Joshua Tree Report: May 1st, 2017

This is the Joshua Tree Report for April 30th, 2017... Except that it's being posted on May 1st, 2017.

General Data

The temperature in Cody is 48° Fahrenheit and the weather is partly cloudy. The temperature in Kirkwall is 7° centigrade and the weather is partly cloudy. The temperature in Muscat is 37° centigrade and the weather is sunny. A barrel of crude oil is selling at $48.84, and $1.29 currently exchanges for £1. This week's geospatial image is the Tillamook County Creamery Association Visitors Center in Tillamook, Oregon.

In the News

Here are a few of top stories from the last couple of weeks.

Analysis: Qatar’s ill-timed hostage deal increases pressure on Washington (Long War Journal)

America's Dangerous Love for Special Ops (Small Wars Journal)

Book Review - Oppose Any Foe: The Rise of America’s Special Operations Forces (Small Wars Journal)

“America's Dangerous Love for Special Ops” - The Real Story (Small Wars Journal)

CNA Report: Special Operations Forces Want to Do More Than Just Counterterrorism (Small Wars Journal)

America's Emerging 'Little Sparta' in the Middle East (War is Boring)

How Could Taliban Breach Heavily-guarded Afghan Army Base? (VOA News)

Leaked Documents Reveal the NSA Spying on Scientists to Find 'Nefarious' Genetic Research (Gizmodo)

>10,000 Windows computers may be infected by advanced NSA backdoor (Ars Technica)

NSA backdoor detected on >55,000 Windows boxes can now be remotely removed (Ars Technica)

Researchers claim China trying to hack South Korea missile defense efforts (Ars Technica)

Five Eyes at 70: Where to from Here? (RAND Corporation)

Trumplomacy: What does US embrace of the Saudis mean? (BBC)

UAE hands Iranian 10-year sentence over sanctions breach (AFP)

Qods Force commander to advance Tehran’s influence as ambassador to Iraq (Long War Journal)

Obama’s hidden Iran deal giveaway (Politico)

When Russian Bombers Probed, U.S. Air Defenses Took No Chances (War is Boring)

US officials in Afghanistan suggest Russia arms Taliban (al Jazeera)

Russian warship sinks in the Black Sea after collision (al Jazeera)

Russia's Banged-Up Aircraft Carrier Prepares for Her Upgrade (War is Boring)

Report: Cancer Journal Retracts a Record Hundred and Seven Studies (Gizmodo)

Cassini Saturnian exploration (al Jazeera)

Weather-damaged ferry returns to Aberdeen (BBC)

As U.S. Defense Secretary, James Mattis Plots His Own Course (War is Boring)

Cow-protection vigilantes held in Jammu and Kashmir (al Jazeera)

Why does this rhino have 24-hour security? (BBC)

Couple die holding hands after 69 years of marriage (BBC)

Newlyweds at war over Trump's 100 days (BBC)

Top Podcasts

These were my favorite podcasts since the last Joshua Tree Report.

Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge (King's College London War Studies Podcast)

A Saudi Arabian Defense Doctrine for a New Era (CSIS)

Area 45: US and Russian relations (The Hoover Institution)

The Middle East Welcomes Trump, Warily (FP Editor's Roundtable)

D1E1 - Security & Risk Management (CyberSecStudy)

Episode 192 - Security Waste (The Southern Fried Security Podcast)

What's behind the Russian hacking allegations? – tech podcast (The Guardian)

2017 East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray Hustings - Tuesday 25th April 2017 (BBC Radio Orkney)

2017 Kirkwall East Hustings 2 - 18th April 2017 (BBC Radio Orkney)

Victor Davis Hanson: World War I, A Century Later (The Hoover Institution)

Victor Davis Hanson: WWI and the Lessons for Today (The Heritage Foundation)

Course Report

ENG 199: Nothing for this week.
PAC 130: Suspended, once again!
BA 480/CS 406: I took notes from one episode of the CyberSecStudy CISSP podcast, and I read FireEye's dossier on Operation Saffron Rose.
PI5502: Nothing for this week.
HST 406 (OGHAP): I listened to a couple of podcasts, notably the above-linked ones by Dr. Victor Davis Hanson.

Quote of the Week

"A tiny flicker of light that feeds on hope is enough to shatter the shield of darkness. A single individual is enough for hope to exist, and that individual can be you. And then there will be another 'you', and another 'you', and it turns into an 'us'. And so, does hope begin when we have an 'us'? No. Hope began with one 'you'. When there is an 'us', there begins a revolution."
- Pope Francis, April 2016 TED Talk