On Thursday I had a chance to go to the Eurasia Foundation’s 20th anniversary gala (thanks Eurasia Foundation!) where I listened to a few very interesting speeches on Russia and the greater Eurasia region. One of these speeches was by Robert Zoellick, the former head of the World Bank and someone who is just a little bit more influential than your humble author. In the course of his remarks, which were primarily focused on the economic transformation that resulted from communism’s collapse, Zoellick made several offhand observations about how Russia’s population is collapsing, the death rate is rising, and alcoholism...
In Hancock, NY an islamic community that sits on 80 acres has decided to form its own government. They call their community Islamberg. They have their own mayor, deputy mayor and five council members. None of them are elected, of course.