Tick, tock, tick, tock

Quite a bit of confusion on when Saddam's last day will actually be.

"Iraq's Saddam-era penal code bars executions on religious holidays. Eid al-Adha holiday, which follows the annual haj pilgrimage to Mecca, runs until January 7 in Iraq."

I'm not sure, but I belive Eid al-Adha starts directly after the 1st of January. If that is the case, they may rush him to the noose before then.

(EDIT) They wasted no time. Eid al-Adha started today for the Sunni and the Kurds. In Iraq, they cannot execute on a religious holiday. Now I understand why Eid al-Adha starts tomorrow for the Shia. (or so the way it looks...)

Still too Early to Celebrate

Ethiopa is now in possession of Mogadishu after 10 days of fighting. The Somali PM, Gedi, is declaring 3 months of martial law and states the country is "far from stable". Ken Menkhaus, a Horn of Africa specialist teaching in NC states this could be the beginning of...

"an asymetrical war involving a combination of hit and run guerrilla attacks, car bombings, assassinations and possibly even selected acts of terrorism on other parts of East Africa."

Yea, that sounds about right.

You thought KFD (Korean fan death) was bad?!

Have you ever heard of Koro? Today was the first time I heard of it. I am glad I now know the signs and symptoms. Unfortunatly I have no reason to blame Koro for my own shortcomings

I wonder how much longer untill the Chinese govt. gives up

Chinese internet users surf in disguise

It's just a matter of time.

Now here's a thought

Here’s something that should have been done 3 years ago in Iraq. Jobs. It could have been that easy. I do not think we should go into a country with contractors that hire foreign help to rebuild Iraqi neighborhoods and infrastructure. People naturally do not have the pride that would be associated with being a bigger part of the rebuilding process. If you put your blood and sweat into a project, you would make damn sure no-one blows it up. If more Iraqi people were put to work sooner I do not think you would have the animosity that exists today. You also wouldn’t have as many angry, unemployed young men running around feeling they need to pick up a gun to make a difference or blow themselves up so their family gets fed.

Africa's WWII?

Earlier today I hit up Coming Anarchy and found an interesting post on Ethiopia and Somalia. A bit later I found this interview by Ken Menkhaus. He is a former special advisor to the U.N. operation in Somalia.

When asked if the Council of Islamic Courts is controlled by al Qaeda, he states:

“No. Absolutely not.”

That’s not to say the two aren’t in a partnership.

Mr. Menkhaus’s sees this crisis different from Dafur’s.

“Darfur is a manmade crisis, and it’s an ongoing one that is incredibly difficult to access. In Somalia, for the moment, the biggest crisis is a natural disaster, the flooding.”



Here's what the leader of the CIC had to say about the Somali retreat.

"Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, leader of the Council of Islamic Courts' executive body, said the group had told its troops to withdraw from some areas.

"The war is entering a new phase," he said. "We will fight Ethiopia for a long, long time and we expect the war to go everyplace."

Ahmed declined to explain his comments in greater detail, but some Islamic leaders had threatened a guerrilla war to include suicide bombings in Ethiopia's capital."

Could it be a bluff or the start of something much bigger? I’m thinking the latter. They know they can’t fight conventionally and win, as does everybody else.

The Dirty Dozen

I thought this article was interesting. I’m just wondering why somebody needs to take a class on mail order brides. What major would that fall under? Should I take it because I am (very recently) working on my Bachelors Degree in Asian Studies? You know...for the "well rounded" approach.