If It Works, It's Diplomacy

Actually, genuinely short today, because I have school.

Let’s get the GOP debate out of the way: post-game from Politico. Also in America, the unfolding disaster at Penn State.

In Eastern Europe: The Moscow Times reports that Kazakhstan is facing violence from Islamic extremists, and that the Russian Government’s attempt to expand space exploration was something of a disaster. Xinhua reports that the Duma supports Pakistan’s membership in UNESCO.

Eurozone and affected areas (ie Planet Earth): the IMF and China are both looking at Italy, the Italian President has promised the speedy formation of a new government, and the government of Greece continues to teeter on the brink of total collapse. It’s not just the financial market, it’s actually the entire, fractious government.

In and around China: NYTimes reports that China’s imports are rising, while exports slow. China Daily reports that the yuan will remain a point of contention with the US. In related news, China’s CPI hit a five-month low. Finally, the Jerusalem Post has a short article that gives an interesting look into relations between China and Israel.

In India, The Australian reports that citizens involved in a now years-old religious riot (read: violent pogrom) have finally been arrested.

Finally, in the Middle East, AJE reports that Taliban forces have “besiege[d]” (great word, but not mine) the governor’s office in Paktika, Afghanistan. WaPo report on Hamid Karzai’s attempts to assure neighboring nations that Afghanistan’s relationships with Pakistan and the US pose no threat.

thepoliticalnotebook:

Morning Reading: “Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan.” This is the latest report, out this past week, from the Pentagon to Congress, detailing progress made in Afghanistan. It is naturally to be taken with a grain of salt — things are usually spun pretty positively in these reports (I believe I wrote something fairly snarky about the rosy nature of the one recently published in April). They contain a good deal of information, and are well worth dissecting. And, as we work toward transition, they provide good documentation of some elements of that process.

Download the full report at Global Security.

This is the news this morning. This is fucking absurd. Oakland PD: Keepin’ It Classy.

(Source: loversteeth)

beatyourselfup:

October 25th:

“This morning at 5am over 500 police in riot gear from cities all over central California brutally attacked the Occupy Oakland encampment at 14th & Broadway. The police attacked the peaceful protest with flash grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets after moving in with armored vehicles. Apparently the media was not allowed in to document this repression, and the police established barricades as far apart as 11th and 17th. Over 70 people were arrested and the camp gear was destroyed and/or stolen by the riot police.”

To read more about this incident, visit http://www.occupyoakland.org/2011/10/police-brutalize-dismantle-occupy-oakland-camp/

Submitted by creampuff-lion

This is the news this morning. At least, it should be. The violence of the reaction was out of all proportion to the acts of the protesters, and we all should make an effort to, at minimum, raise consciousness.

Manoubia Bouazizi, Mohammed Bouazizi’s mother, in a Reuters interview on Saturday. Today, there are number of photos of her lined up to vote in Tunisia’s first competitive elections since Ben Ali’s ouster. (via thepoliticalnotebook)

metamorphoseandbodhi:

The Rape of the Samburu Women

For more than fifty years, England has maintained military training facilities in the Samburu region of its former colony, Kenya. During this period, women in the area have faced an epidemic of rape. Women from the Samburu, Massai, Rendile and Turkana indigenous communities have filed more than 600 official rape claims against British soldiers. Yet, despite documentation of their claims, a three-year internal investigation by the Royal Military Police (RMP) cleared all soldiers of wrongdoing. Meanwhile, the victims have been shamed and outcast in their communities, many to the point of exile. In the mid-1990s, Beatrice Chili responded to this situation by establishing the village of Senchen, a self-sufficient community run entirely by women. There, women build homes, weave textiles, gather and grow food, and raise children. This short film visits the brave women of Senchen, who speak candidly about their suffering and talk passionately about their demands for justice.

Watch the film to hear their stories and to find out how you can offer your support.

(Source: culturesofresistance.org)

politico:

BREAKING: Muammar Qadhafi dead, Libya’s prime minister announced.

Eh, the events surrounding his death are still kind of unclear, and this is a big change from half an hour ago when everything I saw was more along the lines of “alleged dead” or “possibly dead,” but let’s run with it.

foreignaffairsmagazine:

How Occupy Wall Street Works

The power of protest comes from its capacity to disrupt business as usual. As long as protesters believe they are making progress through other means, they will not resort to violence.

The Fight for ‘Real Democracy’ at the Heart of Occupy Wall…