Olga Kurylenko isn't Bolivian
Happy Monday, folks. I hope all's well. Here are a few stories I've been following.
I haven't commented until now on last week's terror bust in Belgium, but the Belgian police appear to have captured some very high priority targets. One of these is a longstanding female al Qaeda operative, the widow of one of the two killers of Ahmad Shah Massoud - the leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, who was killed by al Qaeda just two days before 9/11. Some of those arrested appear to have had ties and lines of communication with the top levels of al Qaeda leadership. This raid, ladies and gentlemen, is a big ----ing deal.
There are a couple of stories out of the Middle East that you ought to be aware of. An American general has said that Iran's support for Iraqi insurgent groups is waning (BBC, Guardian, AFP). This is likely the result of a number of different developments: the Iraqi Army's stunning victories in Basra and Sadr City earlier this year, improved border control and interdiction operations, and, of course, the collapse in oil prices - it's tough for Iran, whose entire economy is based on its decaying petroleum infrastructure, to fund terrorist operations in Iraq when oil falls from $140/bbl to $45/bbl in a matter of just a few months. On Friday, I noted that the Iranians were getting pissy with the Pakistanis over a number of dead hostages who were killed by Jundallah, whose bodies Pakistan hadn't bothered to police up and send back. I neglected to note an article from the previous day in which an Iranian official reiterated "foreign legations' diplomatic immunity" when assigned to consulates in Tehran. Of course, the Iranian government has a sterling track record of safeguarding the safety and security of diplomats.
In the op-ed world, FSM had a couple of great pieces on Friday: Cheerful Remarks at Big Media's Funeral, and Jimmy Carter and Hizballah. Both are worth the read, the first one in particular if you're a news hound like me, and the second in particular if you loathe Jimmy Carter.
MSN, usually a clearinghouse of crap, has an interesting article about teens who send naked pictures via the Internet or mobile phone. I don't agree with everything the article has to say, but it's an interesting read. I thought it could have been more effective if they had used some illustrative images of hot eighteen and nineteen year old chicks - for purely academic purposes, of course.
Need a dose of comedy? The Editing Room has an excellent fisking of Quantum of Solace, the wretched new Bond flick that I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. Very entertaining, especially this part:
Priceless. Go check it out. And that's it for today, be sure to check back tomorrow for more from The Fly.
I haven't commented until now on last week's terror bust in Belgium, but the Belgian police appear to have captured some very high priority targets. One of these is a longstanding female al Qaeda operative, the widow of one of the two killers of Ahmad Shah Massoud - the leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, who was killed by al Qaeda just two days before 9/11. Some of those arrested appear to have had ties and lines of communication with the top levels of al Qaeda leadership. This raid, ladies and gentlemen, is a big ----ing deal.
There are a couple of stories out of the Middle East that you ought to be aware of. An American general has said that Iran's support for Iraqi insurgent groups is waning (BBC, Guardian, AFP). This is likely the result of a number of different developments: the Iraqi Army's stunning victories in Basra and Sadr City earlier this year, improved border control and interdiction operations, and, of course, the collapse in oil prices - it's tough for Iran, whose entire economy is based on its decaying petroleum infrastructure, to fund terrorist operations in Iraq when oil falls from $140/bbl to $45/bbl in a matter of just a few months. On Friday, I noted that the Iranians were getting pissy with the Pakistanis over a number of dead hostages who were killed by Jundallah, whose bodies Pakistan hadn't bothered to police up and send back. I neglected to note an article from the previous day in which an Iranian official reiterated "foreign legations' diplomatic immunity" when assigned to consulates in Tehran. Of course, the Iranian government has a sterling track record of safeguarding the safety and security of diplomats.
In the op-ed world, FSM had a couple of great pieces on Friday: Cheerful Remarks at Big Media's Funeral, and Jimmy Carter and Hizballah. Both are worth the read, the first one in particular if you're a news hound like me, and the second in particular if you loathe Jimmy Carter.
MSN, usually a clearinghouse of crap, has an interesting article about teens who send naked pictures via the Internet or mobile phone. I don't agree with everything the article has to say, but it's an interesting read. I thought it could have been more effective if they had used some illustrative images of hot eighteen and nineteen year old chicks - for purely academic purposes, of course.
Need a dose of comedy? The Editing Room has an excellent fisking of Quantum of Solace, the wretched new Bond flick that I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. Very entertaining, especially this part:
OLGA KURYLENKO: The guy you care about for some reason is hanging out at the pier. I wish I could stay and help you, but I need to go tanning to maintain the ridiculous notion that I am Bolivian.
Priceless. Go check it out. And that's it for today, be sure to check back tomorrow for more from The Fly.
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