June 15, 2015
Writing from Mumbai, India
I have been busy in Afghanistan and India – and have neglected my update – so I thought I’d giver a sweeping overview of some of the stories that I’ve been following – things that have caught my attention. Here we go!
Edward Snowden, former NSA contractor may have more to explain that he thought he did. He has repeatedly stated that Russia and China did not have access to any of the millions of classified files that he had when he absconded with when he left the US. (Because the US’s surveillance program didn’t meet his personal standards of privacy) But Western intelligence agencies have had to significantly change course with a senior UK government sources telling the BBC that “China and Russia have information that led to agents being moved.”
It always seems like a good idea when we each apply our own sense of justice to each and every situation… Surely there will be no unintended consequences.
Obama continues to make good on his promise to close down Guantanamo Bay Prison. Six more prisoners were transferred from Guantanamo Bay to the Arab Gulf country of Oman. With all the destabilization in neighboring Yemen, I am sure that none of them will return to the “good fight.”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is pretty optimistic about Iran getting a good nuclear deal from the West as the talks enter their final week. Maybe someone should take a look at Iran’s human rights records and what’s happening with Christians inside the country right now. But the two issues seem to have no bearing on one another.
Talha Asmal has now become the youngest British suicide bomber to join ISIS and lose his life. He was 17 years old, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire and was one of four suicide bombers who attacked forces near an oil refinery south of Jaiji. If you’d like to read more, here’s a brief history of ISIS’s one year anniversary.
Michelle E. Goodrich once said, “World peace, true love, and happily-ever-afters amount to wasted wishes, failed endeavors, and most precious dreams.” But I am not inclined to discount the power of one or two individuals who can, if they really wanted to, make a difference in the world around them.
The Global Nexter 