Magical Teleporters: Endgame
We're in Mosul, finishing the work on the ISP that was once the bane of hankinbaghdad's very existence. Travis is doing the server work and training the engineers on wireless, and I'm handling the enormous dedicated-capacity satellite system.
A very special kick in the jimmy to Hank for failing to wire the other end of the BUC (transmit unit on the dish) power supply. Finding that wiring diagram sucked ass.
Everything else is going smoothly. On day one, we threw the haji's out of their own office so we could work. We are maintaining a "no spectators" policy, and it's making things much more pleasant. We've got the new, correct hardware that Hank didn't have, which means this project is no longer a total failure. For certain it is a financial disaster for the company that's hired us, but that's because they are both incompetent and ignorant. It has almost nothing to do with the enormous bill we are presenting them.
Rumor has it that there is some unpleasantness in Baghdad right now. Mukhtada Al-Sadr's men are clashing with American forces near the Green Zone. They've been demonstrating or otherwise making asses of themselves in front of the soldiers for several days. It's a terrible irony that under Saddam, these people would have been slaughtered like cattle, but under the new regime they have the freedom to start this shit.
I am not advocating such a slaughter. After all, it is their country and they have a right to effect change. But Al-Sadr's supporters are largely ignorant southern farmers and the strictly religious, who are always the most easily-manipulated group in any society. Everyone fears rule by the mob, including the powerful people forming the new government. Which means there is no practical chance for his group to take a role in the new government.
But he's going to get plenty of people killed.
A very special kick in the jimmy to Hank for failing to wire the other end of the BUC (transmit unit on the dish) power supply. Finding that wiring diagram sucked ass.
Everything else is going smoothly. On day one, we threw the haji's out of their own office so we could work. We are maintaining a "no spectators" policy, and it's making things much more pleasant. We've got the new, correct hardware that Hank didn't have, which means this project is no longer a total failure. For certain it is a financial disaster for the company that's hired us, but that's because they are both incompetent and ignorant. It has almost nothing to do with the enormous bill we are presenting them.
Rumor has it that there is some unpleasantness in Baghdad right now. Mukhtada Al-Sadr's men are clashing with American forces near the Green Zone. They've been demonstrating or otherwise making asses of themselves in front of the soldiers for several days. It's a terrible irony that under Saddam, these people would have been slaughtered like cattle, but under the new regime they have the freedom to start this shit.
I am not advocating such a slaughter. After all, it is their country and they have a right to effect change. But Al-Sadr's supporters are largely ignorant southern farmers and the strictly religious, who are always the most easily-manipulated group in any society. Everyone fears rule by the mob, including the powerful people forming the new government. Which means there is no practical chance for his group to take a role in the new government.
But he's going to get plenty of people killed.