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20 Dec 2011 14:34

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World: Foreign journalists given limited access in Syria

  • The Syrian government decided to let some journalists visit Homs, the city which has been most ravaged by violence throughout the nation’s recent series of political protests. It would appear they got the full Syrian government treatment, which is to say their access was restricted to specific events and people, presumably telling one side of the story. As far as meeting with the protest leaders and victims of months upon months of lethal violence, the media had no such access; they were closely followed by the state and were given access to wounded members of the Syrian military. The UN estimates 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since March. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Dec 2011 10:42

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World: Kim Jong-Il lies in state; Kim Jong-Un amongst the mourners

  • A fallen leader makes way for an untested one: On Tuesday, North Koreans mourned the loss of Kim Jong-Il, an official whose outward appearances to the West perhaps didn’t match the sorrow those who lived in the region felt for his loss. (State television was full of images, much like the one above, of the leader lying in a glass coffin.) All of which leaves new leader Kim Jong-Un with some pretty big shoes to fill — especially for a country that has both incredible hardships and nuclear weapons at its disposal. Not that the country didn’t appear optimistic about his chances: “The respected comrade Kim Jong-un’s ideology equals General Kim Jong-il’s ideology and will,” a North Korean state radio report claimed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Dec 2011 11:08

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World: Syria, fearing UN intervention, finally caves to Arab League

  • This illustrates that the regime recognized they can’t completely turn their nose up at the Arab League and they actually do have some leverage over them. It doesn’t necessarily mean that if and when they do allow the observers in that they will give them the full, unrestricted access that they demand.
  • Economist Intelligence Unit analyst Chris Phillips • Discussing the decision by Syria to allow the Arab League to place monitors in the country — a move seen as an attempt by Syria to fend off United Nations intervention in the country. The UN totally has a reason to show up, too: Months of crackdowns on dissidents have led to thousands of deaths in the country, and Syria essentially ignored a prior agreement with the Arab League. The real question, of course, is whether Syria will follow through this time. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Dec 2011 01:04

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World: Three things you didn’t know about North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2011 20:31

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World: Czech Republic peace icon Vaclav Havel, on becoming a dissident

  • You do not become a ‘dissident’ just because you decide one day to take up this most unusual career. You are thrown into it by your personal sense of responsibility, combined with a complex set of external circumstances. You are cast out of the existing structures and placed in a position of conflict with them. It begins as an attempt to do your work well, and ends with being branded an enemy of society.
  • Former Czech Republic leader Vaclav Havel • Writing in his 1978 essay, “Power of the Powerless,” about his dissident status in the former Czechoslovakia, a status he eventually broke free from after he rose to become the country’s leader. Not that he took a particularly normal path to the top — before he became a noted peace activist and political leader, he was a playwright whose works were banned in his own country following the 1968 Soviet invasion of the then-Czechoslovakia. Havel died Sunday at 75. He’s a figure that should’ve had a bigger international profile. Perhaps he’ll gain one now that his life has hit the history books. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2011 11:33

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World: Filipinos struggle to recover after deadly tropical storm

  • I called him, and he said in a very quiet voice, ‘The water is up to our stomachs, and we can’t get out. The current outside is strong.’ After that, the phone went dead.
  • Iligan, Philippines resident Mary Ann Melancio • Talking about the heavy flooding that may have led to the death of a co-worker and his family on Saturday. Sunday, after she and her co-workers tried to find them, they were greeted by a dim scene: “We walked back to our place and could see the bodies of dead people and animals along the road. I have never seen a tragedy like this in my life.” Officials say that 652 have died in the weekend’s flooding caused by Tropical Storm Washi, and another 800 are missing. Roughly 35,000 people are in evacuation centers as a result of the storm, which left heavy flooding in its wake. Rescue efforts are ongoing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2011 11:03

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World: Piers Morgan’s tabloid past haunting his TV host present

  • So heartwarming that everyone in U.K.’s missing me so much they want me to come home.
  • CNN host Piers Morgan • Joking earlier this year in regards to allegations he faces over possible involvement in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Morgan, a former tabloid newspaper editor who’s built a second life as a TV host, will take part, via video-link, in a judicial inquiry into the alleged practices of “News of the World” and other British tabloids. Morgan’s past could come to haunt him in the future. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

15 Dec 2011 10:44

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World: Ex-French president Jacques Chirac found guilty of corruption

In a victory for French anti-corruption activists, the ex-president was convicted Thursday. He won’t go to jail, but will receive a two-year suspended sentence which will show up on his criminal record. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Dec 2011 11:06

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World: Belgian mass attack: Woman’s body discovered in gunman’s storage facility

  • six number of deaths in yesterday’s deadly rampage in Liege, Belgium, including the gunman
  • 120+ number of people injured by the incident, which involved a man firing guns and grenades from a roof source
  • » A woman’s body discovered in a storage facility: As investigators continue to figure out what led Nordine Amrani to cause such a rampage, a new discovery added a layer of confusion around the incident. The woman, who reportedly worked as a cleaner, was found in a story facility that Amrani once used to grow large quantities of marijuana, which he previously went to jail for. A significant number of weapons were found at the facility and at Amrani’s home. However, officials were careful to say that he had no apparent ties to terror groups, a definite fear in the region months after the deadly mass shooting in Norway.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 15:06

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World: Russia says criticism of its defense of Syria “immoral”

  • UN action on Syria blocked by Russia, China: It was just over a month ago that Syria claimed to accept a deal with the Arab League to halt attacks and killings of citizens (and allow free media observers into the country), before flaunting their violation of the deal the next day by killing eleven people. They’ve since talked about another deal with the League, similar to the terms of the last one, but it’s rather impossible to take that seriously at this point. Many UN states would like to recommend Syria to the International Criminal Court in the Hague for crimes against humanity, but Security Council members China and Russia refuse to issue any condemnation of the Assad government — Russia, further, has referred to western criticism of their defense of Syria as “immoral.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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