Jean-Marc's infotainment stream

« Expand/Collapse

Austin Bay Blog

September 19, 2008
15:52
Blog World Convention Panel
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

I will be moderating a panel at the Blog World Expo in Las Vegas at 12:15 pm Saturday, September 20th. (Las Vegas Convention Center. Go here for the conference schedule.) The panel is titled “The Blogosphere in Transition.” Panelists include Pam Spaulding (pamspaulding.com), Bridget Magnus (BridgetMangnus.com), Roger L. Simon (Pajamasmedia.com and rogerlsimon.com) and Rob Neppell (NZ Bear [...]
August 14, 2008
23:35
Up the Ante Diplomacy: US and Poland go for Euro-Anti-Missile
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

This via AP: Poland and the United States reached an agreement Thursday to base American missile interceptors in Poland, the prime minister said, going ahead with a plan that has angered Russia and threatened to escalate tensions with the region’s communist-era master. Speaking in an interview televised on news channel TVN24, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the [...]
0:59
Texas Hold’em versus Russian Roulette = The New Eastern Front? Let’s explore an alternative military option
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

Follow my blog posts and this week’s newspaper column and it’s clear that I’m looking at the diplomatic mid-term and long-term for resolution of the Russo-Georgia War. However, this morning I had “one of those conversations” about US and Western European military options—in the gym. Hey, these chats are occurring in defense ministries, in State Departments, [...]
August 13, 2008
15:36
More on the Russo-Georgia Aftermath
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

Via StrategyPage. This week’s column. Also see this StrategyPage update on the GSSOP (Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program). UPDATE: Hat tip Instapundit. A comprehensive post from CharlesCrawford.biz which concludes with this thought: Does the objective correlation of forces favour those leaders who in a pre-modern way have a clear sense of what they want - and are [...]
August 12, 2008
23:54
More on the dire diplomatic aftermath of Russo-Georgia War
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

As I write this post news reports claim Russian troops have halted their main attack just short of Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. Perhaps Russian memories of the battle for the city of Grozny, Chechnya, play a role. In late 1994 the Russians attempted to drive Chechen rebels from Grozny, and failed miserably. The city fight became [...]
23:25
And a nice review from Michael Barone
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

The inimitable Michael Barone reviews the “convergence media” presentation of my interview with General David Petraeus. I appreciate the generous words.
August 10, 2008
23:29
Two Short Book Reviews: Winkler’s “Nexus”, Nichols “Eve of Destruction”
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

NOTE: I will eventually turn this post into a column. I have been intending to review Nichols’ book since March. I got to read Winkler’s book in galley and got a copy in the mail ten days ago. Two books published this year admirably reflect history renewed and history pending, Jonathan Reed Winkler’s Nexus: Strategic Communications [...]
3:51
Russia’s Invasion of South Ossetia: The Kosovo Precedent In Play?
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

Consider the looming diplomatic argument. If protecting Kosovar Albanians elicits a NATO invasion, as it did in 1999, and in the case of South Ossetia Russian peacekeepers operating under international aegis were already on the ground and involved in the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict (which they were), what is the gripe? After Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of [...]
August 07, 2008
5:27
Terror Connects to Crime In Iraq: Analysis by General David Petraeus
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

Quick note: TheArenaUSA’s convergence media program featuring the entire interview with GEN Petraeus went on-line a short time ago. The response to the various Arena “beta” programs has been gratifying and thank you– the Korea backgrounder and the Over The Horizon: The Evolving Food Crisis seem to have been particularly well received. Thank you. [...]
5:09
Turkey’s Constitutional Court Fines AKP
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

I know this post comes a bit late. It’s old news by now: Turkey’s Constitutional Court did not ban the Justice and Development Party (AKP), it fined the AKP. The “judicial coup” did not occur. The AKP was accused of undermining Turkey’s secularist institutions. While working on an update for StrategyPage I read through a [...]
August 06, 2008
4:35
An Interview With General David Petraeus
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

I do not think there is any question that at this moment in time General David Petraeus is one of America’s most widely respected leaders –in or out of uniform. I had the privilege of speaking with the soldier-scholar at length this past Monday, August 4. Both my ArenaUSA channel and PajamasMedia will be [...]
4:04
If you think we’ll be off oil soon…
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

Read this book:Challenges of the Muslim World, Present, Future, and Past” (Elsevier, 2008). by William Cooper and Piyu Yue. The book is not a political polemic — it is penetrating and very useful scholarship. I reviewed it last week in my Creator’s Syndicate column (via StrategyPage). And pay attention to the graphs and figures. The authors have the communicator’s [...]
July 15, 2008
3:25
The Food Crisis: More Over the Horizon
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

If you’ve been checking out the Austin Bay Arena Channel, you know that we are adding new content and material every week. This week we are premiering our feature, “Over the Horizon” and my first “OTH” addresses food politics, the rising cost of food, and the “global food crisis.” There are several developing problems [...]
July 11, 2008
15:53
Logistics Contra Obama
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

Martha Raddatz of ABC News reports that US commanders in Iraq believe US troops should remain to insure security. Key quote: We spent a day with Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond in Sadr City. He is the commander of the 4th Infantry Division, which is responsible for Baghdad. Hammond will likely be one of the commanders who briefs [...]
July 10, 2008
16:03
Mugabe Tightens The Screws
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

Bloomberg reports on the Zimbabwean dictators upcoming moves on Parliament. This claim by the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum (ZSF) (via Monsters and Critics) is interesting. The ZSF’s claim: The Zimbabwean military, and not President Robert Mugabe, is now running the troubled country, the South Africa-based Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum (ZSF) said Thursday. ZSF spokesman Sipho Theys told a news conference [...]
July 09, 2008
23:02
An Al Qaeda Attack In Turkey?
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

The US won’t rule out the possibility. Reuters: The United States on Wednesday condemned the attack on its consulate in Istanbul and a State Department spokesman said he could neither confirm nor rule out al Qaeda involvement. The Houston Chronicle reported: Suspected al-Qaida militants armed with pistols and shotguns attacked a police guard post outside the U.S. consulate in [...]
17:48
Hugh Hewitt Program Today: More on Strategic Overwatch
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

I will be on Hugh Hewitt’s national radio program today discussing “Scenario 8,” which is the “Strategic Overwatch” scenario in ArenaUSA’s “Update” video. (Click “Guest Login” and have immediate access to the majority of the programs inside.) If the Hugh Hewitt show is not carried on the radio in your area, you can listen online [...]
July 08, 2008
1:03
Extending Freedom of Speech and Winning the War for the Terms of Modernity
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

Iraq the Model has been in the front lines of free speech in the Middle East. See this post for an update on Itaq the Model’s role in supporting Arabic-language bloggers.
July 04, 2008
1:20
Boumediene v. Bush — the video on The Arena
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

The heat generated by this 5-4 Supreme Court decision has not subsided. Fox News reports there is no “imminent decision” by President Bush to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. ABC News points out both Obama and McCain favor closing the prison. In the first edition of BEYOND THE AGENDA I interview law professors Lino Graglia (con) [...]
July 03, 2008
20:02
The Hard Thing of Democracy –thoughts for the 4th of July
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

The Hard Thing of Democracy A Vietnam vet friend of mine argues that maintaining a democracy requires three things: a passion for freedom, tolerance for diversity and intolerance for threats. An [...]
June 26, 2008
19:55
The State Department Confronts The Synergy Crisis
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

Via StrategyPage. What’s the synergy crisis? It is a soundbite for a complex, long-term problem involving bureaucratic turf battles and lack of focused leadership that costs America lives, time and money. America has trouble synchronizing its “tools of national power” — synergizing its diplomatic, information, military and economic power to achieve a policy goal, like winning [...]
16:22
Death of A Peace Committee
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

They are just misunderstood, or victims of imperialism, or antagonized by Bush, the appeaseniks argue. Negotiations, Barack Obama proclaims. Pursue negotiations. From today’s New York Times, dateline Peshawar: The bodies of 28 members of a government-sponsored peace committee were found dumped on a road near the tribal area of South Waziristan on Wednesday, Pakistan officials said. The [...]
June 24, 2008
22:13
Obama Politics = Chicago Politics
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

According to CNN SPecial Investigations? Check it out. “Pretty tough and ruthless…Does it fit in with the rhetoric now? Perhaps not.” “Political tactics of the machine…then calls himself progressive.” Sheesh. A strong investigative piece? Yes. But late. May 29. Everyone in Chicago, it appears, knew this about Obama, but we had to hear for five months that he was [...]
June 22, 2008
21:29
Report from the Los Padres fire line — Northern California
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

A friend of mine in the US Army Reserve is currently deployed at Fort Hunter-Liggett, which is just south of California’s Big Sur area. There is a forest fire in the Los Padres National Forest adjacent to the fort, and the Reservists have become firefighters. Here’s part of a recent email: I was up on the [...]
21:18
Obscene Terror from Mugabe– Tsvangirai Quits Race
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

Looks like terror works. Morgan Tsvangirai has dropped out of the run-off election — he fears for his life. AFP from Harare: Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai quit Zimbabwe’s run-off election Sunday, saying violence had made a fair vote impossible, in a move that virtually hands victory to President Robert Mugabe. “We in the MDC cannot ask them to cast [...]
21:02
Return of the US Army Air Corps? No, not exactly
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

It’s an attempt to optimize the capabilities of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Thom Shanker’s article in the NY Times begins a different angle– mission friction among the armed services–and it is that as well: Ever since the Army lost its warplanes to a newly independent Air Force after World War II, soldiers have depended on the sister [...]
June 20, 2008
20:46
Mugabe The Obscene
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

RealClearPolitics posts this week’s Creators Syndicate column, which addresses the upcoming Zimbabwean election (June 27) and dictator Robert Mugabe’s depredations. I’ve followed Zimbabwe’s political situation since the 1970s, my interest sparked for many reasons but the Anglican Church being one major reason. Here are a string of columns (not a complete list): 2002 2005 (I repeat the Milosevic [...]
0:37
The House and the war supplemental — achieving Strategic Overwatch
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

I just heard on tv that the House of Represenatives is about to pass the war supplemental bill — and this AP report says the House is on the verge. There will be no date for withdrawal. Where is John Murtha? Where is Harry Reid’s defeat, dude? Ah yes, the voices of the cut and [...]
June 06, 2008
16:08
Cluster Munitions and Consequences:Iraq
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

Pajamasmedia has an article of mine covering the cluster munitions treaty. ArenaUSA also has an addition to the Consequences pilot episode, this one postulating an outcome based on conditions in Iraq March-May 2008 — a bit more aggressive than the original. UPDATE: Please register at the Arena Channel, if you have not already done so. You [...]
May 30, 2008
0:48
Unraveling Al Qaeda — important article in TNR
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

This is a very important article — a mainstream and liberal journal has noticed Al Qaeda’s information warfare loss and examined the roots of this defeat. The information loss is becoming a physical loss as well. The roots go deep — as StrategyPage noted way back on October 27, 2005 (see the previous link). The article [...]
May 28, 2008
15:58
Iraq’s Democratic Government — Two Years On
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

It seems a vast stretch of the commentariat either misses or dismisses the fact Iraq’s democratic government has been in power only two years. There does seem to be a reasonable argument over the date Prime Minister Nouri- al-Maliki formed his cabinet. May 16, 2006, or was it May 20, 2006, when the parliament approved [...]
May 22, 2008
19:40
Comments
» ‎ Austin Bay Blog

We just discovered there is a “comments” problem — and the webmaster is looking into it. UPDATE: Yes, it’s been fixed. We hope.

← All Things Counter Terrorism Claire Billet →

Jean-Marc's infotainment stream » Austin Bay Blog

Feeds

Austin Bay Blog

Blog World Convention Panel

Up the Ante Diplomacy: US and Poland go for Euro-Anti-Missile

Texas Hold’em versus Russian Roulette = The New Eastern Front? Let’s explore an alternative military option

More on the Russo-Georgia Aftermath

More on the dire diplomatic aftermath of Russo-Georgia War

And a nice review from Michael Barone

Two Short Book Reviews: Winkler’s “Nexus”, Nichols “Eve of Destruction”

Russia’s Invasion of South Ossetia: The Kosovo Precedent In Play?

Terror Connects to Crime In Iraq: Analysis by General David Petraeus

Turkey’s Constitutional Court Fines AKP

An Interview With General David Petraeus

If you think we’ll be off oil soon…

The Food Crisis: More Over the Horizon

Logistics Contra Obama

Mugabe Tightens The Screws

An Al Qaeda Attack In Turkey?

Hugh Hewitt Program Today: More on Strategic Overwatch

Extending Freedom of Speech and Winning the War for the Terms of Modernity

Boumediene v. Bush — the video on The Arena

The Hard Thing of Democracy –thoughts for the 4th of July

The State Department Confronts The Synergy Crisis

Death of A Peace Committee

Obama Politics = Chicago Politics

Report from the Los Padres fire line — Northern California

Obscene Terror from Mugabe– Tsvangirai Quits Race

Return of the US Army Air Corps? No, not exactly

Mugabe The Obscene

The House and the war supplemental — achieving Strategic Overwatch

Cluster Munitions and Consequences:Iraq

Unraveling Al Qaeda — important article in TNR

Iraq’s Democratic Government — Two Years On

Comments