Blogging the democratic revolution
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.
Michael Ledeen of NRO has a strong piece on the movement toward democracy and revolution throughout the globe. The tidal wave has even reached into the planet’s darkest corners, most recently shaking the foundations of the North Korean hermit kingdom. A new leader is announced at the same time the monsters in Pyongyang whisper “We’ve got nukes” and demand legitimacy from George W. Bush. Given the opacity of the country, and the irrationality of its leaders, nobody seems to know whether the Dear Leader is still alive, or, if he is, why the transition has been proclaimed. But the North…
Zed has posted a large roundup of the news coming out of and surrounding Burma. Check it out!
The front page news isn’t bringing it to you, but Transition Trends is: The recall of US, UK, French and Indian ambassadors from Kathmandu yesterday was a very welcome sign of co-ordinated international action to protest the royal coup there on 1 February. It’s especially welcome from the US, which seemed less than engaged on the issue recently. Recalling an ambassador “for consultations” is not the same as serious pressure like a threat to military assistance and other aid would be, but it’s a start. By the way, I’ve heard through the grapevine that the US has told the king…
Ali has posted an incredible piece on the Iraq elections, doing the math for all of the parties and such but makes a very notable observation: One of my neighbors received his family’s ballot with his father’s name included even though he died a year ago. Under reporting of deaths was not that uncommon but it became more common after the last war as a result of the total collapse of the system for months. Another neighbor had his two sons’ names registered although they both left Iraq since 1995. This means that many Iraqis outside Iraq, regardless whether they…
John Burgess posts an unsigned editorial in Arab news condemning Syria for the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. It may take weeks, if not years, before we know who killed Rafik Hariri. Whoever was behind the dastardly deed clearly wanted to achieve two objectives. The first was to deprive the emerging Lebanese opposition front from a credible leader capable of cutting across sectarian divides in the name of national unity. The second was to create the impression that without Syrian troops on its soil, Lebanon would be plunged into chaos and civil war. It is important that the Lebanese…
Discoshaman has got it all summed up for you today, so check it out. UPDATE: Dan McMinn notes that the honeymoon period is over. And Aussiegirl posts the entire transcript of a speech by Ambassador John Tefft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, on the challenges ahead for the United States and Ukraine.
If there ever was a dedicated fanboy of older women, it is me. Well, maybe not, but Orange Revolution posted a good picture I seemed to have missed from Yulia’s photo gallery. Karate chop!
Abdymok has a map of the governor appointment in Ukraine.
Winds of Change has pictures of the new Afghanistan military academy. Blog de Connard is uploading pictures during his trip to Argentina. Abdymok has a few pictures of Hillary Clinton and John McCain during their visit to Ukraine. Lyndon Allin from Scraps of Moscow has loads of pictures, you just have to keep scrolling. And Neeka links to some gallieries of note by the BBC and World Press Photo. And here are a couple of pictures from where I lived in Chile, during one of the few winter’s they have actually gotten snow in Santiago.
Andy notes that the only opposition party in Russia today is the communists. Actually, the KPRF has been the main opposition party in Russia for most (if not all) of the last decade. I haven’t followed it’s fortunes all that closely for a few years but, several years back, it seemed to have comfortably reconciled itself to working within the new, more democratic, system. In the late 1990s the KPRF dominated the Duma and, instead the legislative process grinding to a halt before a brick wall of communist obstruction, the Duma during that period was one of the most effective…
Today’s — er, yesterday’s update is online. You may have noticed my nap ran a little long, so I’m not really sure what day it is yet.
That’s what Daniel Drezner is asking, and as easy as it is for us to discuss theory on these issues, it is much harder to put into practice. Personally, just looking at a map of the region, I take hope in that it is surrounded on three sides by now-free countries. When the time comes, I think Poland and Ukraine will play a big role in supporting “regime change” just as Poland aided its friends in Ukraine this time around. In any case, he wants your own ideas on how it should be done. Leave some comments there if you…
Look at this map, it shows which parties won which regions in Iraq. President Bush won’t be pleased that it’s half blue!
I will be doing my daily updates a bit later tonight. I had quite a few exams today, a research paper to write, and my interview with Harvard (that went extremely well). I’ll take a nap, and in a couple of hours, get on it. In the meantime, you can donate to my, er, college fund.
Zed from INBB is developing a new blog called World Democracy News that will feature a weekly column. Show some support!
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri has been assassinated by a suicide bomber. A Shia terrorist group calling itself “Victory and Jihad” has taken credit, and the Lebanese opposition is blaming Syria, of whom Hariri was a critic. I was just watching a news report on Al-Jazeera covering this, and it is looking like Lebanon, once known as the “Switzerland of the Middle East,” may soon become the Ukraine of the Middle East. The crowds gathering in the streets and the political opposition’s press conference certainly reminded me of recent events in that country. Syria has long maintained control over…
Daniel Drezner posts a large roundup, along with some of his own comments, from mainstream media writers about the future effects of the Iraq election. UPDATE: More from Pejman.
You may remember me directing you toward a post about how an Iraqi democrat’s family was killed for his views and actions. Neo Conneli has the rest of the story on this guy’s background, and the lack of coverage in the western media.