The breaking of the levees in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina has also unleashed the usual flood of stupid speculation as to the causes of the disaster from the ill-informed religious lunatic fringe. The same fringe claimed that the Sept 11 attacks were Divine revenge on America for its tolerance of abortion, homosexuality and [...]

I signed the pledge to blog about Uzbekistan set up by the Disillusioned Kid in response to comments by former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray on this, Uzbek Independence Day. I freely admit to - before beginning this post - knowing little or nothing about the country or the region. Not many people do, [...]