Blogging the democratic revolution
A thoughtful analysis by the excellent Cafe Hayek on The Thug Of Caracas and His Master Below In Havana is analysed very well, showing a good grasp of human nature. It also includes a link to an impressive editorial by a banker in Ithaca. Read it all here.
France is such a benighted backward place that could be so otherwise. The broadest, brightest light in all Western Civilization in recent years seems to have given all of that up to pursue America-hating instead. It’s insane. Not even the May 29 referendum on the EU constitution was entirely good in results, given the provincialism of a nation that seems to have lost its national confidence. But Franco at Barcepundit alerts us to an important exception in this trend, in an article he found about a friendly Frenchman named Nicolas Sarkozy. He is immensely popular in France, not an enemy…
Right now I am in the midst of a three-part series on the aftermath of the London bombings of July 7. I just finished part two early this morning, and part three will be a progress report on both current progress and failures in the global war. Two things I have read recently have prompted me to draw together some disparate comments on the Muslim role here – Karim Elsahy’s Pray4Peace project and the recently released Pew survey on Muslim attitudes toward democracy, terrorism and al-Qaeda. Karim’s project, Pray4Peace, centers around the idea of a Muslim-led campaign, inclusive of members…
It’s going to be a horror show. Sumate, the voter-rights civil society group whose leadership is now headed for Hugo Chavez’s dungeons on treason charges, warns that the next election will not be fair. Hugo Chavez has gerrymandered and manipulated it already in his favor. He can’t lose. But that doesn’t mean Venezuelans aren’t trying to fight back. Daniel reports a new blog project ahead called The Sumate Files that is well worth reading for its updates on the Sumate situation and the coming problems with holding a fair election in Hugo Chavez’s New Venezuela. Read it here.
No sheet Sherlock, Papillon’s qualified to vote in Venezuela’s next election. Yeah, that guy, the Devil’s Island movie guy, Butterflies Are Free – him – dead since 1973, he’s on the Venezuelan voter rolls. It’s that bad. Don’t believe me? Read it here. Daniellllllll!!!!!!!!!!
Franco at Barcepundit reports that it’s official – al-Qaida had every intention of influencing the Spanish election with its atrocity in Madrid last year. They found the evidence and what we suspected was true. It’s well worth reading in the wake of London’s terror bombings as well as the current wretched political situation in Spain. An excellent writeup – read it here.
It’s disgusting to watch Assad, knowing that he’s going to lose in the end, as he continues to kick and scream all the way to the graveyard. Yet the man just can’t help himself. You have to wonder how some “experts” can still consider this guy a reformist when he is doing every thing he can to make sure that the progress being made in Lebanon. For that, he still has his goon in place, dearest President Lahoud, who continues to veto every single cabinet line up presented to him by the Premier-Designate. President Lahoud and Premier-Designate Fouad Seniora were…
Last Tuesday I posted an entry about Egypt, Egypt Legalizes Moderate Islamist Movement, which suggested a watershed event for the Wasat (Center) Party, a moderate Islamist front. I also posted the same entry on my blog, and a reader who is apparently from Egypt made the point that there is still a level of review above the court which approved Wasat’s political license, and that the government has in the past used this higher level review to disapprove of parties. My post may therefore have overstated the significance of this event. You can read the comment and my response at…
According to Al-Hayat, the Jordanian government of Prime Minister Adnan Badran is having further problems surviving a vote of confidence due to recent increases in the price of basic foods (see “The Badran Government Seek the Confidence of Representatives and Opposition Parties Call for Him to Leave,” July 15, but no longer on the paper’s site). This is a partial translation: …Tens of demonstrators representing the leaders of the parties and the heads of the professional unions demanded the resignation of the government, describing it as “The Hunger Government” and holding up signs rejecting the government’s decision to raise the…
Danish protest babes are out in full force, waving the American flag. You have to see it to believe it. They don’t make many protest babes like that, but there they are, standing up for U.S. democracy. Our friend Gateway Pundit has it here. Hat tip: Instapundit
Big Pharaoh posts what he thinks each religion should do in order to make the world a better place. There are many I don’t agree with, but then again, I find some of them both agreeable and hilarious. Allah does not give a dead rat’s ass about a girl’s hair. If you’re sexually excited when you see a girl’s hairs then you’re the sick pervert. Hijab is not a fard (obligation). It does not add or decrease the “good points” that a girl gets when she makes it to heaven. Perceived verses about women’s covering were for the women of…
In the latest people power demonstration in the Philippines, the government was able to organize a rally that seriously dwarfed the opposition rally this past Monday. MANILA — Matching masses against masses, supporters of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo held their own “people power” rally on Saturday to counter suggestions that all Filipinos want her to quit over allegations of vote rigging. Supporters of President Arroyo attended a prayer rally at the Rizal Park in Manila Saturday where they called for peace, unity and resolution of the country’s political turmoil. Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando estimated the crowd that…
An interesting poll was released the other day that shows terrorism has lost its clout among Muslims in the Middle East, while democracy has made solid gains. Ed Morrissey has more thoughts on this, which I agree with. So the question begs: Are we witnessing the beginning of a dramatic shift of opinion against extremism in the Muslim world? Perhaps, as this other recent survey shows, people in the Middle East are worried about the election of Iran’s new president. London, Jul. 15 ???????? A recent survey conducted by a research and studies website run in the United Arab Emirates…
Presidential elections are due in Belarus come September 2006, which may see a popular velvet revolution as a result. In 2004, Lukashenko falsified a referendum to give himself the ability to run for president as many times as he wants, effectively making him president for life since all elections are rigged. The following is a clear example of how a regime systematically squashes all political opposition to make such things possible. In this case, how Lukashenko has liquidated political parties across the country for various reasons. The Mogilevskiye vedomosti, which was founded by Mahilou Regional Executive Committee, published on 12…
The monster at our door is keeping hurricane aid out from devastated Cuba, as protest grow. The only aid he’s taking is politicized aid, the kind that his agents pick and choose to deliver. Where is the outrage? Read it here.
The following is a translated letter from Akbar Ganji, courtesy of the Free Ganji blog. It is an interesting read, from a man who is becoming the largest rallying cause for human rights inside Iran.
Now, let’s be all dramatic like most of the headlines which say, “Middle East Ceasefire Shattered.” Because honestly, the truce was a big lie anyway. Now the possibility exists that the Palestinian government will have to succumb to more terrorist leadership or kill it outright. Policeman of the PA and Hamas terrorists are fighting now in Gaza as Abbas has declared a state of emergency. The fighting began when the government confronted Hamas after it attacked Israel. The Palestinian Authority declared a state of emergency in the Gaza Strip last night, hours after an Israeli woman was killed when a…
I seem to have a fetish with separatist conflicts this week, but it’s not coincidence that plans for peaceful settlement are popping up all around the same time. This is because the GUAM alliance countries are working together to reunite their respective countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union left a little fragmented. Today, Moldova is making progress with the plan outlined by President Yushchenko of Ukraine (outlined here, read this first). It seems that the leader of Transdniester, despite political grandstanding by parliamentarians on both sides, has showed interested in moving forward with the plan. Ukrainian President Viktor…
I got this note from a reporter in Caracas: Hoy hubo una protesta de los estudiantes de la USM, por el aumento de matriculas. Fue en la entrada, en el mismo sitio que la semana pasada manifestaron por los compa?????eros asesinados. Hoy hubo mas estudiantes…. Translation: Today there was a student protest at University of Santa Maria, for the increase of registration (note: probably a student fees hike). It was at the entrance, at the same site that over the last week they demonstrated for their murdered comrades. There were many students today… Stay tuned. Weekend’s coming.
Eurasianet reports on a leaked memo (perhaps deliberately) that shows Russian policy makers worried about the situation in Dagestan, which has seen increased separatis sentiments and terrorist attacks of late. The increasing rebel attacks in Dagestan (see EDM, July 7) have finally forced Russian authorities to focus on the problems of the republic. Officials in Moscow now realize that the region needs special handling. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov recently conceded, “Of course we are worried about explosions in Dagestan, and this difficult problem should be resolved by civil methods as well as by force (yufo.ru, July 6). On July…
Usually this wouldn’t be a story to me as I’m sure this happens at least a hundred million times a day somewhere in the world. But I’ve never heard of someone calling our president the equivalent of Hitler for supporting democracy movements. About 20 youths have gathered in front of the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg shouting: ???????We have defeated Hitler, and will defeat Bush???????, Interfax reported. The protestors, members of a local branch of the United Socialistic Party of Russia and Congress of Socialist Youth, accuse the U.S. of supporting the so-called velvet revolutions in former Soviet republics. They…
Besides democratization, and all that it implies, the government of Georgia must deal with separatist governments in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. While the former will likely prove much more difficult in general, Saakashvili’s governmet has just released a comprehensive plan to reconcile with South Ossetia. Most striking about the plan is how it deals two-fold with at once the Ossetian people outside the autonomous region and again with the government there. As the article notes, “Georgia becomes the first country in the region to offer repatriation, restitution, and compensation to refugees in the context of conflict-settlement efforts.” Every effort is…
Hugo Chavez and the communist thugs and barefoot Neanderthals one step removed from white sheets who oppose CAFTA are all about to be dealt a stinging defeat. The House leader reports that CAFTA is likely to be approved before the end of July. This is the scent of victory, because defeat is unthinkable. This is the most important legislation of the year because the fate of our entire region is at stake. I just hope we have reason to have hope. We need CAFTA.
Think I’m kidding? Read what respected Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer, in a well researched article, has to say. It’s disturbing. Read it here. UPDATE: Link fixed.
Kirk let me know about this a couple of days ago. It’s interesting, because you see several groups ranging from the Muslim Brotherhood to Kifaya coming together to put a crack in the current system. This is a trend in all authoritarian countries with emerging oppositions, but nonetheless, these are some unlikely temporary bedfellows. In any case, expect Kirk to have more on this later, but here’s the news anyhow. CAIRO, Egypt ???????? Opposition movements from across Egypt’s political spectrum joined in opposition to President Hosni Mubarak Wednesday with calls for a boycott of September’s presidential vote ???????? heralded by…