This semester, we will hope to offer views of the comparative countries we study through multiple, non-US, media sources. This blog post takes one post from each of our countries of study. But first will start with the still to be published survey of annual rights in the world:The End of the "Third Wave"
Freedom House has issued the results of its annual survey of political rights and civil liberties around the world. In 2009, human freedom declined for the fourth straight year.
According to the survey’s findings, 2009 marked the fourth consecutive year in which global freedom suffered a decline—the longest consecutive period of setbacks for freedom in the nearly 40-year history of the report.
These declines were most pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa, although they also occurred in most other regions of the world. Furthermore, the erosion in freedom took place during a year marked by intensified repression against human rights defenders and democracy activists by many of the world’s most powerful authoritarian regimes, including Russia and China."
See more at:
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=505
Google May End Chinese Service in Wake of Cyber AttackGoogle has announced that it will no longer censor the results of searches conducted on its Chinese site. If, as is likely, the Chinese government will not agree to allow Google to run an uncensored service in China, Google will shut down its Chinese site. Google's announcement follows its discovery that the gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists had been systematically hacked in a "sophisticated and targeted attack ... originating from China." Google did not directly accuse the Chinese government of hacking into gmail:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8455712.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8456950.stm
Водка
Half of all deaths in Russia among people aged 15 to 54 are alcohol-related. In an effort to combat widespread alcohol abuse, new restrictions on vodka sales went into effect in Russia on Jan 1. Among other things, there is now a minimum price for vodka ($3 for a half-liter bottle). But whether this will reduce alcohol abuse or simply encourage bootlegging is an open question (See Vodka museum, Mandrogi, Russia). This is a serious issue: 35,000 Russians die each year from acute alcohol poisoning, many of them from consuming tainted bootleg vodka:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8432271.stm
Ladies and Gentlemen, Take Your MarksVoters in the UK will elect a new Parliament in May. The Conservatives are favored to win, but need a sizable swing to secure a majority in Parliament; a "hung Parliament" (in which no party has a majority of seats) is a distinct possibility. An article in this week's issue of The Economist reports on the campaign, now underway:
http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15176433#top
Nigerian Constitutional Crisis Spawns LitigationNigeria's constitutional crisis deepened this week. President Umaru Yar'Adua has been out of the country for six weeks; he is undergoing treatment in Saudi Arabia for acute pericarditis. Nigeria's Vice-President, Goodluck Jonathan, and the members of the Nigerian cabinet appear to be running the country, though they claim that President Yar'Adua is making key decisions from his hospital bed in Jeddah. Opposition activists and Nigerian lawyers claim that the failure of the cabinet to invoke a provision of the Nigerian constitution allowing the cabinet to transfer presidential power to Jonathan, but instead to maintain the fiction that Yar'Adua is governing the country, indicates that Nigeria is ruled not by law but by "big men."
Opposition leaders now claim that President Yar'Adua's signature on this year's budget was a forgery. Moreover, an opposition activist has filed a suit seeking to annul all decisions made by the Nigerian cabinet in Yar'Adua's absence on the ground that power has not formally been handed over to Vice-President Jonathan. The Nigerian Bar Association has also brought suit, seeking the formal of transfer of presidential power to the Vice-President:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8445776.stm
Mexico's War on Drugs Boosts the Sinaloa MobAlthough the Mexican authorities have arrested more than 50,000 alleged drug traffickers in the past six years, most of those arrested have come from Mexico's smaller drug gangs. Mexico's largest crime organization, the Sinaloa "mafia," has been relatively unscathed by the crackdown. An article in this week's issue of The Economist explains why:
http://www.economist.com/world/americas/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=15213785
Could Democracy Emerge under Iran's Current Structure of Government?
According to an analysis published in this week's issue of The Economist, the intransigence of Iran's Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the face of mass protests has led to a significant broadening of opposition to his leadership. A group of five exiled Iranian intellectuals have explained how a democracy might emerge within the structure established by Iran's 1979 Constitution (albeit with some significant amendments to that Constitution):
http://www.economist.com/world/middleeast-africa/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=15213450
Or Not?
Masoud Ali Mohammadi, a Tehran University professor of Particle Physics and Quantum Mechanics, was assassinated this week. The Iranian government has blamed the US and Israel, claiming that Mohammadi's murder is part of an effort to disrupt Iran's nuclear program. The Iranian opposition, however, notes that Mohammadi publicly supported reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in last June's presidential election and blames the regime for the killing. NPR theorizes that the assassination was carried out by elements of the regime, who attempted to make it look like the work of an Iranian terrorist organization allegedly supported by the US and Israel:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122645685
3 comments:
Mr. Wolak,
As a former student, I'm looking for a little insight into the current political situation in the US - specifically the newest developments in MA and the effects that this will have on party politics going forward. I know it's second semester and you've moved on to comparative politics, but I figured you could still shed some light on the situation.
Do you think the Democrats will change their tactics? Do you think the left has swung too far to the left and has alienated some of their constituents?
I ate lunch today with a professor who suggested that Brown campaigned solely on the idea of being the "41st" and defeating the filibuster-proof majority. Thoughts?
On the Brown issue, I think it's a perfectly reasonable campaign strategy. During 2008, Mr Obama and Mr McCain both presented themselves as "not Bush" in addition to other policies. Brown, by identifying as "the-guy-who-will-make-Obama's-life-more-difficult," gains support from malcontents and those who oppose Obama's policies, including disgruntled Democrats. He's got a better chance with this than with an "I stand for this, this, and this" speech. I looked at some of the stuff around this campaign, and while it's not the central plank of Brown's platform, supporter statements and media hype have made it the primary focus. Whether or not Brown cares about it, it's the main issue as far as the public's concerned.
As for the Left, I'd say liberals have it bad for constituent alienation. A conservative can easily play to the moderate voters, but liberals end up getting torn between "too radical" and "not radical enough**." What the Democrats need is a political porridge that's "Just Right." They hoped it would be Obama, but I don't think it's likely. Still, he's got three more years to prove me wrong. I hope he does.
By the way, did anyone see the speech last Sunday? I think the President sounded a little tired.
**I'm not saying that conservatives don't have to deal with this, I'm saying they deal with it less often.
Hey Anonymous, good to have alumni Political Warriors checking back in especially in light of the important political developments this week.
First, a question though, who are you Anonymous?
Now the thoughts from my Soapbox have dissent in my own house. My wife (more of an economic centrist) thinks the Democrats have pushed to far and put to much non-essential stuff in both the House and the Senate bills.
I think part of that is true, but the main crux of the protest vote in MA is the inherent problems of the Congressional logrolling and such, like Ben Nelson getting Medicare payment deferments for his state in exchange for his filibuster avoiding vote.
Also, MA has its own version of universal health care. So your professor that suggested the successful Brown strategy is probably right on target, but I don't think that can be used as a bellwether of what the country really wants.
I think Democrats should keep pushing and pass health care now. My preference is that House Democrats pass the Senate bill and then run their fixes through the reconciliation process. That is politically risky maybe, but if nothing is passed, the 2010 midterms will bring more protest change votes that will tend to be anti-progressive policy.
Remember playing politics is easy compared to governing successfully.
I agree with progressive economist Paul Krugman, who took the Democrats in Congress and President Obama to task, writing on his NY Times blog:
"So, House Democrats have a choice: do they pass the Senate bill, or do they go back to the drawing board and spend several months cobbling together a plan that’s worse in almost every dimension, generating thousands of stories about hapless Democrats — and almost surely find that Senate Republicans block the new plan, too.
Guess which way they seem to be leaning.
Maybe they’ll come to their senses over the next few days. It would be really helpful, of course, if Democrats actually had a party leader — you know, the president or someone."
Health care reform -- which is crucial for millions of Americans -- hangs in the balance. Progressives are desperately in need of leadership; more specifically, House Democrats need to be told to pass the Senate bill, which isn't what they wanted but is vastly better than nothing.
It isn't perfect, but it's better, much better, than nothing. The problem, as Krugman notes, is the "gaping hole in White House leadership."
In light on this week's Supreme Court decision, I think Democrats and the President need to push the Senate bill through the conference committee and get it signed. And to do that, President Obama may need to get a little, or a lot, of LBJ in him.
Will it happen, I am not sure. But if it doesn't I don't think it is because the Dems moved too far left.
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