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Will democracy in Egypt benefit the Palestinians?
By Alan Hart
For decades, and despite much rhetoric to the contrary, American-led Western policy has been to prefer Arab dictatorship (authoritarianism in various forms) to Arab democracy. This preference was determined by two main assessments.
One was that corrupt and repressive Arab regimes were the best possible guarantee that oil would continue to flow at prices acceptable to the West, and, that there would be almost no limits to the amount of weapons that could be sold to the most wealthy Arab states. (The design, production, testing and selling of weapons is one of the biggest creators of jobs and wealth in America, Britain and some other Western nations. Were it not for Saudi Arabia’s purchases, Britain’s arms manufacturing industry might have gone bust by now).
Canadian Sovereignty, Our Sovereignty, Is Not A Left/Right Issue!
By: Mike Stafford- NAURESISTANCE.ORG
My Canadian friends.. I beg of you.. please DO NOT let them turn the common security perimeter, new border vision deal into that!
Both The Liberals & Conservatives Have Been Working On The Consolidation Of North America Back To Back. Former Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, SIGNED Canada into the Security and Prosperity Partnership With A Conservative American President, George Bush Jr. After Winning The Last Federal Election Here In Canada, The Harper Conservatives Without Skipping A Beat, Picked Up The SPP Torch And Ran Full Steam Ahead With It! Harper Has Now Helped Implement This Consolidation Process With Both An American Republican President, And As We See Now With Obama, A Liberal President. The North American Union, The Consolidation Of North America Is Clearly An Agenda Shared By Both Legacy Parties On Both Sides Of The Border.
Hold the Celebration: Egypt's Struggle Just Began
by Stephen Lendman
Hopefully beneath celebratory euphoria, Egyptians know ousting Mubarak was simple, especially since Washington long wanted him out. Covertly with Egypt's military, it facilitated long-planned regime purging for with new faces under old policies. In other words, have everything change but stay the same, a common imperial bait and switch con.
As a result, the real liberating struggle continues against long odds for success because Washington, Egypt's military, Israel, Western powers, and big money will do everything to prevent it. The usual scheme was hatched - a facade of change that may or may not work, and will be months, maybe years, to know.
For now, however, Al Jazeera headlined, "Post-Mubarak era dawns on Egypt....just four weeks after Tunisians toppled their....ruler." Or did they? Their struggle also continues against comparable long odds. People throughout the region face them against powerful dark forces, representing imperial/monied interests, not theirs.
Cairo and Jerusalem
Gilad Atzmon
"It was the moral force of non-violence” stated President Obama in his first comment on the revolution in Egypt. Yet it is far from being clear who was the Egyptian Mandela, Gandhi, or Martin Luther King? I guess that in Cairo it was the people themselves who peacefully transformed their own reality.
Jerusalem, Zionists, and some elements within the Left have demonised Arabs, Muslims and Islam for decades. Yet the people of Egypt just proved how restrained and peace-seeking Islam is for real.
Unlike some of our blood soaked Western revolutions, in Cairo millions of Muslims waited for 18 days for their tyrant to internalise the message. Day after day, they stood in the streets demonstrating patience and determination; five times a day they joined mass prayers for goodness to prevail. They reminded us all that Islam is derived from the word Salaam. Islam is all about peace. It is inherently non violent.
Mubarak's Failed Bait and Switch
by Stephen Lendman
On February 10, indications were he'd step down. He didn't, but now it's official, vice president Suleiman saying he resigned, handing power to Egypt's military. A New York Times alert said "a historic popular uprising transformed politics in Egypt and around the Arab world."
Times rhetoric way overstated reality as resolution remains very much in doubt, though odds strongly favor continuity, not populist change. More on that below.
For the moment, however, huge Tahrir Square crowds erupted in celebratory euphoria, perhaps forgetting their liberating struggle just began. It didn't end with Mubarak's resignation. That was a baby step, removing an aging dinosaur Washington and Egypt's military wanted out. Now he's gone. Focus must follow through on what's next, requiring sustained popular protests. Otherwise, everything gained will be lost.
A Snake in the Grassroots of the Tea Party
By Silver Shield
I have warned those in the Freedom Movement about Patriot Pied Pipers trying to infiltrate, subvert and destroy the National Tea Party. On a national level, I warned about Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and even Wikileaks. Well now I see they have even burrowed into the local grassroots of the Tea Party. I had a very interesting email exchange with the head of a pretty popular Tea Party site yesterday.
A couple of things hit me during this exchange. The first thing is that this guy was thoroughly indoctrinated exactly like I was 15 years ago. (We will call him “Mr.TeaParty,” since he has a really cool disclaimer for privacy on all of his emails and I am sure he would not want me to out him or his efforts which you will see why below.) He had all of the Reagan worship, the spouting conservative talking points without any real thinking or debate and he ignored all of the facts that did not support his paradigm.
Justice first Mr. Hague, then peace
Stuart Littlewood
The word ‘justice’ is conspicuously absent from the mouthings of Western politicians on the Middle East. It has vanished from their vocabulary and from their purpose. Instead ‘peace process’ is endlessly trumpeted, and the lopsided dead-end ‘negotiations’ that go with it.
"It was disappointing that they continued the building of settlements, that they wouldn’t renew the settlement freeze over the last few months. So yes it does require bold leadership from Israel and of course from Palestinians..." That’s what the UK’s foreign secretary William Hague said yesterday to a BBC reporter. Israel’s continuing crime spree “disappointing”? And "bold leadership" is now required from the Palestinians? We're talking about crimes against international law and crimes against the United Nations charter and crimes against humanity. What is disappointing - no, shocking - is the lack of leadership from Hague and that bunch of misfits in the White House who are obligated under the terms of various solemn treaties and international undertakings to step in and end Israel’s lawlessness.
Road to Absorption
By Frank Koeksal
Recently, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with President Obama in Washington DC to discuss ways an agreement could be forged between the two countries to expedite trade and tourism across one of the largest boarders in the word. On the surface, this ides appears reasonable until one realizes that the lead to this meeting was kept out of the public eye. The reason for this may come from what we have heard from the meeting itself, mainly that information about Canadians will be shared and kept by various US security administrations. During the joint press conference with Mr. Harper and Mr. Obama the question of sovereignty came up, and although Mr. Harper seemed uncomfortable with the question, Mr, Obama was more forthright. Mr. Obama was clear that any deal with Canada would happen only when US security interest were addressed and implemented to the satisfaction of the US. This does not sound like a two way dialogue, more like a drill down.
Canada defeats GMO hazard legislation
By Rady Ananda
By a vote of 178 to 98, on February 9th, Canada's House of Commons defeated Bill C-474, an Act that would have required an analysis of potential harm to export markets before permitting the commercialization of any new genetically engineered seed. Organic farmers now fear the collapse of the wheat and alfalfa markets, since Canada's export markets reject biotech food.
Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth) and leader of Canada's New Democrats, expressed his disappointment in an email promising to "continue to take every opportunity to pressure the government to initiate a public debate around genetic engineering and to use a precautionary approach to this important issue."
Forces Behind the Egyptian Revolution
(Washington, DC) Two critical forces behind the Egyptian Revolution are missing from the front pages, or any pages, of the corporate media. They are the critical role of Egypt's union movement and the universal desire of all people to live in peace, freedom and dignity. Rarely mentioned are the grievances of Egypt's workers and their struggle to unionize. As a result, we've missed the connection between the struggle to unionize and the right to assemble.
The Egyptian people were poised for a mass celebration following what was supposed to be a farewell speech by former President Hosni Mubarak. For seventeen days, Egyptians massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square. There were protests in Alexandria, Port Suez, and other cities. The G-20 sates have been tentative in their support for the full set of demands by protesters and the broader Egyptian public. For example, President Barack Obama said Mubarak needed a, "credible, concrete and unequivocal path to democracy." What does a "path to democracy" look like? How long does it take to walk the path? Egypt's military leaders may have acted already.
Mubarak's contact with reality was extremely weak. He didn't get the message from the Egypt's Supreme Council of military leaders. Aljazeera reported that the council promised, "measures and arrangements … to safeguard the nation, its achievements and the ambitions of its great people." The news service concluded that a military coup had likely taken place already based on the announcement that the council will be in session indefinitely.
What role did the union movement play and how was that connected to the right to assemble and other fundamental human rights?
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