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06 Apr 2011 09:42

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World: Hotly-contested Wisconsin judicial election faces recount

  • vote A vote for a State Supreme Court seat between incumbent David Prosser and Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg ended with fewer than 600 votes separating Prosser and the progressive Kloppenburg.
  • importance The vote is a key one — and a proxy battle — for Scott Walker, whose contentious anti-collective-bargaining act will likely face the State Supreme Court. The court currently favors conservatives to liberals, 4 to 3. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Apr 2011 16:04

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World: Libyan rebels plan to begin exporting oil themselves

  • This is a big deal for the opposition council. The Libyan rebel government’s deal with Qatar to export oil has obvious benefits to their cause, and they aren’t strictly economic. One aspect of the Libyan struggle we can’t overlook is the need for others to perceive their legitimacy — the more the rebellion shows a unified, proactive, and competent front, the more pressure it may put on Gaddafi’s beleaguered allies to desert him. The immediately refused rebel ceasefire offer was a good example, and this follows suit — the practical proof that oil exports can resume despite Gaddafi’s efforts to the contrary is another psychological victory against a regime that’s already reported as suffering key defections by officials. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Apr 2011 15:31

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World: Conflicting reports suggest Gbagbo may soon be out

  • Not long for Laurent Gbagbo? Reports coming out of the Ivory Coast are somewhat convoluted at this moment — the machinations of these scenarios can involve a lot of back and forth between the sides involved, and as such it’s understandable that things can become murky. Reuters had reported that strongman Laurent Gbagbo signed a U.N. document ceding power and surrendering, but nearly an hour later posted a report from a U.N. official claiming his surrender is not official, and that he’s negotiating for protection. Perhaps the biggest takeaway, though, is what’s most important thing for the Ivory Coast; that there’s a visible endgame, and Laurent Gbagbo’s desperate grip on power could soon vanish. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Apr 2011 13:50

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World: Ai Weiwei’s arrest may signal dire sea change in China

  • Western capitals are failing to understand the magnitude of what is happening now. The Chinese authorities are actively seeking to try to redefine the boundaries of which opinions are tolerable, and which are not.
  • Nicholas Bequelin, researcher for Human Rights Watch in China • Speaking on the grim state of Chinese affairs, in the wake of the arrest of famed artist and dissident Ai Weiwei. He argues that the Chinese’s tightening grip over the citizenry indicates a meaningful shift towards more abject totalitarianism. Bequelin added: “We know for certain that there are lawyers who haven’t been arrested, but have been clearly threatened. They’ve been told ‘the gloves are off, we can do anything we like now’. One was informed that ‘the party has special ways to deal with people like you’.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Apr 2011 13:37

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World: NATO: Airstrikes decimate large chunk of Gaddafi’s prowess

  • 30%of Gaddafi military capacity destroyed by airstrikes source
  • » That’s what NATO says, at least. NATO Brigadier General Mark van Uhm made the claim to a bunch of reporters in Brussels. That said, though, some of Gaddafi’s tactics have made it harder for NATO to attack. “The operational tempo remains, but we have seen a change of tactics (from Gaddafi),” van Uhm said. “When human beings are used as shields we don’t engage.”
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Apr 2011 10:36

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World: French Prime Minister: Ivory Coast presidential crisis nearing end

  • As we speak we are speaking to two generals to negotiate President Gbagbo’s surrender.
  • French Prime Minister Francois Fillon • Explaining what’s currently happening in the Ivory Coast, after days of increasingly violent fighting between forces loyal to presidential stickler Laurent Gbagbo and forces who favored Alassane Ouattara, the man who won November’s election but was held from office by Gbagbo. Months later, the fighting got extremely violent, and the UN and France eventually got involved. Now, it appears, Gbagbo is close to surrendering the leadership he long fought to keep. “We are in a situation where everything could be resolved in the next few hours,” said French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Apr 2011 22:07

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World: Libyan rebels: NATO forces falling short of expectations

  • There’s a delay in reacting and lack of response to what’s going on on the ground, and many civilians have died and [NATO] couldn’t react to protect them.
  • Ali al-Essawi, foreign policy director of the National Transitional Council • On how things have been going since NATO took control of the no-fly zone. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

04 Apr 2011 14:03

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World: TEPCO begins draining radioactive water, tries to find major leak

  • lesser evil TEPCO has begun releasing thousands of tons of radioactive water into the ocean, freeing up space to store the much more dangerously radioactive water they now have to contend with, a release of which would be much worse.
  • square one Dye was used to determine the location of a leak of highly contaminated water, which TEPCO has fought for days. They didn’t see it in the ocean outside, meaning the leak is not where they’d been trying to plug the past couple days. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Apr 2011 13:42

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World: Kazahkstan’s incumbent President decimates opposition

  • 95% of the vote for Kazakhstan’s President Nazarbayev source
  • » An electoral red flag: International elections monitors are crying foul over what took place in Kazakhstan yesterday, as incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev (who’s been in power since the 1980s) soared to this startling vote tally. It’s being reported (albeit from an unnamed source) that students were threatened with expulsion if they didn’t head to the polls. We’re reminded of a point about show elections made by Christopher Hitchens; why do these leaders always desire such a staggering percentage of the vote? It all but screams a corrupt, undemocratic, strong-armed process- the leaders in question could lay much more claim to credibility if they tried to manipulate themselves to, say, a 55-45 win instead.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Apr 2011 00:06

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World: Two Gaddafi sons propose exit plan for father; will rest of family sign on?

  • yes Two of Muammar Gaddafi’s children are said to be developing a proposal to move their father out of power and transition the country into a constitutional democracy.
  • maybe? Would Gaddafi take the deal, which would place his son Seif at the head of the new government? There’s no indication that he will; reportedly, he’s receptive to the idea. source
  • » Complicating the situation is the fact that Gaddafi doesn’t have two sons total–he’s got seven, including one who controls his own militia. Seif and Saadi are the only two known to support the proposal. Will the other brothers get on board, or will the country’s power struggles spread from the streets to the Gaddafi family? As we find ourselves saying at just about every juncture in this increasingly complex and unpredictable conflict, only time will tell.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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