Marriage argument in light of the plight of our brethren

April 29, 2015 by Aliza Baraka

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Yesterday Massachusetts’ Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) attorney Mary Bonauto argued in favor of federal recognition of same-sex marriage before the Supreme Court. The very fact that this occurred is cause for celebration among the LGBTQA community. Ten or so years ago such an event would not have even been a consideration. After all, as equal marriage opponent Justice Anthony Scalia stated today in his challenge to Attorney Bonauto, before 2001 no country in the world had a law regarding same-sex marriage.

Yet, 40 miles away from Washington, D.C., a maelstrom was occurring. In the face of white-on-black police brutality, the city of Baltimore was imploding. Some of those among us who identify as both LGBTQA and another minority feel that the celebration is dampened. They assert that they should not have to choose between their identities – one in anticipated exuberance and the other in angst.

An important question is: Do we pay enough attention to the minority issues in our community, including its inequities in terms of which parts of the LGBTQA people are subject to violence, killings, homelessness, rate of communicable diseases such as HIV, and other issues? We can ask: Is the LGBTQA community aware of its position of privilege? Is it as inclusive as it can be in our definition of equality? Those who are members of multiple communities ask that the mainstream LGBTQA community examine its implicit biases. The NAACP is given as an example in coming out in favor of equality for all.

In the context of our celebration, we might ask ourselves – what can we do to ensure that no one’s issues get left behind? For each person this will be different. It depends on our ability in many senses of the word. For some, it might be joining a cause. For others, it might be having a conversation. In whatever way, we may ask ourselves – is what I’m doing enough? This question comes from many traditions. In the words of Rabbi Hillel, “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?” In the words of civil rights leaders Fannie Lou Hamer and Martin Luther King, Jr., “None of us is free until all of us are free.” Therefore, let us not wait, as in the poem by the German anti-Nazi, theologian and Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemöller, “…[when] they came for me, there was no one left to speak for me.” Let us celebrate together, work together, and fight together. We still have a long way to go!

Opinion by Aliza Baraka, in collaboration with Julian Moore, J.D.

Source:
Interview with Julian Moore, J.D.

Offering too much weakens relationships in the microbe world

April 27, 2015April 27, 2015 by The Speaker Editors

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Some microbe species produce nutrients that are consumed by neighboring species, which in turn share nutrients that they produce, but a mystery of this relationship has puzzled scientists: Why do some of the shared molecules have chemical units that seemingly have the sole function of slowing the diffusion of nutrients to neighboring microbes? A team of researchers from Boston University thinks they may have found the answer in a consideration of cooperation in game theory.

“The diffusion of small molecules could have a profound effect on microbial population dynamics,” Boston University’s Rajita Menon told The Speaker. “The main effect of this diffusion is the reduction of the effective strength of natural selection, which can lead to the loss of mutualism.”

“We provide a theory for the phenomena observed in recent experiments that could potentially explain why cooperatively growing microbes modulate the diffusivities of secreted nutrients.”

When microbes produce shared nutrients at a small diffusion rate, they are brought close together to intermix, and this cooperation is stable over time. But, Menon and her adviser and follow researcher Dr. Kirill Korolev believe, as a species releases nutrients into its environment at a greater rate, mixing decreases.

This is because neighboring organisms can benefit from the diffusion even at significant distances from the producing organisms, and this means that the producing organisms lose their neighborhood benefits.

When two species share nutrients, the researchers found, the species that diffuses nutrients more slowly dominates the relationship. It can even force its neighbor towards extinction.

Biologists have used standard game theory to try to understand why some microbes produce biomolecules that have the sole purpose of slowing diffusion of nutrients to neighboring molecules, but until now the theory has not brought satisfactory answers. Menon and Korolev, however, state that the model can still be used if we consider that greater sharing of metabolites reduces cooperation strength, causing a nonequilibrium phase transition toward species extinction.

“Traditional game theory considers pair-wise microbe to microbe interactions under the assumption that microbes interact only with their closest neighbors,” Menon told us. “However, unlike human societies or bee colonies, microbial communities rarely rely on direct contact. Instead, microbes primarily communicate through a many to many exchange of diffusible molecules. Our theory describes how nutrient diffusion renormalizes the strength of selection and influences the spatial distribution of species. We are able to integrate the complex effects of nutrient diffusion in our model while retaining the essential simplicity and accessibility of game theory. “

“Simple models of cooperation in microbial ecosystems have not been able to take nutrient diffusion into account, while more complicated models that try to do so are difficult to analyze and test. Our work was motivated by this gap in understanding that could be potentially important to maintaining cooperation in microbial colonies. The results of our study indicate that fast-diffusing nutrients weaken mutualism.”

There is, the researchers conclude, a critical level of nutrient sharing the creates stable cooperation over time.

“It is… harder to establish mutualism than we would expect from models that neglect nutrient diffusion,” Menon stated. “Further, species can gain a fitness advantage by producing faster or slower diffusing nutrients in a natural environment. They have an incentive to actively control the diffusion constants of their nutrients.”

By Cheryl Bretton

Hillary Clinton and bogus Bosnia cure

April 27, 2015 by Vikas Vemuri

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Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential campaign is underway and her fund-raisers are focusing their attention on projecting Hillary as a global icon. Clinton’s global profile began soon after she became an American First Lady. In the summer of 1993 when the Bosnian crisis was boiling in Europe, Hillary was playing the role of policy advisor to her husband President Bill Clinton. Many on Capitol Hill were annoyed, as she was stretching her hands way too far in the affairs of the presidency, especially in policy making.

As Bosnian Muslims scrambled for their lives, Clinton was sketching a health care plan that the majority of Americans were not interested in. At the same time, she was nosily advocating to her husband that Bosnia was not his administration’s headache. As the Bosniaks began to die in hundreds in the Luka and Manjaca concentration camps and elsewhere across the region, and as many others were looking towards the United States for help, Bill Clinton was busy following orders from Hillary Clinton and her scrupulous domestic policy tantrums.

In November 1995 after more than three years of genocide and the loss thousands of Bosnian lives, American President Bill Clinton, with a nod from a fellow foreign policy incompetent Butrous Butrous-Ghali of the United Nations and other NATO members, signed an agreement in Dayton, Ohio to end the Bosnian war. In doing so, they caved in on Slobodan Milosevic’s monstrous trap and made way for an internal political partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is widely thought that the intervention came way too late from the Clinton administration and the Dayton treaty was a dagger to the hopes of displaced Bosnian Muslims, as it negated any chance of them ever returning to Bosnian soil again. The flawed Dayton agreement also came at the wrong time, as Bosnians and Croats were gaining steam to finally win the war. The Dayton agreement meant many European powers got what they wanted: a Christian Europa version 2.0. To add to the disgrace of the Clintons, Hillary Clinton’s health care plan did not materialize. But her hopes of bigger political prize did not end with that debacle.

Years later in 2008, when Hillary Clinton was running for the democratic presidential ticket against then-Senator Barack Obama, she had the audacity to fake a story about her role in the Bosnian intervention. It is to be believed that during the peak of the Bosnian War, Hillary Clinton, accompanied by her daughter Chelsea, heroically flew to the war zone of Sarajevo to stand with the Bosniaks and were welcomed by sniper fire that they bravely withstood. The so-called Hillary-land danced to her tunes and even went further by adding Bosnia as a feather in Hillary’s foreign policy cap. The morning after Hillary Clinton cooked up the story, an American news channel ran the original clip from her Bosnian visit — to the contrary, young school children lined up to greet Clinton and her daughter with rosy hugs. After being caught lying red-handed, hapless Hillary quickly retorted by claiming she misspoke about her Bosnian visit, as she confused it with some other foreign trip. The author of the “The Bosnia List,” Kenan Trebincevic, a genocide survivor, laughed when asked about Hillary’s sniper story. He affirmed that the gun battle was happening in the hills far away from the airport.

Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run reminds one of a Biblical decree. In the Bible it is said that the sins of the fathers are revisited upon successive generations, and in the case of Hillary Clinton, her sins and those of her husband in previous public tenures, are haunting her in her run, and foremost of her many foreign policy sins is her bogus Bosnian cure in the 90s.

Opinion by Vikas Sharma Vemuri

United Nations

The sun rises in the East: War, investment and the AIIB

April 24, 2015 by Joseph Siess

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American trend forecaster Gerald Celente’s quip that “As U.S. wages war, China wages business” is more reality than wit. The New York Times reported on Sunday that Xi Jinping visited Pakistan in preparation of a $46 billion investment in infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, the Obama administration remains mired in the backlash following the deaths of two Western hostages in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan back in January.

The Chinese-financed infrastructure projects further solidify Chinese relations with Pakistan, one of the prospective founding members of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The AIIB, a five-month-old initiative by the Chinese government to challenge the economic hegemony held by the U.S.-led International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

The AIIB emerged in response to the U.S.’s refusal to reform the Bretton Woods system and amplify China’s voting influence in the IMF. China, with a GDP of $10 trillion, holds less of a stake in the Fund than countries with significantly smaller economies such as France. In response to U.S. arrogance, Beijing decided to take matters into its own hands in the formation of the AIIB. Judging by the international community’s rush to get in on the action, the new China-led bank seems to be off to a good start.

Some of the prospective founding members of the AIIB include some of the U.S.’s staunchest allies, including the British, French, Italians and Germans. Even Australia, Taiwan and the Israelis applied to join the AIIB. The international community has effectively isolated the U.S.; many justifying their actions by claiming that they’d rather be onboard with the Chinese than not have a say at all.

The trend is a major setback for the Obama administration, which failed to persuade its own allies to forgo the Chinese-led initiative. The U.S. also claims that the AIIB cannot be expected to maintain the same ethical and environment protocols characteristic of the IMF and World Banks.

The AIIB’s emergence in the global economic arena symbolizes an enormous shift in power. The Bank threatens U.S. financial credibility and hegemony in the eyes of the international community, and the more influence the AIIB accumulates the more isolated the United States will become from the rest of the world. As the infrastructure at home rots at its foundations, the U.S. dedicates 3.5% of its GDP to military expenditures.

So while the U.S. invests in war, supporting the Saudis in Yemen, and sending troops to the Ukraine under the auspices of Operation “Fearless Guardian”; the Chinese invest in infrastructure. As Washington desperately tries to salvage what is left of its waning political and economic global hegemony, the East seems to be gaining ground. As the sun sets in the West, it begins to rise in the East.

Analysis by Joseph Siess

29 attacks, two engagements reported by Ukrainian Army

April 24, 2015 by The Speaker Editors

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On the night of April 24, 29 attacks and two engagements were reported by the Ukrainian Military to have taken place between Russian and pro-Russian forces and Ukrainian forces in the Donbass.

Russian and pro-Russian forces clashed with Ukrainian forces in two locations – Marinka and Avdeyevka, both near separatist-held Donetsk.

Of the 29 reported overnight attacks, 11 were conducted with 120 mm mortars on positions near Granitnoye, Peski, Popasnaya, Kirov and Avdeyevka.

The use of mortars with anything beyond 100 mm caliber is a violation of the Minsk agreement, as such weapons should have been withdrawn from the front line.

Other attacks took place near Shirokino, Opytnoye, Mayorsk and Lozovoye, in addition to two attacks in Lugansk.

The 29 overnight attacks brings the total attacks for the 24 hour period to around 50.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated Friday that if another offensive was launched by Russian and Pro-Russian forces in Ukraine, the president would move immediately toward a state of martial law and a wartime stance.

“The armed forces of Ukraine, and I as the supreme commander of those forces, have given clear guarantees that we will abide scrupulously by the Minsk agreements. We will not take the offensive,” announced Poroshenko.

The Ukrainian president said that if Ukrainian troops were attacked all measures would be taken to protect them. He mentioned the need for a UN or EU peacekeeping mission in the east of the country.

“Two options exist: either we invite peacekeepers who, acting in accordance with the UN Security Council’s decisions, serve as a line of control on the Ukraine-Russia border – for what? To avoid conflict, to prevent provocations… or a mission by the European Union, which today is also ready to take on this responsibility.”

Poroshenko did not elaborate on the issue to say what would constitute a new offensive.

By James Haleavy

Babies’ and children’s brain growth limited without fish oil fatty acids

July 23, 2015April 23, 2015 by Cheryl Bretton

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According to new research by UCI scientists, fetus’, babies’ and children’s brains need the types of fatty acids found in fish to develop. Dietary deficiencies in this area actually limits brain growth, Susana Cohen-Cory, professor of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California-Irvine’s School of Biological Sciences and lead researcher on the study, found.

The study represents proof for the first time of how n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids cause changes in the molecules of a developing brain. Constraints caused by deficiency of these nutrients result in limited growth of neurons and connecting synapses because docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is required neural and synaptic development, is based on fatty acids.

The team used African clawed frogs. The frogs were an excellent model, according to the researchers, because the embryos develop outside of the mother and are translucent, so the development of neurons and synapses can be observed in the intact, living embryos.

The team found that when they cut off the fatty acids to female frogs, the healthy growth of the central nervous system of their tadpole offspring was inhibited — poorly developed neurons and limited numbers of synapses resulted.

When the researchers returned the fatty acids to the next generation of mother frogs, neuronal and synaptic development returned to normal for the third generation.

The foods that have n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids include salmon, mackerel, trout, sardines, herring and other oily fish — which are the richest source of this nutrient. They can also be found in eggs and meat. Other foods, such as nuts, whole grains, dark green leafy vegetables and nuts also have the fatty acids, but much less. Oily fish contain 10 to 100 times more dietary DHA than the non-meat options.

Additionally, DHA is present in breast milk. It is also an ingredient in baby formulas and is a supplement for premature babies.

The study, “Impact of Maternal n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Deficiency on Dendritic Arbor Morphology and Connectivity of Developing Xenopus laevis Central NeuronsIn Vivo,” was completed by Miki Igarashi, Rommel A. Santos, and Susana Cohen-Cory

By Cheryl Bretton

Pew finding on future of religious groups: Muslims will grow more than twice as fast as world population over next 40 years

September 1, 2015April 23, 2015 by The Speaker Editors

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The current world population is 7 billion – 1.6 billion are Muslim. Over the next 40 years, the world population is projected to increase 35 percent to 9.3 billion, according to Pew research, and of eight major religious groups calculated, only Muslims will outstrip the overall rate of population growth.

While Christians, Jews and Hindus are expected at remain at nearly the same level as the overall population – 35 percent – and Buddhists, adherents of folk religions, the unaffiliated and other religions will decline, Muslims will increase by 73 percent by 2050.

The reason for this difference, Pew found, was that on average Muslims have more children than people of other faiths. Muslims as a group also have a younger median age, meaning more of Muslims will soon be having children.

Also, many Muslim regions are projected to have significantly higher numbers of children than regions inhabited primarily by other religions, Pew found. While European and North American families have 2 – 2.6 children, and Asians have 2 – 2.7 children, people in the Middle East and North Africa have 2.6 – 3 children, and Sub-Saharan Africans have 4.5 – 5.6 children.

Although Muslim numbers will rise quickly in Africa and the Middle East, Pew found, the Muslim population will grow relative to the overall population in every region of the globe except Latin America and the Caribbean, where relatively few Muslims live.

By James Haleavy

Jeff Koons’ retrospective in Paris – Review

July 10, 2015April 21, 2015 by Rickovia Leung

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Jeff Koons’ retrospective exhibition: expectation, contrast and disappointment

After having been exhibited in New York City, “Jeff Koons: A Retrospective” is now in the Centre Pompidou in Paris until April 27, 2015. Jeff Koons is one of the most controversial contemporary artists. This retrospective, with Scott Rothkopf as exhibition curator and Bernard Blistène as curator of the Paris show, comprehensively presents Koons’ work at various stages of his 35-year career. Located in the influential contemporary art institution in Paris, alongside Atelier Brancusi and the remarkable retrospective of Marcel Duchamp, could Koons’ exhibition and artworks live up to the high expectations?

Rabbit and the Inflatables

Koons’ initial inflatable work, “Inflatable Flower and Bunny,” displayed at the entrance of the exhibition was echoed by the silvery “Rabbit” one third of the way in. The two share similar forms, but the features of the plastic toy disappeared in “Rabbit’s” smooth and reflective surface. “Rabbit” was described in the caption next to the artwork as “one of Jeff Koons’ most iconic works,” — although such importance is not signified with any special treatment of its display in the exhibition. On the other hand, it recalls Bracusi’s refined shiny bird sculpture, “Leda” (1926), which was created decades before the Koons work. While the former’s perfect surface relates to the infinite and indefinable, Koons’ subject matter does not depart far from popular culture and Pop Art aesthetics, despite the change of materials.

“Inflatable Flower and Bunny”, 1979 — “Inflatable Flower and Bunny,” 1979

Celebration

Not far from the rather subtle “Rabbit” stands the attention-seeking “Ballon Dog.” A magenta version of the 3-meter orange painted stainless steel “Balloon Dog” sold for $58.4 million last year, a record price for a living artist. This oversized “Balloon Dog” is placed in the center of the exhibition section of the “Celebration” series, surrounded by the large blue “Moon” and red “Hanging Heart.” However, there does not seem to be any dialogue among the works except for reflecting one another from their surfaces. From “Rabbit” to “Balloon Dog” — both iconic — the link is obviously Koons’ gesture of “exaggerating the aura of cheap, ordinary things, aggrandising them into works of art in increasingly expensive materials.” These point us to the ready-mades of Duchamp. While Duchamp’s “Fountain” was an act of anti-market and anti-authorship, Koons has diverted to commodification of art in capitalist art market.

“Moon”, 1995-2000, reflecting “Balloon Dog” and the exhibition hall — “Moon,” 1995-2000, reflecting “Balloon Dog” and the exhibition hall

“Hanging Heart” displayed side by side with “Moon”

Jeff Koons' Retrospective in Centre Pompidou, Paris with the iconic "Balloon Dog", 1994-2000 — Jeff Koons’ retrospective in Centre Pompidou, Paris with the iconic “Balloon Dog,” 1994-2000

Gazing ball

This latest series of Koons’ in the last part of the exhibition shows classical sculptures replicated in plaster, each with a sharp blue balloon-like sphere. The classical beauty of the sculptures is placed against representation of American popular culture by the modern blue mirror balls which come from suburban ornaments in his home state of Pennsylvania. Koons is trying to address the future decorative nature of artworks. The plain and dull texture of the plaster is contrasted by the shiny reflective gazing balls which catch viewers into the artwork. However, when one searches to find something deeper out of such contract and reflection, one can still only find the externalized image of oneself. There is then a sense of narcissism, not something surprising from Koons’ art. David Zwirner, the art dealer for Koons, quoted Koons saying that, “If you’re critical, you’re already out of the game.” One critique replied to this, “His narcissism makes him incapable of self-editing.” Indeed, it seems not obvious how the choice of each sculpture model could give either a different message or a higher artistic value, except for the selling of one more piece of decoration. In this sense, it might be painful to claim them as descendants from Duchamp’s ready-mades in which the act of choosing and the choice of the objects is the notion.

“Gazing Ball [Ariadne]”, 2013 — “Gazing Ball [Ariadne],” 2013

Viewing these three major iconic series from Jeff Koons three and a half decades of work, the progression of time does not generate any greater surprise or insights from Koons’ works. The New Yorker’s Peter Schjeldahl, reviewing the Whitney show, called Koons “the signal artist of today’s world,” claiming that, “If you don’t like that, take it up with the world.” In this regard of generalizing and externalizing his artworks to the responsibility of the contemporary world, it might seem that if one is disappointed by the exhibition, such disappointment should be directed to the wider world. However, it is doubtful that this is the case when we just turn our eyes to Duchamp or Brancusi next door, whose art is still giving much profound meaning to our world besides money and market.

By Rickovia Leung

More Americans favor gun rights over gun control for first time

April 18, 2015April 18, 2015 by The Speaker Editors

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Americans’ opinions on gun rights have flipped. For the first time, more Americans value gun owners’ rights than they do gun control.

According to Pew research, the percentage of Americans who thought gun rights were more important was only 29-34 percent during the 90s. In the 00s, that number shot up and down between the 32 and 45 percent. Around the turn of the current decade, the numbers were roughly even for several years, but in December 2014 the number of Americans who value gun rights surpassed those who prefer gun control for the first time. The numbers are currently 52 percent and 46 percent.

Another of Pew’s findings was that the percentage of Americans who say that they feel safer with a gun in the home has risen even more steadily. Thirty-five percent said they felt safer in ’00. Today, 63 percent say they feel safer.

Pew suggested two reasons that might be behind the change in favor of gun owners’ rights: Republicans have pushed for gun rights during the Obama years, they noted, but also, more Americans perceive that crime is on the rise today than they did decades ago.

But, Pew noted, unlike previous decades when more Americans believed high crime should be dealt with by strictening gun control laws, today more American’s believe crime should be dealt with by increasing gun ownership.

The shift in favor of gun rights is across the board with regards to perceptions of crime. More American’s who believe crime is rising favor more gun ownership, but so do American’s who believe crime is the same or decreasing, Pew found.

By James Haleavy

Best Places To Order Cassettes

November 3, 2016April 17, 2015 by The Speaker Editors

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Buy cassette tapes. According to m u s i c i a n / p r o d u c e r s, these are the best spots.

Keeping in mind you’re looking for DIY prices, the cheapest places are:

Duplication.ca
NAC
deltamedia
BandCDs

How much should you pay? It shouldn’t be up there around $1,000, which is what some companies are charging. The ones listed above charge much less.

For example, Duplication.ca reportedly can do around 150 cassettes with inserts and cases for not much over $500 USD.

HIV outbreak in Indiana reaches 130

April 17, 2015April 17, 2015 by The Speaker Editors

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The outbreak of HIV in southern Indiana’s Scott County has affected 130 people, according to the region’s health officials, bringing the number up by 24 since last week. One hundred twenty cases are now confirmed in addition to 10 preliminary positives.

“We have seen a significant increase in the number of HIV cases reported this week, but we believe that is because we have been able to offer more testing with the help of additional staff from the CDC,” State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams said.

“This sharp increase in the number of HIV-positive cases demonstrates just how critical it is that we are able to locate and test people who have been exposed so that they can avoid spreading it to others and get medical treatment.”

Health authorities have identified the cause of the outbreak in drug users sharing needles.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working in the region at the reuest of the Indiana State Department to help local authorities investigate the outbreak. The CDC is providing help testing and contacting people who potentially have been exposed to the disease.

The Scott County Health Department this week began a mobile needle exchange. The new service, as well as the “One-Stop Shop” created by executive order last month, will compliment the Scott County’s needle exchange program.

By Cheryl Bretton

Al Qaeda gains ground and oil amidst Yemeni Chaos

April 17, 2015 by Joseph Siess

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Oh dear. Yesterday the Washington Post reported that al Qaeda successfully seized a strategic airport, sea port and al-Dhabah oil export facility in the south of Yemen after skirmishes with Yemeni troops.

According to officials who remained anonymous, al Qaeda combatants engaged one of the largest Yemeni infantry brigades on the outskirt of Mukalla, successfully driving the brigade away.

Apparently the military leaders in charge of the brigade fled at the sight of the combatants, and didn’t put up much of a fight. The fragmentation and multilateral war in Yemen is an ideal environment for al Qaeda to gain territory.

Al Qaeda also sprang one of its high-up officials from the Al Mukalla city prison after cleaning out the city bank. Al Qaeda’s principal rivals, the allegedly pro-Iranian Shiite Houthi rebels currently engaged with the Saudi Government, are too preoccupied to worry about the recent al Qaeda advance.

Essentially, the Saudis continue slaughtering innocents while allowing al Qaeda to run rampant and gain ground. The U.S. continues its support of the Saudi slaughter of the rebels, and at the same time U.S. drone strikes took out several al Qaeda members, including a high-ranking official, the New York Times reported. Uncle Sam is knee-deep in the game, and he isn’t fooling anyone.

This development in the Yemeni kerfuffle is big news, and certainly The President is losing some sleep over this one. One obvious reason being that it will indubitably lead to more instability in the already chaotic Middle East, and it’s safe to say that as this thing progresses, it’s ciao to cheap oil.

But wait. This thing keeps getting better and better. Today, Bloomberg reported that Yemeni loyalists to exiled president Abdurabuh Mansur Hadi have successfully wrestled control of yet another oil field in order to prevent it from falling into al Qaeda’s grasp, or Houthi hands at that.

As Yemen slumps further and further into degeneracy, and Saudi Arabia continues to blow the Houthi’s to smithereens and in the processes facilitating the advance of al Qaeda, this thing has the potential to get even crazier. It’s just a matter of time before the U.S. sticks its nose even deeper into the Yemeni chaos, delivering another solid dose of democratic drone therapy.

Analysis by Joseph Siess