Category: News

WP.  Instability in Venezuela is contributing to the current high energy prices: Venezuela used to send four to five shipments of refined gasoline to the United States a week, with up to 500,000 barrels in each, Verleger said. That extra supply met a critical demand spike during the summer driving months. Now, those shipments are… Continue reading WP

New Post to Global Guerrillas. TARGET:  GHAWAR.  If you don't know what Ghawar is, you should.  A global guerrilla attack on Ghawar could send the world's economy into a tailspin. [John Robb's Weblog]

The US is playing with fire as it moves into Najaf.  There is an assumption among many in the conservative ranks that any respect for Islamic holy sites is a sign of weakness, given that guerrillas are basing their operations out of those sites.  This is not only wrong, it is dangerous.  The British were… Continue reading Najaf

Friedman beats feet from Bush and Iraq: “Add it all up, and you see how we got so off track in Iraq, why we are dancing alone in the world — and why our president, who has a strong moral vision, has no moral influence.” This description of isolation is the goal of grand strategy. … Continue reading Friedman

Wired.  Designer viruses.  It took Adam Arkin and David Schaffer just $200,000 and a grad student to develop a potential treatment for AIDS. And that scares them.  “If I can do it, anyone can do it,” Arkin said. “That's going to be a problem.” [John Robb's Weblog]

Tallahassee Democrat/Tallahassee.com – Tallahassee,FL,USA – Privacy rights rigid in Florida. The idea may be compelling: Save a woman's life. Protect girls from medical decisions they may not be mature enough to make. Stop the rampant abuse of prescription drugs. But good intentions often bump up against the Florida Constitution, which spells out a right to… Continue reading Privacy rights rigid in Florida

Closure of I-93 may hit rush hour. The process of shutting down Interstate 93 during the upcoming Democratic National Convention will begin up to three hours prior to the 7 p.m. start that security planners have announced, state and city officials say, and will disrupt the end-of-the-day commute more extensively than originally believed. [Boston Globe… Continue reading Closure of I-93 may hit rush hour

“It will be china shop rules in Iraq: you break it, you pay for it.”. Peter Galbraith: How to get out of Iraq. [John Robb's Weblog] A very long and interesting piece from someone who has experience in Iraq and seems to have done a lot of thinking about how to go forward.  His conclusion… Continue reading “It will be china shop rules in Iraq: you break it, you pay for it.”

WP.  An increasing division in the US senior military ranks over success in Iraq. Army Col. Paul Hughes, who last year was the first director of strategic planning for the U.S. occupation authority in Baghdad, said he agrees with that view and noted that a pattern of winning battles while losing a war characterized the… Continue reading WP

Guardian.   The statement below is more than true.  I spent some time checking this out and most positions, from analyst to senior analyst positions, require only a high school diploma and an active security clearance.  The security clearance is the only gating factor.  If a bachelors is required, the experience required is minimal.  This is… Continue reading Guardian