So I said to someone I'd post on the weekend...

...apparently I didn't think to mention *which* weekend.

It's been a while. Thanks for looking in here in during my absence, All.

For now, here's an Open Thread for you and I'll see what I can do about getting regular Topic Threads up again soonest. As always with commenting here, the usual rules apply: Play Nice.

Talking Turkey

I've been more than a little busy, but that hasn't meant overlooking things entirely... for example, this just came across:

Totten and Berlinski on modern Turkey.

What the recent changes mean to the region and the world; why the AKP is doing what it is doing; A very good look at how this could all end very badly.

By the way, supporting Michael Totten's reporting and doing the same for Claire Berlinski's Ricochet work are two of the best things one can do if one really believes in "the new media". I don't rattle a tip jar here, but I'm more than happy to point out that these worthy efforts do. Both have superb books in print right now as well.

Now, it is official

I've been waiting to post a thread on this, because I just wasn't 100% certain extradition was going to happen. Now, it is official:

Former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic has been flown to the Netherlands, where he is to be tried at a UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Glad they found him.

Glad they had the fortitude to arrest him.

Very, very glad that justice may now be done.

Memorial Day, again.

For Americans, this is the day the living salute the dead.

Some of us get to do this twice a year, but today is for the Yanks.

I'm spending the day with some old friends.

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An interesting item by John Miller from a few years back, entirely appropriate to the day... presented here with only this as further comment.

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Memorial Day, 2011.

Ich hatt' einen Kameraden...

Abyei burns

It looks like al-Bashir's rump-Sudan isn't waiting for any further possibilities of losing more territory by popular secession:

The Sudanese town of Abyei has been set on fire, with gunmen looting property, the UN says.

The town and surrounding area are claimed by both Khartoum and by South Sudan, set to become independent in July. The town was captured at the weekend by northern troops.

Captured, after what is looking more and more like a Gleiwitz Incident-style excuse for Northern reoccupation.

Then, they turned loose the thugs.

Some 20,000 people, almost the whole population of the town, had fled, aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told the BBC.

If the North-aligned tribal raiders (mostly Arab Misseriya) have their way about it, there won't be much if anything for the expelled (mostly Dinka Ngok) residents to come back to.

The U.N. mission in Sudan (UNMIS) has issued their customary sternly-worded rebuke.

All the context you need.

So American President B. Obama gave a rather 'important' policy speech last week at the U.S. State Department about all things Middle East...

Conspicuous in its absence was any notable applause, even during pauses in the speech intended for such.

Most of it was a restatement of other pronouncements and some dollar figures on how much support the reformist+military governments in Egypt and Tunisia are in line to get. These things are expensive, after all. (More expensive if we don't, the West drops the ball and lets a one-man/one-vote/one-time Islamist regime form.)

A little bit of it was free anti-totalitarianism. Picking on Qaddafi and Assad is pretty easy stuff these days, after all.

But then, someone let their preferences override good sense and statesmanship...

...and the next day got schooled for saying said nonsense.

This is all the context you need to know to understand how Mr. Obama could say what he said, and why Mr. Netanyahu needed to say what he said in reply.

The pity of it all is that the damage is done.

The only question is when the next war starts.

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Personal Note: This author, at roughly the time both photos were taken, went to a university with lots of the type on the right, got spit on by some of them, and elsewhere worked with the type pictured on the left. Based on that experience, I to this day choose to associate with the latter. If that is an editorial bias, so be it. My basement; my rules.

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edit: photo link corrected.

Now, send in the *real* tiger!

(Guest Post from an unnamed representative of Forces of Evil Local 7...)

Excellent work, minions...

You've managed to spread confusion through the ranks of the security forces.

When they finally did see through our insidiously clever camouflage scheme, they dismissed it as harmless and cute. They think they will find the owner... in Hampshire... MWAHAHAHA... er, well.

Now to commence the second part of our plan:

Soon,

Soon,

SOON we will have the leaders of the Western World all in one place...

BWAHAHAHAHA.

If this works, think of the possibilities!

Replacing the American Museum of Natural History Lions...

release them against Turtle Bay...

HEHHEHHEH.

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Editor's note: As we here at CompHyp possess only house cats, no tigers or lions, this post can be safely presumed to be satire. Thank you.