nerdgirl

Which threat is that? You might imagine it as the threat to which you’ve asserted “There is going to come a time where OUR COUNTRY needs to commit to being a clear winner in the world.” and “ The world needs a clear winner right now. Badly.” Others can imagine, argue, or dispute other threats, as Sens Graham and Levin do. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Yes – water can be more or less wet. Wetness is a function of the surface which a liquid interacts. Increase the hydrophilicity (water-liking) of a surface, and it will get more wet (decreased contact angle). Increase the hydrophobicity (water-disliking) of a surface, and it gets less wet (increased contact angle). But you were using that metaphorically ... not literally I bet (metaphorically) ... /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

I’ve been reading Van Creveld’s Command in War. While the impact of technology, especially disruptive technology, is well-known (in some circles), I hadn’t previously thought about the impact as much on command and its dynamics. And every case isn’t beneficial, e.g., “the pathology of information.” Most like to think that the great military commanders of past would be triumphant today, but I’m not sure that’s true. It's a cool question to think about nonetheless.

I'm not sure to whom you are referring? The Commanding General, BG Karpinski, US Army Reserves, was relieved of command, demoted to Colonel, and subsequently retired. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

For what purpose? To limit the threat to US interests posed by "Afghanistan [which] is now the central front on the war on terror." /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

There’s saying that when a unit get named for you, you’ve become really famous. (Long live the “marg” -[at myself]) … but I’m not sure the connotation is quite as complementary when one’s name becomes a verb, as in “to Rumsfeld” something. South Carolina Sen Lindsey Graham, who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and a USAF Reserve Colonel: “The President [Obama] is right, Afghanistan is now the central front on the war on terror. That means more of everything, more troops, more political engament, more economic engagement. “We made mistakes in Iraq .... Let's don't Rumsfeld Afghanistan. Let’s don't do this thing on the cheap. Lets have enough combat power and engagement across the board to make sure we’re successful. Don't Rumsfeld Afghanistan.” He goes on to speak about ensuring rule of law. Would you support sending more US troops to Afghanistan? /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

The headline, at least as I view it, is "There is no refuge, no place to go to deal with your grief." Ok, the introductory phrase or secondary headline, Miss Pedantic - you're not still annoyed over the cumulous/cumulonimbus debacle are you?

The headline, at least as I view it, is "There is no refuge, no place to go to deal with your grief." Rather than a criticism of the choice of introductory comments by the newspaper editor, my response (& perhaps ... or not ... this may be [labrys]'s as well) is recognition that the thoughts expressed are not unprecedented. That does not in any way, shape, or form mean they do not deserve to be heard. Perhaps that they are not unprecedented might be seen as a stronger indictment of the failure of those in charge to respond to the needs of deployed service members? /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

The use of that term, "needless war" is interesting. What war would you say has been necessary? I think there have been some that have been justified, and moral, but none that have been necessary. You ask an interesting question, imo. I'm going to think about it more. I suspect my thoughtful answer would be longer than most here would read. Some might argue that the US Civil War was necessary to preserve the United States of America. If one sided with the Confederates States, it was an unnecessary war tho'. In my thinking, I go back to “St Carl” von Clausewitz’s principle On War that “War is merely a continuation of politics by other means.” Therefore necessary can be determined or gauged in terms of political ends, i.e., war as a means to accomplish political may be necessary. But that's a hard-core realists (political science/IR 'realist' not general vernacular) perspective that many/some are likely to find unsatisfying. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Concur. And at the same time, in many ways the words of the soldier printed in The Independent remind me of the "12 Army Captains" Op-Ed ("The Real Iraq We Knew," October 2007 from Washington Post) and the "7 NCOs" Op-Ed ("The Way We Saw It," August 2007 from the NY Times). Previous discussion here. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Remake casting now, scheduled release for 2010. Filming in SE Michigan. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Agree, My favorite: Terry Gilliam's Brazil. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Concur. The sexiest part of a man is his mind, imo. How he behaves toward me & toward others is the next single largest factor in determining his attractiveness. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Sure. Do you need an attention line/to: recipient? /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Thanks! And ... oooh ... that one incorporates chemical agents too. (Altho' someone needs to correct that Wiki entry -- VX and sulfur mustard are not gasses at any ambient temp/pressure. ) /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Thanks. That looks interesting! The nerd in me is entirely too curious about the underlying epidemiological parameters. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Thanks! Will look for them. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Know that there are a bunch of gamers out there … Are there any games (Wii, Xbox, etc) that include biowarfare, bioterrorism, or biodefense scenarios? Anthrax attacks? Weaponized smallpox? Plague? Ebola? If so, which games are they? Thanks!

Ooh ... neat!

Responding as if there is a question mark at the end of the quoted statement. It matters for some people apparently. Based on your writing, it seems to matter to you. For some people it matters for things like plate tectonics and understanding areas at greater risk for earthquakes as one example … or for where one might chose to locate a long-term nuclear waste storage repository. If nuclear waste will remain radioactive at levels dangerous to humans (in the volumes stored) for tens and hundreds of thousands of years, it’s wise, im-ever-ho, to understand the underlying geologic processes. For others it matters for understanding diseases and molecular forensics (e.g., using molecular biology to track pathogens). Many of the infectious diseases that have been or still are the greatest killers of humans are thousands (e.g., malaria) to hundreds of thousands (e.g., pertussis) years old. Understanding how they mutate and why they mutated (usually from zoonotic species [animal-infecting]) is important for development of countermeasures and responses to new emerging infectious diseases. Those are some of the reasons that an accurate understanding of the Earth’s age and geologic/geo-physical/geo-chemical and evolutionary processes matter to me. YMMV. For other people it matters for maintenance of a literal truth of the Biblical account and concerned about maintaining the integrity and authority of the Bible. It seems to go to perceived credibility. If one part is wrong/factually incorrect, *some* seem to think that threatens the usefulness of the entire document … or *some* see that as indication of underlying flaw, therefore the entire effort should be discarded. There are some who seem to treat it like a pure binary proposition: “if the Bible is true, the earth is young” versus “if the earth is old, the Gospel is false & there's no value in any of it,” when there's a lot between those two options, again imo. From a historical perspective and by analogy, did it matter that the Earth was not the center of the Universe? /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

That sounds good. I can play by that. Okay, so we can expect to read some objective standard to support that, yes? Since you’ve indicated that you want to put politics aside. Your standard. Are the assertions quoted above an example of the type of conclusion one would come to based the reporting like Mr. Hannity’s program? Or is that quote based on what you consider or representative of well researched reporting? One can argue the subjectively of the assertions and certainly one could argue regarding how political the assertions are. Nonetheless, putting subjective interpretations aside … even if for a moment one assumes that the subjective assertions represent truth (for the sake of discussion), there are factual errors. Objective facts. Not subjective interpretations. The head of OSTP, which was established in 1976 under Pres Ford by PL 94-282, is neither a "Czar" nor unaccountable. The position requires Senate Confirmation; Dr. Holdren was confirmed in March. The position is as accountable/subject to Congressional scrutiny as any Cabinet Secretary, although with a lot less real power, e.g., very small budget and limited ability to impact budgets directly. OSTP has a skewed high prestige to power ratio. (Head of OMB has high power and low prestige relatively; it’s also Senate confirmed.) Other than my assessment of relative power prestige ratios (which is subjective but not political), there is nothing political about that … just facts. Assuming that the quoted assertions are based on the type of reporting cited (i.e., you’re just relaying what you’ve heard; therefore it’s not your fault), those simple, objective factual errors suggest that “well researched” is not the case minimally w/r/t this topic … or perhaps there’s some other explanation? I don’t have cable and was on a plane yesterday evening, so was unable to watch the Fox News special. What was revealed? /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

I flew commercial with a firearm yesterday from DTW to ATL. First time. Remembered reading some of the stories here. Thanks to all who contributed.

Hmmm … wonder who might be reading my SC posts. From March 2008: I gotta start making bets. (Non-monetary, of course.) /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Well, I'd let ya pack my reserve.

Largely concur. DPRK is dealing with a fomenting succession crisis. Domestic politics of the elite, which in this case is the military elite and the Kim family [in addition to the sons, there's a half-brother and uncle that are political players], are dominant. (China doesn't seem to want a monarchy either.) Neither domestic actors could be seen as being "soft" on the US, and at the same time the two reporters were not strategically significant. The DPRK gets a 'fly out of its hair' as well. An added result of this is that, at least for the moment, the rumors of Kim's declining health will be put to rest. How so? I.e., I don't understand how you got to that conclusion. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying