Future history elements of it (the story is set in 2011)-
*Some sinister-yet-anti-American media network named GNN goes all Max Headroom and is willing to spend thousands, if not millions, to support some punk vlogger (ugh) in his wacky misadventures in Iraq.
*Terrorists are suicide bombing Starbucks in New York.
*Also, vlogging apparently pulled the social equivalent of Moore's Law and the said punk vlogger gets millions of hits
live (not after the attack, mind you). Somewhere, Video Google is weeping.
* Some guy named Rasiej is the mayor of New York.
*President McCain is hailed to be the worst president since Harding. Also his son has been kidnapped in Iraq.
*An Islamic regime has taken over in Nigeria, and has teamed up with "the Iranian mullahs" and Chavez in instituting a massive oil embargo against the U.S. McCain is forced to remain in Iraq, because of its importance to the U.S. as a "coaling station." (The economic implausibility of this situation is pointed out in the comments.)
* In a "bold move", McCain purged the Iraqi army of radicals and replaced them with "secular nationalists", that is, Baathists.
* Iraq is predictably a clusterfuck. Rumors that Iran will intervene.
* Also, there is an Arab League-sponsored U.N. peacekeeping mission in Iraq. They aren't well-received, and are on the verge of pulling out.
*
Implausibly-advanced holo-projectors!
More to follow.
