View Full Version : You can add Albania to the list
incarcerated
01-22-2011, 22:50
Who’s next?
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g5MMvHdfVDTwYCaT2KCZ22BDhcLg?docId=CNG.7ffd4 f2e62ccb3576e8e09bd39028670.c51
Albanian PM slams 'Tunisia-style' revolt, calls counter demo
By Briseida Mema (AFP) – 12 hours ago
TIRANA — Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha on Saturday slammed the opposition for a "Tunisia-style" revolt and called for counter demonstrations as opposition leaders vowed to continue their protest.
Berisha accused the socialist opposition of wanting "a Tunisian-style scenario for Albania" by staging "a coup to seize power by force".
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets for an anti-government protest called by the socialist opposition on Friday. The demonstration ended with violent clashes between protesters and the police and three people were killed...
Tensions have been mounting for months between Albania's conservative government and the main opposition Socialist Party. They rose sharply last week when Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta resigned after a private TV station aired a video that it said showed him asking a colleague to influence the awarding of a contract to build a power station.
On Friday night, protesters overturned and burned police vehicles Friday night and clashed with officers who fought them off with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon. Two men were fatally shot in the chest and another died of a wound to the head.
The United States and the European Union have both appealed for calm.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha said at a press conference the men had been killed by "bandits" within the protesters and accused the leader of the main opposition Socialist Party of attempting a coup.
"I am here today to tell that you were the one who organized the anti-constitutional putsch ... for which you will have to face the consequences of the law," Berisha said.
He charged that the demonstrators included "gangs of criminals, bandits, traffickers and terrorists" trying to overthrow the government with a "Tunisian-style" demonstration — referring to the rioting that drove out Tunisia's president this month.
Socialist Party leader Edi Rama accused Berisha of being the "political orchestrator" of the deaths and he called for the arrest of Interior Minister Lulzim Basha.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hELwKueMOTwCFp6eN7O_7pHplWnQ?docId=8e4ba41dd 7814e81b655682c28925edd
incarcerated
02-02-2011, 11:20
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20110124-obamas-state-union-and-us-foreign-policy
Yemeni President Won't Run Again
FEBRUARY 2, 2011, 11:58 A.M. ET
By HAKIM ALMASMARI
SANAA, Yemen—Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced he won't run for re-election when his term ends in 2013, and said he wouldn't attempt to pass on the presidency to his son.
His Wednesday statement before parliament brought an abrupt end to the leader's current bid to change the constitution to erase all term limits on the post.
Opposition leaders, however, called the president's concessions insufficient and urged their supporters to join renewed mass protests planned for Thursday. Ahead of that rally, ruling-party officials started pitching their own tents in Liberation Square, where the protests are to take place....
incarcerated
05-21-2011, 01:25
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13481592
Spain protesters defy ban to remain in Madrid square
21 May 2011 Last updated at 02:30 ET
Tens of thousands of Spanish protesters have defied a government ban and camped out overnight in a square in the capital, Madrid.
The protesters are angry with the government's economic policies and have occupied the square for the past week.
Spain's electoral commission had ordered them to leave ahead of local elections on Sunday.
But as the ban came into effect at midnight, the crowds started cheering and police did not move in.
The protest began six days ago in Madrid's Puerta del Sol as a spontaneous sit-in by young Spaniards frustrated at 45% youth unemployment.
The crowd has grown to some 25,000 in the capital and has spread to cities across the country. Hundreds have camped out each night in Madrid.
"They want to leave us without public health, without public education, half of our youth is unemployed, they have risen the age of our retirement as well," said protester Natividad Garcia.
"This is an absolute attack on what little state welfare we had."
Protest growing
Another protester said she was taking part because she had no employment prospects despite having a degree.
"This should make the political classes aware that something is not right," said 25-year old Inma Moreno.
Many of the participants have drawn parallels between their actions and the pro-democracy protests in central Cairo that revolutionised Egypt....
Spain's 21.3% unemployment rate is the highest in the EU - a record 4.9 million are jobless, many of them young people.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has expressed some sympathy for the protesters, noting their "peaceful manner".
"My obligation is to listen, be sensitive, try to give an answer from the government so that we can recover the economy and employment as soon as possible," he told radio Cadena Ser.
However, his Socialist government is expected to fare badly in Sunday's local and regional elections.
Albanian Post
Well with a lot of these.. Just give them FACEBOOK:munchin
Again? I was "near there" when the power of the Pyramid Scheme brought down the entire government. Somehow the Albanian armories were "looted" and bodda boom, bodda bing: the KLA (UCK) were awash with weapons and ammo. Ahh...good times.
Again? I was "near there" when the power of the Pyramid Scheme brought down the entire government. Somehow the Albanian armories were "looted" and bodda boom, bodda bing: the KLA (UCK) were awash with weapons and ammo. Ahh...good times.
An Albanian Muslim kid told me stories of armories being abandoned, everyone had AK-47's and fishing trips with RPG's.
"They want to leave us without public health, without public education, half of our youth is unemployed, they have risen the age of our retirement as well," said protester Natividad Garcia.
his Socialist government is expected to fare badly in Sunday's local and regional elections.
As will every government there after until the people suck it up, quit believing the lies of politicians, accept the fact that they have been screwed, they aren't getting a ROI and you cannot rely on others to put food in your stomach.
incarcerated
05-24-2011, 01:40
http://www.businessinsider.com/suddenly-the-world-is-realizing-that-theres-a-possible-revolution-in-spain-2011-5
Suddenly, The World Is Realizing That There's A Possible Revolution In Spain
Joe Weisenthal | May 23, 2011, 8:48 PM
It's sinking in that something big is happening in Spain, where the youth -- angry about high unemployment and public corruption -- have recreated Tahrir Square across 60 countries.
Today TIME magazine asks if the "revolution" has come to Spain.
Much of the content will be familiar to readers: Huge protests, economic stagnation, political upheaval, and so on.
The key development here is that everyone is seeing that this is a big deal.
And of course, the market has noticed.
One more bad day, and it's brand new records on 10-year yields.
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http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2073524,00.html
Protests: Has the Revolution Come to Spain?
By Lisa Abend and Eric Karlsen
Madrid Monday, May 23, 2011
Two political earthquakes have shaken Spanish life in the past week. First were the massive sit-ins that had tens of thousands of citizens camping out in the public squares of major cities in protest of the country's capsized economy and unresponsive political class. The second came Sunday night, May 22, when voters in regional and municipal elections delivered a sound drubbing to the governing Socialist Party (PSOE). Now, in Monday's harsh light, no one seems sure whether the first phenomenon had anything to do with the second. And everyone is wondering what both mean for the future of Spain.
Since May 15, tens of thousands of Spaniards have taken over squares in 60 cities, clamoring for political, economic and social reform. As articulated by the group Real Democracy Now, which helped organize the protests, unemployment (21.3% among the general population; a shocking 40% among youth) is high on the list of complaints. But so too are political corruption (more than 100 candidates in Sunday's elections are currently under judicial investigation), social-welfare cuts and a general sense that elected officials in both of the two main political parties aren't listening to them. "This isn't solely about unemployment or the upcoming election," says Raúl, 29, who works for a marketing agency when he isn't volunteering in Madrid's Puerta del Sol. "We're after a more responsible society."
The protests, whose success has taken even organizers by surprise, have transformed the public squares of Madrid, Barcelona and other cities into models of the participatory democracies their members would like to create, reminding some observers of the huge examples of civil disobedience in Egypt and Tunisia. Amid a festive air of concerts and impromptu theatrical performances, volunteers have organized themselves into committees to provide food to protesters, organize cleanups, set up an open-air reading room complete with a comfortable sofa and a battered copy of Franz Kafka's The Trial and even plant an organic vegetable garden. Meanwhile, daily meetings of individual commissions (electoral policy, environmental protection, women's rights) and a general assembly have helped the spontaneously formed movement elucidate its concerns and propose solutions.
So popular have the protests become that on May 19, when Spain's electoral commission ruled the gatherings illegal because they would break the ban on political activities the day before elections, participation grew only stronger, even incorporating foreign cities like London, Mexico City and New York. "It's incredible how fast this is spreading," said protester Yanira Castro, a 30-year-old musician, as she prepared signs for a rally in Madrid. "On Monday I wasn't sure about what it meant, but once I came down here, I knew I had to pitch in."
But for all the support, the encampments' electoral impact remains murky. Some factions of the protest, like the NoLesVotes (Don't Vote for Them), suggested that citizens opposed to the current system should turn in blank ballots or abstain from voting altogether. For newspaper-kiosk owner Fethi Ben, who was forced to close his shop early because the crowds in Puerta del Sol had forced out his customers, that suggestion augurs badly for the Socialists. "I'm 100% certain that this is going to result in a victory for the right and a punishment for the left," he said on Saturday, gesturing toward the crowds and their banners. "These people aren't going to vote, which will only leave supporters of the right to do so."
Certainly, the left was castigated last night. Winning just 27.8% of the vote, the Socialist Party had its worst local returns in the history of Spanish democracy, while the Popular Party (PP), with 37.53%, took control of 11 out of the 13 regions in which elections were held. "Without a doubt, citizens have expressed their discontent," said Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero at a press conference held late Sunday night. "It was reasonable to expect that the Socialist Party, which exercises the responsibility of governing the nation, would today be punished at the polls." But consultant Luis Arroyo, who in the past has worked for the PSOE, doesn't believe that rejection means Spanish society has turned sharply to the right. "The PP gained just 6,000 votes over the 2007 elections — and those took place before the crisis had begun," Arroyo says. "The issue here isn't that Spain has become more conservative but rather that the Socialists have become less progressive."
So was the outcome influenced by the protesters, whose objectives seem to lie squarely in the progressive camp? Although the number of blank ballots was higher than it was four years ago — 2.54% to 1.94% — so too was overall voter participation: 66.23% vs. 63.24%. "My impression at this point is that their impact was small," says Pablo Oñate, a professor of political science at the University of Valencia. "It's possible that they pulled some voters who in the past had voted for the PSOE to other parties like the United Left. But the number who turned in null or blank ballots didn't go up much."
(See why Europe stayed quiet on the protests in Egypt.)
With general elections slated for March 2012, most everyone is wondering what the week's events portend for the future. With no end to the country's economic troubles in sight, the protesters, who have vowed to continue their encampments for at least another week, may affect the government's ability to maneuver. "There were pretty credible rumors among PSOE people that there would be a second batch of austerity measures in the autumn," says Barcelona-based economist Edward Hugh. "But looking at all these protesters demanding a new world, and the current policies not even being able to offer them a job, I can't see the present government having the stomach to wield the ax much more with next year's elections starting to loom."
Cuts or no, few observers see much hope for the Socialists, and already some politicians have used last night's returns to call for early elections. Oñate doesn't believe that measure is necessary, but he does think the Socialists' only chance is for Zapatero, who has already said he won't run in 2012, to resign now. "They have to show that they've cleaned house, that they're accountable for what has happened in Spain," he says. It's a sentiment with which the thousand of people still camping in Puerta del Sol would surely agree.
incarcerated
05-26-2011, 09:53
http://www.wpri.com/dpps/news/world_news/georgian-police-say-2-killed-in-protest-dispersal-wd11-jgr_3827100
Violent protest erupts in Georgia
Georgian police say 2 killed in protest dispersal
Updated: Thursday, 26 May 2011, 11:03 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 26 May 2011, 11:03 AM EDT
MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI,Associated Press
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - Georgian officials went ahead Thursday with an Independence Day military parade along the central avenue where two people were killed and almost 40 injured in the violent breakup of an anti-government protest hours earlier.
The demonstration had been intended to prevent the parade, which began on Rustaveli Avenue without any signs of the overnight chaos. The rally, which began late Wednesday, was also aimed at forcing President Mikhail Saakashvili from office.
Riot police moved in with a water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets after a couple of thousand demonstrators defied a midnight deadline to disperse. Ninety people were arrested, Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Thursday.
The Interior Ministry said the two victims — a police officer and a demonstrator — were killed when they were hit by one of several cars fleeing the rally after the violence began. Nearly 40 people remain hospitalized Thursday, including eight police and one local journalist. Opposition activists claimed police beat protesters who had already been arrested and were not resisting.
The violence was the climax of several days of peaceful protests led by opposition leader Nino Burdzhanadze and others. They call Saakashvili's government oppressive and have been calling for his ouster for years.
Saakashvili, meanwhile, said the protesters had been bent on confrontation with the authorities, who have allowed his opponents almost unbridled freedom in their protests over the past few years....
Saakashvili, as in previous protests, claimed the disorder was organized "outside the confines of the country," a thinly veiled barb at Russia, which is hostile to his leadership.
Russia, meanwhile, condemned the way the rally was broken up, saying it amounted to a human rights violation.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Saakashvili's "actions against the opposition, in breach of generally accepted democratic norms, should be investigated in the most serious manner on the international level." Russian police are notorious for brutally crushing banned opposition rallies.
greenberetTFS
05-26-2011, 10:41
As will every government there after until the people suck it up, quit believing the lies of politicians, accept the fact that they have been screwed, they aren't getting a ROI and you cannot rely on others to put food in your stomach.
Excellent post,reminds me of that song that was popular during Vietnam,"When will they ever learn,when will they learn"..............:(
Big Teddy :munchin
lets welcome the chaos...
...lord only knows we dont have any world leaders leaders ready to insipre the masses towards anything but the next level of welfare and corruption.
Most of us have more fingers than required to count the amount of world leaders that display an interest in anything but self advancement.
...just my cycnical two cents. Hopefully I am wrong.
Excellent post,reminds me of that song that was popular during Vietnam,"When will they ever learn,when will they learn"..............:(
Big Teddy :munchin
Off topic, but speaking of sucking it up, handouts, robbing Peter to pay Paul, Uncle Sugar, Politicians and when will they learn.........
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/05/26/blunt-wants-federal-government-to-do-more-for-joplin/