Friday, February 06, 2004

More on Kahn (the head of the Pakistani nuclear proliferation ring): As for Pakistan's enemies, Mr Khan claimed to have beaten them single-handedly. "I made all their policies go to waste. A single person destroyed all of their intended planning for the next 25 years," he said. He revels in his hatred of the West. "I want to question the bloody holier-than-thou attitudes of the Americans and the British," he has written. "Are these bastards God-appointed guardians of the world?" In one interview, he said: "All western countries, including Israel, are not only the enemies of Pakistan but, in fact, of Islam." Mr Khan believed that helping two Muslim powers to acquire the bomb would create a counterweight to American dominance. From 1998 until about 2000, Mr Khan oversaw the transfer of centrifuge technology to North Korea. This was a straightforward deal under which North Korea gave Pakistan long-range missiles in return for nuclear know-how and materials. "America, Israel and India want to destroy our bomb," said Hussam ul-Haq, whose brother, Islam ul-Haq, worked as Mr Khan's principal secretary and is now in detention. "That is what this is all about. They are the axis of evil in our minds." Given Kahn's megalomania, penchant for independent action, and apparent hostility to the West, the big question is:  did he outfit Osama with a bomb (or rework a Soviet model for him)?  We may have been spinning our wheels in Iraq while Osama was covertly maneurving, with careful steps, his limited nuclear arsenal against us. 9:44:25 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

WSJ.  The unemployment rate fell to 5.6%, a two-year low, in January from 5.7% in December. But nonfarm employers boosted payrolls by only 112,000. That is well below the 150,000 to 200,000 jobs needed to keep up with population growth. Even more are needed to put back to work the millions of people who have lost their jobs in recent years.  So why is the unemployment rate falling?  The labor force is shrinking as people move into the long-term unemployed.  They are still there, and many vote. This points to a bigger problem.  It was common to pick up a book in the eighties (and even earlier) and find smart writers pointing to the coming boom in information service jobs.  I don't see that type of forward thinking today as information service jobs are under pressure.  What's next?  I don't buy into the idea that inward looking jobs (just selling to Americans) are the wave of the future.  We need something we can sell to the rest of the world.  One inadvertant strategy (that may be in process) is that we plunge the world in chaos and sell them corporate mercenary services, weapons, and more. 5:51:51 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

If you want to understand what really went on with the CIA, Iraq, WMDs, and the Bush Administration read (or reread) Seymour Hersh's "The Stovepipe" in The New Yorker.  5:36:51 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

Book update.  I have a very smart agent.  He thinks the book is very saleable (which is very cool).  Working hard.  2:21:58 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

Record industry raids Sharman/KaZaA offices (and executive homes) in Australia. 8:42:27 AM    Comment_ Trackback []

PM.  How to detect rogue nukes in containers.  GPS triggers, nuclear material, and a ton of explosive material could make a hell of a mess.  Here is an innovative way to detect it. 8:37:39 AM    Comment_ Trackback []