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Daily Rundown
Jul. 5th, 2006 06:53 pmNothing much happening, so just some tidbits for the day:
Metablogging: I'm blogging to tell you that the Foreign Policy blog reports that the US Air Force is funding $450,000 worth of research into, you guessed it, blogs. Says one researcher:
“Blog entries have a different structure,” Ulicny said. “They are typically short and are about something external to the blog posting itself , such as a news event. It’s not uncommon for a blogger to simply state, ‘I can’t believe this happened,’ and then link to a news story.”
I suggest that they just pay me $450,000, and I'll tell them all they want to know.
Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, second in command of Hamas' political leadership in Syria, screws his chances for international support all to hell in an interview with Spiegel. Abu Marzook speaks a strange version of the Middle Eastern diplomatic language, but he does give us some insight into Hamas' strategy:
SPIEGEL ONLINE: And does Hamas also believe that an Israeli state can exist alongside a Palestinian state?
Abu Marzook: Hamas has always said clearly: We will never accept the occupation, because it is not legal, not correct and not just.
...
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Looking at the consequences, one has to recognize that violence against Israel will never really help the Palestinian people.
Abu Marzook: Of course such actions help. Because every Israeli now knows that there will always be a reaction to violence. If Palestinians are killed, Israelis will be killed. That should be clear to all Israelis.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: It is hard to imagine that approach would ever bring an end to reciprocal violence.
Abu Marzook: No matter what, the violence will not stop. We are on the weaker side and we do whatever we can. The Palestinians have no other choice.
Although nothing really new is here, it does mean that Hamas is not yet willing to compromise with Israel. In fact, everything seems to indicate that Hamas sees the peace process as a strategic maneuver to give them more time to prepare to uproot the Israelis. The upshot is that, if I were an Israeli, I would see nothing in there to justify trying to revive the peace process. If Hamas is trying to provoke the Israelis into removing the Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, they certainly know all the buttons to push. I don't think that's a wise idea.
The Nuclear Option: Also, while I was surfing, someone mentioned unveiling the Nuclear Option against a recalcitrant North Korea. This is not dropping nukes on Pyongyang. Rather it involves encouraging the Japanese to develop their own nuclear deterrent. Since a nuclear Japan is one of Beijing's reoccurring nightmares, it could lead to the Chinese reigning in the North Koreans. Or it could lead to World War III. I don't know how this one is going to pan out.
Metablogging: I'm blogging to tell you that the Foreign Policy blog reports that the US Air Force is funding $450,000 worth of research into, you guessed it, blogs. Says one researcher:
“Blog entries have a different structure,” Ulicny said. “They are typically short and are about something external to the blog posting itself , such as a news event. It’s not uncommon for a blogger to simply state, ‘I can’t believe this happened,’ and then link to a news story.”
I suggest that they just pay me $450,000, and I'll tell them all they want to know.
Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, second in command of Hamas' political leadership in Syria, screws his chances for international support all to hell in an interview with Spiegel. Abu Marzook speaks a strange version of the Middle Eastern diplomatic language, but he does give us some insight into Hamas' strategy:
SPIEGEL ONLINE: And does Hamas also believe that an Israeli state can exist alongside a Palestinian state?
Abu Marzook: Hamas has always said clearly: We will never accept the occupation, because it is not legal, not correct and not just.
...
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Looking at the consequences, one has to recognize that violence against Israel will never really help the Palestinian people.
Abu Marzook: Of course such actions help. Because every Israeli now knows that there will always be a reaction to violence. If Palestinians are killed, Israelis will be killed. That should be clear to all Israelis.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: It is hard to imagine that approach would ever bring an end to reciprocal violence.
Abu Marzook: No matter what, the violence will not stop. We are on the weaker side and we do whatever we can. The Palestinians have no other choice.
Although nothing really new is here, it does mean that Hamas is not yet willing to compromise with Israel. In fact, everything seems to indicate that Hamas sees the peace process as a strategic maneuver to give them more time to prepare to uproot the Israelis. The upshot is that, if I were an Israeli, I would see nothing in there to justify trying to revive the peace process. If Hamas is trying to provoke the Israelis into removing the Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, they certainly know all the buttons to push. I don't think that's a wise idea.
The Nuclear Option: Also, while I was surfing, someone mentioned unveiling the Nuclear Option against a recalcitrant North Korea. This is not dropping nukes on Pyongyang. Rather it involves encouraging the Japanese to develop their own nuclear deterrent. Since a nuclear Japan is one of Beijing's reoccurring nightmares, it could lead to the Chinese reigning in the North Koreans. Or it could lead to World War III. I don't know how this one is going to pan out.