Newest Washington Post story about Human Terrain in Afghanistan

With thanks to the always-excellent Small Wars Journal, read Rough Terrain by Vanessa M. Gezari about the Army's Humain Terrain program.

Lede: "Under an experimental program in Afghanistan, teams of anthropologists and social scientists are working alongside soldiers to help win the war by winning over the Afghan people. It may seem like a brilliant idea. But in this battle, nothing is as it seems."

Key quote: "[Human Terrain social scientist Karl Slaikeu] eventually decided to join but still harbored misgivings. As he went through the four-month training at Fort Leavenworth, he reevaluated the project, he said. He was still doing that in Maywand, watching for anything that might jeopardize ethical standards by endangering local people.

"It just hasn't come," he said, "and I've been looking for it.""

This stuff excites me. I've asked before, and I'll ask again: how do I get into this line of work? Given my latest career choice, how do I get into this line of work as a lawyer? Should I join a CA unit as a JAG? Should I dual-degree - would that be my best 'in'?

Eric

Conflicted about Eric Holder

On one hand, I want to support AG Eric Holder as a fellow Stuyvesant and Columbia alumnus (though we diverge at our respective law schools), and I believe African-American success has historically paved the way for other-minority success (though, in this case, hispanic AG Alberto Gonzales recently held the same job). On the other hand, his very public prosecution initiative against CIA operatives and Bush admin officials over the War on Terror is troubling; more so given that these issues were already handled with discretion by the CIA and DOJ in 2004.

Read Obama-fan Tom Barnett on this issue. Bonus article, also in Esquire, about John Yoo.

Eric

Posts with "Traci"

I'm curious how many blog posts there are in which I've mentioned her name. So, I decided to count. Criterium is "Traci" in the post, which leaves out a few posts which I had her in mind while writing but didn't use her name. On the other hand, some of the posts that mention her name aren't about her. The answer is 32, including this post, as of 14FEB13.

Thoughts of the day
Thoughts of the day
The Phantom of the Opera teaches red pill
Thoughts of the day
Hurricane Irene Thoughts
Thoughts of the day
Thoughts of the day
Posts with Traci
Thoughts of the day
Thoughts of the day
Thoughts of the day
Lesson of my stars
Topol in Fiddler on the Roof and Lisey's Story
Thoughts of the day
Shortcomings and "Don't do this to me"
The Traci log
The dulling of age
Stand down
Note to self: avoid touching romance stories
Korean rom-com: My Sassy Girl (2001)
Bye Traci
Movie Recommendation: Knocked Up
Bachelorhood
Observation of the day: in-person beauty not always photogenic
Stream of consciousness musings
Blog - Almost 40-Year-Old Virgin - got me to thinking . . .
I haven't posted in a while . . .
Every night I ask the stars up above, why must I be a teenager in love?
Oppa
John Gray's Mars and Venus on a Date
Thoughts of the moment
Memorable quotes from Shane Falco

Eric

Interesting rules for radicals

From a Tigerhawk post, a short NY Times article about Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. Interesting.

Also, unrelated, watched Quentin Tarantino's new movie Inglorious Basterds today. Typically entertaining and confident Tarantino flick.

Eric

Thoughts of the day

Diane Schuler. Suburban mom drives the wrong way on a highway she knows and causes 8 deaths, including her daughter and three nieces, and critical injuries to her son. The police say she was drunk and high. Her husband doesn't believe it, says she was a responsible mom. Extremes.

George Sodini. Normal-seeming suburban bachelor who privately is lonely, hopeless and beaten, and bitter. Gives up as he nears his 50th birthday. Makes his decision and works up to it for a year. He committed murder-suicide for his "exit plan" 3 days ago. Scary. Hits home.

Congratulations to Cathy Grosam of the 2nd season of I Survived a Japanese Gameshow. Cathy was a dominant contestant and deserved to win. She ran the table as a contributing member of the winning team on every challenge, highlighted by changing teams twice, and won the $250,000 prize. It was satisfying to watch her finish as strongly as she competed the entire show. Contestant Dan Barbour has a blog.

Her last day in the office is today. Even 14 years younger than I am, she's above and beyond me. Another world. Even if there was a possibility, which there is not, I'd be out of my depth. I'm sure she finds effortless things I find difficult or unable. It would be easy to fall for her. Just speaking with her for a few minutes yesterday had me charged. Prize.

Eric

Talented kids

Check out Sam Tsui and Kurt Schneider's Michael Jackson medley and cover of the Glee version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing". Intelligence, creativity, technical savvy and talent go a long way.

Eric

Memorable commercials

The dancing Mr. Six Six Flags amusement park commercial.

Freecreditreport.com's hip 3-man band suffering from bad credit - see their commercials here. The ad series is from the same company, The Martin Agency, that does the cool GEICO and UPS commercials.

Eric