WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND One of the Islamic State’s first reforms in captured territory has been to require adult women to dress devoutly–including the face-covering burqa robe, which, in Western democracies famously presents security dilemmas because it hinders identification. Now, after two years of Islamic State occupation in Mosul, Iraq, the security problem has come … [Read more...] about NOTW: Weird laundry, homemade flamethrowers and lawsuits from the dead
Iraq
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard explains why she supports Iran Nuclear Agreement
Hawaii’s U.S. Congressional Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D, 2nd District) surprised me this weekend. And not in a bad way, either. Well known as one of the Democratic Party’s strongest hawks (in part, no doubt, due to her also being a captain in the Hawaii Army National Guard), Gabbard released a measured, cautious and eminently logical statement on Friday, Sept. 11 … [Read more...] about U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard explains why she supports Iran Nuclear Agreement
Hawaii Congressional Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Sponsors Bill To Arm Kurdish Peshmerga ‘Directly’
U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, D–Hawaii, opposed arming Syrian rebels in the war against the terrorist group ISIL (also known as ISIS or the Islamic State), but today she said she's sponsoring bi-partisan legislation to "directly arm" the Kurdish army–known as the Peshmerga–in Iraq. Here's how Gabbard put it in a Nov. 20 news release from her office: "The Kurdish … [Read more...] about Hawaii Congressional Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Sponsors Bill To Arm Kurdish Peshmerga ‘Directly’
Happy Veterans Day
There's no exclamation point on that headline because this doesn't seem like the kind of holiday in which we laugh and run around and eat too many jalapeno poppers for our own good. No, this is–in my lifelong civilian mind, at least–a time to reflect quietly on war and those we send off to fight and die in our wars. Not sure if the rest of you civilians have noticed, but we've … [Read more...] about Happy Veterans Day
ISIS Absurdity, Voyeurism Defenses and People Who Sign Opera To Mountain Lions
ALL WAR IS WEIRD As summed up by a Vox.com writer: "The absurdity runs deep." America uses American military equipment to bomb American military equipment that ISIS captured (from inept Iraqi soldiers, inept in part since America disbanded Iraq's professional military in 2003). America's Kurdish allies, fighting ISIS, use inferior Russian weapons they captured in the 1980s. … [Read more...] about ISIS Absurdity, Voyeurism Defenses and People Who Sign Opera To Mountain Lions