Syria – serene

Syria update IV: I am deeply shaken — morning after Mattis’ letter of resignation

It is BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY time.

Syria update III: Mattis Resigns, Sky Falls

“My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues. We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances.”
—Secretary of Defense James Mattis

Syria Update II: OMG SHIT GOT REAL FAST

Then came the wave: MATTIS RESIGNS

Update 1: on Trump’s “we’re out of Syria” experiment

A border wall paid in pesos was more likely than this.

So, Trump said we beat ISIS and we’re leaving Syria, so this should be interesting…

So, yeah, this should be interesting. I have thought for a very long time that “civilian control” of the military was an adorably cute notion.  (I also don’t believe in the Tooth Fairy, in case you were wondering.)

Some notes on Israel – Iran story I’ve been working on for almost a year

the proxy war is well underway – who is minding the store?

Foreign Policy: One Million Refugees

Half of Europe’s asylum seekers in the last two years were still awaiting word on whether they could stay at the end of 2016. via Study: About One Million Refugees Left in Limbo in Europe Through 2016 — Foreign Policy

I am not a spy

So, as a non-Russia hating, radical, subversive hacker whose formal education was in Chemistry, speaks the wrong languages, thinks Israel commits war crimes and that America does as well, is embedded in the center of the proving grounds of the Military Industrial Complex and whose entire life was spent under the tutelage of a father that essentially made the Surveillance State possible, I just want to say, for the record: I am not a spy.

MOOC Mania

I have become a certified MOOC freak. There are several different platforms for MOOCS – Massive Open Online Courses – such as edX and Coursera, and happily many others are available on YouTube. (Many are available through those platforms as well as on YouTube.) I prefer the edX platform if I use one. I…