Saturday, October 29, 2011

Do you want freedom you son of a sharmoota ?

Videos of Assad death squads torturing civilians. My sources tell me Hassan Nasrallah loves these videos and
watches them before Fajr Prayer every morning. He is proud of this "regime of resistance"


تونس تصدر مذكرة اعتقال دولية بحق سهى عرفات



عــ48ــرب

"أصدر قاضي التحقيق في المحكمة الابتدائية التونسية، مذكرة اعتقال دولية بحق سهى عرفات، أرملة رئيس السلطة الفلسطينية الراحل، ياسر عرفات، للاشتباه بضلوعها في تجاوزات وفساد مالي أثناء فترة إدارتها للمدرسة الدولية بقرطاج، التي كانت تمتلكها في عهد الرئيس المخلوع زين العابدين بن علي.
"

Real News Video: Low-ranking policemen demand sacking of Interior Minister

The protesters have been calling for the dismissal of Interior Minister Mansour al-Essawy and all senior security figures who served under former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly.


More at The Real News

Arab Spring Cafe, by Khalil Bendib


(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

One Down......One to Go.


One Down......One to Go.

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian activist talks to Al Jazeera from Homs

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian army continues operations in Homs



"Government tanks have entered a residential district of the central Syrian city of Homs where army deserters are said to be hiding.
Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reports."

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian protesters call for international protection



"Activists say at least 44 people were killed by security forces in Syria on Friday.

Most of the reported killings were in Hama and Homs - two cities at the heart of the uprising.

In many of Friday's anti-government rallies, protesters were calling for international protection.

Al Jazeera's Will Jordan reports."

Egyptian anger grows after latest case of death by torture



Critics say Essam Ali Atta's death shows junta is failing to dismantle Mubarak's brutal security apparatus

Jack Shenker
guardian.co.uk, Friday 28 October 2011

"Egyptian officials have tortured a 24-year-old prisoner to death, provoking accusations that the increasingly unpopular junta is failing to dismantle Hosni Mubarak's brutal security apparatus.

Essam Ali Atta, a civilian serving a two-year jail term in Cairo's high-security Tora prison following his conviction in a military tribunal earlier this year for an apparently "common crime", was reportedly attacked by prison guards after trying to smuggle a mobile phone sim card into his cell.

According to statements from other prisoners who witnessed the assault, Atta had large water hoses repeatedly forced into his mouth and anus on more than one occasion, causing severe internal bleeding. An officer then transferred Atta to a central Cairo hospital, but he died within an hour.....

Atta's death is the latest in a long line of official torture incidents that have hit the headlines since the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) took power almost 10 months ago. In March, a number of female protesters claimed they were subjected to forced "virginity checks" by soldiers after being detained at a reformist demonstration, and in subsequent months several deaths and assaults of Egyptians at the hands of police officials have been reported.

In September, a video emerged (warning: disturbing content) of unarmed detainees in Daqhaliya governorate being repeatedly slapped, hit and electrocuted by police officers while in custody. Then, on 9 October, Scaf was accused of direct involvement in the worst night of violence seen in Egypt since the anti-Mubarak uprising, with at least 27 people left dead after armoured personnel carriers mowed down groups of protesters.

"Scaf is not a department within the state, it is an extension of Mubarak – nothing less," claimed Dawla. "They have sacrificed Mubarak, but exactly the same regime is still in place, displaying the same language, the same attitude, the same contempt for the Egyptian people."....."

The Murder Brigades of Misrata



Gadhafi's demise was just a part of a vast revenge killing spree

by Daniel Williams
Human Rights Watch

"(Misrata, Libya) - If anyone is surprised by the apparent killing of Moammar Gadhafi while in the custody of militia members from the town of Misrata, they shouldn’t be.

More than 100 militia brigades from Misrata have been operating outside of any official military and civilian command since Tripoli fell in August. Members of these militias have engaged in torture, pursued suspected enemies far and wide, detained them and shot them in detention, Human Rights Watch has found. Members of these brigades have stated that the entire displaced population of one town, Tawergha, which they believe largely supported Gadhafi avidly, cannot return home.

As the war in Libya comes to an end, the pressing need for accountability and reconciliation is clear. The actions of the Misrata brigades are a gauge of how difficult that will be, and Misrata is not alone in its call for vengeance. In the far west, anti-Gadhafi militias from the Nafusa Mountains have looted and burned homes and schools of tribes that supported the deposed dictator. Anti-Gadhafi militias from Zuwara have looted property as they demanded compensation for damage they suffered during the war.

The apparent execution of 53 pro-Gadhafi supporters in a hotel in Sirte apparently under control of Misrata fighters is a bad omen...."

Friday, October 28, 2011

On the "conspiracy" against Syria

The whole talk about the existence of a "conspiracy" to topple the regime bothers me because things just don't add up. Not only the regime talks about this baseless claim, but leftist like Angry Arab and Ibrahim Al-Amin have made similar claims as well.  Few questions come to mind:



  1. If Qatar/KSA want to topple the regime why have they put no pressure on the regime , like cutting off diplomatic relations/ recognizing the SNC ...etc ?
  2. If the US/NATO want to interfere why have they not put any pressure on Russia ? I mean this is the same Russia that stood idle while the US bombed the hell out of its closest allySerbia back in 99.. All of a sudden Russia is this Soviet beast again that uses Veto and stops the west from their ambitions ?


I have yet to see any evidence on the existence of a conspiracy, media biased is never enough to prove a conspiracy, it is a tool to justify or change the minds of the masses but that usually
is always associated with political/military/covert actions. In the case of Syria there is media biased (on both sides)  but this biased in my opinion is not enough to justify the claim that there is a conspiracy.

There is a desire to get rid of the regime by KSA/Qatar , but there are external forces preventing them from doing anything more than use their media outlets to show the massacres the regime does on a daily basis. 

Until now the facts for the last 7.5 months indicate that there is a conspiracy AGAINST the revolution and not for it. Governments and "leftists" (like the Ibrahim Al-Amin ) still believe that the regime will "reform" and become more "inclusive" and all they have done is talked about reforms while killing hundred of civilians every week. 

Understanding Tunisia’s Elections Results

Flowering of the Arab Spring

by ESAM AL-AMIN
CounterPunch

".....But perhaps the major immediate challenge facing the new government will be the reaction of the foreign powers, especially in the West, that for decades have been warning against the days where “Islamists” will be empowered.

The memory of the siege and boycott of Hamas following its victory in the Palestinian elections in 2006 is still very vivid. So far, the U.S. administration and its European allies have had a wait and see attitude, despite the noise coming from neo-conservative, Zionist, and right-wing circles. In a span of two weeks, Israeli leaders Bibi Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Shimon Peres, and Tzipi Livni were warning the West against the upcoming “radical Islamic groups” taking charge throughout the Middle East and threatening Israel and Western interests.

The same old Islamophobic voices, that raised false alarms echoing Israeli hyped fears over twenty years ago and poisoned the atmosphere between the West and moderate Islamic groups, are back at it again. The real question now is: Have Western political leaders learned anything during this time or are we about to initiate a predictable sequel to the clash of civilizations?"

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian opposition member Louay Safi speaks to Al Jazeera

Al-Jazeera Video: Sirte 'pays price of revolution'



"Muammar Gaddafi may be dead but people from Sirte, the deposed leader's hometown, say they are paying the price of the revolution.

The town was under siege for more than a month and some residents are questioning the motives of the National Transition Council that attacked Sirte.

Homes have been looted and burned, and many believe the NTC fighters took revenge on the town as recompense for damage done by Gaddafi to the cities of Benghazi and Misrata.

Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports from Sirte."

Former Friends of the US, by Mr. Fish


(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

Hassan Nasrallah’s TV Interview



By As'ad AbuKhalil - Fri, 2011-10-28
Al-Akhbar

".... But his view on the Arab uprisings was the most interesting. He seems to disagree with his own media when he asserted that Arab uprisings are not part of a US conspiracy. Hezbollah media, including Al-Manar, have been promoting the silliest conspiratorial scenarios regarding the Arab uprisings. Such scenarios have become popular among advocates of the Syrian regime....

Nasrallah unwittingly distanced himself from his media in his analysis of Arab uprisings. But his analysis of Syria fell short of showing respect for the Syrian people and their legitimate grievances against the regime....The people who are taking to the streets in Syria are not tools of a foreign conspiracy. Also, Nasrallah failed to deliver sympathy to the Syrian people who are opposed to the regime. He failed to convince them that his support for the regime is not insensitive to their plight as a population living under a dictatorship.....There was an opportunity for Nasrallah to express consistent support for Arab uprisings, but he did not. He basically invokes the inconsistency of Western attitudes toward Arab uprisings, as if that justifies the inconsistent attitude by Hezbollah.... (Of course, Hezbollah’s alliance with Shiite sectarian forces in Iraq, including with groups that are part of the local structure of the occupation, and their silence vis-à-vis Sistani’s services to the occupation, can only be explained in sectarian terms.)

Hezbollah has a Syria problem: the traditional esteem that most Syrians held Nasrallah with is now a thing of the past....And Hezbollah, unlike several Iranian leaders, did not comment on the Arab uprisings by making silly arguments that they were inspired by Iran’s revolution.....But when the uprising hit Syria, Hezbollah changed course. Long gone were the cheers and enthusiasm. Suddenly, Hezbollah media started sensing an outside Zionist conspiracy.....But one can’t stand with a dictatorial regime while hoping to win support of the people under its rule."

In Slap at Syria, Turkey Shelters Anti-Assad Fighters



N Y Times

"ANTAKYA, Turkey — Once one of Syria’s closest allies, Turkey is hosting an armed opposition group waging an insurgency against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, providing shelter to the commander and dozens of members of the group, the Free Syrian Army, and allowing them to orchestrate attacks across the border from inside a camp guarded by the Turkish military.

The support for the insurgents comes amid a broader Turkish campaign to undermine Mr. Assad’s government. Turkey is expected to impose sanctions soon on Syria, and it has deepened its support for an umbrella political opposition group known as the Syrian National Council, which announced its formation in Istanbul. But its harboring of leaders in the Free Syrian Army, a militia composed of defectors from the Syrian armed forces, may be its most striking challenge so far to Damascus.

On Wednesday, the group, living in a heavily guarded refugee camp in Turkey, claimed responsibility for killing nine Syrian soldiers, including one uniformed officer, in an attack in restive central Syria....

“Our strategy for the future is that we will confront the regime in its weak places, and in the next period we hope to acquire weapons so we can be able to face the regime more strongly,” Colonel As’aad said.

Though many analysts contend that defectors’ attacks in Syria appear uncoordinated and local, Colonel As’aad claimed to be in full operational control. He said that he was in charge of planning “full military operations” while leaving smaller clashes and day-to-day decisions up to commanders in the field...."

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Egyptian Youth Activists: We Are Happy to See Occupy Wall Street Movement Stand Up For Justice



"A pair of Egyptian police officers were sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison for the beating death of 28 year-old man. The 2010 killing of Khaled Said helped to spark the Egyptian revolution that ultimately toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak. The officers were both charged with manslaughter. Members of Said’s family and pro-democracy protesters argued the sentence was too light. Two Egyptian youth leaders, Ahmed Maher and Basem Fathy, join us in studio to talk about Egypt after the fall of Mubarak, as well as the growing protests they have witnessed n the United States. "Regarding the Occupy movement ... we are — in the April 6th Movement and the activists in Egypt — standing for very clear values: social justice and democracy, and justice in general,” says Fathy. “We’re going to support this everywhere, and let’s say frankly, that we’re happy for finding the people trying to correct the bad way of democracy, even in the United States."...."

Thirty Years of Unleashed Greed



by Robert Scheer
TruthDig

".....In the face of the evidence that class inequality had been rising sharply in the United States even before the banking-induced recession, it would seem that the Occupy Wall Street protests are a quite measured and even timid response to the crisis.

Actually, the rallying cry of that movement was originally enunciated not by the protesters in the streets, but by one of the nation’s most respected economists. Last April, Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz wrote an article in Vanity Fair titled “Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%” that should be required reading for those well-paid pundits who question the logic and motives of the Wall Street protesters. “Americans have been watching protests [abroad] against repressive regimes that concentrate massive wealth in the hands of an elite few,” Stiglitz wrote. “Yet, in our democracy, 1% of the people take nearly a quarter of the nation’s income—an inequality even the wealthy will come to regret.”

Maybe justice will prevail despite the suffering that the 1 percent has inflicted on the foreclosed and the jobless. But to date those who have seized 40 percent of the nation’s wealth still control the big guns in this war of classes."

Al-Jazeera Video: Turkey doubles down on Gaza development



"Since the Israeli army's attack on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in 2010, Ankara has become increasingly outspoken in support of Gaza, the blockaded Palestinian territory the ship was trying to reach.

The support has come in financial terms as well: the estimated $2m per year the Turkish government donated to Gaza before the flotilla attack, has now jumped to $48m.

Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports from Gaza."

Al-Jazeera Video: Rula Amin reports on the Syrian protests

Al-Jazeera Video: Egyptian policemen jailed over activist death



"An Egyptian court has convicted two policemen of beating an Egyptian man to death and sentenced them to seven years in prison, according to the lawyer of the man whose killing inspired the country's uprising.

Hafiz Abu-Saada, the lawyer, said the court convicted the two on Wednesday of manslaughter over Khaled Said's death in June 2010, rejecting the more serious charge of murder.

Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports from Cairo."

Real News Video: US Sends Troops to Uganda - Is it About the Oil?

Firoze Manji: US sends 100 troops to support Uganda's fight against LRA


More at The Real News

Real News Video (From Al-Jazeera): Tear gas used on Occupy protesters in Oakland

Al Jazeera: Police in riot gear have clashed with more than 1,000 protesters attempting to march on to Oakland's city hall



More at The Real News

Arab League: Deploy Civilian Monitors in Syria



At Least 186 Killed Since League Proposed a National Dialogue

Human Rights Watch
October 26, 2011

"(Cairo) – The League of Arab States should demand that Syria’s government allow independent, on-the-ground, civilian monitors to observe the behavior of the security services, Human Rights Watch said today. Such monitoring would be an essential step to end the violence in Syria and restore a climate of trust, Human Rights Watch said.

An Arab ministerial committee is expected to arrive in Damascus on October 26, 2011, to discuss the possibility of a national dialogue between Syria’s government and the opposition. The Arab League should press the Syrian government to immediately stop the violence against peaceful protesters and release all political prisoners, Human Rights Watch said.

If the Arab League’s initiative is going to have any chance of success, it needs to guarantee that civilians will be protected,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The only way to make sure civilians are protected is to have on-the-ground monitors whose presence would inhibit abuse by the security services.”...."

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll



This is a brand new poll. It asks:

Do you support the efforts of the Arab League in Syria?

With about 100 responding so far (it is very early), 75% said no.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

If the Libyan war was about saving lives, it was a catastrophic failure



Nato claimed it would protect civilians in Libya, but delivered far more killing. It's a warning to the Arab world and Africa

Seumas Milne
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 October 2011

"....As the reality of what western media have hailed as Libya's "liberation" becomes clearer, however, the butchering of Gaddafi has been revealed as only a reflection of a much bigger picture. On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch reported the discovery of 53 bodies, military and civilian, in Gaddafi's last stronghold of Sirte, apparently executed – with their hands tied – by former rebel militia.

Its investigator in Libya, Peter Bouckaert, told me yesterday that more bodies are continuing to be discovered in Sirte, where evidence suggests about 500 people, civilians and fighters, have been killed in the last 10 days alone by shooting, shelling and Nato bombing.

That has followed a two month-long siege and indiscriminate bombardment of a city of 100,000 which has been reduced to a Grozny-like state of destruction by newly triumphant rebel troops with Nato air and special-forces support.

And these massacre sites are only the latest of many such discoveries. Amnesty International has now produced compendious evidence of mass abduction and detention, beating and routine torture, killings and atrocities by the rebel militias Britain, France and the US have backed for the last eight months – supposedly to stop exactly those kind of crimes being committed by the Gaddafi regime....

The once savagely repressed progressive Islamist party An-Nahda won the Tunisian elections this week on a platform of pluralist democracy, social justice and national independence. Tunisia has faced nothing like the backlash the uprisings in other Arab countries have received, but that spirit is the driving force of the movement for change across a region long manipulated and dominated by foreign powers.

What the Libyan tragedy has brutally hammered home is that foreign intervention doesn't only strangle national freedom and self-determinationit doesn't protect lives either."

Yemeni women set veils ablaze in protest at Saleh crackdown



Women's protest in Sana'a comes after overnight clashes in the capital and in Taiz leave as many as 25 people dead

Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 October 2011

"Hundreds of Yemeni women set fire to veils on Wednesday in protest at the government's crackdown on demonstrators, after overnight clashes in the capital and another city left 25 people dead, officials said.

The women spread a black cloth across a main street in Sana'a and threw their full-body veils, known as makrama, on to a pile, sprayed it with oil and set it ablaze. As the flames rose, they chanted: "Who protects Yemeni women from the crimes of the thugs?"

Women have taken a key role in the uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's authoritarian rule. This month the Yemeni activist Tawakkul Karman was awarded the Nobel peace prize along with two Liberian women, for their struggle for women's rights.

Wednesday's protest was not related to women's rights or issues surrounding the Islamic veil. The act of burning their clothing is a symbolic Bedouin gesture signifying an appeal to tribesmen for help, in this case to stop the attacks on the protesters....."

Anger in Egypt as police who killed Khaled Said get seven years



Family and human rights campaigners condemn leniency of sentence in police brutality case that inspired uprising

Associated Press in Cairo
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 October 2011

"Democracy activists have condemned the seven year sentence given to two policemen convicted of beating a young man to death in a case that inspired Egypt's uprising.

The death of Khaled Said has been compared to that of Mohammed Bouazizi, the fruitseller whose self-immolation sparked the Tunisian revolution that began the chain of Arab Spring protests.

Said's death became a rallying point for activists campaigning against widespread police brutality and other human rights abuses under the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak.

Six months after Said's death in June 2010, a Facebook page created in his memory was used to call for the January protests that grew into the 18-day uprising that eventually toppled Mubarak.

Said's family said they were "shocked" by the sentence, adding that the revolution was being "aborted"....."

اليمن: الجيش الموالي للثورة يكشف عن عملية لاسقاط طائرة عسكرية أودت بحياة 8 طيارين سوريين في لحج



اليمن: الجيش الموالي للثورة يكشف عن عملية لاسقاط طائرة عسكرية أودت بحياة 8 طيارين سوريين في لحج

"صنعاء ـ 'القدس العربي' من خالد الحمادي: كشفت قيادة الجيش المؤيد للثورة في اليمن أمس عن قيام طيار يمني بـ'عملية استشهادية' فجّر فيها طائرته التي كان يقودها وتقل على متنها 11 طيارا سوريا من الذين استقدمهم النظام اليمني من سورية للقيام بضربات جوية ضد الثوار اليمنيين وضد المناطق التي تؤيد الثورة الشعبية اليمنية، بالإضافة إلى وجود الكثير من العتاد العسكري على متن الطائرة العسكرية التي أقلعت من قاعدة الديلمي العسكرية بصنعاء وسقطت قبيل هبوطها في قاعدة العند العسكرية بلحج.
وقالت في بيان رسمي تسلمت 'القدس العربي' نسخة منه 'ضمن مخططات تفجير الموقف عسكرياً ورهان الحسم العسكري من قبل صالح، وضمن مسلسل تحقيق نزعته الانتقامية من أبناء شعبنا، وفي إطار التنسيق بين صالح وبشار سورية، استقدم صالح أحد عشر طياراً مرتزقاً من سورية نظراً لامتناع الطيارين اليمنيين الأحرار عن تنفيذ مهام قتالية ضد أبناء شعبهم والمناطق المؤيدة للثورة'.
وأوضح البيان أنه 'فور وصول الطيارين المرتزقة السوريين إلى مطار صنعاء التاسعة من مساء الاثنين الماضي، وبعد محاولات يائسة مع عدد من الطيارين اليمنيين لنقل هؤلاء المرتزقة إلى قاعدة العند الجوية لقيادة طائرات الميغ 29 ورفض الطيارين اليمنيين الأحرار نقلهم، تطوّع الثائر البطل الشهيد الطيار عبدالعزيز الشامي بنقلهم على طائرة الأنتي نوف، لكنه أسر لزملائه قبل إقلاعه أن هؤلاء المرتزقة لن يصلوا إلى العند، ولن يتحقق لهم مراد الاعتداء على أبناء شعبنا'.
وأضاف 'وبالفعل أقلع بهم من مطار صنعاء متجهاً إلى قاعدة العند الجوية ومعه مساعده الطيار محمود العرمزة وقبل وصوله إلى قاعدة العند في تمام الحادية عشرة وخمس وخمسين دقيقة من مساء نفس الليلة وفي عملية إستشهادية بطولية أسقط الشهيد البطل الطيار عبد العزيز الشامي الطائرة بمن فيها في منطقة الصبيحه لتنفجر الطائرة وليقتل الشبيحة في منطقة الصبّيحة، حيث نجم عن ذلك استشهاد الطيار الحر الثائر عبد العزيز الشامي وجرح مساعده الطيار محمود العرمزة، فيما قتل ثمانية من المرتزقة الطيارين السوريين'.
وكان العديد من المصادر ذكر خلال الفترة الماضية عن استقدام النظام اليمني للكثير من المرتزقة العرب من العراق وسورية والصومال وغيرها، واستخدامهم في القتال المباشر وغير المباشر ضد الثوار اليمنيين وضد المناطق القبلية التي أعلنت تأييدها للثورة الشعبية اليمنية.
إلى ذلك أكدت مصادر متعددة أن الطائرات العسكرية الموالية لصالح قصفت أمس العديد من مناطق قبائل أرحب ونهم شمال شرق العاصمة صنعاء، في إطار تدميرها لتلك المناطق التي أعلنت مساندتها للثورة الشعبية اليمنية. في غضون ذلك أعلن مكتب نائب رئيس مجلس النواب الشيخ حمير عبد الله الأحمر، المؤيد للثورة، أن القصف المتواصل الذي قامت به قوات الحرس الجمهوري على منزله بحي صوفان في العاصمة صنعاء أسفر عن مقتل 19 شخصا خلال الأيام الماضية وعشرات الجرحى بعضهم بحالة حرجة.
وقال في بلاغ صحافي تلقت 'القدس العربي' نسخة منه 'إن ما أقدمت عليه قوات الحرس الجمهوري من اعتداء غاشم وقصف متواصل على منزله بقذائف المدفعية والدبابات والعربات المدرعة BMP منذ أعلن موقفه المؤيد للثورة الشعبية السلمية، يُعد انتهاكا صارخاً لكل القوانين والأعراف البرلمانية والمعاهدات الدولية للحقوق المدنية والسياسية وجميع اتفاقات الهدنة'.
وحمّل قوات الحرس الجمهورية الموالية لصالح وجميع من يقف وراءها 'كامل المسؤولية القانونية والجنائية والأخلاقية المترتبة على تلك الاعتداءات الغادرة وكل ما نتج وينتج عنها'.
"

Al-Jazeera Video: NTC leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil talks to AJE about the future of Libya

Watch The Libyan Karzai Asking His NATO Handlers to Stay in Libya!

Mubarak Men Begin to Resurface



By Cam McGrath

"CAIRO, Oct 26, 2011 (IPS) - Members of the regime of ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak have demanded to be allowed to run in upcoming elections and warned of violence if legislation to prohibit their political ambitions is passed.....

Expecting that Egypt’s military council, a legacy of Mubarak’s regime, will reject or water down the proposed legislation, youth groups instrumental in the dictator’s overthrow have resorted to a name-and- shame campaign. Dubbed "Emsek Feloul" (Catch the remnants), the initiative aims at exposing corrupt members of the old regime.

"So far we’ve identified the names and ranks of 10,000 loyalists of the former ruling party," campaign spokesman Sherif Diab told IPS. "Our goal is to expose all of the estimated 60,000 who were the party’s leaders, parliamentary representatives and local council members."

Campaign organisers have put the names on a web site and Facebook page. They also plan to launch a phone campaign and distribute print copies of the blacklist to voters across the country ahead of next month’s legislative elections....

Ahmed Fadel, an organiser of the Emsek Feloul campaign, says that unless the political exclusion law is implemented, it will be up to voters to decide whether they want to entrust the nation’s future to members of a regime that darkened its past.

"Maybe some NDP members were good," Fadel concedes, "But it’s not our job to decide that; we’re only identifying them so voters can make (informed decisions) at the polls." "

Real wimps go to Tehran via Baghdad

By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

"No matter how many "rightsized" United States boots remain on Iraqi ground after the purported withdrawal at the end of the year, the "how to nail Iran" gambit looms large. One neo-conservative plan - and is it that unlikely? - would have Americans used as bait for an Israeli attack....

The record shows that Washington in fact has thrown almost everything in this book at Iran. The only "strategy" missing is a unilateral Israeli strike (the neo-conservatives are dying for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go for it) which would be met by an Iranian retaliation, thus dragging in the US and opening up the possibility for a ground invasion (doomed from the start, but why should these authors care?)

Predictably, the ideal scenario for these and other Beltway armchair warmongers is for Tel Aviv to launch a sneak attack, with "retreating" US troops in Iraq offered as bait/sacrificial victims for a vicious Iranian retaliation. There couldn't be a more ideal pretext for dragging Washington into an uwinnable war - all over again.

Yet the bottom line, which Washington neo-conservatives will never process, is that the US lost the Iraq war, period....."

The US departure from Iraq is an illusion

39,000 soldiers will leave Iraq this year, but US military control will continue in such guises as security and training

James Denselow
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 25 October 2011

"....Jonathan Steele wrote that the Iraq war was over and the US had learned "that putting western boots on the ground in a foreign war, particularly in a Muslim country, is madness". Yet this madness may continue in a different guise, as there is a huge gap between rhetoric and reality surrounding the US departure from Iraq. In fact, there are a number of avenues by which the US will be able to exert military influence in the country.

These can be divided into four main categories:
....."

Tahrir Square protesters send message of solidarity to Occupy Wall Street



Egyptian activists who helped topple Hosni Mubarak have lent their support to growing Occupy movement in US and Europe

• To the Occupy movement – Tahrir Square is with you

Jack Shenker and Adam Gabbatt
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 25 October 2011

"Egyptian activists who helped topple former dictator Hosni Mubarak have lent their support to the growing Occupy movement in the United States and Europe, a further sign that links between global pro-change protests appear to be growing.

A message of solidarity issued by a collective of Cairo-based campaigners declared: "We are now in many ways involved in the same struggle," adding: "What most pundits call 'The Arab Spring' has its roots in the demonstrations, riots, strikes and occupations taking place all around the world."....

Mahfouz and fellow Egyptian activist and April 6th co-founder Ahmed Maher visited Zuccotti Park, home to the Occupy Wall Street, on Monday evening, chatting with protesters before undertaking an impromptu march. The pair presented an Egyptian flag with the message: "From Tahrir Square to Wall Street"......"

Libyan Karzai Needs Protection From His Masters and is Playing His Assigned Role: Nato should stay in Libya, says Jalil




Interim leader of Libya says Nato should remain in the country for the rest of the year to stop Gaddafi loyalists fleeing

Reuters in Doha
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 October 2011

"Nato should stay involved in Libya until the end of the year to help prevent Gaddafi loyalists from leaving the country, interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said at a meeting with the military alliance in Qatar on Wednesday....."

Posters back Egypt's military ruler for president



Al-Masry Al-Youm

"Hundreds of posters calling on Egypt's military ruler to run for president have appeared in several districts of Cairo and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, sparking fears that the armed forces may try to cling to power.

The campaign is led by a previously unknown group called "Egypt Above All." They argue that Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi as president amounts to "a popular demand for stability."

Tantawi's council of military generals took power after a popular uprising ousted longtime President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Rights groups in Egypt are wary of Tantawi, despite pledges by the armed forces to transfer power to an elected civilian government in two years.

Activists accuse the top military brass of behaving like the old regime and derailing reform."

'Occupy' protests: Not Tahrir yet




Demonstrations in the US and Europe are important, but an Egyptian style revolution is still an unlikely prospect.

A GOOD PIECE
Mark LeVine

Al-Jazeera

".....

A brilliant strategy

In order for neoliberalism to succeed, the economic elite had to pull off an incredible trick: to convince millions of Americans - first labelled, in the 1980s, as "Reagan Democrats" - actively support policies that clearly went against their economic interests. At the same time, the policies of conservative and economic elites were geared to expropriating more wealth than ever before, they had to convince the very people whose wealth they were siphoning off that they actually represented their most basic interests and values.

How did they do this? Through a brilliant two-fold strategy. First, they solidified a culture of materialism and hyperconsumption based on the ideology of 'Greed is Good', in which achieving wealth and power and looking out for number one - always resonant with American myth of rugged individualism and self-reliance - became defining markers of American identity and its increasingly bling-obsessed culture.

The corporate elites, from manufacturing to the culture industries, managed to convince most Americans that they both could and should hope to achieve the same wealth as possessed by the super rich. The problem was that the very structure of the neoliberal economy redistributes wealth away from most Americans and towards the top.

The gap between how Americans were being told they should live and how they could afford to live created a huge amount of cognitive dissonance that helped fuel the rise in consumer debt, as tens of millions of Americans used credit card and home equity to live more like the rich whom they were incessantly told they could and should try to be.

But people aren't that easily fooled; soon enough they would start to understand that the economy was shifting in a way that privileged the few at the expense of the rest of the country. How to keep the broad swath of "middle America" from rebelling against a system that was siphoning off a huge share of their wealth to enrich the top tier?

This is where the second half of the strategy comes into view. With one side of their mouths, elites told Americans that maximising wealth and power was the defining culture value in America, even as the neoliberal policies they imposed on the country made doing so increasingly difficult for the large majority of Americans. But out of the other side of their mouths, they told Americans that wealth didn't matter, that religious faith and conservative social values such as being anti-gay and anti-abortion, and patriotism and support for the military, were what defined "real" Americans.

It was this argument that allowed the wealthy in this country to eat their cake and still have it; to foster one ideology that justified the increasing skewing of wealth towards the proverbial "1 per cent" (in reality, it's more like 12 or 13 per cent, but slogans work precisely by intensifying reality for political effect), while at the same time deploying another ideology that said both that wealth didn't matter and that the very people who could help bring the majority of working Americans a better standard of living-the government, unions and other progressive forces-were the greatest danger to the "American way of life."....."

Saudi Arabia's old regime grows older



The death of Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud highlights the decrepit nature of the Saudi leadership.

Mai Yamani
Al-Jazeera

"The contrast between the deaths, within two days of each other, of Libya's Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi and Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdel Aziz is one of terminal buffoonery versus decadent gerontocracy. And their demise is likely to lead to very different outcomes: liberation for the Libyans and stagnation for the Saudis.

But the death of Sultan, at 86, marks the beginning of a critical period of domestic and foreign uncertainty for the Kingdom. After all, Sultan's half-brother, King Abdullah, 87, is still hospitalized in Riyadh, following a major operation last month. The regime is aging and ailing, and is perceived by the population as being on life support.....

Denial remains the Saudi rulers' dominant mindset. The royals believe that custodianship of Islam's holy places gives them a special status in the Arab world, and that no revolution can touch them. And, if anyone tries, they will follow Naif's counsel: “What we took by the sword we will hold by the sword.

Throughout the region, newly mobilized (and thus empowered) Arab youth are trying to move their countries towards reform and liberalization. Saudi Arabia, unfortunately, is moving in the opposite direction."

Truths, facts and facts on the ground



Much of the international support that Israel receives is based on several lies it tells and re-tells as "facts".

Joseph Massad
Al-Jazeera

"....
The Pale of Palestinian settlement

The peace that Israel is proposing for Palestinians in fact evokes another memory, of how another country dealt with Jewish settlement, namely the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great and the creation of the Pale of Settlement in the late eighteenth century for Jews to be confined to, which they were for the most part till the early part of the twentieth century.

The Pale, like the Palestinian Bantustans, was the only territory where Russian Jews were allowed to live by the anti-Jewish czars, though Russian Christians also lived in it to ensure that there was no territorial contiguity for Jews. The Palestinian Bantustans would serve a similar function.

While Israel will become Araberrein, the Palestinian Bantustans carved out of West Bank and East Jerusalem territories would be criss-crossed by Jews-only roads and Jewish-only colonial settlements and cities, and by the Israeli army, which, as Netanyahu himself has proposed, will be stationed indefinitely in the Jordan Valley.

The Pale of Palestinian Settlement will be then called a "Palestinian State" which the Israelis and the Americans will immediately recognise as "sovereign", though it would not even have the formal accoutrements of sovereignty. It is thus that the Palestinian State, whose existence would neither be a fact nor the truth, will be recognised as a fact on the ground, indeed the very last fact that Israel and the US will be asserting.

For the Palestinians to survive the more than a century-long Zionist assault on their society and country, their only option is to resist this Israeli- and American- imposed "peace", and all the so-called facts they impose on them, from the very first "fact" to the very last one."

الجزيرة | مع د. برهان غليون حصاد يوم 25 / 10/ 2011

Courtesy of Arabs48.com

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Interview with recently freed Syrian prisoner Wiam 'Aloush

Al Manar would never air this, and I bet they never mentioned him or his courages principled stance:

تحطم طائرة وخطف طبيب باليمن

"قتل تسعة أشخاص بينهم ثمانية سوريين في تحطم طائرة عسكرية جنوب اليمن الذي يشهد اضطرابات أمنية منذ فترة. كما أعلن عن اختطاف طبيب أوزبكي يعمل في مستشفى بمحافظة مأرب.

وقال مصدر عسكري إن تسعة أشخاص قتلوا في تحطم طائرة شحن تابعة للجيش اليمني بمدينة لحج جنوبي البلاد. وأضاف أن القتلى وهم ثمانية تقنيين سوريين ويمني من أصل خمسة عشر كانوا على متن الطائرة روسية الصنع, مشيرا إلى أنها انفجرت على مدرج قاعدة العـَند الجوية.

وقال المصدر إن 15 شخصا كانوا على متن طائرة الشحن وهم ثمانية سوريين وسبعة يمنيين، وتابع "حاولت طائرة شحن روسية الصنع من طراز أنتونوف الهبوط بمدرج مطار قاعدة العند الجوية إلا أنها انفجرت أثناء هبوطها" مؤكدا أن الطائرة لم تكن تنقل أي أسلحة.

وتم نقل طائرات عسكرية الآونة الاخيرة من ضواحي صنعاء إلى هذه القاعدة -التي أقامتها القوات البريطانية أثناء احتلالها جنوب اليمن قبل1967- بسبب عدم الاستقرار بالعاصمة صنعاء التي تشهد معارك بين مناصري ومعارضي الرئيس علي عبد الله صالح
....."

Ruling Military Council Intensifies Media Clampdown in Egypt



by Sharif Abdel Kouddous

"CAIRO, Egypt - The media clampdown in Egypt is worsening. Over the past six weeks, the ruling military council has censored the press, raided news organizations, shut down broadcasts and intimidated journalists.

"The military government has revived Mubarak-era repression," says Mohamed Abdel Dayem, the Middle East and North Africa program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In the most recent incident, Yousri Fouda, a widely respected journalist and the host of an influential political talk show, announced he was indefinitely suspending his program on Friday due to censorship pressure. Fouda, whose show ran on ONTV—a private channel owned by Egyptian telecommunications tycoon Naguib Sawiris—had invited outspoken novelist Alaa el-Aswany and opposition journalist Ibrahim Eissa to join him on Thursday evening's program, but the episode was inexplicably cancelled....

As with so much else in Egypt's transitional period, the battle for freedom of the media has a long way to go."

Yemen editor: it's hell here, but we need coverage by international media



The Guardian

"What is it like trying to report on the bloody conflict within Yemen? To be honest, says Hakim Almasmari, editor of the English-language Yemen Post , "it's hell."

He was speaking to the International Press Institute's Naomi Hunt by Skype, which was something of a feat because Skype has been jammed from Yemen since February.

It is just one of the ways in which the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh is inhibiting media coverage in his country.

He clearly wishes to prevent the world from seeing what's happening in the clashes between renegade forces and his troops.

Only days after the United Nations called on Saleh to step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution, at least 12 people were reportedly killed and many more wounded after fighting broke out in the capital, Sana'a.

But Almasmari says the international media is still not paying nearly enough attention either to the protestors or to the bravery of reporters and cameramen.

Here are some of his key quotes from Hunt's Q&A...."

Egypt: Don’t Cover Up Military Killing of Copt Protesters



Official Denials Suggest Investigation Will be Flawed

Human Rights Watch

October 25, 2011

"(New York) – The Egyptian military’s intention to control the investigation of the use of force against unarmed Coptic Christian demonstrators during a night of clashes on October 9, 2011, raises fears of a cover-up, Human Rights Watch said today. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Egypt’s military rulers, should transfer the investigation from the military prosecution to a fully independent and impartial investigation into the killing of unarmed protesters by military forces. The violence left two dozen protesters and bystanders and at least one military officer dead.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 20 participants in the demonstration who consistently testified that between 6 and 7 p.m. on October 9 at least two armored personnel vehicles (APCs) drove recklessly through crowds of demonstrators, in some cases appearing to pursue them intentionally. The protest of thousands of Copts had been peaceful until that point, and the military’s subsequent response was disproportionate. The large, heavy vehicles crushed and killed at least 10 demonstrators, as autopsies later showed.

The military cannot investigate itself with any credibility,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “This had been an essentially peaceful protest until the military used excessive force and military vehicles ran over protesters. The only hope for justice for the victims is an independent civilian-led investigation that the army fully cooperates with and cannot control and that leads to the prosecution of those responsible.”......"

Health Crisis: Syrian Government Targets the Wounded and Health Workers



A 39-page Report (pdf)


"1. INTRODUCTION
I’m not going to clean your wound… I’m waiting
for your foot to rot so that we can cut it off
.”
A doctor at Homs military hospital, as reported by a 28-year-old patient who was shot in the foot on 16 May 2011 1.....

While Amnesty International recognizes that military and law enforcement personnel may need to arrest or detain wounded patients on occasions, in all such cases the detaining authorities have an obligation to ensure that the arrest is legal and that medical treatment of injured people is not compromised. In Syria, Amnesty International’s investigations indicate that such standards have not been met, and that detaining authorities, moreover, have subjected wounded patients to torture or other ill-treatment and have failed to provide adequate medical care. In some occasions, as documented here, they have interfered in the treatment of wounded persons inside health facilities.

Human rights law protects the right of all individuals to healthcare at all times, including during internal disturbances. State authorities are bound to uphold human rights law but, in this area as in so many others, the Syrian authorities are now committing serious and widespread human rights violations as s they seek to crush the popular protests and unrest that have gripped the country since last March...."

Climate of fear in Syria's hospitals as patients and medics targeted



Amnesty International
25 October 2011

(Video included)

"The Syrian government has turned hospitals into instruments of repression in its efforts to crush opposition, Amnesty International said today in a new report.

The 39-page report Health Crisis: Syrian Government Targets the Wounded and Health Workers documents how wounded patients in at least four government-run hospitals have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including by medical workers.

Hospital workers suspected of treating protesters and others injured in unrest-related incidents have themselves faced arrest and torture.

"It is deeply alarming that the Syrian authorities seem to have given the security forces a free rein in hospitals, and that in many cases hospital staff appear to have taken part in torture and ill treatment of the very people they are supposed to care for," said Cilina Nasser, Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa researcher.

"Given the scale and seriousness of the injuries being sustained by people across the country, it is disturbing to find that many consider it safer to risk not having major wounds treated rather than going to proper medical facilities."

Amnesty International found that patients have been assaulted by medical staff, health workers and security personnel in at least the National Hospitals in Banias, Homs and Tell Kalakh and the military hospital in Homs.

One doctor at Homs military hospital told Amnesty International he had seen four doctors and more than 20 nurses abusing patients......"

Monday, October 24, 2011

Syria 'using hospitals for torture' - Amnesty


Patients in government-run hospitals in Syria are being tortured in an attempt to suppress dissent, an Amnesty International report alleges.
The 39-page report claims patients in at least four state hospitals have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including by medical staff.
Many injured civilians consider it safer not going to hospital, it says.
Syrian authorities have denied torturing opponents of the government.
Anti-government protests, which first broke out in March, have continued despite President Bashar al-Assad's attempts to stifle them.
The UN says more than 3,000 people have died in seven months of unrest, which Syria has blamed on "terrorists" and "armed gangs".
International journalists face severe restrictions to reporting in Syria, and it is hard to verify reports.
'Seriousness'
Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa researcher Cilina Nasser said Syrian authorities appeared to have "given security forces a free rein in hospitals".
"In many cases hospital staff appear to have taken part in torture and ill treatment of the very people they are supposed to care for," she said in a statement.

Start Quote

If we send a request to the Central Blood Bank, the security would know about him and we would be putting him at risk or arrest and torture”
Medic
"Given the scale and seriousness of the injuries being sustained by people across the country, it is disturbing to find that many consider it safer to risk not having major wounds treated rather than going to proper medical facilities."
The human rights group documented cases where patients had been removed from hospitals.

Hassan Nasrallah's Intelectual dishonesty

He is reminding me more and more of Obama, so easy to pick on him, so easy to find holes in his "logic" and "explanation" and so admired for being an eloquent speaker.  Both have an endless flock of apologists and blind supporters and increasing number of people that are disappointed by them.

Look at this statement today :
"[in Syrian] the alternative they want will be submissive to the American will."

This is the same dude that called Hakim a "bigger brother" and  praised him for "struggling" and "rescuing" Iraq. The same dude that invited Chalabi ( and yes a fly can't enter Lebanon without him knowing about it) just 2 weeks ago on a freedom conference in Beirut.  Should he not be FINE and OK with a Syria that is submissive to the American will, I mean he never minded Iraq being a US client ? so Why Syria ?

His interview  today made remember Chomsky he once said something like "if the USSR represents the left than I want nothing to do with it" and today I say
"if Hizbullah represents the resistance than I want nothing to do with it".

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll



Do you approve of the way Gaddafi was liquidated?

With about 900 responding so far, 59% said no.

العرس الديمقراطي التونسي




العرس الديمقراطي التونسي
رأي القدس

"توجه ملايين التونسيين يوم امس الى صناديق الاقتراع لانتخاب مجلس وطني تأسيسي يكون من أبرز مهامه وضع دستور جديد وانتخاب رئيس للجمهورية لفترة انتقالية لمدة عام وتشكيل حكومة تتولى ادارة شؤون البلاد، ريثما يتم انتخاب برلمان جديد لمدة أربع سنوات.
مراكز الاقتراع شهدت اقبالاً جماهيرياً غير مسبوق على طول البلاد وعرضها، واصطف الناس في طوابير امتدت لآلاف الامتار للإدلاء بأصواتهم في اول انتخابات حرة ونزيهة في تاريخ البلاد، وفاقت نسبة المشاركة اكثر من ستين في المئة حتى بعد ظهر امس.
اللافت ان تجاوزات محدودة جداً قد وقعت، ولم تحدث اي صدامات او اعمال تزوير، وكانت البسمة ترتسم على وجوه جموع المشاركين الذين وصفوا هذا اليوم، يوم الانتخابات، بانه عيد ديمقراطي انتظروه طويلاً طوال العقود الماضية.
السيد الباجي قائد السيسي رئيس وزراء تونس المؤقت الذي قاد دفة الحكم في البلاد طوال الشهور الأربعة الماضية، ويعتبر من المرشحين لرئاسة الجمهورية في فترتها المؤقتة (لمدة عام فقط) وصف المرحلة المقبلة بانها الأصعب، لأن هناك تطلعات كبرى في صفوف الشعب التونسي، كما ان هناك كتلاً متنافسة تحمل آراء سياسية وعقائدية مختلفة.
ما لم يقله رئيس الوزراء التونسي الذي ابلغ هذه الصحيفة انه جمع متعلقاته وأوراقه استعداداً للرحيل بمجرد تولي المجلس التأسيسي مهامه، ان هناك مخاوف، وان كانت محدودة، من حدوث خلاف على توزيع المواقع الرئيسية في المرحلة المقبلة، وخاصة رئاسة الجمهورية، رئاسة مجلس الوزراء ورئاسة المجلس التأسيسي.
تعرض الشيخ راشد الغنوشي زعيم حزب النهضة الاسلامي لبعض التهجمات المعادية اثناء ادلائه بصوته في احد مراكز الاقتراع يعكس جانباً آخر من هذه المخاوف، اي احتمالات الصراع بين الاسلاميين والعلمانيين، وهو صراع تتردد ارهاصاته على ألسنة الكثيرين في تونس هذه الأيام.
تونس التي انطلقت منها الشرارة الاولى والأقوى لثورات الربيع العربي، تشهد اول ثمار الديمقراطية لهذا الربيع، من خلال الانتخابات، وتكاتف جميع ابنائها لانجاحها، والتأسيس لنظام حكم تعددي يقوم على الشفافية والمؤسسات الديمقراطية المنتخبة وحكم القانون وترسيخ قيم العدالة والحريات.
الانطباع السائد في مختلف انحاء تونس يفيد بان الشعب التونسي الذي قدم التضحيات الغالية للاطاحة بالنظام الديكتاتوري سيكون الحارس القوي، والضمانة الحقيقية لاستمرار مسيرته الديمقراطية التي بدأت اولى خطواتها في الاتجاه الصحيح والمأمول بانتخابات الأمس.
التنافس بين الاسلاميين والعلمانيين ظل في اطار التنافس الحضاري الديمقراطي، وكل المؤشرات تؤكد حتى الآن انه سيكون كذلك، ومن اجل مصلحة تونس ورخاء شعبها.
الاسلاميون الذين تؤكد معظم النتائج الاولية انهم سيكونون الرابح الأكبر في هذه الانتخابات لا يستطيعون حكم البلاد بمفردهم، والعلمانيون لا يمكن، بل من المستحيل ان يلغوا الاسلاميين من الخريطة السياسية الجديدة وان اختلفوا معهم. فالتعايش والتوافق بين جميع الكتل والتيارات تحت سقف المجلس التأسيسي، وبعد ذلك البرلمان هو الخيار الوحيد المطروح اذا كان هؤلاء يريدون مستقبلاً واعداً بالأمل والرخاء للشعب التونسي.
المجلس التأسيسي الذي سينبثق عن هذه الانتخابات الحرة النزيهة سيعيد السلطة للشعب التونسي الذي بات الحاكم الفعلي للبلاد، فهذا الشعب هو اساس كل السلطات الثلاث: التشريعية والتنفيذية والقضائية، ومن المؤكد ان هذا الشعب الذي يتحلى بأرقى انواع الوعي سيكون متيقظاً للتصدي لأي اعوجاج او انحراف هنا او هناك.
لا نعرف ما هي مشاعر الرئيس التونسي المخلوع زين العابدين بن علي وهو يراقب هذا العرس الديمقراطي التونسي من منفاه الاضطراري في المملكة العربية السعودية، ولكن ما نعرفه انه سيشعر بالندم لانه لم يقدم لهذا الشعب، اثناء حكمه له، الذي امتد حوالي عشرين عاماً، ما يستحقه من حريات ومشاركة في الحكم عبر المؤسسات الديمقراطية.
مبروك للشعب التونسي عرسه الديمقراطي الذي يستحقه لانه قدم الدماء الزكية للوصول اليه.
"

Al-Jazeera Video: Nazanine Moshiri talks to Tunisian blogger Zied Mhirsi

This is What Democracy Looks Like: 90% of Registered Voters Voted!
Mabruk (Congratulations) to Tunisia.


Imperialism and Democracy: White House or Liberty Square?



By James Petras

"Introduction: The relation between imperialism and democracy has been debated and discussed over 2500 years, from fifth century Athens to Liberty Park in Manhattan. Contemporary critics of imperialism (and capitalism) claim to find a fundamental incompatibility, citing the growing police state measures accompanying colonial wars, from Clinton’s anti-terrorist laws, and Bush’s “Patriot Act” to Obama’s ordering the extrajudicial assassination of overseas US citizens.....

Conclusion
We have argued that empire and democracy have been complementary in times of ascendant imperialism. We have shown that when wars of conquest have been short and inexpensive, and when the results have been lucrative for capital and job-creating for labor the democratic majorities joined in support of imperial elites. Democratic institutions flourished when overseas empires provided markets, cheap resources and raised living standards. Workers voted for imperial parties, held positive opinions of executive and legislative officials, and applauded the colonial war veterans (our troops). Some even volunteered and joined the military. With vast citizen support for empire, the state more or less ‘abided’ by the constitutional guarantees. But the marriage of democracy and imperialism is not ‘structural’. It is contingent on a series of variable conditions, which can cause a profound rupture between the two, as we are witnessing today.....

The present danger is that imperial structures are deeply embedded in all the key political institutions and are backed by an unprecedented vast and sprawling police state apparatus, called Homeland Security. Perhaps it will take a major external political-military shock to ignite the kind of mass democratic uprising needed to transform an imperial police state into a democratic republic. A growing sense of isolation and impotence affects the ruling regime in the face of overseas military defeats and unyielding, deepening domestic economic crisis. The danger is that these fears and frustrations could induce the White House to attempt to regain popular support by attacking Iran under a manufactured pretext. A US/Israeli assault on Iran will result in a world-wide conflagration. Iran could and would retaliate. Saudi and Gulf oil wells would go up in flames. Vital shipping lanes would be blocked. Gas prices would skyrocket while Asian, EU and US economies crash. Iranian troops with their Iraqi allies would lay siege to the US garrisons in Baghdad. Afghanistan, Pakistan and the rest of the Moslem world will take up arms. US forces would surrender or retreat. The war would shatter the US Treasury. Deficits would spiral out of control. Unemployment would double. This likely sequence of events would trigger a massive democratic movement and a decisive struggle between an emerging republic struggling to give birth and a decaying empire threatening to drag the world into the inferno of its own demise. "

Occupiers Have to Convince the Other 99 Percent


By Chris Hedges
TruthDig

"....What we are witnessing in parks and squares across the United States is not simply widespread revulsion over the greed and cruelty of corporate capitalism, but the articulation of a new and potent radicalism. This radicalism challenges the right of corporations to poison our ecosystem and turn greed and self-promotion into the highest good at the expense of human life. If this movement can cross class lines, if it can articulate its vision to those in marginalized communities, especially poor people of color, it can tap into a force and power that was never part of the New Left. It can make possible the shaking of the foundations and, let us hope, the toppling of the corporate state."

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Must See: Documentary filmed in Syria exposing regime crimes

Al-Jazeera Video: Nazanine Moshiri updates from Tunisia

Tunisian elections: There can be no risk-free democracy

Some people are scared of elections if they can't predict the outcome. They are usually the old guard and their foreign backers. The Tunisian people are not scared any more

A VERY GOOD COMMENT
Sihem Bensedrine
(Sihem Bensedrine is a Tunisian journalist and human rights activist)
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 23 October 2011

"....Just as popular demand for democracy was ever more clear and left ever less room for doubt, so the transitional government led by Caied Essebsi and his panoply of "committees" was ever more committed to ignoring it, and instead to carry on serving up the old authoritarian menu. But the young people who created this revolution have their own vision, their own programme. The watchwords of the demonstrations and sit-ins held since 14 January reveal a lot about the clarity of thought of the young people who continually reiterate the three urgent unfinished reforms: justice (including social justice), police and media.

Today's elections will be the real test of the capacity of the political class to respond innovatively to the these demands. They need to step off the beaten path of autocratic kneejerk reactions and accept the verdict of the ballot box.

These are the first elections Tunisia has known since independence whose outcome is not known in advance. And that scares people. Firstly, it scares the European, and especially French, decision-makers who refuse to accept the risks which come with any free and fair election...

Resistance to change is predictable. We have rarely seen transitions in which people politely give up power. Nor is the transition from dictatorship to democracy a well-trodden path. The provisional government, obsessed by its concern not to upset the old guard, kicked urgently needed reforms into the long grass, and left the Constituent Assembly to deal with the four major areas of unfinished business of the transition – the preservation of vital records and archives, and the reform for the judiciary, the media and the police - as well as the task of installing a new government.....

Despite the fact that the electoral system which has been chosen tends to work against radical forces, and despite the role that money has played in the campaign, there is still everything to play for. The people of Tunisia will remain on guard to see that their revolution is not stolen from them. Fear has been banished from the hearts and minds of the people of Tunisia. They will inspire other countries, as they have inspired other revolutions."

Yet again, Tunisia can show Arab nations the way forward



Just as protests in Tunisia led the Arab spring, so its elections can show other Arab nations the way to true democracy

A VERY GOOD COMMENT
Issandr El Amrani
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 23 October 2011

"Yesterday, millions of Tunisians lined up – some for several hours – to vote in their country's first free election. Some voters came with their children to show them, they said, what democracy looks like. Many were also voting for the first time, having refused to take part in the masquerade that electoral politics was under the oppressive regime of their deposed dictator, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

The road to the polling stations has not been easy....

It is nothing short of a miracle to witness a country that only a year ago had one of the most repressive police states in the region now hold its freest elections. It is not just that these elections are technically sound: unlike the much-hailed polls in Iraq in the last decade, they are not taking place against a backdrop of civil war and military occupation, or with the sectarian calculations that have defined Lebanon's elections. These elections are taking place in a democratic spirit; Tunisia's parties are not backed by gangs and militias.....

The Tunisian people now seem doubly liberated: from a nasty regime, but also from their own guilt in not confronting it earlier. Many are embracing political activism for the first time in their lives in a manner that makes the apathy often prevalent in established democracies seem shameful.

There is nervousness about the election's results, of course. It is likely that Al-Nahda, an Islamist movement that leads in the polls, will do well, disturbing the strongly secular tradition of Tunisian politics since 1956. But, significantly, there are signs that Tunisian politics are maturing: today's al-Nahda seems far from the much more conservative and illiberal Islamist movement of the 1980s, and secular parties are grudgingly recognising that their presence on the political scene is legitimate. Indeed, al-Nahda's popularity appears to be as much based on the recognition of its leaders' ordeal – killings, torture and exile – as their religious ideas. In exchange for its political acceptance by secularists, al-Nahda has largely endorsed the relatively liberal social consensus instilled by Bourguiba.....

But just like Tunisia showed the way for the rest of the Arab world in January with its unlikely revolution, it now again offers a symbol of hope. Egypt, whose transition is currently a mess, and Libya, where it is only beginning, should take note."

Al-Jazeera Video: Nazanine Moshiri updates from Tunisia

Al-Jazeera Video: Syria's seven longest months

رسالة سرية من بيرس لشارون: بحثت مع ابو مازن الإطاحة بعرفات



عرب48

"يصدر في الأيام القريبة كتاب "شارون- سيرة حياة قائد"، لجلعاد شارون، ابن رئيس الوزراء السابق ارئيل شارون، والذي يعتمد على على وثائق ورسائل ومحاضر جلسات جمعها والده وأرشفها في منزله.
ويتناول الكتاب أهم المحطات في حياة شارون العسكرية والسياسية، ونشرت صحيفة "يديعوت أحرونوت" مقتطفات من الكتاب، من بينها رسالة سرية بخط يد وزير الخارجية في حكومته حينذاك شمعون بيرس.
وتوصف الرسالة في الكتاب بأنها "الرسالة التي تحرج أبو مازن"، وتتضمن محضر جلسة سرية عقدت بين بيرس وأبو مازن.
وحسب الكتاب فإن ابو مازن وبيرس كانا يجريان اتصالات سرية تنسيقية من وراء ظهر رئيس السلطة الفلسطينية حينذاك ياسر عرفات.
وتشير الرسالة إلى أن أبو مازن حذر بيرس من انه إذا انكشف أمر اللقاء فإن حياته ستكون في خطر:"إذا انكشف أمر اللقاء سأكون في عداد الأموات ".
وحسب الرسالة، قال أبو مازن لبيرس: " ينبغي أن تتوقف إسرائيل عن الثناء عليه كي لا تمس في فرص انتخابه رئيسا للحكومة". ويصف أبو مازن، الراحل عرفات، بحسب الرسالة بأنه "إنسان غير واقعي"، كما طلب أبو ازن مساعدة إسرائيل في إقناع الولايات المتحدة بمنح معونات مالية للفلسطينيين، بعد انتخابه.
ويقول بيرس في الرسالة أنه ناقش مع ابو مازن في جلسة سابقة الإطاحة بعرفات.
"