A Nice Corrective on Japan

I like this Gideon Rachman comment piece. It has a broad perspective and good sense of context and I think sets the record straight in important ways about Japan's recent history: "Japan's continuity we can believe in." A good article to read in the aftermath of an historic election.

Taliban Gangsters

Somehow it seems that insurgency/terrorism is very often wrapped up with organized crime (Stalin used to rob banks in Georgia, Mao sold opium out of Yenan, the Kosovo Liberation Army was into human & drug trafficking during the Balkan wars, etc. etc.). Unsurprising that this is where the money comes from in Pakistan: "Organized Crime in Pakistan Feeds Taliban."

Dexter Filkins points out the road ahead in A-stan

Dexter Filkins, whose amazing book I highly recommend, has a great piece about the current moment in A-stan claiming fraud may have been "decisive" in the recent election. This whole excersise seems to be turning into a cautionary tale about political proxies in far flung wars (Anyone remember Diem in Vietnam?): "Seven Days That Shook Afghanistan."

Money quote: “If people decide that we could not give them anything through the democratic process, then the insurgency will be strengthened,” Mr. Abdullah said. “And then the United States will need to bring more troops and more resources here — and for what?”

Tectonic Shift in Japan

This is probaly a really big deal: The party that has ruled in Japan for basically the entire post-war period suffered a landslide defeat: "New era for Japan as DPJ triumphs."

World's Most Dangerous Man Free

A. Q. Kahn, the most prolific nuclear proliferator in history, was freed from any restrictions by the Pakistani gov't today. I can't see this ending well...
"Pakistani Nuclear Proliferator Free to Roam, Court Says"

Torture's legacy

The institutional battle lines are squaring up in the fight over how to deal with the legacy of torture: "Abuse Issue Puts CIA and Justice Dept at Odds." I cannot see a way to move forward in our thinking about terrorism or intelligence until we have dealt with torture squarely.

Comment on Russia & Ukraine

I like this comment from The Economist on the way that the current Russian gov't approaches Ukraine and Eastern Europe: "Sticks and Stones: Russia needs to play nice." The grammar of saying "in Ukraine" is a bit of a hobby horse of mine, and it matters a lot more than you might think.

UPDATE: Another article from the NYTimes voicing overblown concern and dark insinuations about the potential for conflict between Ukraine & Russia: "Russia and Ukraine in Intensifying Standoff." Don't believe the hype.

More from Schachtman in A-stan

Another installment in what I hope is a long series of war reporting from Afghanistan: "Danger Room in Afghanistan: The Taliban Push Back"

War in Darfur over?

This is an interesting post about the end of hostilities in Darfur: "All Quiet on the Darfur Front." I'm not well enough informed on this to really form an opinion... anyone have any insight to share?

Combat first hand

Check out this truly incredible post from the venerable Noah Schachtman reporting first hand on combat in Afghanistan: "Danger Room in Afghanistan: A Close Fight, and a Couple of Miracles"

Rumblings in Burma

Thousands of people flee ethnic violence in Burma into China, creating the potential to gain Chinese support for international pressure on the ruling Junta (h/t Julie): "Thousands Flee Burma Violence"

Is our finance model worth its cost?

Great comment piece examining the bigger picture about how finance fits into the national economy and whether its current model is delivering a benefit worth its cost: "Overmighty finance levies a tithe on growth" This is a must read for anyone interested in how we might construct our economy after this crisis.

More A-stan photos

Come to think of it, this is a good one too. Check out this blog of a young Afghan photographer. He doesn't post that much but his shots are amazing.

Flickr from Afghanistan

I have been meaning to pass this on. If you're interested in Afghanistan, you should check out Jerome Starkey's flickr stream. He's a foreign correspondent covering the war and fairly regularly posts some amazing pictures. I have it on my google reader...

Great reporting from A-stan

This article points to the incredible complexity we're dealing with in fighting the insurgency in Afghanistan: "Face to face with the Taliban: 'The people are fed up with the government'"

Rethinking finance

A good comment piece on what the financial crisis means for the dominant ideologies of efficient markets, etc.: "Does the world need a global 'Tobin tax'?"

A paradox of foreign aid

This article highlights what I think is one of the hardest things to get right about aid in general and in Pakistan in particular. How do you get the most bang for your aid buck on the ground while ensuring that you don't a) pick winners (money = political patronage) and b) make sure that your money isn't sucked off by corruption or end up in the wrong hands (Pakistan's ISI is both corrupt and tied to the very insurgents we're currently at war with). Check it out: "US aid to Pakistan ‘depleted by admin costs’"

Indulging my Soviet History fetish...

Check out this slideshow of pictures from the USSR (up through Stalin's death) from the new book Red Star Over Russia: A Visual History of the Soviet Union from the Revolution to the Death of Stalin (h/t Drezner):
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/08/24/the_early_read_a_photo_essay?page=0,0

Our National Debt- a depressing graphic

I'm sure we (and our children, and their children...) will have fun paying off our national debt... This website brings the old fashioned debt clock into the internet era:
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Something new

I've been posting stuff that interested me and I think might be interesting to my friends on my gchat status for a while, and having got some really nice feedback on what I've found I've decided to move it over to this blog. Same idea as a status update: I'm going to post links to articles, whatever that I've come across online and post them up for anyone who might be interested. This format really just lets me throw even more stuff out there. (I'll continue to post stuff on my status in recognition of the fact that it's easier for people to check at work) I hope that this is a interesting, entertaining, useful exercise for anyone that come's across it. Feedback is most welcome!