(A view of wine country that I have always liked)WNU Editor: Just a few random thoughts.
At the bottom I have listed a brief (a very brief) list of news stories that caught my attention during my 2 week vacation. Financial crisis, war in Afghanistan, DADT, START Treaty, budget debts, terrorism, Wikileaks, tensions on the Korean Peninsula, wars in Africa/Hamas and Israel/civil war in Pakistan/drug cartel wars/etc. .... sighhh .... in a certain way nothing has changed. But .... the world is changing. There are now more stress points for conflict, and with the U.S. now perceived as a declining super power, the restraining influence that the U.S. has always played will now disappear with the result that wars and conflicts between nation states and their proxies will start to increase.
My brief hiatus from this blog has been a good thing. It gave me a chance (and the time) to look at what is happening in the world from a detached point of view, and a clearer realization that the world is now rushing to go somewhere ..... and where that 'somewhere is' .... hmmmm .... only time will tell. But I am a betting man, and I cannot help but feel that storm clouds are coming our way.
On a side note, a special thanks to my brother and his family who gave me a wonderful time in San Francisco. Also, a special thanks to some old friends at Stanford University, and a special thanks to a winery in Sonoma and one in Napa who tolerated my arrogance and presence when it came to arguing about how they make wine while freely drinking their vintage stock in their cellars.
Sighhhh .... if only the rest of the world could live like this.
News Stories That Caught My Attention In The Past Two Weeks
Holbrooke's Last Words: "You've Got to Stop this War in Afghanistan" -- CBS News
Venezuela acquires 1,800 antiaircraft missiles from Russia -- Washington Post
Afghan Bombs Kill, Wound 3,800 Troops in 2010 -- The Danger Room
Second X-37B Prepared For Launch -- Ares/Aviation Week
OpenLeaks aims to provide a more transparent alternative to WikiLeaks -- Deutsche Welle
'Prepare for all-out cyber war' -- The Independent
'Stupid and reckless blunder' which left Camilla cowering on car floor after being hit with stick by anarchist mob -- The Daily Mail
Pakistani forces 'hamper' U.S. Embassy -- Washington Times
N.Korea 'will rely on nuclear might for defence' -- Breitbart/AFP
More Christians Flee Iraq After New Violence -- The New York Times
Japan Plans Military Shift to Focus More on China -- New York Times
Were anti-Christians behind pilgrimage site attack? 2,000-year-old Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury is cut down -- The Daily Mail
Dozens of suspected Afghan insurgents killed in rare wintertime fighting -- Washington Post
China’s Army of Graduates Struggles for Jobs -- New York Times
Hackers Rise for WikiLeaks -- Wall Street Journal
Leaked cables suggest growing North Korean, Burmese nuclear cooperation -- Washington Post
U.S. fiscal health worse than Europe's: China adviser. -- Reuters
Iran Placing Medium-Range Missiles in Venezuela; Can Reach the U.S. -- Hudson New York
WikiLeaks supporters disrupt Visa and MasterCard sites in 'Operation Payback' -- The Guardian
House acts to block closing of Gitmo -- Washington Times
Why the U.S. Ended Push for Israeli Building Freeze -- New York Times
Barack Obama fails to meet President Karzai in Kabul -- The Telegraph
Catch and release in Afghanistan -- Long War Journal
Yet Still Another Embarrassing F-35 Problem -- Strategy Page
Russian spy found working in UK parliament -- The Australian
WikiLeaks sold classified intel, claims website's co-founder -- World Net Daily
Frankenbombers are 'new kind of terrorism': Al Qaeda hopes to surgically implant bombs into thugs -- New York Daily News
Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega dubbed 'Chavez Mini-Me' in leaked U.S. cables -- L.A. Times
A Map to Break Your Heart: Mexico Bleeds -- Red State
Lockerbie bomber's family 'preparing to sue Britain for false imprisonment' -- The Telegraph
Report: Gitmo transfers return to terrorism: Count is 150 and still rising -- Washington Times
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