Five Years and Out?

The head of the British military says that in five years, the Brits could be out of Afghanistan. Given that Sir David Richards was once head of ISAF, he may know what he is talking about.  Or not.  Seems both bold and not so bold.  Five years is a decent amount of time.  And the idea that the outsiders are then only doing training (and perhaps still OMLT-ing) might be possible. 

Of course, the big questions are more on the political side of things and on the police side of things. 

But Richards' claims are intriguing.

Aussie-land, Day 6b

Had a great penultimate day in Canberra with meetings with colonel, general, and member of parliament.  My afternoon got suddenly free, so I hit the National Museum of Australia.  What did I learn?

• I learned that the discoveries of things like kangaroos and platypi really upset biologists since they violated their understandings of things like mammals. 
• Australia has a history of incredibly nasty bush fires.
• The Australian Prime Minister apologized a couple of years ago for the treatment of the aborigines.
• The Aussies use every part of the kangaroo.  Almost bought this pouch but, as a man, ick.
• Apparently, kangaroos are quite common, even wandering through the suburbs of Canberra.  We went looking for them at a set of defence buildings, but did not see any.  Only evidence that I was not being lied to?  Roo poop.  Of course, it could be somebody else's poop.

Aussie-land, Day 6

Just catching up on stuff before heading out for interviews with some very interesting folks--or people with interesting jobs or both.

So, some more quick thoughts:

• No kangaroos spotted but only because I have not ventured outside of the city.  Apparently, they are everywhere, more common than deer, in the suburbs and beyond.
• Speaking of roos, the Afghans apparently identify the Aussies by their patch--the bouncing dog as the Afghans identify them.
• North America--standard breakfast buffet has scrambled eggs.  Here, poached. At least at this hotel.  First poached eggs I have had since I was 12?
• Strange contradiction--one of the lead stories in today's paper is that a key cricket player may lose his captaincy because of problematic relations with his fiance but the sports section in the paper is very thin. 
• Finally realized that one of the channels I get in my hotel consists of old rugby/etc.  ESPN classic in the US is something that is not exactly standard.  What does this mean?  I have no clue.  
• Small world.  I interviewed a senator yesterday who was interviewed earlier in the day by another Canadian-based political scientist, a friend of mine who used to work in Montreal.  Perhaps Australia is to Canadian political scientists (did I just refer to myself as Canadian?!) what Florida is to the Quebec snowbird types---a place to escape winter. 
• And, of course, the one time I do escape winter for a few weeks by going south of the equator, winter in Montreal is an incredibly mild one.  

Ad Men Are Fun But

Those who study them are funnier.

Check out this reaction to the Mad Men Barbie dolls:

“ ‘Mad Men’ represents so beautifully the universe that created Barbie,” said Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University, because the series is about the selling of the American consumer society.
The personification of Betty Draper as Barbie is particularly resonant, Mr. Thompson said, because she represents “the wife who lives in her dream house whose soul is eaten away.”
“I have this fantasy of an 8-year-old getting a set” of the dolls, he added, “and saying: ‘Mom, can Chelsea come over? We want to play “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.” I’m going to be the organization man, and she’s going to be the soulless drone.’ ”

Plus Joan has the same figure as Betty, which is really, really wrong.

There is a Line?

I am shocked, shocked to find that we have found a line that conservatives will not cross. 

Check out Dan's views on the NYT coverage of the latest Liz Cheney rant-page (think rampage).

Funny that there are folks who are willing to be seen as somewhat supportive of the IRS kamikaze terrorists but less so of attacks on lawyers.  What does that say?

Fly Me to the Moon

So, apparently singing My Way gets one killed in the Philippines.  Good thing the song of the Balkans mosh pit during my time in the Pentagon was Fly Me to the Moon.

I wonder what happens in Manila if you sing Bon Jovi's It's My Life.

In the past two years alone, a Malaysian man was fatally stabbed for hogging the microphone at a bar and a Thai man killed eight of his neighbors in a rage after they sang John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.

Now, this is completely understandable as I have nearly killed a few people when they sing John Denver.  This is why I am very reluctant to karaoke to anything but Summer Nights. 

Aussie-land, Day 5?

Just a few notes and observations before I try to transcribe some interview notes:

• The coinage here is entirely anti-intuitive--$2 is a smaller coin than a $1, which is smaller than .50 (pence?), which is larger than .20.  The bills are clear and crisp and not nearly as likely to rip as CA $.
• They have good beer here.  What a surprise!
• The health care debate back in the US is going wonderfully off the rails--Palin saying she ran over to Canada for health care and Rush pledging to leave the country, as if Costa Rico does not have public health care.
• Dog's breakfast?  

And no Lost analysis tonight or tomorrow.  I will not be able to see the next couple of episodes until I get back.  Given how great this week is already playing out in terms of interesting research (the Aussies are a complex case!), this is just a small bump.  Enjoy the show.

Reactions to a Day of Interviews in Multiple Aussie Buildings

Had a great day of interviews with different folks in Australia.  So, what have I learned?

• The Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff was in town today (on the right, saluting, next to Aussie Chief of Defence Force), messing a bit with my schedule but doing no real harm. Just funny that a Canadian military guy was crossing my path--one that I had interviewed for this same project a while ago now.  
• The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade [DFAT] building is the nicest government office building I have seen (will have to take a pic tomorrow).  Well-designed, lots of space, just beautiful.  Nothing really comes close (not counting legislatures, like Bundestag, US Capitol, etc).
• No gift shop at the Defense HQ.  I surprised the person who is arranging my interviews and accompanying me when I regaled her about the shopping ops in the Pentagon.  Nothing like it here.
• 
  
• The defense buildings have a direct view of the parliament, so the city is oriented in an equilateral triangle with the defence HQ as one point, the parl as a second one, and the third being the War Memorial.  So, Aussie identity is very much focused, I think, on the military.
• Got a great explanation of cricket over dinner with my guide/arranger.  I gave her an explanation of ultimate.  Which is far simpler.  Now I have to figure out rugby and Aussie rules football.  I don't need an explanation of the rules for men's field hockey, just for its existence.

Overall, an interesting day.  A more complex picture than I had expected.  Lots of new avenues to pursue as well.  Good times.  Tomorrow, I get to meet a couple of politicians, more foreign affairs types, the center on civil-mil relations, and a key academic.  I do have a great job, don't I?  And I didn't even mention the great beer.

Quick Culture Notes Down Under

A few thoughts spurred by early morning interactions:

• Aussie newspapers are freakin' wide. Too wide, cannot be read with only one hand.  
• Aussies, like Canadians, do far better pronouncing my last name than Americans.  What does that mean?
• I learned more about South Asia/Pacific in one reading of a local newspaper than in an average year back home.

Ethnic Conflict Du Jour

“We thought the military would protect us.”

This comes from a piece on violence in Nigeria between Muslims and Christians, although it might actually be between tribes.  

I highlight the one quote as it gets to the heart of one of my current projects--the dual role of governments as protector and as threat.e

My Current Confusion Illustrated by Someone Else

Great timing for Pete Trumbore (HT) to link to this pic:

Academic Humor Pre-empted

I was tempted to do an academy awards for academia, but this guy got there first.

Samples:

• Best Performance by a Job Applicant Swallowing Bitterness at Being Judged by People Who Wouldn't Make the Cut Now
• Best Soliloquy at a Faculty Meeting (20 minute minimum)
• Most Moving Invocation of Lost Golden Age (20 minute minimum)
• Best Performance by a President Explaining a Tuition Increase

Suggestions?

and of course, he is not the only one:  PhdComics.com:

Girls Discovered

Great website with comprehensive data illustrated via maps about adolescent girls around the world.  This is interesting for a variety reasons:

• I live with one.
• I think the status of women is the biggest clue about the trajectory of a country--democratic stability in particular--both as cause and effect.  
• Nice to see how data can be displayed well.
• Just for curiosity's sake.

Check it out.

Aussie-land, Day 3

Work started today with an interview with a former Chief of the Australian Army and now professor, another trip to the War Memorial, and then an interview with a former government official and now professor at multiple universities. So, only a few random observations and pictures:

• Aussies are a cheeky lot: A car passed by, advertising Farmer's Daughter's wine, with the line: Have you had a farmer's daughter?  Oy.
• Are parrots or something like it just a common bird in Canberra?   Ok, not a great pic.  But you make the call.
• Saddam Hussein gave great gifts--gold-plated Kalishnakovs!! 
• It seems that I have ended another drought.  I ending a seven year drought in San Diego during grad school by daring to have a wedding planned to be outdoors.  Now, by just appearing in Canberra and hoping to walk around a lot, a long drought seems to have ended here and in other parts of Australia.  
• One TV channel seems to focus solely on crappy American movies: Paul Blart/Mall Cop, the wedding fight movie with Anne Hathaway, the Eddie Murphy alien inside an alien movie, and so forth.  Almost makes me want to watch German programming on Romanian TV.  Ok, not really, but still.
• Eharmony is here, too.  
• Speaking of global fashion, the very popular fashion in Montreal of young women wearing tights and then barely covering their assets with a shirt has made it across the Pacific.
• Caught a series of video/light shows at the War Museum, including one on the air war over the WWI trenches--by Peter Jackson (yes, that Peter Jackson).  And it was very, very good.  
• I am discovering that Canada and Australia have many commonalities (not a big surprise) including much resentment towards British military leaders who were wasteful of their lives in WWI.  Gallipoli and Vimy seem to be very similar, nation-altering events.  And ultimately led both countries to develop better military relationships with the US.
• Diane Kruger and Charlize Theron both find ways to undermine their beauty.  Yuck on their Oscar choices.
• Australia was used for British nuclear testing in the 1950s?  I had no idea.  Should not be surprised, but I am.  

Correct Priorities?

 

This figure depicts the ratio of bars to grocer stores, with the red places having more bars than groceries.  Midwest, especially upper MW, seems to be much more beer-focused.  See this site for the explanation.

Good Oscar Prep?

Or just excellent self-depreciation?  You make the call.


I guess this means I will have to watch the movie on the flight back, especially given Air Canada's limited set of choices.

Aussie-land, Day 2c: Australian War Museum

I had only a taste of the museum as I did join a tour, but then had to leave afterwards as I had some errands to run.  Tomorrow is a public holiday, Canberra Day, so I had to make sure I did what I had to do (buy a sim card so that the cell I had could work; get a card reader for my photos).

Anyhow, it is a most impressive display, with most of the focus on World War I and II, although there were parts dedicated to conflict before World War I (mostly Boer War) and after WWII (Korea, Vietnam, peacekeeping).  I only saw the World Wars stuff. 

I was really struck by the discussion of Gallipoli, which plays a very similar role to Australia's sense of nationhood as Vimy does for Canadians.  As this display demonstrates, the topography here was just awful for a landing.  One of the most notable features of the entire museum, but especially the Gallipoli stuff, is the critical angles are often taken.  There was a dispute a few years ago about US displays acknowledging the possibility that the atomic bombings might not have been necessary.  No problem here for the Aussies to be clear about mistakes made.

As one approaches the museum, several sites stand out.  There are a series of plaques for units in one or more wars, urging people not to forget the sacrifices made.  I took a heap of pictures and am only including a few:

•  The first is interesting because it is a WWI unit that was everywhere, including the Somme and Gallipoli.  Just astounding.  I caught one great quote about Gallipoli: "You just had to sit there and wait for your bullet.

• The second is striking because it, like many Aussie units in World War II, not only fought in the Med but then again later in places like Borneo.  I am a big fan of Band of Brothers, which shows how much just one company went through from D-Day to Holland to Bastogne.  Well, these Aussies had not just one year of fighting, but four years or more from deserts to jungles. 
• The third is interesting because Australia has its own Vietnam experience about which Americans know nothing.

Besides the plaques, there is also a rail gun captured by the Aussies towards the end of WWI; a tank, a gun from the HMS Australian and other stuff.

Once inside the first thing you see is the eternal flame that can be seen from the Prime Minister's office.  Well, if all the doors were open and he had great binoculars.  This hall in the museum is surrounded by plaques with the names of the folks lost in all of Australia's wars with, as Canadians would note, poppies inserted by friends and family.

The centerpiece is their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is under the dome of the building.  It has stained glass windows with portraits of WWI figures, with labels describing the attributes of Australian solders/sailors/airmen/nurses under them:

• Coolness (referring to cool under fire, not trendy or Fonz-like), Control, Audacity, Endurance, Decision, Resource, Candor, Devotion, Generosity, Independence, Patriotism, Chivalry, Loyalty, and a few that I missed.

The WWII figures are murals, as the pic here shows--sailor, soldier, airman, nurse.  The one of the airman depicts the tragedy that is the bombing of civilian cities--again pretty striking critique of a past armed effort.

The World War I displays were very good at illustrating the challenges of that war--the stupidity that was Gallipoli, marked by only one successful effort--the evacuation that ended it; the mud and artillery of the Western front; and the role of horses in the more mobile middle eastern front.

We ran more quickly through the WWII displays, but a couple of things became clear. 

• As mentioned above, they had units fight in multiple theatres, from the North Africa campaign to Borneo.  First, they got screwed by the British, put in difficult spots like Tobruk. Then, they got scrwed by MacArthur as they were used to clean up some islands after the war was largely decided.
• American teaching of the war tend to overlook a bit the Eastern side of the African campaign, but this is nothing compared to the focus in the Pacific--on the Naval battles and the big efforts by the Marines (Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa), but there is never much coverage of the battles over Port Moresby and eventually Borneo.
• That the Aussies might still be bitter towards the Japanese.  I have not talked to any about this, but given the tenor of the displays, I had the same feeling that I had when I went through a museum in Leningrad (when it was still Leningrad).  The displays had pictures of the building before the Germans came and then after ... and there was a group of German tourists behind mine.  So, I wonder how Japanese tourists feel.  Especially after:
• The focus on the Bataan death march has apparently caused the bookend event of another death march at the end of the war in Borneo to be overlooked.  The Japanese force-marched surviving prisoners of war at the very end of the war, leading to only six survivors of a group of more than one thousand.  

On the way out, a couple of more photos.

1. The statue is of Simpson--a young man who became famous for collecting the wounded at Gallipoli and carrying them down the hills with his donkey.  He lasted less than a month, but seems to be known to all Australians from their reactions to his name during the tour.

1.  This is the plaque for a memorial to the guys who died in one of the last atrocities of the war by the Japanese (and yes, the US and others committed atrocities as well, namely the fire-bombing of Tokyo, but one wrong does not justify the other).

Aussie-land, Day 2b

Had a very full day of tourism so I am going to post two entries--one for the day in Canberra and one for the two hours at the Australian War Memorial.

Random thoughts whilst nursing a sore foot:

• I have a new method for ranking freedom.  There are two datasets that scholars mostly use to compare countries--Polity, which focuses on elite level political competition and is used to measure how democratic the system is; and Freedom House, which focuses more on political and civil rights (as well as economic freedom--see Steinberg and Saideman 2008).  I propose a new way to measure freedom--how restrict is one's right to make a u-turn?  I think Australia would be among the freest countries in the world on this measure, and Montreal, well, at the other end.

• Canberra is very similar to Washington, DC
• The product of a political compromise (between Sydney and Melbourne)
• Entirely designed to be the capital of the country.  Canberra was designed in the early 1910s and has only recently been completely realized with the new Parliament buliding
• Where DC has diagonal streets, Canberra has circles.
• Both were located in largely empty terrain--swamp for DC, sheep grazing land for Canberra.
• Big difference is that they created a lake here, which has a greater presence, I think, than the Potomac, which something that looked over not at.  
• I had regretted not just renting a car in Sydney so that I could spend part of this weekend driving o and around Melbourne.  Now, I don't mind so much as they have had much flooding.  Canberra was beautiful yesterday and the rain held off for most of the day.
• The people here are so friendly that I got help with directions from a female Security person who had just finished making out with some guy--someone I think she knew.
• And I got heaps of help solving my tech problems.

•  The driving on the other side of the road is problematic enough, as the locals have realized and post writing on the streets to help us out (see the pic).  But I walk on the wrong side of the side walk, and have nearly produced a few collisions with bikes as a result. 

• Those Canadians who complain about the high price of books (including myself) have nothing on the Aussies.  Books seem to cost about twice as much as they should (i.e., what they cost in the US).

Aussie-land, Day 2a

I am about to launch myself into Canberra tourism (the Australian War Memorial, the shopping on the north side of town [need sim card for phone, cable or card reader for camera], and perhaps Questcom--their science/touch museum).  But whilst I wait for the bus, let me just note a few bits of cultural differences:

• Whilst.  I have seen it on a number of signs here but never anywhere else, not even in the UK.
• Double-bladed room key: My hotel room key has two blades (I cannot think of a better term) and the keyhole is essentially u-shaped.  I cannot remember having such a key before, not in East Europe or anywhere else.
• Field hockey:  I was not surprised to see televised rugby, cricket, golf or even tennis (doubles only thus far!), but men's field hockey?  The good news is that my understanding of cricket has increased dramatically already.  I think I get 5% of the sport now.
• Sin bin: The name Aussies use for the penalty box in rugby (didn't know there were penalties in Rugby) and field hockey.
• Bruce?  Thus far, I have failed to meet or see any Bruces.  Monty Python must be sorely out of date.

One common cultural experience--wherever I go on these travels, I always seem to be somewhere between two and three decades than most of the people partaking of the breakfast buffet at the hotel--Berlin, Canberra, wherever.

Now to figure out the bus system.  Cheers!

Vast Right Wing Lunacy

I missed the Pentagon shooting story since I was flying at the time.  Another disaffected, unstable, middle aged male failure targets a symbol of the federal government.  Lovely.  The good news is that these guys do not seek to organize anything more significant, and, if they did, would most likely leak badly.  This one may be harder for right wing folks to sympathize with, since the IRS is a traditional target and the military is not.  Indeed, there is usually a line drawn between the military (seen as the good guys) and the FBI, ATF, and the rest.

We cannot directly blame Glen Beck and his ilk, but these are creating an environment where the lunatics think that they have legitimate grievances.  Is there any accountability?  Um, no.

And logical consistency?  Not so much:

Yet even as he railed against the federal government, Mr. Bedell also sought to do business with the military. In a 2004 research proposal that he wrote for submission to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, he proposed a $170,000 nanotechnology project that could be useful in warfare. He described himself in the proposal as having “an intense desire to contribute to the national security of the United States.”