Free Republic

As dozens of riot police fired volleys of tear gas towards crowds of angry youths on Bourghiba Avenue this week, the scene was disturbingly reminiscent of what happened on this very avenue two years ago. Even the chanting was the same: "We want the downfall of the regime!" The target of the crowd's anger may be a different government, but many here feel their efforts in 2011, when they succeeded in removing Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, may have been for nought. Many outsiders, myself included, always believed the Tunisian "Jasmine" uprising had the best chance of succeeding, of building a...

SANAA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni aviation authorities on Wednesday closed the International Sanaa Airport, suspending all departing flights and diverting incoming planes to other airports due to the intensification of street clashes between government forces and gunmen of a powerful opposition tribal leader. "International Sanaa Airport suspended all arriving and departing flights on Wednesday as incoming planes of Sanaa were diverted to airports in southern the country, such as Aden airport and others," an official of the aviation authorities told Xinhua. He said on condition of anonymity that the step came "upon directions from the Yemeni political leadership."...

I was dumbstruck when I saw the article “Green Energy on a Gigawatt Scale” by Gene Wolf in the March 2011 issue of “Transmission & Distribution World”. He references the “DESERTEC Solar Power Project” and includes a map of the project area. To my eyes the map highlights the same area of unrest of the current “Jasmine Revolution”:

As a Libyan protester said, "After we saw Tunisia and Egypt, we thought that we can do it too;" their "fear wall broke" and the people of Libya no longer feared their corrupt and brutal dictatorship.  In contrast, the prospect that the Middle-East pot might boil over into their region has dramatically increased the fear factor of Vietnam's and China's communist rulers.  Since the Middle-East uprisings began, in fear of popular uprisings, they have reacted with increasingly brutal crackdowns and arrests of possible dissidents, with Vietnam following China's lead.  Vietnam's pucker factor must have ratcheted up several notches when the...

BEIRUT -- Syrian police sealed off a southern city Saturday after security forces killed at least five protesters there in the first sign that the Arab world's pro-democracy push is seeping into one of the region's most repressive places. Residents of Daraa were being allowed to leave but not enter the city on Saturday, said prominent Syrian rights activist Mazen Darwish. The quick cordon seemed aimed at choking off any spread of unrest after Friday's clashes and emotional funeral processions for the dead on Saturday. President Bashar Assad, who has boasted that his country is immune to the cries for...

During the course of the Revolutionary War, approximately 3% of the colonial population was actively engaged in the fight for their freedom. This small number has always been a source of inspiration to show how passion can achieve great results. Many people in our country today reference this figure as the "three percenters" who are modern day patriots fighting to maintain our freedom. I believe this is a fight to regain our freedom since the federal government no longer represents the people and the fruits of our labor are being stolen for social engineering. The founding fathers never intended a...

Chinese authorities moved quickly and with force to quash a pro-democracy 'Jasmine Revolution', believed to have been inspired by the recent uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. More police than usual were scrambled to line the streets today, and there were a number of activists detained after online sites had organised staged protests in Beijing, Shanghai and 11 other major cities. Citizens were urged to shout: 'We want food, we want work, we want housing, we want fairness' - a slogan that highlights common complaints among ordinary Chinese.

China tries to stamp out 'Jasmine Revolution' By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press 40 mins ago BEIJING – Jittery Chinese authorities staged a concerted show of force Sunday to squelch a mysterious online call for a "Jasmine Revolution" apparently modeled after pro-democracy demonstrations sweeping the Middle East.