Rioting in Albania

The corruption scandal broke after a private TV station aired a video allegedly showing Meta asking a colleague to influence the awarding of a contract to build a power station.

I wish we had more video of corruption here. Maybe more people would take notice if the saw it for themselves.

OK help me get a handle if you can:

Yemen

Tunisia

Albania

Lebanon

where else has there been rioting or civil unrest this past few weeks??

sevenmmm asked:

I wonder how American cops would react to riots, today?

I've been wondering that too, and I'm a big city cop myself.  It would vary for many reasons, not the least of which is the civilian leaders's response.  Our Dept has constantly drilled us in the rights of free speech and assembly.  Usually, when groups protest on the streets, we are sent in to stand by, observe and even assist by closing off streets, providing marked vehicles for escorts, and negotiating with protest leaders about the best ways they can protest and we can protect public safety.  I would expect this to be our response to any PEACEFUL protest/demonstration.  When property starts getting destroyed and people start getting threatened, hurt or killed, the police are usually forced to act.  I say usually because Dept's and commanders who have seen a few riots and large protests tend to show more restraint than those who are new to the game (including street cops without  experience).  This is because experienced police know that sometimes responding is worse than letting it go or channeling it off onto side streets.  However, the best way to stimulate a violent police response is to hurt or kill someone in their presence, particularly a cop.  There's a lot of pent up tension, fear, anger, etc among the assembled officers who usually are subject to verbal abuse and attempts at causing injury (eg. throwing objects at them) for long periods of time before they are forced or allowed to act.  When something releases it (like a cop being hurt, or a supervisor identifying someone in the crowd to be arrested) the results are predictably violent but otherwise unpredictable.  It's these facts that "agitators" among peaceful demonstrators exploit to force police violence.  

The situations that have the most potential for unnecessary law enforcement violence then are those that involve peace keepers who are inexperienced in the task or have the wrong experience (eg. National Guard with combat experience in Iraq, Afghanistan).  Nonviolent protesters would find most police would just stand by, with many privately in support of the aim of their protest.  So, if you nonviolently close down a stock market by cramming in nonviolent bodies, the police will be very slow and cautious in acting.  However, if someone throws a molotov cocktail and hits a police officer or a lady pushing a baby in a carriage, all bets are off.

Where else?

Egypt.

"Egypt is kind of on fire at the moment. There’s rioting, tear gas and mobs of people who think 29.3 years of Hosni Mubarak is quite enough, thank you very much. They’ve been organizing like crazy on Facebook and Twitter. They’re outwitting the police, growing in number, and are without a doubt freaking out every other tyrant in the neighborhood with all this freedom and democracy talk.

"This uprising follows right on the footsteps of Tunisia booting Ben Ali off-premises. And you’d think, you know, that we might be really, really interested in this because it’s not every day that the Arab street revolts against their dictators. In fact, it’s almost never (Mubarak and Reagan took office the same year). In other words: This is all pretty darn newsworthy.

"But these people made the terrible decision to foment revolution on Oscar Nomination Day!"  - blogger  Brian Sack

Currently the best source of news on the topic is Twitter, hashtags #Egypt and #Jan25

If any place in the world needs radical liberalisation, it's the middle east.
Go revolutions!
Cheers,

Aaron 

East and Northern Africa as well. 
In short - any place under the oppressive grasp of certain Theocratic Republics.

Clarification - I see the rioting as a fundemental rejection of some of the long-standing oppressions going on in the Islamic World. Turkiye and Mostafa Kemal Attaturk set an example that I hope that Northern Africa will follow, given its proximity to Europe and ultimately spread to the middle East.

Cheers,

Aaron

The social media is strictly regulated by customs and traditions that are latent in Islamic cultures.
In short, the repression inherent in Islamic culture is handicapping their ability to actually contribute in many Muslim countries.
Stoning people to death, chopping off infidel heads and selfless Clerics preaching explosive vests for 9-year-olds have no place in a civilized world.  

They need an awakening, or they'll be trapped in the dark ages - In my humble opinion.
The Turks did it, and so can these other nations.
Europe was trapped in a similar situation until the 1700's. It's high time that the Islamic world cast aside the notion that barbarism is the only solution to religious diversity. 

Also, I think Barber is wrong.
Nations which are self-governing autocracies give a great variety of which nature demands. 
Sameness is an unsustainable position.

Cheers,

Aaron 

Aaron,  Can you clarify what you mean about autocracies?   I don't see the contradiction between what you are saying and what Barber said.