Central Asia Archives

June 16, 2009

Can Iran Firmly Sustain An Election? Links and Stuff

Some numbers crunching here and analysis with gossip here. Word of mouthy reports of human rights leaders being arrested here. A danger of hanging chadors. Links and or leads to them, courtesy of Aqoulite Eva Luna who is too engaged to otherwise post.

So, who won?

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 08:51 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

May 27, 2009

Iran Blocks Facebook Before Election

Tyranny likes this.

Ahmadinejad sends Bad Karma to opposition.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 08:27 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

February 21, 2009

Baha'i Anxiety: Sects and Vile Hints in Iran

Several leaders in the Baha'i faith -- that other other other other Abrahamic monotheism -- have been charged in Iran with espionage and other crimes, with possible death penalty exposure. These were generally seen as pretext charges for a broad official chronic program of persecution. The charges are regarded as probable pretext most especially because Baha'i have little access to secrets, being denied official employment, and also because the alleged country of espionagery, Israel, is naturally going to have relatively extensive ties with the Baha'i leaders because the city of Haifa, Israel is the site of the Baha'i Vatican. The Baha'i world headquarters have been situated there because that religion's founding family settled there in early 20th century Palestine around the time of the British Mandate's start, and after exile from Iran/Persia where they and the faith had originated.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 08:57 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack

August 24, 2008

MENA Development and Investment: How 'bout just makin' stuff?

Moving back MENA-ward, I add a rant inspired by long-time discussions here and elsewhere regarding investment in Middle East and North African (MENA) countries. My amateur self keeps reading about Gulf or other money chasing things like real estate or hub port facilities, or digging out more of that Texas tea. Now, I hope I don't use too technical economic terms here, but here goes the rant: shouldn't the bulk of this fund dough, including money from superrich nations, be going towards activities where, you know, MENA regular folks will, like, MAKE NEW STUFF and then SELL THAT NEWLY-MADE STUFF TO OTHER PEOPLE for, um, HARD MONEY. That may sound a bit hi-falutin grad-school airy-fairy idealistic, development economics-y, but it needs to be said.

Continue reading "MENA Development and Investment: How 'bout just makin' stuff?"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 11:43 PM | Comments (24) | TrackBack

August 16, 2008

Georgia-MENA open thread

(Apologies for genuinely accidental labored allusion.) Anyway, Russia has been doing a bit of marching through Georgia, reviving the Cold War-era 1980s for a bit (assuming the decade had ever left). Readers, writers, commenters, members, computer-owners and -operators are invited to share their wisdom on the latest Caucasian occasion, but most particularly in ways it may relate to the Middle East North Africa regions. Iran yawns; Israel lays low; Turks get dissed; Georgia removes its legions from Mesopotamia. And Vladimir Putin has been confirmed as Tsar of all the Russias, every blasted one of them, even those little Russias that fall under the couch cushions.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 09:10 PM | Comments (23) | TrackBack

August 01, 2008

His Hair Was Perfect: Werewolves of Gaza

(Apologies to the late Mr Zevon.) Turkey's so deeply meaningful war over hatwear nearly overthrew the government, and apparently its recent being sent to its room without supper is causing the AKP to temporarily write off the struggle, um, whole cloth. But those profound Turkish wars of meaning over hatwear give way to Gaza, where the struggle over the true hair of steadfastness has reached crisis proportions. It appears that Hamas is now shaving the moustaches off Fatah activists, in retaliation for the jackbooted debearding of Hamas loyalists by Fatah. An ominous development for a society already beset by settlers wielding sidecurls in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention on Treatment of Follicles. Is history so soon forgotten, or are they just returning to their roots? Is it not time to get more bangs for the buck, and yes, rogaine one's freedom? And didn't Munich teach that even a small moustache needs to be stopped early? Turkey has stopped hair-covering, but hair itself remains appeased. Can anyone not see the civilization at stake in all this? What coiffure-textile combination do you feel best reflects optimal social values? Or is this person the secret key to global harmony?

Continue reading "His Hair Was Perfect: Werewolves of Gaza"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 09:47 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 23, 2008

Another Good Conspiracy Theory Down the Drain

Al Qaeda says an Israeli conspiracy didn't do 9/11. And, it adds, Iran started the Israel conspiracy rumor. Is that itself a conspiracy rumor?

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 02:43 AM | Comments (13) | TrackBack

December 09, 2007

NIE Iran Nuke Report Roundup

A quick round-up on likely reactions of interested parties to the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuke dreams by TIME is here.

All sides of the Iran nuclear dispute are working hard to make their own reading of the report the accepted one . . . Israel and Washington hawks want military action against a grave and gathering threat; the Bush Administration is pursuing coercive diplomacy; the Europeans want to avoid war. And it is those agendas that will shape each player's response to the NIE in what promises to be a furious battle over Iran policy in the months to come.

Have at it. My 2 cents below fold.

Continue reading "NIE Iran Nuke Report Roundup"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 09:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

November 15, 2007

Pakistan Semi-Open Thread

As things seem to be going to hell there, and as none of the posters here pretend to any particular insight or experience about Pakistan, I'm going to just open up a thread and let our commenters have at it.

For fodder, here's an interesting post from a few days ago by China Hand at American Footprints, along with two followups. Tony Karon has finally weighed in as well.

Continue reading "Pakistan Semi-Open Thread"

Posted by tomscud at 08:52 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

November 03, 2007

Strategery, Indeed: Lewis and Huntington

I have to borrow from the discussion on the previous thread the quotation below. It's from a book review of at-best mixed value but by someone with the knowledge to make the statement. Tell me its assertion is false. Please, God, please......

Continue reading "Strategery, Indeed: Lewis and Huntington"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 10:14 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack

September 13, 2007

Iran War On the Way: More Evidence

It appears that I may have been right to call attention to those saying a war on Iran is being rolled out by the Administration. An informed and expert source in DC affirmed it to me as well a few days back. And it looks like the usual suspect sources are now marketing it. (Love the part where we can mysteriously tell that the Germans really want us to attack even as they back away from sanctions against Iran. Saying "no" when they really mean "yes", those Teutonic teases!) Michael Ledeen appears to be the one whose job is to incite the converted; he who says that al-Qaeda and Iran are interchangeable terms and at one point called Dubai, an "Iranian colony". Man, all them dang camel jockeys are the same and interchangeable, and that thinking is how one manufactures a war. Anyway, Aqoulites and Aqoulite wannabes with Iran-specific knowledge are needed to weigh in, now and in the future.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 09:19 PM | Comments (19) | TrackBack

September 09, 2007

Quick Roundup of News on Roundups

{Sarcasm} Here's a headline you'd never expect to see. I'm shocked, shocked. . . . {/sarcasm} (Iraq)

Now here's a headline you'd really never expect to see. (Israel)

Here's an interesting roundup about al-Qaeda leader roundups. For a variety of reasons, this Abu al-Yazid guy seems the most interesting and dangerous , specifically as he reminds me in terms of his alleged internal likeability, technical profession (accountancy/fundraising), energy, and tactical sense of a rather successful violent insurgent of the past. Insurgencies can use good accountants and fundraisers.

And, just for yucks, bad news for anyone planning to have online virtual sex with Osama bin-Laden.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 06:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 07, 2007

Bin-Laden Versus Bin-Laden, same day

Osama bin-Laden on Sept. 7 2007* -- "19 young men were able, by the grace of [God], the Most High, to change the direction of [America's] compass."

Osama bin-Laden on, um, Sept 7, 2007 -- "burning living beings is forbidden by our religion, even if they be small like the ant, so what of men?"

In addition to terrorist, criminal, fanatic, and other filth-and-foul words, we can now add "what a fatuous dick".

Continue reading "Bin-Laden Versus Bin-Laden, same day"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 08:11 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

September 02, 2007

Tehran: A Sore US Wrecks? Iran War Looming?

The informed blogosphere and newsosphere are abuzz with rumors* that a US war, or a sustained attack (i.e.war), on Iran is being put out for aggressive marketing by Administration innards this week. Events will prove this true or false. Regardless of the rightness or wrongness of such a thing, if it is being planned, I do wonder if the questions and considerations below have been addressed.

Continue reading "Tehran: A Sore US Wrecks? Iran War Looming?"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 08:28 PM | Comments (14) | TrackBack

February 13, 2006

More Reasons Why Torture is a Bad Idea

Because junior military personnel can't be trusted to have the common sense to know when they are going to kill people, that's why:

The two Afghans were found dead within days of each other, hanging by their shackled wrists in isolation cells at the prison in Bagram, north of Kabul. An Army investigation showed they were treated harshly by interrogators, deprived of sleep for days, and struck so often in the legs by guards that a coroner compared the injuries to being run over by a bus...

But really, we can't blame the poor kids, can we, because how could they be expected to know what rules to follow?

Continue reading "More Reasons Why Torture is a Bad Idea"

Posted by evaluna at 06:55 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 02, 2006

Those Kazakhs Just Can't Take a Joke

At least not when it's told by Borat Sagdiyev, the alter ego of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (perhaps better known as Ali G). Perhaps it was less than sensitive for the sixth most famous person in Kazakhstan to use an Internet domain controlled by the Kazakh government to satirize the Kazakh government, but they in return showed an extraordinary lack of humor by shutting the site down completely. They even threatened to sue.

But then, what can one expect from a government which is so friendly to freedom of expression when it involves less comical matters?

(Borat's fans need not fear; he is up and running elsewhere.)

Posted by evaluna at 11:33 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

December 03, 2005

A Most Elusive Fish: Poached Sturgeon in the Caspian

The nations of the Caspian Sea basin share a scarce resource other than petroleum: sturgeon. However, the Iranians, Azerbaijanis, and Turkmen are faring possibly worse at protecting their beluga supply than they are even at divvying up shares of the usual type of black gold under discussion.

Continue reading "A Most Elusive Fish: Poached Sturgeon in the Caspian"

Posted by evaluna at 08:28 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 03, 2005

More Motion and Commotion in Central Asia: Of Refugees and Power Politics

In a not-so-startling turn of events in Central Asia, the Uzbek government has just given the U.S. military six months to vacate the Karshi-Khanabad air base, which has been used to support military operations in Afghanistan. This development might have been more surprising if it hadn’t come the day after 400 refugees from a May demonstration in Andijon, Uzbekistan, (which turned bloody when government troops fired on unarmed protestors) were relocated from neighboring Kyrgyzstan to Romania , after the U.N. High Commission on Refugees and the U.S. applied pressure to Kyrgyz officials not to return the refugees to Uzbekistan, where they would likely face persecution and torture.

Continue reading "More Motion and Commotion in Central Asia: Of Refugees and Power Politics"

Posted by evaluna at 09:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 18, 2005

Uzbek Refugees in Kyrgyzstan: It's Tough To Be Popular

For those who haven’t been keeping score, in May the Uzbek government fired on unarmed demonstrators in Andijon, in the Ferghana Valley. Twenty-three local businessmen had been on trial, accused of being Islamic extremists, which in post-Soviet Central Asia tends to mean “anyone who pisses off the government.” (Particularly ironic in Uzbekistan, headed since 1991 by the most un-aptly named Islam Karimov, who had been First Secretary of the Communist Party before Uzbek independence, but I digress.)

Thousands of demonstrators had massed over the preceding months in the town square to protest the trial of the 23. On the morning of May 13, an armed group broke the 23 detainees out of jail; shortly thereafter, all hell broke loose, with military vehicles surrounding the demonstrators on the square and opening fire on them in the early evening.

Continue reading "Uzbek Refugees in Kyrgyzstan: It's Tough To Be Popular"

Posted by evaluna at 09:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack