Blogging the democratic revolution
Daniel Storobin from Global Politician is pondering the possiblity of a U.S. invasion of Iran and Syria. Now let’s pick it apart, because I only agree with him to a point, at which point some things stop being considered. Some reports also suggested that Iraq was chosen as the second step in the War on…
It’s not like we didn’t know this already, but it’s coming out at a very opportune time for making the case against Iran.
In an interesting development, the Palestinian Authority is actually taking a stand against militants and deploying troops. This is actually rather unprecedented, and I hope Abbas is able to win true authority over the militants with this. We’ll see how it plays out
It looks as if the U.S. military and the interim government are finally instituting how they will make the elections safer. Here is a quick run-down of what they will do: -Seal the borders (I’m skeptical as if this is possible). -Extend a curfew. -Restrict movement.
Can anyone help Hossein Derakhshan get to the UNESCO conference on free speech in cyberspace? So does anyone know someone who might be of help, especially in the French councilor in Toronto or in the Embassy in Ottawa? To give some background info, he is a college student and a leading activist for freedom in…
Quickly becoming a favorite blogger of mine, Crossroads Arabia talks of recent initiatives to empower the intellectual youth in Saudi Arabia. This is the kind of thing I like to hear, as John notes: A lot of Americans complain that ???????Arabs never talk about change.??????? Those complaints are wrong, of course, but understandable. Stories that…
And here is Hersh’s entire piece along with the Pentagon press release.
Bush announced just a day after a reports of espionage in Iran by Seymour Hersh that he will not rule out action. Awesome. “The Iranian regime’s apparent nuclear ambitions and its demonstrated support for terrorist organizations is a global challenge that deserves much more serious treatment than Seymour Hersh provides in the New Yorker article…
Abbas, under huge pressure from Israel, finally made a declaration for militants to halt their attacks against Israel. But Hamas rejected this call just a few hours after it was made, launching rockets into a nearby settlement. According to the articles, Abbas will be spending a few days in Gaza to have talks with the…
Lawrence DiRita of the Pentagon issued a two-page statement rejecting claims of operations in Iran and other countries. There were four specific refutations named. Among these, and let me pat myself on the back, were quotes made by a “government consultant” and a “high-level intelligence officer.” You see, this is why anonymous quotes don’t work….
Reported here. As much as people are going to complain that Israel is not even giving Abbas a chance, after some rethinking over the past few days, I am going to have to side with Sharon on this. The Palestinian Authority simply cannot act against the militants because they do not have the capabilities to…
This article could have been written any time since the summer of 2003. Of course they’re going to try their hardest to screw with the elections. This isn’t anything new. And they make this foreign fighter issue seem like it’s new as well.
Seymour Hersh from The New Yorker has reported that the U.S. is conducting secret operations in Iran. They are scouting for potential military and nuclear facilities; very necessary information for a future bombing run. The story makes extensive use of anonymous quotes, and as a journalist, that doesn’t bode too well with me. Like I…
She’s a fiesty Nobel Laureate defying one of the cruelest totalitarian regimes of our day. But no, I won’t be adding her to the “Babes of Politics” section. Not that her doing this will mean too much. I can imagine it will infuriate the student resistance movement if she is imprisoned, but more importantly, it…
Pejmanesque is where I saw it first. The article is here. This report is heavily contradicting initial stories of “the most transparent ÄelectionÅ in modern Arab history.” Now that I think about that statement, it probably was more transparent than previous elections. But that doesn’t erase the mass fraud. “This proves that what happened is…
John Burgess at Crossroads Arabia has a suggestion for an article that is simply must read. I’m inclined to agree.
Israel earlier decided to cut off all ties with Abbas due to recent militant strikes in Gaza. Being sworn in today, Abbas will have a lot to handle. Many people are calling what Israel is doing a blockade to the roadmap for peace. I don’t think so. I think this is a test for Abbas…
The Financial Times is reporting that after several phone calls between Bush and Allawi, they have decided to not put off elections in Iraq by a month. This comes amid increased violence in the region, when about 4 mostly Sunni provinces are considered not safe enough to vote in. But let’s refer back to my…
John Burgess over at Crossroads Arabia left a great comment on my recent post Invading Iran not the right idea — for now. It regards a mention in Singer’s article about the lack of U.S. pressure on Saudi Arabia to commit to open elections. Contra the article, the US has been preaching democracy in Saudi…
Blog-Iran over at Activist Chat posted some commentary regarding an article by Saul Singer: Singer had this to say about Bush’s policy toward Iran: “Branding Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as the “axis of evil” was the right thing to do. But saying that and then not having a policy, much less implementing it, toward…
As seen in the World Tribune. The proposal was made to delay the elections about a month and would not be rescheduled after that. In order for this to go into effect, all sides would need to agree upon it. This may be a good idea, but it really shows a vote of no confidence…
Parliamentary elections for Afghanistan have been given the go ahead for early spring. Violence was low-key during the presidential election due to stepped up security. Afghanistan may not have that benefit this time. This time around, we’re going to see an increased degree of violence from radical Islamist groups such as the old Taliban supporters,…
Norman Geras has found a report from Women for Women International that is an extensive public opinion poll of 1,000 women in Iraq. Now, the fact that there is now a country in the Middle East where a poll performed on women can be performed is incredible enough, but hear these responses… > 94% of…
Here’s the CNN article I don’t think any candidate could solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without intense struggle. So on that note, Mahmoud Abbas is probably the best choice they have at the moment. If we remember correctly, Abbas once served as Prime Minister under Arafat, but quit because Arafat would not hand over the reins…
After the long overdue death of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinians are finally going to the polls. Mahmoud Abbas, a close adviser to Arafat, seems to be the frontrunner. As the news article suggests, he is promising to end the violence; however, he wants to do it through a cease fire without denouncing military groups like…