Saturday, January 28, 2012
Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة - الطائفية في العالم العربي
حديث الثورة - الطائفية في العالم العربي
عزمي بشارة
محمد كريشان
28/01/2012
عزمي بشارة
محمد كريشان
28/01/2012
CNN Report: Syria apparently losing control of suburbs
Al-Jazeera Video: Egyptian anti-military activist Maikel Nabil rejects pardon
"Maikel Nabil, one of Egypt's most outspoken voices against the ruling military council, has given his first live television interview to Al Jazeera, just days after being pardoned and released from prison.
Nabil said he rejected the pardon from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and that anyone who mistreated him during his roughly 10 months in prison should be prosecuted.
Nabil was often held in isolation, given limited access to his family and barred from speaking to the media. He was originally sentenced to a three-year prison term. He was arrested in March after writing a blog post entitled "The People and The Army Are Not One Hand"."
Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian opposition to equip fighters
"Louay Safi, a member of the Syrian National Council, the main opposition group, tells Al Jazeera that the Free Syrian Army "is part of the solution".
The council has said it is ready to provide the opposition army with funding and equipment - which Safi calls "defensive equipment to protect civilians"."
WILL THE US BACK REAL DEMOCRACY IN EGYPT?
By Eric Margolis
January 28, 2012
"Last Monday, Egyptians celebrated the first anniversary of the revolution that overthrew the 30-year Mubarak regime.
By contrast, America’s reaction this historic event was tellingly muted.....
Even if parliament achieves this goal, it will then confront Egypt’s 500,000-man military and equally numerous internal security forces. So far, Egypt’s military, which is financed, armed and sustained by Washington, threw dictator Mubarak to the wolves to appease popular anger but has barely given an inch on other key issues.
A year after the Tahrir Square revolution, Egypt remains a brutal police state where regime critics disappear, are tortured, and jailed in the thousands. The old guard still control much of the nation’s media, academia, courts and industry: Mubarakism without Mubarak.
The US-backed generals own between a third and two thirds of Egypt’s key businesses or real estate and enjoy lavish perks.
The military’s senior military officers have been trained by the US, vetted by CIA, and are joined at the hip to the Pentagon in much the same manner as were Latin America’s generals in the 60’s and 70’s.
Washington gives Egypt’s military $1.3 billion annually, controls its flow of weapons and spare parts, and provides tens of millions in “black payments” to the military, security forces, and intelligence service, the “Mukhabarat.”
Accordingly, it’s difficult to see Egypt’s plutocratic military easily giving up all of its political and economic power to a rowdy civilian parliament, particularly when the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia, France, and Israel are all quietly backing the military regime.
If the military cracks down on parliamentary forces, it risks driving the opposition underground and more violence. Egypt’s military may split, as younger, Nasserite-officers try to seize power, or face bloody urban guerilla war......"
January 28, 2012
"Last Monday, Egyptians celebrated the first anniversary of the revolution that overthrew the 30-year Mubarak regime.
By contrast, America’s reaction this historic event was tellingly muted.....
Even if parliament achieves this goal, it will then confront Egypt’s 500,000-man military and equally numerous internal security forces. So far, Egypt’s military, which is financed, armed and sustained by Washington, threw dictator Mubarak to the wolves to appease popular anger but has barely given an inch on other key issues.
A year after the Tahrir Square revolution, Egypt remains a brutal police state where regime critics disappear, are tortured, and jailed in the thousands. The old guard still control much of the nation’s media, academia, courts and industry: Mubarakism without Mubarak.
The US-backed generals own between a third and two thirds of Egypt’s key businesses or real estate and enjoy lavish perks.
The military’s senior military officers have been trained by the US, vetted by CIA, and are joined at the hip to the Pentagon in much the same manner as were Latin America’s generals in the 60’s and 70’s.
Washington gives Egypt’s military $1.3 billion annually, controls its flow of weapons and spare parts, and provides tens of millions in “black payments” to the military, security forces, and intelligence service, the “Mukhabarat.”
Accordingly, it’s difficult to see Egypt’s plutocratic military easily giving up all of its political and economic power to a rowdy civilian parliament, particularly when the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia, France, and Israel are all quietly backing the military regime.
If the military cracks down on parliamentary forces, it risks driving the opposition underground and more violence. Egypt’s military may split, as younger, Nasserite-officers try to seize power, or face bloody urban guerilla war......"
Damascus: The Battle for the Hinterland
For the first time since the outbreak of the Syrian uprising, defectors have managed to secure a strong presence in several towns in the Damascene countryside, including Zabadani, Harasta, Douma, Kafr Batna, and Arbin.
A Syrian soldier, who has defected to join the Free Syrian Army, holds up his rifle and waves a Syrian independence flag in the Damascus suburb of Saqba 27 January 2012.
By: Tarek Abd al-Hayy
Al-Akhbar
"Damascus – Recent clashes in the province of Damascus Countryside between army defectors, also known as the Free Syrian Army, and regular forces have brought talk of the “militarization” of the Syrian protests to the forefront.
While there have been similar incidents in the provinces of Homs, Hama and Idlib, they take on added importance in the capital's rural hinterland with its dense and diverse population.
Speculation is rife that the army is poised to launch a decisive large-scale operation aimed at regaining control of these cities, for fear that they could become military access-points to the capital itself.
It all began with Zabadani, near the Lebanese border.....
It is completely different inside Zabadani. As you enter the town, you no longer feel you are in the same Syria. "We have overthrown the regime" locals proclaim. They say that they now take to the freezing streets every night to protest, protected by army defectors who surround the demonstrators to safeguard against any attacks by the security forces.
Life continues as normal in many respects. People go out walking, and children attend school. Some residents have hoisted the “independence flag” as they call it, rather than the current national flag. There is a strong sense of triumph among local people, mixed with fear that the army might mount a major operation to regain control.
One local activist, requesting anonymity, explains that the security forces retreated from Zabadani. They pulled out their armor and requested a truce after being under pressure from guerrilla-style attacks carried out by armed groups based in the surrounding mountains.....
But the activist stresses that people feel much safer now after the withdrawal of security forces from the streets. This has encouraged growing numbers of people to go out and protest on a daily basis. Goods that were previously scarce, such as diesel and gas, are also more readily available.
“Zabadani today is virtually under the control of the armed groups,” he says. “The security forces are positioned in the surrounding areas, but nevertheless, the people of this region are saying: ‘We have been liberated.’”......
There have been reports of a widespread campaign of arrests and raids in Harasta, including reports of houses being forcibly evacuated and either demolished [Israeli tactic!] on the grounds that they were used for dissident activity, or taken over as security positions [Israeli tactic, again!]. Also, there have been reports of snipers being positioned on rooftops. They shoot at any moving target, particularly in the direction of Douma and Qaboun, which activists say are witnessing similar "hysterical" crackdowns.
According to a member of the local coordinating committee, armed groups began deploying in Harasta days ago in order to protect protesters. They erected barricades to block the entry of security forces, who remained on the outskirts. This encouraged large numbers of people to take to the streets to demonstrate or attend the funerals of martyrs. Moreover, unprecedented calls were made from some mosque minarets, urging anyone with a weapon to confront the army and security forces. Hundreds of locals, many of whom own guns to protect their farmland, came forward to volunteer for the Free Army, the activists says.....
Yet at the same time, the regime cannot afford to just let defections from the army increase while gunmen establish themselves on the fringes of the capital, from where they could launch a repeat of the Libyan rebels’ march on Tripoli....."
A Syrian soldier, who has defected to join the Free Syrian Army, holds up his rifle and waves a Syrian independence flag in the Damascus suburb of Saqba 27 January 2012.
By: Tarek Abd al-Hayy
Al-Akhbar
"Damascus – Recent clashes in the province of Damascus Countryside between army defectors, also known as the Free Syrian Army, and regular forces have brought talk of the “militarization” of the Syrian protests to the forefront.
While there have been similar incidents in the provinces of Homs, Hama and Idlib, they take on added importance in the capital's rural hinterland with its dense and diverse population.
Speculation is rife that the army is poised to launch a decisive large-scale operation aimed at regaining control of these cities, for fear that they could become military access-points to the capital itself.
It all began with Zabadani, near the Lebanese border.....
It is completely different inside Zabadani. As you enter the town, you no longer feel you are in the same Syria. "We have overthrown the regime" locals proclaim. They say that they now take to the freezing streets every night to protest, protected by army defectors who surround the demonstrators to safeguard against any attacks by the security forces.
Life continues as normal in many respects. People go out walking, and children attend school. Some residents have hoisted the “independence flag” as they call it, rather than the current national flag. There is a strong sense of triumph among local people, mixed with fear that the army might mount a major operation to regain control.
One local activist, requesting anonymity, explains that the security forces retreated from Zabadani. They pulled out their armor and requested a truce after being under pressure from guerrilla-style attacks carried out by armed groups based in the surrounding mountains.....
But the activist stresses that people feel much safer now after the withdrawal of security forces from the streets. This has encouraged growing numbers of people to go out and protest on a daily basis. Goods that were previously scarce, such as diesel and gas, are also more readily available.
“Zabadani today is virtually under the control of the armed groups,” he says. “The security forces are positioned in the surrounding areas, but nevertheless, the people of this region are saying: ‘We have been liberated.’”......
There have been reports of a widespread campaign of arrests and raids in Harasta, including reports of houses being forcibly evacuated and either demolished [Israeli tactic!] on the grounds that they were used for dissident activity, or taken over as security positions [Israeli tactic, again!]. Also, there have been reports of snipers being positioned on rooftops. They shoot at any moving target, particularly in the direction of Douma and Qaboun, which activists say are witnessing similar "hysterical" crackdowns.
According to a member of the local coordinating committee, armed groups began deploying in Harasta days ago in order to protect protesters. They erected barricades to block the entry of security forces, who remained on the outskirts. This encouraged large numbers of people to take to the streets to demonstrate or attend the funerals of martyrs. Moreover, unprecedented calls were made from some mosque minarets, urging anyone with a weapon to confront the army and security forces. Hundreds of locals, many of whom own guns to protect their farmland, came forward to volunteer for the Free Army, the activists says.....
Yet at the same time, the regime cannot afford to just let defections from the army increase while gunmen establish themselves on the fringes of the capital, from where they could launch a repeat of the Libyan rebels’ march on Tripoli....."
(Click on map to enlarge)
The present stands no chance against the past
By Robert Fisk
"The Palestinians are not only, it seems, an "invented people" – courtesy of Newt Gingrich – but the only Arabs on the Mediterranean not to enjoy a Spring or an Awakening or even a Winter.....
For what? Israel, which in the past could analyse events rationally, if not always correctly, appears, too, to have lost its ability to grasp events, its Prime Minister hiding behind self-delusional speeches when he should be understanding the typhoon sweeping across the Arab states around him. People who will no longer tolerate dictators are not going to accept peace treaties with an ever more expansionist Israel – 2,000 more colonisers' homes, Netanyahu decided last autumn, would be the latest punishment for the Palestinians who dare to demand statehood....
... Indeed, I have a letter beside me as I write, sent to The New York Times on 2 December 1948, warning of the visit to the US of the young Menachem Begin whose "Freedom Party", said the letter's authors, was "closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties". Among the authors of this letter was Albert Einstein....
Now, said Peled, at Silwan just outside East Jerusalem, thousands of Palestinians may be evicted from their homes "so that Israel can build a park to glorify a conquest that took place 3,000 years ago, never mind that not a shred of scientific evidence exists that such a king (David) ever lived, any more than there is evidence the world was created in six days. The past trumps the present in Israel – a state that wants to eliminate the existence of people who live on their land to solidify the myth of a glorious past". Strong stuff indeed.
But is it any surprise that the Palestinians believe this when the president who told them they deserve a state vetoes their demand for statehood at the United Nations, while his country deprives them of millions of dollars for daring to believe him, withdraws its funding from Unesco when it bestows a kind of statehood on the Palestinians – and then remains silent when Israel says it will keep money legally owed to the Palestinians of the West Bank? But since Obama's re-election counts for more than "Palestine", what chance is there of peace in the Middle East? Maybe Israel is ensuring that the past also trumps the present in the United States. If only we could ask the one rabbi Netanyahu chose to quote in his UN speech against Palestinian statehood last year: the very same rabbi who inspired the murderer Baruch Goldstein to kill so many Palestinians 18 years ago."
"The Palestinians are not only, it seems, an "invented people" – courtesy of Newt Gingrich – but the only Arabs on the Mediterranean not to enjoy a Spring or an Awakening or even a Winter.....
For what? Israel, which in the past could analyse events rationally, if not always correctly, appears, too, to have lost its ability to grasp events, its Prime Minister hiding behind self-delusional speeches when he should be understanding the typhoon sweeping across the Arab states around him. People who will no longer tolerate dictators are not going to accept peace treaties with an ever more expansionist Israel – 2,000 more colonisers' homes, Netanyahu decided last autumn, would be the latest punishment for the Palestinians who dare to demand statehood....
... Indeed, I have a letter beside me as I write, sent to The New York Times on 2 December 1948, warning of the visit to the US of the young Menachem Begin whose "Freedom Party", said the letter's authors, was "closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties". Among the authors of this letter was Albert Einstein....
Now, said Peled, at Silwan just outside East Jerusalem, thousands of Palestinians may be evicted from their homes "so that Israel can build a park to glorify a conquest that took place 3,000 years ago, never mind that not a shred of scientific evidence exists that such a king (David) ever lived, any more than there is evidence the world was created in six days. The past trumps the present in Israel – a state that wants to eliminate the existence of people who live on their land to solidify the myth of a glorious past". Strong stuff indeed.
But is it any surprise that the Palestinians believe this when the president who told them they deserve a state vetoes their demand for statehood at the United Nations, while his country deprives them of millions of dollars for daring to believe him, withdraws its funding from Unesco when it bestows a kind of statehood on the Palestinians – and then remains silent when Israel says it will keep money legally owed to the Palestinians of the West Bank? But since Obama's re-election counts for more than "Palestine", what chance is there of peace in the Middle East? Maybe Israel is ensuring that the past also trumps the present in the United States. If only we could ask the one rabbi Netanyahu chose to quote in his UN speech against Palestinian statehood last year: the very same rabbi who inspired the murderer Baruch Goldstein to kill so many Palestinians 18 years ago."
Palestinian civil society condemns Arab participation in Hertzliya Conference
Al-Masry Al-Youm
"The Palestinian Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) condemned on Thursday the participation of Arab figures from Egypt, Jordan and Qatar in the 12th annual Herzliya conference.
The Herzliya conference is considered the most important annual event for Israel's military intelligence as it is concerned mainly with the promotion of Israeli "national security," and thus forms a major threat to the Palestinian cause, the committee said in a statement Thursday.
The Herzliya conference will be held between 31 January and 2 February under the name “In the Eye of Storms: Israel and the Middle East."
Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a London-based Arabic daily, reported on Thursday that among participants in the conference are Riad al-Khoury, a Jordanian economist, Salman al-Sheikh of the Doha-based Brookings Institute, Sherif al-Diwany, chairman of Marsad (Observatory) Inc. in Egypt, and Saeb Erekat, former chief Palestinian negotiator.
The BNC called on Arab figures participating in the conference to withdraw.
The statement said Arab figures' participation is totally incompatible with the Palestinian people's will, as expressed by the vast majority of its parties, trade unions and political factions in the 2005 "call upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era" until it fully complies with international law and human rights principles, the statement added.
The participation of Arab figures in the conference helps legitimize Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people and all the Arab peoples, the statement said, adding that it gives a false impression of normal relations between the Arab world and Israel despite the latter's occupation, racism and continuing violation of international law and the rights of Palestinians......"
"The Palestinian Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) condemned on Thursday the participation of Arab figures from Egypt, Jordan and Qatar in the 12th annual Herzliya conference.
The Herzliya conference is considered the most important annual event for Israel's military intelligence as it is concerned mainly with the promotion of Israeli "national security," and thus forms a major threat to the Palestinian cause, the committee said in a statement Thursday.
The Herzliya conference will be held between 31 January and 2 February under the name “In the Eye of Storms: Israel and the Middle East."
Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a London-based Arabic daily, reported on Thursday that among participants in the conference are Riad al-Khoury, a Jordanian economist, Salman al-Sheikh of the Doha-based Brookings Institute, Sherif al-Diwany, chairman of Marsad (Observatory) Inc. in Egypt, and Saeb Erekat, former chief Palestinian negotiator.
The BNC called on Arab figures participating in the conference to withdraw.
The statement said Arab figures' participation is totally incompatible with the Palestinian people's will, as expressed by the vast majority of its parties, trade unions and political factions in the 2005 "call upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era" until it fully complies with international law and human rights principles, the statement added.
The participation of Arab figures in the conference helps legitimize Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people and all the Arab peoples, the statement said, adding that it gives a false impression of normal relations between the Arab world and Israel despite the latter's occupation, racism and continuing violation of international law and the rights of Palestinians......"
Friday, January 27, 2012
Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian activists propose an armed uprising
"A growing number of activists in Syria are taking up arms to protect themselves from the government's violent crackdown that has claimed thousands of civilians lives since March.
They have begun setting up military councils in provinces across the country to create an organised command structure.
And the Syrian National Council, a leading opposition group, says it will logistically back the armed uprising to prevent more civilians from being killed.
Zeina Khdor reports from Beirut."
واشنطن والمعادلة المفرغة: إسقاط النظام السوري أم سقوطه؟
2012-01-26  |
الآن إذْ تدخل الانتفاضة السورية شهرها الحادي عشر، يجد بعض الساسة الأمريكيين أنفسهم أكثر اضطراراً إلى التعليق عليها، بمقدار أعلى من الوضوح؛ وأكثر شهية للمناوشة حولها، بين ديمقراطي هنا وجمهوري هناك، أو بين الرئيس الأمريكي نفسه، وأحد أبرز المرشحين الجمهوريين لانتخابات الرئاسة. وهكذا، أعلن الأوّل، باراك أوباما، في خطبته السنوية عن حال الاتحاد، أنّ 'نظام الأسد سيكتشف قريباً أنه لا يمكن مقاومة قوة التغيير وتجريد الشعب من كرامته'، وبالتالي فإنّ 'أيام النظام السوري أصبحت معدودة على غرار نظام القذافي'. الثاني، ميت رومني، لام الرئيس على تأخره في إطلاق هذا التصريح، لأنه يصدر اليوم فقط 'بعد إراقة الكثير من الدماء في ذلك البلد'، والمطلوب أن 'تُظهر أمريكا دورها القيادي على المسرح العالمي، وتعمل على نقل هذه الأمم النامية نحو الحداثة'. من جانبه، رأى السناتور جون كيري، رئيس لجنة العلاقات الخارجية في مجلس الشيوخ الأمريكي، أن سورية 'على حافة الحرب الأهلية'، ولهذا كان 'تصعيد العنف' الموضوع الأبرز في حواراته مع ساسة الشرق الأوسط، أثناء جولة استغرقت 11 يوماً. ورغم أنّ كيري كان أحد أنشط محاوري بشار الأسد (ليس حول الإصلاح والديمقراطية وحقوق الإنسان بالطبع، بل حول إحياء قناة التفاوض السورية ـ الإسرائيلية حصرياً)، فإنّ توصياته للإدارة الأمريكية شدّدت على فتح الحوار مع 'عدد كبير من الحلفاء'، والتشاور مع الجامعة العربية ودول مجلس التعاون الخليجي 'للنظر في ما يتوجب اتخاذه، خطوة خطوة'. زميله في الحزب ومجلس الشيوخ روبرت ب كيسي الابن، رئيس اللجنة الفرعية للشرق الأوسط، ذهب أبعد فرأى أنّ الجامعة العربية 'لا تقوم بكلّ ما في وسعها القيام به'، وعلى الولايات المتحدة أن تبذل المزيد من الجهد. وثمة رأي (ينضوي كاتب هذه السطور في عداد القائلين به) يرى أنّ البيت الأبيض ما يزال غير حاسم بصدد، أو غير مستقرّ تماماً على، تحديد سياسة مفصلة وملموسة وقابلة للتطبيق المرحلي حول إسقاط النظام السوري، رغم اليقين المتزايد ـ والذي يلوح، اليوم، أنه صار جازماً ـ بأنّ سقوط النظام صار استحقاقاً لا محيد عنه. الفارق بين 'إسقاط' و'سقوط' هو جوهر إشكالية، إذا جاز اعتبارها هكذا، جعلت واشنطن تتأخر كثيراً في النطق بالعبارة/ الدرّة (أي الإعلان الصريح عن ضرورة تنحي الأسد)، فتواصل تقليب الملفّ السوري على نار خامدة تارة، وأخرى متقدة طوراً. وثمة، كما هو معروف ومتكرر، سلسلة أسباب وجيهة، سورية داخلية صرفة وإقليمية دولية أيضاً، جيو ـ سياسية وعسكرية واجتماعية واقتصادية ودينية، تجعل الملفّ السوري أشدّ تعقيداً، وإنذاراً بالمخاطر والمزالق، من أن تُصاغ في تناوله معالجات يسيرة أو سريعة. فأن يتبنى البيت الأبيض مفهوم الإسقاط، أمر يعني المشاركة في الجهود المفضية إلى زعزعة أركان النظام، سواء أكانت سرّية أم علنية، ودبلوماسية صرفة، أم تساندها إجراءات استخباراتية وعسكرية ولوجستية متعددة، بينها إقامة المناطق الآمنة، والممرّات الإنسانية، وربما خطوط الإمداد في حال إقرار مشاريع تدخل عسكرية من أي نوع؛ وهذا ما لم تحسم الإدارة أمرها فيه، بل يصحّ القول إنها عازفة عنه عملياً (لحسن حظّ الشعب السوري، وانتفاضته التي أرادها وطنية، سلمية، غير مرتهنة لقوى خارجية سبق للسوريين أن ذاقوا مرارة تواطؤها مع النظام). غنيّ عن القول، أيضاً، إنّ سورية ليست العراق، وليست ليبيا، بمعنى أنها ليست كعكة مصالح تسيل اللعاب المحرّض على التدخل الخارجي؛ ونظامها، من جانب آخر، هو الأفضل لحليف الولايات المتحدة الأفضل، إسرائيل، كما أنه خير الممانعين طرّاً: نظام 'ممانِع'، لا يمانع! |
Tunisia and Egypt One Year On
A Year of Spring
by ESAM AL-AMIN
CounterPunch
"....
In short, Tunisia promises a much smoother transition to a more stable society and democratically functioning system than Egypt. But with the cautious moves of the FJP and other Islamic parties, Egypt’s future also appears to be heading towards steady though slow progress, and following a promising yet challenging path. However, it’s important to keep in mind that all these significant changes in both countries are taking place while severe economic problems and hardships are mounting, and as they struggle against enormous foreign interference and external pressures."
by ESAM AL-AMIN
CounterPunch
"....
In short, Tunisia promises a much smoother transition to a more stable society and democratically functioning system than Egypt. But with the cautious moves of the FJP and other Islamic parties, Egypt’s future also appears to be heading towards steady though slow progress, and following a promising yet challenging path. However, it’s important to keep in mind that all these significant changes in both countries are taking place while severe economic problems and hardships are mounting, and as they struggle against enormous foreign interference and external pressures."
Gingrich’s Extremist Anti-Palestinian Stance Follows Millions From Casino Magnate Sheldon Adelson
Democracy Now!
"Many analysts say Newt Gingrich’s recent rise in the Republican contest would have been impossible without the backing of one man — multi-billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Adelson and his wife have donated $10 million to the pro-Gingrich super PAC, "Winning Our Future," which has run a series of ads attacking Gingrich’s opponent Mitt Romney. Gingrich has openly admitted Adelson’s support came down to a single issue: Israel. Gingrich has adopted the most extremist anti-Palestinian stance of the Republican presidential field, calling the Palestinians themselves an "invented" people. We speak with Gal Beckerman of the Jewish Daily Forward and Linda Sarsour of the Arab American Association of New York..."
Al-Jazeera Video: Empire - Tunisia: A revolutionary model
A GOOD PROGRAM
"Tunisia has adopted an interim constitution, held free and fair elections, and is becoming a modern democratic state. A year after the Jasmine Revolution, can the country's new government fix the vast social injustices that triggered it?"
"Tunisia has adopted an interim constitution, held free and fair elections, and is becoming a modern democratic state. A year after the Jasmine Revolution, can the country's new government fix the vast social injustices that triggered it?"
Al-Jazeera Video: Fear over the militarised conflict in Syria
"As the government and the opposition are not backing down, there are those who fear that the increasingly militarized conflict may only lead to all-out warfare.
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Beirut."
Real News Video: Thousands of Egyptians Call for End to Military Rule
Jihan Hafiz reports that on Jan 25th Anniversary of the revolution thousands of people across Egypt demand justice for the martyrs
The Best Politicians Money Can Buy, by Khalil Bendib
Opportunists and the Revolution
By: Gilbert Achcar
Al-Akhbar
"In a manner infused with the spirit of Western Orientalism, as defined by Edward Said, some Arabs have held that a despotic mentality has taken root among most of their fellow Arabs as a result of their cultural and educational background.
One advocate of such a view in the not-so-distant past was Moncef Marzouki, the transitional president of Tunisia, when he was still living in France as an opponent in exile of the previous president, the tyrant Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.
In an article he published on Al Jazeera’s website on 19 February 2010, Marzouki cited the French scholar Beatrice Hibou, author of The Force of Obedience: The Political Economy of Repression in Tunisia, who belongs to the Orientalist school, that explained the Tunisians’ alleged “obedience” to their tyrants by attributing it to a mentality ingrained in them over the course of generations (these theses have been powerfully refuted by the Tunisian scholar Mahmoud Ben Romdhane in a recent book in French).
Marzouki argued that whoever reads Hibou’s book “understands that what bewilders the Western mind about Arabs is our transcendent ability to obey the most corrupt of rulers, while Western culture is based on the refusal to obey injustice and on legitimizing the right to resist it.”
Al-Akhbar
"In a manner infused with the spirit of Western Orientalism, as defined by Edward Said, some Arabs have held that a despotic mentality has taken root among most of their fellow Arabs as a result of their cultural and educational background.
One advocate of such a view in the not-so-distant past was Moncef Marzouki, the transitional president of Tunisia, when he was still living in France as an opponent in exile of the previous president, the tyrant Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.
In an article he published on Al Jazeera’s website on 19 February 2010, Marzouki cited the French scholar Beatrice Hibou, author of The Force of Obedience: The Political Economy of Repression in Tunisia, who belongs to the Orientalist school, that explained the Tunisians’ alleged “obedience” to their tyrants by attributing it to a mentality ingrained in them over the course of generations (these theses have been powerfully refuted by the Tunisian scholar Mahmoud Ben Romdhane in a recent book in French).
Marzouki argued that whoever reads Hibou’s book “understands that what bewilders the Western mind about Arabs is our transcendent ability to obey the most corrupt of rulers, while Western culture is based on the refusal to obey injustice and on legitimizing the right to resist it.”
He thus added to the Orientalist image of Arabs an idealized image of “Western culture” as if it were an eternal given.....
One does not need extraordinary insight to realize that the winners of the first post-uprising elections and governments are truly the opportunists and not the revolutionaries, as Marzouki himself rightly said when he was still moved by the thrill and wisdom of the revolution.
Condemning labor strikes and blaming them for the country’s economic decline, as well as playing that same old tune of the “extremists” and “subversives” of the “far left,” have become the common language of the new rulers in both Tunisia and Egypt, in a way that reminds us irresistibly of the deposed regimes.
But the masses that one day aspired to life and experienced the taste of freedom will not stop struggling and protesting before “fate answers their call,” even if only years later."
One does not need extraordinary insight to realize that the winners of the first post-uprising elections and governments are truly the opportunists and not the revolutionaries, as Marzouki himself rightly said when he was still moved by the thrill and wisdom of the revolution.
Condemning labor strikes and blaming them for the country’s economic decline, as well as playing that same old tune of the “extremists” and “subversives” of the “far left,” have become the common language of the new rulers in both Tunisia and Egypt, in a way that reminds us irresistibly of the deposed regimes.
But the masses that one day aspired to life and experienced the taste of freedom will not stop struggling and protesting before “fate answers their call,” even if only years later."
Billionaire Gingrich backer Adelson regrets he served in US instead of Israeli military
By Ali Abunimah
"Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who along with his wife, has donated $10 million dollars in recent weeks to Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, has said that he wishes he had served in the Israeli army instead of the US military and that he wants his son to grow up to “be a sniper for the IDF.”
Gingrich himself has also doubled down on anti-Palestinian comments, asserting during a CNN debate last night that they were “invented” in the 1970s.
Adelson’s explosive comments are reported this morning by NBC’s Michael Isikoff:
Adelson owns a newspaper in Israel, ‘Israel HaYom,’ that backs conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and adamantly opposes any peace settlement with the Palestinians.
But while Adelson and Gingrich have bonded on the issue of a hawkish Mideast policy, especially over the threat of a nuclear Iran, some of the casino mogul’s comments could prove embarrassing.
In a talk to an Israeli group in July, 2010, Adelson said he wished he had served in the Israeli Army rather the U.S. military–and that he hoped his young son will come back to Israel and “be a sniper for the IDF,” a reference to the Israel Defense Forces. (YouTube video of speech)
“I am not Israeli. The uniform that I wore in the military, unfortunately, was not an Israeli uniform. It was an American uniform, although my wife was in the IDF and one of my daughters was in the IDF … our two little boys, one of whom will be bar mitzvahed tomorrow, hopefully he’ll come back– his hobby is shooting – and he’ll come back and be a sniper for the IDF,” Adelson said at the event.
“All we care about is being good Zionists, being good citizens of Israel, because even though I am not Israeli born, Israel is in my heart,” he said toward the end of his talk......"
"Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who along with his wife, has donated $10 million dollars in recent weeks to Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, has said that he wishes he had served in the Israeli army instead of the US military and that he wants his son to grow up to “be a sniper for the IDF.”
Gingrich himself has also doubled down on anti-Palestinian comments, asserting during a CNN debate last night that they were “invented” in the 1970s.
Adelson’s explosive comments are reported this morning by NBC’s Michael Isikoff:
Adelson owns a newspaper in Israel, ‘Israel HaYom,’ that backs conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and adamantly opposes any peace settlement with the Palestinians.
But while Adelson and Gingrich have bonded on the issue of a hawkish Mideast policy, especially over the threat of a nuclear Iran, some of the casino mogul’s comments could prove embarrassing.
In a talk to an Israeli group in July, 2010, Adelson said he wished he had served in the Israeli Army rather the U.S. military–and that he hoped his young son will come back to Israel and “be a sniper for the IDF,” a reference to the Israel Defense Forces. (YouTube video of speech)
“I am not Israeli. The uniform that I wore in the military, unfortunately, was not an Israeli uniform. It was an American uniform, although my wife was in the IDF and one of my daughters was in the IDF … our two little boys, one of whom will be bar mitzvahed tomorrow, hopefully he’ll come back– his hobby is shooting – and he’ll come back and be a sniper for the IDF,” Adelson said at the event.
“All we care about is being good Zionists, being good citizens of Israel, because even though I am not Israeli born, Israel is in my heart,” he said toward the end of his talk......"
American NGO workers prevented from leaving Egypt
Son of US transportation secretary among several election monitors placed on 'no-fly list' as tension with Cairo escalates
Ed Pilkington in New York
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 January 2012
"Tension between the US government and the Egyptian military authorities has reached a new peak after it emerged that several American non-governmental workers, including the son of a member of President Obama's administration, are being prevented from leaving the country in an ongoing spat over Egypt's recent parliamentary elections.
Sam LaHood, the son of the US transportation secretary Ray LaHood, was turned back at the airport in Cairo on Saturday in a significant escalation of the diplomatic stand-off between the two countries. LaHood heads the Egyptian outpost of the International Republican Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank that had been monitoring the elections held in recent weeks in the wake of the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak.
According to Politico he was placed on a "no-fly list", without explanation, after he tried to board a plane in an attempt to escape rising hostility towards his and other foreign NGOs. LaHood had previously been named in the state-run press in Cairo....
"That's pretty disquieting – to have that kind of thing raised by an ally that's receiving a billion and a half dollars in US aid each year," Craner said....
Craner said that at first the military generals had responded to the raids as though they were utterly unaware of what had happened. "But it's been nearly a month since then and the generals have been approached on a number of occasions and yet things have only got worse. So you have to wonder what's going on," he said....."
Ed Pilkington in New York
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 January 2012
"Tension between the US government and the Egyptian military authorities has reached a new peak after it emerged that several American non-governmental workers, including the son of a member of President Obama's administration, are being prevented from leaving the country in an ongoing spat over Egypt's recent parliamentary elections.
Sam LaHood, the son of the US transportation secretary Ray LaHood, was turned back at the airport in Cairo on Saturday in a significant escalation of the diplomatic stand-off between the two countries. LaHood heads the Egyptian outpost of the International Republican Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank that had been monitoring the elections held in recent weeks in the wake of the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak.
According to Politico he was placed on a "no-fly list", without explanation, after he tried to board a plane in an attempt to escape rising hostility towards his and other foreign NGOs. LaHood had previously been named in the state-run press in Cairo....
"That's pretty disquieting – to have that kind of thing raised by an ally that's receiving a billion and a half dollars in US aid each year," Craner said....
Craner said that at first the military generals had responded to the raids as though they were utterly unaware of what had happened. "But it's been nearly a month since then and the generals have been approached on a number of occasions and yet things have only got worse. So you have to wonder what's going on," he said....."
Bahrain’s use of tear gas against protesters increasingly deadly
Amnesty International
26 January 2012
"Bahrain must investigate more than a dozen deaths that followed the misuse of tear gas by security forces, Amnesty International has said after another person was seriously injured by a tear gas canister in Manama this week.
On Tuesday, 20-year-old Mohammad al-Muwali was seriously injured and hospitalized after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister launched by riot police responding to an anti-government protest in the capital city’s Karrana neighbourhood.
A Bahraini human rights group has reported at least 13 deaths resulting from the security forces’ use of tear gas against peaceful protesters as well as inside people’s homes since February 2011, with a rise in such deaths in recent months.
“The rise in fatalities and eyewitness accounts suggest that tear gas is being used inappropriately by Bahraini security forces, including in people’s homes and other confined spaces,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.
“The Bahraini authorities must investigate and account for the reports of more than a dozen deaths following tear gas use. The security forces must be instructed on how to use tear gas in line with international policing standards.”
Tear gas is used by law enforcement agencies in many countries as a riot control agent, to disperse violent gatherings that pose a threat to law and order.
But when used inappropriately, including in enclosed areas or on unarmed protesters who are simply exercising their freedoms of expression and assembly, deploying tear gas can constitute a human rights violation...."
26 January 2012
"Bahrain must investigate more than a dozen deaths that followed the misuse of tear gas by security forces, Amnesty International has said after another person was seriously injured by a tear gas canister in Manama this week.
On Tuesday, 20-year-old Mohammad al-Muwali was seriously injured and hospitalized after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister launched by riot police responding to an anti-government protest in the capital city’s Karrana neighbourhood.
A Bahraini human rights group has reported at least 13 deaths resulting from the security forces’ use of tear gas against peaceful protesters as well as inside people’s homes since February 2011, with a rise in such deaths in recent months.
“The rise in fatalities and eyewitness accounts suggest that tear gas is being used inappropriately by Bahraini security forces, including in people’s homes and other confined spaces,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.
“The Bahraini authorities must investigate and account for the reports of more than a dozen deaths following tear gas use. The security forces must be instructed on how to use tear gas in line with international policing standards.”
Tear gas is used by law enforcement agencies in many countries as a riot control agent, to disperse violent gatherings that pose a threat to law and order.
But when used inappropriately, including in enclosed areas or on unarmed protesters who are simply exercising their freedoms of expression and assembly, deploying tear gas can constitute a human rights violation...."
Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll
Will the Arab (League) move to the UN succeed in resolving the Syrian crisis?
With about 300 responding so far, 67% said no.
With about 300 responding so far, 67% said no.
