Blogging the democratic revolution
Via Andrew Sullivan, the SMCCDI is reporting that millions of Iranian are cheering the news of U.S. moral support for the cause of freedom, Reports from across Iran are stating about the massive welcoming of President George W. Bush’s inaugural speech and his promise of helping to bring down the last outposts of tyranny. Millions of Iranians have been reported as having stayed home, on Thursday night which is their usual W.end and outgoing night, in order to see or hear the Presidential speech and the comments made by the Los Angeles based Iranian satellite TV and radio networks, such…
John Hawkins at Right Wing News has his thoughts about the misinterpretations of the Bush speech. He has the right idea, as most pundits and newspapers I have seen don’t seem to. We aren’t going to start bombing the whole world. We’re going to take each opportunity case-by-case and see what we can do. For Ukraine, it was supporting a revote. For Iran, it may be bombing some infrastructure and assisting the people overthrow the government, whereas with Saudi Arabia it might just be simple political pressures to reform. The ultimate goal is to end tyranny, but that doesn’t mean…
Here is the roundup by Discoshama for 01/24. Lots of good news. – The Telegraph has some highlights from Yushchenko’s speech. This struck me: “This was a victory of freedom over tyranny. A victory of law over lawlessness. We have a single aim – a democratic and prosperous Ukraine. . . Ukraine will not be a buffer zone or a testing ground for anyone else.” Amen.
There is a new article posted over at abdymok, an interview with Cabinet of Ministers veteran Viktor Skarshevsky. He’s telling the Kyiv Post what the government needs to do next, and why Yushchenko’s pick for Prime Minister is so important. KP: What should be the new government????????s first steps? VS: Overhauling the nation????????s moribund judiciary system, defending businessmen and foreign investors from arbitrary harassment by state law enforcement, and the like. I would start by introducing legislative change or repealing laws granting certain enterprises privileges and preferences, including tax breaks. For example, the country????????s two dozen or so ???????free economic…
I hope you like what you see. And in the meantime, I’ll be contacting my host for a bandwidth increase. But in all seriousness, thank you for the recognition Mr. Sullivan. It means that many more people will see what’s going on in the undemocratic world. Take a tour, read up, and make sure to visit those on my blogroll, since they make it happen.
We have a lot about Iraq going on with the runup to the elections, so here’s a rundown of what’s on in the news and what some of the bloggers are saying. News: –Purported al-Zarqawi tape: Democracy a lie –Iraq Details Security Plans for Election Day –Civil war erupts online as Iraqis prepare for a great experiment –Iraq ads promote united nation –Iraq PM hopeful calls for U.S. pullout –Germans hold two suspected of dirty bomb plot Blog commentary: –Zarqawi Suckered by Austin Bay Blog –More Zarqawi “Wowee” by Roger L. Simon –Minutemen by Andrew Stuttaford –Zarqawi Tape Commentary at…
I don’t think I need to tell you all what I feel about the inauguration of rightful President Yushchenko… because I think it can all be summed up better and more expansively by everyone else. So for your reading pleasure, here are the reactions around the blogosphere! Here are the people that were there and have write-ups: Orange Ukraine Äpictures by tomorrow!Å, Le Sabot Post-moderne Äpictures!Å, Blog de Connard Äpictures!Å, Little Miss Reformed, Neeka’s Backlog Äliveblogged, w/ picturesÅ, Siberian Light. Also, here are some reactions from blogs outside of Ukraine. Captain’s Quarters, Sounding the Trumpet, Bloggledygook. There were lots of…
We are having an ongoing discussion over at Babalu Blog over whether we should continue current policy on Cuba, or lift restrictions on it. The premises being which will more quickly bring prosperity, freedom, and democracy to the Cuban people.
Discoshaman has got a Ukraine news roundup for 01/23, and will be covering and posting photos of the inauguration. So will many other bloggers. I’ll make sure to do a roundup of everything by tomorrow night. And for anyone wondering… there is no way I can live up to the promise of not blogging on the weekend. I retract my previous statement.
Veronica Khokhlova has the story for us again! Apparently, Kuchma has posted a notice on his official website saying that he has written a letter to the New York Times. Leonid Kuchma, president of Ukraine, has sent a letter to the editor of The New York Times, in which he expressed surprise at the use of twisted facts and incorrect commentaries not supported by the quotes from the Head of the state, by the author of the article based on the materials of an interview with Leonid Kuchma. What is going on, anyone? I would like to speculate that C.J.…
I just wanted to bring to light a comment I left on Bloggledygook that follows up with my full thoughts on the Kuchma interview piece. This is less of a short sex joke, and more of something long and serious. I hope you all don’t mind too much! But here we go… The New York Times has, especially in the past several weeks, been heavily monitored and bashed by the blogosphere for its editorial bias in its news stories. I’m inclined to agree, and we can define editorial bias in many ways. In one way, it could be how Sarah…
I’m breaking my promise, but just this once. Via Instapundit, Lt. Smash did a counter-counter-inaugural protest. Make sure to read all about it. Now this is a protest I could get behind.
I’ve decided I’m going to start taking the weekends off from blogging. Trust me, I have this obsessive compulsive desire to do it, but its because of blogging during the week that I have to catch up on my work over the weekend! So let’s see how long I go before I break this promise.
Miguel Octavio from The Devil’s Excrement has a roundup of news in Venezuela, complete with the necessary sarcasm. And you have to have a good sense of humor to laugh at the situation there. And he has a lot of other great posts as well. Like this one on his government’s hypocrisy in terms of receiving foreign campaign donations. And for those of you who haven’t heard, there is a recent crisis between Venezuela and Colombia over Colombia secretly taking some terrorists that Chavez wouldn’t hand over. Well… read the entire front page of the website, it’s easier than me…
C.J. Chivers, the man who wrote the much talked about NYT story about the Orange Revolution and the SBU, has written another piece in which he interviews Kuchma at length. Neeka’s Backlog has commentary and a couple more stories to look at. Yet Mr. Kuchma accomplished critical tasks, including a sustained collaboration with Washington in nuclear disarmament and the closing of Chernobyl, the nuclear power plant that in 1986 suffered the worst nuclear accident in history. He leaves a country with a rapidly expanding economy, with independent parliamentary factions, an opposition television station and an often lively press. These would…
I received an email today from a Miss MoneyPenny with a comprehensive list of the best blogs out of Venezuela. I thought it would be good to bring attention to them out front instead of just silently adding them to the blogroll. But at least now we can start seeing some South America updates! –http://www.venezuelatoday.net/ The Venezuelan Drudge Report –http://blogs.salon.com/0001330/ Miguel Octavio’s blog, he is a banker in Caracas –http://daniel-venezuela.blogspot.com/ Daniel in Yaracuy, he is a scientist in the boondocks –http://www.vcrisis.com/ Alek Boyd’s blog of blogs, he is a young Venezuelan exile in London –http://www.venezuelatoday.net/gustavocoronel.html essayist Gustavo Coronel is a…
Transitions online has an interview with Islam Karimov, “President” of Uzbekistan entitled Not In My Country. Man, even the title describes the authoritarian attitude. Nezavisimaya Gazeta: But in theory “velvet” turnovers may be too mild and the country will find itself in the grips of a civil war… Islam Karimov: Everything depends on the preparations. Take Ukraine, for example, where preparations for the recent election began in 1995. Consider how many non-governmental organizations exist there and on whose money they exist, and everything will become instantly clear. By the way, we are tracking all funds and grants nowadays. We want…
David McDuff has recently posted a long article of exchanges in which “Serbian World Bank economist Branko Milanovic asked the question: “why are the American media, both liberal and conservative, so unanimously anti-Russian?” He posts a list, and I’ll repost the first out of six: 1) For seventy years, commentators have been anti-Soviet and since obviously some of Russia’s foreign policy stances will coincide with those of the USSR, their knee-jerk reaction to argue against these positions in the past carried over to the present day. He is responded to by “Yevgenia Albats, political journalist and Professor of economics at…
The Kyiv Post is reporting that one of Yushchenko’s main reforms needs to be of the post-KGB security agency, the SBU. (AP) – One of the toughest tasks facing Viktor Yushchenko as Ukraine’s new president likely will be overhauling the State Security Service, the KGB successor agency alleged to have been involved in an array of devious and deadly activities. The cases of other Soviet-bloc countries show that success or failure could determine how well democracy takes root in Ukraine – but the issue is complicated by indications that security forces played a role in averting a crackdown on Yushchenko’s…
Eurasianet has another article called Nipping orange roses in the bud — post-Soviet elites against revolution. This comes as no surprise, because they are understandably running scared. But by making drastic decisions, however, they are creating an unsustainable environment for their own rule. You know how they say, “Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.” Well, while I would never consider someone who is pro-democracy an enemy, their best bet for keeping power is to negate the opposition’s argument by opening up on the civil liberties platform. The court ruling to dissolve Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK), a…
Well, it looks like those protests going on in Donetsk are coming to an end after the Supreme Court declared Yushchenko the winner. Today the superintendent of the camp, Ivan Batytskyj, said: ???????We are moving off. We received an order???????. According to his words, during the day the tents are to be removed. It was cute while it lasted.
The Belmont Club has an excellent thusfar three-part piece called “The Lost Elections.” Here is part one, part 2, and part 3. The title sounds negative, but they are very positive pieces. Check’em out.
Ukrainian politician Stepan Gavrish made a bet with another politician for a train car of cognac. The bet was over whether the people would vote in favor of change and reform this election round, and Stepan apparently won. I’m not sure how authentic this website is, because this guy was Yanukovich’s representative to the Central Election Commission and betting against him would be a no-no. “If I do not get my cognac, everyone will know this person’s name. If I succeed, I will be ready to share the prize with journalists,” the deputy said. But if it’s true, I suppose…
I was emailed by abdymok this morning with an article of his that clears up the article written by the New York Times about how the Ukraine secret police stopped the government from attacking the protesters. Stanislav Reutsky doesn????????t write spy novels for a living. But to hear the story of the 15-year veteran journalist????????s recent run-in with the nation????????s top spy agency, you????????d think he might want to start. … Serhiy Popkov, the commander of troops from Ukraine????????s Interior Ministry, dismissed the charge. He responded curtly in an interview with the national daily tabloid Segodnya on Jan. 18 saying…
Siberian Light has a rather impressive news roundup for this week in Russia. I count thirty items, ranging from domestic, business, foriegn relations, the CIS, and a little something extra that includes call girls and Putin all in the same sentence.