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23 Aug 2011 10:24

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World: Tripoli rebel siege: Don’t expect this to be an overnight thing, guys.

  • The tensions are far from being over. The situation is dynamic and complex.
  • NATO Col. Roland Lavoie • Emphasizing that the situation in Tripoli is far from over. You know, just in case you had any questions about it. A key sign of this was the reappearance of Saif al-Islam, a symbolic flash point that suggested to many that this wasn’t going to be an overnight change. Regarding the explanation on his sudden reappearance, rebel spokesperson Dia Alhutmany explained off earlier reports that he helped circulate about al-Islam’s reappearance: “Anyway, whether he is arrested or still free, the regime is no longer (ruling) the country, and very soon he and his father will be captured.” Either way, the fighting is still on. Much more to do. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Aug 2011 23:28

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U.S., World: Never fear, Captain Biden is here, and he’s a Big #(&@(&% Deal!

  • When in Mongolia…: Vice President Joe Biden visited Mongolia as his latest stop on his Asian tour. Mongolia is expected to open its natural resources to foreign investors soon. While we’re not sure if Biden makes the best diplomat, he’s definitely the one we trust the most with a bow and arrow. (You might’ve heard that the guy who preceded him in the job had some trouble handling weapons properly.) On his trip, he was also presented with a horse, which Biden named “Celtic”. Can you say “live-action ‘Mulan’ remake”? source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Aug 2011 17:58

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World: Canadian NDP leader Jack Layton dies of cancer

  • Jack Layton, dead at 61: The leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, Layton had temporarily stepped down in July for cancer treatment. He was widely credited with steering the NDP towards a less leftist platform than the party had typically stood for, its origins being heavily infused with labor interests. This strategy, arguments about ideology aside, gave the NDP a massive boost to its prominence and mainstream, middle-class appeal, and reaped major electoral gains. Best wishes to Jack Layton’s friends and family in such painful times — he will be well missed and well mourned. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Aug 2011 17:08

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World: Kim Jong-Il meets with Russian President Medvedev

  • Kim Jong-Il’s Russian rendezvous: The North Korean dictator is traveling through Russia by means of an armored train, on a route expected to keep him abroad for the next week or so (North Korea is generally much tighter-lipped about his schedule than they seem to have been this time). He’s reportedly scheduled for a meeting with Russian President Dimitry Medvedev, which analysts believe may be about a gas pipeline Russia would like to run into South Korea, through Northern territory. The deal could bring North Korea nearly $500 million a year, a very considerable chunk of change. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Aug 2011 10:47

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World: Delayed reaction of the day: Silvio Berlusconi’s plea to the Libyan rebels

  • Now, you might not know this, but there’s a bit of a civil war going on at the moment in Libya. The rebels are fairly close to victory — so close they can smell it. So, right on cue, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a former colonial leader of Libya who was once an ally to Gaddafi and a reluctant partner in the NATO campaign in Libya, has urged the rebels “to abstain from any violence.” Now … look. We can see that there is obvious danger of things escalating, and the rebels do need to be careful to approach the situation carefully. But seriously, this is the wrong time for this comment if he’s going to make it. This is, like, a war, man. Things like this happen. But to tell the rebels to drop their weapons now, at a key time in the country’s history where they’re about to win, seems just a little bit tone-deaf to the current situation. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Aug 2011 10:20

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World: Muammar Gaddafi: A man of many contrasts losing his grip on power

  • More than any of the region’s autocratic leaders, perhaps, Gaddafi was a man of contrasts. He was a sponsor of terrorism who condemned the Sept. 11 attacks. He was a brutal dictator who bulldozed a jail wall to free political prisoners. He was an Arab nationalist who derided the Arab League. And in the crowning paradox, he preached people power, only to have his people take to the streets and take up arms in rebellion.
  • The Associated Press • In a lengthy piece glancing over the long rule of Muammar Gaddafi. It’s a good read that goes a long way to explain the often-confusing nature behind a man who gave North Africa fits for decades, and even occasionally showed up in the West to offer up a little bit of fresh weirdness. No place was that more obvious than when he went to the United Nations to speak in 2009. It was a weird, rambling speech that left more that a few world officials bewildered. In some ways, though, it proved the leader’s last big gasp. Less than two years later, it appears that his regime has been all but taken away. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Aug 2011 14:18

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World: Libyan rebels: The advantages and disadvantages they face

  • The rebels in Libya might have acted too soon. While they are converging on Tripoli now, they aren’t certain as to how much support Gaddafi still has there — and it might end up being really bad for them. They have another disadvantage too. The fighting in Tripoli is urban warfare, which is extremely difficult and grueling for soldiers, who face a much-stronger Gaddafi force. But don’t count them out, here’s what the rebels do have going for them:
  • Unclear uprising While it’s unclear if the population in Tripoli is loyal to Gaddafi or not, the rebels are pretty much relying on the possibility that they aren’t. Gaddafi knows how important it is for them to be loyal, too, so he’s been doing demonstrations and making speeches for weeks to keep them on his side.
  • Gaddafi’s departure? It’s likely that Gaddafi isn’t in Tripoli anymore — he’s not making the extravagant television appearances or showing up in public. It’s unclear where he is. If he leaves Libya altogether, (similar to Saddam Hussein, when he disappeared from power in Iraq and was later found near Tikrit), that would turn the tide.
  • Rebel reserves The rebels are coming in from a few different places (check the video if you haven’t yet) so they will be better off soon. the problem with this lies with the fact that the reinforcements might not get to Tripoli in time, especially depending on the resistance they encounter on the way to Tripoli. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Aug 2011 00:09

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About, World: Tips and tricks: How to follow the Twitter action in Tripoli

  • Recently, our friend Matthew Keys had a pretty good idea called Quotse. Pretty much, the whole idea is that he drops his news-gathering secrets to those who might find a use for it. The piece he wrote about YouTube searches for breaking news stories was particularly helpful. In that spirit, we’d like to drop a couple of suggestions of our own. How do you parse through Twitter during really complex cases like Tripoli, where you’re hearing things from so many directions that you may not know where to start? As you guys might have noticed last night, we had to change our techniques on the fly because Twitter changed the way its search engine works. Anyway, here are some tips we’ve built up from that experience, as well as things we’ve learned over the years:
  • Basic tools Some like TweetDeck; we don’t. You can get lost way too easily. Fortunately, there are alternatives like HootSuite, which does the same thing with less visual clutter. It’s good to be fluent with multiple Twitter apps. We also dig Echofon. Also, if you find certain users to be trustworthy, put them in a Twitter list. Here’s our Tripoli list.
  • Intermediate tricks One of our favorite tricks for following a breaking news story is to do a search for a topic with the name of a popular image service behind it. Examples: “tripoli yfrog,” “libya twitpic” or “#feb17 youtube.” The result? Sometimes you might catch things — amazing photos, for example — before anyone else. Be sure to credit the source.
  • Advanced queries Twitter supports searches which don’t seem particularly obvious. For example, you can search by latitude and longitude. Use this tool to find your location, then paste it into this setup: “geocode:(your code),15mi”. Now, put that into Twitter. Pretty awesome, right? It’s not perfect (there are false positives aplenty), but it’s a great start.
  • » The key part? Use your head. Not every piece of information is a gem. Confirm information as much as possible, don’t accept info based on one report, keep an eye on Twitter accounts that have proven trustworthy with information in the past, and keep changing your searches as stories evolve.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Aug 2011 15:18

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World: Jailed hikers likely didn’t know where terrain crossed into Iran

  • I think he went to [Iraqi] Kurdistan to cover the elections … and [during a hike] unfortunately didn’t know the ground he was walking on well enough to avoid crossing over whatever boundary was there.
  • New America Media executive director Sandy Close • Discussing the fate of Shane Bauer, one of the hikers who was sentenced to eight years in prison for accidentally crossing into Iran back in 2009. Bauer had planned to write a story about Iraqi Kurdistan, but those plans were put on hold after Bauer and his friends Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd were arrested for accidentally crossing into Iran, and then getting caught. Shourd was let go on the promise she’d eventually come back, but Fattal and Bauer will spend a decade in jail. Where’s Bill Clinton to broker a deal when you need him? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Aug 2011 17:06

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U.S., World: Dominique Strauss-Kahn case might be decided by money, not courts

  • the Strauss-Kahn accuser might drop the case for money. However, the woman’s lawyer is denying these claims that follow a report from the Wall Street Journal that sites anonymous sources. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were trying to make a deal — anything close to a conviction in this case would be political suicide for prominent French politician Strauss-Kahn, if his career isn’t over already. It’s evident that he and his team want this case out of the way as soon as possible, and from what’s being said, the woman might just take money instead of going through with the trial. We’ll see. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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