New Uses for Google Earth: tax collection

Normally, people tend to think of Google Earth as subversive. Exposing state secrets and allowing the commoners to gaze at the party complexes and palaces of aristocratic elites. Apparently, Big Google can also be put to work by the likes of Big Government. The Los Angeles Times reports that the  bankrupt Greek government is using Google Earth to find people who have installed swimming pools and have been refusing to pay taxes for them. Some have begun camouflaging their pools which might be in vein. The Greek government claims to be using archived Google Earth images to pursue tax evaders.

The Taliban speaks Finnish too?

From what I have been reading about Afpak, the current line of thinking seems to be that the U.S plans to turn operations against Kandahar into a full offensive. Then the U.S will begin "reconciliation" talks with the hard-core Taliban so as to effect a political solution strong enough for an American pull out.

Initially the Kandahar operation was supposed to be over by August but now the thinking is major operations will still be going on in November. Kandahar is Afghanistan's spiritual center and currently run mafia-style by Ahmed Wali Karzai, the half-Brother of the Afghani President. Supposedly he is also a CIA Agent.

Hilary Clinton has made clear that efforts will be made to avoid another Fallujah, a reference to the bloody Iraqi street battle which was a major propaganda blow to U.S efforts. What are the alternatives? Here is a really good article on some of the things we have been doing to win the war over there.

Apparently the Taliban are also getting creative too. According to the below link the Taliban published a recent communique from Mullah Omar in   " Pashto, Farsi, Arabic, Urdu, Finnish, German, Spanish, Russian, French, Somali and Malay/Indonesian"..." Granted the Finns have 100 troops in Afghanistan but, they are not even in the top ten contributors. Even Estonia has more troops in Afghanistan than Findland.  Who in the Taliban has the the time to learn a difficult language like Finnish? Also when the New York Times say "Farsi" I assume the authors really mean "Dari". The name "Dari" has been used for Eastern Persian since 1964 in Afghanistan for nationalist reasons.


Source:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/muhammad_omar/index.html?inline=nyt-per

What do Nazis, CIA, President Eisenhower, and the Muslim Brotherhood all have in common?

The answer:  A Mosque in Munich.

 Really great new book(and a good title to boot) which has all the great makings of a spy novel: Nazis, CIA,
secret missions, President Eisenhower, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

 If you dont have time to check it spend half an hour on the New America Foundation's presentation of the book. Apparently Sayeed Ramadan the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood met with President Eisenhower! Great stuff in this book.

http://www.newamerica.net/events/2010/a_mosque_in_munich

(Full disclosure I'm going to start working at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty later this summer)

Bolivia's Evo Morales eating Chicken in the West makes you gay

This one though was too good to pass up:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2010/apr/22/chicken-causes-homosexuality-evo-morales

Evo Morales, the socialist president of Bolivia claims that eating chickens in the West makes you gay and bald.
Not sure in what order.

Junichiro Koizumi and the Ugliest shirt in the world

Former Japanes Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, I miss you,

You did the whole rockstar-politican thing better 

than even  Kofi Anan or Bono.

I miss your  cool blog which covered everything from 

 classical Finnish composers, to mushrooms to

the slowest horse in the history of Japanese horse racing.

I also amire your politics too. The postal savings system had to go.

Kudos. 

That curly hair of yours represented an era. It spiced up those G-8 type summits

contrasting starkly with balding politicians like Putin, Chirac, and Bersco...

Unfortunately despite leading your country longer than any other LDP leader since the 1970s, the party didn't fair so well after you went into retirement. 

Which has given Japan the rule of  Hatoyama's government which is now struggling and is in desperate need of the swagger your brought to the position.

and some serious fashion assistance as well :

I hope the proceeds from this purchase went to earthquake relief in Haiti or Chile because this shirt is a disaster. Easily the ugliest shirt I have ever seen let alone worn by a Prime Minister of any country.

Hatoyama, your wife claims to have been abducted by aliens and but maybe all they really took was your fashion sense? 

A interesting article on people with special needs in Qatar

A story on a subject that gets little attention in the Middle East, let alone elsewhere.  In Qatar due to inbreeding this is an important issue in society.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/01/world/middleeast/01blind.html