…to learn that Bill Clinton lied to us again. Over a matter of national security.
[Update a few minutes later]
Here’s the full story:
The report also criticized intelligence problems when Bill Clinton was president, detailing political and legal
A Generic Cancer Breakthrough?
Curley is brimming with cautious optimism.
“If we can come up with ways of delivering these particles to the cancer cells, but not to normal cells,” Curley said, “this treatment will work. There’s not a doubt in my mind. Any kind of cancer, anywhere in the body!”
Doctor Curley’s team is ready to publish their first results using laboratory animals. So far, the targeted nanoparticles and the Kanzius RF machine have passed every test.
Hope it’s not being overhyped. There’s a little too much boosterism, and not enough information, in the news story to tell.
Better Space Programs
…through molecular manufacturing.
My Kind Of Camping
Apparently, roughing it isn’t what it used to be.
I am not a happy camper. I’m willing to camp if it’s necessary to see something not otherwise available in the back country, but I don’t intrinsically enjoy it. But this is overboard, to me. I don’t mind the tents, and cooking, and cleaning, and knot tying, and fire building, but I really, really like plumbing. My ideal expedition would be with pack llamas to carry an inflatable hot tub and propane heater.
Armadillo’s Prospects
I haven’t commented on this, but the New Scientist has a fairly extensive story of Armadillo’s bad weekend.
What do I think?
First of all, full disclosure. I’m working, as I write this, for one of Armadillo’s competitors, on SBIR proposals. But it’s a close-knit community, even among the competitors.
And having said that, I don’t think it’s a disaster for Armadillo. These kinds of things are going to happen along the way, as we start to understand how to develop operable and affordable space transports (a goal that has eluded both the military and NASA, almost half a century after the dawn of the space age). I also find it interesting (and I have to confess, somewhat amusing) that the failure was fundamentally a software failure, given the pedigree of the company that provided the funds that created the vehicle:
Post-crash analysis has revealed what went wrong
Armadillo’s Prospects
I haven’t commented on this, but the New Scientist has a fairly extensive story of Armadillo’s bad weekend.
What do I think?
First of all, full disclosure. I’m working, as I write this, for one of Armadillo’s competitors, on SBIR proposals. But it’s a close-knit community, even among the competitors.
And having said that, I don’t think it’s a disaster for Armadillo. These kinds of things are going to happen along the way, as we start to understand how to develop operable and affordable space transports (a goal that has eluded both the military and NASA, almost half a century after the dawn of the space age). I also find it interesting (and I have to confess, somewhat amusing) that the failure was fundamentally a software failure, given the pedigree of the company that provided the funds that created the vehicle:
Post-crash analysis has revealed what went wrong
Armadillo’s Prospects
I haven’t commented on this, but the New Scientist has a fairly extensive story of Armadillo’s bad weekend.
What do I think?
First of all, full disclosure. I’m working, as I write this, for one of Armadillo’s competitors, on SBIR proposals. But it’s a close-knit community, even among the competitors.
And having said that, I don’t think it’s a disaster for Armadillo. These kinds of things are going to happen along the way, as we start to understand how to develop operable and affordable space transports (a goal that has eluded both the military and NASA, almost half a century after the dawn of the space age). I also find it interesting (and I have to confess, somewhat amusing) that the failure was fundamentally a software failure, given the pedigree of the company that provided the funds that created the vehicle:
Post-crash analysis has revealed what went wrong
Iraq Is Not Ulster
As the British are learning, on the verge of losing Basra.
Col Anderson said British troops “did the best they could”, but added: “I’m not sure they did as good a job as they did traditionally. This isn’t Northern Ireland. They thought they had a pretty good model but Iraq is a different culture.”
Michael O’Hanlon, of the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, added: “Basra is a mess, and the exit strategy attempted there has failed. It is, for the purposes of future Iraq policymaking, an example of what not to do.
“Basra has gone far towards revising the common American image of British soldiers as perhaps the world’s best at counter-insurgency.”
I think that Petraeus has rewritten the book.
No Credibility Left
…in the post-Plame, post-Scheuer, post-Tenet era is that no one believes much what the CIA says any more about the Middle East; no one believes that a wire-photo from there is genuine or its caption accurate; and no one necessarily believes anything in once respected magazines, whether the Periscope section of Newsweek or anything published in The New Republic. The common gripe is that the administration lied to the public about WMD in Iraq; but what is lost is that once revered institutions proved disingenuous in their accusations and unreliable in their performance.
I remain appalled that Bush gave Tenet a Medal of Freedom. Just one more sign of his misjudgment.
Choosing Between Wars
In further comments on the insanity of our dual and incompatible wars in Afghanistan, Ilya Somin has a suggestion as to how Congress could actually do something constructive:
Congressional Democrats say that they are serious about fighting the War on Terror, and have repeatedly emphasized (with some justification) that the Bush Administration has dropped the ball in Afghanistan. If you truly are serious about improving the conduct of the war in Afghanistan, why not start by denying the use of US government funds for poppy eradication campaigns in that country? Why not instead devote those funds (at least $600 million for last year alone) to military operations and infrastructure development? You can simultaneously improve the conduct of the war and repudiate a failed Bush Administration policy. What’s not to like?
Unfortunately, I don’t think they have the political guts.