Kyrgyz (non-colored) Revolution – In Progress and Being Twittered
The Monkey Cage | Joshua Tucker

So no sooner had I finished reading Erik’s post about the use of Twitter among the Egyptian opposition did I see breaking news about a potential government takeover (takedown? overthrow?) in Kyrgyzstan (see here and here). As the events were in progress, my next instinct was to go to Twitter to see if I could get more information in real time. Sure enough #Kyrgyzstan is up and running, with what looks to be 3-5 posts coming in per minute. (There is also #freekg, which seems to have more Russian posts, and thus may be a better source for on the ground information).

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SleeplessinGaza:

April 5, 2010: Day 36: Why would a Palestinian need a special permit to go from the West Bank to the West Bank? From his home to his adjacent land, and the trip takes half an hour! How come a whole village can only come out and in on certain hours? If people and vehicles need special permits what about a donkey? Join Ashira, Susan and Aleix to the villages of Ras Atiah and Habla around Qalqilya to see with your own eyes what the occupation is all about! Listen to what the Israeli women have to say about occupation and its practices and why are they watching checkpoints and documenting abuse! Meet “Machsom Watch” and tell us: Do you think the checkpoint commander found Ashira cute or the most annoying person he had met on duty? In Gaza: Celebrate Child Day with Farah who has been working very hard to make this festival a great success for the children of Gaza! What is her purpose? To give children a day of play, music and joy!

[Democracy NOW! Exclusive]

Ecumenical Accompanier in Yanoun
7 April 2010

YANOUN: In late March, two young Palestinian men were killed as they worked in the fields below the Bracha settlement, near the West Bank city of Nablus. The circumstances of the killing were unclear, but we learnt that the young men, Salah Kamal Quawriq, 18, and Muhammad Faysal Quawriq, 19, had almost certainly been killed by Israeli settlers, possibly a small self styled settler militia. Certainly the young Awarta men were unarmed and had only their agricultural tools and water bottles.

On March 30th, Palestinian Land Day, we attended a commemoration event for the young men, in Awarta. Men lined the village streets as we arrived. We were joined in the town hall by a small group of women, including some from the ambulance team who had attended the incident. We spoke to Nyalla, whose husband and brother had been killed only 6 months previously in an incident with the Israeli army.

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New R&R facility welcomes weary warriors
Written by Spc. Britney Bodner, 103rd Public Affairs Detachment
Monday, April 05, 2010 09:26

Excerpts:

Future plans for Freedom Rest involve the addition of equipment for fishing, biking and a golf driving range, Foster said. They are also looking at adding canoes and kayaks so service members can get out on the lake to relax, he added.

[…]

Previously, Soldiers on a four-day pass traveled to Qatar, which also meant additional travel days, sometimes taking a week or longer to move back to their units.

“A four day pass won’t stretch to nine days because of travel,” Trotter said. “Here, you’re in and out on time and for a third of the cost to the government.”

[Read the report]