The fighting between Egypt and Islamist rebels in the Sinai has become an overt civil war. Civilians are accused by each side of supporting the other side.

Because Egypt has criminalized independent reporting of news about the fighting, the state's reports of success do not tell us who is really winning this war.

Human Rights Watch says, "Destroying homes, neighbourhoods and livelihoods is a textbook example of how to lose a counterinsurgency campaign."

Most teachers in US universities are poorly-paid part-timers. Some are trying to unionize.

The growing expense of college in the US is going to the administrators whose numbers keep increasing.

It would be interesting to ask colleges to list the ratio of total pay and benefits for teachers to total pay and benefits for non-teachers.

Witnesses in Boston convinced a couple of thugs to put away their guns when they were dealing with a small crazed unarmed woman who was resisting arrest.

Both of the thugs were too quick to go for their guns. Apparently that is a habit; I think that is the culture of thugs nowadays, and maybe reflects how they are trained. If your first response to any shadow or shade of a threat is to grab your gun, one day you're going to shoot someone for no good reason.

The entire Bastrop County sheriff's office colluded in lying to excuse the murder of Yvette Smith.

US intelligence analysts say they were specifically "bullied" to distort their reports to exaggerate success against PISSI.

In addition to outright falsification, the US government is repeating the Vietnam-War distraction of citing enemy body counts as if they counted for something. PISSI can easily recruit replacements; attrition simply is not effective against PISSI.