Category: News
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New Militant Leader Emerges in Mogadishu
From the New York Times: Still, Hassan Dahir Aweys, of the powerful Ayr clan, has publicly told followers that God would forgive them for spilling the blood of any foreign peacekeepers who set foot on Somali soil. He has also said Somalis who hand over their countrymen to American operatives in exchange for cash are…
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Tragicommerce
From the New York Times: Winn didn’t take that advice — at first. There was nothing cute or campy about Nagin’s remarks, and the hurricane was a deadly tragedy, not a pop-culture moment. Winn had friends who had lost everything. He understood Nagin’s tone. “That’s kind of how I felt,” he says. Gradually, however, his…
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Chechen Leadership Isn't the Issue
From the Moscow Times: The question of who will succeed Sadulayev is less political than technical. The question of whether or not Shamil Basayev will assume control of the separatist movement is also of secondary importance. Nor can it be assumed that the movement would become more radical under Basayev’s leadership. No one is stopping…
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Rebel Leader Sadulayev Shot Dead
From the Moscow Times: Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov said (chechen rebel leader Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev) was shot dead Saturday in his hometown of Argun during a raid prompted by a tip from someone in his inner circle. Kadyrov, posing and grinning for television cameras next to a battered, half-naked body that resembled Sadulayev, said the…
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Cripple With Tall Dreams
From the Daily Sun, Nigeria’s King of the Tabloids: As you enter through the back gate of the new Area 1 shopping complex under construction, he sits proudly, apparently oblivion of his physical state, on his wheel chair. Here.
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The Snake Joint of Lagos
From the Daily Sun, Nigeria’s King of the Tabloids: The joint opens as early in the morning. The 45-year-old widow may not be seen around but some of her five children are always In a day, about give long snake are consumed. Mrs. Iyabo’s dilemma in giving the place a name is based on the…
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Zarqawi: Master of the Massacre, or Inept Dolt?
From CJR: Who was Musab al-Zarqawi? Evil mastermind or bumbling fool? Intelligent or doltish? Enterprising terrorist or al Queda puppet? As the bloated, bloody face of America’s enemy number one in Iraq dominated the front pages of newspapers today, reporters on the scene could not even agree on the answer to a simple question: Who…
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The Long Interrogation
With a photo by Edward Keating (is he back with NYT?), from the New York Times Magazine: Late one afternoon in February 1978, according to sworn testimony, a squad of revolutionary guards arrived at the home of Edgegayehu Taye, a 22-year-old civil servant. They told her she was wanted for questioning. She went without protest.…
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H-E-A-R-T-L-E-S-S
From the Daily Sun, Nigeria’s King of the Tabloids: To signpost the wicked world she was being brought into, first, Kehinde lost her twin sister two days after birth. Three weeks later, she lost an arm owing to alleged staff negligence at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. And worse still, her parents are HIV…
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As President's Poll Numbers Fall, Many in Utah Stand by the Man
From the New York Times: “He’s strong, and he doesn’t waver,” said Jaren Olsen, 18, a freshman at Brigham Young, the nation’s largest religiously affiliated private university, who is from Albany. “I like that he is for the family, that marriage should only be between a man and woman. And the war, we need to…
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Online Throngs Impose a Stern Morality in China
From the New York Times: It began with an impassioned, 5,000-word letter on one of the country’s most popular Internet bulletin boards from a husband denouncing a college student he suspected of having an affair with his wife. Immediately, hundreds joined in the attack. “Let’s use our keyboard and mouse in our hands as weapons,”…
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CrisisWatch No.34
From the International Crisis Group: Ten actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in May 2006, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch,* released today. Afghanistan saw its worst violence since 2001, with some 350 insurgents, civilians and security personnel killed across its southern provinces. There was heavy fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia, between the Islamic Courts…
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Utahns Support Medicaid Dental Care
From KSL: Bill Tibbitts, Anti-Hunger Action Committee: “Extremely frustrating, very sad.” Here.
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The Wages of Chaos
From the Guardian: The report also shows that in a single year checkpoints run by a warlord in a medium-size town can earn him more than $4m (£2.1m). There, in dollars and cents, lie the reasons that Somalia has remained a byword for anarchy for so long. Chaos equals cash for those with guns. A…
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Okinawa Uncovered
Please read the comments below. They are more informative and correct than this article may have been. It seems obvious to me that the article I quoted here is not up to snuff. -Trent From the Guardian Newspaper: “First, I cut off your head. Then, I cleave you in two.” Eugene, my travelling companion and…
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Armenian Teen Slain on Train
From the Moscow Times: No suspects had been detained as of Tuesday. “According to witnesses, the killers were yelling, ‘Glory to Russia’ and ‘Long live Russia,’” said Simon Tsaturyan, the Sardaryan family’s lawyer. Tsaturyan said the attackers pulled the train’s emergency lever after stabbing Sardaryan and fled the scene. Sardaryan died on the spot, Tsaturyan…
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Zimbabwe demolition images shown
From the BBC: The satellite images show the destruction of one settlement near Harare, which had contained some 850 structures before last May. The human rights group says the photos are irrefutable evidence how entire communities were obliterated. The UN says some 700,000 people were directly affected by the demolitions. Here.
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The Troops Have Moved On
From the New York Times: Somehow Operation Iraqi Freedom, not a large war by America’s historical standards, has blossomed into a crisis of expectations that threatens our ability to react to future threats with a fist instead of five fingers. Instead of rallying we are squabbling, even as the slow fuse burns. One party is…
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Bigots Not Discriminating About Their Targets
From the Moscow Times: “I punched him in the face myself because I’m a normal Russian guy,” Alexei said, grinning. Using a widespread Russian expression, Alexei said he and others came to protest the march to “combine the pleasant things with the useful things” — hanging out with his friends while physically beating people he…
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Somalis Brave a Sea of Perils
From the New York Times: The Somali smugglers are a ruthless lot. They charge $30 to $100 for passage, quite a bit since they pack 80 to 200 bodies into the fishing boats. And payment does not guarantee safe passage, not by a long shot. If the seas get too rough, some passengers might be…