– Two of the runner-ups in July’s Indonesian presidential election, Megawati Sukarnoputri and Jusuf Kall, will challenge the election results before the nine judges of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia. They claim the voter list contained up to 23 million duplicate names, but neither has provided any evidence to support their claims. Although there was some re-voting ordered in East Java, most analyst believe any irregularities found will not change the election outcome, the reelection of the incumbent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. According to official election results, Yudhoyono received 60.8 percent, Megawati Sukarnoputri won 26.8 percent, and Jusuf Kalla just 12.4 percent. More background information on the election, here.
– China, India, and the United States are not the only major powers attempting to make inroads into Southeast Asia. Russia is seeking a “strategic partnership” with Vietnam.
– The Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) has an excellent article concerning Laos, which is apparently competing to be North Korea’s BFF (best friend forever). Despite U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling-out of Myanmar at the recent ASEAN Regional Forum for its suspected arms deals with North Korea, Laos has shown fervent support for the Hermit Kingdom. Laos has done this even after the Obama Administration had sought closer ties. The regime in Vientiane has went as far as to attack U.S. President Obama and Secretary Clinton for thier criticism of North Korea and Myanmar.
-In the Phillipines, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s popularity continues to slide as 8-15,000 protesters burned her effigy at her ninth state of the union (“good bye”) address. Security was increased from last years state of the union due to security concerns. Arroyo vowed to continue “fighting for the ordinary Filipinio” until her term ends in 2010; due to term limits she is not eligable for reelection. She is being accused by the opposition of trying to manipulate the constitution to extend her stay in office, some have even accused her of masterminding recent bombing as an excuse to declare martial law.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
