Some follow-ups on previous posts.

Syria. A suicide bombing killed the top al Qaeda emissary in Syria. The emissary had propsed to protect religious minorities in Syria, and to give up plans for an Islamic Caliphate stretching across all the Muslim nations in the Near East and North Africa. Bad as Assad is, at least he protected non-Muslim religious minorities. At least one rebel faction is worse than Assad. The rebels thus fail the Just War criterion of Comparative Justice. They are worse than the government against which they are rebelling.

Ukraine. Yulia Tymoshenko, the candidate for President who was defeated by Yanukovych, was released from prison. However, her popularity appears to be even lower than when she was Prime Minister. It is not clear if she will again run for office. The Parliament appears to be stepping up to its Constitutional duties, calling off the police and allowing the protester to camp in the Maidan square without trouble. This implies continuity of government, rather than an overthrow of the government. The situation in Ukraine has thus reverted to politics rather than revolution, at least temporarily.

Venezuela. Massive protests continue, with the government organizing counter-protests and allegedly provoking violence among the protesters. However, one disconcerting sign is the reported widespread use by the protesters of a T-shirt bearing the message, “The one who gets tired loses.” Yes, the message is, they don’t plan to quit, but it says nothing about their goals. A goal to get rid of Maduro isn’t enough. From the Just War standpoint, a justifiable revolution requires a positive goal. What do they want to put in place of Maduro’s government? So far their leaders have not said.