Lee Ridley

the editor of Polo's Bastards.

This Court’s In Session… Almost

President Karzai Signs the Counter Narcotics Tribunal Decree Arg, Presidential Compound, Kabul – H.E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, signed a Decree to establish the Counter Narcotics Tribunal yesterday, 25 July 2005. The Counter Narcotics Tribunal Decree was proposed by HE Chief Justice Shinwari of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan. The…

Stay Out… Trespassers will be shot!

HPG(PKK) warning to Turkish military: “You will fall into a quagmire” HPG (People’s Defence Forces) Commandership Headquarters replied with a strong warning to the Turkish administration and the Turkish military commander’s statements where they threatened that, “if necessary we will enter northern Iraq (southern Kurdistan)”. The HPG stated that any possible incursion into southern Kurdistan…

Jokkmokk

In 1606 Guy Fawkes was convicted and executed for his part in the English parliament gunpowder plot; Rembrandt, the renowned Dutch painter was born; the American southeast began its worst drought in 770 years and Great Britain adopted the Union Jack as its flag. In Sweden, King Charles IX was on the throne. The country…

Mausjaure Pt3 – The Final Push

Day 6 The house stirs at about 5am and, bleary eyed, I go to the kitchen, where breakfast is a couple of slices of bread and butter with cold reindeer meat and a glass of fruit juice, hurriedly consumed so I can vacate the breakfast table in order to make room for the steady flow…

Troubled Times – A Brief History Of Kurdistan

The unofficial country of Kurdistan occupies a region steeped in history; a history, that is, of bloody turmoil, occupation and assimilation. When the Medes (descended from the Aryans) first arrived in the region around 1000 B.C. the stage was set for a protracted and arduous battle for supremacy against the neighbouring Assyrians and Persians. For…

Mausjaur – Pt 2

Day 1 It’s lunchtime on Monday at the Mausjaur’s shared house in Jörn and the herders have already been up for seven hours, feeding the herd where they are grouped together in the forest just outside of town. The kitchen is a hive of activity as Lotta Svensson prepares food for the hungry workers. People…