Blogging the democratic revolution
You might wonder about the mysteries of the stars or you might wonder about why Ecuador is so screwed up, and in either case you’d be touching on the immutable truths of the universe. While we’re on Ecuador, something interesting has happened. After confiscating $6 billion in investment from Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum, and scrapping its entire free trade pact with the U.S., effectively swapping market access to a $11 trillion economy for $1 billion in oil pumping equipment, Ecuador is moving back in the direction of good sense. Ecuador has decided – at the last minute – not to…
I found two videos of a rap song “Hasta Cuando” (For How Long?) , sang by a Cuban rap singer living in Canada. The first one if the original video as created by the singer himself. The second is the one created by Somos Cubanos.com Anyway, I recommend both! To see the first video, click here To see the video by Somos Cubanos, click here
Romanticized mercenary and psychopathic killer, Che Guevara Source: Le Blogue du LFG – Guadalajara If a thug has a pretty face, does that justify his mass murder? That’s an issue the Academic Elephant explored after a firsthand look at images of Che after Che after Che after Che after Che after Che at a fancy London Museum, which was putting on a Che Display for the radical-chic set. Elephant explores the images of Che and how their use is designed to manipulate viewers. All of that has culminated in the hideous situation we have today, where Che (a two-bit tramp…
Pestiside is a zippy, if probably left-leaning, blog that really makes you feel like you’ve got your hand on the pulse of Hungary. It’s full of the lowdown and fun to read. On this great day that George Bush visited and honored the Hungarian Freedom Fighters of 1956, Pestiside put in a delicious item that I enjoyed reading: Pestiside writes: A big shout out to reader J. for sending us the subscription only MTI story about yesterday’s demonstration organized by Amnesty International Hungary to protest alleged abuses of suspects in the “war on terror.” (Wait – we forgot – is…
Hungarian freedom fighters atop the jackboot remains of the Stalin statue Source: 1956 Hungary President George W. Bush, in Europe today, remembered some of the bravest democratic revolutionaries in all history, Hungary’s Freedom Fighters, who stood up to Soviet tanks in the name of democracy. It’s the fiftiest anniversary of that stunning struggle in the name of freedom. Source: The Menzies Era In the aftermath of World War II, half of Europe was enslaved by the Soviet Union. The communism it imposed was a truly terrible kind, disallowing all free thought as the Stalinist colonializers stamped their deadening blotting-paper-gray imprint…
Yes: Italy 2 Czech Republic 0 . Italy goes to the next round.. hoping not to play against Brazil ! So, Brazil has the moral duty to win today, so that Italy will not play against Brazil! Viva Italia! Some photo: Alena Seredova, second from left, girlfriend of Italy’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. She is a showgirl from the Czech Republic, but she supported Italy out of love for her boyfriend! Dante,Leonardo and the Romans were there as well ! Playing mandolino, typical instrument of Naples
Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez calls himself a revolutionary, but his principal achievement has solely been to tear things down. In a technical sense, I suppose that means he’s making a difference but its not quite the difference most people would like to see. Chavez has wrecked the political infrastructure of the country, the civil institutions, the courts, the bureaucracy, and the security and turned them into zombie institutions that exist solely for his own aggrandisement, his own perpetration in power. Everything in Venezuela is politicized now. But there’s no need to stop at political things. He’s also wrecked the roads,…
So after 3 months of squabbling the Orange Coalition is back on. But for how long? The quick details by the way are; that Yulia Tymoshenko will be Prime Minister, Yuriy Yekhanurov, no wait Roman Bezsmertny, oh hold on, maybe Petro Poroshenko will be Speaker of Parliament. Yes it seems certain forces are trying to mess things up from the offset. One of Tymoshenko’s previous demands had been that Poroshenko, the man with murky rumours swirling around his head, would not hold the powerful Speakers post. In fact this morning one of her Bloc’s spokespeople confirmed this, with former P.M.…
Ecuador Source, all photos: AP and Reuters, via FIFA World Cup Yahoo! You see a lot of World Cup soccer photos here on this site, some of you must wonder if the football tournament is part of a democratic revolution. But of course it is! It’s the only true world sports event that everyone watches. Wars stop and politics stops and peace reigns for at least one month in June. Everyone is in on this. And small countries, as well as big countries, rich as well as poor, depending on how hard they work and how much they shine, can…
I am sitting here in the crosshairs of a madman out of North Korea. Incredibly, he’s fuelling up a Taepodong missile and getting ready to launch it in my direction. It can reach 9000 miles. And I am on the receiving end. The mighty U.S. military industrial complex has activated its missile defense system a few miles away, up in Vandenberg Air Force base. In the 1980s, nuclear war used to be talked about all the time. Duran Duran used to sing about it. But ultimately, the idea of nuclear menace was an abstraction. Vandenberg was an abstraction, it was…
On Sunday, Catalonian voters approved a referendum for greater autonomy from Madrid by about 75% of the population with nearly 50% turnout. Below is a summary of what’s at stake: Residents of Catalonia will today vote in a referendum that could see the region granted more autonomy and move further away from Spain’s government. If a yes vote is delivered as expected then the region will become one of the most independent in Europe, effectively achieving nation-within-a-nation status with powers to decide how taxes are spent and how visas are granted to immigrants. Although the majority of Catalans are believed…
Remember Dubai Ports International? The first-rate Emirates-based firm that, fair and square, tried to buy the operations of several U.S. ports? They were reviled as terrorists, a public outcry followed and then U.S. Congress stuck its nose into the whole business, baselessly condemning the company for no good reason until they were ignominously forced to withdraw from those plans. It was totally unfair to them, they didn’t deserve that kind of treatment, and it sent an incredibly bad message to the rest of the world that the U.S. was flamingly hypocritical. That whole debacle made me ill. Anyway, this setback…
Venezuela is getting increasingly militarized. We know that from the photos of Hugo Chavez brandishing rifles, alongside his vow to start a Kalashnikov factory. That doesn’t mean his military is getting more professional, however. If anything, they are more incompetent, and easier to beat in battle than ever. Chavez’s priority isn’t military excellence, but to expand and use the military to scare his neighbors. He’s wasting state funds on unproductive investments. He’s contributing to crime as extra rifles get into the hands of drug criminals. He’s intimidating Venezuelans. Of all the things Venezuelans need … like, good roads, good bridges,…
Oh, to hear how some Americans talk! – the Chinese are a menace, and Latin America is full of different kinds of Mexicans all of whom want something from us before they go communist, same as the Chinese. In fact, probably joining the Chinese! That’s how the world looks to some on the right who don’t look too closely. I’ve seen it on bulletin boards and heard it on talk radio shows and listened to it from friends. It’s all scarily wrong. And fortunately, not the foreign policy of the U.S. Most in that establishment see far more closely what…
French Revolutionary Sabine Herold Source: Never Yet Melted La Margaret Thatcher of France? Source: The Telegraph, London Glenn at Instapundit has found the impossible, an authentic French revolutionary and Babe of Politics, Sabine Herold, 25, who takes it as a compliment when people call her Mlle. Thatcher. Mlle. Herold is a fierce free marketer who thinks Nicolas Sarkozy is a wimp and has begun running for office on a campaign ticket that says the French have got to stop going on strike all the time. Given the fact that the French are just northern Latin Americans, white-wine Latin Americans, deep…
Hates Free Trade: Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Source: EFE, via Yahoo! Mexico If polls are right, Mexican leftist presidential candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has probably taken the lead in Mexico’s upcoming presidential election July 2. If he comes to power, we will have a leftist on our border who’s going to be causing us a whole lot of trouble. He hasn’t said anything openly anti-U.S. that I know about, but that is likely to be tactical. He hates free trade and foreign investment but he says he wants to build a bullet train all the way…
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Imprisoned Democratic Revolutionary Of Burma Source: OA Net The Burmese military junta’s 61st birthday present to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was a beefed-up contingency of military troops at her door this morning. Burma’s democracy leader has now spent all of ten years under house arrest, with very few visitors allowed. The Burmese junta fears her popularity, and knows its days are numbered. To read the backstory of this leader, see this site here. In the past, Burma’s democratic revolutionaries have released doves into the air on Suu Kyi’s birthday, so that even if she…
Less than a week after Hugo Chavez threatened to shut down the broadcast press by yanking their licenses, a newspaper editor for the weekly Ahora newspaper was gunned down in a targeted hit. His death raises the total of news editors shot dead to at least four that I know about. Hugo Chavez has it in for the media. And there will be no letup. The death of this editor shows the range of tactics he intends to employ as he begins to dismantle the independent media. Can you imagine the impact of this on the rest of the free…
Ghana football player John Pentsil after his team’s victory Source: AP, via Ha’aretz What a lovely story! Following Ghana’s tremendous and unexpected soccer victory over the powerhouse Czech Republic, a Ghanaian player whipped out an Israeli flag to show his support for the embattled Jewish state at the moment of his own victory. What a breath of fresh air for Israel, which usually has to hear horrible things about itself in the international political arena. This Ghanaian player wanted to honor them along with Ghana. The soccer player, John Pentsil, plays for teams in Israel between World Cups and feels…
Yes, because if I think my nation’s player, Zaccardo, own-goal, I can’t sleep tonight: Italy have to win against Czech Republic if it wants to continue to play at the World Cup. But I think that what counts the most at this WC 2006 are the fans. So, below are some of them: Yes, I know, I am biased. I’ve posted only photos of Italian fans…
For as much as I love the United States, I have to support my national team. It’s sport, guys. But I liked some photos I found on Yahoo/NewsPhotos/Germany , showing Italian and American fans joking and smiling with each other. Posters of Italian players…half naked!
Argentine babe, during Argentina’s spectacular soccer victory over Serbia Another Argentine babe, harder to please, she has an Argentine scowl Fox News, on the job, hunting for babes – don’t tell me Fox didn’t try Source, all photos: Fox Sports Another Argentine football babe Source: Reuters, via Yahoo! More babes, significant because they are in a group, lone babes do not make a revolution Source: El Opinador Compulsivo (who has more photos and excellent Spanish commentary) I am rooting for Argentina in this World Cup match, same as last time, and this year, they are dazzling us all. Although I…
These are the first photos showing, inside the stadium and despite the presence of the Islamic Republic’s vice-president, Iranian fans waving their original flag, the Lion & Sun, instead of the Khomeinist one that was imposed in 1979. In Iran, women (who have to wear the mandatory veil) are banned from entering the stadiums. Outside the stadium: Israeli, German and Iranian protesters, waving Israeli, German, American and Iranian Lion and Sun flags: And, below, members of a neo-Nazi group supporting Ahmadinejad and his anti-semitic remarks Updates coming soon. Stay tuned!
As Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez flashes his rifles this week, ranting on and on about a nonexistent “U.S. invasion” – a real war is going on in Venezuela, one in which real criminals are waging on Venezuela’s poor people, and one in which its combatants, the police, are starved for funds, as Chavez happily shoots his wad in a bid to buy ever fancier military hardware. Miguel has the facts and figures on this, in an extraordinarily good essay that can be easily understood, even by people not familiar with Venezuela. Read it here.
I was fortunate enough to participate in a conference call with Natan Sharansky hosted by the Heritage Foundation. As you all have probably guessed, I’m a big fan of his book, The Case For Democracy, so this presented a very unique chance to get a question in. I was joined by several heavyweight bloggers Regime Change Iran, Right Wing News, Red State, Power Line, Gateway Pundit, Hugh Hewitt, Atlas Shrugs, and Boker Tov, Boulder. Follow those links! Unfortunately, there was an audio problem so no file or transcript will be available. Meaning I have to go by memory or notes.…