On the Waterfront - Day 131: Friday 5 February 2010
Despite stiff competition, I was declared the weirdest person in the office. 
SITAC - Jaxon was present for the second half of Spice and Wolf. Great stuff.
I don't understand why everyone is complaining about the "new" Facebook layout. It looks exactly the same today as last week.
The other day, I said, "Congratulations to the Iranians! I hope they do a better job looking to the future than we do." Seems they have no need of my advice.
(Click through for pictures.) Who knows how long it'll be before the US outsources LEO grunt work to the Iranians?Iran's aerospace program has been so active in the last few years it should be possible to say something about their development philosophy: the technological arc or trajectory they are following. For instance, why did they "jump" from SCUD-type missiles to the Shahab-3-type? Why didn't they put a higher priority on clustering engines in order to achieve greater ranges before moving on to the Shahab-3? Many of my friends believe they should have. A large portion of their argument is centered on the fact that they believe Iran would have established a missile capable of hitting Israel much sooner if they had done that, perhaps as early as the mid-1990s. Of course, such arguments place an extraordinary amount of emphasis on such a military objective, especially when Iran's nuclear program was much, much less advanced.
I've always thought, however, that Iran did make a strategic decision about the direction its missile development program was going in. But it was not a military-strategic decision but an industrial-strategic decision even if there were military advantages to be had further down the road. I believe Iran decided they needed to assimilate the technology for producing large engines indigenously and that this was a much higher priority for them than early production of a longer range missile.
Geoffrey Forden
John Kerry wrote an op-ed on solving Yemen's problems without bombing and invading.
Given that we are already bombing, action is desperately needed to avoid an invasion. The rest of the Middle East better recognize. (via)Yemen's poverty is by now well-known, but its vibrant indigenous civil society is not. As a result, relatively modest international development assistance can have a significant impact, if designed to empower local actors. And over the long run, such efforts will be far more important than counterterrorism measures in undercutting the extremist narrative and improving Yemen's future. The Obama administration's new assistance strategy, focused on the drivers of Yemen's instability, is an important starting point.
But international efforts need better co-ordination. For its neighbours, the stakes in Yemen are high. The assistance efforts of countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates dwarf all other donors. Gulf states understand Yemen's intricate tribal politics in ways America and Europe can't hope to match. That is why a crucial objective of the "Friends of Yemen" group formed at the London conference should be to begin crafting mechanisms that match local resources and knowledge with global technical and development expertise.
However, a return of Gulf jobs could be even more significant than their assistance. For centuries, Yemen has been a source of migrant labour. Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis were expelled from overseas jobs when Yemen foolishly supported Iraq's 1991 invasion of Kuwait. Most of today's Yemenis weren't even born then. Convincing Gulf states to turn the page and allow Yemen's migrant workforce - rigorously screened - to return could be a vital pressure valve for Yemen's unemployed youth.
John Kerry
There are no words to describe what an amazing asshole Senator Richard Shelby is.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has put an extraordinary "blanket hold" on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate, according to multiple reports this evening. The hold means no nominations can move forward unless Senate Democrats can secure a 60-member cloture vote to break it, or until Shelby lifts the hold.
…
According to the report, Shelby is holding Obama's nominees hostage until a pair of lucrative programs that would send billions in taxpayer dollars to his home state get back on track. The two programs Shelby wants to move forward or else:
- A $40 billion contract to build air-to-air refueling tankers. From CongressDaily: "Northrop/EADS team would build the planes in Mobile, Ala., but has threatened to pull out of the competition unless the Air Force makes changes to a draft request for proposals." Federal Times offers more details on the tanker deal, and also confirms its connection to the hold.
- An improvised explosive device testing lab for the FBI. From CongressDaily: "[Shelby] is frustrated that the Obama administration won't build" the center, which Shelby earmarked $45 million for in 2008. The center is due to be based "at the Army's Redstone Arsenal."
Though a Shelby spokesperson would not confirm that these programs were behind the blanket hold, the Senator expressed his frustration about the progress on both through a spokesperson to both CongressDaily and the Federal Times.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
The abuse, the arrogance, the corruption ... it's just breathtaking. Shelby is proving himself to be little more than a petty, greedy thug, undermining our system of government until he's been paid off to his satisfaction.
Josh Marshall added, "This is more like just a stick up. Gimme my money and I'll give you your Senate back! Worse than a squeegee man and not much better than a bank robber, Shelby is shutting down the president's ability to appoint anyone to anything until he gets his way."
What's more, it's additional evidence, as if more was needed, that congressional Republicans are simply out of control. At a time when the nation needs strong institutions, GOP lawmakers have not only gone mad, they're also tearing down governmental touchstones like the United States Senate.
It's inexcusable and unsustainable. Something's gotta give.
Steve Benen
I'm not sure why anyone at all is surprised about this. First of all, this is just a repeat performance for Shelby. You will remember, of course, during the auto bailouts, Sen. Shelby and Sen. Corker did everything they could to make sure that GM and Chrysler died, and people remember that they were motivated in large part by their insatiable desire to destroy the UAW and weaken the power of unions nationwide. But the other reason Shelby and Corker were so eager to see GM and Chrysler die was because of the large presence of foreign auto manufacturers in their respective states. In other words, they are used to going to bat for foreign manufacturers over the American people and American industry. That is just how they roll.
Second, the other reason he is doing this is because is because he can. He will pay no political price for this whatsoever. The beltway media will not flay him alive like they did Nelson, even though the 100 billion dollar potential contract to a company propped up by foreign governments is ONE THOUSAND times bigger than the 100 million dollar Nebraska sweetheart deal that Nelson received. Not only will he not pay a price, but, in a couple of weeks, you can guarantee that Shelby will be intoning gravely about deficit spending and pork on one of the Sunday shows, and NO ONE will call him on it. Remember his rhetoric during the stimulus debate?
John Cole
Jesus fucking Christ! If Democrats won't fight, then why bother voting for those fucking cowards?The Shelby blanket hold isn't unprecedented, though it's close. But doing this to shake the administration down for a couple of earmarks is pretty unheard of. And given the current electrical charge about 'earmarks' and 'pork' it gives the White House a golden opportunity not just to embarrass the Republicans over Shelby's obstructionism over an earmark, it gives them a second chance to engage the public on Republican refusal to even allow votes -- regardless of what one thinks of the substance -- on critical national issues. Not allowing votes here leads to a discussion or not allowing votes on the Jobs Bill. The headline writes itself: Republicans shut down senate so Shelby can get his earmarks. (Remember, he can't do this himself. He needs to be supported by his caucus.) The GOP leadership sees that it's toxic.
Alas, it seems the White House has already decided it doesn't want to take up the opportunity. Which is probably a good preview of 2010.
Josh Marshall
