Blogging the democratic revolution
John Burgess has another article by a woman writing in support of suffrage., as well as letters to the editor regarding a previous article. Very cool stuff. Women’s suffrage shouldn’t even need evidence to back itself up, however, these womens’ ability to write logically and eloquently on the subject lends a great deal of additional weight to their cause in the minds of detractors.
Picked up the story from Bloggledygook. Captain Ed reports a little-told story that the Taliban in Afghanistan is starting to give up the fight and rejoin society on peaceful terms. One of the Taliban’s most senior and charismatic commanders has become a key negotiator as more and more members of the Islamic militia in Afghanistan give up the fight against the Americans. The commander, Abdul Salam, earned the nickname Mullah Rockety because he was so accurate with rocket propelled grenades against Russian troops. … After the Taliban’s three-year struggle against a superior US force, there is growing optimism among the…
Across the Bay has a couple pictures of the protests in Lebanon. No smoke or mirrors — that’s a lot of people.
Arthur Chrenkoff lands a sweet interview with Michael Ledeen, holder of the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute. If you were a member of that “war cabinet” what three things you would suggest the United States should do that is not currently doing? We should be funding more (mostly private) radio and television broadcasting to Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The people in those countries know that they are being lied to by their governments, but they don’t know the truth, especially about their own country. If you read some of the blogs from Iran, for example (and there…
This is why I hate waking up late. The Lebanese are continuing their rather impressive protests to end the occupation by Syria. And it looks as if the French are working with America on this. BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (AFP) – US President George W. Bush and his French counterpart Jacques Chirac on Monday called for the immediate withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. “The United States and France join with the European Union and the international community in condemning the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, and in their support for a free, independent, and democratic Lebanon,” they…
The BBC has an article by the same name, dealing with the imprisonment and torture accorded to those who oppose the mullahs. Iran is becoming an increasingly dangerous place to keep an online diary. Web logs have become a popular forum for dissent. And the Iranian government has responded by arresting dozens of bloggers. Some of those detained are reportedly being held in solitary confinement and tortured. Bloggers Arash Sigarchi and Mojtaba Saminejad are both currently in prison in Iran. Mr Sigarchi has been in detention since 17 January while Mr Saminejad was first detained in November. “Freedom of expression…
This is Egypt, a country I’m not too familiar with in terms of the political situation. So you’ll have to judge for yourselves on the character of the prostesters. CAIRO (Reuters) – Several hundred Egyptians protested in central Cairo on Monday in the largest street demonstration since the launch last year of a campaign against continued rule by the Mubarak family. Liberals, leftists and Islamists chanted: “Enough, shame, have mercy” and “Down, down with (President) Hosni Mubarak (news – web sites)” in a public square outside the gates of Cairo University, as tens of thousands of mostly bemused commuters drove…
Another crazy report, just like a lot of the bunk charges that come out of Human Rights Watch. Great name, great mission. Terrible follow through. LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Nearly two years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, women there are no better off than under the rule of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, the human rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday. In a report entitled “Iraq — Decades of Suffering,” it said that while the systematic repression under Saddam had ended, it had been replaced by increased murders, and sexual abuse — including by U.S. forces. Washington promised…
A sly man by the name of Tony let me know about his blog today, called Across the Bay. This is not a paid advertisement — I could only be so lucky — but this blog is of special note because it is totally about Lebanon. Here is a little bit about the author: Ph.D. candidate in Ancient Near Eastern Studies with focus on Semitic Linguistics, Ancient Levantine history, religion, and ethnicity studies. I think we can take his word for it.
Do I ever say how much I love news roundups? Yes, quite often. Even though I have many posts on Lebanon already, Arthur Chrenkoff offers a fantastic multi-dimensional roundup of his own!
Thomas L. Friedman makes an eye-opening personal account in the Houston Chronicle regarding the rules Syria plays by, namely, none: When Syria’s Baath regime feels its back up against the wall, it always resorts to “Hama Rules.” Hama Rules is a term I coined after the Syrian army leveled ???????? and I mean leveled ???????? a portion of its own city, Hama, to put down a rebellion by Sunni Muslim fundamentalists there in 1982. Some 10,000 to 20,000 Syrians were buried in the rubble. Monday’s murder of Hariri, a self-made billionaire who devoted his money and energy to rebuilding Lebanon…
There are two noteable articles on Lebanonwire that I noticed. The first is that Chirac is being accused of aiding the opposition. BEIRUT, Feb 19 (AFP) – Lebanese Defense Minister Abdel Rahim Mrad accused French President Jacques Chirac Saturday of encouraging the opposition during a visit to pay condolences after the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri. “When President Jacques Chirac came to Lebanon, he ignored completely the government, the president of the republic and everybody,” Mrad told state Tele-Liban television. “Then he came to accuse, help the opposition to escalate and encourage the opposition to escalate,” he said. Chirac…
Regime Change Iran’s daily briefing is up. New satellite intel shows that Iran is building an underground tunnel just north of the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) at Esfahan. It appears too big to be only for storage. It might be intended to house production facilities for some uranium conversion processes.. Iran already has about 500 tons of uranium concentrate. Update and observation from jriemer: Follow the road that goes along side the explosive storage site to a black topped building (on right of road) and appears to go into the mountainside. Definitely worth the daily visit.
John Burgess at Crossroads Arabia posts an article from Arab News written by a woman that counters arguments against women’s suffrage. Last week, Raid Qusti wrote yet another article about women and elections. This was not the first time he tackled the issue, making it clear to all of us, again, that he agrees with the government????????s decision to exclude women from participating in the first municipal elections ever to be held in Saudi Arabia. Despite the many letters I had received from female (and even some male) readers countering his arguments in several articles, I have thus far declined…
In a sweeping post, The Faces of G comments on the new alignments: Several key anti-U.S. states have been more public in their movements and alignments. A week ago, North Korea boasted of its nuclear weapons. Syria and Iran get together to build a ‘common front’ Änothing new, just a PR stunt reallyÅ. Today, Russia stated it would continue to help Iran’s “peaceful” nuclear program. On Wednesday, CIA director Porter Goss warned that a Chinese military build-up could tip the cross-strait military balance with Taiwan. China didn’t like those remarks, but must at the same time walk a diplomatic tightrope,…
Sweet: BEIRUT, 19 February 2005 ???????? The opposition parties in Lebanon declared an ???????uprising for independence??????? yesterday and called for the pro-Syrian government to step down so that a new government can be formed to oversee a Syrian military pullout. This escalated a war of words following former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri????????s assassination on Monday. In another significant development, Syrian President Bashar Assad named his brother-in-law, Maj. Gen. Asef Shawkat, as head of military intelligence to replace retiring Maj. Gen. Hassan Khalil. Syrian sources said the change took effect on Monday, Khalil????????s 60th birthday. Meanwhile, Leabanese opposition leader Samir Frangieh…
Regime Change Iran’s news briefing is up, with quite a few items that are easily missed otherwise.
There are a couple of more reactions to the events on Lebanon that I thought were worth reading. The first comes from Ali at Free Iraqi: It seems that the horrible crime that took place in Beirut won’t go unpunished. Despite the continues allegations of the Syrian and Lebanese government and the crocodile tears their officials are shedding, no one seems to believe them and especially the Lebanese people. All the Syrian government could come up with is accusing Israel of being responsible for the crime. When combined with their and their friends in the Lebanese government prior accusations to…
John Burgess posts what first seems like a pretty insignifcant story: JEDDAH, 18 February 2005 ???????? The Labor Ministry????????s recent decision to postpone for another three years the Saudization of taxi business infuriated Saudis working in the sector who have now sought the intervention of higher authorities. The drivers complained of the losses they said they continued to incur as a result of the unfair competition from expatriate drivers. As many as 1,200 drivers and owners of taxis assembled outside the palace of Crown Prince Abdullah in Riyadh calling for his intervention. They said the decision by the ministry shows…
Winfield Myers emailed me to let me know about this post of his on Democracy Project. Harvard will be paying for six Iraqis to attend its institution for the weekend. A fantastic idea, in theory, until the curriculum became available: Getting full exposure to the typically busy life of a Harvard student, the Iraqi visitors will have a jam-packed schedule during their time in Cambridge. The students will attend the conference course Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality 1203, ???????Gender and the Cultures of US Imperialism,??????? appear at a variety of luncheons and receptions, and participate in a panel discussion…
For background on ex-PM Rafik Hariri, Wikipedia has it, and this post by Kirk H. Sowell is a great primer to Lebanon. I guess moral support really does help: BEIRUT (Reuters) – President Bush (news – web sites) called on Syria on Thursday to withdraw its forces from Lebanon as Lebanese opposition leaders vowed to topple the country’s pro-Syrian leadership. … Voices from across Lebanon’s various ethnic and religious communities, encouraged by the tough anti-Syrian stance of the United States and France, are now telling Damascus and its local allies it is time to go. “The day will come when…
John at Crossroads Arabia has been posting quite frequently, so I think it is only fitting to let you know about some some of them. First, he has an editorial on the lack of female participation in the Riyadh elections, then one how how Saudis view their country post-election. Also, here is one regarding who will wield the power in the municipal seats. Lastly, there are two posts regarding the recent counter-terrorism conference and change in Saudi Arabia.
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.
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…