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22 Mar 2011 23:53

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World: Yemen: Ali Abdullah Saleh’s losing friends faster than MySpace

  • Friday broke our hearts; yesterday opened our eyes. We saw people of our generation killed with head shots and chest wounds. We don’t want that pain again.
  • DC-based Yemeni spokesperson Mohammed al-Basha • Describing the pain he felt over the violence in his country, pushed forth by president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The bloodshed in particular pushed many in the government over the edge. While many other government figures resigned yesterday, al-Basha hasn’t. Rather, he says he seems himself as a “neutral” civil servant. Saleh, meanwhile, threatened civil war at the same time he was offering an olive branch to the people he was threatening civil war against. Follow that? Neither did we. Clarity is not Mr. Saleh’s strong suit. Nor is human rights, apparently. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 10:01

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World: Bahrain declares “state of national emergency” amid protests

  • Due to the ongoing circumstances in Bahrain … King Hamad has announced a state of national emergency as of Tuesday for three months.
  • An announcement on Bahraini state television • Announcing a “national state of emergency” in the country. The announcement comes a day after troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates entered the country to help quell the protests. The U.S. government has called for restraint in the wake of fresh military action. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Mar 2011 10:41

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World: Sectarian violence: Muslims, Coptic Christians fight in Egypt

  • 9+ number of people killed in fighting between Muslims and Coptic Christians near Cairo
  • 90+ more were injured in clashes stemming from the burning of a church last week source
  • » A conflict on the back-burner: The tensions between the minority Copts (who make up 9 percent of Egypt’s population) and Muslims (who make up 90 percent) have already been pretty high this year after an extremely deadly suicide bombing in January. The mess with Mubarak took the attention away for the while, but now it’s back. The Christian Science Monitor has a pretty good explanation of what’s happening right now.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Mar 2011 01:02

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Biz: Mideast ripple effect: Gas prices’ second-highest spike ever

  • 32.7¢ the increase in gas prices in the past two weeks, caused by the drama in the Middle East – the second-largest jump on record
  • 38.44¢ the largest jump in gas prices on record, which happened in 2005 – immediately after this storm called Hurricane Katrina source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Mar 2011 21:24

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U.S.: Obama’s thinking of pulling oil from our backup supply

  • problem Gas prices are rising rapidly, as a result of the drama going on in the Middle East at the moment. Oh no, $4 a gallon? Whatever shall we do? Society will fail miserably without cheap petrol in our tanks!
  • solution? Obama’s considering tapping into our strategic oil reserves, according to White House chief of staff, William Daley. Whew. All this excitement! Where is our fainting couch when we need it? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 12:42

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World: China completely downplays Middle East protests’ influence

  • problem People in China are getting inspired by the wave of Middle East protests and – in small pockets, mind you – attempting protests of their own. China is hard-core communist and limits free information, so this is a problem.
  • solution An editorial! Today in the Beijing Daily (run by the Chinese Communist Party), a front-page editorial suggested that “the vast majority of the people are strongly dissatisfied” by the protests in the Middle East. You sure? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2011 21:52

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U.S., World: Obama: “Full range” of military options on the table in Libya

  • YES Obama could bring U.S. military action to Libya source
  • » It’s not off the table: “We are looking at every option that’s out there,” he said, “in addition to the non-military actions that we’ve taken. I want to make sure that those full range of options are available to me.” He’s stressing great care, however, and it doesn’t sound like the first option on the table. (Nor does it sound like it would necessitate a large military campaign.) Do you guys think that Obama should lead us in this direction? Should this be our role in this particular crisis?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

28 Feb 2011 21:52

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World: Libyan opposition figure Abdel Fattah Younes: Gaddafi will likely die

  • Gaddafi will either commit suicide, which is unlikely as suicide is a sin in Islam; or he may go out for others to kill him – he and his rifle in a bloody and fatal confrontation against a huge force. However under such difficult situations, human behaviour cannot be predicted. The second scenario is 90% likely to happen.
  • Former Libyan official (and current opposition supporter) Abdel Fattah Younes • Explaining, in an article for Al Jazeera English, what he thinks will happen to his former boss, Muammar Gaddafi. Younes, the former interior minister and head of Special Forces, says he quit partly because the “victims were too many for no justification.” Read everything he wrote. It’s really good. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Feb 2011 10:42

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World: Oman’s leader trying to appease protesters very generously

  • 50,000 the number of government jobs Sultan Qaboos has promised will be installed in the country
  • $390 the amount Oman’s unemployment program would pay job-seekers each month until they find work source
  • » But it’s not working: While Sultan Qaboos doesn’t appear to be in danger of losing his leadership role, protesters are still unhappy and are pushing for political reforms in the country. “We want new faces in the government and we have a long list of social reforms,” said civil servant Habiba al-Hanay. “We just hope he will hear us and make changes.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Feb 2011 11:28

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World: Next on the list of popular Middle East uprisings? Oman

  • Protests in the country turned deadly today. The country, situated between Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen on the Mideast pie chart, has seen its share of anti-government protests pop up. Today, two anti-government protesters in the industrial town of Sohar were killed in clashes with police. State media claimed that the protesters were trying to storm a police station. “Police and anti-riot squads confronted this group of wreckers in a bid to protect people and their properties, which caused casualties,” the report said. The protests in the country are a little different, by the way, because they have largely emphasized loyalty with Sultan Qaboos, one of the world’s longest-serving political leaders. The sultan, in response to a prior protest, recently reshuffled his cabinet. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
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