See, it is small wonders like these that feed my love for the Stans.

The New York Times reports Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev has announced he is going to shut down an American air base in his country. I had a little dance when I heard that on the radio. Go Stans, go!

Which brings the total count of US military bases around the world to what, 736?

For a gentle primer on the state of the empire, check out “The bases are loaded”, narrated by my man Chalmers Johnson, author of the Blowback trilogy (Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy and the End of the Republic and Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic; all amazing books if you’re into that sort of thing.)

In my dreams, me and Chalmers are buddies and we drink tea and eat Oreos together as he fills me in about the state of the world. Seriously, I’d really like doing research for the man one day.