Rumors

View 748 Sunday, October 28, 2012

I’m aware of the rumors concerning General Ham and AFRICOM. They remain rumors and I have seen no corroboration.

You will find them at http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/10/has_general_ham_been_fired.html

And http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/robbins-report/2012/oct/28/general-losing-his-job-over-benghazi/

But again let me emphasize that this is rumor.

What is not rumor is that anyone with experience in the intelligence game would have understood that the Benghazi consulate was at high risk. Even the inexperienced would, one would suppose, have noticed that the Brits closed their consulate in Benghazi because they didn’t want to send in the resources needed to assure its security. Apparently someone in the Department of State chain of command, having received the assessment, decided to allow the risk.

As we used to say in another context, “I’d hate to have the guy who designed that work on anything else.” On the other hand, we don’t air that sort of conclusion in public hearings. Yet there was the loss of an ambassador in the line of duty, and such things are rare and ought to be a Big Deal. One would expect something more in the way of investigation and explanation than we have had. And the Congress remains the Grand Inquest of the Nation.

We continue to experiment with Windows 8, and my conclusion continues to be, “Not yet.” Windows 8 is designed to take advantage of hardware you don’t have yet. With what we have now, Windows 7 will do very well. As Alexander Pope advises, Be not the first by whom the New are try’d, Nor yet the last to lay the Old aside. Microsoft is betting that the old fashioned desktop computer – Bill Gates’ vision of a computer on every desk, and in every home, and in every classroom – will begin to fade, and all those devices will be replaced with other and more productive – and probably more specialized – equipment. Moore’s Law dictates that the computer revolution will continue to accelerate, that we are on the steeply rising portion of the S curve, and as our machines gain capability we will need to learn new ways to control them so that we can get the most out of them. Gestures, touch, all of that will come much faster than most suppose; but they aren’t here yet. They will be.

The pledge drive ended successfully. Thanks to all who subscribed or renewed their subscriptions. I’ll stop bugging you about that until the next drive.

I have a number of open tabs to remind me of things to write about, and I am running out of time. Here are some stories I would comment on if I had time. On the other hand, once you know them, perhaps one doesn’t need much comment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/business/global/family-of-wen-jiabao-holds-a-hidden-fortune-in-china.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.jerrypournelle.com/other/inquest.html

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/07/29/press-release-2/

http://members.tripod.com/~american_almanac/globwarm.htm

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/08/apple-amazon-mat-honan-hacking/all/

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/09/world/asia/pakistan-teen-activist-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/opinion/sunday/the-self-destruction-of-the-1-percent.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0