Sunday 15 January 2017

Joshua Tree Report: January 15th, 2017

This is the Joshua Tree Report for January 15th, 2017.

General Data

The temperature in Cody is 27° Fahrenheit and the weather is fair. The temperature in Kirkwall is 5° centigrade and the weather is rainy. The temperature in Muscat is 24° centigrade and the weather is clear. A barrel of crude oil is selling at $52.37, and $0.83 currently exchanges for £1. This week's geospatial image is a geometric formation in the Saudi sector of the Empty Quarter that I presume has something to do with mineral exploration.

In the News

Here are a few of this week's top stories.

  • Bonfire of the Intelligence Vanities (Wall Street Journal)
  • Pakistan test-fires first nuclear-capable submarine cruise missile (AFP)
  • Iran, Mattis, and the Real Threat to U.S. Strategic Interests in the Middle East (CSIS)
  • US navy fired 'warning shots' at Iranian patrol boats (al Jazeera)
  • Obama ends special immigration policy for Cubans (al Jazeera)
  • KKK members leave Klan after befriending black musician (al Jazeera)
  • Norway Is Killing FM Radio Tomorrow (Gizmodo)
  • Gangman style: Fighting for survival on the streets of North Korea (BBC)
  • Squirrels have stolen over 40 candy bars from Toronto store (BBC)
  • Antarctic chic (BBC)

    Top Podcasts

    These were my favorite podcasts from this week.

  • IQ2: Blame the Elites for the Trump Phenomenon: This was a pretty interesting Intelligence Squared U.S. debate.
  • Radiolab: Bringing Gamma Back: Radiolab did a fascinating episode on potential treatments for Alzheimer's.
  • He’s Just Not That Into You: Trump, Intel, and the American Presidency: This dialogue between a number of intelligence and national security pundits will be useful for anyone who's concerned with the apparently contentious relationship that's shaping up between President-Elect Trump and the American intelligence community.
  • Episode 230 - SOFREP Writer Coriolanus: Coriolanus discusses some of the current shortfalls of the American intelligence community, and efforts that Lieutenant General Flynn made toward addressing some of them while heading the DIA.
  • Victor Davis Hanson: What Kind of Threat is Russia?: The Hoover Institution's Victor Davis Hanson offers his perspective on the American relationship with Russia, particularly respective of recent events.

    Course Report

    ENG 199: I read three chapters from Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger.
    PAC 130: I did some deliberate stretching exercises on Monday, walked to work on Thursday.
    BA 480: I finished a long, tedious chapter in The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems by Mary Lynn Garcia.
    HST 406 (O): I read five chapters from The Life of a Regiment, Vol. IV by Cyril Falls, and researched the Romanian Campaign for my master Great War timeline.
    REL 199: I read Zechariah 3 through Zechariah 7, which still counts for nothing.

    Quote of the Week
    "[During the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917] Private G.I. McIntosh, armed with a revolver and a single grenade, waded across the stream under fire, worked his way from shell-hole to shell-hole, killed two gunners and wounded a third. He then picked up two light machine guns and carried them back into the British lines. For this action of conspicuous gallantry Private McIntosh was awarded the Victoria Cross."
    Cyril Falls, The Life of a Regiment, Vol. IV, pp. 157
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