It’s great to cheer for protestors who are fighting for democracy in Iran (and they appear to be fighting for their lives as well), but the sad truth is that each of the four candidates in Iran’s race are heavily involved in corrupt, often murderous government activities. Wikipedia has this to say about Mousavi: Mousavi’s [...]

Catastrophes, Culture, Middle East, Politics, World | No Comments »

If I may, let’s have a caption contest for this picture: (What’s actually happening: A balloon seller in Kabul struggles in a strong wind.)

Free Speech, Middle East | 5 Comments »

IHT: 300,000 protest Islamic hue of Turkish system ANKARA, Turkey: Tens of thousands of people filled the central streets of Turkey’s capital on Saturday to protest what they see as an increasingly Islamic tint to their government… News reports said demonstrators numbered as many as 300,000, an unexpectedly high turnout for a gathering that was [...]

Islam, Middle East | 3 Comments »

Here’s a brief rundown on some major current threats to world stability. Pakistan: Nuclear instability The headlines at the moment are all about Iran. But Pakistan is another potential flashpoint, only with dozens of nukes, questionable military loyalty, multiple insurgencies, and tense borders. Musharraf’s leadership has been increasingly called into question, as he fired a [...]

4GW, Black globalization, Catastrophes, Energy, Failed states, Middle East, South Asia, Terrorism, UN | 4 Comments »

I’ve just pre-ordered a copy of John Robb’s Brave New War. I’ve been reading his blog, Global Guerrillas, since 2004 – it introduced me to a huge range of concepts from 4GW to systems disruption, black swans, cascading failure and netwar. Here’s the blurb: In Brave New War, controversial terrorism expert John Robb argues that [...]

4GW, Black globalization, Energy, Infrastructure, Middle East, Non-state actors, Terrorism | 1 Comment »

Did you not see us victorious upon the Yarmuk, The way we prevailed in the campaigns of Iraq? The virgin cities we conquered, as well as The Yellow Meadow, on our galloping steeds. We conquered before that Busra, which was Impenetrable even to the flying crows. We killed those who stood against us With flashing [...]

4GW, Empire, Islam, Middle East, Terrorism | No Comments »

They say he who forgets history is doomed to repeat it. And Israel’s loss against Hezbollah is a replay of skirmishes on the Lebanon border dating as far back as 1969. Before 1968, the border with Israel was the most peaceful of Israel’s borders. In 1968, the PLO and various other non-state armed groups moved [...]

4GW, Failed states, Middle East, Non-state actors, Terrorism | No Comments »