Blogging the democratic revolution
In the email is another fascinating and huge article by Tammy Lynch, which goes into great detail about the current political crisis in Ukraine. Read it in its entirety. Ukraine-based journalist Peter Byrne doesn’t end on an optimist note, however. former sbu chief olekandr turchynov has tentatively scheduled a press conference for sept. 15. he…
One of the most difficult things for outsiders to understand about Venezuela is the passion with which both sides argue about the April 2002 political mess that shook Venezuela. Chavez calls it a coup attempt. Opponents say it was pre-planned violence. Tiny details are bickered over and held up as proof. To an outsider, it’s…
The Weekly Standard published its 10th anniversary edition this past week, and as part of that had a series of articles from its writers on what they changed their thinking about given the passing of events. You have to have a subscription to read the articles, but there was one that stood out enough that…
Qando.net blog has a point-by-point comparison of the land confiscations going on simultaneously in both Venezuela and Zimbabwe. Other than his hint that Hugo Chavez, unlike Robert Mugabe, is actually a reasonable man who doesn’t quite realize what he is doing, it is a very valuable list of comparisons whose facts speak for themselves. Read…
The Maldives is a small archipelago country located just 500 miles south of India. To European tourists, it is a quaint, charming breath of fresh air that conjures up fantasies of sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, sun-filled days and moon-lit nights. The four star hotels are exquisite, the food likewise, and the locals sweeter than…
Singapore arrested two bloggers for making offensive-to-Islam remarks on their blogs, with charges of contributing to religious hatred. The de-facto state-controlled Singapore tabloid, The Electric New Paper, breathily noted that this pair also even was ‘said to contain vulgarities.’ In Singapore they have laws against that kind of thing. I am an ex-Singapore resident who…
And now, Harry Hutton has come up with something totally different – teaching Colombia’s repulsive guerrillas – yeah, real ones – how to blog. No, I’m not making it up. He’s actually described how he’s taught these (update: ex-)contact killers and kidnappers how to go to www.blogger.com, set up a blogspot blog, and blog away….
Ever since the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri earlier this year, there has been a strong suspicion that Syria was behind it, although proof was lacking. The UN-led investigation of the murder seems to be turning up some clues, however. Meanwhile, U.S. and Iraqi officials turn up the heat on Damascus over…
Peter Lavelle hits this nail on the head, with a really good article knocking all sides of the post-orange order. It takes him just a few paragraphs to dish it all out, but make sure to read the whole thing. Viktor Yushchenko’s decision to fire the government of Yuliya Tymoshenko puts to an end Ukraine’s…
Considering rallies just a few month ago could barely top a tenth of that, it just goes to show how the government’s allowing of protest rallies has swelled the ranks and notoriety of the united opposition. In the largest rally I have yet to cover for this country, 20,000 opposition activists clad in the color…
For a complete roundup of the past week’s developments in democracy, check out the latest carnival of revolutions!
Japan’s politics, like its economics, has been sclerotic for ages. Bureaucrats, comfy pork barrel politicians and socialism have kept that economy on ice for a long long time. Until now. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, an authentic revolutionary who is taking untold radical steps to shake Japan from top to bottom, reforming the giant postal savings…
Four years after the day that the world changed forever. A lot of people are using pictures of the burning buildings, but I always liked this one better.
There is a new periodical out now dealing with U.S. foreign policy and America’s place in the world, The American Interest. Vol. 1, No. 1 is out this week; I purchased my first copy today. It is led by such intellectual luminaries as Francis Fukuyama, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Samuel Huntington, among others. Up until now…
Have a good weekend everyone. I’ve done quite a bit on Ukraine and Egypt of late, so get reading if you haven’t already. Posting resumes on Monday!
I’ve received a lot of emails about this. They go something like, “Robert! I know how much of a fan of Yulia you are. What do you think about all this?” I wrote a post yesterday, but it was mostly in the context of the scandal and the sacking of the government. Now would be…
Have you ever heard of anything more macabre? Dozens of life-size , lovingly constructed cardboard skeletons have appeared all over Caracas, on overpasses, on lampposts, on bridges, over highways. Miguel has a photo of the freakish spectre here. The dozens of hanging skeletons are a protest, something from a mysterious youth group called Cambio, which…
Here is a superb Bolivia update by someone who knows the real score going on in Bolivia. The short story is this: Evo Morales is winning as December’s election approaches but he can’t win except through Congress. If he does, he’s going to nationalize the energy and make Bolivia the third member of the Axis…
In Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez’s army, there is something called ‘military doctine’ and within that doctrine, is a weird fascination with ‘asymmetrical warfare.’ That asymmetrical warfare, of course, is block committees and ragtag guerrillas, all keeping their eyes on the barrios amid revolutionary vigilance in a strong bid to repress spontaneous groupings. It’s a real…
The period after a democratic revolution is generally the most volatile, so there isn????????t time to lose. Yushchenko needs to step up, whip his party into line, and take control of his job for the betterment of the country. He may also have a tough decision ahead of him with the upcoming parliamentary election. Will…
Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has loudly volunteered the services of 1,600 doctors to New Orleans, making a bet that if the U.S. doen’t take them, it’s his propaganda victory as the U.S. looks heartless on the world stage. But today’s Investor’s Business Daily makes an argument against it. Castro’s record on medical aid is a…
Unofficial counts are giving Mubarak a vote count perhaps as high as 80%, with liberal opposition candidate Ayman Nour only up to 12%. This is, perhaps, pretty realistic given the circumstances, and for more on that you should read my previous post. I went into great detail on how fraud and irregularities can be committed…
It’s one or two days since my FARC news roundup and today I’ve noticed all the non-FARC Colombia news. Google Colombia, skip the FARC pieces, and notice what news is left. Notice how marvellous Colombia’s government is, what fine things it’s done to make Colombia the great wealthy country it’s meant to be, and take…
The Dominican Republic has just ratified entry into CAFTA. Wheeeee!!!!!!! This is great news! Dominican Republic was considered the weakest link in the CAFTA state lineup. I thought it wouldn’t happen. I read so much negative news in the local press about this factory layoff and that protest and that opinion poll that I didn’t…
Egyptians voted on Wednesday in the country’s first ever multi-candidate presidential elections. They no longer had to choose between yes or no for Mubarak, but between ten different candidates. Despite this, however, the day was marked with intense voter apathy. Egyptians are casting their ballots in the country’s first ever presidential election. And no-one in…