Displaying 0 To 0 Of 0 Comments E’cat got it, that I was joking, that is. Breathe in, breathe out. » Posted By Khirad On January 4, 2010 @ 1:30 pm It might be fun to play devil’s advocate on that, actually. Mwahahaha. ‘Tis late here. I’m goin’ beddy-bye, as long as we’re doin’ farewells. BTW, I nominate Bernard Marx be assigned a Yemen-related article. » Posted By Khirad On January 4, 2010 @ 12:08 am Yeah, it was the dissipation factor I always heard and the logistics of a McVeigh type deal would be kinda hard to go unnoticed – not impossible, mind you. *boo* Yeah, I asked AdLib for the spook stats regarding visits to this site, don’t know if he ever got back on that. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 11:48 pm He looked a little like a deer caught in the headlights, to be honest. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 10:37 pm Yeah, I’ve caught some of the al-Jazeera coverage, as well as al-Arabiya – but admit to skimming them *blush*. I’ll write that book down (and yes I do add to an actual lengthy list of books) to get to ‘someday’ for future reference. I do prefer those nerdy Cambridge and Princeton published type books when I can get them. 😉 This is a tad old, but I was reading this: http://www.alarabiya.net/views/2009/11/17/91532.html And here’s this from al-Jazeera, Yemen: New frontline for US wars?. A tad sensationalist, but I know they do better stuff, too. Another recent article added this: Newton said the greater challenge will be to stabilise the country, which has seen a failing economy, severe water shortages, and a ballooning population in recent years. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 10:34 pm I’ve heard it discounted outright. I wouldn’t go that far though, and was hoping you’d have something to say on the matter. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 10:26 pm In light that this is Wikipedia, I would simple say, ‘beware’ and take to the referenced articles, to which, I would still say ‘beware the source’ – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%27dah_insurgency This is also in addition to a Southern insurgency. As I said earlier, Yemen is not exactly a forte, I know about as much as anyone with the Google machine and from its spotty history of past inner turmoil. I’m still working on it. I don’t know of many sources to turn to for Yemen. Anyone have an article from a progressive site or ‘straight’ news they would recommend? » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 10:03 pm Which is overblown in the first place in the broader Muslim world. But, I do think it plays a component to keep in mind. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 9:44 pm It’s such a refreshingly simple idea, to work it out informally. You think it can work? » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 9:29 pm And if anyone asks what Zaidi and Isma’ili Shi’ism are, I’m just gonna politely ignore you. 😉 It gets headache inducingly complex, replete with family trees galore. Not that anyone asked… phew. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 9:26 pm Actually he was sympathetic in comparison to Sen. ThinMint that was the opportunist, and thank goodness for Claire McCaskill shutting him down and calling him on his schei » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 9:13 pm There was a guy who wrote a book or something on that. Had the probability of even being struck by lightning compared to being caught in a terrorist attack. I would say, communications technology is what makes the spread different, now. In many cases, they are local grievances now broadly affiliating under the umbrella of ‘global jihad’ – on that not much has changed – and it is important to keep that in perspective. In Europe, Muslims are being radicalized, and that is different, but I do appreciate the British response more than the US handling was for the longest time. Thing is that they had more experience in this regard, and had already learned from mistakes which we insisted, it seemed, learning on our own. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 9:10 pm I often find ethno-religious themed maps among the most helpful in understanding conflicts: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/yemen_ethno_2002.jpg Sorry, that quote below, from Juan Cole’s blog is from “Col. Pat Lang, former Defense Intelligence Agency head for the Middle East” This is still on topic, sorta: remember when? http://www.juancole.com/2010/01/bush-rumsfeld-responses-to-shoe-bomber.html » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 9:04 pm The main objective would be a proxy war with Saudi Arabia, if anything (which has undertones of America, of course). Nevertheless, it, if true, would be more about Gulf hegemony. And, Iran has largely moved past such provocations, but it is the new internal situation and revived “Roots of the Revolution” IRGC-types, whom through the Quds Force, can act relatively independently that leaves this an open question to me. Even among this crowd though, the calculus has changed and they’re more astute in balancing the power of the region and have been more reticent in instigating the Saudis. It still strikes me as slightly anachronistic policy in post Khatami Riyadh-Tehran d » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 8:35 pm Oh, the oil people and we’re gonna attack X – Obama’s just like Bush! people were out again? I’ve heard some of the wildest theories (pieced together from scraps of facts, mind you), why not add a few more? » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 7:43 pm Don’t worry, I got your point, but I just had to vent on the Liebster. I hope you understand. I agree with Bernard Marx, though Cheney is more driven by profit than mimicking Right-wing Israeli policy. If ever the two were not in concert, Cheney would go for the $. Still hard to call which is worse… » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 7:39 pm I have it on what I consider to be as good an authority as any that there is no evidence of Iranian involvement with the Houthis (although supporting groups like this would be consistent with Iran » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 7:27 pm He was partially right, but for the wrong reasons, and offering the wrong solutions (yay! another Mogadishu incident). Lieberman has a different foreign policy neocon axe to grind. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 7:24 pm Ah, that was a poor way of mine to allude to the greater history the British (Empire) have in the region (and knowingly poor, given that Sana’a is not Aden). Nevertheless, it elicited some very useful information more valuable in content than the the original post. 😉 And, yeah, I think the Irish betting odds on another civil war in Yemen would be predictable, sadly. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 7:14 pm Me too. Just a cursory geography lesson might give some perspective to others. Though it and Oman look small under Saudi Arabia, Yemen is a little bigger than California. What are your thoughts on the Houthis, by the way? I know they’re indigenous, but I’m trying to sort through if there’s any truth in the (transparently) politically motivated accusations of the Arab media against Tehran. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 7:10 pm We had the same first thought. We’d be wise to be cautious in how we implement force, though. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 7:00 pm Gee, what makes me think the UK called dibs on theirs earlier? (btw, on a British side note, I’ve got C-Span’s 20 years of Commons coverage on and lord was Thatcher irritating) I heard Yemen described not as a failed state yet, but a ‘collapsed state’ as it stands. I tried to bring this up during the domestic fracas, that the attention on Yemen, not the bomber should have been the news focus earlier. This didn’t just happen out of nowhere magically on Christmas. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 6:54 pm I was tempted to muster up an article on Yemen, even though the Gulf States and Yemen are outside my general purview, to put it mildly. I saw Brennan on CNN. Almighty Allah, someone from the NSC who can pronounce al-Qa’ida correctly! After the Bush years (with the exception of Crocker), that is in itself mildly reassuring, past mere efforts of affectation. For more on the situation in the land of Sheba, Juan Cole: I have been to Yemen three times, before and after unification, and have traveled outside Sanaa. I’ve spoken publicly in Arabic in front of big audiences and interacted with Zaidis, Salafis, Sufis. It is an extremely complicated society with multiple ecological zones. It is an arid, tribal (segmentary-lineage) system. Most of the scholars I know who work on Yemen have been kidnapped by tribes or thrown in jail by the government at least once. People are either Arab nationalists or Muslim ones. They have very little use for outsiders. If the US tried to establish a big presence there, they would make the Iraqi resistance look half-hearted and weak-kneed. http://www.juancole.com/2009/12/top-republican-myths-about-crotch.html This is a bit of Kipling’s Mandalay from my Rimbaud biography (which I have yet to read, but knew might have some good quotes on Yemen) – ‘Ship me somewhere east of Suez, where the best is / like the worst, It was my early gut-feeling that they were probably evacuating non-essential personnel. Oh, some historical perspective on Yemeni rebels: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Yemen_Civil_War » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 6:41 pm 100 years of a national park done right At-large districts: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming. Nowhere is “at-large” more fitting than in Montana and Alaska. Given Montana’s population though, and the vast difference between the east and west, it would be fair to just split it between Dems in the Missoula/Bozeman area and the GOP in the Great Falls/Billings part (my apologies to the Crow). » Posted By Khirad On January 4, 2010 @ 7:20 pm Yeah, all you guys are definitely revealing me as a city slicker. I’m guessing my climb to the top of Multnomah was more leisurely than yours. Oh, and hiking in Arizona, yeah, I’ve done some short hikes. Preaching to the choir – getting to the top is totally worth it though, the cool breeze and view and, did I mention, the cool breeze? Only been through the Superstitions quickly myself. Would be worth it to spend more time there sometime. » Posted By Khirad On January 4, 2010 @ 1:09 pm Been to Timberline Lodge, many a time. 😉 Even before I was aware The Shining was shot there. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 11:41 pm My NW heart went aflutter with the Mt. Hood and San Juan references. I never did make it to Glacier, and would like to make it a part of a Banff trip someday. As far as tourist traps, I thought Zion was WAY more worth it than Yosemite. It and Joshua Tree have to be the most overrated parks… sorry Muir & Co. To be honest, I actually found Death Valley to be one of the more interesting ones, although there is just the hip factor of being to ‘Death Valley’ I’ll admit there’s not much there. What else is there? Another touristy place, Crater Lake I finally went to this past year – I go to all these places off-season though, so the touristy thing isn’t a factor. Mind you, I’m not a really outdoorsy person, but I’m not the fanny pack – trinket type —- well, okay, I’ll buy postcards, but I like getting out the camera and trying for some cool shots and getting a wee bit off the beaten path, going to places not on the bus tour docket. Never have gotten anything good out of the Tetons shot-wise. Need like a panorama shot for that… One of my faves of the bigger ones has to be Arches, but some of my fondest memories will be of Mt. Rainier, where I could imagine fairies might live if they existed… magical (Mesa Verde as a kid was too). If anyone comes down to Arizona, after doing Grand Canyon come down and do Saguaro – it’s far better than Joshua Tree IMHO. All of these may not be National Parks (I didn’t check myself), but I think you got the general gist. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 10:24 pm Guns, Knives, Hammers and Bricks* Exactly. One thing that seems to be constant, – I was reading some family memoirs written around the turn of the last century – talking about these kids, the country’s moral fiber is coming undone, everything is going to hell, etc. Could have been written today, apart from the slightly archaic language out of a Ken Burns Civil War voiceover. It’s as much human nature, though the sensationalist ratings game exacerbates and exploits this tendency, rather than giving us the broader historical perspective. We seem to, from age to age, have some sort of fantasy of things as they “once were” in some “golden age” (the World’s religions and myths are full of this theme) – only they never really were. Maybe simpler, but, less violent? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZieSsxPkMwk&feature=related If anything, viewing the span over the centuries and millenia, we’ve made vast improvements. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 11:59 pm I remember that story. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 5:03 pm I think it’s one of those things where Seymour Hoffman is always Seymour Hoffman. » Posted By Khirad On January 3, 2010 @ 5:01 pmComments Posted By Khirad
Where there aren’t no Ten commandments, an’ a man / can raise a thirst.’
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