AND WHAT I SAY UNTO YOU I SAY UNTO ALL, WATCH. - MARK 13:37

Monday, June 3, 2013

Is This the Start of a Long Violent Summer?

Violent riots came to peaceful Sweden about ten days ago.  There has been sporadic unrest all throughout Europe as they have dealt with serious economic problems that have lead to rising unemployment.  Unemployment has caused a rise in xenophobia as the disenfranchised begin pointing fingers at immigrants and ethnic groups as the cause of the problems.  And now the unrest has spread to Sweden.

Egypt has been restive since the uprising against the Mubarak regime.  The protests against Mubarak switched to protests against the army which switched to protests against president Morsi and his regime.  Each change has brought the promise of an end to the protests.  And each change has failed to deliver an end to violence.

According to Aljezeera Iraq suffered through its most violent moth in five years as violence in the land of Babylon continues to escalate.


Iraq suffers deadliest month in five years


More than 1,000 people were killed in violence across Iraq in May, according to the UN mission to the country.

The UN figures, released on Saturday, showed that 1,045 civilians and security personnel were killed last month, which surpasses the 712 killed in April, and making it the deadliest month recorded since June 2008.

“Iraqi political leaders must act immediately to stop this intolerable bloodshed,'' Martin Kobler, special representative of the UN secretary-general for Iraq, said, calling the death toll "a sad record".

More than half of those killed were in the greater Baghdad area. Car bombs and other explosives were responsible for the bulk of the casualties across the country.

Authorities imposed on Friday a sweeping ban on cars bearing common temporary licence plates across the Iraqi capital in an apparent effort to thwart car bombings.

Violence has increased sharply in Iraq over the past two months, with bombings in civilian areas growing more frequent as fears grow that widespread sectarian conflict may once again break out in the country.               



In Turkey the violence of the protests is escalating very quickly.  What began as a harsh police crackdown against a small protest in a park has rapidly become a much larger protest against the government in general and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan specifically.  As the crackdown by the police has become more violent, the protesters have become more defiant.

Turkish protesters decry 'unprecedented violence'

Istanbul (CNN) -- Protesters seething over their treatment by security forces hurled rocks at riot police in Ankara's Kizilay Square on Monday, the latest in a string of violent clashes that have punctuated massive anti-government demonstrations spreading across Turkey -- leaving thousands injured and at least one dead in the past two days alone.

The protests united demonstrators from across the political spectrum against a common foe: security forces who unleashed tear gas and water cannons on them in response to what had been largely peaceful protests against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"There has been unprecedented violence against protesters and social protest," demonstrator Neslihan Ozgunes said Monday.

The Turkish Medical Association claimed that at least 3,195 people had been injured in clashes Sunday and Monday. Only 26 of them were in serious or critical condition, it said. One protester, Mehmet Ayvalitas, died of his injuries, the association said.

The association reported that the bulk of the injuries occurred in Istanbul, where the protests began before spreading to Ankara, Izmir, Adana and other locations.




Jordan has not had a lot of the violence that has plagued the rest of the Middle East and North Africa in recent years.  There have been scattered reports of violence, but yesterday riots broke out in the southern Jordanian city of Maan.

Riot hits Jordan city after double murder

Amman Businesses in Jordan’s restive southern city of Maan closed on Sunday in an act of “civil disobedience” after overnight clashes with police over the murders of two residents, an MP and witness said.

“Civil disobedience in Maan is growing after the authorities failed to arrest the killers of two people,” Maan MP Amjad Al Khattab said, saying the killings took place five days ago.

Resident Abu Abdo Kateb said shops, restaurants and other businesses were closed. “Everything is shut except for a bakery and a pharmacy,” he said.

“People rioted and clashed with police overnight. I could hear gunshots. Some armed men tried to attack government buildings but police fired tear gas. There’s a heavy security presence now.” Kateb said angry protesters torched three shops and the post office.  




Even in Japan, 60,000 people took to the streets to protest against nuclear power.

Tens of thousands protest against nuclear power in Tokyo

Tokyo - Tens of thousands of Japanese rallied in their nation's capital on Sunday to protest government plans to resume nuclear power generation.

UPI reports that as many as 60,000 people turned out for a demonstration near the Diet (parliament) building in Tokyo on Sunday. Metropolitan Police estimated the size of the crowd at closer to 20,000-30,000.

AFP reports that the protesters are angered by right-wing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to restart the nation's nuclear reactors, which were shut down in the wake of the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi meltdown.

Among the protesters gathered in Shiba Park were disaster victims and Nobel literature laureate Kenzaburo Oe. Following a rally in the park, they marched through the streets of the capital chanting anti-nuclear slogans and holding signs denouncing nuclear power and the politicians who support it.
"No Nukes! Unevolved Apes Want Nukes!" one prominent banner read.

At one point during the protest, demonstrators stopped in front of the headquarters of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.


An in the near future, Iran's elections are set for June 14.  The last election which saw president Ahmadinejad reelected caused protests that were brutally put down by the government.  This time there are eight candidates all of whom were approved by the Guardian Council.  They are all hand picked to implement the wishes of the ruling clerics without question.  Many of the young urban Iranians are not happy with the clerical rule.



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