As the drumbeat for war grows louder in the West, the Islamic State continues to attract followers from all over the world. Information about the people who have flocked to support the Caliphate is sparse, but we are beginning to get some concrete data about them. The important aspect of this dimension of the IS appeal is that it reflects loyalty to a non-nation-state. Even though the foreign fighters have national passports (and from that fact lies one of the West’s apprehension), their loyalty is to a supranational idea. As such an appeal grows internationally, the support for a change in the international system also grows.
The civil unrest in Pakistan is growing in intensity. Protesters grabbed Pakistan Television’s English language station for a brief period of time, and then the Pakistani military criticized the government’s excessive use of force in restoring order. About 70,000 protesters have been roiling Islamabad since 15 August and it does not appear as if the government is making progress in settling things down. Some believe that the Pakistani military is involved in order to force a change in government.
In order to spur action against climate change, the World Meteorological Organization, in conjunction with global media agents, has created a weather report from the future (2050). I suspect that some of the forecasts are unlikely (122 degrees Fahrenheit in Bulgaria?), but the general thrust of the video is consistent with the projections made by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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