August 15, 2005
Belarus and Poland
Lech Walesa, the former leader of the Polish Solidarity movement which is credited with fatally weakening Communism in Eastern Europe, has publicly voiced his support for a political revolution in Belarus. Even 25 years after the founding of Solidarity, the… Posted by Jeff on 2005 08: Read more… | Comments (0)
February 28, 2005
Elections in Former Soviet Union Satellites
Two former Soviet satellites held parliamentary elections over the weekend. Predictably, accusations of fraud have marred both events. Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyzstan chose a new parliament Sunday, with some opposition figures and prominent politicians disqualified from the ballot in a country once… Posted by GPR on 2005 02: Read more… | Comments (0)
February 26, 2005
The Dominos Are Wobbling: Exhibit B
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced today that he has ordered the immediate implementation of democratic reforms in Egypt. But most importantly, he will now permit more than one candidate to run for President: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday ordered… Posted by GPR on 2005 02: Read more… | Comments (0)
February 22, 2005
World is Skeptical of Bush’s Liberal Democracy Agenda
The AP recently commissioned a poll (predominately focusing on Europe) which sought to determine opinions on President Bush’s aggressive push for democracy in the Middle East. The strong opposition to such an effort was even surprising to us, because it… Posted by GPR on 2005 02: Read more… | Comments (2)
February 21, 2005
The Dominos Are Wobbling
Coinciding with the anti-Syrian occupation protests in Lebanon today (discussed in the entry directly below), the BBC reports that anti-government protests also took place earlier today in Cairo, Egypt: Hundreds of protesters have staged a demonstration against Egyptian President Hosni… Posted by GPR on 2005 02: Read more… | Comments (1)
January 24, 2005
Bush Doctrine Legitimized?
Lost among the car bombings and miscellaneous violence in Iraq last week was the words of top Iraqi terrorist Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi seemingly confirming that the Bush Administration policy of promoting democracy in the Arab World is correct: “We have… Posted by GPR on 2005 01: Read more… | Comments (0)
January 09, 2005
Bush & MidEast Elections
As the Palestinian elections come to a close and Iraq’s national election date approaches, the Washington Post examines what will arguably be the most defining aspect President Bush’s tenure as President: democracy in the Middle East. Here is an excerpt… Posted by GPR on 2005 01: Read more…
December 03, 2004
Looking Back
As only he can, Victor Davis Hanson provides some perspective as the world watches Iraq steadily approach her first democratic elections next month: [W]e already see how few talk of what it was like in the very dark days of… Posted by GPR on 2004 12: Read more…
Ukraine Situation Getting More Complex
For information on two bizarre developments in the Ukrainian post-election fiasco, read the following: The Transatlantic Intelligencer expands on a situation we reported earlier this week about how the Western backed Ukrainian Presidential candidate has a recent record of Anti-Semitic… Posted by GPR on 2004 12: Read more…
November 22, 2004
Fraud Allegations In Ukraine’s Elections
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was declared the victor in that country’s presidential runoff elections today, but the election process has been marred by allegations of fraud and the opposition candidate is calling on supporters to take to the streets… Posted by GPR on 2004 11: Read more…
November 19, 2004
Historic Times
In his weekly dose of historical perspective, Victor Davis Hanson contemplates the “strange” and “perilous” times we are living in today: We are living in historic times, as all the landmarks of the past half-century are in the midst of… Posted by GPR on 2004 11: Read more…
November 11, 2004
The Power of Democracy
Popular support has reportedly been eroding for the Islamic “insurgency” in Afghanistan and the recently held popular elections are believed to be the reason. Seeking to strike the enemy while they are wounded, U.S. led forces, in conjunction with their… Posted by GPR on 2004 11:Read more…
November 01, 2004
Two Election Updates
Political parties in Latin America running on anti-free market platforms continue to find success: Montevideo, Uruguay — Tabare Vazquez, a Socialist doctor running as the candidate of an opposition coalition that includes former guerrillas, narrowly triumphed Sunday in the presidential… Posted by GPR on 2004 11: Read more…
October 21, 2004
Democracy on the Move
Updating a historical achievement we mentioned one month ago, the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia, swore in their first publically elected President yesterday: Former Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono vowed to fight poverty, end separatist conflicts and make Indonesia… Posted by GPR on 2004 10: Read more…
October 15, 2004
Election Trouble
Another election, another controversy: The State Department accused the Ukraine government Thursday of engaging in serious violations of democratic procedures in the country’s presidential election campaign. Spokesman Richard Boucher cited the disruption of opposition rallies, the muzzling of independent media… Posted by GPR on 2004 10: Read more…
October 09, 2004
Election Updates (II)
Australian Prime Minister John Howard was reelected as expected, meaning that Australian troops will remain in Iraq for the foreseeable future and Australia will continue to be a strong ally of the United States in the War on Terror. Regarding… Posted by GPR on 2004 10: Read more…
October 08, 2004
Election Updates
Two important elections are taking place this Saturday under very different, yet related circumstances. Afghanistan is preparing for their first democratic elections in their nation’s long history. Violence is expected to mar the event as Taliban remanenats are threatening all…Posted by GPR on 2004 10: Read more…
October 04, 2004
Revolution Rumblings (Update II)
We contacted the source of our information for the scattered reports of violence and uprisings in Iran (Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran (SMCCDI)) regarding the absence of their news in the mainstream media. Their answer for the… Posted by GPR on 2004 10: Read more…
September 29, 2004
Revolution Rumblings?
Anti-Mullah websites and message boards are abuzz with reports of scattered fighting within Iran against the Mullah’s militias. However, absent any reports from established news outlets, it is difficult to gauge the accuracy or significance of these reports. In the… Posted by GPR on 2004 09: Read more…
September 28, 2004
Democracy Perspective
David Brooks of the New York Times offers an excellent historical perspective and rationale for holding the Afghanistan elections next month and the Iraqi elections in January 2005 despite ongoing violence. Here is an excerpt: Conditions were horrible when Salvadorans… Posted by GPR on 2004 09: Read more…
September 27, 2004
Grassroots Democracy
We need to encourage more of this to offset the propaganda comming from Arab satellite stations like Al Jazeera: A rare pro-democracy protest in Tehran gained momentum late on Sunday with hundreds of cars pouring onto the streets, blaring horns… Posted by GPR on 2004 09: Read more…
September 21, 2004
Monumental Achievement
Congratulations to Indonesia (the largest Muslim country in the world, and 4th overall) which to our knowledge has become the first Islamic country to have direct elections for their executive office. Indonesians have in the past held direct elections for… Posted by GPR on 2004 09: Read more…
September 17, 2004
Recommended Website
“Freedom, Democide and War” was brought to our attention by a colleague and we must say it is a fantastic website that provides a wealth of information. 1996 Nobel Peace Prize finalist R.J. Rummel has compiled an excellent resource for… Posted by GPR on 2004 09: Read more…
