democracy

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Critics Blast Bush on Pakistan
Critics Blast Bush on Pakistan
Nov 6, 2007 7:49 PM CST

Critics Blast Bush on Pakistan

Bush team can't back up its talk of democracy, writers say

(Newser) - Bush is leveling only tepid criticism of Pervez Musharraf’s state of emergency, showing the same “hypocrisy” and “knee-jerk support for authoritarianism” that has always defined his relationship with Pakistan, argues Salon’s Juan Cole. Musharraf’s move shatters even the pretense of a commitment to democracy, but...

Bush to Urge Cubans to Rise Up
Bush to Urge Cubans to Rise Up
Oct 24, 2007 4:14 AM CDT

Bush to Urge Cubans to Rise Up

Calls power transition from Fidel to brother unacceptable

(Newser) - President Bush is expected to make a landmark speech on Cuba today, calling the transfer of power from Fidel Castro to his brother Raul unacceptable to the United States. The president will also address the Cuban people, urging them to resist "the force of a dying regime," reports...

Junta Issues Curfew to Stem Protests

Monks vow to keep marching as government sends troops to rally sites

(Newser) - Burma issued a dusk-to-dawn curfew and warned it will crack down on any large meetings, but protesters still marched by the tens of thousands today. The junta also sent out armed troops and declared it time to "take action," raising fears that it will repeat its 1988 crackdown,...

Turkey May Lift Headscarf Ban
Turkey May Lift Headscarf Ban
Sep 21, 2007 2:39 PM CDT

Turkey May Lift Headscarf Ban

Constitutional reform would permit Muslim garb in universities

(Newser) - A debate is raging in secular Turkey over the ban on headscarves that has resulted in Muslim women who don them being barred from universities since 1980. Now, PM Erdogan is considering drafting a new constitution with a less stringent dress code that has made many Turkish women hopeful—and...

Bush Calls For Freedom in China
Bush Calls For Freedom in China
Sep 7, 2007 6:07 AM CDT

Bush Calls For Freedom in China

He warns that world will be watching during Olympics

(Newser) - President Bush yesterday called on Chinese officials to demonstrate a commitment to "greater openness and tolerance" before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In a speech to business executives in Sydney on the eve of the Asia-Pacific summit, Bush emphasized the need for greater freedoms throughout Asia and warned China that...

Pro-Democracy Campaign Falters
Pro-Democracy Campaign Falters
Aug 20, 2007 6:34 PM CDT

Pro-Democracy Campaign Falters

Second-term initiative stalls, battered from within and without

(Newser) - President Bush has announced his intention to end "tyranny in our world," but promoting democracy is proving as unpopular among Republicans as Democrats. His plans have met internal opposition, even from Dick Cheney, but a more formidable roadblock is the plan's close association with the unpopular chief executive,...

US Presses Musharraf to Share Power With Rival

Bhutto as PM would signal change

(Newser) - To strengthen Gen. Pervez Musharraf 's shaky hold on crisis-rocked Pakistan, the US is pressing him to share power with his biggest rival, the New York Times reports. Musharraf is deeply unpopular, and the White House thinks his best chance of remaining president is to join forces with former PM...

Pakistani Court Restores Judge
Pakistani Court Restores Judge
Jul 20, 2007 8:08 AM CDT

Pakistani Court Restores Judge

Slap to Musharraf will tk pro-democracy movement

(Newser) - The Pakistani Supreme Court has returned the country’s top judge to power, overruling  the suspension meted out by President Musharraf, which ignited a pro-democracy protest movement this spring. Charges of nepotism and abuse of power against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry were called "illegal" by the court.

Bush, Cheney Should Quit Over Scooter

Resignation, impeachment the only options, argues Olbermann

(Newser) - MSNBC's Keith Olbermann came out swinging last night, demanding the resignation of both the president and VP—"two men who are now perilous to our democracy." Drawing on both John Wayne and James Madison, the anchor donned his commentator hat to contend that commuting Scooter Libby's sentence was...

Thousands March for Democracy in Hong Kong

Residents demand universal suffrage

(Newser) - Hong Kong observed the 10th anniversary of the handover to China today as tens of thousands took to the streets for the now-traditional annual pro-democracy rally. Beijing appears no more amenable to universal suffrage, however—Hu Jintao was in town to swear in the territory's new chief executive and his...

Hong Kong Poised to Become Asia's Big Apple

Port city turning into financial capital

(Newser) - Hong Kong is in decline as Asia's premier shipping hub, but the dip in dockyard activity is nothing to fret over, Newsweek reports. The city is on the brink of becoming one of the world's financial capitals—on par with London and New York. Economic shifts are reconfiguring the political...

Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea

Tension between secularism, democracy roils Turkey

(Newser) - If the choice is between somewhat more religion in public life and democracy in Turkey, choose the latter, argues the Economist. The ruling party's choice of an Islamist candidate, Abdullah Gul, for president set off a familiar confrontation between the Turkish military and the political establishment. The Economist asks, "...

Democracy Depends on Kurdistan
Democracy Depends on Kurdistan
May 1, 2007 12:52 PM CDT

Democracy Depends on Kurdistan

Human-rights activist sees region as harbinger of Iraq's fate

(Newser) - While the U.S. focuses on Baghdad, a potentially defining crisis is developing in Kurdistan, according to Mark Lattimer, director of Minority Rights Group International. He argues in the Guardian that bloodshed in the only relatively secure region of Iraq is increasing as Kurds forced out of Kirkuk by Saddam...

Bhutan Test-Drives Democracy
Bhutan Test-Drives Democracy
Apr 24, 2007 3:28 PM CDT

Bhutan Test-Drives Democracy

Himalayan kingdom not sold on the ride or the mileage

(Newser) - The tiny Buddhist nation of Bhutan held a mock election Saturday in preparation for the transition from monarchy to democracy set for next year. The yellow thunder dragon defeated its blue, green, and red counterparts in the vote, a test run for the latest reform advocated by modernization-minded King Jigme...

Boris Yeltsin Dies at 76
Boris Yeltsin Dies at 76
Apr 23, 2007 10:17 AM CDT

Boris Yeltsin Dies at 76

(Newser) - Boris Yeltsin, who orchestrated Russia's uneasy transition to democracy, died this morning, according to the Kremlin. He was 76. The cause hasn't been released, but Russia's first democratically elected leader had a history of heart problems. Yeltsin ascended to power after a struggle with reformer Mikhail Gorbachev, who finally ceded...

Chinese Talk The Talk On Democracy
Chinese Talk
The Talk On Democracy 
Apr 20, 2007 12:26 PM CDT

Chinese Talk The Talk On Democracy

Officials court support by permitting calls for political reform

(Newser) - It's spring in China, and calls for democracy are in bloom, the New York Times reports. Articles are about the need for political reform are being published—even encouraged—and leaders are promising openness. But the outburst of rhetoric has more to do with the political calendar than with an...

Nigerian Court Rules Candidate Was Illegally Excluded

Unclear whether government will comply

(Newser) - The highest Nigerian court ruled yesterday that opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar was illegally excluded from last Saturday's presidential election. It is unclear whether the government—returned to power by a landslide in the voting—will comply with the ruling, the Times reports.

Let Citizens Elect The President
Let Citizens Elect The President
Apr 2, 2007 3:37 PM CDT

Let Citizens Elect The President

A state-by-state strategy to abolish the electoral college

(Newser) - E.J. Dionne wants electoral college reform, and now he's got a model to offer—a new Maryland law that requires the state's electors to support the winner of the nationwide popular vote. The law wouldn't take effect unless other states follow suit, creating "a compact among states genuinely...

Musharraf Should Step Down
Musharraf Should Step Down 
Mar 22, 2007 12:34 PM CDT

Musharraf Should Step Down

Pakistani president is a lame duck who can't control Islamic factions

(Newser) - Pakistani president Musharraf should finally do what he vowed back in 1999, says Ahmed Rashid: return the government to democracy. H e's too weak to salvage his credibility after recent public protests , and if he can't maintain power, Islamic extremists will seize the opportunity instead. He should disavow his own...

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