Blogging the democratic revolution
Two days ago, Madrid has been flooded with over a million people who marched to say a sound NO to Zapatero and his appeasing policy toward ETA. The Spanish Prime Minister decided to open a dialogue with those who terrorized and murdered hundreds over the last decades. This demonstration was not at all meaningless. It showed how not all of Spain’s population supports their prime minister’s absurd policies. And yet, there has been a total media blackout. However, I found tons of photos in several Spanish blogs. It fills the media vacuum! “Why do you hate Spain, Zapatero?” “Spain does…
The SMCCDI Movement informs that there have been clashes in Iran soon after the match, with people voicing their disgust for the Islamic Republic regime: Unrest, sporadic clashes and attack of some public buildings and materials happened in several Iranian cities, yesterday night, following Iran’s 3-1 loss to Mexico in the frame of the 2006 Soccer World Cup. Angry supporters expressed their hostility, against the Islamic regime and in cities, such as, Tehran, Ahvaz, Shiraz and Esfahan. Several were injured or arrested by the Islamic regime’s security forces and plainclothes men. Ä…Å Already many Iranians were speaking about the way…
President Tony Saca of El Salvador Source: Yahoo! Images When we think of leaders named “Tony” – our first glint of thought is maybe of the great Tony Blair of the United Kingdom, who always has the right thing to say, yet whose actions speak louder than any of his eloquent words. He’s a great ally of civilization and some of his greatest work has been to help crush al-Qaida. By coincidence, there’s another leader named Tony and in our own hemisphere, the great Tony Saca of El Salvador, whose leadership has turned tiny, beat-up, war-torn, communist-battered failed-state El Salvador…
Following on from Stefania’s post, the World Cup match between Iran and Mexico went on, and Iranian exiles, though they didn’t win the match, did a good job cheering their team. As Stefania noted, many of the exiles were making a political statement about Iran’s regime by waving the old Iranian flag, which featured a lion and sun emblem. You might argue that there’s something off about politicizing a soccer match by waving politically loaded flags, but I see something very different – the babes are cheering the Iranian team (and I am sure it’s a state-sponsored team) even though…
Despite the presence of the regime’s vice-president at the stadium, tens of Iranian fans cheered their team but also staged a significant anti-regime protest. While the Islamic Republic’s national hymn was played, many Iranian fans sang the original Iranian national anthemn, named “Ey-Iran! Marze por Gohar”. The latter has been officially banned by the Khomeinist regime since 1979. The same goes for the national flag, that is the Lion & Sun flag, used for thousands of years with small changes in the centuries, but abolished by the Islamist regime since when it took power in 1979. Since then, the regime…
While cheering their national team, the Iranian exiles in Germany will be demonstrating against the regime, in and out of the stadiums where Iran will play. Hundreds of members of Iranian Diaspora are expected to seize the opportunity, offered by the game, in order to stage a protest rally against the Islamic regime, inside and outside the Nuremberg Stadium, by carrying the banned “Lion & Sun” Flag and shouting slogans. The Islamic regime which is aware of this preparation will broadcast the game with a short delay, in order to allow the censors to cut off hostile footages. Iranians in…
In his most direct and brazen threat against the private sector yet, Hugo Chavez has warned Venezuelan businesses that unless they repatriate $10 billion in capital flight for his own disposal, he’ll take every last thing they have left in Venezuela. It’s a profoundly menacing statement, and not only because he mentions he’ll act in just a few months, after he’s reelected in December but because he sounds so sure he’s going to win. If Venezuela were a true democracy, (and Chavez was not an election cheat) he would not be so sure of that. But more specifically, the threat…
Front Page, The Bangkok Post, June 9, 2006 Today, millions of Thais turned all of Thailand into a sea of gold and yellow, wearing the colors of the widely loved Thai king, His Royal Highness Bhumibol Adulyadej on the 60th anniversary of his reign. Fishermen vowed to give up fishing endangered fishes in honor of the king. Prisoners were freed. Golden barges made rare sailings. Buddhist monks made blessings. The king addressed his subjects for the first time in 20 years, for he doesn’t say much. And he exhorted them to be kind to one another, a most divine and…
I spotted this on a leftwing Bolivian blog – Clinton is busy courting Evo Morales for his September summit. http://www.barrioflores.net/weblog/archives/2006/05/evo_to_attend_c.html The blog reports that Morales has accepted Clinton’s invitation (I notice Clinton’s site doesn’t say anything about this, he must know Morales’ name is starting to stink). http://www.eldeber.com.bo/2006/20060529/al42.html Morales announced today that he’d be confiscating railroads, power plants and phone companies. He’s already gone after gas, oil, land and possibly mines. http://www.efenews.com/detalleFrontPage.asp?opcion=0&id=1215278 This rightwing Bolivian blogger says Morales is going after bank accounts: http://aruiznavajas.blogspot.com/2006/06/rumour-has-it-update-1.html#links Morales has also ranted and raved about how much he loves Che Guevara, says he’s taking…
Alvaro Vargas Llosa, who is Peruvian, found himself unexpectedly pulled by the fate of the heavens back to Lima which he’d generally so wanted to be away from. By a further mysterious sleight of hand, it was election weekend. Vargas Llosa wrote – echoing something of what I had believed earlier – of the courage of Peruvians and the courage he felt coming to himself, as he joined the majority, in voting for the otherwise-dreaded Alan Garcia. It takes incredible courage to vote for a person like him, someone you hate, someone who’s done terrible things to you – to…
I did my best to analyze the latest statements by Oriana Fallaci released at the New Yorker. I think you might be interested in reading my article at Tech Central Station here.
Here’s something exciting: In the days since his spectacular comeback election as president in Peru, Alan Garcia has made some softie statements about wanting to get along with Hugo Chavez and having no intention of leading a regional antichavez movement. However, Garcia’s first actions upon his election this weekend are telling quite a different story. He’s going after Chavez right at the source of his power: energy resources. Garcia says he wants to triple Peru’s natural gas investment, something that’s already on the upswing, based on ongoing capital flight from Bolivia. He pointedly says he wants to sell natgas to…
As the dust settles from Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s spectacular reelection victory two weeks ago, there’s an ongoing and very interesting debate going on about whether he will amass too much power. It’s an important question, with implications for every revolutionary struggle on earth. How popular is too popular, and does absolute power necessarily corrupt absolutely?> Andres Oppenheimer at The Miami Herald wrote a column about it a few days ago, propounding the view that there are indeed dangers ahead for Uribe, based on his own stellar success. Will it entice him to undermine democratic institutions for the sake of…
Why is the International Monetary Fund still around? Formed as a multilateral entity to address “balance of payments” crises, its real purpose has been obfuscated by the ending of the Bretton Woods treaty in the 1970s, which set the gold standard as the benchmark medium of exchange. Without the gold standard with which to measure trade balances and currency and things like that, the dollar became the replacement, because SOMETHING will replace anything that’s ever taken away. Unfortunately, the dollar represents one country, the U.S. and the U.S. is as subject to pressure groups and special interests as any within…
London 09.06.06 ö At last, a group of Venezuelan opposition politicos is playing the cards right and it’s cornering Hugo Chavez’s electoral minions. So far so good. As Miguel and I have reported any semblance of meaningfulness vis-a-vis the audit to the electoral roll proposed by Venezuela’s most respected universities -UCV, USB and UCAB- vanished after the details of the CNE-sanctioned audit were announced in press conference by new ‘minister of elections’ Tibisay Lucena. Teodoro Petkoff was attacked by supporters of chavismo yesterday in truly exemplary fashion of official consent towards dissent. Julio Borges asked UCV, USB and UCAB to…
You know I’ve posted pictures and referred to other sites where the reality and ugliness of Castro’s Cuba can be seen in whole, but there’s just something about these new pictures from Val Prieto at Babalu blog that say something unlike anything else anyone can describe about the Castroite hellhole. What a hellhole. What a dump. Communism in action. What communist could ever justify Castro’s regime within sight of such pictures? What a revolting sight. See the whole thing here. UPDATE: Fausta‘s take on this is a short swift brilliant item here.
Long overlooked on the world scene, China has been a great destabilizer of several regions of the world by its strategy in seeking to lock up supplies of oil. Sudan. Iran. Venezuela. Ecuador. China is a player in all of these areas and more. China’s efforts to lock up oil may not be as barbaric in means as the Japanese, who went on resource conquests just before World War II but it is the same idea. In any number of ways, it could lead to World War III. It’s no good for anyone. Fausta at Fausta’s blog has an illuminating…
The New York Times publishes the announcement by Gen. George Casey at a press conference alongside U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Iraqi Prime Minister Jawad al-Maliki: ???????Ladies and Gentlemen, Coalition Forces killed al-Qaida terrorist leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and one of his key lieutenants, spiritual advisor Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, yesterday, June 7, at 6:15 p.m. in an air strike against an identified, isolated safe house. ???????Tips and intelligence from Iraqi senior leaders from his network led forces to al-Zarqawi and some of his associates who were conducting a meeting approximately eight kilometers north of Baqubah when the air strike was launched.…
Mexico held its presidential debate last night, and pundits are divided as to who won. Boz has some fascinating commentary here, and this Reuters piece here gives further reliable detail, as does this excellent longer EFE piece. Goldman Sachs summarizes it well: Calder????n Had a Slight Edge on the Second Televised Debate Yesterday, the five presidential candidates conducted the second presidential debate, which went on for two hours. The format of the debate was rigid, limiting spontaneous debates or fluid discussions. The debate covered six topics: governance, security, international affairs, immigration, Federalism versus regional government, and the reform of the…
According to Dick Marty’s report on secret CIA flights and prisons on the European continent, fourteen countries were complicit in either allowing or turning a blind eye to the CIA’s activities. That’s right, fourteen countries. Including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Most of the important European Union countries. Interesting. Doesn’t sound like this “spider web” of illegality was really all that secret, huh? Many of these countries have already acknowledged that they allowed flights to stop on their territory. A lot of this has been shown through cross-checking travel logs. The biggest accusation, however, is that some of…
… in the Islamic world! That’s right everybody, it’s summer and the time has come for the latest in beach fashion being bought by babes from as far-flung as Turkey to Saudi Arabia. Last year, this triggered a three post sensation due to the wide interest in the subject. And for good reason. Prepare yourselves for some of the most revealing and raunchy swimwear you’ve ever seen! Only if you’re a radical Islamist, anyway. Don’t bother with the sunscreen, this new line does the job for you. Last time I checked, the beach was for having some fun in the…
Drugs are bad. I’m not talking about the kind people smoke to chill out after work, though. I mean the stuff people snort and waste their entire lives trying to get more of. Snow. Blow. Crack. Cocaine. It ruins families, drains investment and productivity from the economy, funds terrorist groups, and supports authoritarian regimes. Yet the problem has been almost impossible to counter because high consumer demand has driven up prices, which has in turn made it a much more valuable cash crop compared to other agricultural products. For years, the U.S. government has tried to wipe out the supply…
The unqualified success that Hugo Chavez has had at picking apart Venezuela’s democracy, buying political support with oil, getting his men into office in other countries, supporting terrorist groups, and pressuring political opponents has led many to think that a tidal wave of totalitarian leftism is sweeping the southern continent — and that it’s unstoppable. Until now he has been. The Bolivarian Revolution has marched on and on without impediment. It’s quickening pace has led people to believe in his self-fulfilling prophecy. What is never taken into account is that his actions must inevitably provoke a reaction. The same has…
This post refers to events that occured in Algeria last weekend. The Algerian regime, though it has made some reforms, is not pleasant. It is corrupt, gluttonous, and repressive. Life is difficult for many in Algeria, especially for the forgotten ones of Boumerdes who were displaced by an earthquake in 2003 and still have not been able to return to their homes from temorary housing units made of tin called chalets. Corruption, frustration with the tortse rate of housing construction, and the general quality of life led 200 Algerians in the area to demonstrate infront of the town hall of…
I hate Islamists. You know the deal. But if you don’t, it’s at the end of every news article about Algeria: “Algeria’s civil war between the military and Islamist militas began in 1992 after the military halted elections that the Islamist FIS was poised to win took over 150,000 lives . . . blah blah blah”. That’s why. Islamists come in many different forms though. Some are peaceful and practice a sort of social gospel. Others are irritable and beat women for not being covered. Others massacre entire villages. Still others advocate sectarianism and conflict between religious groups in countries…