The amazing events that happened in Egypt – where protesters successfully, and peacefully ended Pres. Hosni Mubarak’s thirty-year rule of the country, is cause for celebration by freedom loving citizens of the world. But what has happened in Egypt seems to be having an effect in other countries in the Middle East as freedom supporters in countries like Yemen, Algeria, Libya are taking to the streets to mount their own peaceful protests. These events could mirror the domino effect that happened when The Soviet Union collapsed and in succeeding events, various communist countries all across Europe were demolished one by one.

There are Russians who are not yet ready to embrace Putin’s rule. One of them was the opposition leader and the former chess world champion Gary Kasparov. He mentioned that the magazines vote was a disgrace.

Sergei Ugaltsov, the Red Youth Vanguard leader said that the “Person of the Year” title distracts the people from witnessing the untold stories of the Russian progress under the ruling of Putin. He argued that the living conditions of Russia is not improving and the prices are continuously rising.

There are lots of men who very skeptical about the stability of Putin’s rule. Most of them believed that Putin is not against corruption and instead, he is using it to control his people and the whole Russian nation.

Time Magazine declared Vladimir Putin, the Russian President as the Person of the Year for 2007. Putin won over the former Vice President Al Gore and J.K. Rowling, the author of the popular book “Harry Potter”. This news created violent reactions from Russian people. The managing editor of Time, Richard Stengel, pointed out that Putin is not a good guy but he has done extraordinary things.

Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman of Kremlin said that this controversial Time Magazine title was an acknowledgment of Putin’s role in bringing Russia out of economic and social troubles during the 1990′s. Peskov also stressed out that Putin was also responsible for restoring the national pride of Russia.

For people who are interested in world politics, W.H. Freeman and Company has released a book, which helps to provide relevant references with regards to international politics. Support materials, lectures, access to e-mail addresses of various authors and professors are handily available which can be of great help to a student or any individual with interest in world politics.

The book not is a welcome guide not only for those who are learning about world politics but also those who are teaching it. As a valuable resource material, people will receive a more in depth understanding and appreciation of the world of politics and international relations.

North Korea fires medium and long range missiles as it clamors to establish itself as a nuclear power, once again smashing the peace in that region of the world. With Kim ill and reportedly suffering from cancer, he has reportedly appointed his youngest son as the heir to the throne much to speculation for little is known about the monarch’s son outside of the country. Schooled in the West, many fear his stance on the path which North has taken, seemingly to make it known that they are powerful yet widely known as an impoverished country. The North has long been plagued by isolation and is known to be one of the few countries that shun relationships with the West and it’s allies in the region. They have been hit with sanctions as part of the UN’s stance against neuclear proliferation, their actions again piling up trade sanctions that is sure to isolate the impoverished populace furhter.

Earth Hour, an initiative that seeks for everyone to turn off their lights of for one hour once a day every year, being launched next month, in an effort to bring more awareness to the growing concern about global warming. The event was also done last year, with many participating in the lights off program. Organizers hope that this year, more will participate in the movement, which they plan to continue for as long as it takes for people, most especially governments, to realize the importance of making policy that will offset the damage to the environment current societies have been doing for years. This initiative is especially important this year, as world leaders are set to meet in Copenhagen in December to discuss global warming and come up with treaties, plans and strategies to address the issue.

In the recent milk scandal where hundreds of thousands of children were infected and a few died due to exposure to the industrial chemical melamine, China has again showcased its ability to enforce the law with a Communist flair. Announcing the conviction of several people who were found to have had a hand in the scandal, they were sentenced to the death penalty by firing squad, a practice that has long been abolished in the rest of the world. Human Rights activists deplore the said act that is brutal and unjustifiable as China is striving to cope with the change brought in by Globalization. Several other scandals have resulted in such executions which has silently drawn protests from many countries.
By saying silent, it means without much fanfare for China is the biggest market for consumer goods with billions of citizens and nobody wants to bite the hand that feeds it. Many more incidents of neglect for profit and others would be sure to surface as China has yet to adapt to a world where anybody can criticize or scrutinize anything imaginable (from outside the country that is).

Image Source:smh.com.au

Former Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian got arrested in connection with the ongoing corruption inquiry when he was still in power. Charges of money laundering, government funds embezzlement and falsification of vital documents were brought forward in the investigation. Ex-president Chan still protested his arrested and raised his arms while being escorted out of the prosecutor’s office claiming his arrest was politically motivated. He will face the charges in court the following day. Chen would be the first president of Taiwan to be detained if the prosecutors demands are followed. The former president retired last May after eight years of being in power. He is being investigated for allegedly taking $480,500 US from the government.

Hollywood certainly seems to love Barack Obama. From Oprah (who unarguably holds a lot of clout for her daily viewers) to Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Affleck and Scarlett Johansson, tinseltown’s stars are going all out in their campaign for their favorite US presidential candidate. And now comes music videos by will.i.am, singer of The Black Eyed Peas, called “Yes We Can” and “We are the Ones” that are based on Obama’s speeches.

The songs, that were originally released in YouTube and Dipdive.com, feature cameos by several celebrities who support Barack Obama. It is now being promoted as a viral video on Obama’s campaign website. “Yes We Can” even won an Emmy for Best New Approaches in Daytime Entertainment, and won a Webby Award for will.i.am as “Artist of the Year”. Check out more about the songs in Wikipedia.

Hezbollah, the political organization in Lebanon, has been accused by Lebanese authorities that they’ve set-up hidden cameras at the Beirut international airport. The cameras were found by Lebanese soldiers in containers and reported of having seen civilians shooting pictures of the said containers where the cameras were found. The Cabinet of Lebanon had a meeting about whether Hezbollah had already established an exclusive phone network.

If we can recall, although Hezbollah is categorized as a political organization, countries like USA, UK, Japan, Canada, Philippines and Australia have declared Hezbollah as a terrorist group. In most Arab regions however, they still consider Hezbollah as resistance movement.

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