The war, now in its fifth year, will cost the United States one TRILLION dollars. Not only that, but a lot of it is borrowed money. Noted economist Joseph Stiglitz crunched the numbers, and according to the Guardian, the numbers ain’t good.
The move of moderate but marginalized Iraqi Sunnis to the U.S. military and away from Al Queda’s unique brand of crazy-ass seems to have put AQ in a bit of a tizzy. The loss of Anbar province, which the United States military seems to have quelled for the moment, was a particular thorn in the side of Iraqi Al Queda leaders. On the other hand, I can’t totally hate any leader who refers to defectors from his organization as “scoundrels.”
Foreign Policy has an interesting post up on their blog detailing how McCain’s Super Tuesday win marks the end of an era for far right American conservatives. The mood of the country just won’t fit anymore with the divisive ways of Geroge Bush and Co., and the backlash can already be seen in Rush Limbaugh’s attacks on MCcain and Ann Coulter’s statement that she’d rather vote for Hillary. I’m personally happy to see the country swing to the left, even if McCain ends up becoming president. It can hardly be any worse than the last eight years .
The always interesting New York Times Magazine has a long article up about how America is no longer able to dominate the world, and will have to share power with China and Europe in the coming decades. While predictions like these are a dime a dozen and the US seems to have a way of bouncing back where other countries fail, the author does raise some good points. Check it out.
My days mostly consist of hanging out in the Podcast Studio and getting my learn on (now that I have a business that depends on such things), so yesterday I checked out an awesome session on green screens for video podcasts, and later got to meet Stu Machwitz, the guy who wrote the DV Rebel Guide. I later made my way (and not without difficulty, San Francisco is pretty but its organizational skills leave a little to be desired in terms of street layout) to the Final Cut Pro Supermeet, which was a thing to behold. There were at least 500 if not more people there, and all of them knew a hell of a lot more about Final Cut Pro than I do. Well worth checking out. I kind of got lost on my way to the event, and dealt with a surly but ultimately helpful cabbie. Still, what would a working vacation be without adventure, uncertainty, and lots of gadgets?
Just got to my hotel in San Francisco, and I’m headed out to the Moscone Center right away for Macworld. Wish me luck, fellow Macophiles!
Hillary Clinton is already feeling the pressure from Obama’s success in Iowa and his probable victory in New Hampshire. I’m a little surprised that someone with as much experience, and who has put up with so much crap from her political enemies for 20 years, is cracking up this early in the race, but the facts say otherwise. And while people are shaking their heads at the somewhat inexperienced Obama’s sudden success, I think it comes down to a couple of factors For one, Bush has left such a bad taste in the mouths of the American people, and has been such a colossal failure, that people are aching for change. But on a personal level, I can say that Obama has that certain ineffable something that turns a candidate into a force to be reckoned with. And he’s the first guy who transcends the baby boomer feuds and battles that have dominated American politics for the past 30 years. Seeing Obama’s rise, I can understand how the boomers got behind Kennedy in 1960….whether you liked his policies or not, he was one of us. Same goes for Obama. Whether any of this pans out into him actually winning the presidency, or if he’ll be worth a damn if he gets into the White House, is up for debate. But as it stands now, he’s the guy I’d most like to see win.
Not exactly “a year in Provence,” is it? Documentarian Julian Sher spent a year making films for the CBC, and in the process got to experience war both in Iraq and Afghanistan. What he saw in both places left him less than optimistic for further progress.
The Wall Street Journal has a great article and video up about an Internet troll (someone who makes a point of putting up negative and inflammatory comments on websites) who makes it his mission to attack Hilary Clinton’s run for the presidency. Though politics is a magnet for this kind of online shenaniganery, trolls have been around since the days of Usenet, and they won’t disappear as long as there are blowhards with access to the Internet. But it is interesting to put a face and a life next to the alphanumeric ranting.
Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria points out in his latest column that while America cowers from perceived threats, the rest of the world still sees it as an aggressive bully. In order for the US to regain its standing in the world, they’re going to have to get past their sense of fear and deal with a rapidly changing world. Zakaria suggests one bright idea might be spending less time on the Middle East and more on China and India.