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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

03 Feb 2011 13:38

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World: Egypt’s economy hit hard by internet shutdown

  • six
    days
    amount of time the internet was offline during Egypt’s huge protests
  • $90
    million
    in losses the forced lock-down cost Egypt’s economy source

02 Feb 2011 14:50

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World: Pro-Mubarak surge looks unsurprisingly manufactured

  • So, just who are these pro-mubarak folks? The CNN Wire Staff suggests you’d be right to guess this isn’t such an organic movement. Pro-Mubarak protesters who’ve been captured in the wild melee have fearfully proclaimed that they were paid by the government to show up, while some in plain clothes have been seen to have police identification. Some national petrochemical staff, as well, said that they were ordered to head out to the streets for Mubarak. The bad news here is that these protests have turned violent after avoiding widespread combat for so long. The good news is that if Mubarak’s bold endgame is sending out paid muscle to start fights, it may not last much longer. source

01 Feb 2011 12:34

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World: Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan tries to show Mubarak the door

  • pressure… The Egyptian opposition’s call succeeded wildly with over a million protesters flooding the streets of Cairo’s Tahrir Square, turning up the heat on the beleaguered reign of President Hosni Mubarak.
  • …rising! Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan added his voice to the chorus asking Mubarak to step down, telling him they all would one day die and be “questioned over what we left behind.” source

25 Jan 2011 10:33

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World: Lebanon’s not having a very fun day today, guys

After the Hezbollah-backed Najib Mikati won appointment as Prime Minister, all hell broke loose in the country, leading to fiery scenes like this one. source

20 Jan 2011 13:05

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Culture: Fred Phelps will give funerals a break, protest a movie

  • the man Kevin Smith, director and tireless New Jersey promoter, who’s taking his latest work to the Sundance Film Festival.
  • the film “Red State,” about three high-schoolers in middle America who run afoul of a fundamentalist priest with murderous intent.
  • the resultFred Phelps, real-life fundamentalist and head of the hateful Westboro Baptist Church, will picket Sundance. source

19 Sep 2010 10:48

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World: In Thailand, the Red Shirts are back, albeit more peacefully

The protesters – at least 10,000 of them – were back to mark the anniversary of the bloodless coup that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. source
 

31 Jul 2010 12:26

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U.S.: “Million Teacher March” rally in Florida oversells itself a little bit

  • 25 people showed up to protest teacher pay source

29 Jun 2010 11:05

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World: Israeli diplomats: Every day is “Casual Friday” for them right now

  • cause Israeli diplomats don’t think they’re getting paid wages on par with other government agencies.
  • reaction They decided to protest the conditions … by wearing jeans and sandals to work. source
  • » Our thoughts: If they really want to punish them, they should wear socks with the sandals. Though that might be a little cruel and unusual.

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