Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
ethiopia-eritrea border explosion
there was an explosion today in the town of humera - controlled by ethiopia - but part of the disputed area on the ethiopia-eritrea border. bbc provides a nice timeline of events that ive pasted below.
TENSE BORDER
Dec 2000: Peace agreement
Apr 2002: Border ruling
Mar 2003: Ethiopian complaint over Badme rejected
Oct 2005: Eritrea restricts peacekeepers' activities
Nov 2005: UN sanctions threat if no compliance with 2000 deal
Dec 2007: Deadline to demarcate the border expires without agreement
Dec 2007: Eritrea cuts fuel supplies to the UN
Feb 2008: UN warns of a return to war as it withdraws from Eritrea
March 2008: Deadly bomb blast in border town
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
superDs
A lot has gone down since the last time...
Most recently, as in votes in TX are still be counted, HRC had a big 3/4 taking RI, TX and OH. This is a whole new thing - Im over following the delegate race, though i did hear that BO has something around 50 unannounced superDs in his pocket - no confirmation on that. FL and MI are gonna be a thing now too and I guess this is Dean territory - and can I just say that Im glad Im not that guy.
McCain is official and we are officially gonna wipe the floor w that guy -- UNLESS -- the dems find a way to suck the enthusiasm out of our electorate by overturning a popular mandate with this superD bullshit, or turning what has been a really great race into something not really great. We got a ways to go til PA so stay tuned.
Kosovo declared independence on February 17 and appears to have gotten away with it, which i guess isnt all together surprising considering the international support, especially US and prominent members of the EU. Russia is pissed bc, like Spain, they have their own secessionist movements to worry about. The Serbs are really pissed and took it to the streets. There was mischievous behavior involving a grenade at the US embassy in Belgrade but nothing major. There are still Serbian troops in N Kosovo who were initially told to ignore the independence and could be a problem in the future. Let us all hope that there is not a return to the war of all against all days.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader - now PM - Raila Odinga have reached a powersharing agreement after Kofi threatened to bail. they are calling it the National Accord and Reconciliation Act, which I think sounds pretty good. Odinga will be PM - and an elected MP and leader of the largest party in the Nat Assembly (or of a coalition if there is no majority). Kibaki and Odinga each get to pick a deputy and along with a VP they will make up a happy cabinet.
Hmmm... what else.
Raul is taking over for Fidel.
Turkey launched a pretty major, multi-day operation in Northerm Iraq. They were going after PKK rebels who live in the Qandil mountains. Then Iraq told them to leave. The US is on pretty thin ice.
Israel has been carrying out the most serious operations in Gaza since Annapolis - Abbas has suspended talks temporarily. Are all politics local, or what?
Pakistan had Parliamentary elections - and the Musharraf people did not do so well. Bhutto's PPP did well as well as the Sharif people.
And Russia has a new President Medvedev who was elected with 69% of the vote, but Putin seems to be the story there. so, i guess well see what happens.
Most recently, as in votes in TX are still be counted, HRC had a big 3/4 taking RI, TX and OH. This is a whole new thing - Im over following the delegate race, though i did hear that BO has something around 50 unannounced superDs in his pocket - no confirmation on that. FL and MI are gonna be a thing now too and I guess this is Dean territory - and can I just say that Im glad Im not that guy.
McCain is official and we are officially gonna wipe the floor w that guy -- UNLESS -- the dems find a way to suck the enthusiasm out of our electorate by overturning a popular mandate with this superD bullshit, or turning what has been a really great race into something not really great. We got a ways to go til PA so stay tuned.
Kosovo declared independence on February 17 and appears to have gotten away with it, which i guess isnt all together surprising considering the international support, especially US and prominent members of the EU. Russia is pissed bc, like Spain, they have their own secessionist movements to worry about. The Serbs are really pissed and took it to the streets. There was mischievous behavior involving a grenade at the US embassy in Belgrade but nothing major. There are still Serbian troops in N Kosovo who were initially told to ignore the independence and could be a problem in the future. Let us all hope that there is not a return to the war of all against all days.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader - now PM - Raila Odinga have reached a powersharing agreement after Kofi threatened to bail. they are calling it the National Accord and Reconciliation Act, which I think sounds pretty good. Odinga will be PM - and an elected MP and leader of the largest party in the Nat Assembly (or of a coalition if there is no majority). Kibaki and Odinga each get to pick a deputy and along with a VP they will make up a happy cabinet.
Hmmm... what else.
Raul is taking over for Fidel.
Turkey launched a pretty major, multi-day operation in Northerm Iraq. They were going after PKK rebels who live in the Qandil mountains. Then Iraq told them to leave. The US is on pretty thin ice.
Israel has been carrying out the most serious operations in Gaza since Annapolis - Abbas has suspended talks temporarily. Are all politics local, or what?
Pakistan had Parliamentary elections - and the Musharraf people did not do so well. Bhutto's PPP did well as well as the Sharif people.
And Russia has a new President Medvedev who was elected with 69% of the vote, but Putin seems to be the story there. so, i guess well see what happens.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Vigil to siege on Gaza
| Vigil to End the Siege on Gaza |
| January 27, 2008 |
| 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM |
| Water Tower Park - 830 N Michigan Ave Chicago, IL |
| Contact: Lynn Pollack [Email this contact] |
| Sponsors: AFSC, Jewish Voice for Peace-Chicago |
| Help spread the word about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza! Join us in standing up to speak out about the siege and collective punishment that Israel continues to inflict upon 1.5 million civilian men, women and children in Gaza, denying an entire population potable water, food and medical supplies. These inhumane and illegal actions are having a devastating impact on the people of Gaza. Join us in a vigil on Jan. 27th to demand an end to the siege on the people of Gaza. Sunday, January 27 – Vigil to End the Siege of Gaza 12 to 1 pm, Water Tower Park, 830 N. Michigan Co-sponsored by AFSC and Jewish Voice for Peace-Chicago For information on the vigil, call Lynn Pollack @ 312-427-2533, ext. 26, or e-mail lpollack@afsc.org For more information on the crisis in Gaza, go to http://www.afsc.org/israel-palestine/gaza.htm |
Lebanon: Get it together
A remote detonated bomb killed a senior police intelligence officer and three others in East Beirut today, Captain Wissam Eid had been previously targeted at his home as was his predecessor who retired after being injured from just such an attack. The BBC reports that, "Security officials said the bomb, which left a crater five metres (16 feet) wide, had been made with at least 50 kg (110 pounds) of explosives."
Its a complex ordeal going on over there that has its roots in power sharing agreements often brokered by foreign protectorates. Stay tuned.
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