We have massive dust storms over the past few days. serious stuff - it stopped the aircraft from flying. think about that one a bit - u.s. military aircraft stopped due to weather. this is a big deal - some times we are talking about helo. medevacs stopped for weather - that is not a good thing.
it lasted about 3 days, and reminded me of the harmattan in west africa. a good reminder of our limitations in the face of nature.
work rolls on, embassy housing remains up in the air, cease-fire with some groups seems to be continuing, fractures inside the bad guys continue.
speaking of bad guys, follow the link to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle reminding the New York Times that good journalism requires checking your facts before sullying the reputation of a presidential candidate. to think i would ever say anything postive about something in the SFC - the mind boggles. I'm also a major fan of Senator McCain, having had breakfast with him over three days during his visit in august, 2002 to Romania.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/22/EDJUV6KCB.DTL
Friday, February 22, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Musings on Europe and Islam
First, apologies for all the typos and spelling errors in my previous post. I really do need to use that spell checker.
I thought you might want to see this article (see link below) really a short lecture, delivered by Bernard Lewis, Professor at Princeton (tough for me, a Penn guy, to mention that, but, truth in "advertising"....). I have been reading and admiring Lewis's history of islam since 1977 - in 30 years he has only gotten better. The attached is a bit different, more an estimative analysis. Not really the domain of an historian, but it frames nicely much of what we are now about in the opening of the 21st century, 14th if you favor Islamic calendars.
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.25815,filter.all/pub_detail.asp
oh, and here is the link to the Vanity Fair article about our new Mega Embassy.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/11/langewiesche200711
cheers, Ed
I thought you might want to see this article (see link below) really a short lecture, delivered by Bernard Lewis, Professor at Princeton (tough for me, a Penn guy, to mention that, but, truth in "advertising"....). I have been reading and admiring Lewis's history of islam since 1977 - in 30 years he has only gotten better. The attached is a bit different, more an estimative analysis. Not really the domain of an historian, but it frames nicely much of what we are now about in the opening of the 21st century, 14th if you favor Islamic calendars.
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.25815,filter.all/pub_detail.asp
oh, and here is the link to the Vanity Fair article about our new Mega Embassy.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/11/langewiesche200711
cheers, Ed
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Baghdad crud and the new embassy
Sorry for the absence. I came down with the Baghdad crud. Actually, a bit of bronchitis and the flue at the same time. so much for the flue shot, eh? the downside to the 4 days of aches, pains, sniffles, coughing, etc. (and you don't want the details on the etc.) is that it was followed by 2 weeks of continuing coughing spells. the doc here says that was to be expected - my bronchi became hyper sensitive during the illness and it will be sometime until they get better. the dust,and all sorts of nasty stuff floating in the air (and you really don't want the details on that) also contribute. most everyone here is coughing a fair bit; I'm just doing it way above average (see mom, i am above average). it is very annoying as the coughing fit comes on if a speak at length. yes, loquacious ed brought down by post-bronchitic cough.
if you missed it, just yesterday, Friday, the Muslim day of prayer and rest, the Al-Qaeda bastards detonated two suicide bombers in the pets markets here in Baghdad. if the initial reports are true, these beast (Osama and his ilk) strapped suicide vests onto two mentally handicapped women, sent them into the pet market, then detonated their vests from a safe distance. they chose the pet market and on a friday as it gets the maximum number of women and children, moms take kids to pet markets on the day off. charming evil bastards those AQI types, eh?
did a tour of the new embassy compound. you can read much about it in a vanity fair article of some months ago, but ed's scoop: nice apartments, good office space, lots of creature comforts unheard of at most embassies (indoor pool, gyms, weight/exercise room, concession space for burger king, etc., etc..) but, as we cannot go out and shop on the local economy s we would normally do, well, everything must be provided inside the hardened structures where we'll live and work. sucha shame - most people in the foreign service like to get out with the locals - shopping in the souk, buying brochettes from street vendors in conakry, water from vendors in the djma il fna in marrakesh, etc. but, to keep us safe, we'll here be behind the walls and isolated away fromt he populace - rather self-defeaating of public diplomacy efforts.
still, it is a nice complex, though the line of site babyon hotel and nearby apartment complex will give snipers a great opportunity - though they'd likely get to do that only once, and not live to regret it.
still cold, bracing morning, chilly nights, sunny but nippy middays.
keep those cards and letters coming. and yes, the surge, or the change in tactics that necessitated the surge, is working.
if you missed it, just yesterday, Friday, the Muslim day of prayer and rest, the Al-Qaeda bastards detonated two suicide bombers in the pets markets here in Baghdad. if the initial reports are true, these beast (Osama and his ilk) strapped suicide vests onto two mentally handicapped women, sent them into the pet market, then detonated their vests from a safe distance. they chose the pet market and on a friday as it gets the maximum number of women and children, moms take kids to pet markets on the day off. charming evil bastards those AQI types, eh?
did a tour of the new embassy compound. you can read much about it in a vanity fair article of some months ago, but ed's scoop: nice apartments, good office space, lots of creature comforts unheard of at most embassies (indoor pool, gyms, weight/exercise room, concession space for burger king, etc., etc..) but, as we cannot go out and shop on the local economy s we would normally do, well, everything must be provided inside the hardened structures where we'll live and work. sucha shame - most people in the foreign service like to get out with the locals - shopping in the souk, buying brochettes from street vendors in conakry, water from vendors in the djma il fna in marrakesh, etc. but, to keep us safe, we'll here be behind the walls and isolated away fromt he populace - rather self-defeaating of public diplomacy efforts.
still, it is a nice complex, though the line of site babyon hotel and nearby apartment complex will give snipers a great opportunity - though they'd likely get to do that only once, and not live to regret it.
still cold, bracing morning, chilly nights, sunny but nippy middays.
keep those cards and letters coming. and yes, the surge, or the change in tactics that necessitated the surge, is working.
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