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By Michael Collins
One goal of Egypt's 2010 union inspired Tahrir Square protests was fulfilled during the December, 2011 parliamentary elections. Nearly 65% of the nation's fifty million eligible voters turned out to vote. Turnout for the June 16 and 17, 2012 presidential election dropped to an estimated 15%* according to local and press observers. What happened?
Three factors contributed to the exponential decline in voting. Egypt's courts took leading candidates off of the final presidential ballot. The disappeared candidates had the support of 68% of the electorate according to a major preelection poll in early May. Egyptian courts also disqualified one third of the recently elected parliament. Just a day before the election, military commander Mohamed Hussein Tantawi announced that the constitution had been annexed. This was a nice way of saying that the military was assuming most of the powers of the presidency, leaving the newly elected chief executive with little to do.
The entire foundation of the election vanished in plain sight. There was no point in voting. The preelection actions by the courts and military represented the most fundamental form of election fraud by making the elections meaningless.
Why vote?
by Ellen Brown
When Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase Bank, appeared before the Senate Banking Committee on June 13, he was wearing cufflinks bearing the presidential seal. “Was Dimon trying to send any particular message by wearing the presidential cufflinks?” asked CNBC editor John Carney. “Was he . . . subtly hinting that he’s really the guy in charge?”
The groveling of the Senators was so obvious that Jon Stewart did a spoof news clip on it, featured in a Huffington Post piece titled “Jon Stewart Blasts Senate’s Coddling Of JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon,” and Matt Taibbi wrote an op-ed called “Senators Grovel, Embarrass Themselves at Dimon Hearing.” He said the whole thing was painful to watch.
by Stephen Lendman
On April 21, Security Council Resolution 2043 established UNSMIS.
It authorized 300 observers to monitor "a cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties and to monitor and support the full implementation of the (Annan plan) to end the conflict in Syria."
On June 16, UNSMIS suspended its activities subject to daily review. On June 17, China's Xinhua News Agency headlined "Suspension of UN observer mission serves for western 'next step' in Syria," saying:
Next steps involve "political transition." Military options may be chosen. Syria said violence escalated markedly after UN monitors arrived.
by Stephen Lendman
Colonialism and apartheid breach international law.
The 1973 International Convention for the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (the Apartheid Convention) called it state-sanctioned discriminatory "inhuman" racism "committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them."
Apartheid is an international crime. The above definition builds on the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
The 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court calls apartheid a crime under the Court's jurisdiction. For 45 years, Israel flagrantly breached the law.
ICERD's Article 3 calls apartheid a particularly egregious form of discrimination. The Apartheid Convention and Rome Statute criminalized its practice.
Dr. Ashraf Ezzat
“The political scene in Egypt nowadays is pretty tense and rather precarious”
As June 30, the predetermined date for Egypt’s supreme council of armed forces(SCAF) to hand over power to an elected civilian government, is drawing nearer, all the major players in post-Mubarak transitional period are ready to throw in their last card … including Israel.
Some of the key players, like the Muslim Brotherhood, have even threatened to resort to violence if things don’t come their way.
Tony Soldo
When I proclaim that soldiers do not kill or die for my freedom, only Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again, so that I may be free and live forever, I am simply stating my personal belief.
Everyone must find their own personal belief system to live by, even if you say you believe in nothing, that is a belief system, and you must hold tightly to it, or another belief system will replace it.
I do not mean to Torpedo/Drone strike the whole anti-war movement by using the dreaded "J" word.
Maybe the anti-war movement is more useless and meaningless than it appears, when it reacts so aggressively to any mention of Jesus Christ.
I do understand why this is, based on the history of so called Christians who have mass-murdered in the name of Jesus, and caused so much pain, suffering, division, and destruction, to so many innocent people around the world, but these mass-murdering war-mongering, people were false Christians, everyone of them.
by Stephen Lendman
Since reelected in March, Putin and Obama met for the first time on Monday at the Los Cabos, Mexico G20 meeting.
Discussions focused on major geopolitical and economic issues. Differences on Syria remain unresolved.
At a joint press conference, Putin said:
"We held talks about international problems including the Syrian crisis."
"(W)e will continue our contacts on all issues."
Obama responded:
"We have agreed on the necessity of reaching a halt for violence in Syria and the need for running a political process to avoid a civil war."
by Stephen Lendman
On June 18, Maan News headlined "Al-Sarsak ends hunger strike in release deal," saying:
On March 19, Sarsak began hunger striking for justice. Israel lawlessly imprisoned him under its Unlawful Combatants Law (UCL).
Without evidence, it's imposed based on "a reasonable basis" to believe Palestinians belong to a hostile group belligerently confronting Israel. Israel calls wanting to live free belligerent and confrontational.
UCL is similar to America's "unlawful enemy combatant" designation. Under America's 2009 Military Commissions Act (MCA), they're called "unprivileged enemy belligerents."
Sarsak threatens no one. He committed no crimes. He's a national hero. He plays for the Palestinian National Football Team.
Kourosh Ziabari
The announcement by Iran's intelligence ministry that it has arrested 20 people associated with the terrorist operations in which two of the country's nuclear scientists were assassinated received the Western mainstream media's meaningful silence, but clearly demonstrated the influence and might of Iran's intelligence apparatus, giving a serious warning to the hell-bent enemies of the nation that their further plots and conspiracies can be immediately nipped in the bud.
By Timothy V. Gatto
Let’s face it, this relationship with the Obama administration just isn’t working out. I’m going to give some concrete reasons why. I’m also going to give my opinion at the end of this article. Let me say that this list is flabbergasting. Anyone with any common-sense can figure out why. I didn’t enjoy writing this at all. It’s because I’m an American citizen. All of this was done in my name and the name of every American citizen. It’s about time we changed the direction of this government and you can’t do it at the ballot box voting for the Democrat or Republican they decide to put in front of you. There isn’t a dimes worth of difference between the political parties. The Democrats represent fascism light while the GOP represents regular fascism. Here’s what’s going on:
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