Below is a partial list of the rebel groups that are fighting Assad and by default Hezbollah, Iran and Russia inside Syria… In almost any conflict, the name of the game is “size, money and momentum,” with ideology a distant fourth. For the anti-Assad fighters in Syria, this reality is no different and right now, … Continue reading
Category Archives: Politics
The Weather Underground House
Looks like a relatively quiet – even quaint – Greenwich Village street scene, no? Well, this is what that street looked like on the morning of March 6, 1970: On that morning, the townhouse standing at 18 West 11th Street, which was being used as a hideout and bomb factory for the radical leftist Weather … Continue reading
Photos Of The Day: Some Of The Characters Of The Horn Of Africa
There is a lot going on right now in the Horn of Africa, and in Somalia in particular. I thought this would be an opportune time to visually review some of the components in this drama… The Actors: Somali pirates: Ethiopia’s Ogaden rebels: Fighters working for various Somali warlords: The African Union: The Kenyan military: … Continue reading
Quote Of The Day: Executive Outcomes
I’ve mentioned Executive Outcomes before… Below is an interesting description of the capabilities of Executive Outcomes at their peak: Executive Outcomes is capable of rapidly deploying a battalion-strength force almost anywhere in the world with impressive asset support. EO owns a slew of armored fighting vehicles: two Boeing 727s and a C-47, attack aircraft such … Continue reading
What’s The Best Passport To Have?
I was at a birthday party up in Harlem last night (which, by the way, has gentrified significantly in the past ten years) and was catching up with a friend of mine that recently married a British girl. He’s American and I was thinking about how he would now be eligible for a British passport. … Continue reading
Occupy Wall Street – The Day After…
At the request of our Middle East correspondent, Ben Walker, The Velvet Rocket staff braved the rain and foul weather to explore the aftermath of the New York Police Department’s eviction of the Occupy Wall Street protesters at Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park. The scene tonight: Yes, there is still some activity at Zuccotti Park – police, … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 