Dive into the archives.
- Congratulations Kosovo
As expected, Kosovo declared its independence today. Leaving political analysis for the moment, I just returned from downtown Stuttgart where a large crowd of Kosovars held an independence celebration. There was champagne, dancing and Albanian and American flags as far as the eye could see. Your trusty correspondent naturally had his camera to capture this [...]
- How the map will look
Also seen in The Strategist—The Atlantic Monthly has an amazing article by Jeffrey Goldberg titled “After Iraq.” Subtitled “a glimpse of its possible future,” Goldberg writes that the intentional shake-up resulting from the invasion of Iraq, to transform the region, may ultimately be one far different than that envisioned by the administration, with an [...]
- 3pm is it
As of this afternoon, map makers will be forced to add yet another country to their product: Kosovo. At 15:00 today in Kosovo, the parliament will convene and vote on independence but that is merely a formality. The outcome has long been certain as I found out quickly while visiting in May.
By tonight we should [...]
- Sweden Says No
Nord Stream, the controversial natural gas pipeline linking Russia directly with Germany has hit another snag. The Swedish government has denied the company’s application for building the line.
Consortium Nord Stream’s application for Swedish permission to build a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea is too incomplete to take a stance on, the Swedish government said [...]
- Meet the World: Information in flags
Brilliant design work combining statistical information with national flags:
China
European Union
America
Burkina Faso
See them all. Via Blake@Passport
- St. Pontius Pilate
Yet another guest post from Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace.
Plenty of documentation exists to support the existence of Pontius Pilate, a certain Roman governor of Judea. He is mentioned in all four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and in the letter to Timothy. He is also mentioned in three important contemporaneous Jewish sources, [...]
- Message or Creative Solution
With China’s not so subtle attempt to deter the US from weaponizing space by blowing up a satellite last year, one must view the current “problem” as an opportune moment to answer back:
US Plans to Shoot Down Broken Satellite
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Bush decided to make a first-of-its-kind attempt to use a missile to bring [...]
- Happy Valentine’s Day
Via Konfidi, Saudi Arabia has banned the color red for Valentine’s Day:
Because of the ban on red roses, a black market has flowered ahead of Valentine’s Day. Roses that normally go for five Saudi riyal ($1.30) fetch up to 30 riyal ($8) on February 14, the Saudi Gazette said.
“Sometimes we deliver the bouquets in the [...]
- Police Officer Dumps Quadriplegic From Wheelchair
Through experience with criminal elements and based on my political philisophy, I am generally a red-blooded pro-law enforcement citizen. But I also fully understand and appreciate the fact that American police culture is dispicable in the way it regularly interacts with ordinary citizens engaged in no criminal act, with reckless abandon of safety and [...]
- The Zimmermann Telegram Feasability Study
Most Americans know that it was the Zimmermann Telegram, sent by Germany to Mexico at the height of World War I, that brought US into the war in Europe. Frustrated with blatant US support of Britain, Germany solicited Mexico to invade the southern United States and offered aid and assistance. However, the telegram [...]
