"الناصرة ـ 'القدس العربي': نشرت صحيفة 'يديعوت احرونوت' العبرية، امس الاربعاء، لقاء خاصا مع جيفري فيلتمان، مساعد وزيرة الخارجية الامريكية لشؤون العالم العربي، قال فيه ان ادارة الرئيس باراك اوباما تقوم في هذه الايام باجراء حوارٍ بناء مع زعماء حركة الاخوان المسلمين في مصر، وانه في سياق هذا الحوار تم التوصل الى تفاهمات بين الجانبين تقضي بان تحترم هذه الحركة اتفاق السلام بين اسرائيل ومصر، الذي تم التوقيع عليه خلال فترة حكم الرئيس المصري الاسبق، انور السادات. وقال المسؤول الامريكي في معرض رده على سؤال لمراسلة الشرق الاوسط بالصحيفة، سمدار بيري، حول الاوضاع في الشأن الفلسطيني انه لا يعتقد بان المصالحة التي تم توقيعها في القاهرة في شهر ايار (مايو) المنصرم بين حركتي فتح وحماس ستتحقق، وذلك بسبب وجود فجوات كبيرة بين الحركتين تشكل عقبات امام امكان انجاز مصالحة حقيقية، واشار الى انه اوضح للرئيس الفلسطيني، محمود عباس، انه، اي عباس، لن يحصل على دولة فلسطينية مستقلة اذا ما شكل حكومة وحدة مع منظمة ارهابية، على حد قوله، ايْ مع حركة المقاومة الاسلامية حماس. علاوة على ذلك تطرق فيلتمان الى المستجدات الاخيرة على الساحة السورية الداخلية، وقال للصحيفة العبرية ان الرئيس السوري، د. بشار الاسد هو اداة ارهابية في يد النظام الايراني، وعليه ان يتنحى عن السلطة فورا. اما في ما يتعلق بمصر، فاستطرد المستشار الامريكي قائلا للصحيفة العبرية ان المندوبين الامريكيين خرجوا من الحوار مع قادة الاخوان المسلمين بمصر في انطباع فحواه ان زعماء الاخوان المسلمين يدركون الاهمية الكبيرة لاتفاق السلام الموقع بين تل ابيب والقاهرة، لافتًا الى ان الامريكيين اوضحوا لهم خلال الحوار ان اتفاق السلام مع الدولة العبرية يعتبر عاملا مهمًا للغاية في استقرار مصر، على حد قوله. علاوة على ذلك، اكد فيلتمان للصحيفة العبرية على ان الادارة الامريكية فوجئت بحصول حركة السلفيين المتطرفة على نحو 20 بالمائة من الاصوات في اول مرحلة من الانتخابات البرلمانية المصرية، مشيرا الى ان هذا الموضوع سيكون في محور المحادثات التي يجريها مع كبار المسؤولين في تل ابيب. وفي الوقت نفسه شدد على ان هناك شراكة وتنسيقا على مستوى ممتاز بين الولايات المتحدة واسرائيل في جميع القضايا الاستراتيجية ذات الاهتمام المشترك، وخصوصا في ضوء التغيرات الكبيرة التي تشهدها منطقة الشرق الاوسط في الاونة الاخيرة. وفي معرض حديثه للصحيفة العبرية قال مستشار الوزيرة كلينتون انه خلافا للموقف المذكور ازاء حركة الاخوان المسلمين فان الادارة الامريكية تعتبر حزب الله اللبناني منظمة ارهابية، وبالتالي فانها لا تتعامل معها مطلقا على الرغم من كونها شريكة اساسية في الحكومة اللبنانية الحالية، على حد تعبيره. واشارت الصحيفة العبرية الى ان مساعد وزيرة الخارجية الامريكية يقوم في هذه الايام بجولة مكوكيةٍ في الشرق الاوسط تشمل كلا من مصر والاردن والسلطة الفلسطينية واسرائيل، والتقى خلالها كلا من العاهل الاردني الملك عبد الله الثاني، ورئيس السلطة الفلسطينية محمود عباس، والمدير العام لوزارة الخارجية الاسرائيلية رافي باراك، وقيادة مجلس الامن القومي الاسرائيلي. ولفتت المراسلة الاسرائيلية الى ان فيلتمان لم يتقدم بطلب الى الجهات ذات الصلة في تل ابيب لعقد اجتماع مع رئيس الوزراء الاسرائيلي، بنيامين نتنياهو، كما قالت المصادر السياسية في تل ابيب. "
"Data obtained by Amnesty International shows that the US has repeatedly transferred ammunition to Egypt despite security forces' violent crackdown on protesters.
A shipment for the Egyptian Ministry of Interior arrived from the US on 26 November carrying at least seven tons of "ammunition smoke" - which includes chemical irritants and riot control agents such as tear gas.
It was one of at least three arms deliveries to Egypt by the US company Combined Systems, Inc. since the brutal crackdown on the "25 January Revolution" protesters.
“US arms shipments to Egypt’s security forces must be stopped until there is certainty that tear gas and other munitions, weaponry or other equipment aren’t linked to bloodshed on Egyptian streets,” said Brian Wood of Amnesty International.....
Many of the cartridges and grenades picked up by protestors in Tahrir Square were US-made tear gas, including those marked Combined Systems Inc. or Combined Tactical Systems, which is the company’s law enforcement division.
“Even in situations where protesters clash with riot police, it is no licence to use excessive force and tear gas recklessly,” said Brian Wood.
“Egypt’s security forces, including the riot police, must be reformed and trained to respect UN standards on use of force and firearms. Without fundamental change in the behaviour and accountability of the security forces, it is irresponsible for foreign countries to provide arms and other equipment to forces that are most likely to misuse them.”...."
There is little doubt that Pakistan's army want him out, so Asif Ali Zardari's trip to Dubai could well spell the end of his presidency
Tariq Ali guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 7 December 2011
"The war in Afghanistan, as I argued a decade ago, was a potential threat to the stability of the system in Pakistan. Events have long confirmed this view. The US raid on a Pakistan border position a few weeks ago that killed 24 soldiers was only the latest disaster. Motives for the attack remain a mystery but its impact is not. It will create further divisions within the military, further weaken the venal regime of president Asif Ali Zardari, strengthen religious militants and make the US even more hated than it already is in Pakistan.
Was it intended as a provocation? Is Barack Obama seriously thinking of unleashing a civil war in an already battered country? Some commentators in Islamabad are arguing this but it's unlikely that Nato troops will occupy Pakistan. The death of soldiers stirred the mind of the nation to new activity. "Save us from our friends" is a growing sentiment even within the ruling elite.
Scaf generals say they will have final approval over new political system, whatever the outcome of the election
Jack Shenker in Cairo guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 7 December 2011
"Egypt's ruling generals have put themselves on a collision course with the country's new parliament after declaring that MPs will not have the final say over the drafting of a fresh constitution.
The revelation is likely to escalate tensions once again between the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) and an increasingly confident Muslim Brotherhood, which looks set to dominate the new assembly once voting is completed and parliament opens for business, in March....."
Al-Jazeera Video: US worried intercepted stealth drone will aid Iran
"US officials have acknowledged that the military lost control of one of its stealth drones while it was flying a mission over western Afghanistan.
Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday that Iran's armed forces had shot down the RQ-170, known as the Sentinel, and are now in possession of it.
US officials rejected that claim, saying there were no indications the plane was shot down. In either case, officials said this would be the first Sentinel lost by the US.
Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan looks at the potential implications of losing the high-tech drone."
"....The fact is, the activation of the League will not endure. It is a temporary renewal aimed at realising regional policies, punishing or isolating old foes, and ultimately redrawing the centres of powers in the region. This largely resembles its behaviour following the second Gulf war in 1990-91.
The so-called Arab Spring has really done little to truly revolutionise the political institution, which continues to tread between its members’ own political ambitions and outside influences and pressures."
Reports of 34 dead, apparently kidnap victims, found after 'one of the deadliest days since the start of the revolution'
Ian Black, Middle East editor guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 6 December 2011
"Syrian opposition activists have reported dozens of bodies dumped on the streets of the central city of Homs in one of the worst single incidents of violence in the nine-month uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 34 dead, apparently kidnap victims, had been found after what it called "one of the deadliest days since the start of the Syrian revolution." It quoted an activist from Homs's al-Zahra neighbourhood as saying that they had been abducted by members of the feared Shabiha militia. Monday's death toll for the country was 50, it said......"
"Assad's most interesting comment is his apparent attempt to distance himself from the army. He said:
"They are not my forces, they are military forces belong[ing] to the government. I don't own them. I'm president. I don't own the country, so they're not my forces." ....."
Response to Independent Commission Should Include Investigating Officials
Human Rights Watch December 6, 2011
"(New York) – Bahraini authorities should quickly address the systematic and egregious rights violations documented by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, Human Rights Watch said today. As a first step, the government should immediately release hundreds of people wrongfully detained or convicted following unfair trials. And it should investigate high-level officials responsible for serious human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said.
Authorities should void all verdicts issued by the special military courts and drop all charges brought solely because people exercised their right to freely express political opinions and assemble peacefully. Authorities should only try civilians for legitimate criminal offenses, before a civilian court meeting international fair trial standards. These standards include the right of defendants to examine the evidence and witnesses against them, and the exclusion of all evidence obtained by torture or ill-treatment, Human Rights Watch said.
“The independent commission’s report gives Bahraini authorities an opportunity to remedy some of their gross abuses by releasing all persons convicted or held for exercising their rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “It is crucial for Bahrain to send a strong message that there will be no impunity for the human rights crimes documented by the Bassiouni commission.”......"
"The arrest of a prominent Syrian-American blogger apparently for her peaceful pro-reform activities is another step backwards for the Syrian regime, Amnesty International said today.
Razan Ghazzawi, aged 31, was arrested by Syrian immigration police at the Syrian-Jordanian border on Sunday. She was on her way to the Jordanian capital, Amman, to attend a workshop on media freedom in the Arab world.
Born in the United States, but brought up in Saudi Arabia and Damascus, Razan Ghazzawi has campaigned for the release of imprisoned bloggers and activists in Syria during the ongoing popular pro-reform protests and ensuing violent crackdown by Syrian security forces.
“The Syrian government committed to release all detainees held for their involvement in the ongoing events but many thousands remain behind bars, and are now joined by blogger Razan Ghazzawi who is well known for her promotion of freedom of expression,” said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s interim Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“Razan Ghazzawi is almost certainly a prisoner of conscience, held solely for the peaceful expression of her legitimately held beliefs. She should be be released immediately and unconditionally unless she is to be charged with a recognizable criminal offence.”
“The fact that she is currently being held incommunicado at an unknown location means that she is at risk of torture. At the very least, the Syrian authorities must immediately inform her family of her whereabouts and grant her access to relatives and a lawyer of her choice.”...."
"I got an urgent instant message from my good friend Razan Ghazzawi last Tuesday night. Having tweeted and blogged against the Syrian regime for the past several months under her real name, from inside Syria, Ghazzawi was concerned that she had become a target. Always prepared, she sent me her contingency plan: close her online accounts. Syrians who have been arrested and detained over the past nine months have reported having their passwords demanded by authorities. Though closing her accounts wouldn't help her, it could protect her friends – that's the kind of person Ghazzawi is.
Those close to her say that she was on her way to a workshop in Jordan organised by her employer, the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, when she was arrested. Though it's difficult these days to understand anything the Syrian regime does, her blog may have been the impetus for her arrest, or it may not have, but in either case her outspoken writing could very well make things worse for her.
By birth, Ghazzawi is an American citizen – though she would undoubtedly resent the idea of that being used to free her. In any case, it is unlikely that the US government could have any pull with the Syrian regime at this point......"
CAIRO: Despise Aliya Mahdy or not, she has done what few revolutionaries in Egypt have been able to do: take revolutionary action. Her public display of her naked body in a blog post has seen attacks from the conservative Islamists and the liberals alike. Nudity, especially female nudity, leaves people queasy. Had she been a man, would the reaction have been so virulent against her? Doubtful. The man would likely have been praised for his use of his body as expression. Mahdy, unfortunately, is a woman living in Egypt.
Women are objects in many conservatives’ views. Things that can be owned and used for a man’s pleasure when he desires and when he wants. This is why we have seen the growth of polygamy, the shoving aside of a woman’s ability to choose her life’s goals, and the unending “debate” over the causes of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Whether we agree that one’s body should be a form of protest – which so many of Egypt’s liberals disagree with – is irrelevant. The reality is that Mahdy has been able, with her body, debunk all myths of Egyptian liberalism. Her naked image, which has seen over one million hits, has shown that Egypt is not ready for free expression.
"(Cairo) - Dozens of eye injuries from rubber bullets have marked the crackdown on protesters in Tahrir Square. “Eye-hunters,” Egyptians are calling the armed police who aim at head-level.
Besides the physical damage, there’s a sinister symbolism about it. Egypt’s military rulers have been on a persistent campaign of trying to blind the public through clampdowns on the media.
The toll on reporters during the Tahrir unrest has been notable. The Committee to Protect Journalists, the New York-based press freedom advocate, reported that 17 journalists were beaten or wounded by rubber bullets between November 19 and 21, the first three days of the latest Tahrir demonstrations.
In Cairo, Ahmed Abdel Fattah, who makes videos for the website of Al Masry Al Youm, an independent newspaper, was hit in the right eye by a rubber bullet, possibly disastrous given his line of work.
“I saw the officer who shot me,” Abdel Fattah said. “He was aiming right for me. I think it was because I was carrying my camera.” Five Masry Al Youm journalists have been injured in and around Tahrir. Abdel Fattah faces repair surgery on his eye....."
Now that Salafist lawmakers (two words which should never go together) are speaking confidently about mandatory dress codes for women, I'm gonna call a spade a spade and speak my politically INcorrect views on hijab/niqab. If my dress is openly derided as offensive, then I have the right - finally - to break my polite silence.
1. FIND ME WHERE IN THE KORAN IT SAYS VEILING IS REQUIRED OF WOMEN
I don't know what happened to Egypt over the past two decades where we went from almost all uncovered to almost all covered today - but I assure you it had nothing to do with suddenly discovering a previously overlooked passage that made millions of Egyptian suddenly realize their dress was anti Islamic.
This is what I find most offensive about it. The idea that veiled woman are on some superior religious ground compared to me - more true to the faith. Wear what you want but don't insist you're any more religious than I am. Personally I'm a secular atheist (or at least agnostic) but I'm still insulted by this holier than thou stance.
2. OBSESSION WITH SEX
Veiling is just another manifestation of the devout's infantile obsession and preoccupation with sex and the female body. A salafist recently told an Egyptian journalist that "a woman's face is like her sex organ". These people don't see women as people. Even the less extreme Islamists abhor the female body. The veil SCREAMS "I am a sex object. Be warned!"
Faith that revolves around denial of female sexuality is silly and juvenile. These guys need to take a goddam cold shower. And everyone just grow up. There's more to life than sex.
3. "CHOICE"
While it's impossible to say whether a woman is pressured by the Muslim male community into veiling herself or makes an independent choice, i think one has to admit that social coercion is a major factor in what's happened in Egypt over the past 20 years or so.
4. IT SUCKS
Finally, my views on the clothing itself. I have seen nothing to convince me it's Islamic, I find layers of clothing in 100+ degree heat absurd, ridiculous, bizarre and abhorrent. These women are drenched in sweat in the summer, and one can barely bear to stand next to one becuase of their ghastly body odor. If this isn't oppressive I don't know what is.
"IF there is one country on earth where the cry “Death to England” still carries weight — where people still harbor the white-hot hatred of British colonialism that once inflamed millions from South Africa to China — that country would be Iran. And that is what the leaders of Iran must have been counting on when screaming militiamen, unhindered by the police, poured into the British Embassy in Tehran to vandalize it on Tuesday.....
More than half a century ago, Secretary of State Dean Acheson wrote that Mr. Mossadegh was “inspired by a fanatical hate of the British and a desire to expel them and their works from the country regardless of the cost.” Many Iranians still feel that way, as their country falls into ever deeper isolation. In Iran, the words “anger” and “Britain” fit easily together.
Outside interference is a central fact of modern Iranian history. And for most of the 20th century, Britain was at the center of most of it....."
It is depressing Islamists have garnered such support, but all is not lost if the Muslim Brotherhood is serious about democracy
Issandr El Amrani for the Arabist, part of the Guardian Comment Network guardian.co.uk, Monday 5 December 2011
".....This news has profoundly depressed most educated, middle-class Cairenes I know who had hoped that the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak would be followed by a relatively liberal democracy that would be inclusive of moderate Islamists. It is particularly distressing to non-Muslims, who will now fear the Islamisation of public life that has taken place in the last two decades will be accelerated, with full backing from parliament and government leaders in the next few years.....
The success of the Salafists is more of a surprise, and must reflect their grassroots presence in Egyptian society. But it is deeply worrisome, because the Salafists have made clear in their statements that they are an illiberal party with extreme views on many topics, whatever their charitable works are. In my opinion they should have never been legalised, on the same grounds that far-right parties are often forbidden in European countries, and particularly since Egypt has a law against religious parties (either that, or don't have the law).....
Among my Egyptian friends (most decidedly on the liberal side) there is now tremendous worry about a future in which politics is ruled on the one hand by identitarian Islamist politics and on the other by a populist, hyper-nationalistic army......"
"قد يصح أن نندهش من المندهشين لفوز الإسلاميين في الانتخابات العربية الجارية، فقد فازوا بنسبة 40' في تونس، وفازوا بنسبة أقل في الانتخابات المغربية الأخيرة، ويفوزون بنسبة مكتسحة في الانتخابات المصرية الجارية، وليس في ذلك مفاجأة سياسية من أي نوع، فالنتيجة ذاتها مرجحة في أي قطر عربي قد تجري به انتخابات الآن . وقد نخاطر بتوقع ما سيجري بعد الفوز الانتخابي الكبير للإسلاميين، فسوف يحكم هؤلاء في الأقطار العربية، سوف يشكلون الحكومات، وربما يصنعون الرؤساء، ولكن دون مقدرة ظاهرة على إحداث فارق حقيقي، سوف يراهم الناس في كراسي الحكم، وهم أكثر براجماتية وأقل مبدئية، ولن يكون بوسعهم تقديم حلول جذرية، بل وربما تتفاقم أزمات الاقتصاد والمجتمع مع حكمهم، وتنخفض شعبيتهم بإطراد، وتتراجع نسب فوزهم في الانتخابات اللاحقه، هذا كله متوقع 'إلا إذا'. و 'إلا إذا' هذه هي التحدي الأكبر الذي يواجه الإسلاميين، فالثقافة التي يحملونها معادية بطبيعتها للتغيير والتنمية والتحديث، وهنا لا يمكن التعميم بذات القدر، فحركة النهضة في تونس تبدو أنضج بكثير، بينما تبدو التفاعلات الداخلية في جماعة الإخوان المصرية أكثر تعثرا، ويبدو 'حزب العدالة والتنمية' الإسلامي المغربي في حالة وسطى، وخارج الجماعات الإخوانية المنشأ تبدوا المشكلة أكبر، يبدو السلفيون المصريون مثلا في حالة بدائية وصحراوية تماما، أفكارهم تخاصم العصر بالجملة، وأراؤهم تثير العجب، والفزع، ومن نوع منع نشر صور مرشحاتهم، وإحلال صور أزواجهن محلها، أو وضع وردة مكان الصورة، أو ستر الأهرامات والآثار ببطانيات، أو من نوع حل المشكلات الاقتصادية بالغزوات وجلب السبايا، أو من نوع جواز أكل لحم العفاريت، أو إلى غيرها من أراء وفتاوى غاية في الشذوذ، تخاصم العقل وصحيح الإسلام، وتوقعهم في التهلكة السياسية إن حكموا، وإن يكن هؤلاء ليسوا من النوع الإسلامي المرشح للوصول إلى الحكم الآن، فالجماعات الإخوانية على اختلاف مراحل تطورها أسبق قدما، وتنتظرها محنة الحكم، وربما لا ينجحون فيها 'إلا إذا' تحولوا إلى شئ آخر تماما، أو أن يتحول عنهم الناس المقبلين عليهم الآن . وليس صحيحا أن الإسلاميين لم يحكموا في العالم العربي من قبل، لا نتحدث هنا عن السعودية ونظم الخليج، ونظم الحكم فيها تقول أنها تحكم بالشريعة، والمحصلة كما نعرف، نظم حكم ديناصورية ناهبة، وتحكم بشرائع الأمريكيين لا بشريعة الله، وقد يكون من الظلم أن نحكم على الإسلاميين العرب بفساد وتخلف النظم الخليجية، لكن الإسلاميين حكموا في أقطار عربية أخرى، وسواء كان هؤلاء من منشأ سني أو من منشأ شيعي ، حكمت الأحزاب الدينية الشيعية في العراق بعد الاحتلال، وثبت أنها مجرد جماعات لصوص، وفي الصومال حكم الإسلاميون في السنوات الأخيرة، وكانت النتيجة مزيدا من هلاك وفناء الصومال، واشتعال الحرب الأهلية بين 'المحاكم الإسلامية' إخوانية النزعة، و'حركة شباب المجاهدين' السلفية الأقرب إلى فكر تنظيم القاعدة، وفي السودان حكمت حركة حسن الترابي إخوانية المنشأ، وعلى مدى زاد إلى الآن عن عشرين سنة، والمحصلة كما ترى، تحسن اقتصادي طفيف، ومقابل تفكيك السودان، وتفكيك الحركة الإسلامية نفسها، وخروج الترابي نفسه إلى خلاء المعارضة، واستيلاء المشير البشير على غالب كوادر الحركة الإسلامية القديمة، ودمجها في نظام حكم لا يغرى أحدا بتقليده، وقد يقال أن هؤلاء الإسلاميين فشلوا لأنهم وصلوا للحكم بغير الطريق الديمقراطي، وهو اعتراض فيه بعض الصحة، وبرغم أنه يخالف دعاوى هؤلاء عن أنفسهم، وعن شعبيتهم الجارفة، وعن حكمهم بالشريعة طبعا . المعنى: أن خرافة عدم تجريب حكم الإسلاميين لا أساس لها، وقد يكون وصولهم للحكم هذه المرة بالطريق الانتخابي فيه جديد، ولو كان في الشكل أكثر من المضمون، ومجرد الفوز الانتخابي للإسلاميين حدث لا يستهان به، ويثير المخاوف إلى حد الفزع عند قطاعات من الرأي العام العربي، بينما تبدو مخاوف الإدارة الأمريكية أقل، وهي ذات الإدارة التي دعمت نظم حكم يرثها الإسلاميون الآن، والمفارقة تحتاج إلى تفسير، وليس صعبا تبين حقيقة التفسير، فللأمريكيين مصالح دائمة لا أصدقاء دائمين، ولا يهمهم أن يكون الحاكم بذقن ثقيلة أو خفيفة، وعدا خلافات تبقى حول الموضوع الإسرائيلي، تبدو الإدارة الأمريكية مطمئنة تماما لحكم الإسلاميين، والسبب ظاهر، فهؤلاء الإسلاميين أقرب لشريعة السوق، وإن أطلقوا على اقتصاد الخصخصة اسم الاقتصاد الإسلامي، وقد توالت ظواهر ترحيب الأمريكيين والاوروبيين بفوز الإسلاميين، وبدأت جولات الحوار النشيط، وتوالت الأحاديث عن خيبة الليبراليين، وعن ' ليبرالية ' الإسلاميين المتزايدة، فهؤلاء الأخيرون ـ براجماتيون جدا، وما يكون حراما في دهر يتحول إلى حلال زلال في ثانية،وهم قوة يمينية بامتياز، لكنهم أكثر حيوية بمراحل من اليمين الليبرالي ذي المنشأ الفكري الغربي، واستفادوا في صعودهم من ظروف استجدت على مسرح العالم والمنطقة، استفادوا من الانقلاب في مصر بالذات على مشروع النهضة والتصنيع والتنمية والتوحيد وعدالة التوزيع، وتحول المجتمعات العربية من طبقات وفئات إلى غبار بشري، وسيادة مشاعر البؤس واليأس، والانقطاع عن سباق العصر، وقد خاطب الإسلاميون بؤس المجتمع كجمعية خيرية، كما خاطبوا يأس المجتمع كجمعية دينية، ولم تكن نظم الحكم العائلي تمانع في الدعوة الدينية، ولا في العمل الخيري، وهو ما أدى لتضخم أدوار وموارد المجموعات الدينية على اختلافها، فقد تضخم دور الكنيسة المصرية في الفترة ذاتها التالية على تصفية المشروع الناصري، كما تضخم دور التيار الإسلامي، وانتفخت عضلاته المالية والتنظيمية خلال أربعين سنة مضت، وكان طبيعيا مع كسر القيود على حريات السياسة، كان طبيعيا أن يجري التصريف السياسي لطاقة هائلة اجتمعت من موارد دينية وخيرية، وأن يبدو فوز الإسلاميين قدرا لا فكاك منه في أول انتخابات تجرى، لكنه الفوز الذي يقود إلى اختبار، أو إلى محنة، لا نقصد هنا محنة المجتمع، بل محنة الإسلاميين الفائزين بالذات، محنة التكيف مع تجربة حكم مراقب ديمقراطيا وشعبيا، محنة الامتحان العملي، وعند الامتحان يكرم المرء أو يهان. "
Activists say a U.S.-born Syrian blogger has been arrested at the Syrian-Jordanian border while on her way to attend a workshop for advocates of press freedoms in the Arab world.
A statement issued by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression said Razan Ghazzawi was arrested by police and immigration officials at the border. She was on her way to Amman to attend the conference as a representative of the center.
The Local Coordination Committees activist network confirmed her arrest Sunday.
Ghazzawi is a human rights advocate and had been documenting violations and arrests in Syria since the start of the uprising againstPresident Bashar Assad in March.
She is one of the few Syrian activists who blogged under her real name.
So far in the Arab world there seems to be a trend were when people are given the choice to vote the Islamic movements are winning. We saw that recently in Egypt and Tunisia and probably the same thing will happen in Yemen or any Arab country that will hold free elections. Leftists and progressives are freaking out, upset at the outcome of these elections and screaming foul. While I am somewhere between an Agnostic and an Atheist, I do not prefer the influence of religion on our lives, I do have to accept that the majority of people are believers especially in the middle east.
I also have to respect their democratic choices !! I can not scream "I WANT DEMOCRACY" then demonize the results when they do not agree with my ideology or what I perceive as the better choice. Those who believed that we will go from decades of tyranny to a secular, social, tolerant society over night are delusional. The hard work and the real work takes place after the revolution. It takes generations and real economic growth to achieve a society that will vote what is in its best interest. For now, the majority of Arabs believe that the Islamic movement is their best representative and has their best interest, who am I to tell them : "You are wrong or you are foolish ?"
Let them see what the Islamists have to offer, let us thrive to have a system where power is shared and transfered peacefully, where NEVER AGAIN tyranny is allowed to rule us (whether it is secular , nationalistic or religious). After a few elections, people will learn that they can change rule through the election box , we will see organic growth of new movements and political directions that none of us could have predicted or foreseen. For now, let them enjoy their free choice, let them feel empowered, respect their decision and if there is a threat of dictatorship I believe the people will rise again and demand freedom. This new generation has broken the fear barrier and will not be silenced anymore. Finally as Voltaire said :
I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.
In hopes that they will one day accept my choices like I have theirs.
A cartoon by Brazilian artist Carlos Latuff sparked debate on social networking
sites Saturday, as officials tallied votes in Egypt's first post-Mubarak election.
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A Brazilian cartoonist whose caricatures against the former regime of Hosni Mubarak won him praise in the Arab world is now in the spotlight himself amid Egypt's divisive election.
Carlos Latuff's latest illustration, pointing to a sharp surge in support for Islamic candidates, was not received favorably Saturday by many Egyptians on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Unlike his work in recent months, which has focused a critical lens on violent measures taken by Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF, the latest cartoon conveyed expectations of an Islamist victory in a vote for parliament.
The image, of a menacing sword labeled "Islamists" emerging from an Egyptian ballot box, sparked criticism that the usually sympathetic artist had resorted to crude generalizations bordering on Islamophobia.
"Latuff does not respect the voters' choice," said Egyptian blogger Zeinobia, "simply as that."
Reaction on Twitter was unexpectedly harsh, considering Latuff's series of cartoons encouraging pro-democracy protesters in Egypt, and his uncompromising criticism of the SCAF. The cartoons often showed up on signs in Tahrir square, he says.
But anger directed toward the latest caricature underscores resentment that outside interests still seek to dictate to Egyptians their political affairs, while often failing to distinguish between established religious parties and fundamentalists.
Mosaab Elshamy, an Egyptian photographer and Tahrir activist, said the image reflected an orientalist worldview: "How is portraying an entire group from different backgrounds with a sword (sign of confrontation & violence) not orientalist?"
Adding fuel to the fire, Latuff shocked many of his followers by dismissing any criticism outright and responding with expletive-laden contempt, including one crude private message to a female tweeter.
Many said it was Latuff's hostility, not his cartoon, that sparked the outcry.
At the same time, Latuff said he had received multiple death threats in response to the caricature, while his supporters condemned the uproar as an attempt to stifle the artist's freedom of expression. They ridiculed as childish a campaign to "unfollow" him on Twitter.
"The headline says: "In the event of a brother from the Ikhwan becoming president" And then over the women (from right to left) there is this: First lady of Egypt; Second Lady of Egypt; Third Lady of Egypt; And fourth Lady of Egypt."
Al-Jazeera Video: Embattled Syrians cross into Lebanon
"The conflict in Syria is forcing many families to leave the country in search of safety.
Families who live along the relatively porous Lebanese-Syrian border have fled from their homes, while others injured in the fighting have been receiving medical attention.
Activists say the the Syrian army tried to scare people to prevent them from leaving the country.
Rula Amin reports from across the border in Lebanon."
"The world is at the crossroads of social change, in the vortex of forces that are bringing about a different world, a post-neoliberal state. This groundbreaking book lays out an analysis of the dynamics and contradictions of capitalism in the twenty-first century. These dynamics of forces are traced out in developments across the world—in the Arab Spring of North Africa and the Middle East, in Cuba and elsewhere in Latin America, in the United States and in Asia.
The forces released by a system in crisis can be mobilized in different ways and directions. The focus of the book is on the strategic responses to the systemic crisis. As the authors tell it, these dynamics concern three worldviews and strategic responses. The Davos Consensus focuses on the virtues of the free market and deregulated capitalism as it represents the interests of the global ruling class. The post-Washington Consensus concerns the need to give capital a human face and establish a more inclusive form of development and global governance. In addition to these two visions of the future and projects, the authors identify an emerging radical consensus on the need to move beyond capitalism as well as neoliberalism....."
Bahraini leaders have hired the architect of Miami's brutal policing methods, showing their disregard for reform
Matthew Cassel guardian.co.uk, Saturday 3 December 2011
"In 2003, as a photography student in Chicago, I travelled to Miami to cover protests by trade unionists and other activists at a meeting of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. I had just returned from witnessing the repressive tactics of the Israeli army against Palestinians – invasions, curfew, violent crackdown on unarmed protests – but never expected to see them deployed at home in a US city.
I was shocked when I reached Miami and found it similar to a West Bank town under occupation. The city was largely empty save for police vehicles speeding in every direction and helicopters hovering above. Once the protests began, it was impossible to move more than a few feet in any direction without confronting the police and their brutality. The thousands of police dressed in full riot gear and armed with teargas, rubber bullets, batons, electric tasers – all of which were used against protesters and journalists – were everywhere around Miami.
The "model", as Miami public officials called it at the time, was the brainchild of police chief John Timoney. After leading the head-bashing of protesters as Philadelphia's police commissioner during the Republican party's national convention in 2000, Timoney was hired by Miami and given more than $8m to introduce a level of police brutality unlike any we had ever seen in the US.....
Now the Miami model is coming to Bahrain. The Associated Press reported on Thursday that Timoney has been hired by the kingdom's interior ministry "as part of reforms" following the release of a report last week by a government-sponsored fact-finding commission.
As the ruling family continues the crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators it has not been a hard task to find spent teargas canisters and other items marked "Made in USA" covering village roads.....
Looking to the US not only to fund the crackdown but also to help spin it, the regime has hired a number of US public relations firms. One of the PR agents, Tom Squitieri of TS Navigations, has been given space by Huffington Post and Foreign Policy blogs to write articles in defence of the ruling family.....
By hiring iron-fisted US police heads like Timoney, the al-Khalifas seem more concerned with maintaining absolute power as they continue to lose further legitimacy, rather than implementing any real reforms to move past the country's political crisis....."
Muslim Brotherhood and radical Salafists appear to take majority of seats in first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections
guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 December 2011
"Egypt's Islamist party plans to push for a stricter religious code after claiming strong gains in the first round of parliamentary elections....
.....The al-Nour party is the main political arm of the hard-line Salafi movement which, unlike the more moderate Muslim Brotherhood, is a new player on Egypt's political scene.
Guided by a Saudi-inspired school of thought, Salafists have long shunned the concept of democracy, saying it allows man's law to override God's. But they decided to form parties and enter politics after the exit of Mubarak in February.
Salafi groups speak confidently about their ambition to turn Egypt into a state where personal freedoms, including freedom of speech, women's dress and art, are constrained by sharia.
"In the land of Islam, I can't let people decide what is permissible or what is prohibited. It's God who gives the answers as to what is right and what is wrong," Hamad said. "If God tells me you can drink whatever you want except for alcohol, you don't leave the million things permitted and ask about the prohibited."
The showing in Egypt, long considered a linchpin of regional stability, would be the clearest signal yet that parties and candidates connected to political Islam will emerge as the main beneficiaries of the Arab spring....."
A report in Saudi Arabia has warned that if Saudi women were given the right to drive, it would spell the end of virginity in the country.
The report was prepared for Saudi Arabia's legislative assembly, the Shura Council, by a well-known conservative academic.
Though there is no formal ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, if they get behind the wheel, they can be arrested.
Saudi women have mounted several campaigns to try to overturn the ban.
Aside from the practical difficulties it creates, they say it is also illogical as in trying to keep them under family control and away from men, it actually puts them in daily contact with a male driver.
The issue has received huge international attention.
Some Saudi women feel it has attracted too much interest, obscuring other equally important issues.
As part of his careful reform process, King Abdullah has allowed suggestions to surface that the ban might be reviewed.
This has angered the conservative religious elite - a key power base for any Saudi ruler.
Now, one of their number - well-known academic Kamal Subhi - has presented a new report to the country's legislative assembly, the Shura.
The aim was to get it to drop plans to reconsider the ban.
The report contains graphic warnings that letting women drive would increase prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce.
A jerky six-and-a-half minute video by a local journalist could be the most important document of the recent violent conflict
Jack Shenker in Cairo guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 December 2011
"....The past two weeks have proved to be a turning point in Egypt's ongoing revolution, with huge anti-junta street protests coming under relentless assault from the security forces and millions of Egyptians defying the bloodshed to turn out and vote in elections for the first post-Mubarak parliament.
But although future historians looking back at this period will have ample primary source material available – from a mountain of ballot papers to the hundreds of hours of footage covering rallies in Tahrir Square – their most important asset may prove to be six-and-a-half minutes of jerky video, shot by Bahgat from the heart of the violence.
The film, which consists of a series of clips made over several days at the height of the unrest, directly contradicts many of the claims made by the ministry of interior regarding the type of weaponry deployed by its troops and its insistence that only "reasonable force" has been used to confront protesters.
Better than anything produced by more conventional media outlets, the footage captures the dramatic reality of Cairo's recent clashes. It is also one of the most intense recordings of guerrilla warfare ever produced and has rapidly become a viral sensation, clocking up over 100,000 hits on YouTube....."
Al-Jazeera Video: Islamists and secularists clash in Tunisia
"Tunisians are yet to get a new government after political infighting delayed the appointment of new ministers.
In the country's capital, Tunis, outside the national assembly, crowds gathered on Thursday to protest what they say is the growing influence of Islamists.
It follows the occupation of a university campus by a religious group, which wants male and female students segregated."
(CNN) -- It would be hard to claim surprise at the array of sanctions which were finally imposed on the Syrian regime in the last weeks, following months of seemingly endless warnings from friends and foes alike. Yet, judging by the reaction of various officials in Damascus, the regime does seem stunned by this shock to its system, having been living in denial about the evolving situation it created.
From the apex of its fortunes only a couple of years ago to the most severe isolation modern Syria has ever witnessed, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad regime has single-handedly managed the feat which no other detractor achieved: bringing the entire country, and of course the regime itself, to a dead-end from which it can no longer extricate itself.
While accustomed to U.S. sanctions since 1979, Syria had never been simultaneously cut off from Europe, Turkey and the Arab world, while also facing the most determined popular uprising the Arab world has yet seen. For refusing to stop its mass military campaign of repression throughout the country, which none of the neighbors or friendly nations could continue to ignore while urging for the proverbial promised reforms, the Syrian regime is now faced with a heavy bill it has no way of paying.
Taken separately, the various sets of sanctions could have been manageable, even if the hardships would still be passed on to the population under the usual empty slogans of sovereignty and resistance in the face of a global conspiracy. In response to the first set of EU sanctions, in fact, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem had told a press gathering that Syria would "forget that Europe was on the map" and turn eastward for its business. When the sanctions reached the oil sector, the Syrian regime boasted it would sell its crude to China, India and other "non-aligned" countries. However, with the increasing difficulties of dealing with a Central Bank under sanctions, even countries sympathetic to the Syrian regime have been unwilling to go through so much trouble just to acquire Syrian oil, which, to boot, is mostly a low-grade crude needing special refineries.
With Europe wiped off the map, the 150,000 barrels per day output which used to be exported across the Mediterranean will be difficult to sell, with very significant financial repercussions for the regime - and that was before the Arab League finally decided to tighten the screws.
It is possible that repeated warnings followed by recurring extensions of deadlines convinced the Syrian regime that Arab countries were bluffing, and that the legendary impotence of the Arab League would prevent real pressure from materializing; this could explain al-Assad's bloody intransigence, and his erroneous interpretation that he really still had a carte blanche to kill, literally, the growing popular uprising which was now supplemented by armed resistance from an increasing number of defected soldiers, grouping themselves to form the Free Syrian Army.
When the announcement of sanctions finally fell on November 12, even with additional deadlines allowing the regime to accept a set of conditions (including Arab monitors) which could save it from isolation, al-Assad and his advisers seemed unprepared. Instead of astutely accepting the offer to avoid greater seclusion, they decided to retreat into the usual conspiracy rhetoric while trying to buy time with complaints about protocols: this merely allowed the Arab League to ensure near unanimity in its decision to isolate al-Assad.
All that remained was for Turkey to close the loop, and to carry out its own promise to punish the Syrian regime if it did not desist in what the UN has since described as crimes against humanity. As of this week, the Syrian regime is completely isolated, politically and financially. Even the reluctance of Lebanon and Iraq to apply full sanctions will be unlikely to make a big difference in Syria's fortunes, especially as international pressure continues to mount.
The impact of this isolation cannot be exaggerated. While powerful allies such as Iran and Russia will try, for the time being, to pull their weight as they attempt to save the regime from its own folly, perhaps lending it limited financial support, a solid geographical reality imposes itself, cutting off Syria from most of the rest of the world.
There is no doubt that these measures will also hurt those who imposed them, and this is one of the reasons why they were so long in coming. For Turkey, not only has the zero problem with neighbors policy been shattered, but the Arab world opening it had carefully nurtured will be negatively affected if transport trucks must now take a long diversion through Iraq. This will take time, effort and resources which had not been expected.
The truth is that for all the propaganda spewed by the Syrian regime, few countries in the region want to see Syria completely isolated, if only for their own selfish reasons. Everyone is worried about potential civil strife and its effect on the region, but there is also an economic aspect: while losing trade with Syria might not make a difference to most neighbors, losing the trade route will.
The battered Syrian population will only feel more hardship as it struggles to overcome this unprecedented period in recent history, and the sanctions will affect people, economically, socially and politically. Indeed, even Syrians who do not actively support the revolution will feel the pain of remaining silent while the al-Assad regime entrenches itself with increasing violence, if that were possible.
Decades ago, the regime had been able to count on the population's fear and on its acceptance of the broad argument of resistance in the face of imperialist aggression. Today, however, the imposed agony of sanctions coupled with the extreme brutality of the regime will probably push people to make a stand before it's too late. The sooner this happens, the less likely the possibility of civil strife or of intervention in Syria.
".....True, a revolution can be polarizing for those who are projected to either win or lose once its final outcome is determined. But intellectuals have a historic responsibility to remain vigilant of the uniqueness of each and every collective experience, and to place it within accurate historical contexts. They should not omit inconvenient truths when such omissions are deemed convenient.
This is not moral neutrality, a notion that has been articulated by South African anti-Apartheid leader Desmond Tutu in his iconic statement: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” It is rather the responsibility of the intellectual to question what is taken for granted. Edward Said claimed that the ideal intellectual should be seen as an “exile and marginal, as amateur, and as the author of a language that tries to speak the truth to power.”
Speaking truth to power is still possible, and is more urgent than ever. The fate of a nation, any nation, cannot be polarized to the terrible extent that the Arab uprisings have. On both sides of the divide, some are cheering for foreign intervention, while others are justifying the senseless murder of innocent people by dictators.
There is possibly a fine line between the divides, and it is the responsibility of the intellectual to trace this line, and remain steadfast there. He may consequently find himself marginalized and exiled, but at least he will maintain his integrity."
"CAIRO - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood came under fire from various political quarters for its decision to stay out of last week's clashes in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square. But as Egyptians vote in the country's first post-Mubarak parliamentary polls, many local analysts believe the controversial decision may have ended up paying political dividends......"
............Please Welcome The Syrian Karzai...........
غليون يتعهد بمقاطعة إيران وحلفائها
"تعهد رئيس المجلس الوطني السوري برهان غليون بقطع علاقات دمشق العسكرية مع إيران وحزب الله اللبناني وحركة المقاومة الإسلامية حماس عند تولي المعارضة الحالية حكم سوريا.
وقال غليون في مقابلة أجرتها صحيفة وول ستريت جورنال الأميركية معه في باريس "لن تكون هناك علاقة مميزة مع إيران، وقطع العلاقة الاستثنائية يعني قطع التحالف الإستراتيجي العسكري"، مضيفاً أنه بعد سقوط النظام السوري لن يبقى حزب الله كما هو الآن.
ووصف غليون العلاقات بين النظام السوري وإيران بأنها غير طبيعية. وذكر أن حكومة سورية بقيادة المجلس الوطني السوري ستنهي إمدادات الأسلحة للمجموعات المسلحة في الشرق الأوسط مثل حزب الله وحماس، لافتاً إلى أن مثل هذه التحركات ستكون جزءا من عملية أوسع لإعادة توجيه السياسة السورية تجاه تحالف مع القوى العربية الأساسية.[Meaning Saudi Arabia and the Gulf American Protectorates!]
وقال إن حكومة سورية جديدة برئاسة المجلس، ستعمل على تطبيع العلاقات مع لبنان بعد عقود من الهيمنة عليه عبر الجيش والقنوات الاستخباراتية.
وذكر أن سوريا ستواصل التزامها باستعادة هضبة الجولان من إسرائيل، لكنه قال إنها ستركز على مصالحها عن طريق المفاوضات بدلاً من اللجوء للنزاعات المسلحة. ....."
"After the alleged Iranian government plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington, the White House issued a finding to the intelligence community authorizing stepped-up covert action against Iran. A “finding” is top-level approval for secret operations considered to be particularly politically sensitive.
An earlier finding of the Bush administration already permitted the use of intelligence assets to disrupt Iranian Revolutionary Guard activity in border zones—the areas adjacent to Pakistan inhabited by ethnic Baluchis, the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, and the ethnically Arab province of Khuzistan, which borders southeastern Iraq. Activity in the Kurdish region was limited and was partially run by Israelis due to sensitivities in dealing with the Turks. That effort was abandoned altogether in 2009, when the Obama administration decided to increase intelligence and military cooperation with Ankara against the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK). Attacks in Baluchistan and the Arab region over the past seven years, which have killed a large number of Revolutionary Guards and even more civilians, were part of the program authorized under the earlier finding.
The new finding extends those existing initiatives and adds involvement with the Azeris, who inhabit northwestern Iran and share a common border, language, and culture with their fellow tribesmen in Azerbaijan. Twenty million ethnic Azeris in Iran comprise nearly 25 percent of the population. When combined with the 2 percent who are Baluchis, 7 percent Kurds, and 3 percent Arabs, Iran has a significant ethnic problem along its borders. This is precisely what the covert action will seek to exploit by encouraging ethnic fragmentation and supplying dissidents with communications equipment, training, and weapons...."
"As protests raged again across the Middle East, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, offered his assessment of the Arab Spring last week. It was, he said, an "Islamic, anti-western, anti-liberal, anti-Israeli, undemocratic wave," adding that Israel’s Arab neighbors were "moving not forwards, but backwards."
It takes some chutzpah – or, at least, epic self-delusion – for Israel’s prime minister to be lecturing the Arab world on liberalism and democracy at this moment.
In recent weeks, a spate of anti-democratic measures have won support from Netanyahu’s right wing government, justified by a new security doctrine: see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil of Israel. If the legislative proposals pass, the Israeli courts, Israel’s human rights groups and media, and the international community will be transformed into the proverbial three monkeys....."
Navi Pillay, high commissioner for human rights at the United Nations, says 4,000 people have died in the unrest in Syria this year and that the country is at the brink of a civil war. A report by an independent UN commission of inquiry says Syrian forces have committed crimes against humanity, including executions, torture and rape guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 December 2011
