Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

10 Mar 2011 15:50

tags

U.S.: Chaotic protests, dischord in Madison, Wisconsin reaching fever pitch

  • Chaos at the capitol: As a means to reduce the amount of protests and (legitimately worrisome) rage in Madison, the state GOP’s sudden vote last night hasn’t been too helpful. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Mar 2011 20:23

tags

U.S.: Wisconsin Republicans pull shifty-eyed trick to pass union bill

  • crap Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker pushed to strip collective bargaining rights as part of a larger budget bill, which required a quorum to be passed. Senate Dems left the state to prevent it from passing. Protests roared.
  • bull*#(&@ After weeks of dispute, debate, and drama, the GOP senators stripped the bill down to the collective bargaining bit and passed it – because they didn’t need a quorum that way. We hope they all get recalled after a mess like this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Mar 2011 20:20

tags

U.S.: Wisconsin update: Are all Wisconsinites named Scott total jerkwads?

  • So, earlier today, Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller said he wanted to talk. After 18 days worth of holding out, it’s become clear that the MIA Democratic senators want to go home – but they want a deal, first. And that’s reportedly tough to come by. “I have personally called Senator Fitzgerald and the Governor and his office on a regular basis but have not received return calls,” Miller told the press today. Miller meant his statements as an olive branch, but they weren’t necessarily taken with much love in mind. A recap:
  • guv’nor Scott Walker says he’s actually talking to the cell-phone-wielding legislators “I called one of these senators myself (Monday morning). It could not be more abundantly clear how serious we are about getting this done.”
  • majority Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who has talked with Senate Dems in person, was pretty blunt. “I hope you are enjoying your vacation, and your vacation from reality.” What is it with Wisconsinites named Scott? Pricks.
  • Dems The Senate Democrats aren’t on some sort of unified message here. Some claim that no compromise talks are in the works; others say that the end is near. We say that the state needs a compromise, stat. And a good one. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 12:42

tags

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

05 Mar 2011 10:51

tags

World: Hugo Chavez gains support for mission to Libya, wants all-star team

  • What do Jimmy Carter, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Danny Glover and Sean Penn have in common? Word is that they’re on Hugo Chavez’s short list of a commission to go to LIbya to mediate peace. Confused about how Danny Glover fits into that mix? Well, it’s worth pointing out that Chavez is friends with Glover and has even offered money to help pay to make a Danny Glover movie. Anyway, Chavez earned some key local support for his endeavor from ALBA, or the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our Americas. (The countries in the group include Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras and Ecuador, and the group itself was founded by Chavez.) Hugo’s all about making this happen. “We must make a very large effort, very large. We cannot lose even one day,” he said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2011 10:34

tags

World: Libya’s negotiator? Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez wants to mediate

Hugo Chavez and Muammar Gaddafi go way back, which is why Hugo wants to help moderate the peace process in Libya. But details of Chavez’s plan are lacking. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2011 10:06

tags

World: Dutch helicopter crew captured by Libyan (well, Gaddafi’s) forces

  • cause Three Flying Dutchmen (sorry), attempting to rescue Europeans stuck in the country, were captured by Libyan forces last Sunday – the first sign of Libyan forces going after Westerners.
  • reaction The Dutch government has actually kept this story under wraps; it didn’t break until a newspaper discovered it. There’s a fear the Libyan government might use the pilots as propaganda tools. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

01 Mar 2011 16:29

tags

World: Abroad, military possibilities loom over Gaddafi’s chaos

  • Will international forces tighten on Gaddafi? Here’s a simple, neat little video by Al Jazeera on international military response to Libya. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Mar 2011 10:14

tags

World: Quickly: How democracy will work in post-Mubarak Egypt

  • 03/19The Egyptian military will vote on a motion to rewrite the country’s constitution.
  • June The country plans to hold fresh parliamentary elections (which is a pretty fast timetable).
  • then … Six weeks later, Egyptians should plan to vote for the country’s new president. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Feb 2011 21:52

tags

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
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>