Shoe throwing: a dangerous escalation in the Long War. Is Obama prepared?
"Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe...." Psalms 60:8This weekend, those who would destroy our liberty conducted another cold blooded terrorist act against all that is good and holy...
View ArticleThe humiliation and sad end of the British Empire
British power has been in decline for almost a century now, starting with the bleeding Britain received in the world wars, followed by the loss of British colonies and the contraction of the British...
View ArticleAmerica's proxy war in Palestine - look behind the curtain and stop blaming...
There is much bewilderment in the world as to why the Arab/Israeli conflict has proven so intractable and the sides so bloody minded and unreasonable as to continue fighting against their own obvious...
View ArticleCivilian casualties, collateral damage and terrorism: a rational examination...
This diary attempts to examine the dynamics and patterns of the infliction and justification of civilian casualties in modern war, as well as the shifting approach of contemporary morality to the...
View ArticleIraqi provincial elections and the growing power of Prime Minister Maliki
The Iraqi provincial elections will take place this Saturday, January 31, with early voting already ongoing. This is a very exciting time for Iraq, as these are the first elections since the flawed...
View ArticleAction item: Gamer Kossacks, design your own Afghanistan simulation and help...
I always wanted to post an action item, but being a lazy good for nothing cynical bastard who does nothing for nobody, the opportunity never came up before. But now I got one - NATO is looking for the...
View ArticlePreliminary results from Iraqi provincial elections are disturbing, ignored
The Iraqi elections took place Saturday. Have you heard anything about them? The media and blogs gave a collective yawn, but the reports that did get out are the standard nonsense about success in...
View ArticleWhat should the future US role be in Iraq? (With updated provincial election...
I recently wrote a few diaries to keep people updated on the results of the Iraqi elections, which were being ignored elsewhere. In the process, it has become apparent to me that the widespread lack of...
View ArticleBankrupt California to spend millions fighting to keep violating rights and...
As California struggles with a huge budget shortfall, our state officials are nevertheless doing everything they can to increase the prison budget, already at $10 billion per year, by building more...
View ArticleIt is time for a global New Deal
On March 4, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke before the US Congress about the need for a "global New Deal". This idea has been embraced by the majority of the world, and a need for a global...
View ArticleA cynic's guide to the current financial crisis and the precarious system of...
We live in a world where every imaginable good can be almost instantly produced in abundance, and the only question is, who will buy all this stuff? At the same time, we live in a world where millions...
View ArticleObama's new plan for Afghanistan and the nature of the enemy
On their first meeting, Sherlock Holmes impressed Dr. Watson by deducing that the doctor had just come home from the Second Afghan War. When asked to explain this feat, Holmes replied, "Elementary, my...
View ArticleThe betrayal of the Iraqi Awakening movement - the eternal fate of those who...
Remember the Iraqi Awakening, those Sunnis who switched sides from the insurgency to reduce violence in their neighborhoods based on America promises to take care of them after order was restored? The...
View ArticleFrom Outremer to Israel, a meditation on the fate of the Holy Land
I have just returned from a two week trip to Israel where I visited my family. Having studied the Crusader states of Outremer, I see so many parallels between the fate of the modern state of Israel...
View ArticleChronicles of the Good War: news from the Afghan front
As Obama's strategy for Afghanistan takes shape and the new commanders (well, not so much new as reassigned or given a good talking to) hit the ground running, let's find out how things are going. The...
View ArticleFrom Outremer to Israel Part 2: Military and Political Parallels
Here is part 2 of my eagerly unawated series on the parallels between the Crusader states of the Near East and Israel. While they were technically up against numerically and logistically stronger foes...
View ArticleChronicles of the Good War: Use of thermobaric weapons explains high...
You might remember the recent American bombing that killed around 100 Afghan civilians in the western Farah province of Afghanistan. But have you ever wondered, what kind of bomb does it take to kill...
View ArticleThe Beautiful War Rides of the Northern Crusades
Don’t you know that we are your Pope, for our Pope is the Sword, and our Pope is never far from you. In many ways, the Northern Crusades, a general term applied to the campaigns undertaken by various...
View ArticleChronicles of the Good War: the significance of civilian casualties
This diary completes a series regarding the significance of the constant infliction of civilian casualties by American and other Western forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I chronicle the functioning...
View ArticleThe Viking Invasions
The Viking invasions were amazing in many ways. The Vikings were shrewd traders, intrepid explorers, fearsome fighters, navigating their way without maps from North America to the Middle East....
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