Links and Minifeatures 06 01 Thursday

Took off yesterday to help my elder daughter's kindergarten class go to the zoo. She always enjoys the zoo. No pictures worth showing, though, as you'll realize if ever you've pulled the same duty.

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Carnival of Debt Reduction



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Pakistani Taliban take control of wild Waziristan. This is an area of Pakistan that the British never did completely pacify. Between it and adjacent provinces, there never was a five year period of no rebellion. Periods longer than 18 months were rare. The Pakistani government hasn't got anything like the willpower of the British Army, and I see a certain amount of evidence for collaboration with the Taliban covered by plausible deniability.



Looks like we may not have to wait for the Iranians to get nukes to face a hostile nuclear power.



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Don Surber notes that there was a CNN reporter embedded with the Haditha Marines, and the report she filed may just save them.



this link is a little more coherent



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I feel like I'm watching an old Hollywood movie where the villain takes his best shot at the hero, and then gets his comeuppance due to the nature of what he tried to do to the hero. Even better if it comes at the hands of another hero. Michael Moore Sued by Iraq War Vet. Oh, the poetic justice!



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US company transforms Boeing 747 into aerial firefighter Okay, large capacity. But I've seen them fight fires with tanker drops. Those pilots are crazy, and most often are working in rugged, inaccessible terrain. Instead of flying along ridgelines, they dip down between at right angles and pull up so they fly directly up towards the ridgeline. I suspect the wings would fall off the 747 if they tried the same sorts of things. Either that, or it'll have an impact. The P3s and other stuff they use now were mostly designed with military uses in mind. They are designed for flying in rugged conditions, and sudden stresses and the like. A 747 is designed to be a reliable long distance carrier of lots of people in more of less smooth conditions. Mind you, if you're looking to blanket the area from altitude, a 747 would be most impressive. A C5A or C17 would probably be better operationally, if higher maintenance.



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Looks like Google isn't the only one: Ask.com Adds New Search Tools for Blogs



This could go a long way towards boosting Ask.com's search engine share.



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Just a little judicial arrogance. Different River caught a link on Reuters saying that a Georgia judge has declared an emendment to the state constition to be (you guessed it) unconstitutional.



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via Buzz Machine, an explain-it-to-the-stupid-loan-officer article on net neutrality.



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Armies of Liberation has more on the corruption in Yemen. Actually, I'd suggest going over to read her entire front page on a regular basis. It lends an understanding to the problems faced not only by Yemen, but a host of other countries in similar situations.



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I know it's three days late for Memorial Day. Scrappleface has a non-satire post you should read anyway.



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As you might guess, MEChA has no soft spot in my heart. Michelle Malkin notes some of their tactics.



You're here. You're Americans. If you don't want to be, Mexico lies a very short distance that way. Other countries aren't exactly inaccessible, if that's what you prefer. I have zero tolerance for separatists or supremacists of any stripe.