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08 Feb 2011 14:43

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World: Iranian opposition figure Mousavi calls for solidarity march

  • Undoubtedly, the starting point of what we are witnessing in the streets of Tunis, Sana’a, Cairo, Alexandria and Suez should be seen in the Iranian protests.
  • Iranian “Green” leader Mir Hossein Mousavi • The opposition leader, whose unsuccessful run against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sparked anti-government protests within Iran, has called for demonstrations to be held in solidarity with revolutionary movements in other states. That this sort of call has gone out isn’t especially surprising in a geopolitical climate of profound uncertainty in the wake of Egypt’s civil uprising. With an increasingly modern, culturally westernized population block that is nearly 50% under the age of 30, the extent to which Iran is ripe for such an upheaval has been a weighty topic since the protests over 2009’s fraudulent election. Seeing other oppressors fall by the wayside can, one suspects, only help this possibility. source

07 Feb 2011 10:52

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World: Egypt opposition organizers: “We are betting on the people”

  • The government played all the dirty games that they had, and the people persisted. We are betting on the people.
  • Shady el-Ghazaly Harb • Revealing himself in a public setting as one of the main organizers of the Facebook page that originally influenced the protests in Egypt. He and his group vow to escalate the movement, despite attempts by leadership to portray yesterday’s meeting with opposition as both sides coming together. At least three organizers had been held in extra-legal detention the night before and finally released.  source

31 Jan 2011 14:24

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Politics: ElBaradei critical of U.S. calls for Mubarak to start democratic reforms

  • The American government cannot ask the Egyptian people to believe that a dictator who has been in power for 30 years would be the one to implement democracy. This is a farce.
  • Mohamed ElBaradei • The would-be transitional leader of Egypt’s uprising against Hosni Mubarak came out forcefully against U.S. tact on the matter, speaking on CBS’ “Face The Nation.” President Obama and his government have absorbed much criticism over their failure to lend practical and philosophical support to Egypt’s opposition movement, and ElBaradei has given a prominent Egyptian face to these complaints. source

31 Jan 2011 13:40

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Politics: Jimmy Carter thinks Mubarak will leave, Suleiman is more honest

  • If I want to know what is going on in the Middle East, I talk to Suleiman. And as far as I know, he has always told me the truth.
  • Former President Jimmy Carter • Never fearful to weigh in on current events, Carter claimed that he’s had more useful interactions with the newly-appointed Vice President of Egypt, Omar Suleiman, than with his boss, saying that Hosni Mubarak talks “like a politician.” Carter also guessed that Mubarak “will have to leave,” a sentiment that might be a cold comfort for the Egyptians who want neither Mubarak, Suleiman, nor anybody positioned in the current regime to be left in power.  source

31 Jan 2011 13:13

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World: Egypt’s opposition groups call for one million protestors in Cairo

  • 1 million people urged to take to the streets by Egyptian opposition source
  • » Opposition groups are picking up steam: In what’s been called a significant sign that Egypt’s opposition is coalescing into a more unified front, the groups against Mubarak made a call for one million Egyptians to take to Cairo’s streets. What a unified opposition would resemble politically, though, is yet unknown. Those in want of a secular democracy in Egypt are undoubtedly concerned at the thought of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood waiting in the wings.

18 Jan 2011 15:08

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World: Early struggles for Tunisia’s new government

  • two days since Tunisia’s coalition government took charge following a climactic revolution
  • four coalition ministers who have already quit over lack of personnel change from the old regime
  • one political party threatening to pull out unless there’s a purge of the old regime’s members source

25 Sep 2010 12:36

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World: In the UK, Labour elections a Miliband family affair

  • 50.65% the percentage Ed Miliband got in the final round of the Labour party vote for their new leader
  • 49.35% the percentage his loser brother, David, received; Ed gets to lead the party against David Cameron source
 

03 Jul 2010 13:43

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World: Report: Cuban hunger striker Guillermo Farinas could die

  • 129 number of days he’s been on a prolonged hunger strike
  • Why did he protest?Since Feburary 24, Farinas has been hunger striking to protest the imprisonment of numerous political activists, as well as the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a prisoner who died during his own hunger strike.
  • His current statusFarinas is currently at Arnaldo Milian Castro University Hospital in Santa Clara. His doctor says he’s being fed a little via intravenous feeding and has gained weight, but has a blood clot that could prevent blood from getting to his heart.
  • A surprising facetPerhaps the most interesting thing about the Farinas situation is that the source which reported on the opposition activist was Granma, a communist newspaper – and they played it very big, devoting two of their eight pages to him. source
  • » Programming note: This is based on an AP article, which as you might know, we try to avoid here at the ShortFormHQ. But this article seemed important enough that it was worth bypassing the picket line, at least today.

11 Jun 2010 10:13

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World: Will Iran have protests on the one-year anniversary of #iranelection?

  • NO organizers couldn’t get permits; wonder why source

13 May 2010 10:20

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World: In Thailand, a major opposition leader was shot today

Moments after this photo of renegade Gen. Khattiya Sawatdiphol (better known as Seh Daeng) was taken, he was shot in the head. A huge loss for the Red Shirts. source