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

Voters in Burundi will head to the polls in a couple of weeks to decide whether or not President Pierre Nkurunziza deserves a "second" (or third, if you're one of those sticklers for "accuracy" or "math" or "reality") term in office, but meanwhile they voted today in parliamentary elections. Or, rather, some of them did; … Continue reading Burundi votes amid violence

Usually when major events reach the level of media-driven frenzy that they get their own names, we slap together something so silly that it can actually take away from the seriousness of the situation. Here in the US, ever since the Watergate Scandal, we like to slap the suffix "-gate" onto major political scandals for … Continue reading Grexit: is the prescription worth the side effects?

While I am obviously very happy about today's Supreme Court decision, and the news that cops appear to be closing in on on those two escaped murderers in New York is also welcome, this wouldn't a very good "what's happening in the rest of the world?" blog if I didn't note that today was unfortunately … Continue reading Today was also a good day for the bad guys