Sorry – just back from a wonderful weekend in Las Vegas with TG and blogger, SOA-goddess, ExposureManager.com-goddess Kerry Dupont who scored some Cirque de Soleil tickets and was kind enough to share them with us.
First, we had another comment spam attack which nailed our server this weekend. We’re working on it, and this fix may improve things. Meanwhile we have the comment filtering set on “max” which has been trapping a lot of legitimate comments in moderation – apologies for that, and I set them all free. We’re working on the problem.
Vegas was lots of fun; we saw “O” and “Zoomanity”. O is – as always – stupendous and worth a trip on its own. Zoomanity – not so much. I will confess to having occasional licentious thoughts about some of the more …flexible… Cirque women. And a show based around that could be fun. Zoomanity isn’t that show. 25% Cirque magic, 75% traditional Vegas topless review. Bah.
However, food and company made up for it. TG is the best travel companion ever. And we ate at – Emeril’s, Chinois (at the Forum?), and a little place called Mon Ami Gabi.
I’d go back to all three.
If you haven’t seen “Ka” yet @ the MGM, its right up there in quality with “O” and “Mystere.”
We haven’t tried “Zumanity” yet, nor are likely to at those prices. “Its Cirque, but naughty, naughty, too!” isn’t a good enough hook.
Am divided about whether to see Cirque’s Beatles tribute show, since while I like the music, I’m not a diehard fan, either.
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Presumably, it was this Mon Ami Gabi. I’ve dined at the one in Chicago, no doubt it’s much the same. Good steak frites.
To get ideas on direction of the Iraq Study Group (ISG) I have gone to its website and found a listing of four Expert Working Groups and a Military Aadvisory Group; all providing guidance to the ISG members.
After researching some of the group participants, and reading their recent articles relevant to Iraq, I have found solace. The articles provide a refreshing reprieve from the MSM/Blog/Wash hysteria. They are scholarly and honest, and should reveal direction of the ISG.
To date I’ve read, based on facts and solid reasoning, that;
Based on these readings, I confidently predict that the ISG report will propose:
What on earth makes you think that? The Shia militias aren’t soley fighting the insurgents. They’re apparantly just killing Sunnis.
Same seems to go for the Sunni Militias.
There is no reason to believe that A. We can eliminate the insurgency, or B. That it will have any effect on the militias both Shia and Sunni.
Davebo has a point. The militias arent Robin Hood and his Merry Men awaiting the arrival of the true king. They are carving their own power base out of Iraq and looking for more. Defeating them is besides the point- we need to marginalize them. The only way to do that is for someone to make it more costly to use force than not- ie, someone in Iraq needs to have a monopoly on force. The Iraqi government is too corrupt, to inept, and too compromised to do so. So either we do it… which to date we have not devoted the resources to, or no-one does it and the status quo remains.
All this talkie talk in Washington is pointless. There are many things that need to be done, and maybe none of them will salvage ‘victory’ at this point- but one thing that _must_ be done is to establish some measure of security in Baghdad. If not we are just letting Americans die every die for a war we are no longer trying to win.
Wow. My compendium above is a summary of what I read in articles by very smart people who will be guiding the Iraq Study Group; they are not my ideas. The summary on the militias/insurgents comes from the article “SECURING IRAQ: THE WAY AHEAD”:http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC06.php?CID=956 by Michael Eisenstadt
The following excerpt is from the section *Reining in the Militias*
Michael Eisenstadt is a senior fellow and director of the Military and Security Studies Program The Washington Institute of Near East Policy Studies.
OK. Eisenstadt says as long as the terrorists remain, militias won’t go away. That’s true. Alas, this doesn’t mean that if you remove that problem, the militias WILL go away. Which Eisenstadt himself acknowledges in that last sentence. Their leaders often have other motivations.
The open question is whether al-Sadr, for example, has the slightest interest in a “negotiated settlement” that leaves him without a militia he can use for power grabs and intimidation. Predicating success on that solution is a hand-waving way to say “failure” and sound like something else. Sadr’s entire history suggests otherwise, and the failure/ weak refusal to kill him stands as potentially the largest single cause of failure in Iraq today. “Not the first time I’ve said that,”:http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/008239.php#c16 – failure to act has consequences.
The fact that Iraq’s Prime Minister currently dances to al-Sadr’s tune is not reassuring. I’m with Davebo on this narrow issue… and it’s a narrow issue that matters.
Having said that, thanks for providing the pointer and links, worthy resources are always appreciated here. Now, can we take this debate to AL’s Iraq article and leave his Vegas thread be?
Vegas…
We were recently there to meet my parents, who were at a convention. Since I can’t leave the USA, it was a good mid-way point. Never been to Vegas before – not really my kind of town in so many ways – but being there as part of a business convention gave me a chance to see a slice of it.
I would recommend:
* Cirque de Soleil, “Love” (the one set to Beatles music). Hard to get tickets for it, but worth the effort. Excellent, even by comparison to the level of live shows/ theater you can see in Toronto for that money, and enjoyment is not dependent on being a mega-Beatles fan. Wife’s reaction, and mine too, was to notice what a downer it was for us to emerge from the experience… and find ourselves in Vegas. Your mileage may vary on that one.
* Sensi restaurant at the Belaggio. Decor remarkable, the best meal we had in Vegas, with the best service. About $200 for 2 with wine, not cheap but worth what you pay. One of my best restaurant experiences, and not just in Vegas.
I would highly UN-recommend
* Daniel Boulud Brasserie in the Wynn. Service sucked, food made me ill.
Which reminds me… back to work and server #$@%^&!
Greetings!
I was in Vegas the same weekend. I also caught Cirque du Soleil O. It was on Thursday night, we were possibly at the same performance. I was there mostly to catch the “Aviation Nation” airshow. It was spectacular! I got to see a short demonstration flight by the F-22. It was, impressive to say the least.
Take Care,
Major Bill