Blogging the democratic revolution
Six days ago, I reported that American and British diplomats were meeting to discuss how to promote democratic regime change in Iran. Needless to say, most of the commenters were skeptical, generally pointing to the mere ten million dollars set aside for pro-democracy activities. That’s chump change. As Marko in the comments said, “$10 million…
Terror-enabling Italian Muslim Association threatens to sueall those Italian media that printed- or intend to – the Mohammed cartoons. The UCOII (Union of the Islamic Communities in Italy) is a pro-Hamas organization that controls most of the mosques in Italy. As the brave investigative journalist, Il Corriere della Sera’s Magdi Allam often states,these mosques –…
This just in from Goldman Sachs – I have not seen this in the media but this is a credible source. I suspect the U.S. company is Heinz: Land Expropriations Continue The National Land Institute continues to survey large rural estates with a view to repossessing land holdings that are considered idle or underutilized or…
Francisco Toro has a fascinating essay about the findings of pollster Alfredo Keller. As Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez prepares to seek reelection in December, the composition of those likely to vote for the supremodomo becomes important. Francisco reports that 52% of the electorate plans to vote for Chavez. Of this 52%: -33% do so only because…
Dissidents dismissed reports claiming that Cuban independent journalist Guillermo Farinas ended his 13-day long hunger and thirst strike. His health, as well as those of other dissidents who bravely are supporting him and are on hunger strike too, is deteriorating. Meanwhile,Dr. Darsi Ferrer from Havana sent me an email with photos of his humanitarian work…
The burning-tire news photos from Haiti’s presidential election look horrific. After seven delays, elections finally went through in UN-occupied Haiti, and the result is a disaster. The election was held on Feb 7, and the vote counting went through the weekend. The organizers said there would be a delay in the expected results, but people…
…everywhere a bil bil, old McChavez had a well… On hearing that oil prices took another serious beating today (think they are below $60 a barrel, so happy times are coming to a pump near you) I clicked onto El Universal to see if there was any reaction from Venezuela’s oil-drenched supremodomo Hugo Chavez, who’s…
Rock singer Carlos Santana is famous for wearing a great big Che Guevara t-shirt at the Oscars a couple years ago. Cuban-American Pundits blogger Conductor met the guy on the street by chance in Sausalito, wearing his ‘Che is dead’ t-shirt and provoked the rock star into a conversation with him. I had expected Santana…
Today marks the one year anniversary of the assassination of Rafik Hariri and the start of Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution. At least 500,000 people took to the streets of Beirut to commemorate that fateful day. Images here. All the links you can handle here. Let’s hope that not only will today be used to commemorate the…
Following the super-flawed municipal elections held last week, the Supreme Court in Nepal has decided that the Royal Commission for Corruption Control, setup by royal decree soon after King Gyanendra took power one year ago, is completely unconstitutional and all decisions made by it are annulled. This is a major blow to the King and…
The Shia-based United Iraq Alliance finally made its nomination for prime minister evident, voting by an inter-party margin of one vote to choose current Prime Minister Jaafari to lead the country’s first democratically elected government. I think the choice could end up in a stalemate, with a new candidate eventually having to be proposed. Iraq…
The tiny island nation of Tonga, population 100,000, got it’s first commoner prime minister after the king’s son was removed from the position following months of public protest against his rather senile rule. Here’s the backstory. Tonga has moved closer to democracy with the king’s unpopular youngest son stepping down as prime minister in favour…
Millions of Iranians have boycotted the official gatherings marking the 27th anniversary of the murderous and terroristic Islamic revolution. Don’t expect the media to report it. From SMCCDI Millions of Iranians inflicted another heavy slap to the face of the shaky and unpopular Islamic regime by boycotting its “27th anniversary revolution celebration” by staying home,…
Why? Find out more here . And remember, the Bahamian authorities behave as badly as Castro. How long will it take before the civilized world realizes that Cuban refugees deserve the status of political refugees and must be granted political asylum? I am endorsing the boycott.
Miguel Buitrago at MABB has radical information – Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales may not after all be the best of fraternal socialist buddies – the problem starts because Chavez is up to no good trying to take over Bolivia’s natural gas reserves, something I could see coming from a mile away – Chavez ruined…
Bolivia, at the center of the South American continent, seems to have everyone’s attention. Miguel at MABB describes the now-strong interest of major nations on poor small Bolivia, including everything from the U.S.’s drug eradication efforts to Brazil’s and the Andean Community’s energy interests. My short conclusion? Things have changed, this is no business as…
Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez has jerked Sumate around, with a high court throwing out the entire trial as it has been flimsily assembled, and a whole new one, on different grounds, in what’s known here as double-jeopardy, being started. This, in short, is political persecution, the acts of Chavistas desperately seeking a means of jailing…
Val at Babalu blog has an important item on a hunger strike being done by an independent Cuban journalist inside Cuba who’s been denied any Internet access at all from which to file his stories to the outside world. The rest of us take this for granted but in Cuba, it’s something Castro considers his…
With possibly a 1,000-vote discrepancy between Oscar Arias and Otton Solis in their ultra-close and now contentious presidential election from Sunday, Jacqueline Mackie Paisley Passey has has found that plans are already under way to recycle the ballots into toilet paper. Somehow, for some at least, it will seem fitting. Her funny item is here….
Boz has some really good polling numbers this week, all kinds of unusual numbers, including a delicious Peruvian one showing that Ollanta Humala, Chavez ally and leftist torturer of peasants, is dropping like a stone in Peru’s presidential polls for April. Peruvians just don’t like him. Not only that, Tony Saca is doing fine in…
Daniel in Venezuela has a fascinating political analysis of what the real meaning of Chavez’s thuggish outburst directed as United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair, calling him “a pawn of the empire” was really all about. Daniel thinks that Blair’s pointed remarks to the Veneuzelan dictator were completely intentional and signal that the European Union…
It’s a growing spectacle. Troops are taking control of every productive aspect of Venezuelan society as the private sector seeks to close shop. They’re in food production, in hotel security, in road maintenance – you name it. They are everywhere to be seen, something that Indonesia under Suharto and China before Deng Xiaoping’s reforms were….
The setup seems so marvelous, the U.S. bipartisan congressional National Endowment for Democracy gives funds to many nongovernment organizations around the world to spread democratic revolution. But what happens when the grants blows up in the recipients’ faces? Such as Venezuela, where Maria Corina Machado is facing charges for taking the money? Does anyone look…
The BBC Radio ran an interview with Natan Sharansky on its “Taking A Stand” program. There’s no transcript of the interview, so you’ll just have to listen to the report. He talks about his time in the Soviet gulag, his release, his career in Israeli politics, and most interestingly his take on Hamas’ victory in…
I’m totally swamped with reading for my so-called “formal education,” but since it’s mostly on democracy and terrorism perhaps you all will be interested in checking out the books that I myself am reading at this time. – Democratization: A Critical Introduction: Very basic. If you’ve been reading this site, then you will easily understand…