_BiB_

I actually like an unbent paper clip. Cuts down on gum slivers.

I've thought about these things before (yeah, really-sometimes I forget to take a magazine to the bathroom). Look at 99% of what we do? How did we get there? How many people croaked before we figured out which mushrooms to eat? Who figured out the fish hook? And who decided worms were good to put on them? (ever see a fish crawling around the sidewalk after a good rain?) Who came up with oral sex? And why? Who came up with making rope from hemp? Who came up with smoking the rope plantation? Who figured out the first oven, and why? Who decided to ride horse? Why not cows? Why not elk? Who first made cloth instead of just wearing deer hides (this person had a LOT of time on their hands). What idiot domesticated the cat? You could go on forever.

I'll take round over square any day.

You're going to need one made out of gortex.

So go into Real Estate. He knew exactly what was going to happen when Miami picked him up. If not, after the fact is not a good time to analyse it. I have to assume that he knows football well enough to know that Miami was not going to be an Indy type passing threat.

All I know for certain is that I'm involved in working on something major that is very intelligence driven in it's requirements, and it's hurting the effectiveness of what we are trying to do because of the assumptions that have to be made (rather than having facts) because of the void. It will get better in time, but in a nutshell it comes down to a lack HUMINT assets on the inside that just aren't there. Analysts need something to analyse, and sat photos and Ferret intercepts aren't going to do it.

Hilo. The suicide rate in Hawaii is the highest in Kona, for a reason. It's fine if you like not much to do and a landscape of black basaltic rock. But, yes, it does get rainy in Hilo. Kona is pretty arid. If you are only going to spend a day or so, it doesn't much matter. Take Aloha Scarelines over for an overnight.

They use a CD and a loudspeaker.

I'll stick with what I picked earlier in the week. The Bills, if nothing else through the law of averages, will win on the road sooner or later. Why not now? Bills 27 Seattle 20 (with 7 points off a Bledsoe interception).

Probably still in a trytophan induced coma. Either that or he's doing his nails.

Starting with showing up.

You picking up Darin's slack today?

Visiting the Arizona is an experience. It was faily traditional to present a flag that flew over her to folks retiring from their careers. A week on Maui is a good plan. If you like seafood and good steaks, visit Longhi's in Lahaina. The lobster stuffed cannelloni with a charred strip on the side is pretty memorable.

The appropriations may have been there, but the type of gathering it was invested in proved to be off the mark. There wasn't much of anything put into field collection as compared to what was put into analysis and high-tech gathering means. Toys and analysis are the big ticket items, money wise and garner more support at appropriations time. The increases into the FBI did nothing for foreign intelligence gathering. I'm not picking on Clinton. Everyone, including Bush 1 and 2 got whacked by looking the wrong way and not recognizing the actual threat until it was too late. Hindsight once again being 20-20, we should have been on this like a dog on a bone somewhere not long after the Soviet pullout from Afghanistan. A problem that you have to accept with interpreters and other intelligence workers is that those positions require a Top-Secret security clearance with Special Compartmented Access. These take upwards of two years to complete, and often an additional 6-12 months for agency vetting. Especially when you are forced to use foreign associated help. Many American citizens that are qualified also tend to have relatives living within the targeted nations. These people have to be investigated to a degree as well, and that is a difficult and time consuming process.

Didn't mean to bring the mood of the thread down, sorry. The holiday season is going to be about as much fun this year as I figured it would be. At least I'll save money this year. Won't be going out or doing any shopping.

We lived there for two years. Waikiki is over rated. Stop by, spend a day, just to say you were there, but as for Oahu I recommend the North Shore (Sunset Beach, etc) and the western shore (Makaha). Our favorite was always Maui. Rent a car and drive the road to heavenly Hana, hit Lahaina and make a trip to watch the sunrise at Haleakala. For third, I would do Kuai. A tropical paradise. Jurrassic park was filmed there, so you have an idea from the film of what it is like. The big Island really doesn't have a lot to offer, as far as I'm concerned, besides the volcanos. If you do go there, though, bring me back some Kona Coffee.

I wish you could too.

To somehow have another day with someone I miss an awful lot.

Kind of the blend.

Dishwasher and floor sanding from next door. I'll give it an 88. It has a good beat and I can dance to it.

Probably the single biggest chokepoint in intelligence analysis is the lack of interpreters. Arabic, Farsi and similar languages have unusual nuances to them based on regional differences that almost require a native speaker (or someone with years of study and experience) in order not to make misinterpretations. There is also a serious shortfall in field agents, not necessarily folks running around in disguise in the back alleys, but those who manage collection assets on the ground. HUMINT collection and analysis was cut to the bone during the Clinton administration through short sightedness. As was mentioned, the majority of effort was directed at the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and to a lesser extent, Asia (China). After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the establishment of "friendlier" relations with China, the determination was made that collection efforts in those areas need not be so heavily weighted, as the threat prtrayed there was lessened. This actually makes a lot of sense, practically and fiscally. The problem was, no one was looking down the road. What should have happened, hindsight being 20-20, is that the Africa-Middle East branches should have ramped up. You just don't shift gears. The Russia guys and gals are specialists in their areas. You just can't say "OK, today we quit Russia and start concentrating on Islamic Jihad." One has to build a new organization. I personally think the Clinton Administration should have seen the writing on the wall after Somalia, as early on there was ample evidence of Al Qaida's involvement not only there, but within the Horn and in several areas of the middle east. It didn't happen, and the Bush administration never picked up on it until it was too late. For 50 years, we viewed our primary National Security threat as a fairly easily monitored, organized state run military machine. When facing any potential adversary, you have an intelligence requirement vs an operational requirement. With a "conventional" threat such as the Soviet forces, this is weighted maybe 20% intell vs. 80% operational, since it's very easy to figure out where they are and what they might do. With an asymetrical threat such as Al Qaida this becomes reversed. Both the Global War on Terror and the Combating Proliferation of WMD are extremely intell intensive, and also operationally much less of a strain. The ratio becomes something more like 80% intell and 20% operational. The single biggest and most important piece of the war on terror is a decent intelligence apparatus. Once the intell comes through, the operational aspects are relatively simple. So, when you take a look at how the dynamics have changed, a 50% or whatever it is increase in that area is probably the best spent money the government has spent in quite some time. This is also hampering the construction of an "all purpose" intelligence apparatus, which is affecting the passage of the intell bill. The "flavor" of the intell required by the warfighter is of a different type than that provided by an organization such as the CIA, though a lot of it crosses over. Until an interface that everyone is comfortable gets ironed out and agreed on, I'd much rather see them sit on it until a wiring diagram we know will work gets drawn up.

I'm busy shooting down Yaks with my ME-109 in IL2 Forgotten Battles. Ho hum.

There's always the History channel.

Isn't T-Bone enough? To understand BF's logic, all one has to do is realize that there isn't any.

I don't think Vinnie is playing.