Blogging the democratic revolution
Hm, something’s wrong — it’s not quite Yulia. (From Ukraine, Russia, Europe, the US, Oh My!)
Our dearest Stefania is hosting this week’s comprehensive carnival of revolution! Go check it out for a recap of all the latest developments in democracy.
Amid the heaviest fighting since the intifada, the Palestinian government of PM Qureia is coming under ÄfigurativeÅ fire for its inability to deal with parallel military authorities like Hamas. Policeman stormed the parliament building to protest the government’s inability to equip and train them properly to deal with the problem, while legislators themselves voted that Qureia should be replaced within two weeks if this doesn’t happen soon. About 40 Palestinian policemen broke into the Palestinian parliament building in Gaza City on Monday, firing in the air to protest what they said was the humiliation police are facing because of attacks…
Francisco Toro, after a (too-)long hiatus, is back to blogging thoughtfully about Venezuela. His new blog has a beautiful new design (although truthfully, the last two were extraordinary, too) and a new format of short posts with pithy original ideas. I don’t always agree with him on everything but I would say I do like Francisco best when he has genuinely original ideas, and fortunately, that is often. It’s a real treat to see him back, so go read the whole thing (yeah) here.
This past Sunday, 60 Minutes ran an “interview” with Elian Gonzalez, who is now 11 years old. Elian, you recall, was the 6-year old boy who was picked up at sea by two fisherman and taken ashore, where an international custody battle between Fidel Castro and the Miami exile community ensued, leaving bitter and unforgotten feelings among the freedom-loving Cubans now in the U.S. The 60-Minutes interview had a staged appearance, with CBS itself admitting it got “help” from Fidel Castro’s own camera-man, making the film communist-approved propaganda to shed the most favorable possible light on the Castro regime. The…
The weekend’s terror attack on the Indonesian island of Bali was a monstrous atrocity. Does it have revolutionary implications? I think it does, because it’s closely aligned with Indonesia’s brave self-transformation into an authentic democracy in 1999. The terrorists who struck Bali were trying to destroy Indonesia’s fragile democracy – at a sensitive time. With fuel costs soaring and the rupiah battered, these evil people were going after an economic power center, and they intended their attack as economic warfare. It’s something they are betting can topple democracy. Do I think they can do it? No. Indonesians treasure their democracy…
One of the biggest triggers to revolution in any country is the concept of ‘rent-seeking.’ It’s a concept that’s largely foreign to us Americans, but perfectly understood by many people in other cultures. It’s the concept of someone exacting unfair payments over others because of some fundamental and resented privilege. If you were in the mafia, you would call it ‘skimming.’ Tommy Soeharto and all the Soeharto kids were perfect living embodiments of rent-seeking – what those guys did during Indonesia’s longest-running dictatorship was to either own or exact “protection money” from the airplane you flew in to Jakarta on,…
I know… bad excuse for not blogging, but I suddenly came down with fever. It’s killing me, and not so softly. Blogging resumes tomorrow, with plenty on Palestine, Belarus, and political developments elsewhere. Stay tuned!
It’s the weekend, and you know what that means. No posting until Monday! I’ll be using the time to work on the Walk For Democracy here in Boston (and let me know if you want to join in), as well as getting other work done. Have a nice weekend!