he was going to speak at the Brandenberg Gate? Well, he was persuaded to do it at the Berlin Victory Column instead. Just one problem: if you read the Wiki article closely enough, you'll note that this particular monument was sort of used by the Nazis during the late 1930's for various political and aesthetic purposes. (For the record, it also appeared in the music video for the U2 song Stay (Faraway, So Close!), but that's another issue.) Is this a bit nitpicky on my part? It is, but this is one of those things that goes to Senator Obama's credibility to lead our country. Why should I believe that he's capable and qualified, when neither he nor his staff were able to take the thirty seconds to check the Wikipedia entry that said "1939" in it? Do they have any ability to check and see what was going on in Berlin in 1939? Given Germany's uniquely touchy history, one would think such research would be a must. Apparently not.
Meanwhile, The Times (London) has a slide show of the Barack Obama's World Tour thus far. Those of you who haven't worked with the military might not pick up on this, but it didn't take me long to notice that Senator Obama isn't wearing body armor or a helmet in any of the pictures. Contrast this with this article from 2007, which clearly shows Senator McCain in body armor. There are two things that you should take from this:
For all of his talk of fact-finding, and the media spin of visiting hostile war zones, Senator Obama hasn't gone anywhere that required heavy protection.
For all of his talk of the "failure" of President Bush's Iraq policy, and the implications that the troop surge has failed, the reality is clear: the troop surge in Iraq has produced such markedly improved security that Senator Obama didn't need protective armor. This is in direct contrast to those leaders who have actually visited Iraq more than just once since Senator Obama was elected in 2004
(like Senator McCain).
Enough about Senator Obama, hopefully for at least a couple of weeks.
There have been several interesting articles about Russia lately. Last week, I posted an article about the disposal of surplus Russian nuclear submarines. Here's part two. Also worth reading is this article, Is Russia Strong or Weak?, and Russia's weaponry shows signs of age. For all of their bolster, Russia has failed to produce much of anything new lately. I'm not convinced that Russia is the resurgent threat that the Soviet Union was, but given the looming energy problem, the looming Iran problem, the looming China problem, and a handful of other problems, Russia is going to continue to be a monkey on America's back for a while yet.
And now, on a lighter note. You all know that I love satellite imagery, and post satellite image links all the time. Well, the other day at 1913 Intel, I found a link to Australia's version of the NGA. The link features an imagery analysis quiz. I did fairly well on it, although I had to correct a couple of my answers. Why not take it and post your score in the comments section?
Okay, I have things to do. Stay tuned, folks, there's always more to come.
UPDATE: Saw The Dark Knight last night. Enjoyed it, although I think that plot was a bit convoluted. One thing that was quite interesting was the improvement that Aaron Eckhart made to the abysmally bad Two Face as played in 1995 by Tommy Lee Jones. I may see it again in order to flesh out a bit of the plot for myself. By the way - could Maggie Gyllenhaal be any worse of an actress? Whoever decided to cast her in this role could have done better. There's a Time Online article about her that claims that she's completely and totally wonderful in every way; honestly, I went in with an open mind, and was completely underwhelmed.
Please note that oil has dropped into the $120-$130 range, and stocks are up. Let's hope this keeps up, even though it means less opportunity for me to make money when I sink my entire Federal Government Boondoggle Check into the market. Joy.
Following my frustration with Senator Obama this morning, he appears to have made amends with yet another gaffe. Remember how he was going to speak at the Brandenberg Gate? Well, he was persuaded to do it at the Berlin Victory Column instead. Just one problem: if you read the Wiki article closely enough, you'll note that this particular monument was sort of used by the Nazis during the late 1930's for various political and aesthetic purposes. (For the record, it also appeared in the music video for the U2 song Stay (Faraway, So Close!), but that's another issue.) Is this a bit nitpicky on my part? It is, but this is one of those things that goes to Senator Obama's credibility to lead our country. Why should I believe that he's capable and qualified, when neither he nor his staff were able to take the thirty seconds to check the Wikipedia entry that said "1939" in it? Do they have any ability to check and see what was going on in Berlin in 1939? Given Germany's uniquely touchy history, one would think such research would be a must. Apparently not.
Meanwhile, The Times (London) has a slide show of the Barack Obama's World Tour thus far. Those of you who haven't worked with the military might not pick up on this, but it didn't take me long to notice that Senator Obama isn't wearing body armor or a helmet in any of the pictures. Contrast this with this article from 2007, which clearly shows Senator McCain in body armor. There are two things that you should take from this:
(like Senator McCain).
Enough about Senator Obama, hopefully for at least a couple of weeks.
There have been several interesting articles about Russia lately. Last week, I posted an article about the disposal of surplus Russian nuclear submarines. Here's part two. Also worth reading is this article, Is Russia Strong or Weak?, and Russia's weaponry shows signs of age. For all of their bolster, Russia has failed to produce much of anything new lately. I'm not convinced that Russia is the resurgent threat that the Soviet Union was, but given the looming energy problem, the looming Iran problem, the looming China problem, and a handful of other problems, Russia is going to continue to be a monkey on America's back for a while yet.
And now, on a lighter note. You all know that I love satellite imagery, and post satellite image links all the time. Well, the other day at 1913 Intel, I found a link to Australia's version of the NGA. The link features an imagery analysis quiz. I did fairly well on it, although I had to correct a couple of my answers. Why not take it and post your score in the comments section?
Okay, I have things to do. Stay tuned, folks, there's always more to come.
UPDATE: Saw The Dark Knight last night. Enjoyed it, although I think that plot was a bit convoluted. One thing that was quite interesting was the improvement that Aaron Eckhart made to the abysmally bad Two Face as played in 1995 by Tommy Lee Jones. I may see it again in order to flesh out a bit of the plot for myself. By the way - could Maggie Gyllenhaal be any worse of an actress? Whoever decided to cast her in this role could have done better. There's a Time Online article about her that claims that she's completely and totally wonderful in every way; honestly, I went in with an open mind, and was completely underwhelmed.
Please note that oil has dropped into the $120-$130 range, and stocks are up. Let's hope this keeps up, even though it means less opportunity for me to make money when I sink my entire Federal Government Boondoggle Check into the market. Joy.
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