22 October 2008

Legend of the Bovine Resource Locator

Hey folks! Happy Wednesday. As usual, a few articles, a few bits of chicanery, and you can be on your way.

First, to Afghanistan. Michael Yon has new article up, very much worth reading as usual. In other Afghanistan news, the Japanese parliament has voted to once again extend the Japanese naval mission, which involves refueling coalition warships that support ISAF in the Indian Ocean. The refueling mission may be controversial to the Japanese, but their support has been invaluable in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and it could very well come into play as Japan continues to lobby for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. According to the NATO SACEUR, General John Craddock, NATO is "wavering" (Guardian, Times), and member nations need to reform the way they make decisions. This comes after several French soldiers lost their lives, and the French parliament actually held a vote on whether or not to retreat (*cough*), and the revelation several days ago that a hundred German special forces soldiers didn't go on a single mission during their three years in country. At this point, nearly all of the combat missions in the country are performed by American, British, Canadian, Danish, and Dutch troops, while the other NATO members are prevented from participating in combat operations due either to being poorly equipped by their countries, or legislatively restricted. I'll probably be discussing NATO more at some point in the coming months, as I intend to write an article on the subject for my parallel writing endeavour.

Just a couple more items. UPI carries a story by Claude Salhani titled Beirut 25 years later that discusses the 1983 bombing of the Marine and French barracks, and its aftermath. It throws in a bit of a dig at the United States in at the end (ironic from a Frenchman (I'm guessing), given that many of our wars of the last century have been cleaning up messes made by the French), but if you're interested in Lebanon, it's worth reading. Also on the Mediterranean coast, and following up on this post from August, the Libyan government has apparently implored Saif al Qaddhafi to continue the Libya Tomorrow program. This is apparently different than the Green Mountain Sustainable Development Area program that I mentioned in my article about Saif from about a year ago. I still think that Saif is being groomed by his father behind the scenes to take over when Crazy Uncle Muammar either can't hack it, or actually dies.

Okay, couple of things. First, your video for today is the original version of Electrical Storm by U2 - lyrics are here. The version I'm putting up is actually a rarity, as the standard version is here.



Sometimes I relieve work stress by writing chicanerific (yes, I made that up) stuff on my white board. Last week, I composed the following list.

Career Goals
  • ✓ Babysitter
  • ✓ Landscaping
  • ✓ Retail
  • ✓ Pallbearer
  • ✓ Fake Jihadi
  • ✓ Technical Writer
  • Shrimp Boat Captain
  • Central Asian Journalist
  • Bovine Locator Percussionist
  • Roman-Themed Martial Arts Competitor
  • Genius of Questionable Ethics
  • International Super Spy Rare Flower Dealer

  • Sometimes, I can't believe how much I rule. That's it for today, folks. Check back tomorrow for Election Thursday. Lots to share and discuss. Also, if your name is Father Time, and you haven't posted to your blog in about a month, please note that I haven't forgotten about you, and will give you an answer to your challenge in due time. Thanks!

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