Blogging the democratic revolution
Donetsk is a highly Russian region in eastern Ukraine that was the home of whatever opposition Yanukovich could muster toward Yushchenko’s ascendency. Today, Yuschenko went over there to open dialogue about the corrupt mining industry and spur reforms to further the economy. Terry Rogers has the transcript. Here is the story.
John Burgess posted a roundup of news from the Arab press on the munipal elections, along with his own commentary about the articles. And the press seems very excited.
The United States will instead, as I have been predicting, defer to the regional powers: WASHINGTON (AP) – The Bush administration said Friday that it wasn’t interested in one-on-one talks with North Korea about its nuclear programs outside the six-party negotiations involving the communist nation’s neighbors. “It’s not an issue between North Korea and the United States. It’s a regional issue,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. “And it’s an issue that impacts all of its neighbors.” North Korea has plenty of opportunity to talk to the United States within six-party talks, McClellan said. In an interview with a…
Looks like everything went fine: RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – (KRT) – Saudi men went to the polls Thursday for the first nationwide election in the Arab world’s most conservative monarchy, though the royal family barred women from the experiment. The election passed in peace, despite fears that rebels might seek to disrupt the vote and embarrass the government on the day that the world was watching. At war with a homegrown insurgency, the ruling House of Saud is betting that a flicker of democracy – limited to local elections – might win support for the regime and ease public frustration…
Transitions Trends posts statements by the State Department that makes them look like they just don’t care. From the State Department: I don’t have anything new to say about Nepal from what we’ve said previously, which is, obviously, that the actions of the King, in summarily dismissing the government and declaring a state of emergency and taking repressive measures such as banning media and jailing political opponents, is something that we view with the greatest concern. This is what Transition Trends has to say about it: “Greatest concern”? As India is seriously threatening to suspend military aid to Nepal, all…
Kirk H. Sowell posts five reasons why you should read his blog. I suggest you do that.
Nathan has posted his daily roundup today about what’s going on in Kyrgyzstan.
Aussiegirl posts a writeup by BonnieBlueFlag, who has been informed that Yushchenko is coming to America and will be partying it up with the political and media elite. Well, I have an excellent source (Cindy Adams, NYP), who tells us today that Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine, is planning a March visit to the U.S. with his lovely American born wife, Kateryna. Kateryna (aka Katherine) Chumachenko was born of Ukrainian immigrants in Chicago, IL in 1961. Kateryna Yushchenko has been called Ukraine’s bridge to the West. Growing up she had to blend two worlds and cultures: American education and friends,…
The Iranian government has banned Seymore Hersh’s article about U.S. special forces penetrating Iran from being reprinted in newspapers.
I just came across more commentary from Iraq the Model on the assassination attempt of a democratic Iraqi politician.
When it comes to communists, at least they live up to their beliefs by working together: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said on Thursday it was troubled by Russian plans to sell Venezuela arms that U.S. officials suggest could be used to aid leftist guerrillas in Latin America. The arms pact announced last year by Venezuela’s firebrand President Hugo Chavez would give the South American OPEC member 100,000 automatic rifles and a number of helicopters. Venezuela is also evaluating Russian MiG-29 fighters as possible replacements for its F-16s. Bush administration officials have voiced increasing disquiet about the agreement in…
Abbas is quickly getting a reputation for reform: GAZA (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fired three of his top security chiefs on Thursday after militants, puncturing a cease-fire he reached with Israel, bombarded Jewish settlements in Gaza with mortar rounds. Israeli cabinet minister Ophir Pines praised Abbas for “an unprecedented step” in dismissing the three, members of Yasser Arafat’s old guard, in response to violence that flared after Tuesday’s summit in Egypt with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The United States, which has pledged renewed commitment to Middle East peacemaking after Abbas succeeded Arafat last month, also praised the dismissals.…
In case you weren’t invited to the party, here is a recap: BAGHDAD ???????? U.S. military police threw a mudwrestling party at a prison camp in Iraq and a woman who took part has been found guilty of indecent exposure and demoted, the U.S. military said on Monday. At least three female guards stripped to their underwear and wrestled each other in a paddling pool full of mud in the grounds of Camp Bucca, the biggest U.S. camp for detainees in Iraq, Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said. Several guards who watched the wrestling have been reprimanded for failing to intervene.…
Well, duh: SEOUL, FEBRUARY 10: North Korea declared on Thursday, for the first time, it possessed nuclear weapons and pulled out indefinitely from six-party talks on its atomic ambitions, saying it needed a defence against a hostile US. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice played down the announcement, saying US had assumed, since the mid-1990s, that North Korea could make nuclear weapons. But she said it would only deepen its own isolation, and forego international security guarantees if it pulled out of six-party talks on its nuclear programme. The article contains a lot of international reactions. Japan downplays it as…
But Steve L.’s post about the comparison of Catholic and Marxist thought makes for good discussion, and is enough related to the theme of this site to warrant a linking! Certainly some of us supported those tax cuts with the belief that they would ultimately “grow the pie” and benefit the poor. Must that be the primary motivation? The biggest problem I have with linking Marxist ideas with Catholic thought is the role of the state. For Marx, the collective was everything. There could be no individual giving, and thus no piety could come from it. Yesterday, at an Ash…
David McDuff is reporting: Feb 02 – Estonian European MP Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the first Vice-Chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, together with four colleagues nominated Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and the Ukrainian people for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. Their letter to the Nobel Foundation says that the orange revolution in Ukraine led by Yushchenko consolidated democracy and brought freedom to thousands of people. Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the Ukrainian President would be a sign that Ukraine is becoming a modern, democratic European state, the signatories of the letter find. They said that peaceful, consistent…
I’m off for the night, but I want to know what all of your favorite blogs are, American or otherwise. Leave you suggestions in the comments so that I can check them out!
Neo Coneli posts an enormous writeup about recent attacks on an Iraqi politician’s life and how the media doesn’t understand why he is being targeted. Very in depth.
President Bush is stepping up the verbal pressure on Iran. And remember, verbal pressure from the U.S. can be deadly when ignored. “The Iranians just need to know that the free world is working together to send a very clear message: Don’t develop a nuclear weapon,” Bush said. “And the reason we’re sending that message is because Iran with a nuclear weapon would be a very destabilizing force in the world,” he said during a meeting with Poland’s president. Bush said he looked forward to discussing concerns about Iran with European allies. “It’s important we speak with one voice,” he…
They are recounting 300 ballot boxes from outlying regions to confirm the count. Doesn’t sound so bad to me, but it is somewat demoralizing to those who want to keep the energy high and know the outcome for sure. Iraqi election officials admitted on Wednesday that the result of the country’s elections 11 days ago would be delayed to allow a recount of 300 ballot boxes from outlying regions. The officials did not say when the final results, which had been due for release on Thursday, would be published. “It will be a little bit delayed,” said Farid Ayar, spokesman…
Michael Rowan writes a special opinion piece for El Universal comparing the elections in Iraq to those of Venezuela. One of them doesn’t measure up to standards, and you may not be surprised as to which one it is. In Venezuela, RR voter turnout was very high – but augmented by two million new voters added late to the messy voter list, such as the FARC’s Granda. Venezuelans at the voting centers did not count the vote – the CNE did a centralized count with new and non-audited electronic machines that could send or receive a vote count. When exit…
Check this out! Not only is the redesign cool, but now there are many new features. You can create an account at Maidan which will allow you to post comments. But that’s not all… it also allows you to create a blog. While that may not be useful to those of us who already have our own, it will be indispensable to those in Ukraine and unfree countries who need a free and easy service to publish their thoughts. Very cool, Maidan!
Aussiegirl is reflecting on Putin post-9/11 and how he has fallen back into his old KGB ways. On November 15, 2001, President Putin visited the United States and was feted at the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas. He was riding high in the saddle at the time. It looked like Russia was entering the free world at last, democratizing, cooperating on the war on terror, and could easily become an ally and partner of the United States in a new post-Soviet world. This is the meeting where George Bush drove him around the ranch in his pickup truck and treated…
Nathan Hamm has posted his daily article on polical happenings in Russia’s “near abroad.” Democracy is on crack down.
Andy has posted, much to my adoration, his Russia news roundup for the week. Check it out!