Parliamentary elections are scheduled over the weekend in Azerbaijan-- this is a very important case for many reasons, especially given its proximity to major areas of interest (Russia, Iraq, Iran, etc.) and the wave of 'revolutions' sweeping through the republics of the former Soviet Union (Ukraine's Orange Revolution, Georgia's Rose Revolution and Tajikistan's Tulip Revolution). The Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline has only made Azerbaijan more important on the petroleum front-- setting the stakes even higher for the West (especially the United States).

We'll see what happens.