Take the test: Which political tribe are you?

March 23, 2014March 23, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

So what type of voter are you? Pollsters Populus have come up with a new way of tapping into the mind of the electorate. You can take the test here – but first let us explain what it is all about. Worcester woman. Mondeo Man. Political parties love slicing and dicing the electorate into chunks, all the better to target them for their votes. The technique is called segmentation and – like many political tools – has been perfected in the United States. Gone are the days when the public was segmented by simple things like their cars or postcodes. Now … Continue reading Take the test: Which political tribe are you?

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Russian sanctions as war and farce

March 22, 2014March 22, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

If we come to a minefield, our infantry attacks exactly as if it was not there – Marshal Georgy Zhukov Let’s start with the serious stuff. As Russia’s Federation Council ratifies a treaty with Crimea, concluding the formal annexation, Ukraine signs the political chapters of an association agreement with the European Union (EU). The signing of the full EU agreement will only happen later in 2014. These are the facts on the ground. Now let’s turn to comedy hour – also known as the sanctions war. The oh-so democratic EU has punished the democratic Crimea referendum by sanctioning 33 Russians and Crimeans … Continue reading Russian sanctions as war and farce

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THE WHITE HOUSE HAS BEEN COVERING UP THE PRESIDENCY’S ROLE IN TORTURE FOR YEARS

March 22, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

On May 10, 2013, John Brennan presented CIA’s response to the Senate Intelligence Committee Torture Report to the President. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza. The fight between the CIA and the Senate Intelligence Committee over the Committee’s Torture Report – which Dan Froomkin covered here – has now zeroed in on the White House. Did the White House order the CIA to withdraw 920 documents from a server made available to Committee staffers, as Senator Dianne Feinstein says the agency claimed in 2010? Were those documents – perhaps thousands of them – pulled in deference to a White House claim of … Continue reading THE WHITE HOUSE HAS BEEN COVERING UP THE PRESIDENCY’S ROLE IN TORTURE FOR YEARS

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Jomini & Clausewitz

March 22, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

JOMINI AND CLAUSEWITZ:THEIR INTERACTION by Christopher Bassford An edited version of a paperpresented to the 23rd Meeting of theConsortium on Revolutionary Europeat Georgia State University26 February 1993. CopyrightChristopher Bassford. Part of The Clausewitz Homepage IntroductionClausewitzJominiFundamental Differences Between the Two TheoristsTheir InteractionConclusions: The Return of JominiNotesBibliography At least three important military theorists emerged from the experience of the wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon: The Austrian Archduke Charles; the Swiss writer Antoine-Henri Jomini; and the Prussian Carl von Clausewitz. The archduke has had very little influence in the United States or Great Britain, since his work was never translated into English.*1 … Continue reading Jomini & Clausewitz

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Khalid ibn al-Walid

March 22, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

Who was Khalid ibn al-Walid Khālid ibn al-Walīd (592-642) (Arabic: خالد بن الوليد) also known as Sayf-Allah al-Maslul (the Drawn Sword of God or Sword of Allah), was one of the two famous Arab generals of the Rashidun army during the Muslim conquests of the 7th Century. The other great general was Amr ibn al-‘As. He is noted for his military prowess, commanding the forces of Muhammad and those of his immediate successors of the Rashidun Caliphate; Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab. In having the distinction of being undefeated in over a hundred battles against the numerically superior forces … Continue reading Khalid ibn al-Walid

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Arthashastra

March 22, 2014March 22, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

Kautilya’s Arthashastra is an excellent treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy. it is said to have been written by Kautilya, also known by the name Chanakya or Vishnugupta, the prime minister of India’s first great emperor, Chandragupta Maurya. In Arthashastra, Kautilya mixes the harsh pragmatism for which he is famed with compassion for the poor, for slaves, and for women. He reveals the imagination of a romancer in imagining all manner of scenarios which can hardly have been commonplace in real life. Centrally, Arthaśāstra argues for an autocracy managing an efficient and solid economy. It discusses the ethics of economics … Continue reading Arthashastra

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Final 54 minutes of communication from Flight #MH370

March 21, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

This is the last 54 minutes of cockpit communication aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. A transcript of conversations between the co-pilot and the control tower, and later with air traffic control, runs from the time the Boeing 777 airliner was taxiing on the runway to its last known position thousands of feet above the Gulf of Thailand. It includes communications when the plane is believed by investigators to have already been sabotaged and the last words of Fariq Abdul Hamid, the 27-year-old co-pilot: “All right, good night”. Last night analysts said the sequence of messages appeared to … Continue reading Final 54 minutes of communication from Flight #MH370

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Madrassas in Pakistan

March 21, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

Madrassas of Pakistan are Islamic seminaries in Pakistan that teach mostly Islamic subjects leading to graduation as a cleric (maulvi, maulanaor mulla). There are five major governing bodies of Pakistani madrassas and their corresponding schools of thought are: Tanzim-ul-Madaras (Barelwi), Wafaq-ul-Madaras (Deobandi), Wafaq-ul-Madaras (Shia), Wafaq-ul-Madaras (Ahle Hadith) Rabita-ul-Madaris (Jamaat-e-Islami). Additionally there are a number of Quran academies offering diplomas in Islamic courses. History The madaris rose as colleges of learning in the Islamic world in the 11th century, though there were institutions of learning earlier.[2] They catered not only to the religious establishment, though that was the dominant influence over them, but also the secular one. To the latter they supplied physicians, administrative officials, judges and teachers. … Continue reading Madrassas in Pakistan

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Lawrence of Saudi Arabia?

March 21, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is not known for thinking, much for speaking. He is the one who received a stinging rebuke from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani after having presented a check worth $10 million. For Pakistan, similar callousness shown in an interview given by the prince to The Wall Street Journal in November last year has proven to be a constant source of headache. “Nawaz Sharif, specifically, is very much Saudi Arabia’s man in Pakistan,” claimed Mr Talal after having suggested that in case of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, his country could procure nuclear warheads from Islamabad. Since then, a … Continue reading Lawrence of Saudi Arabia?

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Blasphemers — the first victims of neurosis?

March 21, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

To overcome the awe of guilt we seek refuge in religion, which demands our unconditional subservience to its hegemony. For his faith — genuine or not — man remains prepared to take life The Greek word blasphemia means speaking ill or using impious language. The word has two elements: blas, which has no clear meaning, is perhaps rendered as ‘in a spirit of hurtfulness’, while pheme is ‘utterance’. Prior to the hegemony of monotheistic religions, ‘blasphemy’ had a rare existence, though its echo can be heard as far back as 400 BC in one of the orations of Demosthenes. Among … Continue reading Blasphemers — the first victims of neurosis?