The World's Plaidiest News Source

2012 Feb 2

Russia Shields Syria…sez Nyet! to UN

• Middle East
• World
• European Eurasia

The violence continues to escalate in Syria, where the entrenched regime of Bashar al-Assad continues a bloody repression of protestors who are trying to bring the ‘Arab Spring’ revolution to their country. In the latest news, Russia has now publicly stated that there is no way in hell they will allow any UN-sponsored and NATO-led invasion of Syria—the likes of which toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi last year. Say what? Why would Russia openly support a civilian-slaughtering regime? The Professor talks about some of the reasons for this Russian promise of a veto at the UN, and also why the Syrian regime has lasted longer than other Arab dictatorships which have bitten the dust much quicker.

Keywords: Syria, regime, Russia, veto, UN, Security Council, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Arab Spring, weapons, revolution

• Bashar al-Assad
• Hosni Mubarak
• Muammar al-Gaddafi

Comments

2012 Jan 27

In Other News…Pissed Indigenous Peeps!

• East Asia-Pacific

In completely unrelated stories, there is suddenly a flurry of protest activity this week by pissed off indigenous peeps that are creating a bit of chaos on two different continents. In China, pro-Tibetan-rights peeps are facing of against a crushing Chinese military presence in Tibet and Sichuan; and in Australia, pro-Aboriginal-rights groups had a bizarrely brazen “attack” on Aussie Prime Minister Julia Gillard! Crikey! The Professor covers a bit of background on these events and offers some hypotheses about why that are happening now, and what they are all about.

Keywords: Tibet, Sichuan, China, Australia, Aborigines, Tibetans, indigenous, rights, independence, autonomy

• Hu Jintao
• Wen Jiabao
• Xi Jinping
• Julia Gillard
• Dalai Lama

Comments

2012 Jan 22

In Other News…Europe on the Eur-ropes?

• World
• European Eurasia

A bunch of seemingly unrelated stories are unfolding concurrently in Europe that really get at the heart of the struggle for the future of the European Union. Protests for/against states rights in Hungary; a referendum for EU membership in Croatia; and even a downgrading of credit rating to most of the Eurozone countries all play into a broader picture of where the European Union as a unit is heading. Will it become the “United States of Europe,” or will countries start bailing out of the organization altogether? Only time will tell, but get the latest lowdown on the EU from the Professor right here!

Keywords: EU, European Union, Hungary, protests, Croatia, referendum, membership, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, UK,

• Nicolas Sarkozy
• Angela Merkel
• Hillary Clinton
• David Cameron

Comments

2012 Jan 19

Professor Rant: SOPA stopper = Return of Democracy

• World
• The Americas

In the first full-on raging rant of the semester, the Professor talks about the deeper and more thought-provoking impact of the SOPA/PIPA internet protest that occurred yesterday, and how it reflects a new wave of democratic expression in the US. That is, it wasn’t just about internet freedoms and the power of innovation it brings, but also how the movement itself physically unfolded via social networking…a mechanism that mirrors other protests around the planet that are delivering power to the people, and out of the hands of corporations/kings/dictators in general. Power to the peeps, baby!

Keywords: SOPA, PIPA, Wikipedia, Google, Apple, iAuthor, MPAA, Arab Spring, social networking, protest, black-out, innovation

Comments

2012 Jan 7

A Look Forward to 2012

• World

This plaidcast takes a 30-minute tour around the globe to look at likely trends, winners, and losers for the year ahead. Which countries and regions will continue to do awesome and/or improve their fortunes? Which ones will flounder and fail? Watch as Professor Pundit hypothesizes about the major global themes and situations that he will be expecting to rise or fall in 2012.

Keywords: BRIC, Brazil, China, India, Turkey, Australia, South America, US, Pakistan, Burma, Cuba, democracy, Africa, Japan, Europe, Russia, Mexico, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria

Comments

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