| |
|
19. november 2007
|
|
Applying the Anbar model to Pakistan:
A new and classified [so much for classification --ed] American military proposal outlines an intensified effort to enlist tribal leaders in the frontier areas of Pakistan in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, as part of a broader effort to bolster Pakistani forces against an expanding militancy, American military officials said.
If adopted, the proposal would join elements of a shift in strategy that would also be likely to expand the presence of American military trainers in Pakistan, directly finance a separate tribal paramilitary force that until now has proved largely ineffective and pay militias that agreed to fight Al Qaeda and foreign extremists, officials said. The United States now has only about 50 troops in Pakistan, a Pentagon spokesman said, a force that could grow by dozens under the new approach.
The proposal is modeled in part on a similar effort by American forces in Anbar Province in Iraq that has been hailed as a great success in fighting foreign insurgents there.
Great idea. I wasn't as if fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan through proxies had any long term drawbacks. Oh wait...
Not that there are any obvious better alternatives. Win one war, and prepare for a new one to come along from the tensions and turmoil of the last one. WWI - WWII - Cold War - War on terror. Extend backwards and forwards indefinitely.
8:20:27 PM 
|
|
A YouTube threat has been discovered today against a local secondary school here in western Norway.
Dale said a woman in England had found the video of the school on Askøy along with a threat. The date of November 19 was attached to the threat.
The video, reported bt.no, had English text and links to coverage of the recent school massacre in Finland that left eight persons dead.
The video reportedly was published on YouTube last Thursday evening, with a new version appearing on Friday. It was accompanied by the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero."
Teachers at the school were alerted Sunday evening and the entire school was searched by police and specially trained dogs.
All students arriving for school on Monday were searched and put through metal detectors.
The school has 280 students. Principal Leiv Jan Nielsen said officials were taking the threat seriously, "not least with regard to what happened in Finland."
Officials considered closing the school on Monday, but decided it would be safe for it to remain open.
Nielsen went from class to class on Monday, to explain what had happened and ask for the students' help, if they knew anything about the YouTube video.
It's probably a very stupid prank, but I can't fault the authorities for taking no chances.
I lived in Erdal in the late 80s, not very far from this secondary school.
Update: A local newspaper put out the video here. No extra marks for spelling or video editing for the guy who made it. A teenage student at the school has been arrested, previously expelled for making threats against the principal. So far, he denies having made the video...
7:52:00 PM
|
|
I mentioned the illogical expressions "steep learning curve" and "quantum leap" some weeks ago.
Now here's another one: Meteoric rise. This expression is often used about a sports, music or movie star that has massive and increasing success.
You hve already guessed the punchline: Obviously, meteorites move very fast, but they always fall down.
Technically, of course, meteorites aren't moving at all. A meteorite is an object from space that has survived the fall and is lying still on the ground. A meteor is the same object when it is actually falling, also known as a shooting star. Before its unfortunate collision with our planet, while it was still in space, the rock was called a meteroid.
In neither case is any of those things rising.
7:06:08 PM
|
|
The US dollar has taken quite a beating over the last year or two, which has not escaped the attention of Iran's firebrand president Ahmadinejad.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that OPEC's members have expressed interest in converting their cash reserves into a currency other than the depreciating U.S. dollar, which he called a "worthless piece of paper."
The Iranian Rial is currently at an exchange rate of 9,334 rial for 1 US dollar. Now, about those worthless pieces of paper...
PS: A weak dollar, is it good or bad for the country? That depends who you are and what you do, I guess.
6:54:51 AM
|
|
|
© Copyright 2007 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 02.12.2007; 21:06:56.
|
|
|
