Blogging the democratic revolution
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.
According to the Financial Times, the UN will not oversee elections in Iraq. The UN says it cannot observe the January 30 poll because it played a role in setting up the elections, and no other international organisation has stepped in to offer assistance. The absence of international monitoring could undermine confidence in the results of elections that are already threatened by widespread voter intimidation and the boycott of Sunni Arab parties. But I’m sure the New York Times will be right at the forefront ready to declare the election a disaster. In fact, put me down a few bucks…
This really doesn’t come as a surprise anymore. WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vice President Dick Cheney said on Thursday that Iran was at the top of the administration’s list of world trouble spots and expressed concern that Israel “might well decide to act first” to eliminate any nuclear threat from Tehran. Israel might act first? I’d rather bet in conjunction, whether we acknowledge it or not. “If, in fact, the Israelis became convinced the Iranians had significant nuclear capability, given the fact that Iran has a stated policy that their objective is the destruction of Israel, the Israelis might well decide…
Well, John Hawkins at Right Wing News is doing a list of his Top 40, so I thought I’d throw my hat in. Except I’ll do 20, because 40 is simply too much, and my favorites tend to already be on the blogroll. In any case though, I ranked these based on the fervor at which I read them, how often they are updated, and how relevant they are to what I’m interested in. Which is a variety of things, but you’ll notice a trend I think. 20. Belmont Club 19. Diplomad 18. Bloggledygook 17. INBB 16. Powerline 15. Daniel…
Read the entire post. Bookmarked.
I just ran across the most bizarre article asking that very question. And while I have been given the impression that Tymoshenko is a very ambitious woman, perhaps a tad much, this piece lacks so much substance, is written with so much bias, and contains no verifiable quotes that I wouldn’t put it on a higher rank than “tabloid yellow journalism.”
The Drudge Report is reporting (hence the name) that British newspapers are seizing on mocking President Bush’s promise to fight tyranny. The TELEGRAPH slapped: “DEFIANT BUSH DOESN’T MENTION THE WAR, President George W Bush began his second term in unapologetic style yesterday, pledging to maintain his muscular foreign policy and spread freedom “to the darkest corners of the world.” The TIMES rips: “HIS SECOND-TERM MISSION: TO END TYRANNY ON EARTH, Four years ago he was the Accidental President, scion of a ruling family propelled into the highest office more by genetics and duty than by political zeal and ideological mission.”…
The Argus has a huge roundup of news from all over Central Asia.
Here’s a roundup from the Ukrainian blogosphere, some reactions to the very good news! Scott Clark from Foreign Notes talks about the terrible behavior of Yanukovich’s lawyers. Members of the Supreme are purported to have been infuriated at the arguments made by Yanukovych’s attorneys. Apparently, the arguments were more heat and heated than logical or legal. And it couldn’t have helped that they brought in some Swiss attorneys to make a part of their case either. Because of the fact that they didn’t speak Russian or Ukrainian, any argument from them couldn’t have come over any better than a lecture.…
Hossein Derakhshan from “Editor: Myself,” and a guy I respect very much, has posted his concerns over if Bush is referring to invading Iran in his inauguration speech. But, as an Iranian, I have to say who doesn’t like peace and freedom? But what Bush has brought Iraq is not — and will probably not — be freedom and peace. So if I was sure that by invading Iran, innocent civilian wouldn’t get killed by American “smart bombs”, public facilities wouldn’t be looted, and women and children wouldn’t be raped or kidnapped, and generally the country would be in a…
David McDuff from A Step At A Time has found a huge synopsium on the situation in Chechnya.
The other day, Condoleeza Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Commitee about her concerns with Russia… “(The Russian government) is quite constructive in many areas … but that doesn’t excuse what is happening inside Russia, where the concentration of power in the Kremlin to the detriment of other institutions is a real problem,” she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which must vote on her nomination. No kidding. If the power in Russia goes anymore to the top — and by that, I mean to Putin’s head — he’s going to topple over. And not just figuratively speaking, as pretty…
Here is some interesting commentary I came across via Right Wing News. Senator John Kyl is calling on action against Syria and Iran because of their heedless attempts to reinforce terrorism around Israel and Palestine. Some have called on President Bush to “seize the moment,” and quickly broker some kind of a deal. But a better approach is to give Abbas time to demonstrate himself whether he will do what is necessary to achieve lasting peace. The United States should instead focus its efforts on areas that the Israelis and Palestinians simply cannot, namely the external factors that could influence…
I was at the school today, and regretfully missed President Bush’s 2nd inauguration speech, but it was everything that I predicted. If you haven’t already, read my longer-than-normal post called The new war for the new term, in which I predicted that America’s new struggle would be ending tyranny. WASHINGTON (AP) – President Bush sought in his second inaugural speech to define his new term as a fight for freedom in every nation with the “ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” At home, he urged a divided nation to find the unity it had felt after the Sept.…
Ali from Free Iraqi made a post over a week ago with his thoughts on if Islam is compatible with democracy; or any religion for that matter. To begin with I must say I have a problem with the question itself and to clarify this problem in short, I’ll instead ask this question: Is Christianity compatible with democracy? Or is Judaism compatible with democracy? Before anyone starts yelling at me I would like to provide my answers. I think that one can answer both questions with “yes” and “no”. “Yes” if we consider western societies as Christian societies and “no”…
Veronica Khkhlova from Neeka’s Backlog has posted an incredibly detailed post describing why the N.Y. Times article about the Orange Revolution and the secret police was probably a big fake. She posts the recent interview with Mykola Melnychenko as well as many historical accounts of the events surrounding his flee to the U.S. What I find very interesting in all this is that the New York Times’ C. J. Chivers has been quite consistent if not truly successful in providing both the Russian and the Ukrainian security services with a rather cute human face: one of his Russian stories, co-authored…
Scott Clark has posted an article dealing with the challenge of the Tatar separatist movement from Ukraine. He also comments and relates some personal experience with the area.
John at Crossroads Arabia posted an interesting article in which Mecca’s top clericgave a sermon denouncing Muslim militants as being “lured by the devil.” That is a good sign.
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 Terror to surround Iran, with American troops to the east of the Islamic Republic in Afghanistan and to the west of it in Iraq. While such claims remain unsubstantiated, having well over 100,000 American soldiers stationed right next to Iran certainly does help Washington and…