] I'm calling in from the highly-guarded border of Iran and
] Kurdistan. A truck is waiting for us to transport CNN
] staff, our personal belongings, and our television gear
] into kurd-controlled northern Iraq. We're crossing into
] this region to cover the northern front of a potential
] war with Iraq, in an area dense with oil-rich fields
] along the northern no-fly-zone.

This guy is fucking nuts. (With apologies to Elonka.)

That having been said, this could be one of the more interesting weblogs in the coming weeks.... Unless someone actually starts blogging from Bagdad. Or, you know, they actually negotiate a peace. Or the Aliens arrive and colonize the planet.

Kevin Sites Blog

] Profound changes have been taking place in American
] foreign policy, reversing consistent bipartisan
] commitments that for more than two centuries have earned
] our nation greatness.

Jimmy Carter's recent essay.

Just War - Jimmy Carter

] Since the end of the cold war, the United States has been
] trying to come up with an operating theory of the
] world—and a military strategy to accompany it. Now
] there’s a leading contender. It involves identifying the
] problem parts of the world and aggressively shrinking
] them. Since September 11, 2001, the author, a professor
] of warfare analysis, has been advising the Office of the
] Secretary of Defense and giving this briefing continually
] at the Pentagon and in the intelligence community. Now
] he gives it to you.

Vewy vewy itewesting.

The Pentagon's New Map

]A harsh scolding from U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow has
]prompted a crackdown at the Gorbushka market, Moscow's mecca of
]pirated films and music, and city authorities on Tuesday promised
]that this was only the start.

]Gone from the second floor are the row upon row of cheap pirated
]videos, DVDs, music discs and computer games, which just a month
]ago made up an estimated 75 percent to 95 percent of all goods
]sold there.

Every day my dollars buy less rubles, and now they've taken my beloved Garbushka... its like the current administration is out to ruin every expat in Moscow :(

Some background: The Gorbushka started out as an open air weekend market, selling (usually very nice) reproductions of tapes and CDs and movies. It became quite large, and a couple years ago it moved into several large buildings. Along with the software/music/movies, now came appliances, computers, and anything and everything electronic. All crammed in tiny stalls lining narrow hallways. Its like those shots you see of Hong Kong, where the small businesses are so dense, and the hustle and bustle so intense (I made a rhyme!). This place is great. Now they've ruined it.

This action was just a token effort to make Russia look good for getting into the WTO. It is not possible to stop rampant pirating in Russia, or even in Moscow (where people have much more money than outside Moscow), because people simply do not have enough money to buy the real deal. Even with the reduced prices they mention. For the foreseeable future, this is just an inconvenience. You can still find any software and popular movie you want around one of Moscow's large bookstores, or on its mainstreets. The real reason this sucks is that there were ALL KINDS of wierd electronic, and international music at the Gorbushka... and now its going to be very hard to find that stuff legitimately, or pirated for $3 a pop.

Poo

Gorbushka Tossing Out the Pirates

] Millions took to the streets of Europe to protest against
] a rush to war with Iraq in huge demonstrations later
] repeated in the United States.

This is the big story today. Millions oppose war in the streets. The largest protests in decades. CNN has lots of coverage including some nice pictures. The first protests a few months ago attracted a few thousand. We're now well into the millions by anyone's count. If the growth rate of these rallys continues you'll see hundreds of millions in two or three rounds.

I want to reinterate that it is worth while listening the recording of Tony Blair getting cross-examined by the BBC that I posted here a few days ago. No one rereced it. It does not provide a compelling case for war. It does, however, put things in perspective. You can find it by searching my MemeStream for "Blair examined"

CNN.com - Huge Europe protests move to U.S. - Feb. 15, 2003

War Nerd's as always penetrating and amusing analysis of the war in Ivory Coast.

eXile #157 - War Nerd - Live from the Skeleton Coast - by Gary Brecher