evolution

with mild reluctance, i'm moving specialists in violence to the blogosphere. (and look what's happened - i'm already using terms like blogosphere.) it seems like this format will be more convenient than the group email.

Ind (and everyone else): Bhutto's back. Pakistan's court will rule in 10-12 days on whether or not Musharraf's re-election was legal.

LAT: Turkey voted to authorize force in Iraq; already has an estimated 1500 troops in 3 battalions in Iraq.

Ind: Somali gov't troops arrested the head of the UN's World Food Program for unclear reasons 3 days after the program started; "Since Ethiopian troops drove out the Union of Islamic Courts at the end of December, violence in the capital has increased dramatically with insurgents engaging Ethiopian and Somali government troops almost daily." Islamic Courts members formed a new party in Asmara, Eritrea; appear to be biding time for stand-off between Somalia's president and prime minister to blow up.

So to sum up the web of issues smoldering in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia: Eritrea is mobilizing residents into military for potential clash with Ethiopia, which has reportedly moved troops to the border because Eritrea is allowing Islamists to operate from the country. Ethiopia-backed gov't on edge of collapse in Somalia; Eritrea at least passively backing exiled rivals. Finally, Ethiopia fighting a separatist insurgency in region of Ogaden by targeting civilians. uf.

Ind: looking for relief? try Mauritius

Ind: burmese junta acknowledges 3,000 have been arrested, 468 still held. observers suspect it's an underestimate. but the generals are steadfast, rebuking calls for democratization: "We will go ahead. We will not deviate from our path...We will get rid of the barriers and obstacles on the way."

Ind: gang violence in the UK

Slate: taking the principle out of principle-agent: an update on the CIA investigation of its own investigator general.

Slate: law and order: how mormon fundamentalists and the amish get to break so many laws. "Such group rights are a challenge for a legal system centered on the individual;" does the US gov't allow groups to regulate themselves on the condition that no members can live under both systems? the amish give 18-year-olds a year to work out if they'll commit to the community, if not, they're banished. mormon fundamentalist boys, among others, are kicked out for transgressions from group rules (or to increase the supply of women available to older men to marry). both are extreme in the sense that community members can't even maintain contact with the outsiders. contact Ryan for a comparison with nomads and pastoralists in Kenya. (note: the entire series is an interesting look at how law flexibly keeps order.)

USAT: armed group recruitment sometimes misfires

New Yorker non sequitur: race in the indie rock scene