Are you ready for some Hoglets....Monday Night Hoglets

By Fester:

Cheryl Rofer at Whirled View takes a look at a potential deal that could continue the START framework of nuclear arms control:

If we are to go to limits of nuclear weapons in the several hundreds, and if those numbers are to be of all nuclear weapons a country possesses, rather than just those that are deployed, verification will have to shift from counting delivery vehicles to counting warheads. So introducing the concept in the negotiations could be a good thing even if we can’t expect something so radical to be accepted the first time around.

Shlok Vaidya is arguing for a massive cut in the DoD to improve US security and government legitimacy:

At a time when city and state governments are collapsing, amping up the DoD is not the right move. Gutting most of it investing in core governance stacks that actually work is a much better idea.

Zenpundit found the perfect Christmas present for an 8 year old ..... (I also want it, along with the modification ZP suggests :)

The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat looks into some of President Bush's pardons

(Reuters) Washington DC - President George W. Bush, today pardoned nineteen convicted criminals including notorious McDonaldland felon The Hamburglar.

The Hamburglar was convicted in 1989 of armed robbery of a Salt Lake City Arby's. The arresting officer Big Mac, admitted under oath that he had tampered with evidence, although the prosecution managed to convince a jury that the evidence in question was immaterial to the case. The Hamburglar has maintained that, while he was involved, the real masterminds of the crime were the Happy Meal Gang, who remain at large today.

Instaputz actually reads the Wall Street Journal over Christmas so you don't have to --- it seems like the massive risk arbitrage opportunity that I noted last week won't do jack....

Alex Harrowell at a Fistful of Euros looks at the rhetoric and logistics of the Indian Air Force --- their rhetoric indicates a massive and sustained air campaign:

Air Marshal PK Barbora, chief of India’s western air command, said that the air force had identified 5,000 terrorist targets inside Pakistani territory.

Back in February, 2007, the National Security Archive at George Washington University got hold of the original slides from the briefing document on war with Iraq. The heaviest air bombardment the planning study included foresaw 3,000 individual aiming points from 2,100 aircraft sorties, the difference being made up by an unknown mix of multiple-target missions and Tomahawk missiles. This was designed to wreck the Iraqi military and military-industrial complex thoroughly....

there are about 150 serious strike aircraft available... it would be a theoretical 23 day campaign, but this doesn’t count the major commitment of fighters and defence suppression aircraft.

Clearly, however, there is no quick and relatively safe option. If Indian planning is anything like Barbora’s remarks, this means major war, with the certainty of the biggest air battle in living memory, the near certainty of a major mountain battle in Kashmir, a significant risk of the armies fighting out a battle of manoeuvre further south, and some risk of nuclear war.

To end on a more enjoyable note, the Poorman Institute has opened voting for their annual blogging awards --- Wank of the Year, and the Fluffy are the prime prizes, but it is just a dishonor to see so many nominated :) 

Comments

[Peter G.]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the information in Rofer's article. Is someone seriously proposing to replace nukes with conventional warheads on delivery systems? Bombers are always capable of that but to do the switch on an ICBM is the equivalent of commissioning an aircraft carrier to launch hang gliders. This makes no sense at all.

[Cheryl Rofer]

The US government is seriously proposing to replace nukes with conventional warheads on delivery systems. Has been for some time.

I agree it makes no sense at all. But that wouldn't be a first for the Bushies.