Welcome to The Carnival of Revolutions - Monday, July 25, 2005

"We stand at the gates of an important epoch, a time of ferment, when spirit moves forward in a leap, transcends its previous shape and takes on a new one..... A new phase of the spirit is preparing itself. Philosophy especially has to welcome its appearance and acknowledge it, while others, who oppose it impotently, cling the past."

--- G.W.F. Hegel, 1806

"There is no other place I want to be.
Right here, right now.
Watching the world wake up from history."

--- Jesus Jones - 1991

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Welcome to the Carnival of Revolutions!

The blogosphere's weekly roundup of news related to the global struggle for democracy and freedom.

Thanks for stopping by. And thanks to anyone who submitted a post or a suggestion. This was the first time I've hosted the COR, hopefully it won't be the last.

So, buy some cotton candy and take a stroll around the grounds. (Just watch out for the carnies. They are not to be trusted.)

Feel free to leave comments at the end.
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First, I wanted to highlight a few posts that I found particularly interesting and important:


1) From Firepower Forward, a blog by a soldier in Afghanistan, a moving, eloquent account of his role in accompanying a Special Ops soldier killed in action, on the first leg of the journey home.

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At first, I was not sure how this might fit into the Carnival's theme, but I came to conclusion that the American soldier is the hub to which the spokes of many of the stories below are attached.

They are the frontline of the modern liberal Democratic revolution.

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What are they fighting, and dying for? Afghan Warrior gives us one small, but important example.

2) Freedom's Peace, a blog by R.J. Rummel, a former Nobel Peace Prize finalist and serious intellectual, offers a summary of the audacious tyrrany of the government of Burma (Myanamar), where

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"the 42.7 million people in this South Asian country are 89 percent Buddhist, have a life expectancy of fifty-five years, and earn in purchasing power parity $1,200 a year. They are ruled by a socialist military regime, which allows no freedom. Life here is hellish, due to the military’s savage repression of dissent, and their barbaric response to the rebellion of nearly a dozen ethnic minorities".

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Rummel is a Human Rights activist that is not afraid to make the connection between unchecked socialism and totalitarianism.

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The remainder of this post is depressing and infuriating. Please read the whole thing.

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3) Will at Willisms offers some incredible photographs of the riots in Yemen this week, along with the astute observation,

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"If ever there was a country in need of short-term instability-- out of which long-term freedom can arise-- it's Yemen"

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4) Will also links to Freedom House, which is a great resource for information on this subject. Check out their press release, The World's Worst Regimes Unveiled

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5) Stephen Green at Vodka Pundit on Richard Holbrooke's assesment of Bosnian, ten years after intervention, asking; Was it worth it?

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6) Fresh from her warm welcome in Sudan, future President Condi Rice makes a surprise visit to Lebanon on her way home.

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Publius Pundit and Gateway Pundit offer fantastic coverage of her trip. These guys are a daily Carnival of Revolutions.

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7) And Boxing Alcibiades offers some thoughts on the march of freedom in the world over the last 15-20 years or so, noting that within his lifetime,

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"there is an overarching theme: more people on this planet are free from tyranny than at any point in human history"

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Seems to be what this is all about.

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Anyway, these are just a few of the pieces that I have read this week that helped to fill me in on the world outside of my own little bubble.

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Now, in alpha-geographical order, here are the rest:

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AFRICA
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- In line with my own beliefs that African countries need a "free-market" economic revolution, the blog African Bullets and Honey argues that the continent "needs more millionaires, not aid".

* Ethiopia

- Ethiopundit offers up a veritable "Carnival of Ethiopia", with her latest post, "Another Red Season" providing wry commentary on the dire and depressing situation there, and offering about three dozen links to other Ethiopia related sources and sites.

She describes the country as being ruled by a "revolutionary aristocracy" with "70 million hostages". Its no wonder that she advises those who want to understand Ethiopia's plight to read Animal Farm and watch The Godfather I and II.

* Kenya

- Publius Pundit, as usual, offers superior some superior coverage of a developing story. In this case, it is on the anti-Government riots that Kenya saw this week.

* Sudan

Some good news, finally, out of Sudan?

- The "situation is improving" in Darfur, according to the head of The African Union Mission. More at SudanWatch.

- But Commoner Sense has a more sobering assesment of this "positive" news. (By the way, any blogger that quotes a Leonard Cohen lyric while posting is ok in my book)

* Zimbabwe

- The Zimbabwean Pundit, (Zimpundit), is the "go-to" blog for information on the travesty of a government that Robert Mugabe has been running.

This week, the blog gives us another lesson in modern African economics, highlighting the bizarre fuel crisis that the country is facing, and again underscoring the "root" cause of much of Africa's plight, a lack of basic economic freedom for Africans.

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AMERICAS
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* Bolivia

- MABB writes about a recent trend in vigilantism in Bolivia, known as "Justicia Communitaria".

* Cuba/Venezuala

- BabaluBlog links to an essay by Venezuelan Gustavo Coronel about the doctors "imported" by Chavez from Cuba into Venezuala. A very interesting view from inside the country.

(I like the reference to Chavez and Castro as "Pirates of the Carribean")

- And Bad Hair Blog has a must-read post, chock full o'links, on the political climate in Cuba and Venezuala, now otherwise known on the blogosphere as Cubazuela.

For Venezuala's sake, let's hope Chavez does not have Castro's longevity.

- The Devil's Excrement, (winner of the soapgun blog-name of the month award) posts about Hugo Chavez' admiration for South American dictators of the past.

(The blog name actually has an interesting, and logical story behind it. Go to the site to find out what it is.)

* Haiti

Boz has an analysis of opposing op-eds on Haiti, one from the Prime Minister of Haiti, one from human rights activists.

* Nicaragua

Revolutionary Joe! The Java of choice for the Blogosphere.

As seen on Instapundit and Publius Pundit, brought to you by Boli-Nica.

- Beautiful Horizons makes my job easy with his roundup of political happenings in Brazil, Chile and Colombia

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ASIA (CENTRAL)

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- Christopher Walker of Freedom House offers a comprehensive summary of the political climate in the Central Asian Republics in The former Soviet Union's next wave of Democratization, over at Eurasia.net.

- In the Weekly Standard, Stephen Schwartz offers some background information for Donald Rumsfeld on his upcoming trip to "the stans". Great summary of the history of Islamic fundamentalism in the country over the last 15 years.

* Armenia

OneWorld offers some thoughts on Armenia's constitutional changes. The site also provides comprehensive information on Armenia's history and people, as well as background on regional political issues.

* Azerbijan

- Coverage of the upcoming Parliamentary elections over at Young Eurasia, link via Katy at Blogrel.

* Russia (Europe, Asia? Whatever.)

- The New Mongols, (great name for a band) on a new book that profiles Vladimir Putin and his "path to power". Kremlin Rising is a " powerful indictment of Putin’s years as president".

- More on Putin from David at A Step at a Time - When Despots Get Together.

* Ukraine

- Ultima Thule on the 6 month anniversary of the "Orange Revolution

- Siberian Light writes about a curious lack of traffic police on the streets of Ukraine. Looks like it might be an interesting "end-run" strategy to reduce corruption.

* Uzbekistan

- Registan links a fascinating article on Islam and politics, in relation to Uzbekistan, but with much broader implications.

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ASIA (EAST)

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* Burma

- The CS Monitor reviews Emma Larkin's book "Finding George Orwell in Burma", which traces Orwell's steps there as a police officer in the 1920s, but also offers details on the daily lives of the Burmese people.

The author of 1984 and Animal Farm would no doubt see the irony of his Burma becoming one of the most brutal, repressive countries on the earth. Socialism at its finest.

* North Korea

"Democracy is for everyone" - Natan Sharansky, July 2005

- One Free Korea writes about Sharansky's recent Freedom House speech on North Korea, and on freedom, here, and the subsequent press conference/Q&A monitored by Sen. Sam Brownback. Sharansky is compelling, brave and highly intelligent.

- Strategy Page points out that South Korea "has been quietly preparing for the eventual collapse of the communist government in the north".

An economic collapse that would save thousands and thousands of lives.

- I provide my feeble two cents on North Korea with a comment on a New Mongols post from last week.

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MIDDLE EAST

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* Bahrain

- Is there a chance for an Islamic peace movement? Well, there may be some recent (20th century) historical precedent at least. Chan'ad Bahraini profiles Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988) a sort of "Muslim Gandhi" .

* Iraq

- The upcoming trial of Sadaam Hussein will hopefully offer a helpful turning point for the Iraqi people, providing justice and catharsis, and a reminder to the world of the true monster that Hussein was, and is.

- M. Cherif Bassiouni at Foreign Policy.com has some suggestions for the prosecution.

- Thinking East has a heart-rending account of Sadaam's 1988 chemical weapons attacks in Halabja

- Iraq the Model, an indespensable resource, is a great place to get running coverage on the trial.

- And, as always, Arthur Chrenkoff offers pages and pages (47 this week) of reasons to be optimistic about Iraq's future at OpinionJournal.com Despite the media's penchant for focusing on the "insurgency" and suicide attacks, Chrenkoff points out that there are many signs that Iraq is progessing, politically, economically, and culturally.

- From Chrenkoff, regarding the current battle for security in the country, an interesting quote:

"I love serving my country. I want to be a man who enforces the law instead of someone who sits around doing nothing."

Who said it?

"Ahmed Ali Mohammed, a Sunni Arab serving in the Iraqi army north of Baghdad. "

This is from a three part series in Stars and Stripes (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) on the training of Iraqi soldiers and police by Americans. The "insurgency" should be nervous. Its a quick, but eye-opening read.

The Iraqi "insurgency" should be nervous.

* Iran

- More riots, this time its the Kurds in north-western/Kurdish Iran. The success of Kurdish Iraq must be a little nerve-wracking for the Mullahs.

- Iranian Truth on jailed dissident Akbar Ganji , who is apparently near death.

- Cox and Forkum on Ganji , with a stark visual representation of the power of tyranny over the individual

- Not sure if Iran is that big of a threat to global stability? Just read this, from Regime Change Iran. Chilling.

* Israel and the Palestinians

- Kirk Sowell at Arab World Analysis discusses the impending (August) withdrawal of the Gaza Strip by Israel, and his worries about factional in-fighting among the Palestinians as they try to build their government.

* Lebanon

- Michael Totten (one of my favorite bloggers) links an article he wrote for the Daily Star in which he calls for a Middle East "NATO" style coalition, led by Iraq and Lebanon.

Now we're talking.

* Syria

- Joshua Landis at Syria Comment offers a highly informative forum on US Syrian relations, conducted among US and Israeli academics and former government officials.

* Yemen

- Riots.

- Armies of Liberation provides unmatched coverage on Yemen, including this piece on the Yemeni government's funding of religious "education".

AOL warns that:

"The Yemen goverment is financing the spread of Salafist ideology among Yemeni children basically converting them by force."

Sound familiar? Pakistan, Saudi Arabia?

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Ok, my turn. Hope you can indulge me in one last link and some final thoughts.

The Hegel quote at the top of the post is cribbed from Francis Fukuyama's book, The End of History and The Last Man. (The Jesus Jones lyric is a little cheesy I know, but I couldn't resist. Imagine, a song celebrating the fall of communism.)

Fukuyama's book, which I think was widely misunderstood when it came out in 1992, makes the simple point that modern liberal democracy is the inevitable form of government for all nations.

Here is the full text of the original essay.

Of course, there is quite a bit more to the book, and much more to the discussion than this straightforward conclusion, but it does surprise me that some might read the stories here about the daily struggle for democracy and freedom in the world, and come away with a different conclusion.

Anyway, read the essay, and check out the book.

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Well, thanks again for stopping by. If you have time, feel free to bounce around on my site. Its not much, but its home. Once again, comments are always welcome.

And, if you can, stop by every Thursday for the "Song of the Week".

Finally, thanks to Will at Willisms for letting me host. In addition to offering great daily content, Willisms is the home base for the Carnival of Revolutions. Stop by to get the schedule, or to let Will know that you are interested in hosting at some point.

Next week, August 1st, the Carnival will be at SophistPundit. See you then!