When a nuclear armed state is descending into anarchy, you ought to keep tabs on it. But you don’t read much about Pakistan in the mainstream press. To help rectify that, we bring you this article from From Spiegel….

With its anarchy and lawlessness, the Swat Valley has come to symbolize Pakistan in the year 2007. This time it’s not about the tribal areas, such as Waziristan along the Afghan border, where radical Islamists have been successfully undermining the power of the state. The Swat Valley is just a few hours drive from Islamabad. And Mullah Fazlullah’s jihad is directed at Musharraf’s regime. He and his fighters want to see a strict Islamist state, that is not oriented towards the US but to Sharia law. It is an enemy in the heart of the country — one that Musharraf seems increasingly incapable of dealing with.

Abu Muqawama rants about how the US army chooses its Generals.

You think you understand how stupid people can be, and then something comes along that blows your mind. How in the world can you come up with a fair test to distinguishing the sane from the insane? This is just nuts….

With drought conditions reigning across much of the South and communities restricting water use, a resident in North Carolina took the extreme measure of drilling a new private well for the sole purpose of watering his lawn. The well cost $3,000 for homeowner Jorge Pericchi, but he said it was worth the expense. A local well driller states that his company has installed dozens of wells since the drought began. While state laws don’t normally restrict the use of private wells, some state officials are concerned the private well boom will draw down the water table for everyone.