Jasmine

  • Conflicts, Interests & Elections

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    Would you believe that the international position of a number of countries is determined solely by the need to win points in national elections? No? Ok. So here goes a bit of speculation: Denmark – enthusiastic participation in coalition wins incumbent many points for imminent election “With general elections set to take place before November,…

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  • There are no men in Tripoli

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    I came across this real story in the middle of a BBC news item about Tripoli eyewitnesses. It speaks volumes and does not need any additional comment. An old woman, in her late 70s at least, I’m told, entered the bank to collect her 500 Libyan dollars ($410; £253) in state aid announced a couple…

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  • J’accuse: Conscientious objectors and objectionable consciences

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    Last Thursday’s UN Resolution 1973/11 did more than just belatedly clear the Libyan air of the one-sided aerial assaults by Gaddafi’s troops. The resolution also cleared the air of a lingering suspicion that the scheming Colonel had managed to get away with hypnotising the international community into an inert bubble of passive gobsmackedness. He had…

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  • Bahrain & Yemen: What resolution?

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    The Yemeni Jamahariya and the Kingdom of the Two Seas have also been caught by the wildfire of the Jasmine revolution. In Bahrain the Shia 70% of the population has been ruled by the al-Khalifas and Sunni elite for over 200 years. The Sunni police and army of Bahrain are now being boosted by Sunni…

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  • Jekk Alla Jrid

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    After Prime Minister Gonzi’s press conference, the first since the UN Security Council Declaration on the no-fly zone, I think I have figured out the man behind “par idejn sodi”. The position and attitude of Dr Gonzi in the name of, and at the head of, the Maltese nation is worthy of a bishop. Of…

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