Blogging the democratic revolution
There is a lot of coverage of the elections on C-Span today. Friends of Democracy will be on from 2:00 to 4:00 pm and it will also be liveblogged. Make sure to check it out. For now, I’m going to bed. Blogging is tough work you know. I’ll begin updating again when I wake up.
Chrenkoff has thrown his hat in and is now liveblogging the election.
Via Bloggledygook, are photographers and journalists being tipped off by terrorists? And are they falsifying stories? The analysis is very interesting. Kind of reminds me why the U.S. suspended Al Jazeera in Iraq — those guys were definitely embedded with the militants.
Mark Glaser back in September did an online review of milibloggers and Iraqi bloggers, complete with history, background information, and interview questions for many of the big names out there. It’s pretty cool.
The BBC has a feed of reporters’ logs from their guys all over Iraq. It’s not exactly inspiring, but if you’re interested in a particular region’s situation, check it out. And contrary to John Cole’s “Daming But” Roundup, I think I found a “but” that’s positive: But now that polling’s been underway for two or…
I have been going around all the Iraq blogs and big bloggers and I’ve noticed something… the United Nations Foundation has bought a lot of ads promoting itself in Iraq. Check out, for instance, Tim Blair or Instapundit and they have these UN ads that say “Ensuring Credible and Fair Elections,” followed by a graphic,…
John posts his comments on a fantastic article by Arab news discussing the issues that concern Iraqis. Are the insurgents and their terrorist allies in the Sunni Triangle doing Iraq a favor without knowing it? The question is not fanciful. The violence unleashed by the insurgency has concentrated most minds on a single issue: Security….
For official information about the electoral process, you can go to the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq website, and official information for out-of-country voting can be found here. Here’s the voter education page, which goes over the procedure. Also, here is an FAQ with valuable information.
Hammorabi has some words for the totalitarians of old and new: No more 99.99 % in Iraq! This is the figure of the Arabs’ dictators except Saddam! He used to get 100%! Surprisingly those who voted for the master of the mass graves are abstaining now! Our voting is: No to the terrorists! No to…
Ali from Free Iraqi had some thoughts before he went to vote: … I fear only one thing and that is that only small percentage of Iraqis vote. I hope and expect the opposite but as I said before everyone has been speaking on behalf of Iraqis for a long time and therfore it’s very…
As I’m posting this, Fox News just said that no car bombs have gone off as of yet. Here’s holding on to hope. UPDATE: Nor any violance yet in Sadr City. While there have been mortar attacks, suiciders, gunners, etc… and dozens have died thusfar; as the guy on Fox News just said, “That is…
Radio Blogger has got a lot of pictures of Iraqis voting in California. And from the BBC: Election views in pictures.
Chrenkoff gives his impressions of the election so far, and his thoughts on the defeatist Left. But what made me strike a thinking pose the most was the following: Every revolution has its symbol or gesture – the democratic revolution in Iraq, and hopefully throughout the broader Middle East, will have its own, too: a…
BLOG ROUNDUPS: -Jeff Jarvis has a huge roundup. Even cooler, he found an RSS feed that automatically shows the updates from all the links he posted. Also, Iraqi blogger reactions gethered up. More reactions from military bloggers –More from the Foundation For The Defense Of Democracies. LIVEBLOGGERS: -Roger Simon is liveblogging the TV news coverage….
I’m about to begin doing my series of Iraq roundups, but I thought I would start off with some satire. You heard me right. Dear Diary, Today started out as a amazing day! I was going to be a part of history and nothing was going to stop me! To my amazement, luck was on…
If you’re watching that Venezuela/Colombia impasse, they say they’ve got it all solved. Laughable. But I think they need things from each other so this will do for as long as it lasts. Unfortunately, it’s going to be hard. Colombia absolutely must win its narcotrafficante war – its population is radicalized to do it –…
This essay, ‘A Political Earthquake In Venezuela,’ by Michael Rowan, is tremendous.
Miguel puts the chavista raid on fearless journalist Patricia Poleo in context, outlining all the angles and showing what is at stake. I did some research on Poleo, and realized I’d read about her before – and I was extremely impressed – she’s the one who got proof of secret Cuban troops in her country,…
The elections in Iraq are due to be held on Sunday — or late night Saturday if you’re State side. This is looking to be the event of the century, even though it has just barely started. I have neglected to post much about Iraq in the past week, on the run up, because I…
This article from AZ Central details, albeit at times somewhat wrongly or speculatively, that no matter the results of the election, they are scared of the consequences. Apparently, the Shiite majority that is going to arise in Iraq will create problems for just about everybody, despite some benefits. Here is the introduction: DAMASCUS, Syria –…
I just found this great blog called Stop Censoring Us, only to find out it is done by Hossein Derakhshan, creator of Editor: Myself and Blogs by Iranians. He definitely keep himself busy, so make sure to check out his blogs and support him.
Andrew Sullivan has some preliminary thoughts about standards for the elections in Iraq: Here are my criteria: over 50 percent turnout among the Shia and Kurds, and over 30 percent turnout for the Sunnis. No massive disruption of voting places; no theft of ballots. Fewer than 500 murdered. Any other suggestions for relevant criteria? My…
Nathan posts about the “not-so-veiled threats against NGOs” in Uzbekistan. I guess that is because they do engage in some pro-democracy, er, activities; but I’m obviously against blocking them out for that very reason. But it always makes me come to the conclusion that doing this will only further speed up the current regime’s downfall….
Andy has also posted his weekly Russia news update. I love things like this. But I find it interesting how authoritarian governments handle welfare. He is giving out 20% pay increases to troops and adding to pensions because of the recent protests. How is this even economically feasible for Russia? I guess he’s just delaying…