Middle East

Then here’s a general post of stories to be read

1. Saudi Arabia rounded up 200 militants and some of their financiers yesterday. ? What’s going on? That’s a lot of people.

“Security forces foiled an impending attack on a support oil facility in the Eastern Province,” the spokesman said, adding that an eight-member cell led by an expatriate man was behind the plan.

2. Auston Bay writes on al-Qaeda losing. He writes realistically of timelines etc and how things have emerged, bit by bit and now….let’s see what have the Dems been complaining about? Lack of political progress…

This week, the White House and the Iraqi government announced that state-to-state discussions are taking place with the goal of reaching detailed agreements that will govern Iraq and America’s long-term political, economic and military ties. Iraqis have asked for “an enduring relationship with America.”

Hmmm. (ht Instapundit)

Other things that cracked me up this morning

The title on this column by Rosa Brooks.

Good news on Bush’s watch?
How should we react to recent signs of hope from Iraq, Pakistan and the Israel-Palestinian talks?

Oh my…..how should we react?? How should we react?? Tell us. gag.

…………………
Then here’s a story about the credit crunch and how bad that’s going to be.
“As lenders tighten the flow of credit, growth at risk”.

I am no economist, but I would have assumed that this would happen based on previous stories like this one called
“Mortgage Lenders Come Under Congress home Loan Scanner”.

Banks are in trouble for giving too easy of loans on folks who according to conventional wisdom were bound to not be able to keep up payments (in spite of the fact that millions ARE keeping up on payment even though they got one of those easy loans). So now, banks should continue to give easy loans in order not to risk growth?

……………………………

Jobs Americans won’t do

This story cracked me up.
Apparently you can’t find American personal assistants at $1/day. But no worries, because most of the assistance we need is in making reservations, finding a good restaurant, maybe planning a vacation or tutoring the kids. You don’t need to actually be here to do those things…

Call centers in India can help. The story is from Spiegel and they have a small misunderstanding where they think Globalization is a dirty word in the US. Maybe in some towns/areas/protest groups, but in general we like cheap goods. And now, cheap services.

Globalization may still be a dirty word in the United States, where it is a synonym for downsized jobs and cheap production in the Far East. But lately middle-class Americans have also been discovering the advantages of globalization for their private lives. It turns out that the outsourcing much beloved by companies can work for personal households too. And, thanks to the Internet, the possibilities are practically limitless.

The article even notes that online gamers hire Chinese people to keep playing while they get some rest. Is that cheating??

I know you want a phone number/site…

IwantaPA.com, for example, offers virtual assistants for individuals and companies, under the slogan, “Why bother with mundane and boring tasks?”

The Big Debate

Stephen Green walks us through who won…CNN. (at pushing their agenda) And he’s got a good idea that I’d like to see.

For the future, I’d like to propose what I call the Algonquin Round Table Debate. No moderator, no stopwatches, no buzzers or red lights, no YouTube, and, please, no Anderson Cooper or Chris Matthews. Instead, put all the candidates around a big table, ply them with first-rate food and liquor, and just let them talk and argue with one another until—or beyond—last call. Now that, for Democrats or Republicans, would be an event worth watching.