More Random Thoughts

I'm still working too much. But I'll post anyway. But it will be mostly links.

First, here's a good rundown on the Shia factions in Iraq. One can only hope that McCain will read it and learn something. There's a real danger he may be president, so it would be nice if he became informed on Iraq. I haven't seen a similar rundown for the Sunni and Kurdish factions. But I don't really think anyone has a good handle on the Sunnis. Most especially our government.

Speaking of Iraq, this and this are some pretty good explanations of what's going on in Basra. You'll note that they aren't really in agreement, but that's because it's not really clear what's going on. I doubt the actual participants even know. But I think everyone would agree that it's not good. Except for the Bush administration, of course. They think that more violence is a positive development. Really.

And then there is this. If there's a worse example of the incompetence of this administration, I don't even want to hear about it. They actually gave a 22 year old kid $300 million in defense contracts, which he promptly screwed up. No doubt he'll receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his efforts. That seems to be the standard punishment for incompetence.

Oh, and McCain says he hates war. The media, of course, will ignore the fact that he's never opposed a war in his life and has consistently criticized our wars for being insufficiently violent. And they will take him at his word. He's a mavericky Straight Talker, after all. Apparently throughout history, we have all been using the wrong definition for "hate." It really means "strongly support." Good thing St. John is around to set us straight.

And it seems that I actually have more than two readers. I guess I'll have to step it up.

Update: A rice shortage in Thailand? Probably not. Thailand, despite chronic political instability, is a fairly well managed country. As the article suggests, Thailand will likely avert a crisis. But the worldwide rice shortage is for real. On a positive note, rice farmers should make some pretty good money this year. Maybe the rice farmers of Laos will be able to afford schooling for their children. And maybe we can stop subsidizing the rice farmers in our country. Oh, silly me, those farmers are Republicans who 'deserve' a socialist safety net just like Wall Street, unlike their counterparts in communist Laos who operate under capitalism. Go figure.

Schadenfreude Update: Slate brings us the Hillary Deathwatch. Synopsis: She doesn't know how dead she is.