Like Sands Through the Hourglass The longer this day wore on with no word that Robert Harward had accepted Donald Trump's once-in-a-lifetime offer to witness a four year-long tire fire firsthand, the more it began to seem like Harward might pass. And, sure enough, a couple of hours ago word broke that Harward had, in … Continue reading Conflict update: February 16 2017

Meet the New Boss('s Adviser) In a rare flash of lucidity, Donald Trump has reportedly offered his now-vacant National Security Advisor position to Vice Admiral Robert Harward, instead of, say, Steve Bannon, or John Bolton, or Chucky, the doll from those horror movies. It's hard to evaluate Harward for two reasons: one, most military brass … Continue reading Conflict update: February 15 2017

Why are you reading this today? Valentine's Day is supposed to be a happy day--or a depressing day, but for reasons that have nothing to do with the shitty state of the world. Well, you're here and my wife and I couldn't find a sitter this evening, so I guess we might as well get … Continue reading Conflict update: February 14 2017

Michael Flynn I had more to say about this story, but it all just got rendered obsolete: https://twitter.com/cnnadam/status/831351011046522880 Earlier this evening Flynn pulled out of a scheduled speech at the National Defense Industrial Association's annual meeting at the last minute, and that was after Politico reported this morning that Donald Trump's son in-law, the constantly-failing-upward … Continue reading Conflict update: February 13 2017

We're in the middle of a windstorm and I keep losing power, so I'm going to have to call it a night with a lot of stuff still left to cover. I'll be back tomorrow though. The storm blew through and I decided to stay up late to cram everything in here. You're welcome, or … Continue reading Conflict update: February 12 2017

Just by way of an update, there's a pretty good chance this place will be quiet tomorrow. I'm traveling again and, well, I might just feel like crashing afterwards. That's also why this is posting a few hours earlier than I usually post these updates. #ThanksTrump As the Trump administration decides how to proceed now … Continue reading Conflict update: February 9 2017

#ThanksTrump Of the many unconscionable things Donald Trump has done in the not-even-three-weeks since he became president, this would be among the most unconscionable: The leaked draft of a presidential memorandum Donald Trump is expected to sign within days suspends a 2010 rule that discouraged American companies from funding conflict and human rights abuses in the … Continue reading Conflict update: February 8 2017

OK, so...this could get long. Sorry. That's what happens when I'm away for a few days. #ThanksTrump I almost feel like I should start each of these with a quick roundup of the miscellaneous ways Donald Trump is fucking up around the world. For example: When President Trump makes a formal state visit to the … Continue reading Conflict update: February 7 2017

Hey, so I'm not all the way back into blogging, but I'm back enough to post this very partial roundup of world news, with more to come tomorrow. There's no particular rhyme or reason to what I've summarized here, it's just whatever I had done when the clock hit 11:56 or whatever time it is … Continue reading Conflict update: February 6, 2017

This is likely the last one of these for at least a couple of days, for a couple of different reasons that I'll explain in a post tomorrow. Trumptopia I feel like the frenzy of alternately draconian and idiotic foreign policymaking that has marked the first three (almost) weeks of Donald Trump's presidency is overwhelming. … Continue reading Conflict Update: February 3 2017