As my readers back in October 2007 will recall, a new work assignment took me out of the blogging loop, and Capital Cloak lay fallow until I returned to the "grid," as it were. During the 3 years "off the grid" I continued to follow current events beyond those I was living daily, and tried to read my favorite blogs and news sources whenever opportunity arose. Picking up a blog about national security, counter-terrorism, threat assessment, and politics, after a 3-year hiatus is not easy. Many of my original readers gave up waiting for my return, as I could provide no updates or indication I would ever write for Capital Cloak again. Feed Burner probably considered putting Capital Cloak's pilot light out, and Blog Burst, which placed my 2006-2007 posts on Reuters thinks I fell off the face of the earth. I went far, but not quite THAT far!
During the 3 years I missed, Obama won an election and the political landscape has changed. The House has changed hands twice. The war in Iraq is drawing down and Afghanistan continues as an incredible challenge. Russia remains an enigmatic "ally"and China is truly now a force to be reckoned with, or at least checked in its military ambitions. Technology and Smart Phones now allow many more convenient ways for posting to Capital Cloak, and I have quickly integrated my @CapitalCloak Twitter presence into this blog, as you will note in the right-side column. You can say a lot in 140 words when a full blog post is not in the cards. I hope you find @CapitalCloak tweets useful in what they say and in the news items they link to at my favorite sites, liberal and conservative alike.
Now, a word about WikiLeaks. You will not find them here. They divulge info from sources I am, in many cases, familiar with, and I may analyze world events in the context of what I am exposed to in my assignments. However, I will not share classified information here, and I do not support what WikiLeaks is doing either in method or morality. From a practical perspective, I believe all nations rightly have their secrets in the course of national security and diplomacy, and leaking classified documents makes everyone in the world less safe. Some classified material is embarrassing to governments and individual leaders. Wars have begun over wounded pride and personal embarrassment. It is also true that for many Government employees and Military members, reading classified WikiLeaks documents is an actionable offense, and I will not put my readers in a position where they have to scan this blog for any unauthorized classified material. I will not link to any WikiLeaks related articles. The @CapitalCloak twitter stream will not retweet or link to any WikiLeaks-related items. I am not doing battle with WikiLeaks and I will not discuss the group or its activities here. In short, that is one beehive I won't be poking to see how loud the buzz can get.
I am glad to be back in a position where I can resume writing and sharing with you my views on current events. Although the world is crazier than it was 3 years ago, it is never beyond hope of improvement and, ultimately, redemption. If you are a former reader who still subscribes to this feed, thanks for waiting! If you are new to Capital Cloak, welcome! Peruse the archived posts to get a sense of writing style, and offer your suggestions for topics you would like the Cloak to address.
Showing posts with label Capital Cloak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Capital Cloak. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Saturday, October 20, 2007
All Good Things...
Readers have wondered why they have not received their almost daily serving of Capital Cloak news nourishment this week. O-Be-Wise wishes the answer were a simple explanation of a temporary impediment to writing, but alas, the impediments are neither simple nor temporary.
As we reported recently, O-Be-Wise moved on to another work assignment, and that change, combined with new responsibilities in other areas of life have made frequent posting to Capital Cloak an impossibility.
O-Be-Wise may contribute to Capital Cloak periodically in the future, but not on any set schedule or with predetermined frequency. Postings appear likely to decline from a daily to perhaps a monthly basis.
To loyal readers who are email or feed subscribers to Capital Cloak, you will of course automatically be alerted to any new postings. To those of you who are faithful IE/Netscape bookmark visitors to the Capital Cloak home page, you may consider subscribing to our feed or subscribing by email so you will automatically receive any new posts that O-Be-Wise may generate in the future rather than manually checking the site each day.
To each of you, we extend our thanks for your feedback, participation, and loyal support. If Capital Cloak has influenced you in any way or presented issues in a light you had not previously considered, then it has served an important purpose. If you would like to write and share something you particularly enjoyed on Capital Cloak (a post, a site feature, etc), please click on the "view my profile" link on the home page and email O-Be-Wise your comments. Johnny Behind the Deuces, as Dorothy told the scarecrow, "I think I'll miss you most of all." Your singular wit never failed to bring a smile.
All good things must come to an end, and for Capital Cloak, frequent posting is the good thing that has come to an end.
As we reported recently, O-Be-Wise moved on to another work assignment, and that change, combined with new responsibilities in other areas of life have made frequent posting to Capital Cloak an impossibility.
O-Be-Wise may contribute to Capital Cloak periodically in the future, but not on any set schedule or with predetermined frequency. Postings appear likely to decline from a daily to perhaps a monthly basis.
To loyal readers who are email or feed subscribers to Capital Cloak, you will of course automatically be alerted to any new postings. To those of you who are faithful IE/Netscape bookmark visitors to the Capital Cloak home page, you may consider subscribing to our feed or subscribing by email so you will automatically receive any new posts that O-Be-Wise may generate in the future rather than manually checking the site each day.
To each of you, we extend our thanks for your feedback, participation, and loyal support. If Capital Cloak has influenced you in any way or presented issues in a light you had not previously considered, then it has served an important purpose. If you would like to write and share something you particularly enjoyed on Capital Cloak (a post, a site feature, etc), please click on the "view my profile" link on the home page and email O-Be-Wise your comments. Johnny Behind the Deuces, as Dorothy told the scarecrow, "I think I'll miss you most of all." Your singular wit never failed to bring a smile.
All good things must come to an end, and for Capital Cloak, frequent posting is the good thing that has come to an end.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Rumors of Our Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated
Regular readers are wondering why posts to Capital Cloak have been somewhat sporadic and fewer in number over the past two weeks. We wish to clear up any confusion or concerns this temporary phenomenon may have caused among our loyal reading audience.
First, we have not been abducted by aliens. That one is always raised as a possibility by wise guys out there and despite the fact that some people believe in alien abductions, we visited Roswell, New Mexico a few years ago and could not get ourselves abducted even in that self-declared capital of all things alien even when we offered ourselves freely if they would merely promise to give back the real Ron Paul.
Second, we are not merging with any large and well-respected media conglomerate . . . yet. However, if you have connections with one, we might be persuaded to give the possibility further consideration.
Third, we have not been approached by any 2008 presidential candidates about blogging on their behalf. To do so at this point, especially on behalf of any of the Democratic candidates or lower tier Republicans would be too eerily similar to the alien abductions disavowed in a previous paragraph.
Fourth, we were not busted in a sting operation by O.J. Simpson desperately searching for his precious stolen sports memorabilia.
Fifth, we have definitely not been playing footsie in restroom stalls at the Minneapolis Airport, or agonizing over whether we should return campaign contributions from a fugitive felon, or slandering a four-star decorated war hero general who reported his evaluation of the surge strategy to Congress. We left those behaviors in more qualified but less respectable hands. Thank you Larry, Hillary, and MoveOn.org for being so good at what you do.
That leaves us with only one possible explanation for the temporary decline in post frequency at Capital Cloak: O-Be-Wise very recently made a career change, and is slowly acclimating to new duties and surroundings with another government agency dedicated to keeping America safe (this would be an opportune spot to insert a disclaimer that the views expressed at Capital Cloak are those of the author and should not be construed as representing any government agency. If you enjoy reading disclaimers, and admit it, some of you out there do, visit "The Author" section of Capital Cloak or for a more sarcastic one that mocks government-mandated disclaimers, see the one crafted by FormerSpook86 at In From the Cold).
The job switch affected work and life schedules and consequently blog production schedules, but now that things are settling into a challenging but no longer grueling routine, the pages of Capital Cloak will once again be filled with more frequent posts containing the insights and analysis of current events readers are accustomed to. Look for a return to normal starting next week, and thank you for your concern.
First, we have not been abducted by aliens. That one is always raised as a possibility by wise guys out there and despite the fact that some people believe in alien abductions, we visited Roswell, New Mexico a few years ago and could not get ourselves abducted even in that self-declared capital of all things alien even when we offered ourselves freely if they would merely promise to give back the real Ron Paul.
Second, we are not merging with any large and well-respected media conglomerate . . . yet. However, if you have connections with one, we might be persuaded to give the possibility further consideration.
Third, we have not been approached by any 2008 presidential candidates about blogging on their behalf. To do so at this point, especially on behalf of any of the Democratic candidates or lower tier Republicans would be too eerily similar to the alien abductions disavowed in a previous paragraph.
Fourth, we were not busted in a sting operation by O.J. Simpson desperately searching for his precious stolen sports memorabilia.
Fifth, we have definitely not been playing footsie in restroom stalls at the Minneapolis Airport, or agonizing over whether we should return campaign contributions from a fugitive felon, or slandering a four-star decorated war hero general who reported his evaluation of the surge strategy to Congress. We left those behaviors in more qualified but less respectable hands. Thank you Larry, Hillary, and MoveOn.org for being so good at what you do.
That leaves us with only one possible explanation for the temporary decline in post frequency at Capital Cloak: O-Be-Wise very recently made a career change, and is slowly acclimating to new duties and surroundings with another government agency dedicated to keeping America safe (this would be an opportune spot to insert a disclaimer that the views expressed at Capital Cloak are those of the author and should not be construed as representing any government agency. If you enjoy reading disclaimers, and admit it, some of you out there do, visit "The Author" section of Capital Cloak or for a more sarcastic one that mocks government-mandated disclaimers, see the one crafted by FormerSpook86 at In From the Cold).
The job switch affected work and life schedules and consequently blog production schedules, but now that things are settling into a challenging but no longer grueling routine, the pages of Capital Cloak will once again be filled with more frequent posts containing the insights and analysis of current events readers are accustomed to. Look for a return to normal starting next week, and thank you for your concern.
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