On Friday, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced that searchers had found the wreckage of the Spanish galleon San José, which was sunk in battle off the coast of Cartagena in 1708. This is a really cool find. The San José was one of the flagships of the "Spanish Treasure Fleet," which was responsible for … Continue reading A metaphorical wreck over an actual wreck

If Mitch McConnell is capable of feeling the emotion of shame, then I hope somebody holds his eyes open, A Clockwork Orange-style, and makes him watch last night's Daily Show on a loop: Jon Stewart has gone after Mitch McConnell in the past, but now he's so mad that turning him into a bizarre internet … Continue reading The capacity to feel shame

Seriously, I don't know anymore. I'm not talking about the parts of Iraq that are controlled by ISIS--obviously Baghdad has no real control over them at this point, but presumably (hopefully) that's temporary. But of the rest of the country, the parts that aren't controlled by ISIS, and in terms of the normal everyday things … Continue reading How much of Iraq does the Iraqi government actually control at this point?

I won't pretend to have anything more than a general basic awareness of Venezuelan politics, so if you're here looking for deep insight into yesterday's elections, you're in the wrong place. I'm not much of an expert on the global energy market, while we're at it. But I do know one thing, I think: a … Continue reading Cheap oil claims a victim

This went unmentioned during President Obama's big "Hey, Let's Not Freak Out" address last night, but something happened over the weekend that, more than any number of airstrikes or special forces raids, could really be a blow to ISIS's plans: Libya's two rival parliaments have reached an initial agreement aimed at resolving the political crisis … Continue reading Some genuinely bad news for ISIS

This is almost too silly to even mention, but it's Friday and it's late, so here you go: Now a Turkish court has summoned a group of experts in psychology, behavioral science, and other fields to help determine if — beyond being creepy, clammy, and possessed by his desire for the ring — Gollum is … Continue reading It taunts us, precioussss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj5VuaAF6g8 Credit where credit is due, Marco Rubio makes a great point here: Appearing on Fox & Friends, 2016 GOP presidential contender Marco Rubio hammered at Democrats for proposing additional gun control laws after the San Bernardino attack, adding that “the left” never talks about “bomb control.” Rubio voted against additional restrictions on gun possession … Continue reading An idea whose time has come

In the weeks since the terror attacks in Paris, a fair amount of digital ink has been spilled on the question of America's Gulf allies, particularly Saudi Arabia, and the role those nations have played in fueling and/or combating (but mostly fueling) ISIS. This discussion hasn't been limited to media thinkpieces, either; the Pentagon has … Continue reading Holding our allies accountable

Investigators have uncovered a pledge of allegiance to ISIS on Tashfeen Malik's Facebook account, made (and then apparently deleted) just before she and her husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, killed 14 people in that shooting in San Bernardino on Wednesday. There as yet appears to be no evidence that either Malik or Farook had any contact … Continue reading “Inspired” is a hell of a word

Amid all the San Bernardino news, I almost forgot that today is (or really was, at this point) Arbaʿeen (there are some great photos at that link). This is a Shiʿa religious observance that occurs forty days (hence the name, arbaʿin, which is Arabic for "forty") after Ashura, the commemoration of the day when Imam … Continue reading Arbaʿeen