Blogging the democratic revolution
It looks like the Kuwaiti government has made good on its promises. When women got the vote, they promised that they would appoint women to the government. Bingo. KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait named its first woman cabinet minister on Sunday, less than a month after giving women the vote, a key plank in its democratic…
Miguel Centellas gives it till the end of the year. Read it here.
Lebanon went to the polls for the third time today (I think they like it!) in the districts of Mt. Lebanon and Bekaa. Usually I would do a really long post and analysis, given that most news stories fail at covering the event well, but An Nahar did such a good job that it will…
Everything you wanted to know related to Iran, published in a single sweet post. Also, make sure to check out the schedule of pro-democracy events over the coming week.
The Philippines is seeing massive protests over the discovery of a tape which purports to show that that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the daughter of a founding president of the nation, rigged her re-election last year, a contest she just barely won. She got her initial power in a People Power coup in 2001, an…
Miguel at MABB on Bolivia has a very significant item utterly ignored in the U.S. media about how Bolivia’s protestors are being coerced. They are being shaken down by Marxist social movements like Evo Morales’ ally FEJUVE, which sends block committees into neighborhoods of El Alto, checking to see that at least one member of…
I just finished reading through a bombshell scientific survey conducted by the Iran Institute for Democracy to gauge public opinion in the country. It’s the only one of its kind out there that is so thorough and well-done that it is truly a must-read. For the complete executive summary, click here (corrected: this summary is…
Music to my ears. When Syria withdraw its troops from Lebanon back in April, it was pretty obvious to the world that it left behind a thick residue of intelligence agents. The several bombs that have gone off, and the targetted assassination of an anti-Syria journalist, are part of a general pattern of political intimidation….
Randy at Beautiful Horizons has an important item on the potential for Ecuador- and Bolivia-style unrest in Peru. It’s growing. Like the other two nations, Peru has weak institutions and grinding poverty and growing discontent. The Shining Path has made some frightening recrudescences in Andean villages, scaring the locals who want that era over forever,…
Among the Chavistas and their shills, there are always strange dynamics. Alek Boyd notes that apparently one of the worst pro-dictator shills for the Venezuelan regime in the U.K. is openly fighting with his Chavista masters in Caracas. The issue of course is money, and comically enough, the shill’s paymaster paid him in worthless, unconvertible…
Miguel Centellas at Ciao! reports an alarming development about the military as it dispatches troops around El Alto, La Paz and Santa Cruz – it’s using constitutional language about mandates and law but its actions show that it’s clearly acting on its own. This is the era of autonomous stateless social movements, why not autonomous…
Miguel has translated a bitter but very funny essay that appeared in the Caracas press about all the hardships Venezuelen dictator Hugo Chavez must go through to be the revolutionary leader he is. Be sure to get to the part about his nostalgia for ketchup on pasta. Gross! Read the whole thing here.
The two-day work stay away that didn’t turn out so well yesterday fizzled again. A two-day strike called to protest a crackdown by President Robert Mugabe’s government on informal traders headed for a total collapse on Friday when most businesses opened as usual for the second consecutive day. A coalition of civic groups, supported by…
Alek Boyd has Mary Anastasia O’Grady’s superb WSJ essay on Venezuela’s courageous freedom fighter Maria Corina Machado, who she is, and what she is up against in dictator Hugo Chavez’s nightmare regime. Read it here.
Joe Katzman from Winds of Change pens how Mugabe changed his mind about guns. As many of you know, I’m from Canada. We have a pretty different attitude to guns up here, and I must say that American gun culture has always kind of puzzled me. To me, one no more had a right to…
In deepest Venezuela, blogger Daniel Duquenal reports that Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is about to make a conqueror’s triumphant return to Caracas. Although the Cuban dictator’s faithful houseboy, Hugo Chavez, has flown to Cuba to worship at the Beast’s feet every weekend or so, Castro’s last trip to Venezuela was three years ago. Now, Daniel…
Eduardo Rodriguez, president of the Supreme Court will take the job vacated by President Carlos Mesa, a journo source tells me. Forecast: this won’t satisfy the angry mobs of Evo Morales and worse. UPDATE: Confirmed, hot off the press. UPDATE: And Rodriguez is calling for early elections. In the fervor of the moment, this could…
Mark Steyn’s latest is out, and it’s absolutely stunning. I won’t even bother to excerpt anything here, just go and read the whole thing.
Background: Zimbabwe officially Mugabe’s fiefdom, Opposition to protest Zimbabwe crackdown. It seems that this country, long tortured by tyranny, is at a crossroads in which there is no turning back. Mugabe is crushing the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people, imposing a forced famine, and preparing to scatter his urban opposition to the country…
Like Rwanda 1994, Bolivia grows worse, and worse. It’s collapsing as a nation. No one is at the helm of leadership, and no consensus on any leadership is on the horizon. The angry indigenous groups seem to be energized by growing strife and are rising in numbers. There seems to be an equally determined group…
Many of you may remember Le Sabot Post-Moderne, where the Discoshaman pretty much live-blogged the Orange Revolution in Ukraine during those amazing months. He’s back. Check him out.
A chilling, disturbing account of a society splitting apart as terror muzzles the media. Miguel has the proof, it’s only available on blogs now, read it here.
THIS IS HUGE! Iran scored a 1-0 victory against Bahrain, securing a place in the World Cup. And the crowd goes wild, taking advantage of the joyous event to shout against the regime. Iran erupted in a frenzy of raucous celebrations after the Islamic state booked its place at the 2006 World Cup soccer finals…
London 08.06.05 ö I come from a country where people spend time discussing the relevance and implications of a photo op. Since enough water has passed under the bridge I’ll take the liberty to give my humble opinion vis-a-vis Maria Corina Machado’s encounter with George W. Bush. There is a saying back home that goes…
Still breaking and unconfirmed of yet, but (via: Registan) Reuters is being told that 600 people are protesting in Samarkand. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has picked it up too. TASHKENT, June 8 (Reuters) – Hundreds of opposition supporters in eastern Uzbekistan held a rally on Wednesday in a rare protest since a bloody crackdown last…