Success has a thousand fathers and failure is an orphan…
But none of ‘em get fired!
Gorilla says: “I tolerate everything and accept nothing, unless it’s the other way around!”
Archive for January 5th, 2010
Dots Don’t, Lead Won’t
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010Fear Stays Here
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010Well, the White House sure isn’t leading this week!
It’s all about spinning the President and the Democratic Party away from the “soft on terror” thing, even though the Know Nothings making that accusation presided over the two greatest national security failures in American history: 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq.
It’s not about challenge, and it’s certainly not about change…
So, the underwear bomber’s visa is revoked and Yemeni detainees at Gitmo won’t be repatriated for the time being.
Oh yes, and presumably big profits for the body scanning industry (by contrast, the body tanning industry will pay more tax under health care reform).
Lots of new lines at the airport, 14 countries, their visitors, and citizens now eligible for pat downs, and as usual no serious progress in capturing or even finding al-Qaeda leaders from our gazillion dollar national security apparatus.
Gorilla thinks: “Fear America! Et voila, you, underwear bomber, are now an illegal alien, but you get to stay here anyway!”
Not A Question Needing An Answer
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010Give up smoking? Increase risk of diabetes in the next 10 years!
What’s the point of studies like this?
You give up smoking, you’re likely to gain weight.
If you’re overweight to begin with, then you have a higher risk of diabetes.
Oh, and smoking also increases your risk of cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
So, guess what? Don’t start smoking and don’t get fat!
All of this has been known for quite some time, so there’s no value in the science and real damage to the reputation of science in policymaking circles.
Idiots who don’t trust science, whether in the Know Nothing Party or the public generally, will only conclude that maybe it’s not such a great idea to give up smoking, despite the urgings of the study’s authors.
Gorilla says: “No more calls for Philip Morris, please!”
Marginally Relevant Catfight
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010The pygmies are on the march and a catfight is coming!
The CIA’s operational impact in Afghanistan is marginally relevant, according to a report by the senior US military intelligence official in the country.
The report said US intelligence officials and analysts were “ignorant of local economics and landowners, hazy about who the power-brokers are and how they might be influenced, incurious about the correlations between various development projects … and disengaged from people in the best position to find answers.”
Even this irrelevancy seems like small beer compared to the agency’s inability to find Osama bin Laden or its hiring of a double agent Jordanian suicide bomber.
On the other hand, the Pentagon’s had 100,000 troops and 100,000 contractors in Afghanistan, and can’t say with a straight face that they’re doing much better against the Taliban or corruption.
The Afpak policy remains one of total confusion: are we after al-Qaeda, which isn’t in Afghanistan? are we propping up a corrupt government that rigged the last election? are we preparing to invade Pakistan, where al-Qaeda and the Taliban actually operate? how do we sustain economic development that’s not wholly dependent on the drug trade? how much longer will we be there?
Gorilla thinks: “We need a full brain scan before the next US bound flight of fancy!”
We Vote To Go Broke
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010In Iceland, there’s trouble brewing as the country chooses a referendum to decide whether to pay back British and Dutch depositors in the failed Icebank.
Failing to vote yes will lead to the suspension of IMF and other international aid for a country that is effectively bust.
Failing to vote no will mean years of stagnant growth, since the amount being demanded amounts to 30% of current GDP.
Gorilla reasons it out: “Imagine if the US had to pay $4.2 trillion to cover our banks. Oh wait, we already have!”
