Colombia Confronts Drug Lord’s Legacy: Hippos "In what ecologists describe as possibly the continent’s most ambitious effort to assemble a collection of species foreign to South America, Escobar imported animals like zebras, giraffes, kangaroos, rhinoceroses and, of course, hippopotamuses. Some of the animals died or were transferred to zoos around the time Mr. Escobar was killed. But the hippos largely stayed put, flourishing in the artificial lakes dug at Mr. Escobar’s behest."
posted by dhruva on Sep 11, 2009 - 86 comments

China, Africa see closer cooperation since Beijing Summit. Others see it a bit differently: 'We never pay,' he said, 'because once you pay you become their bitch; you will pay for ever and ever.' The phenomenon even has a name on the ground in the sub-Sahara: the Great Chinese Takeout. China, Africa and Oil: China's national oil companies are, in some cases, politically stronger than the government agencies charged with regulating them. previously
posted by allkindsoftime on Oct 21, 2008 - 22 comments

Georgia offers evidence that Russia made the first move. (login NYT ; Bugmenot) [more inside]
posted by LMGM on Sep 16, 2008 - 87 comments

Reports are coming in of up to 150 armoured vehicles entering South Ossetia. [more inside]
posted by Happy Dave on Aug 8, 2008 - 372 comments

Did you know that two weeks ago - last Valentine's Day - a pact was signed in Texas allowing cross-border military activity between Canada and the US? I'd supply more links but there's not much out there.
posted by stinkycheese on Feb 27, 2008 - 56 comments

A few weeks ago, Google Reader's team decided to show your private data to all your GMail contacts. This is now the default, no need to opt-in. Some people think it's not a big deal. Other's see it as a gross violation of privacy, a warning sign of more violations to come, as evidenced by the recent code updates to Gmail and other Google applications.
posted by m2002 on Dec 29, 2007 - 61 comments

You wake up in the morning and step outside for a breath of fresh air. Groggy and coffee-less, it takes you a moment to notice that your yard has been invaded by lawn gnomes. Don't be a victim. Conversely, become a part of the problem. Missing a loved one? [more inside]
posted by baphomet on Nov 3, 2007 - 17 comments

Nazi aircraft came in from the north, first sighted at Norway House. Selkirk was the first to fall prey, but by no means the last. The Nazi war machine was converging on Winnipeg.

February 19, 1942: If Day, the day Manitoba fell to the Nazis.
posted by unsupervised on Oct 18, 2007 - 28 comments

Bush and Aznar pre-Iraq Invasion-- Transcript of their private conversations in Crawford, Feb 22, 2003: "Quedan dos semanas. En dos semanas estaremos militarmente listos. Estaremos en Bagdad a finales de marzo", le dijo a Aznar. ("2 weeks. In 2 weeks we will be ready militarily. We'll be in Baghdad by the end of March", he told Aznar.) Consider this historical documentation. Full transcript here, and audio clips in first link. [more inside]
posted by amberglow on Sep 25, 2007 - 46 comments

Shingle Street is a tiny, picturesque hamlet on the coast of Suffolk harbouring a big WW2 mystery: the best developed rumour is of an attempt by the Germans to invade Britain at this spot which was anticipated and intercepted by pumping fuel onto the sea surface and setting fire to it. UK files on the subject are closed, again mysteriously, until 2021. Ronald Ashford, who claims to have been an eye witness, has a lot more information. You can stay.
posted by rongorongo on Jul 5, 2007 - 17 comments

The Swiss accidentally invaded Liechtenstein last night but no retaliation is expected. Oops! Guess it's time to make these standard military issue. The last time something like this happened, the Spanish ignored an accidental British invasion. Previously on MeFi: More about Liechtenstein than anyone ever cared to ask.
posted by zarq on Mar 2, 2007 - 53 comments

The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called for a purge of liberal and secular teachers from the country's universities. Now that this former rogue nation has fallen in line, we can turn out attention to the real terrorist threat: Britain.
posted by thirteenkiller on Sep 5, 2006 - 30 comments

Plans were drawn up in the 1930s to invade Canada... really. While the idea has been a rampant joke in modern times as the US finds itself in hot water with its neighbor, it has been done before, albeit with laughable results.
posted by moonbird on Dec 30, 2005 - 34 comments

Newly declassified US documents show that the US government knew well in advance about the invasion plans of Indonesia into East Timor. Once in East Timor, Indonesian forces committed a mass genocide of the local population - anywhere from 100,000 to 250,000 people, which was only 600,000 to begin with according to Wikipedia. As the first link shows, The US government actively suppressed news stories from getting out about the genocide. This isn't exactly news to Those who followed the invasion, But most people are unaware of the US government's support, perhaps the number of Newspapers covering the story according to GoogleNews can go some way to explain why many are unaware of this fact.
posted by JokingClown on Dec 4, 2005 - 30 comments

BBC confirms the story That box on his back, that earpiece? He's never said exactly how God talks to him, only that He does ....
posted by hank on Oct 6, 2005 - 133 comments

The celebration of the 25th anniversary of the transference to Greenland of its Home Rule Authority from Denmark sparks this ironic exhibition in Copenhagen, posing the questions: What position can Greenland take in the future as a people? Culture? Nation? When answer, of course, is to conquer the world:

GREENLAND! WE ARE AT WAR!

AT THIS MOMENT THE TROOPS OF GREENLAND ARE ADVANCING FROM THE SOUTH OF EUROPE, TO THE WEST OF AMERICA, TO THE EAST OF INDIA, TO THE NORTH OF RUSSIA.

I, for one, welcome our new Greenlandic overlords.
posted by AwkwardPause on Aug 19, 2004 - 13 comments

War of the Worlds cover art from the last hundred years or so. (Plus, related artwork and the Martian-Canadian conspiracy, finally uncovered!) [via kottke]
posted by arto on Jul 9, 2004 - 5 comments

To Invade Or Not To Invade?
Many have expressed the sentiment that unilaterally invading other countries can be justified as serving the best interests of its people. We can all agree that brutal dictatorships are a bad thing. What should be done when they are identified? Engagement or invasion? Should cognitive dissonance by our leaders be ignored and/or accepted? Are double standards justified by financial interests? Here is another case where all litmus tests fail.
posted by nofundy on Nov 18, 2003 - 38 comments

No war in Syria? It appears not, as the US president has blocked the Pentagon from making preparations for an invasion. Is this for real, or is it merely a ploy to sway international opinion?
posted by fnord_prefect on Apr 14, 2003 - 36 comments

Gore questions timing of Iraq concern Is it proper to invade Iraq? This would be an unprecedented move for the US military as Iraq has not attacked the US anyone the US has defense treaties with. "Republican National Committee spokesman Jim Dyke called Gore's comments "irresponsible." "This is no time to attack the president or Republicans for their handling of the war for political gain," he said." Hmmm..so he admits the Iraqi attack IS for partisan political gain, eh? I would have never suspected it.
posted by nofundy on Jul 26, 2002 - 27 comments

Holland part of Axis of Evil? The Dutch parliament was shocked by a US legislative proposal giving an official green light to a US invasion of the Netherlands should it be deemed necessary to free US citizens from the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Pretty please, leave us alone, Jesse Helms.
posted by magullo on Jun 13, 2002 - 46 comments

mexican military incursion in u.s. soil An INS agent saw a mexican military vehicle 5 miles inside u.s. territory, he says he was fired by the mexicans. He also says this is "an act of war". I'm mexican and i really doubt about this. It has to be a joke! What do you people think about this?
posted by trismegisto on May 25, 2002 - 27 comments

U.S. Blueprint to Topple Hussein Envisions Big Invasion Next Year "The planning now anticipates the possible extensive use of bases for American forces in Turkey and Kuwait, with Qatar as the replacement for the sophisticated air operations center in Saudi Arabia, and with Oman and Bahrain playing important roles. As to any war plan itself, the military expects to be asked for a more traditional approach than the unconventional campaign in Afghanistan. Such an approach would resemble the Persian Gulf war in style if not in size and would be fought with even more modern weapons and more dynamic tactics." There is no doubt Saddam is a bad guy but as his poll numbers return to earthly levels how exactly can Bush justify sending off 70-250,000 American soldiers to fight (and die) in Iraq - while we will most likely still be engaged in Afghanistan (looking for Osama) and ripping up Al Qaeda?
posted by owillis on Apr 27, 2002 - 44 comments

The Falkland Islands are ours and we'll get them back, says Argentina. Argentina celebrates the twenty-year anniversary of their invasion of the Falkland Islands. Britain won the Falkland War in 1982, but Argentina now boasts that they'll definitely conquer the islands in the future. Since the majority of islanders are of British descent, does Argentina stand a chance? And shouldn't Argentina be focusing on rebuilding its own economy instead of whining about some insignificant islands in the Atlantic ocean?
posted by wackybrit on Apr 2, 2002 - 38 comments

This might be taking the war on terrorism a little to far. Royal Marines get lost or should I say vamos. (Parden my french).
posted by FidelDonson on Feb 19, 2002 - 8 comments

Kissinger strikes again: Documents show US OK'd Indonesian '75 E.Timor Invasion.
posted by tiaka on Dec 7, 2001 - 3 comments

The Semi-Invasion Begins: Unconfirmed Reports of American Casualties in a Raid on Kandahar, Undisclosed Targets
Swooping in on helicopter gunships, 100+ American GI's attack Kandahar in a "daring" raid, acknowledged by the Pentagon. They engaged ground troops.

NYT is reporting unconfirmed reports of American casualties, number unknown.

Rumsfeld said that the outcome is not certain, and referred to the Taliban forces as "tough" "survivors".

For comment: why? What about Mazar-e-Sharif? Why? What's a Loya Jirga, and was it held in secret recently?
posted by rschram on Oct 19, 2001 - 75 comments

US Special Forces now operating in southern Afghanistan Let's pray a repeat of Mogadishu doesn't happen and any innocents on the ground aren't harmed...
posted by mmascolino on Oct 18, 2001 - 4 comments

US is just playing around, says Northern Alliance. [in news.telegraph.co.uk via Drudge]
posted by rushmc on Oct 18, 2001 - 18 comments