Blogging the democratic revolution
The OSCE declared these elections partially free, noting substantial progress in this election compared to previous ones. Normally I wouldn’t be so critical of those filing complaints about irregularities, but RFE/RL makes a solid point against the people doing it in this case. Albania’s Central Election Commission agreed on 19 July to repeat the 3 July ballot in at least one district, but challenges by rival politicians continue to hold up the release of final election results, Reuters reported (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” 1, 7, and 15 July 2005). A commission spokesman said that “the commission agreed in principle to ÄrepeatÅ…
Talk about straightforward. Earlier in the week, Georgian President Saakashvili lashed out at Belarus President Lukashenko for having “no understanding of democracy.” During a visit to Italy, he has made a direct comment, in line with international actions being taken, saying that Belarus will be next to experience a velvet revolution. Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili expressed confidence that Belarus is to become the next country where the revolution against authoritarian government is to burst. This idea was expressed during his visit to Italy in the interview to the local TV channel RAINEWS 24. In his interview which is to be…
This essay, by Gustavo Coronel, tells the real lowdown on how Cuban “doctors” live in Venezuela. It’s incredibly good, compiled with all primary sources. I have never seen a better essay on this topic. It’s today’s must-read. Don’t miss it. Read it here.
It’s all over the place and in all sorts of forms. Venezuelans everywhere are protesting the remodelling of their once-great country into beggar-state failed Cuba. It’s intolerable. Our friend GatewayPundit has great photos and analysis not seen in the media. Read it here. Our friend Fausta has equally worthy stuff, plus one of the grossest pictures of the kissin’ pirates of the Caribbean you’ll ever see. Be sure to read it here.
After several attempts at presenting various cabinet line ups, President Lahoud has finally approved a package of ministers worked out by Premier-designate Seniora that will form the whole of the new government. Again, can someone say finally? It’s been exactly a month now since parliamentary elections were held. Now, Seniora will begin working with the cabinet toward fixing the country’s problems, especially dealing with Syria and the debt crisis. Prime Minister Fouad Seniora gave a dramatic assurance to the nation that he would not levy new taxes as his newly formed government went through the motions of taking office Wednesday…
The al-Mada newspaper on June 30 published what is apparently a draft version of the equivalent to the Bill Of Rights that is being worked on by a subcommittee in the Iraqi legislature. Omar from Iraq The Model first reported this on that day and provided his commentary on the document, but ultimately it was too large to translate. Nathan J. Brown of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace provides a valuable public service by translating the entire document, so a big hat tip to him. Let’s take a quick look at some of the features of this bill, as…
The OSCE has been monitoring the electoral process and situation in Kyrgyzstan since the Tulip Revolution and has said that the polls have led to “tangible progress” for democracy and have made the country more stable. 18 July 2005 (RFE/RL) — An official from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said today that this month’s presidential election in Kyrgyzstan has helped stabilize the country. Alojz Peterle, special envoy for the OSCE, spoke during a visit to Bishkek. “I see that the ÄKyrgyzÅ government is determined to continue its work and that they are preparing themselves to do what…
The leader of the Christian political party Lebanese Forces, who has been in jail for over eleven years, has been given parole by the new parliament, thus securing one of the major demands of the original anti-Syrian opposition. Church bells rang across Lebanon’s Christian heartland Monday as parliament overwhelmingly passed a parole bill that put Lebanese Forces commander Samir Geagea on the homestretch of his race to freedom, hopefully by the end of the week. Long convoys of cars with honking horns joyously toured the streets of Besharri, Geagea’s hometown in north Lebanon’s cedar mountains and around his house in…
The Russian youth group “Nashi,” created not all that long ago, has been pledged to by the Kremlin to be the heirs of the government. They are among the most energetic of Putin supporters, often reported to have resorted to violence when dealing with those of opposing views. A Kremlin spin doctor has promised to ???????hand over the country??????? to the activists of the recently established Nashi movement, the Gazeta daily wrote Monday. Vladislav Surkov made the statement as he addressed a conference held by Nashi on the picturesque banks of Lake Seliger The event was closed to the press…
Russ Mitchell is hosting this week’s carnival of revolutions, so check that out to catch up on what’s been going on the past week.
Booker Rising, a neat blog for Black-American conservatives and moderates reports approvingly that two tiny Caribbean states, Trinidad & Tobago, and Barbados, showed the presence mind to tell Hugo Chavez and his smothering oil deal ‘no.’ Both self-respecting nations cited their national interest in different ways – Hugo Chavez’s artificial oil prices would undercut Trinidad’s authentic energy business of its own. Barbados, with its refining businesses aligned with Trinidad, wanted no part of Hugo Chavez’s kill-our-economy offer. These two tiny states stood up to two monsters in our hemisphere, Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, and should be encouraged and applauded.…
A thoughtful analysis by the excellent Cafe Hayek on The Thug Of Caracas and His Master Below In Havana is analysed very well, showing a good grasp of human nature. It also includes a link to an impressive editorial by a banker in Ithaca. Read it all here.
France is such a benighted backward place that could be so otherwise. The broadest, brightest light in all Western Civilization in recent years seems to have given all of that up to pursue America-hating instead. It’s insane. Not even the May 29 referendum on the EU constitution was entirely good in results, given the provincialism of a nation that seems to have lost its national confidence. But Franco at Barcepundit alerts us to an important exception in this trend, in an article he found about a friendly Frenchman named Nicolas Sarkozy. He is immensely popular in France, not an enemy…
Right now I am in the midst of a three-part series on the aftermath of the London bombings of July 7. I just finished part two early this morning, and part three will be a progress report on both current progress and failures in the global war. Two things I have read recently have prompted me to draw together some disparate comments on the Muslim role here – Karim Elsahy’s Pray4Peace project and the recently released Pew survey on Muslim attitudes toward democracy, terrorism and al-Qaeda. Karim’s project, Pray4Peace, centers around the idea of a Muslim-led campaign, inclusive of members…
It’s going to be a horror show. Sumate, the voter-rights civil society group whose leadership is now headed for Hugo Chavez’s dungeons on treason charges, warns that the next election will not be fair. Hugo Chavez has gerrymandered and manipulated it already in his favor. He can’t lose. But that doesn’t mean Venezuelans aren’t trying to fight back. Daniel reports a new blog project ahead called The Sumate Files that is well worth reading for its updates on the Sumate situation and the coming problems with holding a fair election in Hugo Chavez’s New Venezuela. Read it here.
No sheet Sherlock, Papillon’s qualified to vote in Venezuela’s next election. Yeah, that guy, the Devil’s Island movie guy, Butterflies Are Free – him – dead since 1973, he’s on the Venezuelan voter rolls. It’s that bad. Don’t believe me? Read it here. Daniellllllll!!!!!!!!!!
Franco at Barcepundit reports that it’s official – al-Qaida had every intention of influencing the Spanish election with its atrocity in Madrid last year. They found the evidence and what we suspected was true. It’s well worth reading in the wake of London’s terror bombings as well as the current wretched political situation in Spain. An excellent writeup – read it here.
It’s disgusting to watch Assad, knowing that he’s going to lose in the end, as he continues to kick and scream all the way to the graveyard. Yet the man just can’t help himself. You have to wonder how some “experts” can still consider this guy a reformist when he is doing every thing he can to make sure that the progress being made in Lebanon. For that, he still has his goon in place, dearest President Lahoud, who continues to veto every single cabinet line up presented to him by the Premier-Designate. President Lahoud and Premier-Designate Fouad Seniora were…
Last Tuesday I posted an entry about Egypt, Egypt Legalizes Moderate Islamist Movement, which suggested a watershed event for the Wasat (Center) Party, a moderate Islamist front. I also posted the same entry on my blog, and a reader who is apparently from Egypt made the point that there is still a level of review above the court which approved Wasat’s political license, and that the government has in the past used this higher level review to disapprove of parties. My post may therefore have overstated the significance of this event. You can read the comment and my response at…
According to Al-Hayat, the Jordanian government of Prime Minister Adnan Badran is having further problems surviving a vote of confidence due to recent increases in the price of basic foods (see “The Badran Government Seek the Confidence of Representatives and Opposition Parties Call for Him to Leave,” July 15, but no longer on the paper’s site). This is a partial translation: …Tens of demonstrators representing the leaders of the parties and the heads of the professional unions demanded the resignation of the government, describing it as “The Hunger Government” and holding up signs rejecting the government’s decision to raise the…
Danish protest babes are out in full force, waving the American flag. You have to see it to believe it. They don’t make many protest babes like that, but there they are, standing up for U.S. democracy. Our friend Gateway Pundit has it here. Hat tip: Instapundit
Big Pharaoh posts what he thinks each religion should do in order to make the world a better place. There are many I don’t agree with, but then again, I find some of them both agreeable and hilarious. Allah does not give a dead rat’s ass about a girl’s hair. If you’re sexually excited when you see a girl’s hairs then you’re the sick pervert. Hijab is not a fard (obligation). It does not add or decrease the “good points” that a girl gets when she makes it to heaven. Perceived verses about women’s covering were for the women of…
In the latest people power demonstration in the Philippines, the government was able to organize a rally that seriously dwarfed the opposition rally this past Monday. MANILA — Matching masses against masses, supporters of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo held their own “people power” rally on Saturday to counter suggestions that all Filipinos want her to quit over allegations of vote rigging. Supporters of President Arroyo attended a prayer rally at the Rizal Park in Manila Saturday where they called for peace, unity and resolution of the country’s political turmoil. Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando estimated the crowd that…
An interesting poll was released the other day that shows terrorism has lost its clout among Muslims in the Middle East, while democracy has made solid gains. Ed Morrissey has more thoughts on this, which I agree with. So the question begs: Are we witnessing the beginning of a dramatic shift of opinion against extremism in the Muslim world? Perhaps, as this other recent survey shows, people in the Middle East are worried about the election of Iran’s new president. London, Jul. 15 ???????? A recent survey conducted by a research and studies website run in the United Arab Emirates…
Presidential elections are due in Belarus come September 2006, which may see a popular velvet revolution as a result. In 2004, Lukashenko falsified a referendum to give himself the ability to run for president as many times as he wants, effectively making him president for life since all elections are rigged. The following is a clear example of how a regime systematically squashes all political opposition to make such things possible. In this case, how Lukashenko has liquidated political parties across the country for various reasons. The Mogilevskiye vedomosti, which was founded by Mahilou Regional Executive Committee, published on 12…