|
Gone, But Not Forgotten? What The Internet Will Look Like Under SOPA Fearsgiving Week Jesus Approves of Waterboarding Beware of Asteroids 
All links are current as of the date of publication. All content created by the author is copyrighted 2005-2010, except where held by the owners/publishers of parent works and/or subject materials. Any infringement of another's work is wholly unintentional. If you see something here that is yours, a polite request for removal or credit will be honored. |
� |
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Moktada?Friday, Mar. 31, 2006 1:46 AMIt's not entirely unexpected that Iraq's interim Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, would tell America to mind its own business. Though the Bush Administration has denied making any direct statement to the effect, the Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalizad, allegedly told Shiite representatives that President Bush, "... doesn't want, doesn't support, doesn't accept," al-Jaafari as the next prime minister. Supposedly because al-Jaafari enjoys the support of Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, who is known for his decidedly anti-American views. Al-Jaafari has said that he will work to incorporate the numerous militias around Iraq into the official security forces, bringing them into the fold of mainstream Iraqi politics. And wasn't that the idea in the first place? Bruce Schneier's blog points out the story of Dillingham, Alaska, a quiet town with a population of 2,400. And 60 (soon to be 80) cameras providing security in the event terrorists are harboring plans to use the town as a point-of-entry into the United States. That's a camera for every 30 people in town. "Phoooom," warns Police Chief Richard Thompson, who obviously took Condi Rice's talk of a theoretical mushroom cloud to heart. "Russia is about 800 miles that way," Thompson says, pointing in one direction. He turns and points behind him. "Seattle is about 1,200 miles that way. So if I have the math right, we're closer to Russia than we are to Seattle." Which means absolutely nothing. Thompson describes a plot where unnamed evildoers, perhaps the Russian mafia, load a nuclear device aboard a container, the container is shipped to Dillingham, loaded aboard a barge, and hauled down to Seattle. Phoooom, as the man says. Hence the cameras, paid for by a $202,000 Homeland Security grant. Except the cameras won't have done a thing to stop it. But they will catch a terrorist if he decides to take a leak in the alleway.
|
