Timing Error

THE NEW GM H9 HUMMER?

Not sure about the paint scheme, tho.

BIGGIE SMALLS

Well, for an antidote to the megalopoli post below, check out the tinyhouse blog:

and littlediggs:

Except when we have guest, my wife and I only use about three rooms in our house (excluding bathrooms). When the heating bill comes in, I keep wondering what all the rest of the house is for. That said, these little houses would make a good addition to a secluded, wooded, acre somewhere.

Imagine having a bunch of these (seven?) with a Dan Simmons farcaster to get between them.

Via Designboom via metafilter.

DRAWINGS: OBLO

A bit more experimentation with powerpoint.

PAPYRUS WENT THAT WAY

In 25 years, paper will have become an exotic luxury item — the kind of thing that executives keep in antique wooden treasure chests on their desks.

io9 lays out some sweet paper/electronic fusions.

CALM UNDER FIRE

A steady hand. That's the only way you can describe the Right Honorable Mayor Ray 'Chocolate City' Nagin:

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin called Gustav "the mother of all storms*," saying it could be more destructive than Katrina, which passed to the east of New Orleans. 

"You need to be scared," he said. "You need to be concerned, and you need to get your butts moving out of New Orleans right now. This is the storm of the century."

Wow. One thing I've learned: if you lose your head in the face of trouble, you tend to end up losing your head.

That said, to all those in Gustav's path, be safe. 

*Fascinating how the Mother of All- meme jumped into popular usage. 

MEGALOPOLI

DRB looks at the scary (for me; I am paranoid) future of extreme arcologies:

Next Big Future addresses a potential arcology building in Dubai (Dubai! Is there nothing they can not build?)

 

I'll tell you, these buildings definitely answer some of the concerns of ecological economists regarding sustainability and substitutability: pen 'em up.

Me, I'd probably prefer to remain a heathen in our bright, shiny, future.

(sorry about those hanging 'links')

TO BUILD YOUR HOUSE, PLEASE SELECT PRINT

Printing homes, via Futurismic:

Instead of plastic, Contour Crafting will use concrete,” said Khoshnevis

Yeah, your house may be made of concrete, but I think plasticity will define the future.

FINALLY: SOMEONE SMARTER THAN ME SAYS IT

When I tell people that President bush is a flaming Liberal, they look at me like I have a third eye. But he is; as Sovereign, he mainly acts at the international level and out there, he is a Liberal/Utopian. 

Tom Barnett writes:

Clinton was more conservative (despite all the talk) and Bush was more radical (despite all the talk). I think Obama would end up being surprisingly conservative in leadership style (despite all the hype) and McCain more the radical (despite all the imagery).

The U.S. trends Liberal/Utopian overtime (with a Structural Realist foreign policy establishment and a Liberal defense establishment). I would argue that the world at large trends towards Structural Realism, which accounts for most of the tension between us and the structure-of-the-day. 

Internationally, it is appropriate to refer to Senator McCain as a Liberal/Utopian and to Senator Obama as a Structural Realist. Appropriate and accurate. We get our wires crossed when we shift levels down from the international system to the state; the social/sexual conversation inverts Liberal/Utopian and Structural Realist (now called Conservatism). If you really wanted to be accurate, though, the culture 'warriors' are structural liberal versus structural conservative. Liberalism is less Burning Man and Woodstock and more Halo in practice. Liberalism can be god-awfully lethal, which probably underpins Democratic Peace Theory more so than any kumbaya explanation I've read.

The U.S. still remains a Liberal/Utopian country: that confuses and pisses off our frenemies, but there it is.  At the end of the day, it is our liberal approach towards structure that determines 'sides' in any particular conversation, up to and including war. 

Size and levels shift, but constants remain.

EVEN HAVING A PULSE IS IMPLIED

Way I read it, the sole qualifications to be the President of the United State are being 35 years of age and being a naturally born citizen of this country.

Everything else is just layered on structure. Now, performing open heart surgery or flying a jetliner? I concede, those jobs require some formal booklearning.

But being President? That's a job any old slack jawed American should be prepared to do. That's how resilience works; Heinlein would agree.

CONVERSATIONS WITH HISTORY

Excellent geekiness:

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes biophysicist Chikashi Toyoshima for a discussion of his remarkable achievement in capturing the first images of cellular activity as the calcium ion pump makes possible the contraction and relaxation of muscle tissue on a signal from the brain. Topics covered include: how structure determines process in cellular activity, the technical innovations required for this breakthrough in the biosciences, and why visualization is so important in understanding cellular processes. He also reflects on creativity in science and how the images he captured affected his understanding of humankind's place in the universe.

MISSED DEADLINES: FFF

Missed my flash fiction friday post. Sorry; between work and my new found obsession with powerpoint cartooning...well, there went all my energy.

As a consolation, a few world building sketches.

Polly Pengelly:

Sevania Applebottom:

Calliope:

Rumors:

WELL PLAYED

Palin. Wow.

DRAWINGS: IN GENERAL

DRAWING: MARS BEEYOTCHES

DRAWING: FOR WANT OF A HORSESHOE

WAR LADIES: SERIAL NO. 3817131

Rachel Papo , on duty with the women of the IDF:

Via boing boing, which explains why the site is having bandwidth issues.

DRAWINGS: POLLY PENGELLY PENDRAGON

DRAWINGS: INDEPENDENCE

XKCD EXPOSES MY WEAKNESS

At least with this toon.

I used to think there were places on the internet I would not go; I got about fifteen seconds into the whole girls+cup thing before losing it. Fortunately, relief was just an 'x' click away.

DRAWINGS: MUSES

DRAWINGS: CALLIOPE AND CLIO

DRAWINGS: BURNING MAN BEGINS

TESTING EMAIL FUNCTIONALITY

Let's see how this works.

A GOOD ROUNDUP: THE CARTOON LAWS OF PHYSICS

The original Laws and addendums.

Objects launched into the air need not follow parabolic trajectories. 

YO! Venice

Yo Venice: a nifty little neighborhood blog about my second most favored Venice:

Picture via their flickr stream.

DRAWING: SOME MORE DUDES

DRAWINGS: LIBERAL USE OF THE 'F' WORD

Sage advice posted below the fold to protect my PG rating from the Blog Advisory Board.

Continue reading "DRAWINGS: LIBERAL USE OF THE 'F' WORD" »

Neat article over in the Washington Post on the growth of graphic novels:

What is a graphic novel?

"It's a perfect synthesis of artwork and literature!"

When will graphic novels come into their own?

"We seem to be in a golden age of comics publishing right now!"

Via metafilter

Drawn reminds me of my inner voyeur. I like seeing where creative folks, well, create. Follow the link through for On My Desktop for more:

For the more literary inclined, Metafilter hosts a roundup of writers work spaces:

UPDATE: Very appropriate, via Neatorama

Women Arrested Because of Overdue Library books

“I said, what could they possibly do? They can’t arrest me for this… I was wrong,” Dalibor said.

Excitement in the air: Senator Obama selects Senator Biden. Soon, Senator McCain will select _________ . Crackling.

So my wife got in an accident yesterday; sideswiped. She's okay. Sitting in the Hummer, she barely noticed. In the Sentra, she probably would have needed a can opener.

Thank Hummer.

And those nifty little Lizard dudes for paying.

It's been about a year since I became fascinated with Burning Man; I'll end up missing this one too (TPS Reports).

No matter: I'll still have flickr (very occasionally NSFW) and Scott London to tie me over until next year.

Today's FFF story. More stories here.

 

 

 

Sanction was an unremarkable moon.

 

At least by the Ambassadors’ eyes, which was all she had with which to judge the moon. Sanction was an oblong, chondritic rock. Its black, grainy surface held three manmade structures: two embassies and a tree-of-life. The tree-of-life was someone’s quixotic stab at panspermia; at odd intervals, it shed radiation hardened spores into the solar wind.

 

There were no Libraries or Arsenals located on Sanction. By design, treaty and agreement, Sanction was an informational blank slate. Sanction registered in no databases, contained no cross references and had no indexes. If you wanted to see Sanction, you had to go to Sanction.

 

Not quite mega engineering, but definitely a walk down that lane.

And a word from our sponsor:

A Baby...

A Ditty:

"Eviscerating evildoers,

That is what we all are true too…

We are the John, John Laws…

When putting bad guys in the ground,

You’ll never, ever see us frown…

We are the John, John Laws…

Protecting your deoxribose

From Dr. Hippy’s evil lyses

We are the John, John Laws…

We’ll hang tough through the darkest night,

Prepared to push back all the fright…

We are the John, John Laws…

When things get tough don’t abdicate,

Call us, we’ll eradicate...

Remember, we’re the John, John Laws."

And some dudes:

1. For putting up with my long work hours.

2. For putting up with my frequent absences.

3. For saying those extra few pounds around my middle are sexy.

4. For making some house our home.

5. For the yard work.

6. For listening to me rant.

7. For the iPhone ;)

8. For being there.

9. For being you.

10. For saying yes...

You are the best wife in the world!!!!

(and yes, I am trying to boost your google ratings ;)

Got a little better visualizing with my powerpoint 'toons. Granted, powerpoint isn't a high powered graphics tool, but it is everywhere I am. Give me a clean sheet of powerpoint and a mouse over a WACOM tablet (except one) and a graphics suite any day of the week (and yes, these pictures are what inside my mind).

Small, compact, and easy to upload. I like.

...for a buddy to finish a meeting before going to chow. Plus side, I got to muck around inside powerpoint, my new favorite graphics editing tool.

Sketching my notebook characters into powerpoint makes for an interesting diversion.

 

This guy (warning, he's king of avant gard in some of his text) perfectly illustrates the world I've been building in my head (and sketching out in flash fiction). 

Beautiful. 

So my wife and I digitally exchanged gifts for our third wedding anniversary. I'm not big on giftd, but she is...I got her a jewelry set (ring, necklace, earrings). 

Well, she surprises me with an iPhone!

Now I know how the Dutch felt after negotiating with the Manhattan Indians.

(I have the best wife in the world)

I think this is the future of U.S engagement in this The World™ thing. Call it the Hardened Soft approach.

My parents used to raise chickens; I earned my pin money through school working the farm. By 5,500 hundred chicks? We used to do 90,000 a grow out.

Seeing pictures of ammonia filled Iraqi chicken houses sure brings back memories. A little rubber tubing and some pumps and these guys can be in business. I don’t know how they keep those birds hydrated: it gets too hot and the chickens pretty much just roll over and die.

Also, check out that guys ITOV: says USDA. Awesome

 

 

Original Citations:

Picture 1: More than 5,500 baby chickens thrive on an Iraqi egg farm in Jedidah al-Shat, Iraq on Aug. 11, 2008, as part of a Provincial Reconstruction Team-led pilot project. Launched in April 2008, the project involves providing seven local farmers chicks on a split-cost basis and teaches them how to properly raise, maintain and manage egg-laying poultry.

(U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mario A. Quiroga/released) 080811-N-0373Q-015

 

Picture 2: A local Iraqi sheik and Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), Diyala, U.S.D.A. Agricultural Advisor Ryan Brewster, display one of more than 5,500 baby chickens involved in a PRT-led pilot project in Jedidah al-Shat, Iraq on Aug. 11, 2008. Launched in April 2008, the project involves providing more than 5,000 chicks to seven local farmers on a split-cost basis and teaches them how to properly raise, maintain and manage egg-laying poultry.

(U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mario A. Quiroga/Released)

080811-N-0373Q-027

Been awhile, but here's a shortish entry into the flash fiction meme:

The Centurion awoke, relaxed.

 

Without opening his eyes, he knew his setting. The room would be his cubiculum, set off the atrium. The soft linen drapes would be swaying gently, messaging the cool, salty, breeze as it rose up from the sea below. To his left were his weapons: a sword, the shield and a grenade launcher he’d picked up somewhere and taken into his affections. To his right, a bowl of fruit filled with the plenty of a midsummer’s Mediterranean harvest.

 

Continue reading "FLASH FICTION FRIDAY: A PUBLIC MATTER" »

Since we're rekindling the Cold War with the Russmob, let's finally get those space dreadnoughts up in orbit. Man (ed note:or chick; it the oughts, dude) your battlestations!!

1. Fourtunately, the Astrospies, are ready to fall into the future and defend us against the Reddish Mauve Menace. Via Paleofuture (to include pic)

2. And 'they' tried to sell this ship as a Manned Orbiting Laboratory; but I'm not fooled. It's obviously some kind of deep orbit pocket battleship.

But the Reddish Mauve Menace is no slacker.

1. Almaz:

2. They've obviusly broken into the Jules Verne Advanced Ether Defense System, at least by the look of things:

3. And the pocket shuttle Kipler:

4. Last, the Tycho Crater Moon Raider: freedoms frontier will now longer be safe from the Reddish Mauve Menace.

But fourtunately, we'll be able to call on the Space Cops to prevent Orbit War I.

/sarcasm

I'm a fan of man in a can; faster towards the future, I always say. Great shots of a Russian capsule landing here:

Not alot of change since Yuri's Fright.

 The problem with lensing international relations solely through the State Actor is that you can wind up talking to the wrong people.

 The President (Medvedev) is in Moscow; the Sovereign (Putin) is in North Ossetia. Russia is in a state of internal rules violation; always a dangerous precedent. Optimum outcome, in my view, is a micro-regime change that rejoins the Sovereign with the Presidency. Your rule sets can be stupid, but you have to follow them.

 

 BREAK

I am amazed, though, how high stakes negotiations come down thoughts written on blank sheets of paper. Paper beats rocks (when it works)

Sarkozy’s “Russian Peacekeeping forces will implement additional security measures” may just go down in history next to General Schwarzkopf’s “sure you can fly your helicopters” response to the Iraqi’s at the end of GW  I. (.pdf link for memo junkies)

 

One thought to keep in mind: accepting Russia’s irredentist claims on Georgian territory is a flat out dangerous precedent. Russians are in all the formerly oppressed Soviet satellites. What stops Russia from pressing claims on Latvia (currently the Baltic country with the highest level of ethnic Russians)?

I had Russians at my wedding; they’re fun people and can put you under the table with their drinking. That said, Russia got to rampage around the eastern European peninsula for 70 odd years; they need to be chill out for a century or so and grow a bit.

That said, I am beginning to get heartened by the U.S. response. I’m actually ashamed of my earlier doubts: it takes time for Agent oriented States to generate national power. Structure oriented States usually just scream then leap.

It takes time to move Brigades (or other elements of national power)

Of course, if we had the “over the horizon” “Strike Force” based in “Okinawa” ready to respond to regional crisis, then we would have been there like yesterday, right?

WAPO: DRAWING POWER

Neat article over in the Washington Post on the growth of graphic novels:

What is a graphic novel?

"It's a perfect synthesis of artwork and literature!"

When will graphic novels come into their own?

"We seem to be in a golden age of comics publishing right now!"

Via metafilter

SPACES AND PLACES

Drawn reminds me of my inner voyeur. I like seeing where creative folks, well, create. Follow the link through for On My Desktop for more:

For the more literary inclined, Metafilter hosts a roundup of writers work spaces:

DRAWING: KISSES

DRAWINGS: THE LIBRARIAN

UPDATE: Very appropriate, via Neatorama

Women Arrested Because of Overdue Library books

“I said, what could they possibly do? They can’t arrest me for this… I was wrong,” Dalibor said.

VEEPSTAKES MANIA!!

Excitement in the air: Senator Obama selects Senator Biden. Soon, Senator McCain will select _________ . Crackling.

THANK HUMMER

So my wife got in an accident yesterday; sideswiped. She's okay. Sitting in the Hummer, she barely noticed. In the Sentra, she probably would have needed a can opener.

Thank Hummer.

And those nifty little Lizard dudes for paying.

BLACK ROCK CITY ABUILDING

It's been about a year since I became fascinated with Burning Man; I'll end up missing this one too (TPS Reports).

No matter: I'll still have flickr (very occasionally NSFW) and Scott London to tie me over until next year.

DRAWING: ARMADA

FLASH FICTION FRIDAY: TOWARDS SANCTION

Today's FFF story. More stories here.

 

 

 

Sanction was an unremarkable moon.

 

At least by the Ambassadors’ eyes, which was all she had with which to judge the moon. Sanction was an oblong, chondritic rock. Its black, grainy surface held three manmade structures: two embassies and a tree-of-life. The tree-of-life was someone’s quixotic stab at panspermia; at odd intervals, it shed radiation hardened spores into the solar wind.

 

There were no Libraries or Arsenals located on Sanction. By design, treaty and agreement, Sanction was an informational blank slate. Sanction registered in no databases, contained no cross references and had no indexes. If you wanted to see Sanction, you had to go to Sanction.

 

HUGE: BURJ DUBAI

Not quite mega engineering, but definitely a walk down that lane.

DRAWINGS

And a word from our sponsor:

S'MORE: FROM MY DIGITAL SCRAPBOOK

A Baby...

A Ditty:

"Eviscerating evildoers,

That is what we all are true too…

We are the John, John Laws…

When putting bad guys in the ground,

You’ll never, ever see us frown…

We are the John, John Laws…

Protecting your deoxribose

From Dr. Hippy’s evil lyses

We are the John, John Laws…

We’ll hang tough through the darkest night,

Prepared to push back all the fright…

We are the John, John Laws…

When things get tough don’t abdicate,

Call us, we’ll eradicate...

Remember, we’re the John, John Laws."

And some dudes:

FOR THE BEST WIFE IN THE WORLD: THREE YEARS...

1. For putting up with my long work hours.

2. For putting up with my frequent absences.

3. For saying those extra few pounds around my middle are sexy.

4. For making some house our home.

5. For the yard work.

6. For listening to me rant.

7. For the iPhone ;)

8. For being there.

9. For being you.

10. For saying yes...

You are the best wife in the world!!!!

(and yes, I am trying to boost your google ratings ;)

POWERPOINT: EVOLVED

Got a little better visualizing with my powerpoint 'toons. Granted, powerpoint isn't a high powered graphics tool, but it is everywhere I am. Give me a clean sheet of powerpoint and a mouse over a WACOM tablet (except one) and a graphics suite any day of the week (and yes, these pictures are what inside my mind).

Small, compact, and easy to upload. I like.

TIK2BT

NEVER WAIT...

...for a buddy to finish a meeting before going to chow. Plus side, I got to muck around inside powerpoint, my new favorite graphics editing tool.

Sketching my notebook characters into powerpoint makes for an interesting diversion.

 

VISUALIZING A GREEN EARTH AND A GOLDEN MARS...

This guy (warning, he's king of avant gard in some of his text) perfectly illustrates the world I've been building in my head (and sketching out in flash fiction). 

Beautiful. 

AN "O'HENRY-ESQUE" ANNIVERSARY

So my wife and I digitally exchanged gifts for our third wedding anniversary. I'm not big on giftd, but she is...I got her a jewelry set (ring, necklace, earrings). 

Well, she surprises me with an iPhone!

Now I know how the Dutch felt after negotiating with the Manhattan Indians.

(I have the best wife in the world)

MULTIAGENCY/COMBINED/JOINT TASK FORCE CHICKEN

I think this is the future of U.S engagement in this The World™ thing. Call it the Hardened Soft approach.

My parents used to raise chickens; I earned my pin money through school working the farm. By 5,500 hundred chicks? We used to do 90,000 a grow out.

Seeing pictures of ammonia filled Iraqi chicken houses sure brings back memories. A little rubber tubing and some pumps and these guys can be in business. I don’t know how they keep those birds hydrated: it gets too hot and the chickens pretty much just roll over and die.

Also, check out that guys ITOV: says USDA. Awesome

 

 

Original Citations:

Picture 1: More than 5,500 baby chickens thrive on an Iraqi egg farm in Jedidah al-Shat, Iraq on Aug. 11, 2008, as part of a Provincial Reconstruction Team-led pilot project. Launched in April 2008, the project involves providing seven local farmers chicks on a split-cost basis and teaches them how to properly raise, maintain and manage egg-laying poultry.

(U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mario A. Quiroga/released) 080811-N-0373Q-015

 

Picture 2: A local Iraqi sheik and Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), Diyala, U.S.D.A. Agricultural Advisor Ryan Brewster, display one of more than 5,500 baby chickens involved in a PRT-led pilot project in Jedidah al-Shat, Iraq on Aug. 11, 2008. Launched in April 2008, the project involves providing more than 5,000 chicks to seven local farmers on a split-cost basis and teaches them how to properly raise, maintain and manage egg-laying poultry.

(U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mario A. Quiroga/Released)

080811-N-0373Q-027

FLASH FICTION FRIDAY: A PUBLIC MATTER

Been awhile, but here's a shortish entry into the flash fiction meme:

The Centurion awoke, relaxed.

 

Without opening his eyes, he knew his setting. The room would be his cubiculum, set off the atrium. The soft linen drapes would be swaying gently, messaging the cool, salty, breeze as it rose up from the sea below. To his left were his weapons: a sword, the shield and a grenade launcher he’d picked up somewhere and taken into his affections. To his right, a bowl of fruit filled with the plenty of a midsummer’s Mediterranean harvest.

 

Continue reading "FLASH FICTION FRIDAY: A PUBLIC MATTER" »

Since we're rekindling the Cold War with the Russmob, let's finally get those space dreadnoughts up in orbit. Man (ed note:or chick; it the oughts, dude) your battlestations!!

1. Fourtunately, the Astrospies, are ready to fall into the future and defend us against the Reddish Mauve Menace. Via Paleofuture (to include pic)

2. And 'they' tried to sell this ship as a Manned Orbiting Laboratory; but I'm not fooled. It's obviously some kind of deep orbit pocket battleship.

But the Reddish Mauve Menace is no slacker.

1. Almaz:

2. They've obviusly broken into the Jules Verne Advanced Ether Defense System, at least by the look of things:

3. And the pocket shuttle Kipler:

4. Last, the Tycho Crater Moon Raider: freedoms frontier will now longer be safe from the Reddish Mauve Menace.

But fourtunately, we'll be able to call on the Space Cops to prevent Orbit War I.

/sarcasm

I'm a fan of man in a can; faster towards the future, I always say. Great shots of a Russian capsule landing here:

Not alot of change since Yuri's Fright.

 The problem with lensing international relations solely through the State Actor is that you can wind up talking to the wrong people.

 The President (Medvedev) is in Moscow; the Sovereign (Putin) is in North Ossetia. Russia is in a state of internal rules violation; always a dangerous precedent. Optimum outcome, in my view, is a micro-regime change that rejoins the Sovereign with the Presidency. Your rule sets can be stupid, but you have to follow them.

 

 BREAK

I am amazed, though, how high stakes negotiations come down thoughts written on blank sheets of paper. Paper beats rocks (when it works)

Sarkozy’s “Russian Peacekeeping forces will implement additional security measures” may just go down in history next to General Schwarzkopf’s “sure you can fly your helicopters” response to the Iraqi’s at the end of GW  I. (.pdf link for memo junkies)

 

One thought to keep in mind: accepting Russia’s irredentist claims on Georgian territory is a flat out dangerous precedent. Russians are in all the formerly oppressed Soviet satellites. What stops Russia from pressing claims on Latvia (currently the Baltic country with the highest level of ethnic Russians)?

I had Russians at my wedding; they’re fun people and can put you under the table with their drinking. That said, Russia got to rampage around the eastern European peninsula for 70 odd years; they need to be chill out for a century or so and grow a bit.

That said, I am beginning to get heartened by the U.S. response. I’m actually ashamed of my earlier doubts: it takes time for Agent oriented States to generate national power. Structure oriented States usually just scream then leap.

It takes time to move Brigades (or other elements of national power)

Of course, if we had the “over the horizon” “Strike Force” based in “Okinawa” ready to respond to regional crisis, then we would have been there like yesterday, right?

SPAWAR

Since we're rekindling the Cold War with the Russmob, let's finally get those space dreadnoughts up in orbit. Man (ed note:or chick; it the oughts, dude) your battlestations!!

1. Fourtunately, the Astrospies, are ready to fall into the future and defend us against the Reddish Mauve Menace. Via Paleofuture (to include pic)

2. And 'they' tried to sell this ship as a Manned Orbiting Laboratory; but I'm not fooled. It's obviously some kind of deep orbit pocket battleship.

But the Reddish Mauve Menace is no slacker.

1. Almaz:

2. They've obviusly broken into the Jules Verne Advanced Ether Defense System, at least by the look of things:

3. And the pocket shuttle Kipler:

4. Last, the Tycho Crater Moon Raider: freedoms frontier will now longer be safe from the Reddish Mauve Menace.

But fourtunately, we'll be able to call on the Space Cops to prevent Orbit War I.

/sarcasm

I'm a fan of man in a can; faster towards the future, I always say. Great shots of a Russian capsule landing here:

Not alot of change since Yuri's Fright.

STRUCTURE AND THE STATE

 The problem with lensing international relations solely through the State Actor is that you can wind up talking to the wrong people.

 The President (Medvedev) is in Moscow; the Sovereign (Putin) is in North Ossetia. Russia is in a state of internal rules violation; always a dangerous precedent. Optimum outcome, in my view, is a micro-regime change that rejoins the Sovereign with the Presidency. Your rule sets can be stupid, but you have to follow them.

 

 BREAK

I am amazed, though, how high stakes negotiations come down thoughts written on blank sheets of paper. Paper beats rocks (when it works)

Sarkozy’s “Russian Peacekeeping forces will implement additional security measures” may just go down in history next to General Schwarzkopf’s “sure you can fly your helicopters” response to the Iraqi’s at the end of GW  I. (.pdf link for memo junkies)

 

RUSSIAN IRREDENTISM: LEBENSRAUM FOR THE NEW CENTURY?

One thought to keep in mind: accepting Russia’s irredentist claims on Georgian territory is a flat out dangerous precedent. Russians are in all the formerly oppressed Soviet satellites. What stops Russia from pressing claims on Latvia (currently the Baltic country with the highest level of ethnic Russians)?

I had Russians at my wedding; they’re fun people and can put you under the table with their drinking. That said, Russia got to rampage around the eastern European peninsula for 70 odd years; they need to be chill out for a century or so and grow a bit.

That said, I am beginning to get heartened by the U.S. response. I’m actually ashamed of my earlier doubts: it takes time for Agent oriented States to generate national power. Structure oriented States usually just scream then leap.

It takes time to move Brigades (or other elements of national power)

Of course, if we had the “over the horizon” “Strike Force” based in “Okinawa” ready to respond to regional crisis, then we would have been there like yesterday, right?