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23 Nov 2011 15:17

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World: Violence and protest continues in Tahrir Square

  • It’s not over: The events unfolding in Egypt of late are a striking reminder (and a very condensed sort of case study) in the perils of looking beyond or away from a nation after an ostensibly successful, popular revolution. All these months later, Egyptians are back in Tahrir Square, being beaten and killed as they call on the new ruling faction in Egypt, the military itself, to hold immediate elections. To date, a number estimated around 2,000 Egyptians have been injured in the neo-Tahrir protests, with at least 37 killed. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Oct 2011 00:04

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U.S.: Occupy Chicago: Nurses union protests controversial Grant Park arrests

  • cause Early Sunday, police arrested two members of National Nurses United who cared for protesters at Occupy Chicago, in the process ignoring Grant Park’s closing time of 11 pm. They were among 100 people arrested.
  • reaction After getting out of jail on Monday morning, the nurses were joined by more than two dozen fellow union members outside of Mayor Emanuel’s office on the fifth floor of Chicago’s City Hall, causing a bit of an emotional scene. source
  • » Hiding a story from the media? The nurses arrested suggest that police were trying to hide an awkward scene from the cameras. “We were among the last protesters released, for no good reason that we can tell, except for they clearly knew when the media cameras had left,” said Jan Rodolfo, the Midwest director for NNU. “We were tearful and exhausted and shell shocked.” Rodolfo was among those arrested; her court date has been set for November 15.
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jun 2011 17:29

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World: Hillary Clinton voices support for Saudi women driving in protest

  • What these women are doing is brave and what they are seeking is right, but the effort belongs to them. I am moved by it and I support them, but I want to underscore the fact that this is not coming from outside of their country. This is the women themselves, seeking to be recognized.
  • Secretary of State Hillary Clinton • Speaking about last week’s protest in Saudi Arabia, where many women took to automobiles to violate one of the country’s sexist laws, which prohibits female drivers. Clinton is clearly stressing the internal origin of the protests, as the claim of foreign interference is one that Saudi Arabia could potentially get a lot of mileage out of. Regardless, she’s voiced her support, and we feel nothing but pleased about it — protests against laws like these just need support, pure and simple. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2011 16:29

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Politics: Sharon Angle sings for Tax Day protesters

  • Because we can: Sharon Angle sings “God Bless The USA.” The defeated Republican Senatel candidate has said she’ll be running for the House seat being vacated by Republican Dean Heller in 2012, but if that doesn’t work out, maybe she can put a band together. How about “Sharon and the Right Angles?” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Apr 2011 18:26

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U.S.: Koran-burning Terry Jones linked to Afghanistan killings

  • Thoughts on placing blame: Eleven people, among them U.N. officials, were killed in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif today. ABC News reports the killings occurred after a crowd of people protesting Pastor Terry Jones were informed of his completed Koran burnings. To be clear, what Terry Jones did in burning the Koran was at best a crass publicity stunt and at worse bigoted antagonism, and before he did it U.S. military figures warned of possible violent outcomes. He bears a responsibility for his actions, actions which in the strictest literal sense seem to have caused horrific destruction. It should be said, though, that burning a book in almost any definition of civil society can’t be grounds for murder, no matter your affinity for the words printed inside. Keeping this in perspective is important in an honest, nuanced debate on these issues. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Mar 2011 12:42

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World: Woman rushes, stops Assad’s car after speech

  • Quite stunning video: Brought to you by Al Jazeera English, a video taken just following Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s defiant and surprising speech yesterday. There’s a bit to follow, here: Assad waves to the crowd, then gets into his car which begins slowly driving, flanked by personnel on all sides. A woman rushes over, brandishing what what appears to be a paper that is snatched away by one of the personnel, but this interruption causes a chaotic reaction of people surging towards the car. Then, the feed cuts out, and instead shows jarringly contrasted overhead shots of a city with jaunty music, presumably to prevent this from inflaming the citizenry. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2011 15:15

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World: Want to hear the most depressing thing ever? Us neither!

  • before Thousands upon thousands of Egyptians rallied at Tahrir Square, engineering an overthrow of Hosni Mubarak by peaceful protest. It was a grandly inspirational moment, one that we all watched with exhilaration.
  • now The military-led Egyptian government just approved a law imposing an enormous fine or prison time for inciting protests that interfere with “public or private work.” Well, it was certainly nice while it lasted. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

23 Feb 2011 15:12

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Politics: Six anti-abortion activists protest at Speaker Boehner’s office

  • Our pro-life constituencies are weary of campaign promises and empty rhetoric… We don’t want another symbolic victory.
  • “Operation Rescue” founder Randall Terry • On the topic of anti-abortion politicians following through with policy. This came after the arrest of a group of six Terry supporters outside the office of John Boehner (who wasn’t even inside at the time), where they were demanding that the Speaker stand firm on defunding Planned Parenthood, no matter the Senate’s reaction. Not that Speaker Boehner can force the Senate to do anything, but procedural nuance isn’t always the strong suit of hyper-zealous, single-issue political groups. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Feb 2011 14:19

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World: Iranian leaders, lawmakers call for execution of political rivals

  • What makes Iran different from Egypt: Well, innumerable things, really, but here’s a good example: the Iranian parliament, chanting from their chamber for the executions of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. The extent of the totalitarian power the Iranian regime holds over its people is immense, and to this point the strategy of media blackout has worked far more successfully than it did in Tahrir Square, but make no mistake – a video of a parliament chanting for the deaths of their political opponents should chill you no less than a video of some thugs beating up people in the streets. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2011 13:54

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World: As Iranians take to streets, an expectedly oppressive response

  • Teargas in the streets of Tehran: So says the Facebook page of Iranian opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi, where this video was posted. It shows Iranians protesting, reportedly against the Iranian government’s detainment of political prisoners, before fleeing back towards the camera. Mousavi’s Facebook claims this was caused by a sudden teargas attack. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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