The Last Ephor

"Unrealized Moscow . Very cool renderings of projects that were never built. Really good archive of the social realist architechture.

Wretchard has some excellent insights into the limitations on China if they wish to retake Taiwan. I've often heard it postulated that the main limitation was the PLAN's inability to control the Strait of Taiwan after making their landing on the island itself. One of the chief concerns cited is America's ability to control the sea lanes through which VLCC's (Very Large Crude Carriers) can travel. This limitation is, however, a fungible one. If we have a weak willed (read: Democrat) in office, the US Navy will not interdict oil shipments to China. The check on this is the Taiwanese Sumarine force. If the Chinese mean to take Taiwan they would have to make a lightning grab for the island and hope to catch most, if not all, of the sub fleet in port. If one or two boats are at sea they would be able to close the sea lanes bringing not just oil, but many vital goods to China. I will say this has me feeling a bit better about China's political and expansionist am...

The Flagship Wanna know the prime reason combat swimmers won't threaten our ports? Read the link. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of an attack by one of these guys.

Lawmakers With Relatives on Payroll There has been much ado about Tom DeLay's skating the ethical line with his trips and employment of family members. The link above shows the list to include both sides of the aisle. The outrage by Senators and Congressmen seems a bit rich. The key difference IMNHO is the amounts we're talking about. Every politician certainly has the right to hire whomever they wish in whatever capacity they wish. However, were I donor, I would look carefully at how my donation is spent. Is the candidates son or daughter holding a degree in government from Harvard or Georgetown? If so, I would have little problem with them being involved in the campaign or even administration. The sheer size of Delay's payroll for his family is what make me balk. Further down the list you'll see people who were re-imbursed $1500 or so for travel and expenses. That, my friend(s), is a mere pittance compared to how much money changes hands in a campaign. ...

TSA slated for dismantling Looks like there's hope after all. I don't fly much but in the rare instances I do I absolutely resent the treatment passengers receive at the hands of these incompetent slobs. I was flying out of Philly and the screening line was easily 200 people long. There was only ONE GATE open for screening. People were very concerned they were going to miss their flight, some of them probably did. To make matters worse, there was a coffee klatch of about 9 TSA employees (I hate to use that word as it implies they work at some point) jibber-jabbering amongst themselves. If you could have harnessed the glares of fury coming from our line you could power Philadelphia for a decade or more. This is well-trod ground and my story is neither unique or rare. I think the TSA has done absolutely zero to make our skies safer. Good riddance.

Scene: At the dinner table. Sitting with my 3 year old. I've just opened a Guinness and poured it into my glass Connor: Daddee, wus dat? Me: Guiness. The Godfather of All Stout. It's from Ireland Connor: Sure is dark in there.

The Harvard Crimson Online has a very interesting take on the Schiavo case. I believe the writer gives a unique perspective that is shared by very few people. I'm both amazed and saddened by the cheapness people seem to place on life. A great many people I've spoken to about this would not only want to die were they in her position but well before. My own reservations are the lack of therapy she recieved over the last few years. With all the conflicting opinions (both medical and otherwise) lead me to believe not everything that was done could have been done. I am conflicted however b/c it appears the family had many many chances to be heard before different judges and not one of them sided with the Schindler family. Even if you believe the judiciary is in the hands of liberals, it's hard to imagine that not one of the judges they went before sided with them. There are no winners in this story. None.

Ace of Spades HQ BRAVO!! BRAVO!! Ace positively nails this one out of the park. I've been mulling this one over and over and he has put the words down that I couldn't quite muster.

Malaise Forever! Seems the EU is decades behind the US economy in even the most optimistic measures. [sarcasm] I expect massive overhauling of the economy. Privatization, tax cuts and tariff reductions [/sarcasm]. Either that or they continue as usual and ignore the elephant in the room.

Meaningless 80's stuff: 1. First music video you remember seeing? Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles 2. Did you want your MTV and did you get it? Yes, and eventually yes. 3. Were you a music video junkie like I was? Yes. 4. Best music video of the 80’s was… Thriller. Hate Jacko but that was and is a great video 5. Worst music video was…. Any YES video. 6. What’s the most memorable 80’s music video for you? See #4. 7. Whose music videos did you enjoy the most in the 80’s? Van Halen had some good ones. 8. Did video kill the radio star? If you're asking about "talkies" ruining silent film star's careers, yes. More 80's questions Just when I think I have nothing at all to say, Andrea comes and rescues me with her "Eight for the 80's" questions. Thanks Andrea! 1. What did the music of that era mean to you then? It was the soundtrack of my life. 2. What song takes you right back, whenever you hear it? Many many songs. So many of them captu...

This Was Not Looting - How did Saddam's best weapons plants get plundered? By Christopher?Hitchens Hitch lays out the case that there was no "looting" of the Iraqi weapons sites. It was far too systematic and organized to be anything akin to looting. An excellent read.

The pressure continues in Lebanon. I don't think this is going away. This is shaping up to be another Orange Revolution. I never thought I'd live to see the day that revolution swept the globe let alone a global revolution for democracy. It's hard to impress upon younger people today what a long shadow the spectre of communist revolution cast in the 80's. It looked like an interminable stalemate and much of Europe advancing steadily towards socialism it appeared that freedom was in decline. Now, I continue to be shocked at the events unfolding day by day. I literally thought the Berlin Wall coming down would be the apex of freedom's advance in my lifetime. I'm so glad I was wrong.

Looting at Weapons Plants Was Systematic, Iraqi Says . According to this article, there was no "looting" of weapons plants. It was entirely too organized and required many people working in concert with heavy equipment as well as trucks to move the materiel. Much of this will remain unknown or at least, hidden until long after the war before we find out the truth.

Reports of my demise were only slightly exaggerated. I was felled by an extremely nasty flu virus that dutifully wiped out the entire household at once. I was lucky enough to get it last. Which means I've been playing nurse to Mom and the boys the better part of a week. I had no idea a four year old could hold such a volume of bile and semi-digested food in his stomach. Really quite remarkable. This explains why every single item of bedding in the house has to be washed. I'm staring at a mountain of laundry that reminds me of that scene from Johnny Dangerously where his Mom is doing all the laundry in the neighborhood. I've been taking copious amounts of DayQuil, NyQuil, Mid-morningQuil, AfterlunchQuil, and so on. This has abated many of the symptoms but I'm still as congested as Michael Moore's arteries. Tonight I think I'll use the tried and true Irish solution of whiskey in quantity.

IRAQ THE MODEL gives the lowdown on how the terrorists are being shown for their true colors. They are nominally Muslim but mostly just mercenaries who care nothing for whom they kill, only for the money they make. They wrap themselves in the guise of a Holy Warrior because it makes them more comfortable with their barbarity and makes solicitation of funding easier. Liberals would have us believe the "resistance" or "insurgency" is against the occupiers and infidels but the interview shows their indiscriminance in targeting. This is the story the MSM will never show. It doesn't fit the "quagmire" template and thus, is discarded.

Adventures in Dubai: Middle East Democracy Keefieboy has been posting political of late. My rejoinder to his post was posted in the comments and I've copied them here to prove that I do sometimes write something. Um...where to begin? Democracy is "not that great"? Really? What of Winston's axiom that it's the "worst form of government except for all the others"? What format is better? The people of the US voted for Bush. He was duly elected as it was the will of the electorate. Why does that undermine democracy? Because you don't agree with him? You also ascribe to the Patriot Act the fact that people are being held without charges being filed. Why? The two are not connected. The ruling regarding the Gitmo prisoners was based on Constitutional and International law. Those being held there have no standing before either. They were not protected by Geneva conventions as they violated many rules of war. They are not bound...

The eye doctor never saw it coming Mark Steyn smacks it out of the park again. He is consistently the funniest and most accurate pundit around. This one is a must read.

Independent News Was Bush Right Afterall? Instapundit says it's too early for gloating and all this could come crashing down like a house of cards but I'm going to gloat anyway. I love it. I love seeing the Scowcroftian "stability" model dashed on the rocks of democracy and liberalization. I love it. I love it. I love it. John Stewart has been the only lefty who admits his head may implode if, in fact, Bush was right and invading Iraq (for whatever reason/pretense) results in a reverse-domino effect across the middle east. I'm simply gobsmacked by the scope and pace of change around the globe. I never thought I'd see the things I'm seeing now.

What have they done for us? MUST READ. It's good to know there's at least one abroad who appreciates us.

Engineers devise invisibility shield. Um...what? I thought this had to be a joke but no, it's the real deal. I find this frightening. The ramifications would be staggering. I think thermal and IR and Sonar may become more important if this comes to fruition.