Blogging the democratic revolution
Yulia is a very popular woman today. Look at the last 20 search results that referred people here: 03 Feb, Thu, 14:58:00 Google: Publius Pundit 03 Feb, Thu, 15:40:36 Google: gyanendra dictator 04 Feb, Fri, 00:45:27 Google: Yulia Tymoshenko nude 04 Feb, Fri, 07:15:43 Google: tymoshenko pictures 04 Feb, Fri, 09:13:26 Google: ali shukri 04 Feb, Fri, 09:32:44 Google: tymoshenko pictures 04 Feb, Fri, 09:36:18 Google: Yulia Tymoshenko 04 Feb, Fri, 10:51:01 Google: Yulia Tymoshenko pictures 04 Feb, Fri, 10:54:39 Google: skarshevsky 04 Feb, Fri, 11:38:23 Yahoo: yulia tymoshenko nude 04 Feb, Fri, 11:43:55 Yahoo: Yulia Tymoshenko – photos 04…
John Burgess posts an interesting article relating the mixed attitude of the citizenry toward the upcoming municipal elections. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has an article entitled Election fever catches on in Saudi Arabia: Already there are unfamiliar scenes on Riyadh’s streets. For the first time there are forums – daily meetings at candidates’ headquarters – where people can discuss social issues away from the control of religious authorities. One woman even called a candidate praising his looks and offering to be a second wife. Candidate fliers are thrown into open car windows, and brochures are folded into newspapers. Carpeted tents have…
David McDuff has posted part eleven of his series Going Back.
This whole sleep thing made me miss the initial announcement. But yesterday, she was overwhelmingly elected to the spot, which definitely bodes well for her: (AP/Sergei Grits) KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Parliament unanimously approved fiery opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister Friday, along with her government’s new program to raise living standards, tackle corruption and set Ukraine on a westward course. Lawmakers confirmed Tymoshenko in a 373-0 vote, far more than the 226 votes needed in the 450-seat Vekhovna Rada. They returned a few hours later to approve the broad outlines of her government program with a 357-0 vote.…
Alek Boyd also has several good items about Hugo Chavez’s CITGO scam. He’s pig stupid about oil, he’s economically ignorant and he’s up to no good. Pity Venezuela.
Jorge Arena takes a close look at the melting together of all power in Venezuela under one colossal dictator. How democracies die.
Alek Boyd has some footage from a Fox news show about Hugo Chavez’s Zimbabwe-style land confiscations. See it here.
…Dictator Hugo Chavez’s leftist officials are getting nuttier and more irrational than ever in their statements. Miguel has a choice collection from just one’s days’ worth of their gibberish. Here, he discusses their amateurish incompetence.
EU member countries formerly part of the Soviety Union are now proposing an all-out ban on communist symbols. This just after the recent proposal to ban all Nazi symbols in Europe as well. Several European Parliament members have urged the EU to match a proposed ban on Nazi signs with one on communist symbols like the hammer and sickle. The MEPs, from Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, said communist symbols were a reminder of suffering under Soviet-era regimes. EU debate over Nazi symbols was fuelled by outcry after the UK’s Prince Harry wore a swastika to a…
According to Dan McMinn, the pro-Yanukovich easterners are growing rather apathetic now. Don’t be fooled, this is great news. Before the election these people were calling Yushchenko a fascist and vowing to revolt. John over at www.postmodernclog.com has made a point to talk about how Yanukoyvch’s “opposition” has subsided into inactivity. Neeka of Neeka’s backlog has this article on the gripes of Easterners. This is great, because Yushchenko doesn’t need their heartfelt support (though it would help) his government just needs them to refrain from actively preventing their reforms. Back when Yushchenko was PM and Tymoshenko was Vice Minister of…
Daniel Drezner writes about the mention of Egypt in the SOTU address last night. The lines about Egypt and Saudi Arabia were nicely phrased, in that they represented a challenge to the regimes there. Coincidentally enough, the Wall Street Journal has a front-pager by Karby Leggett on Egypt’s economic reforms. From the opening, it appears that Egypt’s latest prime minister is adopting a much more market-friendly posture: … So, what does the U.S. do? Hope that the economic reforms trigger future political reforms, or apply more leverge on the Mubarak regime — even if a more democratic government might not…
It looks like Iran is getting upset that talks aren’t going anywhere. But that’s to be expected, really. I can’t think of a recent event in which European negotiations came to a benificial fruition. Except for Libya… oh, except it was the U.S. doing that. My apologies: TEHRAN, Iran – Iran will never scrap its nuclear program, and talks with Europeans are intended to protect the country’s nuclear achievements, not negotiate an end to them, an Iranian official said Wednesday. The remarks by Ali Agha Mohammadi, spokesman of Iran’s powerful Supreme National Security Council, are the latest in a hardening…
Kirk Sowell has two interesting posts that you need to read. The first one discusses the prospects of Ukraine membership to the EU, and why Turkey should be left out. Make sure to read the comments on it, especially the one by aussiegirl. The second post is in response to the comments.
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, who helped lead the revolution that toppled the corruption-tainted regime of Eduard Shevardnadze, was killed early Thursday by an apparent natural gas leak, the ex-Soviet republic’s interior minister said. Get everything from Neeka here. For Georgia, they have definitely lost a good man. And since he was in the midst of negotiating deals with the separatist regions like South Ossetia, how will those play out now? UPDATE: Bill has more about why Georgia matter to America at his blog. Check that out. UPDATE: My senator, John McCain, has some words on…
David McDuff has posted part ten of his series Going Back, describing his experiences and life in the Soviet Union. And a reader in Moscow emails him some comments.
I find this symbolic in a way: Via: Reuters
It is kind of funny how the two parties have changed in the past four years. The Democrats have become increasingly reactionary, whereas the Republicans have become increasingly progressive. And the reason for the former is because the Republicans aren’t progressing in the same direction that the Democrats have been taking the country since FDR. Republicans are trying to undo a lot of the things that the Democrats have established, and setting in place of it an entirely new mindset and culture for America. I can imagine how much it would suck to see your legacy unraveling before your very…
Overall, I thought it was a good speech, albeit there being some points of policy I do not agree on. The purpose of the State of the Union address, as I see it, is to assess what we have done, where we are because of it, and evaluate where we are going to go. This means broad, often somewhat vague long-term goals, and then more on-point short term goals. Domestic Policy: -Strengthening community colleges is a good idea. They are pretty good, and very cheap. That’s an avenue that a lot of people don’t think about that can be used…
Alright, the Democrats are doing a broadcast of what they think we should do. This should be interesting. In fact, it already is, because he is talking about values. They are, in their credit, at least trying to calmly explain where the Democrats stand. But… alas, I find myself disagreeing at the very core of these values. The first point being on the protection of today’s jobs from shipping overseas. It makes me question their judgement, being the historical party of raising taxes. Note that the countries with the highest growth and investment are those with the lowest taxes. If…
I’ll be using this thread for updating the liveblog. I’ll be covering what is happening on Fox News because they’ll do the speech with a lot of post-election fallout and analysis coverage. Remember, this is Central/Arizona time! 7:00 – Laura Bush took her seat in the box with a few Iraqi voters. Very cool. And they’re just introducing the cabinet mambers. 7:05 – President Bush was just introduced. Big applause, though I’m guessing a duo of Massachusetts senators aren’t putting their all into it. He’s wearing the red power tie, perfect for what kind of speech this is shaping up…
Alright guys, here’s my fair warning to you. I’ll be liveblogging my thoughts on the State Of The Union address tonight when it starts, and I figure I’ll liveblog the after-coverage also. It’s not like I have essays to write or anything! I am looking forward to the second half: foreign policy. Personally, while I am very keen on the domestic reforms coming up, I don’t think we’ve heard enough specifics for the rest of the world. My outlook is generally positive and optimistic though. If you want the more skeptical version of the liveblogging, make sure to check out…
Nathan is staying on the situation with the Kyrgyz Election Watch. Make sure to keep checking for more information. Seems like the government is playing the “civil war” card. That, of course, being a card they made up.
The Asia Centre for Human Rights has this overview of the situation in Nepal since yesterday. Here’s its suggestions: International community must act more decisively and swiftly, NOW, by freezing all assistance including military assistance to Nepal unless His Majesty King Gyanendra: – Lifts emergency and restores all democratic freedoms and institutions including the immediate release of all those who are detained following the dismissal of the Deuba government, restoration of communication lines, including mobile, internet, long distance calls, and opening of the Kathmandu International Airport and lifting ban on press freedoms; – Creates a national consensus process involving all…
Andy, who recently won first place for Best CIS Blog in the First European Weblog Awards, has his weekly Russia news roundup posted. Also, make sure to check out this other article about how millionaires in the opposition helped bring down the billionaires of the former Ukrainian regime. And how a similar event might be brewing in Russia.
John posts an article showing some poll results about Middle Eastern attitudes toward western democracy. An online poll was recently carried out by the Arabic website of Aljazeera satellite television, where well over 80 percent of voters said that they distrust ???????Western democracy”. The poll results simply restated the obvious. The query, of course, hardly meant to question ???????Western democracy??????? in its own right, but rather its imposition on the Arab world. Like John notes, the statistics may or may not be off. I remember when the Democratic Underground built up a huge list of online polls for its users…