Mikhail Saakashvili is a politician known for following his gut, both figuratively and literally, as when he devoured his tie during a live BBC interview. Could this crucial organ also be his Achille’s heel? Today, Tbilisi is a city under siege: the BBC reports that “usually the main roads in the city centre are full […]
The people of Afghanistan celebrated Earth Day by declaring Band-e-Amir its first conservation area, basically making it the country’s first national park. Band-e-Amir, which features a series of exceedingly deep-blue lakes and natural dams not seen anywhere else in the world, has suffered great neglect and damage from the state’s 30 years of warfare. Though […]
I am inexhaustibly fascinated by everyday life in the late Soviet Union. It probably has something to do with trying to locate a past that I lived but was too young to remember. Imagine my excitement then at discovering the works of Boris Savelev, a rocket scientist-turned-photographer who spent the 1970s, 80s and 90s taking […]
In what is to part of a series of conversations, some of which began back in February, the Obama administration will host the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan in a trilateral summit this coming May 6 and 7. During the official summit, President Karzai and President Zardari will each meet individually with Obama and then […]
After the recent unexplained explosion of a gas pipeline between Russia and Turkmenistan, each side has been accusing the other of blowing it up. After all the words exchanged, Turkmenistan has taken action by signing a major agreement with the German energy giant Rheinisch-Westfaelische Elektrizitaetswerk (RWE). RWE now has the right to explore and develop […]
Al Qaeda’s second in command Ayman al-Zawahri spoke out yesterday on an Internet recording about President Obama and his Afghan-Pakistan strategy. I guess we should pay attention whenever a top AQ leader talks as the United States, Afghanistan, and Pakistan would not be in the position they are now in without their existence. It almost […]
“Later, as he sat on the balcony eating the dog, Dr Robert Laing reflected on the unusual events that had taken place within this huge apartment building during the previous three months” – Opening lines of Highrise, by JG Ballard. JG Ballard, who died today, was one of my favourite writers. It is not entirely […]
It is being reported that the United States is planning on starting a major “psychological operation” that would seek to disrupt and curtail Taliban use of radio and Internet communication in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The aim would be to hurt the insurgents’ ability to coordinate attacks and strategy, as well as their propaganda efforts […]
Russia, China, and all the Central Asian states except Uzbekistan took part in war exercises south of Dushanbe. About 1,000 soldiers took part in a staged factory take-over with hostages. The only truly remarkable fact about this event is this quote from Radio Liberty: During the exercises, Tajik soldiers demonstrated their ability to tear apart […]
IS EUROVISION THE NEW STALINGRAD? For whatever reason, in Russia this contest is taken very seriously… people feel that the Eurovision Song Contest is like an annual Stalingrad battle.” THE RUSSIA-GEORGIA SPLIT AS PLAYGROUND POLITICS: Saakashvili supposedly lost track of time while doing laps in his hotel pool, arriving at the Kremlin half an hour […]
On April 15, Henry E. Hale, Ph.D. Harvard 1998, an Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington (GW) University in Washington, DC, who specializes in the comparative study of democratization, federalism, ethnic politics, and international integration, came to speak at the University of Washington at Seattle on the “Logic of Regime […]
These are two phrases chanted by opposing groups during the protest demonstration by a group of about 300 Afghan women yesterday in Kabul. The group of women were voicing their opposition to the recent law passed by the Parliament and signed by President Karzai, which among other items, states that Shiite women in the country […]
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