Greetings from Los Angeles, where I’m spending a few days working and searching for the perfect shrimp burrito. I need to rush back home via red-eye on Wednesday night, though, in order to pull off a couple of The Skies Belong to Us events. I thought I’d take a moment to share the details of […]
Tags:BookCourt·Gregory D. Johnsen·New York Public Library·terrorism·The Skies Belong to Us
The two young men above once dreamed of committing a truly dreadful act: poisoning Chicago’s water supply, in order to kill millions and further the ambitions of their revolutionary organization, R.I.S.E. Mainstream press accounts of their failed caper describe them as incompetent fools, but this case study gives them credit for developing some biological agents […]
Tags:1970s·Allen Schwander·Chicago·crime·Cuba·history·psychology·Stephen Pera·terrorism
I turned in the second draft of my book yesterday, an event that made me more anxious than glad. I realize now that I only have a few weeks left to sort out some lingering mysteries in the central plot, specifically those related to the main characters’ inner dramas. Without giving too much away, my […]
I somehow doubt we’ll ever hear the full story regarding what Pakistan’s intelligence apparatus knew about Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts these past five years. It is totally naïve to think they knew naught, of course; the big question is who in the spook food chain was in on the conspiracy, and (perhaps most important) what […]
Tags:corruption·crime·organized crime·Osama bin Laden·politics·Salvatore Riina·Sicily·terrorism
In Pakistan’s chaotic North-West Frontier Province, there’s a movement afoot to temporarily ban the sale of fertilizers containing ammonium nitrate, which are frequently used in bombmaking. (The article mistakenly fingers urea fertilizers as the target of the ban.) This got us thinking about the reasons for ammonium nitrate’s continued popularity among the world’s farmers, despite […]
Tags:Afghanistan·agriculture·ammonium nitrate·corruption·explosives·military·Pakistan·terrorism
The first big magazine feature we ever wrote was about near-death experiences (NDEs). We have vivid memories of taking a prop plane from Washington D.C. to Charlottesville, Virginia, in order to interview a pair of psychologists who specialize in studying the effects of NDEs. What struck us most about their research was how the whole […]
Tags:aviation·Jaswant Basuta·medical science·NDEs·Pan Am Flight 103·religion·terrorism
Account of Ajmal Kasab’s surprise confession have often noted that the Mumbai attacker’s trial has proceeded at a lightning clip, at least compared to other Indian criminal proceedings. How quickly have things gone? A 2007 study in Delhi cast a harsh light on the nation’s creaky wheels of justice: The analysis is based upon the […]
Tags:Ajmal Kasab·crime·India·law·terrorism
It’s with great sadness that I must confess I’m old enough to remember, quite vividly, when right-wing militias were considered a serious threat to our nation’s survival. The notion seems quaint now, much like the dot-com bubble. But a mere 14 years ago, the leaders of the much-feared Militia of Montana were called before Congress […]
Last night’s killings of two British soldiers near Antrim have plenty of folks worried that Northern Ireland’s “Troubles” are set to flare anew. It had been a while since the hyper-violent Real IRA had executed such a bold attack, and you’ve got to think that Loyalist paramilitaries will be tempted to carry out reprisals against […]
Microkhan has previously opined on the redemptive power of Sri Lankan cricket. Today, alas, not so much. Fateful Boxing Day words from Javed Miandad, director general of the Pakistan Cricket Board, upon announcing the Sri Lankan tour: Not only the cricket fraternity but the whole of Pakistan is thankful to the Sri Lankan president for […]
