Farewell. The Flying Pig Has Left The Building.

Steve Hynd, August 16, 2012

After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.

We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.

Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.

I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.

Thank you very much.

Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Training the trainers

By Dave Anderson:

Training the trainers is a high value activity for consultants and specialists.  Being able to impart knowledge and the structure to students to effectively redeliver and expand the knowledge sphere is a tough skill set.  It looks like the US policy of training paramilitary forces for counter-drug efforts have been successful at creating a skilled enough cadre of trained trainers who can replicate and expand the knowledge base.  The problem is one of blowback as at least some of the paramilitary forces are now training cartel and gang gunmen:

From Narco Guerra Times:

On Nov 25 Salvadoran federal police intelligence reported that no fewer
than 40 gang members from several countries in Central America  were 
recently trained at a Zetas training camp alongside Laguna  El
Tigre  in Guatemala across the border from Tabasco. A dozen were
members of Mara Salvatrucha  (MS 13) cliques from  several
municipalities in El Salvador�a new wrinkle as most Maras working for
the Zetas have been from southern Mexico and Guatemala....

This shouldn�t be much of a surprise considering the longterm alliance
between rogue Kaibiles and the Zetas, one that dates back to the late
90s when they were being schooled together in advanced special
operations skills at Ft Bragg, Ft Huachuca and Ft Benning. See June
posting-Blowback from Bragg.

The skill sets are not the most advanced but basic infantry and light weapons skills would be a significant upgrade for street gangs and smugglers.  MS-13 has a widespread network of allied cliques throughout Central America and major American cities.  Training the trainers to train new trainers would allow for a significant upgrade in skill that is widely dispersed. 



No comments:

Post a Comment