Just Observing

Smoke 'em if you got 'em...in Combat...

2009-07-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

From NBC San Diego 7 News Update....

Military's Proposed Ban on Tobacco Goes up in Smoke

Smoke 'em if you got 'em. The Pentagon reassured troops Wednesday that it won't ban tobacco products in war zones.

MORE
http://click1.nbclocal.com/xdcrmmmwc_kwjvlqlrwr.html

[Use link above to continue reading]

Wrap...

Al Qaida not happy about spies...too bad...

2009-07-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

From Secrecy News...

AL QAIDA: WESTERN SPIES MULTIPLY "LIKE LOCUSTS"

From the point of view of an al Qaida military leader, Western intelligence agents are now ubiquitous in the lands of Islam, and their operations have been extraordinarily effective. The Western spies are unfailingly lethal, leaving a trail of dead Islamist fighters behind them. Worst of all, they have managed to recruit innumerable Muslims to assist their war efforts.

"The spies... were sent to penetrate the ranks of the Muslims generally, and the mujahidin specifically, and [they] spread all over the lands like locusts," wrote Abu Yahya al-Libi, an al Qaida field commander in Afghanistan, in a new book called "Guidance on the Ruling of the Muslim Spy" (pdf).

"The spies are busy day and night carrying out their duties in an organized and secret manner... How many heroic leaders have been kidnapped at their hands? How many major mujahidin were surprised to be imprisoned or traced? Even the military and financial supply roads of the mujahidin, which are far from the enemy's surveillance, were found by the spies."

Al Qaida operations have been severely impeded by the intelligence war against them, al-Libi said. "As soon as the mujahidin get secretly into an area on a dark night, they are confronted by the Cross forces and their helpers. Many are killed or captured."

Western spies are found under every conceivable cover, al-Libi wrote. "They have among them old hunchbacked men who cannot even walk, strong young men, weak women inside their house, young girls, and even children who did not reach puberty yet. The spy might be a doctor, nurse, engineer, student, preacher, scholar, runner, or a taxi driver. The spy can be anyone...."

"The occupation armies completely rely on recruiting spies and informants from the Muslim lands they usurped and conquered... The spy lives among Muslims, being one of them: living their life, wearing their dress, eating what they eat... Therefore, he can access what the armed soldiers of the occupation cannot put hands on."

In the new book, published in Arabic (pdf) on jihadist websites on June 30, al-Libi ruminated at length on the religious and legal problem of the Muslim spy. Can there be a Muslim who spies against other Muslims or, since such a person would by definition be an apostate, is a Muslim spy a contradiction in terms? May such a person be killed? (It depends.) To convict a spy nowadays is it necessary to rely on the traditional two witnesses? (Again, it depends.) What about a person who is mistakenly executed as a spy? (God will reward him.)

Pervading the book is a sense of the overwhelming impact of U.S. and Allied intelligence operations on jihadist forces, and the willingness of indigenous Muslims to act with Western intelligence against those forces.

"Everyone who lives in the jihad battlegrounds... knows well that the occupation forces could not do one-tenth of what they do now if they did not recruit spies and informants.... Most of the mujahidin and their soldiers were killed or captured because of the intelligence information that the infidel forces have obtained from the secret soldiers whom they recruit, like swarms of locusts, from the native citizens who talk our language and pretend they are Muslims."

"Guidance on the Ruling of the Muslim Spy" by Abu Yahya al-Libi was translated, rather clumsily, by the DNI Open Source Center. A copy was obtained by Secrecy News.

The book cited the use of electronic homing devices to guide air-launched missiles to their targets and images of several such devices were included in the original Arabic version of the book (at page 146). The purported use of the devices was discussed in "CIA Drone Targeting Tech Revealed, Qaeda Claims" by Adam Rawnsley, Wired Danger Room, July 8, 2009. Memri.org also prepared a proprietary translation of the new Al-Libi book, which was reported by Fox News last week.

Wrap...

Just a minute here....

2009-07-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

I tell you there's no way alcohol could do this by itself. Absolutely must be SMOKING RELATED or it's not valid data....

**************************

Alcohol link in 47% of murders
PAUL MILLAR | ALMOST half the homicides between 2000 and 2006 involved the consumption of alcohol, according to figures in a report.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/alcohol-link-in-47-of-murders-20090713-ditz.html

[Use link above to continue reading]

Wrap...

How will health fearmongers deal with this?

2009-07-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

Hot damn! Have a new candidate for the "pure" people to forbid!

From: SMH News Update...

Words can ease pain, I swear
SWEARING can lessen the feeling of physical pain, scientists have discovered.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/science/words-can-ease-pain-i-swear-20090712-dhfi.html

[Use link above to continue to read]

Wrap...

NY Times Online Price...Cheap!!!

2009-07-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

From Levine Breaking News:

***New York Times Co. said in a survey of print subscribers that its considering a $5 monthly fee for access to its namesake newspapers Web site. Times Co. also asked whether subscribers would be willing to pay a discounted fee of $2.50 a month for access to the site, in the poll confirmed today by Catherine Mathis, a company spokeswoman. Nytimes.com, the most visited among newspapers sites, is currently free.

*********************
Okay. At those prices, I'd continue having the NY Times as my "front page" and to read it online. Wonder what everyone else thinks about this? Is the NY Times online worth $5 or $2.50 a month? Far as I'm concerned, you bet it is.

Wrap...

Hidden American "terrorists"....

2009-07-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

From Buzz Flash....

If there's anything this nation doesn't need, it has to be this outfit and all like it. They truly are a danger to our Republic. Unless, of course, Americans desire a theocracy. Then we can be a country like Iran. Neat idea, huh? UGH!!!
**************************

Premium: Featured on Rachel Maddow Two Nights This Past Week. "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power" (July, 2009 Paperback Edition). Sen Ensign is Only the Latest Errant Bad Boy to Receive the "Spiritual" Support for His Sin from this Capitol Hill Elitist Fundy "Fellowship." They are Also Called the "C Street" Brethren. We Call Them Contemptible Cult Hypocrites. Even Mark "Dick Wad" Sanford Found "Solace" With Them.

Wrap...

No Smoking For Military...

2009-07-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

From USA Today:

Ban on tobacco urged in military
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Pentagon health experts are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ban the use of tobacco by troops and end its sale on military property, a change that could dramatically alter a culture intertwined with smoking.

Jack Smith, head of the Pentagon's office of clinical and program policy, says he will recommend that Gates adopt proposals by a federal study that cites rising tobacco use and higher costs for the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs as reasons for the ban.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-07-09-smoking_N.htm?csp=DailyBriefing

[Use link above to continue reading]

Wrap...

On the Back Porch at Seaport Village in San Diego..

2009-07-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

I went walking down at Seaport Village this afternoon. Walked out on N Embarcadero and back, ending up, as always, on the big wooden back porch of the Seaport Deli. It faces the small plaze full of concrete tables and benches with the carousel on the far side and the Fudge Factory, etc on the side. Big trees shading. Great place for people watching since it was over-flowing with all kinds of citizens and visitors.

I go in the Deli, get my coffee and head out on the back porch to enjoy. And there I see two couples and the about 5 year old son of one of them, sitting at a plaza table. The men have gone over to the hot dog place and brought back food.

The 5 year old sees a sparrow on the ground, so tosses a couple of chunks of hot dog bun down for the bird. Those chunks had no sooner hit the ground than out of the trees swooped about 30 birds...sea gulls, pigeons, sparrows...all in one big cloud of squawks and wings just a flappin'. Flat out descended on those chunks of bread. Came down so fast, the one man yelled, "GEEZUS", the women shrieked, and the little boy yelled, "WHAT DID I DO????" I thought I'd die laughing. Liked to have scared the crap out of that little guy.

Ah, how I love people watching from that back porch!

Wrap...

Newsom is Right About Public Plan....

2009-07-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

From Levine Breaking News:

GAVIN NEWSOM (Mayor of San Francisco): The president has been telling Americans that a public plan will create competition, lower the cost of private insurance, and improve care. The data from San Francisco is proving that he's right.

Wrap...

Respect Your Body Clock...

2009-07-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

From Levine Breaking News:

If you have a hard time crawling out of bed in the morning, it could be that your body is biologically programmed to start the day later. Experts say a spectrum of natural sleeping and waking rhythms exists, ranging from extreme morning people to extreme "night owls." A new study examines how morning people compare with night owls on a strength test and looks at what other physiological processes may contribute to their performance.

Wrap...

To DOD...Put up or else....

2009-07-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

From Secrecy News:

PENTAGON INTEL OPS "OFTEN" EVADE OVERSIGHT

Last month, the House Intelligence Committee complained that the Department of Defense has blurred the distinction between traditional intelligence collection, which is subject to intelligence committee oversight, and clandestine military operations, which are not. Because they are labeled in a misleading manner, some DoD clandestine operations that are substantively the same as intelligence activities are evading the congressional oversight they are supposed to receive.

"In categorizing its clandestine activities," the Committee said in its report on the 2010 intelligence bill, "DoD frequently labels them as 'Operational Preparation of the Environment' (OPE) to distinguish particular operations as traditional military activities and not as intelligence functions. The Committee observes, though, that overuse of the term has made the distinction all but meaningless."

Operational Preparation of the Environment (OPE) is an elusive, somewhat mysterious concept, variously described as a form of foreign intelligence collection, covert action, unconventional warfare, or a prelude to any of these. The phrase does not appear in the otherwise comprehensive DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (pdf). It was mentioned in passing in the 2006 Posture Statement (pdf) of the U.S. Special Operations Command, but not in subsequent posture statements.

Some say OPE closely resembles human intelligence collection. OPE refers to "the ability of Defense to get into an area and know it prior to the conduct of military operations," said Gen. Michael Hayden at his 2006 confirmation hearing to be Director of CIA. "An awful lot of those [OPE] activities... are not, in terms of tradecraft or other aspects, recognizably different than collecting human intelligence for a foreign intelligence purpose," he said. "They look very much the same. Different authorities; somewhat different purposes; mostly indistinguishable activities."

From another point of view, OPE is more akin to covert action. "There is often not a bright line between [covert action and] military activities to prepare the battlefield or the environment," said DNI Dennis C. Blair in a written response to questions (pdf) about OPE in advance of his confirmation earlier this year (pp. 15-16).

Though it was neither intelligence collection nor covert action, "U.S. support to and in some cases leadership of irregular resistance to Japanese forces in the Philippine archipelago [in 1942-1945]... stands as a premier example of what military planners today call operational preparation of the environment," according to a historical survey of unconventional warfare in the September 2007 Irregular Warfare Joint Operating Concept (pdf).

Perhaps the most extensive unclassified treatment of OPE (then still known as "operational preparation of the battlespace" or OPB) appears in a 2003 U.S. Army War College research paper, which noted that the term is "seldom used outside of Special Operations Forces channels." OPE "consists of both pre-crisis activities (PCA) and, when authorized, advance force operations (AFO)," both of which are described by the author at some length. See "Combating Terrorism with Preparation of the Battlespace" (pdf) by Michael S. Repass, U.S. Army War College, April 2003. Further discussion appeared in "Leveraging Operational Preparation of the Environment in the GWOT" (pdf) by Maj. Michael T. Kenny, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2006. OPE should be reconceived as a stand-alone mission with its own doctrine, argued another research paper. See "Ending the Debate: Unconventional Warfare, Foreign Internal Defense, and Why Words Matter" (pdf) by D. Jones, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2006.

In any event, "DoD has shown a propensity to apply the OPE label where the slightest nexus of a theoretical, distant military operation might one day exist," according to the House Intelligence Committee report last month. "Consequently, these activities often escape the scrutiny of the intelligence committees.... In the future, if DoD does not meet its obligations to inform the Committee of intelligence activities," the House report concluded weakly, "the Committee will consider legislative action clarifying the Department's obligation to do so."

Wrap...

Knights in Shining Armour....

2009-07-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

That, in today's world, is meant to be a compliment. How times have changed...

I've recently finished reading Ken Follet's 1,100 or so page novel, "World Without End" that is set in medieval times..the 1300's in England.

One of the most horrifying, sickening periods I have ever encountered in all my reading. I'm still having nightmares connected with the events and the people encountered in that book. Cannot get those characters and the evil so commonplace then out of my mind.

Power, money, lust, religion. Driving forces. As always. Think the Taliban are bad? You ain't seen nuthin' yet.

And so I look around at the powers that be in our current world and am reminded of how much some of them would like to have the powers the Lords, Ladies, Knights, Priors, Priests, the Catholic Church, King and Nobles of all kinds had then and just what they did with those powers. All men ruled all women. Period. The common folk had so very few rights that they were almost non-existant. It's a world I would never want to encounter in any way, shape, or form.

Follet is a most excellent writer. The man does intensive research. I highly recommend both of his books..."Pillars of the Earth" about the building of the cathedral, and "World Without End" that concerns that same cathedral some 200 years later. Reading them is entering a world one will not soon forget.

Wrap...

Manure to Methane...Great Idea!

2009-06-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

From Conrad...

One of my favorite scientists who likes to play God is J. Craig Venter. His team found a bacteria that produces an enzyme that can turn coal into methane. This could mean the end of mountain removal mining. Instead, those microscopic bugs could be injected into the coal deposits, and the methane could be pumped out. Natural gas has a smaller carbon footprint than coal, and does not release the heavy metals, spread the radioactive dust, or pose the disposal problem of slag. This is not as carbon free an energy source like solar or wind, but it is greener than business as ususal.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6590538.ece

{Use link above to continue reading]

Wrap...

More on Vic Villalpando's new book: "The Illicit Americans"...

2009-06-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a follow up on Dr. Villalpando's book, "The Illicit American" via feedback from readers:

"Stunning and riviting. I couldn't put it down until I read the last page."---Gary Simpson, San Diego

"Dr Villalpando's writing style is dynamic and captivating, and I hope that Mr. Archuleta has him write the sequel if one is planned."---Dannez Hunter, Los Angeles

"Other than gasp from the shocking drama, I also laughed hysterically at the humorous repartee of the callous, but rather heroic and lovable smugglers."---Frank Huttlinger, Orange County

"Villalpando's writing talent made Archuleta's horrific epic into a compelling read that not only entertained me, it also stirred my conscience on current immigration issues."---Guadalupe Castanos, Yuma

"The Hispanic vernacular is right-on! It's the best I've read."---Al Velasco, San Diego

"Gripping...Panoramic...A tour de force." ---Janet Keller, La Mesa

*****************

No question about it...I have to have this book. And seems to me that since he's decided to deal with immigration before the end of this year, Obama needs to read it too.

Wrap...

This Week's Choices of Books Coming....

2009-06-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION...

DEBUT:

Alicia Bessette's ALL COME HOME, in which a young widow forms an
unlikely friendship with a 9-year-old biracial girl who lives next door,
and the two embark on winning a celebrity chef's first annual Desserts
that Warm the Soul baking contest, to Erika Imranyi at Dutton, in a
pre-empt, for publication in 2010, by Laney Katz Becker at Folio
Literary Management.

HORROR:

Alan Goldsher's PAUL IS UNDEAD: The British Zombie Invasion, the
humorous chronicle of the zombified Liverpudlians' rise to fame, to
Jaime Costas at Pocket, for publication in June 2010, by Jason Allen
Ashlock of Movable Type Literary Group (world).

GENERAL/OTHER:

Robert Newcomb writing as Robert J Barclay's IF WISHES WERE HORSES, in
which a grieving Florida horse rancher decides to reinstate his late
wife's equine therapy program for troubled teens but when the widow of
the drunk driver who killed his family unexpectedly begs him to admit
her young son to the program, he is forced to examine the true natures
of love and forgiveness in ways he could have never imagined, to Lucia
Macro at William Morrow, in a pre-empt, by Marly Rusoff
of Marly Rusoff & Associates (NA).

CANADA:

Paula McLain's THE GREAT GOOD PLACE, written from the perspective of
Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley Richardson, set during the five
years they lived in Paris as part of the Lost Generation along with Ezra
Pound, Gertrude Stein and the Fitzgeralds, as well as their time spent
in Toronto where their son was born, to Kristin Cochrane at Doubleday
Canada, in a pre-empt, by Julie Barer at Barer Literary.

Screenwriter, director and actor of PBS's The Newsroom Ken Finkleman's
first novel NOAH'S CRIME, about the murder of a literary rival by an
unemployed TV writer, pitched as a darkly comic cross between Martin
Amis' THE INFORMATION and Dostoyevsky's CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, to
Jennifer Lambert at Harper Canada, in a nice deal, by Chris Bucci at
Anne McDermid Associates.

NON-FICTION:

Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt's THE DAY I SHOT CUPID, exploring the new
landscape of modern dating and offering a wide range of practical tips,
from text-flirting and IM-ing to what men and women really want, and how
to start over after a breakup, to Gretchen Young at Voice, with Sarah
Landis editing, by Kirby Kim at Endeavor (world).

BIOGRAPHY:

Conservative historian and author of RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE Richard
Brookhiser's JAMES MADISON, a major new biography of the politician,
philosopher, and president who fought in the revolution, led the country
through the War of 1812, and lived long enough to fear the Civil War, to
Lara Heimert at Basic, by Michael Carlisle at Inkwell Management (NA).

D.T. Max's biography of David Foster Wallace, about "why he matters and
what he tried to teach us," to Paul Slovak at Viking, at auction, by Elyse Cheney at
Elyse Cheney Agency.

BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

MIT economist Simon Johnson and his Baseline Scenario co-founder James
Kwak's THE COUP, expanding on their Atlantic magazine story, which draws
the parallel between the emerging market crises of the 1990s (when
Johnson was the chief economist at the IMF) and the meltdown of the last
year, arguing that the crisis is one of politics as much as economics
and meanwhile the "oligarchs" of Wall Street continue to pull the
strings, to Erroll McDonald at Pantheon, at auction, by Rafe Sagalyn of
The Sagalyn Agency (NA).

MEMOIR:

Dick Van Dyke's memoir, spanning his entire career in show business, to
John Glusman at Harmony, for publication in fall 2010, by Dan Strone at
Trident Media Group and manager Jeff Kolodny at Luber/Roklin
Entertainment.

POP CULTURE:

Emmett Rensin and Alex Aciman's TWITTERATURE: The World's Greatest
Books, Now Presented in Twenty Tweets or Less, a humorous retelling of
works of great literature in Twitter format -- written by two 19-year
old University of Chicago freshmen, to John Siciliano at Penguin, by
Brian DeFiore at DeFiore and Company (NA).

Jennifer "Kasey Bomber" Barbee and NPR host Alex "Axles of Evil" Cohen's
DOWN & DERBY: THE INSIDER'S GUIDE TO ROLLER DERBY, an illustrated
celebration of the explosive sport, to Denise Oswald (aka "Princess
Die") in her first acquisition at Soft Skull, by Ted Weinstein at Ted
Weinstein Literary Management (World).

SCIENCE:

Author of NYT Bestseller How We Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist
Jonah Lehrer's IMAGINE: The Science of Creativity, in which he
introduces us to jazz musicians, furniture designers, and avant-garde
chefs to show how we can use the latest neuroscience to be more
imaginative and design our everyday lives, our cities, our companies,
and our culture to be more conducive to creativity, to Amanda Cook at
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, for publication in Spring
2012, by Sarah Chalfant at The Wylie Agency (US).

SPORTS:

Former WWE superstar Mick Foley's COUNTDOWN TO LOCKDOWN, centering
around the author's arrival to TNA and his premiere fight with one of
his greatest rivals -- Sting -- as well as covering other issues such as
leaving the WWE, steroids, and as always, Tori Amos, to Ben Greenberg at
Grand Central, by Matt Bialer at Sanford J. Greenburger
Associates (World English).

Wrap....

Aggravated is an understatement....

2009-06-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

Just amazing how much paper stuff has accumulated in my office!

Been going thru stacks and stacks of paper and throwing most of it in the recycling bin. And seeing dust in every crack and crevice.

That's a major problem in a home office unless one develops a system of sorting from the word go. One doesn't and one gets piles of paper that can set there for a year or more.

Had to laugh at a Navy SEAL I know, who has the habit of making little stacks of paperwork around the house. His wife has threatened him with everything but a decent death if he doesn't get rid of them. This he doesn't understand. "But they're very neat!" he says. Which means, of course, that all edges are straight and precise. SEALs are very neat and precise, but in this case, that is not gonna help him one little bit.

I have two desks in here. The one I'm sitting facing now is a real desk and the computer owns it. Then there's a table of the same size behind me that functions as the phone desk. Would that there would be only the phone on it...but no. The phone doesn't take up much space at all, thus other good and useful things have accumulated.

Like a row of books along the back of it, which is up against the bookshelf wall. The shelves go to the ceiling and have been mounted on the wall. More, I don't believe I can fit another book on any of them. Talk about dust collectors! Ah me.

Even worse, there's a shag rug wall to wall on the floor. Sort of a golden color. No vacuum we own can really clean that thing. And it sheds and totally plugs the vacuum. This is not a happy situation.

Got a big club chair in here too. So big it takes two men to move it...and it doesn't go down the hallway until the legs have been removed.

There's a reason this blog's name is Aggravated.

Wrap...

Bloggers and Books...

2009-06-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday, early evening now. I've just finished reading the latest posts on my favorite site...The Indy Weblogs. Find them at:

http://www.drlaniac.com/feeds/search.asp?mode=recent

They're one hellava good group of very knowledgeable people, with a few exceptions. Very few, actually. "drlaniac" is actually a guy named Lane, who lives in northern California, and he runs all the tech stuff. Founder is another guy named Ralph, who lives in New Jersey. I'm amazed at the day jobs of some of the Indys. They're everywhere, doing everything...scientists, journalists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, gay and straight, male and female, people in DC and all parts of the nation, actually. And they know what they're talking about.

For instance: Firedoglake. Remember the Scooter Libby trial? Well, Marcy of Firedoglake blogged it, was interviewed on TV, etc. They're part of the Indy Weblogs. As is DDay and Calitics...and so many more really top bloggers.

It's a pleasure to read them. Any time I want to know what's going on in the world, I can cruise thru the Indys and sure as hell, someone will have posted on it. You want to know about what's happening in Iran after these probably fraudulent elections? Brian Ulrich knows all about the mideast. At least half a dozen Indys will have posts and many have videos.

Anything happening in Minnesota re. the Franken-Coleman battle over who won the election for Senator several months ago? Well, both claim they won, went to court, and they're still in court. It's been a battle royal. Since this latest court won't be coming to a decision any time soon, it will probably be at least a couple of weeks more before they make their decision known. At the moment, things don't look good for Repub Coleman. And of course the GOP is backing him with cash. Court has decided that Coleman also has to cover Franken's court costs. Now that pleases me mightily.

In any case, I read the Indys regularly. They're a Dem group, almost all political. Really diverse.

Other than the Indys, I'm reading Ken Follet's huge novel, "World Without End". Over a thousand pages. Set in medieval times...and let me tell you, bad as times are now, you wouldn't want to have lived then, though I have ancestors that were very much a part of that world. Glad some of them reached the USA in 1630, for sure, and helped found Boston.

Follet wrote an earlier book set about 200 years before this one and as lengthy: "The Pillars of the Earth". Pillars told the story of the construction of one of the great cathedrals in England. In detail. World is set in the same town and revolves around the same cathedral. And again...200 years later, the cathedral needs some repairs. Enter the architects and builders, the monks, priests, knights, Lords and Ladies, criminals...all the characters and then some of that long ago world.

Those books cause me to have nightmares, but they're both absolutely and totally fascinating. Nothing glamorous about being a Knight, though they did have status. And the Catholic Church is a monster, infected with greed and power. Nothing much has changed there, even now.

Both books are an education in themselves of historical times and peoples, the research impeccable. I absolutely recommend them.

Also, just received an announcement in the mail from one Victor Villapando, who has a second book just published: "The Illicit American". This one deals with the true story of human smuggling in San Diego. There's no way in hell that I'm not gonna read his new book since San Diego is my home town.

Vic, like Follet, knows the territory and is a fine writer and researcher. I can hardly wait to get my hands on it. Will probably order thru Amazon.

And, if you have interest in the Green Berets, Edward Fitzgerald wrote "Bank's Bandits", the true story of the guys who were the original Green Berets. I mesn, the very first ones. So picture this: here they are, training out in the mountains in, I think, North Carolina, and the 32nd Airborne is sweeping those mountains, trying to capture them. They have to make their way to various points just to pick up the air drops of food or they go hungry. And then they discover that every Sunday, the 82nd gets a truck load of live chickens for their Sunday dinner...and these chickens arrive in a truck.

And the truck stops just short of the river crossing so the drivers can park and take a quick swim and cool off in the summer heat. The Green Berets sneak down there and grab a couple cages of chickens and turn the rest loose. I swear, those three chicken chapters are the most hilarious chapters I've ever read in my life. There the guys are, running down the hill with the two cages to cross the stream and run uphill to their camp. But chicken FLOCK and the ones they turned loose are squawking and flapping thru the bushes and staying right with them.... And yes, Bank's Bandits is also available at Amazon.

Enjoy!

Wrap...

New History of the NSA coming soon....

2009-06-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

From Secrecy News:

A NEW HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY

"The Secret Sentry" by Matthew Aid is a comprehensive new history of the National Security Agency, from its origins in World War II through its Cold War successes, failures and scandals up until the present.

Aid, an independent historian who is also a visiting fellow at the National Security Archive, has synthesized a tremendous amount of research into a narrative that is highly readable and sometimes gripping. All of the familiar stops are there, including the Truman memo of 1952 that established the Agency, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, KAL 007, 9/11 and on to today.

But the book also includes quite a bit of unfamiliar historical material, and almost any reader is likely to discover something new and interesting. I learned, for example, that a few months after seizing the USS Pueblo in 1968, North Korea published a book in French containing the full text of many captured NSA documents, some of which, Mr. Aid says, are still considered to be classified today (p. 142).

What will make The Secret Sentry indispensable to researchers are its nearly one hundred pages of endnotes, which constitute a unique finding aid to the most current archival releases, internal agency histories, and other valuable records. Some of the documents gathered by Mr. Aid in the course of his decades of research later vanished from public stacks at the National Archives, prompting him to realize that some government agencies were silently -- and often improperly -- reclassifying declassified records. Portions of those now inaccessible records have been integrated into this new history.

Inevitably, the book contains some minor errors. Mr. Aid repeats an assertion by the 9/11 Commission that Osama bin Laden was alerted to NSA monitoring of his satellite phone as the result of a 1998 news story that appeared in the Washington Times (p. 383, note 69). But he neglects to note that this assertion has been effectively refuted. (See, e.g., "File the Bin Laden Phone Leak Under 'Urban Myths'" by Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, December 22, 2005.)

The author is generous in his citations to the leading authors in the intelligence field, from David Wise and David Kahn to Seymour Hersh and Jeffrey Richelson and other less celebrated writers -- with one strange and disconcerting exception. There is not a single reference in the entire book to James Bamford, whose 1983 book The Puzzle Palace, among others, blazed the trail that The Secret Sentry follows. Perhaps Mr. Aid felt it was necessary to ignore Mr. Bamford so as not to be constantly agreeing or disagreeing with him, and confirming or disputing his accounts. If that is the case, he ought to have said so.

The Secret Sentry is being published this week by Bloomsbury Press.

Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

Wrap...

Reports From Intel Science Board...

2009-06-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

From Secrecy News:

A FEW INTELLIGENCE SCIENCE BOARD REPORTS

There is "an astonishing number of groups and activities concurrently pursuing the subject" of information sharing, according to a newly disclosed 2004 report (pdf) of the Intelligence Science Board (ISB). But those activities are not well coordinated. "In effect, we aren't even sharing information about information sharing."

The ISB is a little-known advisory panel that addresses intelligence science and technology issues at the direction of the Director of National Intelligence. Almost all of its products are classified, but a few are not.

It's hard to say whether the ISB is influential. But it has performed important and interesting work, most notably on the science of interrogation. Its 2006 report on "Educing Information" (pdf), concluded that there was no scientific evidence to support a belief in the efficacy of coercive interrogation. ("Intelligence Science Board Views Interrogation," Secrecy News, January 15, 2007.)

Now the only other unclassified ISB reports have been released by ODNI under the Freedom of Information Act: "Concept Paper on Trusted Information Sharing" (November 2004) and "What Makes for a Great Analytic Team?: Individual versus Team Approaches to Intelligence Analysis" (February 2005). All of the unclassified ISB reports are available here:

http://www.fas.org:80/irp/dni/isb/index.html

Wrap...

A Selection of Books Coming....

2009-06-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION:

WOMEN'S/ROMANCE:

Julia London's THE SECRETS OF HADLEY GREEN, Desperate Housewives set in Regency England featuring love and scandal (and a mysterious narrator) in a small enclave south of London, to Maggie Crawford at Pocket, in a significant deal, in a four-book deal, for publication in fall 2010, fall 2011, by Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency (world).

GENERAL/OTHER:

Giorgio Vasta's TIME ON MY HANDS, about a group of terrorist boys in Italy in the late 70s, to Mitzi Angel at Faber, Lee Brackstone at Faber & Faber, Vincent Raynaud at Gallimard in France, Koen van Gulik at Wereldbiblioteek in the Netherlands, Monica Carmona at Mondadori in Spain, for publication in October 2008, by Lorenza Pieri at minimum fax.

CHILDREN'S/MIDDLE GRADE:

Sarah Prineas's THE CROW KING'S DAUGHTER, featuring faerie lore without the urban setting and without drugs, sex, and angst, to Toni Markiet at Harper Children's, in a three-book deal, by Caitlin Blasdell at Liza Dawson Associates (NA).

UK/FICTION:

Ben Kane's SOLDIER OF CARTHAGE, LEGIONARY, and THE FINAL BATTLE, featuring young Roman and Carthaginian protagonists and is set against the background of the fierce rivalry between the two civilizations, to Rosie de Courcy at Preface, by Charlie Viney at The Viney Agency (World).

NON-FICTION...
BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

NPR Morning Edition workplace correspondent, executive coach and Psychology Today blogger Ben Dattner and Darren Dahl's untitled book on credit and blame at work, offering new insight and solutions to the most difficult manifestations of office politics, including historical and evolutionary explanations for why we are so bad at getting praise for the good things we do and avoiding blame for other peoples' mistakes, to Emily Loose at Free Press, by Esmond Harmsworth and Jennifer Gates at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency (NA).

COOKING:

Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift's THE SPLENDID TABLE'S HOW TO EAT WEEKENDS, follow-up to THE SPLENDID TABLE'S HOW TO EAT SUPPER - personal favorites, iconic ethnic dishes, classic Americana, with history, stories, and tips for home cooks to slow down and enjoy the pure art of cooking, to Emily Takoudes at Clarkson Potter, for publication in Spring 2011, by Jane Dystel at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (World).

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

University of North Carolina historian Kathleen Duval's INDEPENDENCE LOST, the story of the American Revolution from the perspective of the outsiders -- including slaves, Indians, women, the Spanish, Acadian immigrants, and Loyalists, to Jonathan Jao at Random House, at auction, by Jill Kneerim at Kneerim & Williams.
rgardner@randomhouse.com

Helen Rappaport's MEMORIAL - The Day Prince Albert Died, countdown of the final two weeks of Queen Victoria's beloved consort Prince Albert, and how his death set the tone for Victorian period by the author of the acclaimed The Last Days of the Romanovs, to Charles Spicer at St. Martin's, for publication in 2011, by Charlie Viney at The Viney Agency (NA).

Washington Post foreign correspondent Pamela Constable's sweeping account of modern Pakistan, analyzing the country's social alienation, economic inequality, entrenched corruption and religious strife, to Jonathan Jao at Random House, by Jane Dystel at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

LIFESTYLE:

Barbra Streisand's A PASSION FOR DESIGN, an illustrated book featuring up to 50,00 words of text and photos of her Malibu compound and other residences, called the culmination of a lifelong passion for American architecture and designto Clare Ferraro at Viking Penguin, for publication in fall 2010, by Robert Barnett at Williams & Connolly
MEMOIR:

Suraya Sadeed, with Damien Lewis's DROP BY DROP A RIVER IS FORMED, the true story of Afghan-American Suraya Sadeed, who, moved by the trauma of her husband's unexpected death, set out to rebuild her homeland from a war funded by her American tax dollars; chronicling Sadeed's heartbreaking, nail-biting, and -- at its core -- hopeful journey from Afghanistan to America and back again, to Voice, with Betsy Wilson editing, for publication in Winter 2011, by Jesseca Salky at Russell & Volkening.
UK rights to Little Brown UK, by Felicity Bryan.
Translation: Andrew Nurnberg Associates

TRUE CRIME:

International art dealer and BBC Antiques Road Show regular Philip Mould's SLEUTH: Adventures of an Art Detective, tales of forgery and discovery based on the author's own experiences focusing on six paintings, including a fake Norman Rockwell, a would-be Rembrandt and a Winslow Homer that miraculously surfaced on a trash heap in Ireland -- and the eccentric characters behind their dramatic histories -- to be published in conjunction with a multi-part prime time series of the same name, to Joy de Menil at Viking Penguin, in a very nice deal, at auction, by Elizabeth Sheinkman at Curtis Brown UK.
Translation: Betsy@Curtisbrown.co.uk

Wrap...

Madder than hell here...

2009-06-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

I don't know what's happening elsewhere, but here in San Diego, we're getting ripped off en masse at the grocery stores.

Hadn't gone in one lately, but when I entered Von's a couple of days ago, it took about 3 minutes to send me into a fit. Practically everything they have on their shelves has been minaturized. I mean, they're small. Tiny cans, tiny containers, little slices of cheese...you name it, it's shrunk something fierce but the prices stayed the same.

But hey...the prices didn't. I was in a state of shock when I walked out. So decided to check Keil's. Same thing!!! What the hell is this?

And gas up to $2.79 9/10's a gallon this morning.

Greed reigns, people.

So gonna now check out the farmer's markets. At least those people earn their money the hard way.

Wrap...

Republicans blocking Dawn Johnson for OLC...

2009-06-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

From Secrecy News:

A PROFILE OF THE OFFICE OF LEGAL COUNSEL

The organization, role and operation of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), which produces binding interpretations of the law for the executive branch, are usefully described in the Justice Department's FY 2010 budget request (pdf).

http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/olc/fy10-olc.pdf

"OLC’s mission remains highly critical and urgent as the Department enters into a new era of responsibility confronting national security and intelligence challenges, reinvigorating federal civil rights enforcement, and advising the myriad of agencies involved in responding to the economic crisis," the budget request document states. "The Office is operating at a particularly challenging time, when a number of major legal positions of the United States government are under review or in the process of being changed."

Under the Bush Administration, the OLC notoriously issued numerous opinions -- many of which would later be withdrawn under criticism -- authorizing abusive interrogation, warrantless surveillance, and other departures from established legal norms. The President's distinguished nominee to head the Office, Prof. Dawn Johnsen, still awaits Senate confirmation and she reportedly faces opposition from some Senate Republicans.

Wrap...

Big Bunch of Coming Books...

2009-05-26T14:09:00.001-07:00

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

Rhodes scholar Chaya Bhuvaneswar's JACKSON HEIGHTS, about two Indian-American girls' gritty coming of age journey one summer, as they discover the stark realities of sex trafficking from South Asia into New York's immigrant Indian community and investigate the mysterious death of a girl their age, to Cindy Spiegel at Spiegel & Grau, by Emma Sweeney at Emma Sweeney Agency (NA).

THRILLER:

Former FBI agent Noah Boyd's THE BRICKLAYER, featuring an ex-FBI agent who's brought back in by the Bureau to solve a brilliant and deadly extortion plot -- pitched as reminiscent of John Sandford's and Lee Child's bestsellers, to David Highfill at William Morrow, in a pre-empt, for publication in January 2010, by Esther Newberg at ICM (NA).

UK rights to Wayne Brookes at Harper UK, in a pre-empt, by Jonny Geller.

GENERAL/OTHER:

Jim Powell's THE BREAKING OF EGGS, the tale of a 60-something, left-leaning misanthrope who has made his living publishing a yearly tourist guide to Eastern Europe; after a rapacious American publishing conglomerate offers to buy out his travel guide, he journeys out into the world to discover that many of his conceptions about people and politics may be incorrect and that the story of his family may be very different from what he imagined to Arzu Tahsin at Weidenfeld & Nicolson (world), in a pre-empt, by Conville & Walsh, and to Stephen Morrison at Penguin, in a pre-empt (world).

Foreign rights to Einaudi in Italy and HR Ferdinand in Denmark, by Susan Howe at Orion.

NONFICTION...
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Investigative journalist Misha Glenny's THE WORM, explore the new frontiers of crime and politics in an increasingly networked world, to Dan Frank at Pantheon, in a significant deal; to Will Sulkin at the Bodley Head (UK); and to Sarah Maclachlan at House of Anansi, in a very nice deal (Canada); by Clare Conville at Conville & Walsh.

Israeli rights to Ilai Melzer at Books in the Attic, Dutch rights to Haye Koningsfeld at Ambo Anthos, Brazilian rights to Luis Schwartz at Companhia das Letras, German rights to Julia Hoffman at DVA, and Spanish rights to Ramon Perello at Destino.

HUMOR:

Actor, producer, and standup comic Jay Mohr's humorous stories of modern fatherhood, including his adventures in test-tube baby conception, as waxes poetic about dirty diapers, spins theories on to spank or not to spank, and ponders questions like "why do kids all wake up so damn early? It's as if they are all preparing for life as longshoremen," to David Rosenthal and Kerri Kolen at Simon & Schusterr, for publication in 2010, by Lydia Wills at Paradigm.

LIFESTYLE:

Style writer and children's book author Lesley Blume's first adult book, based on her popular Huffington Post column Let's Bring Back..., offering an amusing and illuminating illustrated encyclopedia of objects, rituals, and ideas from the past that can (and should) be used to better modern life, from fainting couches and courting candles to powder puffs, limericks, and sealing wax, to Emily Haynes at Chronicle, in a very nice deal, for publication in Fall 2010, by Kate Lee at ICM (World English).

MEMOIR:

Barbara Sinatra's MY LIFE WITH FRANK, an honest but loving portrait of life with her late husband, Frank Sinatra, whom she was married to from 1976 until his death in 1998, co-written by Wendy Holden, to Shaye Areheart at Harmony, for publication in 2010, by Alan Nevins at Renaissance (world).

Real Simple marketing executive Sarah Ellis and guitarist for the rock band Antigone Rising Kristen Henderson's TIMES TWO, the sweet, humorous, inspiring story of two women in love who want to have a family together, try for years to get pregnant, and then finally do -- both of them, at the exact same time -- revealing the human side of the gay marriage controversy and the changing face of modern families, to Wylie O'Sullivan at Free Press, for publication in Spring 2011, by Larry Weissman of Larry Weissman Literary (NA).

NARRATIVE:

Andrew Blackwell's VISIT SUNNY CHERNOBYL (and Other Adventures in the World's Worst Environments), an adventurous, thought-provoking romp through the world's most polluted places; equal parts travelogue, expose, environmental meditation, and faux-guidebook, careening through a rogue's gallery of environmental disaster areas in search of the worst the world has to offer -- and our part in it, to Colin Dickerman at Rodale, at auction, by Michelle Tessler at Tessler Literary Agency (NA).

SPORTS:

NYT columnist Harvey Araton's WHEN THE GARDEN WAS PARADISE, a Boys of Summer-like account of the New York Knicks championship teams of the early 70's which featured Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere and Earl Monroe and how they presaged the future of the NBA, to David Hirshey at Harper, by Andrew Blauner of the Blauner Books Literary Agency.

Wrap...

And Now It's Memorial Day 2009....

2009-05-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

From Phil N. Jurus:

MEMORIAL DAY 2007

“READY! AIM! FIRE!”

The crackle of rifles punctuated the air followed by the metallic sound of the weapons being unloaded and reloaded by the men in uniform.
“READY! AIM! FIRE!”

Again a unison volley as the triggers were pulled and the rifles discharged followed by the cartridges being ejected and the guns reloaded.
“READY! AIM! FIRE!”

Once more, there was the crack of gunfire and the click and swish of spent cartridges being dislodged from their chamber.
“ATTENNNN HUT!” was the next command.

There was a pause where the sound of muted sobs was all that could be heard. Then the painful sound of Taps being played by the bugler filled the air.

My friend and I, aged 6 or 7 at the time, were standing by the cemetery fence a couple hundred yards behind our homes. We watched until the hearse and all the cars filled with mourners drove away and the grave diggers filled the grave, took down the tent and laid the flowers on the fresh mound of dirt. Then we walked to the place where the small American flag had been planted in the earth.

We scoured the grass looking for the shiny brass shell casings, scooped them up and went back to one of our yards to play.

We didn’t understand much more than that a soldier who had gone to war and been killed was now buried in that place and we had some souvenirs of that event.
Soon there would be a star by the name of that person on the Honor Roll of those who served that had been erected in the front of our elementary school.

More than six decades later, men and women are fighting in a war in Iraq. More than Three Thousand Four Hundred have been killed and those graveside rituals are occurring somewhere almost every day.

My grade school playmate is dead. I no longer live near a cemetery. I no longer hear the sound of the rifle’s salute or the orders barked by the commanding officer, or the sound of taps, or the sobs of the mourners. I gather no spent shell casings from the graves. I see no Honor Roll in school yards that list the names of those who served and the names with stars beside them of those who died.

But I see their names, their ages, 19, 21, 26, 32, 39, 45, 53, and the thumbnail obituaries in the newspaper that tell how they died, the unit in which they served, and where they were based.

I see the photographs, “in silence and as they become available”, on the Evening News Hour on PBS. I see the faces, faces I never saw before and faces that no one will ever see again. In the pictures they are usually smiling. I am crying, inwardly and outwardly for the loss of all these lives.

I understand they died fighting in a war.
I don’t understand why they have had to die in “this” war.
I don’t understand why there is “this” war.
Its purpose is as empty as a shell casing.
The tears are my souvenirs.

Wrap...

Blogger interviews TwitterWit editor.....

2009-05-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

The Groucho Marx of Twitter
by
Simon Owens:
"I got a chance today to interview and profile the editor of the book, Nick Douglas, about the new literary genre that he sees bubbling up from Twitter and his attempts to capture it:"

If brevity is the soul of wit, then it isn’t inconceivable that a major book publisher would seek to package witticisms in 140-character morsels. Nick Douglas, a former Gawker writer, formulated the idea of collecting funny tweets back in 2007, when the micro-blogging service was a mere twinkle in the eyes of venture capitalists. As one of its early adopters, Douglas observed the rise of a new form of literary humor that relied on a turn of phrase, a twist delivered deftly at the tail end of a tiny sentence that in just a few words quickly built a mode of tension to be subsequently released with a simple syllable. Perhaps before he even realized that he one day wanted to collect these tweets into a book, he began favoriting them, creating his own tiny feed of one-liners and quotable quotes.
A year later he was approached by a literary agent who had read Douglas’ tweets and his writing elsewhere. The agent asked if the writer had any book ideas in mind, a question that eventually led to communication with an editor at HarperCollins. By early this year it had been announced that Douglas, who had been paid a reported five figures, would be editing a book for the publisher, titled Twitter Wit, due out this fall.

http://bloggasm.com/the-groucho-marx-of-twitter

[Use link above to continue reading]

Wrap...