Journalist Peter Schwartzstein is reporting that, in addition to the Kurds in the north and the Sunni Arabs in the north and west, people in the mostly Shiʿa region around Basra, in the south of Iraq, may be looking for more autonomy from Baghdad: For decades, Saddam Hussein’s cadre of Baathists kept a tight lid … Continue reading Oh, cool, another part of Iraq wants out

Cuba is off my usual beat, but President Obama just gave a statement about resuming diplomatic relations with Cuba and reopening the US embassy in Havana (Cuba will also reopen its embassy in Washington). The embassy likely won't look much different from the US interests section that already exists there; it will occupy the same … Continue reading Havana Affair

Mt. Zion AME Church in Greeleyville, South Carolina, caught on fire last night. Now, there are lots of reasons why a building might catch on fire, including lightning, which was a possibility last night as strong thunderstorms swept up the entire eastern seaboard. Understandably, the investigators looking into any particular fire need to consider all … Continue reading Quite a coincidence

Here's Hawaii State Representative Tom Brower (D): Rep. Brower is holding that there sledgehammer in that there photograph because he's best known for using it to Make A Difference for Hawaii's shockingly large homeless population: Armed with a sledgehammer and a self-righteous mission, State Rep. Tom Brower (D.) walks his district's streets and parks looking … Continue reading Cosmic justice takes an oddly specific form

The Iraqi Army's (now former) Chief of Staff, General Babaker Zebari, retired yesterday. Or, rather, he "was retired," which is the phrasing that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's spokesman somewhat hilariously used when talking to AFP. I guess in Iraq you can't even give a guy the dignity of pretending to have quit of his … Continue reading I wonder if he got a gold watch?

Hey there, how's it going? Today marks the day the Iran talks were supposed to end in a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action but didn't. The new and improved deadline is now July 7, at which point surely this long negotiating process will come to a definitive en--HAHAHAHA, sorry, it's got to be at least … Continue reading Happy Iran Non-Deal Day

You may remember James Stavridis from such historical thought-crimes as "I don't know anything about Sunnism, Shiʿism, or the Reformation, so let me write an article that mashes them all together." Well, he's back, and better than ever! Oh God, this is going to suuuuck. The headlines: A charismatic and wily Iranian leader seeks to … Continue reading As soon as Cyrus the Great gets back, we’re all in a lot of trouble

I agree with Vox's Dylan Matthews: If European lenders really cared about the European project, they'd be trying to persuade their countrymen to move closer to European super-statehood, big transfer to Greece and all, rather than punishing Greece. And the more spending and tax policy Europe takes on as a whole, the less it has … Continue reading Europe needs to decide what it wants to be

Lots of very upset right-wingers are insisting that just because the Supreme Court says state governments have to treat gays like they were people or something, that doesn't mean they really have to do it. Who made the Supreme Court the boss of everybody, anyway? Well, all I can say is: good luck with that, … Continue reading Nullification: a bad idea that refuses to die

Hisham Barakat, Egypt's prosecutor-general, was assassinated in Cairo today when his motorcade was hit by what appears to have been a car bomb. Although there's been no accepted claim of responsibility for the attack as far as I am aware, it's probably safe to assume that it has something to do with all the death … Continue reading Assassination puts Egypt on high alert