Tuesday Miscellany!

[maxomai]

• The escalationsurge in Afghanistan hasn't delivered the promised results, so they're scaling back expectations for the post-surge peace. Whatever. The sooner we're out of there, the better.


• Syria's civil war currently consists of Assad and his backers (which include Russia, China, and Hezbollah) on the one hand, and a disunited cacophony of rebel groups on the other. Weighty humanitarian issues aside (2), there are serious concerns whether the United States getting involved will end up backfiring badly. Which is why our pledging humanitarian aid to the rebellion is a questionable move.


• In theory, 3D printing allows one to print one's own gun. In practice, if you try this, the printer manufacturer will revoke your lease and take the printer back. It probably didn't help that the leaser didn't have a federal license to manufacture firearms - BATF cracks down on gun manufacturing the way Wal-Mart cracks down on unions. Expect future lease agreements to include a "no firearms" clause.


• If Romney wins the election and enacts his health plan, 72 million will be left uninsured. Good thing he's currently losing.


• I use Eclipse for Java development all the time, because that's what my place of work uses. But I like NetBeans better. I don't know why; I just do. Unfortunately the UML designer seems to have been dropped. Hopefully its replacement is superior.