by Robert Whitcomb | Aug 10, 2016 | News
In the sort of mass public protest that is increasingly unusual under Russia’s authoritarian government, hundreds of critics of the Russian government of President Vladimir Putin armed with a rare demonstration gathered in Moscow on Aug. 9 to protest a new set of so-called antiterrorism laws.
The laws include requirements to store all communications data for six months, and phone and texting records for one to three years.
The New York Times reported that protesters “decried the legislation as an assault on privacy and internet freedom. …”
The Times continued: “For just over an hour, speakers at the rally — activists, politicians and technology experts — called on Russians to resist government attempts to tighten control over the internet, which many view as the last safe space for dissent in Russia. For just over an hour, speakers at the rally — activists, politicians and technology experts — called on Russians to resist government attempts to tighten control over the Internet, which many view as the last safe space for dissent in Russia.”
To read The New York Times story, please hit this link.
by Robert Whitcomb | Aug 10, 2016 | News
Rodrigo Duterte, the new president of the Philippines, has called the U.S. ambassador to the country, Philip Goldberg, a ‘’gay son of a whore’’. He made the comments Aug. 5 during an address to Filipino military officials, sparking, of course, a diplomatic row.
To hear and read about his remarks, please hit this link.
by Robert Whitcomb | Aug 9, 2016 | News
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council has ruined hopes for a recall referendum on leftist President Nicolas Maduro this year.
Electoral council chief Tibisay Lucena announced several procedural details that would clearly push the referendum into 2017.
The delay will probably anger Maduro’s foes, who accuse him of ruling like a dictator and ruining the economy.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said Aug. 6 that he would call on supporters to march to Caracas on Sept. 1 if the CNE didn’t reverse itself.
To read a longer article, please hit this link.
by Robert Whitcomb | Aug 9, 2016 | News
The leader of Poland’s conservative ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, met on Aug. 9 with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The meeting of two right-wing and nationalistic leaders raised some concerns in more liberal parts of Europe about the growing right-wing populism in Europe spurred by the Mideast migrant crisis and a sluggish economy.
Mr. Kaczynski holds no official government position but many observers see him as Poland’s most powerful person, guiding both the prime minister and the president.
Mr. Orban’s strong governing style — which he calls “illiberal” —had drawn Mr. Kaczynski’s admiration. The authoritarian tone of both men and their governments’ attacks on news media and some other parts of civil society have raised concerns abroad about the health of democracy in eastern Europe.
To read a New York Times article on this, please hit this link.
by Robert Whitcomb | Aug 9, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has warned that ties with China are “significantly deteriorating”after Chinese vessels repeatedly entered disputed waters in the East China Sea. Mr. Kushida had called the Chinese ambassador to Japan to protest what the foreign minister called “incursions”by an increasingly expansionist and militarily aggressive China.
On Aug. 5 about 230 Chinese fishing boats and coast guard vessels went through islands claimed by both countries.
The Japan-controlled, uninhabited islands – known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China – are the source of a long-running dispute.
To read a longer article on this, please hit this link.
