Blogging the democratic revolution
Heading out there now. Full report to come. UPDATE: I’m back. I acted like a freelance journalist and sat down with the poll monitor for an interview for about an hour and a half. Am working on the report of what I learned about this process, and most importantly, what goes on inside this guy’s…
Whenever Iran has an election of some sort, its agents host polling stations all around America attempting to further legitimize itself. Last time this happened, authorities were able to bust up many of them. The SMCCDI has information on how you can help intervene. The list of cities and addresses where these polling stations will…
From Reuters: Unelected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, among the first to vote, told Iranians they would be endorsing not just their chosen candidate, but their country’s Islamic system. “Whoever you vote for among those seven candidates, it’s a vote for him, the Islamic republic and the constitution,” he said after using a special ballot…
Gary Metz of Regime Change Iran has the opinions of several Iranian bloggers who seem to express the sentiments of quite a bit of the electorate. Here are the ones he posted below: The Adventures of Behi — Tonight, I was talking to Mrs. Behi about the decision we shall make for the election tomorrow;…
A fantastic post by Gary Metz, and heartening news that the U.S. is really going to stand by the Iranian people just as they are about to boycott the election in massive droves. In a unique display of unity in broadcasting the same feed into Iran. These broadcasters are providing a marathon of reports into…
I just received this email from the Young Ethiopian Diasporans relating the declining situation in Ethiopia following the brutal murders of dozens of protestors by the authorities. Here is the latest, as Jimmy Carter looks on calmly: When all else fails, beat up reporters and take 3000 prisoners. Last Friday, Ethiopian PM Meles stated that:…
I haven’t given this idea thought before. Very interesting. (Hat tip: New Mongols) ULAAN BAATAR, Mongolia — While the world powers grapple with how to check North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, Mongolia has quietly engaged the country and is pressing it to undertake reforms in a more direct manner. The primary tool to woo Pyongyang is…
The Moldovan parliement recently signed a Ukraine-drafted accord on how to move forward with the Transdniestria separatist conflict. HISINAU, June 10 (Itar-Tass) – Moldovan parliament has approved a plan of settlement of the conflict with the breakaway Dniester region proposed by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. Parliament also has adopted an address to the Organization for…
King Gyanendra ended the three month state of emergency this past April 30, meaning he was supposed to ease up tight controls on civil liberties imposed since February. Of course, that didn’t happen. In the most recent example of his power grab, over 100 journalists were arrested for protesting against the restrictions. Police arrested nearly…
Yesterday I posted on the third round of the elections in Lebanon taking place in Bekaa and Mt. Lebanon. It was termed “the mother of all election battles” because it pitted in tightly contested races the electoral lists of the now split opposition led separately by Hariri-Jumblatt and Aoun. A lot of the success of…
Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit is hosting this week’s carnival of revolutions, catching you up on everything that has gone down this week in the democratic movement. “So let????????s cut to the chase, down to this past week????????s developments in democracy, elections, tyrannous acts, human rights, and pie. Apple pie.”I knew that quote would come…
This is big. Keep reading, you’ll see why. Hundreds of women staged an unauthorized demonstration in Tehran today, protesting sex discrimination under Iran’s Islamic leadership just days before the June 17 presidential elections. The protest was the first public display of dissent by women since the 1979 revolution, when the new regime enforced obligatory veiling….
It looks like the Kuwaiti government has made good on its promises. When women got the vote, they promised that they would appoint women to the government. Bingo. KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait named its first woman cabinet minister on Sunday, less than a month after giving women the vote, a key plank in its democratic…
Lebanon went to the polls for the third time today (I think they like it!) in the districts of Mt. Lebanon and Bekaa. Usually I would do a really long post and analysis, given that most news stories fail at covering the event well, but An Nahar did such a good job that it will…
Everything you wanted to know related to Iran, published in a single sweet post. Also, make sure to check out the schedule of pro-democracy events over the coming week.
I just finished reading through a bombshell scientific survey conducted by the Iran Institute for Democracy to gauge public opinion in the country. It’s the only one of its kind out there that is so thorough and well-done that it is truly a must-read. For the complete executive summary, click here (corrected: this summary is…
Music to my ears. When Syria withdraw its troops from Lebanon back in April, it was pretty obvious to the world that it left behind a thick residue of intelligence agents. The several bombs that have gone off, and the targetted assassination of an anti-Syria journalist, are part of a general pattern of political intimidation….
The two-day work stay away that didn’t turn out so well yesterday fizzled again. A two-day strike called to protest a crackdown by President Robert Mugabe’s government on informal traders headed for a total collapse on Friday when most businesses opened as usual for the second consecutive day. A coalition of civic groups, supported by…
Joe Katzman from Winds of Change pens how Mugabe changed his mind about guns. As many of you know, I’m from Canada. We have a pretty different attitude to guns up here, and I must say that American gun culture has always kind of puzzled me. To me, one no more had a right to…
Background: Zimbabwe officially Mugabe’s fiefdom, Opposition to protest Zimbabwe crackdown. It seems that this country, long tortured by tyranny, is at a crossroads in which there is no turning back. Mugabe is crushing the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people, imposing a forced famine, and preparing to scatter his urban opposition to the country…
Many of you may remember Le Sabot Post-Moderne, where the Discoshaman pretty much live-blogged the Orange Revolution in Ukraine during those amazing months. He’s back. Check him out.
THIS IS HUGE! Iran scored a 1-0 victory against Bahrain, securing a place in the World Cup. And the crowd goes wild, taking advantage of the joyous event to shout against the regime. Iran erupted in a frenzy of raucous celebrations after the Islamic state booked its place at the 2006 World Cup soccer finals…
Still breaking and unconfirmed of yet, but (via: Registan) Reuters is being told that 600 people are protesting in Samarkand. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has picked it up too. TASHKENT, June 8 (Reuters) – Hundreds of opposition supporters in eastern Uzbekistan held a rally on Wednesday in a rare protest since a bloody crackdown last…
Joshua Landis, living in Damascus, has a media roundup from around the world and talks about all of the proposals. The press, for the most part, has seen this as a “great step forward” — Ba’ath words actually — in reform toward democracy in Syria. But if that sounds too good to be true, then…
Gateway Pundit has been doing a fantastic job rounding up what’s been going on for the past two days. Students all over the country were peacefully protesting the rigged elections, when the army and police broke it up with brutal force. At the Addis Ababa Tegbare’ed (Technical School), police tried to disperse about 200 peaceful…