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I have had some more conversations today about the truce that al-Ghad reported, and at least some government sources are pouring cold water on the report. This is the first indication that all might not be quite like what al-Ghad reported on Sunday. As one well-connected Yemeni told me, Tariq al ...
Count this as your mini-update for Redoubt, with the news being no news. Even AVO seems a little bored with Redoubt lately (not to say they aren't watching it as vigilantly as ever) as their last three updates have been exactly the same: Redoubt volcano has not erupted. Seismicity is low, but ...
I exchanged a number of e-mails yesterday with contacts and friends in Yemen about the truce that al-Ghad reported, most of them are cautiously optimistic and mostly believe that the truce is legitimate. I'm a little more wary and would like to see some more evidence before I jump on the bandwagon ...
In the past six months, the United States has seen the lowest Dow closing in over a decade, the worst job market in almost a century, and a recession that some contend may actually be a depression. Sadly, there have been two cultural icons missing from the American milieu which have the power to ...
Snow and a broken computer have gotten the week off to a slow start, but across the globe in Yemen things are picking up, even though you wouldn't know it from the big three. News Yemen has the latest on the casualty numbers in the tribal fighting in Marib. Mareb Press has details on the mediation ...
(This essay was originally published in issue #1 of the AHS newsletter, Secular Future.) As the New Atheist movement grows in size and influence, we've been assailed by pundits and theologians who say we ought to be more respectful - that we need to choose our words carefully and afford ...
On February 19 we posted on Nasir al-Wahayshi's speech here. At the time one of the things that most intrigued me - besides a specific term, I have already blogged about - was the individuals that he mentioned by name, asking "where are the descendants of Abu Tariq al-'Irada, Abu 'Ali al-Harithi ...
Leading the way over the weekend is news on the al-Huthi front. We speculated last week on the possibilities of renewed clashes in the wake of the postponed elections and the military deal with Russia and while it is still much too soon to declare that war has once again broken out things are not ...
“Brendan Conway in Surrey tried to use his Wales-shaped cookie cutter, cleverly engineered by Marion in his school’s technology department, to make Welsh cakes, but Anglesey and the Lleyn peninsula kept breaking away! Luckily, toast worked better.” A picture of this Wales-shaped piece of toast ...
If we're going to create a world more friendly to reason, we need to raise our voices and speak out for the atheist viewpoint. This week, there are several ways in which you can help: • Two Texas state legislators have been courageously fighting back against creationism by proposing legislation ...
Each Englishman is an island, they say, but apparently it takes a Frenchman to put that saying into practice. Philippe Gonzalvez made this map of his own face back in the 1980s. “I must say that by now there is much more snow on the Mountains of Moustache and that the Hair Republic has been ...
As there has been a lot of chatter about the goings-on at Redoubt, I thought I'd post the latest AVO update (3:35 PM): Redoubt volcano has not erupted. Seismicity is dominated by small discrete earthquakes and tremor remains at the diminished levels of the past two days. Webcam images are now clear ...
Instead of talking about how Reuters came late to the party let's embrace the fact that they came at all. (Anyone with the reference?)
Thomas over at Jihadica has a lot more on the term ruwaybidha, including one of the traditions from which some version of the term stems, also politely correcting my original transliteration. I still think that the term implies a sense of authority or responsibility, almost like a shepherd (al ...
Brian is now a cog in the federal justice system so it is up to me to carry the weight, at least for today. Husayn al-Jarabani of al-Sharq al-Awsat reports that Ahmad Naji was among the three individuals that Yemen authorities arrested yesterday in San'a. For those with an incredible memory, Naji ...