Monday News and General Chicanery
Hey folks! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was excellent. Did I get hammered? No. Did I do something wild and crazy? No. What did I do? I finished an article a day before it was due, and then I attended a sixtieth wedding anniversary. And that was just Saturday!
First thing's first: today's video. This one was featured on YouTube yesterday, and it's really entertaining: How the South was Lost, by the Ramsey Brothers.
Okay, so I have a few pieces of news, and a few fun links for y'all to keep you entertained throughout the day.
I've kept track of events in Mauritania, but I haven't had a chance to post the updates... Until now!
Head of Military Junta Takes on Presidential Powers in Mauritania (AP)
Mauritania strongman steps forward (BBC)
Politicians back Mauritania coup (BBC, Guardian)
Coup in Mauritania: Progress Hijacked (FSM)
The most interesting item that I saw was this article: al Qaeda 'warning' for Mauritania. The al Qaeda franchise in North Africa carried out several deadly bombings in Algeria this week, and they've apparently released a message urging Mauritanians to rise up against the coup leaders. It's tough to see that happening when even the Mauritanian parliament has folded. Mauritania has experienced several terrorist incidents in the past year or so, to include a shooting at the Israeli embassy (Mauritania is one of only a few Arab countries that recognize Israel) and kidnappings of foreigners that ended with the cancellation of the annual Dakar Rally. General Abdelaziz, the junta leader, has claimed that one of his priorities is to crush extremism. Thus, al Qaeda in the Maghreb is threatening Mauritania.
A few other stories.
Algeria: a new front for al Qaeda? (BBC)
Secret Report: '98 Strikes on Bin Laden Backfired (Wired)
al Qaeda faces Islamist backlash (BBC)
Gaddafi son retires from politics (BBC)
That last one is particularly interesting to me, since I actually wrote an article about Saif al Qaddhafi a few months ago. I actually got my Islamic Civ professor from college to read it, and he E-Mailed the article to me a couple of days ago. I have a hard time believing that Saif, who has almost single-handedly fixed the majority of Libya's foreign policy blunders over the last few years, wouldn't eventually succeed his father. My guess is that this will basically mean that Saif takes on a less public role, focusing on the Qaddhafi family "charity" for the next few years, and then he comes out of retirement "for the good of the Jamahiriyah" when Muammar either dies, or becomes too frail to lead. I could see it being similar to what we're watching in Cuba at the moment.
I've been keyed into two really cool websites by folks I work with. Sam-Wise indirectly sent me to the events archive at the Heritage Foundation. Boring? Not hardly: they have podcasts of lectures going back several years, of varied subjects, many of them dealing with important national and international issues. I about wet my pants when I saw how much awesome stuff they have. If you're bored at work, and you have a headset or speakers, go look to see if there's something that interests you.
Have you ever enjoyed watching an episode of Hot for Words? Do you think that language and word origins are interesting? Then you'd probably love the Etymology Online Dictionary. Go look up your favorite word... Do it!
Okay, folks, more tomorrow. I dare you to survive Monday!
First thing's first: today's video. This one was featured on YouTube yesterday, and it's really entertaining: How the South was Lost, by the Ramsey Brothers.
Okay, so I have a few pieces of news, and a few fun links for y'all to keep you entertained throughout the day.
I've kept track of events in Mauritania, but I haven't had a chance to post the updates... Until now!
The most interesting item that I saw was this article: al Qaeda 'warning' for Mauritania. The al Qaeda franchise in North Africa carried out several deadly bombings in Algeria this week, and they've apparently released a message urging Mauritanians to rise up against the coup leaders. It's tough to see that happening when even the Mauritanian parliament has folded. Mauritania has experienced several terrorist incidents in the past year or so, to include a shooting at the Israeli embassy (Mauritania is one of only a few Arab countries that recognize Israel) and kidnappings of foreigners that ended with the cancellation of the annual Dakar Rally. General Abdelaziz, the junta leader, has claimed that one of his priorities is to crush extremism. Thus, al Qaeda in the Maghreb is threatening Mauritania.
A few other stories.
That last one is particularly interesting to me, since I actually wrote an article about Saif al Qaddhafi a few months ago. I actually got my Islamic Civ professor from college to read it, and he E-Mailed the article to me a couple of days ago. I have a hard time believing that Saif, who has almost single-handedly fixed the majority of Libya's foreign policy blunders over the last few years, wouldn't eventually succeed his father. My guess is that this will basically mean that Saif takes on a less public role, focusing on the Qaddhafi family "charity" for the next few years, and then he comes out of retirement "for the good of the Jamahiriyah" when Muammar either dies, or becomes too frail to lead. I could see it being similar to what we're watching in Cuba at the moment.
I've been keyed into two really cool websites by folks I work with. Sam-Wise indirectly sent me to the events archive at the Heritage Foundation. Boring? Not hardly: they have podcasts of lectures going back several years, of varied subjects, many of them dealing with important national and international issues. I about wet my pants when I saw how much awesome stuff they have. If you're bored at work, and you have a headset or speakers, go look to see if there's something that interests you.
Have you ever enjoyed watching an episode of Hot for Words? Do you think that language and word origins are interesting? Then you'd probably love the Etymology Online Dictionary. Go look up your favorite word... Do it!
Okay, folks, more tomorrow. I dare you to survive Monday!
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