After witnessing round after round of layoffs in journalism, I’ve learned that you should always take the package, the sooner the better. Yet the dictators of Middle East countries gripped by massive uprisings — some in situations nearly as dire as that of print media — are not gracefully bowing out in return for a sweet retirement deal.
Tag Archives: dictators
Burma General Than Shwe says he’s stepping down. But few believe him
More often than not, dictators, like mafia dons, can never retire. It’s a rare strongman who can avoid an assassination, coup or revolution and fade into the sunset on his own terms rather than with a prison term.
Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai Gambles on Boycott from Government
The decision by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to suspend participation in Zimbabwe’s unity government with President Robert Mugabe simply confirms what has been obvious for some time: the power-sharing deal intended to bring an end to the country’s crippling political crisis is on life support, if not already dead. Tsvangirai’s move on Oct.
Iranian Protesters Exceed Security Forces in Tehran
At 4 p.m. the Iranian government broke up an attempted memorial service at a cemetery, but very soon after, tens of thousands of protesters poured into the streets of central Tehran the night of July 30, overwhelming Iran’s feared security forces.