Here Comes the Next Superbug (We're All Gonna Die!)

West Africa is under siege by some pesky little critter known as Ebola. According to the CDC, the situation is severe enough that they recommend against travelling to the region. Now, I don't think Mama Nature plays games when it comes to this stuff, but the death toll is around 730 as of this writing.

 In the time it took for this information to reach my eyes, and then for me to type this article, more people died in the U.S. from drunk-driving than in West Africa from Ebola.

India Pushed into a Manhole

Mr. John Kerry is working on pulling India into the global charade, pushing the growing Asian power into accepting World Trade Organization (WTO) reforms.  The powers-that-be tout a bunch of fancy statistics--like 21 million jobs and billions in global savings--in an effort to make the Indian government seem childish, misguided, or just plain stubborn because they have objections.

Is this another ploy by the people running the show or does Indian have something else going on?

If the Islamic State Conquers Baghdad...

There's a lot going on in the world right now, especially in the Mid-East, but the once headline-grabbing ISIS advance (and subsequent declaration of an Islamic Caliphate) seems to have taken second place to events around Israel, Ukraine, and Family Dollar (trending higher than Gaza on Google News, as of this writing).

What happens when the I.S. overruns Baghdad?  What are strategic and political complications?

Gaza going BOOM

The latest story from Reuters (read it here), paints the picture of a defiant Israel determined to punish Hamas, even if it means leveling Gaza in the process.  Several incidents, such as the destruction of schools and even explosions killing kids, are rapidly empowering sympathetic feelings for the Palestinians.

What's the end game in Gaza?  Will world opinion force Israel to back off the attacks?

Rockets Away!

According to a recent DailyMail article, among many other news sources, the U.S. has proof that Russia is launching rockets from multiple-launch vehicles within its own borders against government targets across the Ukrainian border.  They are literally blasting away at Ukraine troops, and allegedly sending equipment and supplies to the rebel factions still holed up in eastern Ukraine.

What the hell is going on over there?

Solar Roulette

Every so often, the Sun loads up and fires a blast into space.  These coronal mass ejections (CME) have the capacity to do some serious, serious damage upon striking Earth.

According to NASA, recent solar CMEs raced through Earth's backyard.  Here's the article.

What sort of impact would CMEs have on Earth?  Let's discuss.

The Next Crusade: Israel

Here's the NY Times article I read recently.

Check out this graphic that puts the Gaza casualties into proper perspective.

Summary: There's some serious business going on in the Middle East (ME) right about now--to be fair, it always has been going on, but it's particularly "hot" at the moment.  Though it's far from the deadliest, I think the Israeli operations in Gaza and unrest in the West Bank are nuclear in terms of international relations.  It's a complicated topic, isn't it?  Read on for more discussion.

Cold War II

The latest article I've read regarding the Ukraine situation really grabbed my attention.

In a nutshell: either Russia is firing artillery from their border and supplying weapons to the rebels in East Ukraine, or the media machine is really cranking up the rhetoric and provoking the Bear.

The Madness in Ukraine

Okay, so I try to keep up on what's happening in the world for a number of reasons which would paint me as a conspiracy theorist (or worse).

Here's the article I just finished reading about the U.S. claiming Russia is shelling Ukrainian military positions.