Indonesia’s feared ex-general Prabowo claims victory in presidential election + Notes

Indonesia’s feared ex-general Prabowo claims victory in presidential election

But the likely victory of Prabowo — an ex-general who was kicked out from the army and subjected to a two-decade ban from the U.S. over human rights violations — raises fears of the world’s third-largest democracy sliding backward into authoritarian rule.

Related:

3 things you should know about Indonesia’s presidential elections

Continuity and its risks


Prabowo is expected to largely continue the policies of President Widodo, or “Jokowi,” as Indonesians call him. President Widodo is not up for reelection as he’s serving his final term.

Through his two five-year terms, Indonesia’s economy — Southeast Asia’s largest — has grown at about 5% a year. His infrastructure building, cash and food assistance to the poor and health and education policies have been popular.

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of nickel, used in making electric vehicle batteries, and Jokowi has barred the export of raw nickel, to help Indonesia move up the value chain from mining to manufacturing.

Prabowo is Suharto’s son-in-law. He received training in the 1980s from the U.S. military at Fort Benning, Ga. (now Fort Moore) and Fort Bragg, N.C. (now Fort Liberty).

Indonesia’s presidential election emerges as key battleground in US-China rivalry

Read More »

[2008] When the Left Was Right

The ghosts of 1968 are haunting Barack Obama, which is tremendously unfair, I say as his coeval, given that our cohort spent the Chicago Democratic Convention sticking baseball cards in our bicycle spokes rather than pelting Mayor Daley’s finest with porcine epithets. But guilt by association is ironclad in these days when American political discourse is controlled by hall monitors and tattletales. Obama’s friendship—acquaintance?—with Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn is about to get extended play as the Republicans contrast Obama’s Weatherfriends with their nominee’s stint in the Hanoi Hilton.

When the Left Was Right

The FBI’s Material Support for Israeli Apartheid Against Palestinians

Tweet from Abed A. Ayoub, the national executive director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)

By Chip Gibbons / The Dissenter

Israel’s war on the besieged Gaza Strip has entered its sixth day. The Israeli military has launched a massive bombardment with airstrikes killing over 1,000 Palestinians.

The FBI’s Material Support for Israeli Apartheid Against Palestinians

Canada: Senator fears ‘modern Chinese exclusion’ but some redress activists reject link

Senator Yuen Pau Woo questions whether a foreign influence registry might become “a modern form of Chinese exclusion,” and says angry reaction to his suggestion proves his point about racial profiling and stigmatization.

Senator fears ‘modern Chinese exclusion’ but some redress activists reject link

H/T: Silk and Steel Podcast: Canada’s China Freakout with Justin Podur

No color revolution for Canada?! /sarcasm