Filibuster Catch-All

[lostfan]

Hits the nail on the head, IMO

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1e6a410a-1f6f-11...?nclick_check=1

 

Know your enemy is the first rule of strategy, yet it is one that Americans have found difficult to follow over the past decade. Not knowing the enemy has unfortunate consequences: it can lead to being surprised by unanticipated strengths while failing to exploit neglected weaknesses.

 

Recent US experience bears this out. Overthrowing Saddam Hussein’s regime was said to be critical to the war on terror, yet Iraq’s links with al-Qaeda were minor. US forces were caught out by the intensity and multi-faceted character of the insurgency. When Iran was designated a member of the “axis of evil” in 2002 this was something of an afterthought, as Tehran and Washington had co-operated in Afghanistan and could have done so over Iraq. Since then the Bush administration has scrambled for a credible policy to deal with this “evil” and has appeared nonplussed as Iran emerged as the main beneficiary of its regional policies. There has also been uncertainty over the unity of the Taliban and whether it should be treated as indistinguishable from al-Qaeda. Until recently all Palestinian groups were treated as being as bad as each other, before the realisation that the Islamist Hamas was becoming more dangerous than the secular Fatah.

 

Why has knowing the enemy proved to be so hard? There are the normal problems with gathering intelligence and providing reliable interpretations. Aspects of the new strategic environment would challenge even the best informed and open-minded observer. For western policymakers to understand radical Islamist groups, for example, they must bridge a wide cultural gap and develop a grasp of different strands of Islamic thinking, complex historical narratives and the geopolitics of the Middle East and south Asia. Instead of old-fashioned enemies – a rival great power building up its military might and exhibiting clear aggressive tendencies – we now have broad political movements with fluid internal structures and no clear hierarchies.

 

Yet often the problem is not a lack of hard information and expert analysis. In the case of Iraq there was a political climate that led the intelligence community to suppress its doubts and accentuate material that supported the policies the Bush administration had already decided on. It may well be that the US political system requires an administration to sell the threat to make a case for war, but this inevitably militates against the development of a rounded picture of opponents.

 

Presenting all conflicts as straightforward battles between good and evil not only discourages subtle distinctions, it encourages caricatures of both enemies and friends. Just as our opponents will always be marked by implacable hostility, disdain for human life and for civilised values, so those on our side will be “none of the above” and wholly virtuous. It would be neat if the world were divided between freedom-loving democrats without a thought of aggression and murderous totalitarians, heirs of Hitler, bent on imposing their will. Yet this clearly is not the case.

 

Another tendency is to lump together all opponents regardless of whether they have much in common, as if they are all part of the same terrible plot against the US, and then to assume that they know exactly what they are doing, with uncompromising goals and a settled strategy to be pursued to the bitter end. The only mistake the foe is ever allowed is to underestimate America’s will and determination to prevail.

 

In the build-up to the Iraq war there was a curious combination of worst-case thinking about what would happen without war – Saddam builds weapons of mass destruction and hands them to al-Qaeda – and best-case thinking of what would happen with war – a rapturous population greets US forces as liberators. This left the US unprepared for the harsh reality of an insurgency. It struggled to find language to describe those planting the bombs, in ways that sought to drain them of any legitimacy – as relics of the old regime, foreign adventurers, extremist opponents of democracy and al-Qaeda agents. The labels fitted some but they played down the role of the US occupation in provoking violence. It is striking how long it took to appreciate the significance of Shia militancy and the developing civil war.

 

More importantly, a rounded view of adversaries makes it possible to highlight their vulnerabilities. Most radical political groups are caught between extravagantly ambitious ends and limited means, so are prone to internal conflicts and potential implosion. Radical regimes might see an offer of negotiations as a source of legitimation or see risks of a split as they are forced to decide between engagement and ideological purity. The British Empire survived with limited resources by playing on the differences among potentially hostile forces to prevent their combination. Tellingly, the Americans only began to make progress in Iraq once they followed the same approach.

[Soxy]

 

Female Brain drain in the work place

 

This is creating an interesting conversation among my friends. Maybe it can do the same here.

[southsideirish71]

Female Brain drain in the work place

 

This is creating an interesting conversation among my friends. Maybe it can do the same here.

 

On network teams its hard to find a lot of women Systems Engineers. I have worked with some, some have been hard working, very analytical and great team members. And others haven't.

 

This quote is pretty interesting.

 

Here's how a distinguished senior engineer described how he won a double promotion, skipping ahead two job grades.

 

"You just swoop down out of the sky and fix some potentially catastrophic problem," he told a focus group. "This time last year, one of our systems was crashing in Russia. I'm in Austin. I get a phone call 2 a.m. Sunday. By 5 a.m. I'm at the airport, having assembled a team. Three flights later we're at the site, wrestling with a system that's near total collapse."

Women in the focus group called it "typical macho behavior," the study reported.

 

"I find it infuriating that it's this crack-of-dawn, emergency-surgery stuff that gets you promoted," one woman said. "For starters, you might have a few child-care issues at 2 a.m. Sunday but more importantly, it's much too risky. If you dive and fail to catch, which happens all the time, a woman can go from hero to zero in a heartbeat."

 

Women are better at preventing disasters, another said. "A superman mentality is not necessarily productive; it's just an easy fit for the men in the sector."

 

The women are better at preventing disasters is bulls***. A competent engineer who follows a methodology to their installs, follows a change control process, and understands the change to the network landscape is what prevents disaster. Trust me women can be just as big of cowboys as the guys. And no matter how well planned out, equipment and software still can fail.

 

I have worked at a few international companies, and 24x7 readiness is exactly what they expect for their network team. This is not typical male behavior. The irony of that article is the reverse sexist tone they have, typical male behavior, women are better at preventing disasters. . This is what the business wants from its global support staff and its what you sign up for when you join a global company and work at a high level. You dont want to deal with that, work at a local company with not a lot of locations. You work at a 24x7 international shop and you may have to deal with this. I have travelled halfway across the world based on a few hours notice because they dont have the expertise on the ground. Part of this is why I have been able to excel in my job. I solve problems all the time on my own time, and its part of doing what I do. I get a lot of kick ass benefits in my job, but there is some things i have to be flexible about. Hell last night I spent from 9pm to 3am remotely working on an issue in Australia. The immediate response is a term I called being drop shipped. I was drop shipped 4 years ago to Korea because they got hacked and couldnt recover it. We had an SE drop shipped last night to Montreal because one of their systems took a dump. Companies are 24x7 and if you are global you are expected to have the ability to respond quickly and get direct action.

 

Now as far as the bias of she is a female. You dont need to be a girl who acts like a man to be successful as an engineer. I respect people who work hard, are analytical, can troubleshoot a problem, and come to a solution based on theory and implement that solution knowing what they are doing. If they do that, it doesn't matter what gender they are.

 

We have 2 female systems engineers on my team. The one complained over and over that she was being overlooked on technology because she was a woman. Which was not the case, she was being overlooked because everything she touched she would break, and then would walk away. She shut down the company 2 times because of making major mistakes. Her being female is what saved her job. If she was male, she would of been canned for the 1st shutdown. Because not only did she shut the company down, she lied about the fact that she made the change ( audit records however proved her wrong). 2 years later, We hire a second female systems engineer. She is a absolutely wonderful engineer. She is very technical, works hard, very meticulous and does a good job. Now she has more than enough work, because she works hard and people trust her with more high end work.

 

 

[StrangeSox]

It's a longer video, about 48 minutes. If it doesn't load the first time (max. 20 viewers at once), just try a few more times and it should start playing.

 

http://www.regent.edu/admin/media/schlaw/LawPreview/

[jackie hayes]

Intimidation in Zimbabwe as it approaches its runoff election -- police are regularly storming Anglican churches on Sundays to prevent worship. (Except for one apostate church run by a Mugabe patsy.)

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/world/af...16zimbabwe.html

[southsider2k5]

Intimidation in Zimbabwe as it approaches its runoff election -- police are regularly storming Anglican churches on Sundays to prevent worship. (Except for one apostate church run by a Mugabe patsy.)

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/world/af...16zimbabwe.html

 

Zimbabwe has been a case study in how to destroy a nation in a short period of time. They were one of the most propserous Africian nations there was, until Mugabe got it in his head to completely redistribute all wealth in that country. The entire economy is destroyed and in shambles. They used to be self-sufficient in food stuffs, but now there are no commodities left, combined with price controls, and no one has anything. Their currency is worthless, and inflation is something like 6 figures a year. Yes that is 100,000%, compared to high estimates of 5-6% here in the US.

[jackie hayes]

Zimbabwe has been a case study in how to destroy a nation in a short period of time. They were one of the most propserous Africian nations there was, until Mugabe got it in his head to completely redistribute all wealth in that country. The entire economy is destroyed and in shambles. They used to be self-sufficient in food stuffs, but now there are no commodities left, combined with price controls, and no one has anything. Their currency is worthless, and inflation is something like 6 figures a year. Yes that is 100,000%, compared to high estimates of 5-6% here in the US.

It's higher than 100,000% now, and climbing. It was predicted to reach 1 mil percent + at some point within the next year or two, iirc.

 

To be fair, the "redistribution" was absolutely a disastrous policy, and it would have been harmful no matter how it was done. But Mugabe's particular method (basically giving it all to his cronies, and they pass out part, etc -- the machine politics of seizure) is responsible for the extent of the disaster.

 

Considering the history, I have some sympathy with the basic premise of the land reforms. But there are ways to redistribute wealth other than grabbing everything and handing it to a schmuck who has no interest in or knowledge about using it wisely, while destroying every notion of property rights.

[Mplssoxfan]

Leave it to the St. Paul Saints to have a promotion that could only end up in the Filibuster.

 

Bobblefoot Day on Sunday. Alas, I'm working.

[jackie hayes]

Leave it to the St. Paul Saints to have a promotion that could only end up in the Filibuster.

 

Bobblefoot Day on Sunday. Alas, I'm working.

 

A couple days old, but I didn't look at the link until now. Awesome. You should call in sick -- these things are already going for $100 on ebay, with days to go before they close.

 

Or you could donate it to me, and gain my priceless gratitude.

[jackie hayes]

Feds ratchet up pressure on illegal immigrants; hundreds rounded up and convicted (not merely deported) in Iowa:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/us/24immig.html

[Mplssoxfan]

Crackdown on corrupt Border Patrol officers, per the NYT.

 

The pattern has become familiar: Customs officers wave in vehicles filled with illegal immigrants, drugs or other contraband. A Border Patrol agent acts as a scout for smugglers. Trusted officers fall prey to temptation and begin taking bribes.

 

Increased corruption is linked, in part, to tougher enforcement, driving smugglers to recruit federal employees as accomplices. It has grown so worrisome that job applicants will soon be subject to lie detector tests to ensure that they are not already working for smuggling organizations. In addition, homeland security officials have reconstituted an internal affairs unit at Customs and Border Protection, one of the largest federal law enforcement agencies, overseeing both border agents and customs officers.

 

When the Homeland Security Department was created in 2003, the internal affairs unit was dissolved and its functions spread among other agencies. Since the unit was reborn last year, it has grown from five investigators to a projected 200 by the end of the year.

 

Altogether, there are about 200 open cases pending against law enforcement employees who work the border. In the latest arrests, four employees in Arizona, Texas and California were charged this month with helping to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country.

 

Probably not a good idea to disband the Internal Affairs unit, I guess.

Edited May 27, 2008 by Mplssoxfan

[knightni]

I found this picture

 

Amusing or unfunny... you be the judge.

[Mplssoxfan]

Can we have a Godwin's Law guideline in here?

 

I want to edit this to say that I'm not singling Knightini out. I'm just a little weary of how quickly some things degenerate to Nazi/Hitler comparisons that are approximately 99% unwarranted.

Edited May 29, 2008 by Mplssoxfan

[BigSqwert]

Can we have a Godwin's Law guideline in here?

Good idea.

[Balta1701]

Yesterday, the UK Broke with the U.S. and announced that it would begin supporting a ban on cluster bomb munitions.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Can we have a Godwin's Law guideline in here?

 

I want to edit this to say that I'm not singling Knightini out. I'm just a little weary of how quickly some things degenerate to Nazi/Hitler comparisons that are approximately 99% unwarranted.

 

Godd*mn, Mplssoxfan, what makes you think you can come in here and tell us what to do? It's like you're the damn Gestapo or something. . . sheesh.

 

[Mplssoxfan]

Godd*mn, Mplssoxfan, what makes you think you can come in here and tell us what to do? It's like you're the damn Gestapo or something. . . sheesh.

 

One more outburst from you, and I'll send you to the Russian Front!

 

[/Gen. Burkhalter]

[Cknolls]

From the AP:

 

First it was the film and the book. Now the next stop for Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" is opera.

La Scala officials say the Italian composer Giorgio Battistelli has been commissioned to produce an opera on the international multiformat hit for the 2011 season at the Milan opera house. The composer is currently artistic director of the Arena in Verona.

 

La Scala also announced Thursday that Daniele Gatti will conduct next season's gala premiere of Verdi's "Don Carlo" on Dec. 7.

 

 

[FlaSoxxJim]

From the AP:

 

First it was the film and the book. Now the next stop for Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" is opera.

La Scala officials say the Italian composer Giorgio Battistelli has been commissioned to produce an opera on the international multiformat hit for the 2011 season at the Milan opera house. The composer is currently artistic director of the Arena in Verona.

 

Not the sort of subject matter you'd think would make good opera, no. But Battistelli does odd stuff, including a black comedy opera called The Embalmer about the alcoholic Russian embalmer in charge of keep Lenin's embalmed body on display, and a series of operas based on encyclopedia entries.

 

[knightni]

I want to edit this to say that I'm not singling Knightni out. I'm just a little weary of how quickly some things degenerate to Nazi/Hitler comparisons that are approximately 99% unwarranted.

 

It was a picture that I found in a Google search, nothing else.

 

I am not a Hillary fan, but in no way would I EVER compare her to Hitler.

 

 

 

 

[Balta1701]

How's this for forum crossover? For a couple months now, a guy calling himself "Poblano" has been doing some of the most accurate predictions of the results of the Dem primaries based on the demographics of states and how the polling went in those demographics in earlier contests. Gotten a fair amount of fame amongst the people following the campaign closely.

 

Today, he gave up his ID. Nate Silver, from Baseball Prospectus.

[jackie hayes]

More assholeism by Robert Mugabe. The opposition leader is being held by police:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/world/af...05zimbabwe.html

 

Interesting to see where this goes, and what Mbeki has to say about it.

[BigSqwert]

Daily Show was very solid tonight.

[BigSqwert]

Daily Show was very solid tonight.

[NorthSideSox72]

More assholeism by Robert Mugabe. The opposition leader is being held by police:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/world/af...05zimbabwe.html

 

Interesting to see where this goes, and what Mbeki has to say about it.

As a follow up, CNN has a breaking news band at the top of their site saying:

 

Convoy of American and British diplomats attacked in Zimbabwe, U.S. ambassador says.