"Riots are the voice of the unheard"

"Riots are the voice of the unheard"
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Riots rock
France
"Youths rampage for third night in suburbs north of Paris; violence
spreads to a southern city."

You might not have heard yet, but there has been something brewing in France for some time now. First in 2005 and now in 2007. The newly elected president of France Nicolas Sarkozy, has done little to fix the economic problems of the poor suburb of Sarcelles, but he has charisma they say. NYT

“We have heard promise after promise, but nothing has been done in the suburbs
since the last riots, nothing,” said François Pupponi, the Socialist mayor of
Sarcelles, which has been struck by the violence, in an interview. “The suburbs
are like tinderboxes. You have people in terrible social circumstances, plus all
the rage, plus all the hate, plus all the rumors, and all you need is one spark
to set them on fire.”
On Tuesday, there were the first signs of the violence spreading beyond the Paris region when a dozen cars were set afire in the southern city of Toulouse.
In the wake of the unrest in 2005, the government of then-President Jacques
Chirac (with Nicolas Sarkozy, now the president, as the tough, law-and-order interior minister) announced measures to improve life in the suburbs, including extra money for housing, schools and neighborhood associations, as well as counseling and job training for unemployed youths. None has gone very far."

They are trying to get the attention of someone, I wonder are they listening?


MALAYSIA has racial issues
It's a worry many ethnic Indians share. Making up some 8% of Malaysia's population (Malays make up about 60 percent, ethnic Chinese about 25 percent), Indians are historically underprivileged compared to other ethnic groups and have long felt discriminated against, particularly by a Malays-first affirmative action policy instituted after independence in 1957. "Our community is backward, our schools are dilapidated. We are the last in the line for jobs, scholarships, health benefits," says opposition lawmaker Kulasegaran Murugesan, an ethnic Tamil. Hindraf, modeled after right-wing Hindu nationalist groups in India, is winning support by demanding an increased share of Malaysia's wealth. "For over a decade we have been appealing to the government for help to alleviate our poverty but all our appeals had fell on deaf ears," says Uthayakumar Ponnusamy, Hindraf's legal adviser. "The British brought us here, exploited us for 150 years and left us to the mercy of a Malay Muslim government. They should compensate us now." TIME

BOLIVIA wants a fair constitution
Riots convulsed Bolivia's colonial capital on Sunday after allies of President Evo Morales approved the framework for a new constitution that would permit his indefinite re-election and could radically alter Bolivian politics. NDTV

GEORGIA(The Country Not the State) wants elections.

Saakashvili called early elections to defuse tensions after police dispersed opposition rallies on Nov. 7 with clubs and tear gas, injuring hundreds. The breakdown has raised doubts about the U.S.-allied leader's commitment to democracy and drew strong criticism from the West. El Paso Times





People in Dakar Senegal Just want to sell crafts
The worst riots to hit Senegal in many years erupted after President Abdoulaye Wade's government ordered police last week to move on hawkers in Dakar, where thousands of people earn a living peddling goods on the crowded streets.
After hours of disturbances, Dakar Governor Amadou Sy announced the creation of four new markets to relocate the traders, in a bid to defuse popular anger.
"People are fed up. These are youths who sell things in the street who voted the president in and now he wants to chase them away," said Ouzin Diop, 28, watching from behind the iron railings of the supermarket where he works. Yahoo


THE WORLD IS AWAKING ARE YOU?
at the very least, just pay attention