1.20.2006

The Results Are In >>> And they're arguing about it, too! Sounds like a democracy to me. The important thing about the results--and the reason that the UIA is protesting--is that they fell short of the number of seats necessary to form a unilateral government. As such, the UIA will have to form a coalition government with another party, which should make for the same bargaining and deal-making we see in other countries, most recently in Germany.

China Training Venezuelan SOF >>> This underscores the low-level cold war going on between the United States and China. While obviously less intense than the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union (so far), it is nonetheless quite heated in many areas, especially concerning intelligence/espionage and economic issues. China has also stolen a great deal of secrets from US research firms--most notably in Los Alamos--and it's widely known that Chinese hackers--with government sanction--regularly attempt to penetrate US government computer networks. A great deal of contemporary Chinese military hardware is based off of stolen US technology, and this story helps explain why: The Chinese are no fools, and they're soaking up any information they can get their hands on, whether it's missile guidance algorithms or Special Forces tactics. Smart move for them; warning sign for us.

Iranian Air Force >>> Unfortunately for the Iranians, ingenuity can only get you so far. Even a full squadron of F-14 Tomcats--an antiquated but still formidable fighter--cannot compete against a single F-22, technologically speaking. Throw in superior American pilot training, avionics, missile technology, and the enormous bonus of third-person target acquisition (i.e. having an AWACS of JSTARS relaying you the location of the enemy), and even our own F-14s could down theirs.