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Tuesday, December 21, 2004 |
 A main pipeline hub (the Beiji complex) in northern Iraq was attacked last night (in addition to the attacks over the weekend).
10:31:55 PM 
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Economy update. This season's shopping season, after a good start is tanking: Nationwide, total sales fell 3.3 percent for Saturday and Sunday compared with the same two days a year earlier, according to ShopperTrak, which tracks sales at 30,000 retail outlets nationwide. Here's a personal observation.
I went to get my hair cut at a local upscale salon today (I sound like a wimp, don't I? But the point of this is worth the humiliation. ;->). My hairdresser (of the last 5 years) pointed out all the empty chairs in the salon. This was really unusual, since the place typically has lines out the door in the days before the holidays. "What happened" I asked. "The election" she answered. After the election, there was a wave of cancellations.
7:00:57 PM
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I wonder how Iraq's new water injection (refurbished) plant in Qarmat, Iraq (at a cost of $225 m, up from the $75.7 m initially estimated by KBR) is being defended. Treatment facility. Miles of pipelines. Power plant. Special injection pumps. Given what I have seen so far, I am not hopeful.
2:11:39 PM
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Lind analyzes Fallujah. Of course, Fallujah itself was largely destroyed in the American assault. The American military did the only thing a Second Generation military can do: it put firepower on targets. 2GW armed services are one-trick ponies: they only have one act, and they perform it regardless of whether it fits the circumstances or not. In Fourth Generation war, the usual result is what has happened in Fallujah: a moral victory for the other side.
12:57:39 PM
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CSM. Kurdish Intelligence officers suggest thousands of groups in Iraq's bazaar and not hundreds. The insurgent groups compose themselves in very small cells of two or three people. "Each cell has an "emir," - a word that usually means a cleric, but in this case denotes a leader. The emir is the one with the decisionmaking powers who gives orders for bombing or attacks. Most of the groups communicate by Internet. "Telephone communications in Iraq are difficult," says Majid, "but the Internet is everywhere." "The point of strength of the terrorist is information," he says. "They have exact information. They have people in every office, every department - police, Iraqi National Guard, Health Ministry, education, electricity, and municipality. And the people cooperate with them - sometimes willingly, sometimes not."
10:47:21 AM
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Reuters. Iran resumes uranium enrichment despite deal. It's clear they aren't going to stop building a weapon (or five..). When is Israel going to hit them?
10:16:48 AM
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The US is on the march to connect up GCC states with bilateral trade agreements.
9:49:11 AM
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I have to admit, Firefox is much better than IE. The bookmarks editor is extremely nice (a big problem with IE). It is faster than IE. I like the ability to easily search Wikipedia. It is likely more stable. IE is a crash box on my machine. It constantly runs into problems. Frankly, it is similar to the difference between a BMW and a Chevy.
9:30:41 AM
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Here's a big reason Firefox is popular (beyond tabs, safety, and RSS): addons. It has a trajectory.
8:12:27 AM
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© Copyright 2005 John Robb.
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