On the Viridian mailing list, Bruce Sterling reports on the recent Algerian floods. What made them catastrophic was that the ruling junta had sealed off storm sewers to prevent them from being used by Islamic millitants.
(((Now there’s a curiosity for you, ladies and gentlemen: it’s a Mujihadeen-Related Wexelblat Disaster. And it’s rather unlikely to be the last. Imagine trying to flee an American flood or hurricane under conditions of tight security lockdown. What if those facial-recognition units fritz out down at the bus station?)))
