Seven Stans - Cockpit Of Terrorism

And now the world prepares to go to hell in a set of basket cases ...... as the largely failed US led NATO mission leaves Afghanistan at the end of the year, the Jihadist forces are already setting up bases inside Afghanistan in order to attack one or all of the seven 'stans'. Afghanistan, Krgyzstan, Kazakhstan,Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. Most of them are weak, economically poor, and already embroiled at a high level in the corruption brought about by the drug monies flowing out of Afghanistan.

There is no avoiding the fact that the US never really understood the region, and far from leaving it a better place, has by its mighty presence, largely destabilised the whole socio economic arena of the region to such an extent, that its possible that as well as Afghanistan; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan could also become destabilised over the coming decade, with at least two of these becoming Jihadist / Taliban strongholds.

The Seven 'Stans' The New Cockpit Of Terrorism?

The most vulnerable countries are Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which share over 1,200 miles (1,900km) of borders with northern Afghanistan .... with Tajikistan in particular already propped up by 6,000 Russian troops. In the Badakhshan province on Afghanistan's north-west border, up to 500 Taliban militants have already ousted the Afghan forces from several districts in the province, and are now trying to take control of Iskashim, a key district and town, that also lies along the Afghan border. It is only separated from Tajikistan by the narrow Panj river which freezes over in winter, making forays into Tajikistan much easier.

So far from eradicating the problems of a terrorist state in Afghanistan, the West has merely spread the troubles over a wider area, and like the cork on a Djinn bottle, it can no longer be put back after being pulled. The fact that the 'stans' cannot agree on a common plan to protect their region after 2014 just makes the likelihood of a failure by one or more of them all the more likely ... a domino effect if you will, only this time its not the Communists, but an infinitely more frightening enemy.

American Cougar Strikes

Following on from my ‘Man Kills Bear with bare hands’ story  ….. one which I may add was scoffed at in some quarters .....

Big Cat Warnings Aren't For Nothing

... here’s a tale of a man killing a wild cougar with a spear in North America.

 

Yarnbombing And Other Pastimes

I have been looking increasingly at the bizarre side of life recently, probably because the normal world is so depressingly violent, petty and lacking in any sort of vision. I mean really, if the best we can get is David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ (which won’t last a minute after his premiership ends), or President Obama’s wordy flights of rhetoric (on everything from race, genocide and gun control), but which often, doesn’t amount to a hill of beans (he too will be soon forgotten – apart from as a footnote in history as the first black US President), then we live in a shabby age.

So if we want some excitement, or just some plain old weirdness, we have to look outside of the public arena, and to the private one … the things people do when they think no one is looking, or that they consider normal at some level.  So how about these strange past times ....

Yarnbombing - Can Have Funny Results

Yarnbombing (aka guerrilla knitting): the practice of knitting clothing for otherwise unclothed statues, then secretly clothing said statues with the clothing.  Strange results ensue, but apart from the cost of council workers removing it, no harm is done. Particularly popular in the US, but not seen in the UK much (Traffic Bollards for hats seems to be our limits).

 

Keeping A Cultural Identity

I have been watching "The Story Of The Jews" by the historian Simon Schama, and its been very interesting.

 

Jewish Wedding

Of course the story has one underlying narrative thread, one of the continual persecution of the Jews through out the ages, from the Babylonian sacking of Jerusalem in 586 BC, and then repeatedly thereafter.

Let Them Eat Cakes

As has been mentioned before, the control of the national wealth in the hands of the Royal Families in the Oil rich Arab countries, has increasingly led to abuses. 

 

Man City FC - Bought By State Wealth

 

One example is the purchasing and financing of football teams around the world, using what should be 'public money'.