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Friday, March 18, 2005 |
 Juan Cole on a roll. Max Boot, who thinks Middle Easterners are just Filipino peasant villagers circa 1902--poor, illiterate, unconnected and politically naive--exemplifies the basic Neocon fallacy. The Neocons haven't even caught up to the 1950s or read Karl Deutsch on the social mobilization of the Global South. People can't be occupied so easily once they are urbanized, industrialized, literate, connected by modern communications, and politically aware. This is why Boot and Wolfowitz did not anticipate a long-term guerrilla war in Iraq, or how savvy and effective it would be. They really think they are Lord Curzon dealing with backward WOGs.
5:33:06 PM 
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INSURGENT GANGS. Transnational gangs have become a force that threatens the viability of states across nearly half the globe. Unlike the mass movements of the last century, these global guerrillas don't want to change the system for the betterment of the many (a pipedream that has run its course). Instead, they want to distort it to meet the needs of the few (their members).
4:12:00 PM
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Interesting. My brief on homemade microwave weapons still remains extremely popular. I am getting search returns on this from all over the world.
4:01:27 PM
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NZ Scoop. Despite the socialist slant, this is an interesting itemization of why gangs that bunker and disrupt oil flow flourish in the Nigerian delta.
3:51:59 PM
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Given the way this smells, it is only a matter of time before Hersh or his clone will write up a story for the New Yorker that turns it into a PR nightmare. The insurgents featured on these shows are likely detainees captured by the US. Also, the network airing the program is funded by the Pentagon (it is broadcast from the Green Zone). We have our fingerprints all over this (at high levels). Do the people in the Green Zone actually think things through?
1:45:43 PM
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Where does $57 a barrel hit hardest? Developing, energy inefficient economies. The net result will be more debt (and the restrictions that entails) for weak governments struggling with global guerrilla insurgencies.
10:53:58 AM
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NPR. Central American Gangs.
10:34:38 AM
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I just heard a Netflix ad on the Radio that trumpets its ability to ship your selections in one day. That is true. It does take one day. The problem is that the rest of the service has been substantially degraded. Here's how:
- It now takes two days for returns to arrive at the Netflix processing center (it used to take one).
- It takes a day to process your selection at the facility after it recieves the return (it used to be same-day).
- Saturday processing and shipments have been terminated (they used to provide this).
- Lost, damaged, or wrong reports take a day to process (it used to send you a replacement or your next selection on the same day you report).
- Popular movies are almost impossible to get in the first month of their release. Cult movies are impossible to get.
If I was an investor in Netflix, I would take these actions as a sell signal. I can't recommend the service to my friends and family anymore.
10:30:16 AM
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WSJ. Evidence mounts that Iran is building nuclear weapons. Given the depth of the program, surgical strikes won't work. Also, Iran's deals with China will likely protect it from any meaningful sanctions activity.
10:01:40 AM
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Boston Globe. The Jerry Springer counter-terrorism strategy. Iraq is running a "true confessions" program to discredit the insurgency. Certain elements are clearly staged, forced, and bogus (for example: admissions of homosexuality etc.). However, my only test for this is whether it works or not. I really don't care if it feels good to folks in the green zone to humiliate insurgents. An interesting test would be to run polls (particularly in the target population segments) to see if people believe the broadcasts. Note that guerrilla entrepreneurship features prominantly in the broadcast.
9:47:49 AM
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© Copyright 2005 John Robb.
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