JUB's CE&P Good Articles Thread

[Kulindahr]

Foreign Policy Magazine believes Saudi Arabia is ripe for regime change. Libya pumps only 2% of the world's oil and gas has risen about 14 cents a gallon in the last week. Imagine what Saudi turmoil would do to the American and world economies.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/02/28/yes_it_could_happen_here

Heck, I've been saying since Clinton's early years that we should have been leaning on the Saudis to gradually implement a constitutional monarchy. My original idea was something like a House of Lords, for tribal and other leaders from around the country, to balance that joke appointed by the king -- but they're far past that, now; that should have been done in the early 90s, with all local government made democratic by 2000....

So Long, Chicken Little: The 9 most annoying sky-is-falling clichés in American foreign policy


http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/02/22/so_long_chicken_little?page=0,1

They should add a LL favorite to their list to round it out to ten false cliches. "We're fighting for your freedom." And who exactly is trying to take away my right to free speech in Iraq or Afghanistan? What's so frustrating about this bullshit cliche is that people just say it and use it to shut someone up. And no one ever thought out the accuracy of the statement.

One of my faves, too!

Along with "We're from the government -- we're here to help".

 

[Lostlover]

Will Obama Finally Push Forward With High Speed Transit? I hope so. I know this is a big and sparsely populated country, but, if this means we can put the pricy airlines out of business, I'm all for it. Imagine going from LA to Seattle by land in two hours... And maybe getting a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.

I was in Shanghai and they had the coolest rail system. The trains floated over magnetic rails. So they truly were floating in air. And speeding through Shanghai was so cool. My twin brother graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering, so that ride was a wet dream.

From Der Spiegel: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,749631,00.html

 

[Kulindahr]

I hope we get them -- but it will require a dominantly Democratic Congress to do it.

BTW -- no high-speed train in the world could get from LA to Seattle in two hours; typical would be about four. But if you fly that distance, you'll spend more than half that much just going through security and such, then a two-and-a-half hour flight, so the train would still save you over an hour, and most likely be cheaper.

 

[Lostlover]

Dictator's Artwork from The Daily Beast : I am a novice architecture fan. I really like the Saddam Swords and the Gaddafi Fist.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1l30MF/www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2738/1

Not even sure about the name and origin of this building, but I love this Iranian monument.

And this is a cool one too from Saddam...

Saddam's Arc De Triomphe features his hands and steel from melted Iranian soldiers' helmets.

 

[Lostlover]

Article on how Gaddafi paid for coups, genocidal dictators and private armies during his 40 years in power.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/25/all_the_colonels_kings

If you're a dictator, you should follow Gaddafi's lead. Have thousands of mercenaries waiting to fight your battles across your continent and then establish secret military units that support you when the police and the known military desert you.

 

[Kulindahr]

Article on how Gaddafi paid for coups, genocidal dictators and private armies during his 40 years in power.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/25/all_the_colonels_kings

If you're a dictator, you should follow Gaddafi's lead. Have thousands of mercenaries waiting to fight your battles across your continent and then establish secret military units that support you when the police and the known military desert you.

Wow -- a meddler extraordinaire. The article should be titled about travesty and atrocity, to be honest.

I admire his vision of a untied Africa. I can't say thye same for his delusional aspirations and barbaric methods.

 

[Lostlover]

Gaddafi's letter to President Obama: http://m.theage.com.au/world/gaddafis-letter-to-obama-20110407-1d4u7.html

 

[Lostlover]

Why Do Asian Americans Have the Worst Long-Term Unemployment?

Good article. Very disappointing that they leave it open to assumptions. I would have never published an article without hypothesizing why this is the case.

I don't have the slightest clue.