Go east young man!

ARTICLE: American Graduates Finding Jobs in China, By HANNAH SELIGSON, New York Times, August 10, 2009

Harkening back to my description in Blueprint for Action of the "journey from the Gap to the Core": when young Westerners see your country as a legitimate place to make it big.

China's fourth generation failure

ARTICLE: China Says $100 Billion Was Bilked by Rio Tinto, By DAVID BARBOZA, New York Times, August 9, 2009

It's weird, given its success to date in dealing with the global economic crisis, that China's government should be acting so scared on such a host of subjects.

The regime strikes me as a whole lot more brittle than it's made out to be.

This scandal, such as it is, is the result of the pricing system China has long suffered on steel. But instead of focusing on reforming that, Beijing chooses to blame the devil foreigner in a pathetic blast from its Maoist past.

The lack of imagination on this one is stunning. I really think we're seeing the 4th Generation leadership running out of ideas.

I grow less and less impressed, therefore, with the vaunted Chinese model. They're handling their success very poorly as of late--one long bad stretch since the Olympics. Everything--from challenges big and small--seems to put the leadership on edge.

In contrast, Obama seems as cool as a cucumber.

I just don't see the strategic imagination here for global leadership. I can only hope/assume that the upgrade to the Fifth Generation will be a big one, because Hu and Wen are exiting in a very poor fashion.

New war targets individual bad guys

ARTICLE: U.S. to Hunt Down Afghan Drug Lords Tied to Taliban, By JAMES RISEN, New York Times, August 9, 2009

The bad-guy list in Afghanistan grows, but it's still a list, showing how this new/old form of warfare remains highly focused on individuals.

Professional athletes, retirement and marriage

ARTICLE: Taking Vows in a League Blindsided by Divorce, By GREG BISHOP, New York Times, August 8, 2009

When I was in high school, I seriously thought about trying to become a professional football player (wide receiver). I had the size (6'2") and would have filled out in the range I'm currently in (220). I had the sprinter's speed (4.4-4.5 forty and was a state-class 200 sprinter) and a 40 inch vertical leap (I could dunk, but only two handed). Given my tiny town roots, it would have been an effort: probably Div II effort and then attempt a transfer.

But I could catch anything thrown to me (I was a Fred Biletnikov devotee who used the stick'em allowed back then--pre-gloves). I scored roughly 40% of my football team's points my senior year.

Two things stopped me. One was a good concussion from a middle linebacker after a catch over the middle.

But that wasn't enough. What really scared me was reading Jerry Kramer's books (Packer lineman under Lombardi) and coming across the depressing accounts of how so many players couldn't handle retirement emotionally, and what happened with their bodies.

It was the first truly strategic decision I ever made. I just didn't want a life that ended in my mid-to-late 30s. I found it too frightening.

Republican forfeit

OP-ED: Our One-Party Democracy, By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, New York Times, September 8, 2009

Depressingly accurate description by Friedman. Opportunity is being wasted here. The GOP has alienated so many good thinkers on its side with the social policies stuff and it's beginning to show. The cupboard is increasingly bare on innovative thinking, but even when it appears, it is subsumed to the larger goal of thwarting the Dems.

A very sad situation.

Really, there's a role for Russia in Afghanistan

ARTICLE: Russia Seeks Afghan War Role as NATO Deaths Climb, By Craig Hobson, Bloomberg, Sept. 2, 2009

Part of the solution staring us in the face:

Russia is seeking a role in planning NATO's war in Afghanistan two decades after Soviet forces were ejected from the country.

As East-West ties improve under President Barack Obama, Russia wants to be involved in setting the political, military and intelligence strategy for the war against the Taliban, said Dmitry Rogozin, Russian ambassador to the alliance.

"We want to be inside," Rogozin said, in English, in an interview in Brussels today. He spoke for the rest of the hour- long session through a Russian translator.

Allied military planners are groping for a new strategy as casualties climb. The commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, this week called the situation there "serious." In what Obama calls a "war of necessity," some 153 allied troops were killed in July and August, according to www.icasualties.org.

Wrangling between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his challengers over the Aug. 20 election has magnified concerns about the country's stability.

Russia now lets the North Atlantic Treaty Organization use its territory to ship supplies to Afghanistan, saying it faces a more direct threat from terrorism there than the U.S. and its allies. President Dmitry Medvedev has said Russia is prepared to cooperate with the U.S. to bring order to Afghanistan, though officials have made clear that Russia won't commit troops.

Eventually, we get over ourselves and get less picky about who helps.

Israel's regional monopoly on WMD is what's untenable

OP-ED: Taking Iran Seriously, By DANIEL R. COATS, CHARLES S. ROBB AND CHARLES WALD, Wall Street Journal, SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

Note the fait accompli analysis cited:

Last year, a high-level Bipartisan Policy Center task force in which we participated concluded that a nuclear weapons-capable Iran would be "strategically untenable."

That is rich, in many ways, considering that Iran really only needs a nuke against U.S. attack, so of course it's untenable from our perspective. Israel's got no desire to attack Iran absent the bomb, and Iran only yanks our chain in that direction to obfuscate its hoped-for achievement vis-a-vis the Sunni-controlled Arab world--i.e., leadership beyond its Shiite base.

What remains untenable--in historical terms--is Israel's monopoly on WMD in the region. Show me where one state owning and everybody else not has ever worked in terms of strategic stability.

The irony is that Iran's achievement of the bomb will force the region down a path of seriously developing some sort of regional security architecture, just like it did in Europe. Will that be a scary journey? You bet. Could Iran screw it up? Definitely. But we know how to deal with that. Do we, out of fear, offer Israel a no-deductible insurance policy by invading Iran in the meantime? Aint going to happen.

So tell me how we're going to stop this development. We bomb and Iran redoubles its efforts. Same for Israel. Neither of us will be willing to occupy and outside great powers won't stand for it anyway.

So my observation from five years ago still holds: ask what the Iranian bomb can do for you in terms of putting the region down a different path. Because pretending it will be stopped is childish.

Iran has every reason to reach for the bomb. We made that choice for Tehran by our actions over the past several years. I agreed with those choices, and I remain prepared to live with them. Others seem to want that reality somehow magically wished away with diplomacy or threats of bombing. They are being unrealistic.

(Via: WPR Media Roundup)

Recommendation: WPR's Media Roundup

World Politics Review has started its own daily media roundup and it's great. First, I thought to myself, "No, another compilation to wade through!" But after using it for several days now, I'm beginning to dig it.

Bonus: it's free.

You can read it on their site or sign up to get it by email. Comes every morning, and has approximately 20 news and 15-20 opinion pieces

Here are the top 3 stories from yesterday:

U.S. Says Iran Has Ability to Expedite a Nuclear Bomb

By: David E. Sanger | The New York Times

American
intelligence agencies have concluded in recent months that Iran has
created enough nuclear fuel to make a rapid, if risky, sprint for a
nuclear weapon. But new intelligence reports delivered to the White
House say that the country has deliberately stopped short of the
critical last steps to make a bomb.

Sudan Opposition Parties Forge Alliance

By: Scott Baldauf | The Christian Science Monitor

A
new deal between former southern rebels who hope to secede in 2011 and
a northern opposition group could threaten President Omar al-Bashir's
grip on power if fair elections are held next year.

Mideastern Oil Will Continue to Shape International Politics

By: Shlomo Ben-Ami | The Daily Star

No
matter how important rising oil powers outside the Middle East are
becoming, the region will continue to be the world's main source of
energy for years to come.

The glass continues to appear half-full on H1N1

U.S. NEWS: "Swine Flu Remains Mild as Vaccine Advances: CDC Study Shows Most U.S. Children Who Died Had Pre-Existing Conditions; China Makes Headway With One-Dose Formula," by Betsy McKay and Gordon Fairclough, Wall Street Journal, 4 September 2009.

Still, plenty of pre-existing conditions to go around, and last time I had an immune-system deficient child, I loved her just as much as all the rest.

Nonetheless, good news, especially as I get all four kids vaccinated four p.m. tomorrow.

The map that accompanied the piece caught my eye as these things always do: biggest circles noting cases form an outline of the Gap--meaning all Core states or ones right on the Seam.

Was It Enough? The Endgame for Obama's Health-Care Speech

Jason Reed/Sipa Press via Newscom

Sure, the president confronted the heckling right side of the aisle on Wednesday night, but more so than the American people, it's his own Democrats that needed convincing. A blow-by-blow analysis of the fight left unfinished.

Continue reading this week's World War Room column at Esquire.com.

The election mess in Afghanistan

ARTICLE: Marred Afghan Vote Leaves U.S. in a Delicate Spot, By MARK LANDLER and HELENE COOPER, New York Times, September 8, 2009

The worst possible outcome in the Afghan vote: decent proof of fraud and Karzai holding a slim majority lead.

The only way out of this pickle seems to be absorbing Abdullah into the government, and with the U.S. already looking at Ghani as a "CEO" possibility as everybody seems to want to make Karzai more symbolic than real as a leader, given his weaknesses. So the question becomes, what sort of package makes Abdullah give up his fight?

Separate Afghanistan issues

ARTICLE: U.S. Learned Its Lesson, Won't Abandon Afghanistan, Gates Says, By Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post, September 9, 2009

Some solid common sense from Gates: detach the troops-level argument from the withdrawal argument on Afghanistan. They are not the same thing.

Fearful for Ramadan

ARTICLE: Iran Canceling Major Ramadan Events in Wake of Election Protests, By Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post, September 7, 2009

A sign of how scared Tehran's rulers are right now, as well as their confidence in shedding the veneer of being an "Islamic republic."

Honduras hard sell

EDITORIAL: The Honduran Impasse, Washington Post, September 5, 2009

WAPO makes the best case for why the Obama administration is correct in pursuing its hard line with Honduras. It has real merit, but it's a very tough sell: asking the regime to take in international supervision of the next election AND Zelaya.

Stupidity^2

ARTICLE: U.S. May Not Recognize Results of Honduran Vote, By Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post, September 4, 2009

This is stupidity squared. We are being slaves to form over substance.

Dissing Iran

ARTICLE: Iran angered at exclusion from Caspian Sea summit, WashingtonTV, September 09, 2009

This one, quite frankly, surprises me somewhat. Clearly, a sign of disrespect for the current regime.

(Thanks: Jarrod Myrick)

India steps up on Afghanistan, on the SysAdmin--non-military--side

WORLD NEWS: "India Befriends Afghanistan, Irking Pakistan: With $1.2 Billion in Pledged Aid, New Delhi Hopes to Build a Country That Is 'Stable, Democratic, Multiethnic,'" by Peter Wonacott, Wall Street Journal, 19 August 2009.

The opening bit:

After shunning Afghanistan during the Taliban regime, India has become a major donor and new friend to the country's democratic government--even if its growing presence here riles archrival Pakistan.

From wells to toilets to power plants and satellite transmitters, India is seeding Afghanistan with a vast array of projects. The $1.2 billion in pledged assistance includes projects both vital to Afghanistan's economy, such as a completed road link to Iran's border, and symbolic of its democratic aspirations, such as the construction of a new parliament building in Kabul. The Indian government is also paying to bring scores of bureaucrats to India, as it cultivates a new generation of Afghan officialdom.

India's instincts here are right on the mark, acting like the regional and global power it is becoming.

I've spoken now for a very long time about how Afghanistan only gets solved when the regional pillars take co-ownership. "Impossible!" I am told.

Then China sinks that $3b into a copper mine and you read this bit on India and Russia's offering to have a military role.

The strategic imagination of these great powers is leaving ours behind in the dust. We still argue only about how many troops we need, how many deaths American citizens can stand, and how much help we can still get from NATO.

Free space!

ARTICLE: Mars and Moon Are Out of NASA's Reach for Now, Review Panel Says, By Joel Achenbach, Washington Post, September 9, 2009

The reality is acknowledged by the much-anticipated presidential commission report: there is no money for the agency's big plans on manned exploration. Better to encourage the private sector like the government did with the airlines industry in the 1920s.

Truer words never spoken.

Lowlights from professional football

SPORTS: "Small football schools take their lumps for a sum: Playing powerhouses pays off for programs," by Jack Carey, USA Today, 3 September 2009.

FRONT PAGE: "Hard Luck Runs Into Team's Hard Line," by James V. Grimaldi, Washington Post, 3 September 2009.

ARTICLE: Redskins Back Off, Tell Va. Grandmother She Won't Have to Pay $66,364 Judgment, By James V. Grimaldi, Washington Post, September 5, 2009

What is the difference between college football and professional boxing?

I have no idea. Small schools play big ones, knowing they'll get beat up badly, simply to get the purse.

Meanwhile, the Dan Snyder Redskins reach a new low by suing hard-luck, long-time fans that can't keep up their seat contracts. The Skins don't just say, too bad, we'll pull your tix and sell to somebody who can buy them. They ACTUALLY sue for the remainder of the frickin' contract! Sending victims to full bankruptcy. Nice.

Geez, in Green Bay the franchise would just turn to the waiting list and move along.

I note that the Redskins back off from the legal actions against grandma once the story hit WAPO's front page, showing Snyder recognizes how much PR damage he's doing to his franchise and the league in these hard economic times.

How our village is made up

LIFE: "Counting to 100 in 'America': Author uses unique 'village' concept to teach social studies," by Greg Toppo, USA Today, 3 September 2009.

The US as a village is 15 Germans, 11 Irish, 9 Africans, 9 English, 7 Mexican (no wonder WASP Huntington was so nervous), 6 Italian, 3 Polish, 3 French, 3 Native Americans, 2 Scottish, 2 Dutch, 2 Norwegian, 1 Scot-Irish, and 1 Swedish.

My family is German, Irish, French, and Scottish (thus Scot-Irish). My side supplied all that, and Vonne's side was overwhelmingly German.

Then again, my personal village is 5 such mixed heritage + 1 Chinese, soon to be augmented by at least one African and maybe more.