Blogging the democratic revolution
In particular, some executives of YUKOS and MENATEP testified to the Senate, a huge blow to Putin in a hearing that is entitled “Democracy in Retreat in Russia”: The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing yesterday (February 17) on “Democracy in Retreat in Russia.” The star witnesses were Steven Theede, the embattled Yukos oil company’s chief executive officer, and Tim Osborne, a member of the board of directors of Group Menatep, Yukos’ parent company. In a written statement provided to the committee and posted on its website, Theede accused the Russian government of carrying out “a ruthless…
Regime Change Iran’s news briefing is up, with quite a few items that are easily missed otherwise.
There are a couple of more reactions to the events on Lebanon that I thought were worth reading. The first comes from Ali at Free Iraqi: It seems that the horrible crime that took place in Beirut won’t go unpunished. Despite the continues allegations of the Syrian and Lebanese government and the crocodile tears their officials are shedding, no one seems to believe them and especially the Lebanese people. All the Syrian government could come up with is accusing Israel of being responsible for the crime. When combined with their and their friends in the Lebanese government prior accusations to…
John Burgess posts what first seems like a pretty insignifcant story: JEDDAH, 18 February 2005 ???????? The Labor Ministry????????s recent decision to postpone for another three years the Saudization of taxi business infuriated Saudis working in the sector who have now sought the intervention of higher authorities. The drivers complained of the losses they said they continued to incur as a result of the unfair competition from expatriate drivers. As many as 1,200 drivers and owners of taxis assembled outside the palace of Crown Prince Abdullah in Riyadh calling for his intervention. They said the decision by the ministry shows…
Lyndon Allin notes at once that Putin’s government is losing legitimacy and stomping on its own support, but a strong democratic movement doesn’t exist to topple him any time soon. Bright People in Senate Will Not Save Kremlin By Nikolai Petrov, Thursday, February 17, 2005. Page 9. Ä…Å Political stability now hangs by a thread. This thread is not the president himself but his popularity, constantly slipping of late. The state is rapidly losing its institutions and its legitimacy. And instead of looking for new sources of support, the government keeps destroying the ones it has. Putin continues to rely…
Veronica Khokhlova reports that she is not exactly sure why he wants to resign, but it seems to be about oil. Roman Zvarych said this on Channel 5 yesterday: I won’t allow any businessmen, who are also Ukrainian parliament members and hold very powerful positions in the oil refinery sphere, to interfere directly in the work of my ministry. I also won????????t allow the actions and decisions of certain members of the government to try getting members of my family involved in corrupt schemes. That is rather vague to me as well. But read the rest of her post, as…
Radio Free Nepal has a piece up regarding the tactics that news publications are using to get the word out. After a fortnight of the Royal Coup, I would like to comment on the media and their ???????bravery???????? in publishing or not publishing about the coup. Himal, a fortnightly newsmagazine that never failed to criticize the King????????s role in the past, came up in the bravest way. The first issue after the coup was published two days ago and ran a full page advertisement and a note by editor to tell the readers that the magazine has been censored and…
Winfield Myers emailed me to let me know about this post of his on Democracy Project. Harvard will be paying for six Iraqis to attend its institution for the weekend. A fantastic idea, in theory, until the curriculum became available: Getting full exposure to the typically busy life of a Harvard student, the Iraqi visitors will have a jam-packed schedule during their time in Cambridge. The students will attend the conference course Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality 1203, ???????Gender and the Cultures of US Imperialism,??????? appear at a variety of luncheons and receptions, and participate in a panel discussion…
Previously it was unknown how many companies the government was going to review, but One Eyed Cat report that at least 3000 deals will be reviewed by the government for fraud. That’s definitely getting the job done quick! UPDATE: From the comments, a link to a similar article, but with a picture of Yulia.
Illegally blogging from his home country, the new Radio Free Nepal blog is doing news roundups and commentary on the situation there. Definitely one of the few sources of information available from there!
Want to know what’s going on in Burma? Zed has got today’s update.
For background on ex-PM Rafik Hariri, Wikipedia has it, and this post by Kirk H. Sowell is a great primer to Lebanon. I guess moral support really does help: BEIRUT (Reuters) – President Bush (news – web sites) called on Syria on Thursday to withdraw its forces from Lebanon as Lebanese opposition leaders vowed to topple the country’s pro-Syrian leadership. … Voices from across Lebanon’s various ethnic and religious communities, encouraged by the tough anti-Syrian stance of the United States and France, are now telling Damascus and its local allies it is time to go. “The day will come when…
Aussiegirl posted some excerpts out of an article giving some background on Kateryna Yushchenko. I believe I’ve seen this article before, or one like it, back around December. It details a lot about how she worked in the U.S. government and has always held a deep commitment to seeing a free Ukraine. Check it out.
John at Crossroads Arabia has been posting quite frequently, so I think it is only fitting to let you know about some some of them. First, he has an editorial on the lack of female participation in the Riyadh elections, then one how how Saudis view their country post-election. Also, here is one regarding who will wield the power in the municipal seats. Lastly, there are two posts regarding the recent counter-terrorism conference and change in Saudi Arabia.
Nathan has got today’s update up with what’s going on there. And apparently Uzbekistan is developing a parliamentary opposition: Asliddin Rustamov, leader of the parliamentary faction of the People????????s Democratic Party, said at a press conference here on Wednesday that their faction regarded itself as the left wing of the political forces, represented in parliament, which has a different opinion on some aspects of the reforms implemented in Uzbekistan. Specifically, it believes that their social effectiveness should be improved. The faction ???????will consistently express and defend the interests of working people and of the vulnerable sections of the population. It…
David McDuff posts what a Russian MP says about Russia-Latvia relations being the worst out of all near abroad countries. Here is the part he posted, and what I consider very interesting: “This isn’t Russia’s choice, it’s Latvia’s,” he stressed. He said “calls to normalize relations have not been heeded by the Latvian side”. “We can see this in the example of the campaign of provocation unleashed in Latvia in connection with the approach of the 60th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War ÄWorld War IIÅ,” the MP said. Kosachev said the international affairs committee is closely following…
Yulia Tymoshenko was handed her first major victory against the oligarchs when the courts anulled the previous sale of Kryvorizhstal. 7 February 2005 — A Ukrainian court today ruled that the privatization of the country’s largest steel enterprise, Kryvorizhstal, was illegal. The decision paves the way for the 2004 sale — for a reported $800 million to a domestic consortium called Investment Metallurgical Union — to be annulled. The reversal was announced one day after Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko said the government plans to review thousands of privatizations carried out by governments that served under former President Leonid Kuchma. ……
Aussiegirl says it’s because the new government is going to go forward on persuing the Gongadze case, as well as taking away Kuchma’s pension. I, on the other hand, believe she is wondering when us boys on the internet will leave her alone.
I changed my “emails” category to “crazy people” to encompass a broader array of posts. And here we have it. I was alerted to the Santiago Times publishing my short little letter to the editor, when I ran across one of the craziest things I have read in recent times: A LATIN AMERICA FREE FROM THE UNITED STATES (Feb. 10, 2005) To the Editor I have long wondered when the day would come for Latin America to break out of the economic prison built around it by the United States. Today, the United States in its greed for world control…
Before I hit the sack, CNN has a picture gallery of the events before and after Hariri’s assassination. It includes pictures of the protest against Syria. I also found a Lebanon news in pictures website, along with a Lebanon news wire.
That’s all for tonight folks. Still trying to drag out this research paper with as much useless information as possible. It’s sad, because I think a paper on the costs of sustaining unemployment offices vs. the benefits they retrieve is an interesting subject, and one that deserves much more time than I have to dedicate. But back on subject. I just started using RSS feeds, and… they are so cool that I got excited about it. Where did I leave my dunce cap?
I got this email from my friend Yasmin in Jordan. Can anyone explain to me how someone could feel so strongly this way? Robbie robbie robbie…. dear Robbbie, wht freedom are you talking about??? have you ever evn come close to live in this part of the world , you cant even imagine what these ppor people are capable of and deprived of!! Yes i agree completely that Bush needed to invade Iraq for the only fact of removing the son of a bitch Saddam…… and then he should’ve gotten the hell outta there!!! your telling me weapons of mass…
Regime Change Iran has posted its Wednesday news briefing on what’s going on in Iran.
Just today, the Israeli parliament approved funds for the pullout and compensation of settlers in Gaza. JERUSALEM, Feb. 16 — Israel’s parliament on Wednesday approved a nearly $1 billion financial package to pay for withdrawing Israeli troops and Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, delivering a major victory to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his plan to vacate settlements for the first time in 23 years. The 59 to 40 vote in Israel’s Knesset followed hours of emotional debate, weeks of street demonstrations by settlers who oppose Sharon’s plan and a growing number…
Andy has posted all news Russian for the week, covering domestic, international, near-abroad, and economics issues.