Palling Around
The list of senior terrorists killed during the Obama presidency is fairly extensive.
There’s Osama bin Laden, of course, killed in May.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader Anwar al-Awlaki as of today.
Earlier this month officials confirmed that al Qaeda’s chief of Pakistan operations, Abu Hafs al-Shahri, was killed in Waziristan, Pakistan.
In August, ‘Atiyah ‘Abd al-Rahman, the deputy leader of al Qaeda was killed.
In June, one of the group’s most dangerous commanders, Ilyas Kashmiri, was killed in Pakistan. In Yemen that same month, AQAP senior operatives Ammar al-Wa’ili, Abu Ali al-Harithi, and Ali Saleh Farhan were killed. In Somalia, Al-Qa’ida in East Africa (AQEA) senior leader Harun Fazul was killed.
Administration officials also herald the recent U.S./Pakistani joint arrest of Younis al-Mauritani in Quetta.
Going back to August 2009, Tehrik e-Taliban Pakistan leader Baitullah Mahsud was killed in Pakistan.
In September of that month, Jemayah Islamiya operational planner Noordin Muhammad Top was killed in Indonesia, and AQEA planner Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan was killed in Somalia.
Then in December 2009 in Pakistan, al Qaeda operational commanders Saleh al-Somali and ‘Abdallah Sa’id were killed.
In February 2010, in Pakistan, Taliban deputy and military commander Abdul Ghani Beradar was captured; Haqqani network commander Muhammad Haqqani was killed; and Lashkar-e Jhangvi leader Qari Zafar was killed.
In March 2010, al Qaeda operative Hussein al-Yemeni was killed in Pakistan, while senior Jemayah Islamiya operative Dulmatin - accused of being the mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings – was killed during a raid in Indonesia.
In April 2010, al Qaeda in Iraq leaders Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi were killed.
In May, al Qaeda’s number three commander, Sheik Saeed al-Masri was killed.
In June 2010 in Pakistan, al Qaeda commander Hamza al-Jawfi was killed.
Remember when Rudy Giuliani warned that electing Barack Obama would mean that the U.S. played defense, not offense, against the terrorists?
If this is defense, what does offense look like?
-Jake Tapper
Skeptic finds he now agrees global warming is real
ReplyDeleteA prominent physicist and skeptic of global warming spent two years trying to find out if mainstream climate scientists were wrong. In the end, he determined they were right: Temperatures really are rising rapidly.
http://news.yahoo.com/skeptic-finds-now-agrees-global-warming-real-142616605.html
Hmm...quite a list. When a bump in the polls is needed, kill a Muslim or point to the markets being up. A very very Republican type of campaign when there is trouble at home. Good shooting though.
ReplyDeleteBut then there is this at www.hotair.com "Surprise,no warming in last 11 years. Round and round.
ReplyDeleteMeaningless article. It says one thing, then refers us to a carefully designed chart that does not show what the article says it shows.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention that Judith Curry is a laughingstock in the scientific world and a major embarrassment to Georgia Tech.
Believe it or not, she is actually a member of the BEST team but made no contribution to any part of the study except to run her mouth afterward.
Like I said...round and round. Much dust and nothing else but jokers all around. Nothing will change.
ReplyDeleteThe general problem that we have is that once upon a time "news" came from respectable newspaper, magazine and tv/radio sources, all of whom made every effort to check and recheck facts. And if one of them got off the track, the others were quick to correct them.
ReplyDeleteBut the internet has given us a totally "democratic" arena for "news" sources. Anybody can start a website and publish their own "news". Unfortunately, most of them are more concerned with making a splash or manipulating public opinion than with providing actual facts. From looking at their array of "stories", I'm afraid that hotair.com is just that, hot air.
Those who advocate this kind of "journalism" are like those who say that we should teach evolution and ID, or whatever they are currently calling it, side by side in the schools and let the students decide which is right. See: One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.
OT..there are approved "quack sites" and unapproved "quack sites". Approved and unapproved experts and sources. In addition to your point about "democratization', I believe most every discipline is now corrupted by current ideologies: History,journalism, economics, science, theology, geography on and on. Dominant governing ideologies around the world are in flux.
ReplyDeleteAs is said in Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun. All human endeavor has always been corrupted by "current ideologies".
ReplyDeleteIf you go through the American school system, you will come away believing that the US, with a little help from the Brits and the Russkies, defeated Adolph Hitler. Anyone who "knows" the history of WW II "knows" that that is not true.
The story of the American adventure in the Philippines has been a minor work of fiction for decades. The heroic Dewey at Manila Bay: "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley." That was certainly true, because the Spanish and there obsolete ships were helpless.
The "battle" began at around 5:15 AM. At 7:45 Dewey called for a break so that his sailors could eat breakfast. The attack resumed three hours later. One US sailor died of heat stroke.
And almost nothing has been written about the land activities, which consisted of mostly slaughter, rape and pillage by US troops, probably the worst series of events in US history, all carefully covered up for decades.
My favorite historian is the great Greek scholar Herodotus. He had a great sense of humor and a penchant for honesty.
So he tells us about a certain event in great detail, then says "At least, that's what the Athenians say happened. On the other hand, the Lydians say..." and goes on to tell a completely different version. All "history" depends upon point of view.
Science is a different matter entirely. The requirement for experimental proof and peer review makes for a far better chance that things are as we say they are. Of course, as we acquire better instruments (ask Galileo) and more knowledge, science "changes", but the changes add to knowledge instead of just becoming a controversy. There IS no controversy about global warming...it is happening. The controversy is over why.
Economics is NOT a science. No one has ever been able to prove or accurately forecast much of anything. It's mostly about "beliefs", which connects it to theology, which is really just the trumped up study of mythology.
Economics needs to become a science instead of 60 year old competing philosophies. Our economy is evolving and not just cycling so the old competing philosophies won't apply. It needs a model for analysis and prediction that fits this new post crash world. Physics may be able to assist with this as will other disciplines. The status quo in academics will fight any change to economic theory...for a while. Tenure must be defended you know.
ReplyDeleteEconomics is in reality a study of human behavior. Consumers have a tendency to want the best product for the lowest possible price, whereas business owners wnat to sell their products for the maximum price their customers will pay in order to maximize profits. Consumers purchase for any number of reasons, and there's a lot of psychology involved in their purchasing behavior. Economics is an attempt to make sense of the dance between producers and consumers, but since people are weird and often do the unexpected, economic forecasts wind up being swags. That's why economic models don't always work as planned, because people don't always act as planned.
ReplyDeleteKim Kardashian is filing for divorce after 72 days of marriage. Perhaps the DOMA legislation should be directed towards vapid celebrities instead of homosexuals.
ReplyDeletedotnet...fine points there. These old models don't always work as you say even in the cycles economy we have left. Technology uses and even private property rights need to enter. Dynamic economic models need to be established to gage people's behavior. From the sounds of it, your field, which I know little about, might play a role?
ReplyDeletedotnet....if you are unattached, Kim would be available...
ReplyDeleteMy faith in true love is shattered.
ReplyDeleteww..IT has totally changed how business is done. Since information is now available real-time for just about anything you can imagine, economic changes are occurring much faster than before because decisions can be made much faster. In fact, some decision-making has been automated.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Kim K is concerned, she has her charms, but I can't envision anything longer than a one night stand with her.
well...if it was really good, I'd probably hit it a second time, but from the little I've seen of Kim, she'd probably get on my nerves too much to hang around her for long.
ReplyDeleteThat one night might seem an eternity.
ReplyDeleteI guess Kris wouldn't do a sex tape with her.
By the time you hosed down Kim and washed off her makeup, got used to the silicone squeaking, OT is probably quite right.
ReplyDeleteGood evening, folks, still laughing at Arthur's bon mot.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of global warming. Here it is the eve of November, and we still have yet to have a freeze. Of course, there is a lot of snow to the north, but that is a consequence of more evaporation, thus moisture in the air, courtesy of . . . global warming.
OT, the turkey shoot at Manila Bay was the scene of p-poor naval gunnery. Our ships fired quite a few rounds for just a handful of actual hits.