All
I am still on the road for a few more days. I will welcome submissions that I could post from out here in the mysterious East. pl
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Hope to see you back soon, Col. I'd love to see what you think of the cable cutting going on overseas. Seems like something is underway, and like an iceberg we're just seeing the tip.
Posted by: Tyler | 04 February 2008 at 09:22 AM
Col Lang, a long lost relative?
Definitely Going Regimental
Now that's some military bearing!
Posted by: Cold War Zoomie | 04 February 2008 at 10:41 PM
A fourth Major Internet Cable was cut today in the middle east. The media doesn't seem to be getting that this means something. Its not kids vandalizing them for kicks. Its not a few "Insurgents" either. Something is up.
Posted by: Robert in SB | 05 February 2008 at 12:11 PM
For anyone who doesn't understand the implication of all these Internet cable being severed- It's the Nation size equivalent of having the power mysteriously go out, the phone line suddenly going dead and the the dogs are no longer barking and don't answer your calls. If I were Iran, I would be very, very worried right now.
Posted by: Robert in SB | 05 February 2008 at 12:17 PM
The budget submission by the Executive Branch in this election year may be more significant than some of the past dead on arrival versions submitted by both DEMS and Republicans. He who writes the first draft often wins the day for his position, or so I was taught in law school. The future is now for many Congressional politicians. DEMS and even more Republicans will be voting with their feet. Which is interesting because Washington may be about to enter a completely new dynamic of having to think rather than posture. Thinkers are in very very short supply near any of the levers of Congressional Branch or Executive Branch power.
Posted by: William R. Cumming | 06 February 2008 at 02:38 AM
Re: cutting undersea network cables...
We'll hopefully learn whether this is a strange string of coincidences, or something else entirely. But until then, one of the most interesting considerations arises from Neal Stephenson's classic Wired article about undersea networking:
There is also the obvious threat of sabotage by a hostile government, but, surprisingly, this almost never happens. When cypherpunk Doug Barnes was researching his Caribbean project, he spent some time looking into this, because it was exactly the kind of threat he was worried about in the case of a data haven. Somewhat to his own surprise and relief, he concluded that it simply wasn't going to happen. "Cutting a submarine cable," Barnes says, "is like starting a nuclear war. It's easy to do, the results are devastating, and as soon as one country does it, all of the others will retaliate.
If you've never read the full article, it's well worth it (tho it's a long read). It's Stephenson at his best, even though it's over ten years old.
Finally, this series of events seems to be spawning a disproportionate number of tinfoil-hat rumors that are immediately reported as fact. The Iranian connection (or lack thereof) seems to be especially good at generating spurious stories that must then be retracted. Caveat emptor!
Posted by: Cieran | 08 February 2008 at 04:27 PM