Reuters in Cairo
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Egypt's coup sounds death knell for Arab spring, says Nobel laureate
Tawakkul Karman says Morsi's ousting reset the clock on gains made since uprisings and warns that remnants of toppled governments are clawing back
Reuters in Cairo
Reuters in Cairo
Monday, August 12, 2013
Trapped inside the fear bubble of the Egyptian military
Human rights activists show caution in criticising the Egyptian military, fearful of the uncertain political climate.
One of the Best Analyses of the Egyptian Situation
Highly Recommended Reading
By Mark LeVine
Al-Jazeera
"....However the Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins at Raba'a al-Adawiyya and al-Nahda end, it is undeniable that this disaster is one that the Brotherhood has largely brought upon itself. Whether attempting to govern by alienating most every constituency outside the military, or establishing sit-ins in crowded residential zones with little room for escape should government forces attack, the Brotherhood's leadership has shown a remarkable level of strategic myopia during the last two years that could well cost the movement dearly in blood and social standing for years to come.....
But instead of working to advance the revolution it was late to join, from the moment Mubarak was removed from power the Brotherhood and its soon-to-be-established Freedom and Justice Party strengthened a relationship with the military and deep state that it had been building for years. Ironically, this strategy facilitated both its assumption of, and ultimately removal from, power precisely because with the military as its patron (however half-hearted), it could follow its most authoritarian, patriarchal and chauvinistic instincts rather than laying the foundation for an inclusive and progressive political culture in the long term.
The Brotherhood isn't alone to blame in this process. As Sally Toma, one of the central figures of the January 25 (2011) uprising and co-founder of the newly established Manifesto Masr (Egypt) project, explains, "We became extras to our own revolution that the Muslim Brotherhood and army negotiated. We allowed it to happen, that was our mistake.".....
I also cannot think of a single revolutionary figure - by which I mean a figure that actually played a role in the revolution and not merely after February 11, 2011 - who didn't think Morsi's removal wasn't both necessary and welcome. However one wants to critique the manner of Morsi's removal and whether it can be considered meaningful or democratic or revolutionary, the fact that almost the entirety of Egypt's liberal and progressive political and activist figures, as well as tens of millions of citizens, turned so viscerally against him reveals a profound betrayal of public trust by a movement long famed for its abundance of precisely this commodity.....
Even some human rights activists have told me that "now is not the time to take on the military," although the majority believes it has an obligation to condemn all abuses and violence, no matter the perpetrator.
The Tamarrod movement's wholehearted support of the military-led transition is not surprising, as several of its leaders are known for Nasserist sympathies that naturally ally them to the military. For most activists, however, the argument is at heart strategic rather than ideological or moral. There is a sharp divide of opinion about whether anything can be achieved by taking on the military when it is in the midst of an "existential struggle" against the Brotherhood (as several activists described it) and enjoys, at least for the moment, extremely broad public support......
More important in my view is the belief expressed by almost half a dozen activists in the course of a week of conversations that the revolutionary movement was never going to be able to defeat both the Brotherhood and the military in a struggle for Egypt's future. And so to have the army hand such an epic defeat to the Brotherhood is a gift whose value is hard to overestimate - which is precisely why so many Leftists are loathe to turn it down.
"Let them fight each other," is a common refrain one hears among activists of various stripes, with the assumption that once the military finishes the Brotherhood off but has failed to achieve any of its promised changes, the revolutionaries will be in a much stronger position to continue the revolution than they would have otherwise been.
There is a strong logic to this view. But it is, first, a calculation that could well be wrong - the military could well emerge much stronger from its defeat of the Brotherhood, and through its control of the economic levers improves the lives of ordinary Egyptians enough to delay the much anticipated day of reckoning by years.....
"We are many but we feel alone," Sally Toma told me before we parted as she considered the number of people who, while presently silent, still believe that the day of reckoning between the people and the military/deep state will arrive sooner or later. As the military and Egyptian power elite's true colours inevitably return to view, the now lonely voices advocating for the revolution's original and inevitable trajectory of radical and systematic change will likely find themselves in increasingly good company."
One of the Best Analyses of the Egyptian Situation
Highly Recommended Reading
By Mark LeVine
Al-Jazeera
"....However the Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins at Raba'a al-Adawiyya and al-Nahda end, it is undeniable that this disaster is one that the Brotherhood has largely brought upon itself. Whether attempting to govern by alienating most every constituency outside the military, or establishing sit-ins in crowded residential zones with little room for escape should government forces attack, the Brotherhood's leadership has shown a remarkable level of strategic myopia during the last two years that could well cost the movement dearly in blood and social standing for years to come.....
But instead of working to advance the revolution it was late to join, from the moment Mubarak was removed from power the Brotherhood and its soon-to-be-established Freedom and Justice Party strengthened a relationship with the military and deep state that it had been building for years. Ironically, this strategy facilitated both its assumption of, and ultimately removal from, power precisely because with the military as its patron (however half-hearted), it could follow its most authoritarian, patriarchal and chauvinistic instincts rather than laying the foundation for an inclusive and progressive political culture in the long term.
The Brotherhood isn't alone to blame in this process. As Sally Toma, one of the central figures of the January 25 (2011) uprising and co-founder of the newly established Manifesto Masr (Egypt) project, explains, "We became extras to our own revolution that the Muslim Brotherhood and army negotiated. We allowed it to happen, that was our mistake.".....
I also cannot think of a single revolutionary figure - by which I mean a figure that actually played a role in the revolution and not merely after February 11, 2011 - who didn't think Morsi's removal wasn't both necessary and welcome. However one wants to critique the manner of Morsi's removal and whether it can be considered meaningful or democratic or revolutionary, the fact that almost the entirety of Egypt's liberal and progressive political and activist figures, as well as tens of millions of citizens, turned so viscerally against him reveals a profound betrayal of public trust by a movement long famed for its abundance of precisely this commodity.....
Even some human rights activists have told me that "now is not the time to take on the military," although the majority believes it has an obligation to condemn all abuses and violence, no matter the perpetrator.
The Tamarrod movement's wholehearted support of the military-led transition is not surprising, as several of its leaders are known for Nasserist sympathies that naturally ally them to the military. For most activists, however, the argument is at heart strategic rather than ideological or moral. There is a sharp divide of opinion about whether anything can be achieved by taking on the military when it is in the midst of an "existential struggle" against the Brotherhood (as several activists described it) and enjoys, at least for the moment, extremely broad public support......
More important in my view is the belief expressed by almost half a dozen activists in the course of a week of conversations that the revolutionary movement was never going to be able to defeat both the Brotherhood and the military in a struggle for Egypt's future. And so to have the army hand such an epic defeat to the Brotherhood is a gift whose value is hard to overestimate - which is precisely why so many Leftists are loathe to turn it down.
"Let them fight each other," is a common refrain one hears among activists of various stripes, with the assumption that once the military finishes the Brotherhood off but has failed to achieve any of its promised changes, the revolutionaries will be in a much stronger position to continue the revolution than they would have otherwise been.
There is a strong logic to this view. But it is, first, a calculation that could well be wrong - the military could well emerge much stronger from its defeat of the Brotherhood, and through its control of the economic levers improves the lives of ordinary Egyptians enough to delay the much anticipated day of reckoning by years.....
"We are many but we feel alone," Sally Toma told me before we parted as she considered the number of people who, while presently silent, still believe that the day of reckoning between the people and the military/deep state will arrive sooner or later. As the military and Egyptian power elite's true colours inevitably return to view, the now lonely voices advocating for the revolution's original and inevitable trajectory of radical and systematic change will likely find themselves in increasingly good company."
Video: Nigel Kennedy and Palestine Strings play Vivaldi at 2013 BBC Proms
By Ali Abunimah
"The BBC has released this video of the much anticipated 8 August performance by world-renowned violinist Nigel Kennedy with Palestine Strings and members of Kennedy’s Orchestra of Life, at the 2013 BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
The innovative performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons included both classical and Arabic-inspired improvisations.
After the performance, Kennedy told the rapturous audience, “Giving equality and getting rid of apartheid gives a beautiful chance for amazing things to happen.”
The entire performance – not to be missed – can be heard online from BBC Radio 3.
The Palestine Strings performers, including the brothers Mustafa, Omar and Ghandi Saad, range in age from 12 and 23 and study at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Following the performance of Four Seasons, Kennedy introduced Mustafa Saad, 15, who joined Kennedy to play the slow movement of Vivaldi’s A Minor Concerto for Two Violins.
The performance closed with one of Kennedy’s own compositions titled Falling Forest.
Kennedy has refused to play in Israel citing its violations of Palestinian rights."
"The BBC has released this video of the much anticipated 8 August performance by world-renowned violinist Nigel Kennedy with Palestine Strings and members of Kennedy’s Orchestra of Life, at the 2013 BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
The innovative performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons included both classical and Arabic-inspired improvisations.
After the performance, Kennedy told the rapturous audience, “Giving equality and getting rid of apartheid gives a beautiful chance for amazing things to happen.”
The entire performance – not to be missed – can be heard online from BBC Radio 3.
The Palestine Strings performers, including the brothers Mustafa, Omar and Ghandi Saad, range in age from 12 and 23 and study at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Following the performance of Four Seasons, Kennedy introduced Mustafa Saad, 15, who joined Kennedy to play the slow movement of Vivaldi’s A Minor Concerto for Two Violins.
The performance closed with one of Kennedy’s own compositions titled Falling Forest.
Kennedy has refused to play in Israel citing its violations of Palestinian rights."
Blame those who brought Al-Qaeda to life
| By Rami G. Khouri | |
|
".....
The really shocking recent development is not Al-Qaeda’s alleged plans to attack foreign missions this week – that is old news – but rather the steady expansion of Al-Qaeda-inspired or – linked local groups in the past decade all across the Arab-Asian region. This robust global growth in deviant and criminal behavior primarily reflects the last two reasons I mentioned earlier: corrupt, dictatorial, inequitable and dehumanizing policies by indigenous governments, combined with aggressive and deadly policies by foreign governments that mostly treat the peoples of these regions with disdain.
The motivating forces for the continued expansion of local Al-Qaeda-like groups have changed radically since the seminal Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, followed by the deployment of American troops in Saudi Arabia, Israeli aggressions against Arabs, the actions of corrupt and uncaring Arab regimes, and others. The reasons why young men join such movements evolve and expand every few years, and now include virulent anti-Shiite and anti-Iranian racism. But the young men keep coming, in larger and larger numbers, and the Arab and foreign governments keep up their violence and thuggery.
Closing embassies, supporting Arab and Asian autocrats, invading foreign countries, and using more drones are among the core reasons why we find ourselves in this situation today. Arabs, Americans, Asians, Israelis, Europeans and others who wonder how we will defeat the Al-Qaeda threat should stop asking questions about a bunch of bearded lunatics in perpetual hiding in Asian transborder mountains, and start asking questions about how their own policies in Washington, Tel Aviv, London, Cairo, Riyadh, Damascus and other capitals have contributed to this colossal collective failure of policies.
Al-Qaeda really is a problem, but so are most of the rest of us who helped bring it to life."
"معاريف": هناك تنسيق أمني خفي بين جيشي مصر وإسرائيل
"الصحيفة العبرية: منذ خلع الرئيس السابق مرسي استمر من وراء الكواليس تنسيق على الصعيد التكتيكي بين القاهرة وتل أبيب
نادر الأعصر ذو العلاقات الممتازة مع تل أبيب رُقيَ لمنصب رئيس شعبة العمليات بالمخابرات.. ومسئول إسرائيلي زار القاهرة لضمان التعاون
مصادر إسرائيلية: المصريون يقومون بعملياتهم في سيناء من أجل مصلحة بلادهم لا من أجل تل أبيب ويدركون أن الجهاد تهديد لهم
قالت صحيفة "معاريف" العبرية في تقرير لها أمس، إن أحداث نهاية الأسبوع الأخير في سيناء تدل على أن التعاون الأمني بين القاهرة وتل أبيب يتعزز منذ الإطاحة بنظام حكم الإخوان. ولفتت الصحيفة الإسرائيلية، إلى أن هناك تنسيقًا أمنيًا خفيًا بين الجيشين المصري والإسرائيلي لم يكن هناك مثله من قبل؛ موضحة أن كلا من القاهرة وتل أبيب تريدان الحفاظ على العلاقات بينهما بعيدًا عن الأضواء، ولكن بالرغم من ذلك تؤكد مصادر أمنية إسرائيلية أنه في مصر ينمو واقع أمني جديد وأكثر أمانًا بالنسبة لتل أبيب.
ونقلت الصحيفة عن مصادرها قولها إنه "منذ خلع الرئيس السابق محمد مرسي استمر من وراء الكواليس تنسيق على الصعيد التكتيكي بين كل من مصر وإسرائيل"؛ موضحة أن الجنرال نادر الأعصر الذي يعتبر صاحب علاقات ممتازة مع تل أبيب ورجل الاتصال في صفقة جلعاد شاليط، تمت ترقيته لمنصب رئيس شعبة العمليات في المخابرات المصرية، وفي المقابل زار مسئول إسرائيلي القاهرة بعد تغيير السلطة هناك وذلك ليضمن استمرار التعاون مع تل أبيب.
ولفتت المصادر الإسرائيلية إلى أن المصريين يقومون بعملياتهم في سيناء من أجل مصلحة بلادهم لا من أجل تل أبيب، فهم يدركون أن تنظيم الجهاد في شبه الجزيرة يعد تهديدًا بالنسبة لهم كما هو تهديد لإسرائيل"، وأضافت: "يوجد حساب مفتوح للمصريين مع الجهاد العالمي منذ اغتيال 16 جنديًا مصريًا قبل حوالي عام، ولهذا هم يفعلون ما هم يفعلونه".
واختتمت "معاريف" تقريرها بالقول إنه نتيجة للعمليات المصرية ضد خلايا الإرهاب في سيناء زادت الضغوط أكثر على غزة، وفي الأيام الأخيرة توجه ممثلو حركة حماس إلى إسرائيل طالبين زيادة إمدادات الوقود للقطاع بعد أن خفض المصريون ساعات فتح معبر رفح إلى 4 ساعات يوميًا، وعلاوة على ذلك زادت القاهرة من وتيرة تدمير الأنفاق في رفح، الأمر الذي جعل من الصعب استمرار تدفق البضائع لغزة.
نصائح هذا الزمان../ فهمي هويدي
Arabs48
أتلقى هذه الأيام، نصائح عدة تدعوني إلى الحذر فى الكتابة، وتذكرني بين الحين
والآخر بأن الدنيا تغيرت وأن أجهزة مبارك الأمنية استعادت عافيتها. ولست واثقا مما
إذا كانت تلك النصائح من قبيل الحرص أم أنها رسائل للتخويف والترهيب.
لكني استطيع أن أقرر بأن ما صدر عن الأهل على الأقل من الصنف الأول، كما أنني أسجل أن ما جاءني عن غير طريق الأهل لم يعلن منه شيء عبر القنوات الرسمية، وإن قيل إن بعضا منها يعبر عن رأى تلك القنوات.
وقد نبهنى أحد الأصدقاء الناصحين إلى أن الهجوم الذى بات يستهدفني مع غيري عبر بعض وسائل الإعلام في الآونة الأخيرة ليس مصادفة، وما كان له ان يتم إلا إذا كان هناك ضوء أخضر من جهات أعلى، خصوصا أن بعضه صادر عن أشخاص يعرف كثيرون أن أداءهم ليس مستقلا دائما، ولكنه صدى لغيرهم في أغلب الأحيان.
لم يفاجئنى ما حدث، لأنني مررت بتجارب مماثلة في السابق، لكن ما فاجأني هذه المرة، ثلاثة أمور:
الأول أن مشاعر الخوف والقلق انتابت كثيرين بسرعة في ظل مرحلة مستجدة كان الظن انها تخلصت من أجواء تلك التأثيرات وطوت صفحتها؛
الأمر الثاني أن الناصحين ما برحوا يقولون في كل مرة أن المشكلة ليست فيما أكتبه، لكنها تكمن في عدم قدرة الآخرين على احتماله، لا لشيء سوى أنه يبدو أحيانا تغريدا خارج السرب. وهو ما لا تقبل به أجواء التربص المحمومة الراهنة؛
الأمر الثالث أن الناصحين لم يكتفوا بالتنبيه والتحذير، ولكنهم كانوا يقدمون لي مقترحات معينة لتجنب المخاطر والسير إلى جانب الحائط، في سكة الأمان والسلامة.
حين سجلت تلك النصائح وجمعتها وجدت أنها ترسم معالم سكة السلامة المعتمدة هذه الأيام، التي يمكن تلخيص أهمها في النقاط التالية:
عدم الإشارة إلى وصف ما جرى في 30 يونيو بأنه انقلاب، وحبذا لو جرى التأكيد على أنه ثورة شعبية كاملة الأوصاف؛
ما كان لقيادة القوات المسلحة أن تتدخل فيها إلا بعد إلحاح الجماهير التي أمرت ولم يكن هناك بد من الاستجابة؛
تجاهل اعتصامات الطرف الآخر ومظاهراتهم، مع التأكيد على أن الاجماع الشعبي ملتف حول الفريق السيسي. أما معارضوه فهم فئات هامشية تضم عناصر إرهابية لا تستحق الذكر، فضلا عن أنه يتعين "تطهير" المجتمع منها؛
الحذر في الحديث عن الحشود الكبيرة التى خرجت يوم 30 يونيو، مع الالتزام بالرقم المعلن للمتظاهرين، الذى لا ينزل عن 20 مليونا وحبذا لو ظل عند حدود الثلاثين مليونا، وعدم تكرار الخطأ الذي سبق أن وقعت فيه حين أشرت في وقت سابق إلى تقديرات هيئة الإذاعة البريطانيةBBC وحسابات أحد الخبراء التي اعتمدت على أسس علمية معتمدة، وقدرت طاقة استيعاب ميدان التحرير بما يتراوح بين 400 و500 ألف نسمة؛
الكف عن الإشارة إلى تدخل الجيش في السياسة وعدم الحديث عن التجربة التركية في هذا الصدد. (قيل لي إن ما ذكرته عن إصدار البرلمان التركي قانونا يحظر على الجيش التدخل فى الشأن الداخلي ويحصر مهمته في الدفاع عن الوطن قوبل باستياء وامتعاض من جانب الدوائر المعنية فى القاهرة)؛
التركيز على أخطاء الدكتور مرسي التي لولا تكرارها لما اضطر الجيش إلى التدخل وعزله، مع التحذير من خطر الإخوان على السلم الأهلي والدولة المدنية؛
عدم الإلحاح على مسألة الدستور أو الانتخابات التشريعية أو حتى الرئاسية في الوقت الراهن، مع عدم التركيز على فكرة الشرعية أو الدعوة إلى المصالحة والاحتواء، لأن من شأن ذلك شق الصف الوطني الذي أصبح يقف بوضوح ضد إدماج الإسلاميين في الحياة السياسية. بل ضد السماح لهم بتكوين أحزاب سياسية من الأساس؛
عدم إبداء أى تعاطف مع حركة حماس وقناة الجزيرة، مع عدم إغفال المعلومات التي تتحدث عن تهديد حماس للأمن القومي المصري وسعيها لإثارة القلاقل فى البلاد، وتلك التى تعتبر قناة الجزيرة ضمن المربع المعادي لمصر والمتعاطف مع الإخوان.
هذه النصائح تلقيتها بصورة متفرقة من بعض المحيطين من أقارب ومعارف، لكن النصيحة التي تكررت على مسامعي أكثر من مرة منهم ركزت على أهمية الانطلاق من خريطة الطريق التي أعلنت في الثالث من شهر يوليو الماضي، والتعامل معها باعتبارها شهادة ميلاد النظام الجديد، التي ينبغي البدء بالاعتراف بها، في حين يعد عدم التسليم بها من دلائل المروق التي تصنف صاحبها ضمن قوائم الترقب والاشتباه.
لا أستطيع أن أخفي قلقا ودهشة إزاء مشاعر الخوف والحذر التي باتت تنتاب كثيرين في الأجواء الراهنة، ولولا أن تلك النصائح تكررت على مسامعي عدة مرات لما ألقيت لها بالا ولما شغلت أحدا بها.
أما إذا سألتني لماذا ذكرتها، فإن السؤال يذكرني بخطيب الجمعة الذي تلقى تعليمات من الحكومة بضرورة حث المصلين على تحديد النسل، في حين أنه لم يكن مقتنعا بالفكرة، فما كان منه إلا أن سكت على مضض، وفي أول خطبة له قال إن التعليمات التي تلقاها طلبت منه إقناع المصلين بكذا وكذا، وها هو يمتثل ويبلغهم بما طلب منه إبراء لذمته وإيثارا للسلامة.
وقد حذوت حذوه وأبلغت بما طلب مني متوخيا ذات الهدف.
تاريخ النشر: 12/08/2013 - آخر تحديث: 13:21
أتلقى هذه الأيام، نصائح عدة تدعوني إلى الحذر فى الكتابة، وتذكرني بين الحين
والآخر بأن الدنيا تغيرت وأن أجهزة مبارك الأمنية استعادت عافيتها. ولست واثقا مما
إذا كانت تلك النصائح من قبيل الحرص أم أنها رسائل للتخويف والترهيب.لكني استطيع أن أقرر بأن ما صدر عن الأهل على الأقل من الصنف الأول، كما أنني أسجل أن ما جاءني عن غير طريق الأهل لم يعلن منه شيء عبر القنوات الرسمية، وإن قيل إن بعضا منها يعبر عن رأى تلك القنوات.
وقد نبهنى أحد الأصدقاء الناصحين إلى أن الهجوم الذى بات يستهدفني مع غيري عبر بعض وسائل الإعلام في الآونة الأخيرة ليس مصادفة، وما كان له ان يتم إلا إذا كان هناك ضوء أخضر من جهات أعلى، خصوصا أن بعضه صادر عن أشخاص يعرف كثيرون أن أداءهم ليس مستقلا دائما، ولكنه صدى لغيرهم في أغلب الأحيان.
لم يفاجئنى ما حدث، لأنني مررت بتجارب مماثلة في السابق، لكن ما فاجأني هذه المرة، ثلاثة أمور:
الأول أن مشاعر الخوف والقلق انتابت كثيرين بسرعة في ظل مرحلة مستجدة كان الظن انها تخلصت من أجواء تلك التأثيرات وطوت صفحتها؛
الأمر الثاني أن الناصحين ما برحوا يقولون في كل مرة أن المشكلة ليست فيما أكتبه، لكنها تكمن في عدم قدرة الآخرين على احتماله، لا لشيء سوى أنه يبدو أحيانا تغريدا خارج السرب. وهو ما لا تقبل به أجواء التربص المحمومة الراهنة؛
الأمر الثالث أن الناصحين لم يكتفوا بالتنبيه والتحذير، ولكنهم كانوا يقدمون لي مقترحات معينة لتجنب المخاطر والسير إلى جانب الحائط، في سكة الأمان والسلامة.
حين سجلت تلك النصائح وجمعتها وجدت أنها ترسم معالم سكة السلامة المعتمدة هذه الأيام، التي يمكن تلخيص أهمها في النقاط التالية:
عدم الإشارة إلى وصف ما جرى في 30 يونيو بأنه انقلاب، وحبذا لو جرى التأكيد على أنه ثورة شعبية كاملة الأوصاف؛
ما كان لقيادة القوات المسلحة أن تتدخل فيها إلا بعد إلحاح الجماهير التي أمرت ولم يكن هناك بد من الاستجابة؛
تجاهل اعتصامات الطرف الآخر ومظاهراتهم، مع التأكيد على أن الاجماع الشعبي ملتف حول الفريق السيسي. أما معارضوه فهم فئات هامشية تضم عناصر إرهابية لا تستحق الذكر، فضلا عن أنه يتعين "تطهير" المجتمع منها؛
الحذر في الحديث عن الحشود الكبيرة التى خرجت يوم 30 يونيو، مع الالتزام بالرقم المعلن للمتظاهرين، الذى لا ينزل عن 20 مليونا وحبذا لو ظل عند حدود الثلاثين مليونا، وعدم تكرار الخطأ الذي سبق أن وقعت فيه حين أشرت في وقت سابق إلى تقديرات هيئة الإذاعة البريطانيةBBC وحسابات أحد الخبراء التي اعتمدت على أسس علمية معتمدة، وقدرت طاقة استيعاب ميدان التحرير بما يتراوح بين 400 و500 ألف نسمة؛
الكف عن الإشارة إلى تدخل الجيش في السياسة وعدم الحديث عن التجربة التركية في هذا الصدد. (قيل لي إن ما ذكرته عن إصدار البرلمان التركي قانونا يحظر على الجيش التدخل فى الشأن الداخلي ويحصر مهمته في الدفاع عن الوطن قوبل باستياء وامتعاض من جانب الدوائر المعنية فى القاهرة)؛
التركيز على أخطاء الدكتور مرسي التي لولا تكرارها لما اضطر الجيش إلى التدخل وعزله، مع التحذير من خطر الإخوان على السلم الأهلي والدولة المدنية؛
عدم الإلحاح على مسألة الدستور أو الانتخابات التشريعية أو حتى الرئاسية في الوقت الراهن، مع عدم التركيز على فكرة الشرعية أو الدعوة إلى المصالحة والاحتواء، لأن من شأن ذلك شق الصف الوطني الذي أصبح يقف بوضوح ضد إدماج الإسلاميين في الحياة السياسية. بل ضد السماح لهم بتكوين أحزاب سياسية من الأساس؛
عدم إبداء أى تعاطف مع حركة حماس وقناة الجزيرة، مع عدم إغفال المعلومات التي تتحدث عن تهديد حماس للأمن القومي المصري وسعيها لإثارة القلاقل فى البلاد، وتلك التى تعتبر قناة الجزيرة ضمن المربع المعادي لمصر والمتعاطف مع الإخوان.
هذه النصائح تلقيتها بصورة متفرقة من بعض المحيطين من أقارب ومعارف، لكن النصيحة التي تكررت على مسامعي أكثر من مرة منهم ركزت على أهمية الانطلاق من خريطة الطريق التي أعلنت في الثالث من شهر يوليو الماضي، والتعامل معها باعتبارها شهادة ميلاد النظام الجديد، التي ينبغي البدء بالاعتراف بها، في حين يعد عدم التسليم بها من دلائل المروق التي تصنف صاحبها ضمن قوائم الترقب والاشتباه.
لا أستطيع أن أخفي قلقا ودهشة إزاء مشاعر الخوف والحذر التي باتت تنتاب كثيرين في الأجواء الراهنة، ولولا أن تلك النصائح تكررت على مسامعي عدة مرات لما ألقيت لها بالا ولما شغلت أحدا بها.
أما إذا سألتني لماذا ذكرتها، فإن السؤال يذكرني بخطيب الجمعة الذي تلقى تعليمات من الحكومة بضرورة حث المصلين على تحديد النسل، في حين أنه لم يكن مقتنعا بالفكرة، فما كان منه إلا أن سكت على مضض، وفي أول خطبة له قال إن التعليمات التي تلقاها طلبت منه إقناع المصلين بكذا وكذا، وها هو يمتثل ويبلغهم بما طلب منه إبراء لذمته وإيثارا للسلامة.
وقد حذوت حذوه وأبلغت بما طلب مني متوخيا ذات الهدف.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
باراك: أي مساعدة إسرائيلية للسيسي والبرادعي ستحرجهما، وعلى "العالم الحر" دعمهما
عــ48ـرب
قال رئيس
الوزراء الإسرائيلي السابق، إيهود باراك، في مقابلة أجرته معه قناة CNN، إن على
العالم الحر مساندة الفريق أول عبد الفتاح السيسي، وزير الدفاع المصري، وكذلك
الشخصيات القيادية الليبرالية، مثل محمد البرادعي، بعد خطوة عزل الرئيس محمد مرسي،
قائلا إن الأخير سقط لأن شعبه وقف ضده بعدما سعى لتحويل النظام إلى نظام شمولي
ديني.
وقال باراك
ردا على سؤال حول ما إذا كانت إسرائيل من بين الدول التي توصف بأنها "سعيدة بصمت"
حيال ما حصل في مصر: "نحن لا نعتبر أنفسنا من اللاعبين المؤثرين في هذه الأحداث
التي نرى فيها تطورا دراماتيكيا للمصريين وللمنطقة."
مساعدتنا للسيسي ستحرجه
وأوضح باراك
أن إسرائيل لا يمكنها تقديم المساعدة للسيسي لأن ذلك سيحرجه، موضحا: "أعتقد أن
العالم بأسره يجب أن يدعم السيسي، ربما إذا دعمناه نحن فسوف نحرجه ولن يساعده ذلك،
ولكن السيسي والقيادات الليبرالية مثل البرادعي يستحقون دعم العالم
الحر."
وحول عزل
مرسي قال باراك: "لقد جرى انتخاب مرسي بنزاهة نسبيا، ولكنه استخدم الأدوات من أجل
تحويل الانتخابات الديمقراطية إلى نظام شمولي متشدد يستند إلى الشريعة الإسلامية،
وقد رفضه شعبه."
"المستبدون السنة"
ودعا باراك
الولايات المتحدة إلى التصرف حيال قضية عزل مرسي كما تصرفت مع سائر من وصفهم بـ
"المستبدين السنّة" في المنطقة، إذ تخلت عنهم بعدما تحركت شعوبهم ضدهم مضيفا: "هنا،
مرة أخرى، وقف الشعب المصري ضده (مرسي) ليس إسرائيل أو أحد آخر، أعتقد أنهم يستحقون
دعمكم، والشيء الوحيد الذي أطلبه منهم مقابل هذا الدعم هو إجراء انتخابات حرة
وديمقراطية خلال وقت قصير نسبيا، ربما خلال سنة."
ولدى سؤاله
عن مدى السخرية في القول بأن السعودية وإسرائيل ربما من أكثر الدول السعيدة بصمت
بالتغيير في مصر اكتفى باراك بالقول: "لا يجب أن ندفع أنفسنا إلى مقدمة هذا التحول
العربي الداخلي والتاريخي."
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Al-Jazeera Video: ما وراء الخبر.. جدل حول انفجار سيناء
Watch as the official Egyptian lie unravels....
Israeli drone strike kills suspected Islamic militants in Egypt
Attack on Sinai peninsula came a day after Israel briefly closed its nearby airport in the Red Sea resort of Eilat
theguardian.com,
theguardian.com,
Friday, August 9, 2013
The Egyptian Military is Caught Lying and with its Pants Down!
Four Islamist militants killed in Egypt near Israel: sources
Lying Egyptian Army Spokesman
"(Reuters) - Four Islamist militants were killed by a missile strike in Egypt's North Sinai region on Friday as they prepared to launch rockets at Israel, Egyptian security sources said.
Five security sources told Reuters the attack was carried out by Israel. But the Egyptian armed forces officially denied that was the case and an Israeli army spokeswoman in Jerusalem declined to comment on the incident.
The two countries have cooperated in tackling the threat from Islamist militants in Sinai in the past and this case appeared unlikely to provoke a diplomatic row.
The Egyptian military said two explosions took place at a site 3 km (two miles) west of the border and south of the city of Rafah on Friday afternoon. Soldiers and specialist teams were searching the area to find out more, army spokesman Ahmed Ali said in a statement.
The security sources in Sinai told Reuters that an Israeli aircraft struck at the armed Jihadists, killing four, after discovering they had planned to fire rockets into Israel.
One source said that the Israeli aircraft had observed the militants preparing three rocket launchpads to hit Israel. It launched a missile, killing two men, then killed another pair who stepped up to the pads after the first strike.
However, an Egyptian army spokesman denied in a subsequent statement any Israeli role in the incident.
BORDER IS "RED LINE"
"It is not true, either in form nor substance, that there were any attacks from the Israeli side inside Egyptian territory,[Liar, Liar,.....]" he said.
"Likewise, the claim that there exists coordination between the Egyptian and the Israeli side in this matter is a matter completely void of truth."
The Egyptian border was a red line that could not be violated, he said.
The Sinai is largely demilitarized as part of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty of 1979 but Israel has approved troop reinforcements to combat the militants and arms smuggling by Palestinians into Gaza.
Militants based mainly in North Sinai near the border have escalated attacks on Egyptian security forces and other targets since July 3, when the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and installed a new government.
Israel took the rare step of shutting its southernmost Eilat airport near the Sinai peninsula for two hours on Thursday citing security concerns.
The desert peninsula has long been a security headache for Egypt and its neighbors. Large and empty, it also borders the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip and flanks the Suez Canal linking Asia to Europe. It is also home to nomad clans disaffected with rule from Cairo."
Lying Egyptian Army Spokesman
"(Reuters) - Four Islamist militants were killed by a missile strike in Egypt's North Sinai region on Friday as they prepared to launch rockets at Israel, Egyptian security sources said.
Five security sources told Reuters the attack was carried out by Israel. But the Egyptian armed forces officially denied that was the case and an Israeli army spokeswoman in Jerusalem declined to comment on the incident.
The two countries have cooperated in tackling the threat from Islamist militants in Sinai in the past and this case appeared unlikely to provoke a diplomatic row.
The Egyptian military said two explosions took place at a site 3 km (two miles) west of the border and south of the city of Rafah on Friday afternoon. Soldiers and specialist teams were searching the area to find out more, army spokesman Ahmed Ali said in a statement.
The security sources in Sinai told Reuters that an Israeli aircraft struck at the armed Jihadists, killing four, after discovering they had planned to fire rockets into Israel.
One source said that the Israeli aircraft had observed the militants preparing three rocket launchpads to hit Israel. It launched a missile, killing two men, then killed another pair who stepped up to the pads after the first strike.
However, an Egyptian army spokesman denied in a subsequent statement any Israeli role in the incident.
BORDER IS "RED LINE"
"It is not true, either in form nor substance, that there were any attacks from the Israeli side inside Egyptian territory,[Liar, Liar,.....]" he said.
"Likewise, the claim that there exists coordination between the Egyptian and the Israeli side in this matter is a matter completely void of truth."
The Egyptian border was a red line that could not be violated, he said.
The Sinai is largely demilitarized as part of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty of 1979 but Israel has approved troop reinforcements to combat the militants and arms smuggling by Palestinians into Gaza.
Militants based mainly in North Sinai near the border have escalated attacks on Egyptian security forces and other targets since July 3, when the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and installed a new government.
Israel took the rare step of shutting its southernmost Eilat airport near the Sinai peninsula for two hours on Thursday citing security concerns.
The desert peninsula has long been a security headache for Egypt and its neighbors. Large and empty, it also borders the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip and flanks the Suez Canal linking Asia to Europe. It is also home to nomad clans disaffected with rule from Cairo."
Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll
Do you support the decision of the Egyptian authorities to break up the sit-ins of the deposed president Morsi's supporters by force?
With about 500 responding so far, 91% said no.
Egypt's coup has crushed all the freedoms won in the revolution
I supported the opposition to President Morsi until the military takeover, which all supporters of human rights should reject
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Al-Jazeera Video: Brazilian satirical cartoonist faces death threats
"A Brazilian satirical cartoonist says he fears he may be assassinated or disappeared after two pro-police Facebook pages encourage members to harass and kill him. This comes after the cartoonist Carlos Latuff made provocative statements on his own Facebook page praising a Brazilian boy for killing his parents, both of whom were police officers. Latuff, who is of Lebanese descent, is no stranger to controversy and his work has dealt with Israel, Palestine, and Egypt, as well as with police brutality in Brazil. Al Jazeera spoke to Latuff."
Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة.. مآلات الأزمة السياسية بمصر
"ناقشت حلقة الأربعاء من برنامج "حديث الثورة" فشل جهود الوفود العربية والدولية في حل أزمة مصر السياسية، وتحميل الإخوان المسلمين مسؤولية ذلك.
تقديم: الحبيب الغريبي
الضيوف: خالد داود، وائل قنديل، آدم إرلي، إيان بلاك
"
Truth in the Crosshairs
Will Bradley Manning's Courage Inspire Other Whistleblowers?
By John Pilger
CounterPunch
"......Describing the attack by an Apache helicopter crew who filmed civilians as they murdered and wounded them in Baghdad in 2007, Manning said: “The most alarming aspect of the video to me was the seemingly delightful bloodlust they appeared to have. They seemed not to value human life by referring to them as ‘dead bastards’ and congratulating each other on the ability to kill in large numbers. At one point in the video there is an individual on the ground attempting to crawl to safety [who] is seriously wounded … For me, this seems similar to a child torturing ants with a magnifying glass.” He hoped “the public would be as alarmed as me” about a crime which, as his subsequent leaks revealed, was not an aberration......
The criminal nature of the American military is beyond dispute. The decades of lawless bombing, the use of poisonous weapons on civilian populations, the renditions and the torture at Abu Graib, Guantanamo and elsewhere, are all documented. As a young war reporter in Indochina, it dawned on me that America exported its homicidal neuroses and called it war, even a noble cause. Like the Apache attack, the infamous 1968 massacre at My Lai was not untypical. In the same province, Quang Ngai, I gathered evidence of widespread slaughter: thousands of men, women and children, murdered arbitrarily and anonymously in “free fire zones”.
In Iraq, I filmed a shepherd whose brother and his entire family had been cut down by an American plane, in the open. This was sport. In Afghanistan, I filmed to a woman whose dirt-walled home, and family, had been obliterated by a 500lb bomb. There was no “enemy”. My film cans burst with such evidence.
In 2010, Private Manning did his duty to the rest of humanity and supplied proof from within the murder machine. This is his triumph; and his show trial merely expresses corrupt power’s abiding fear of people learning the truth. It also illuminates the parasitic industry around truth-tellers. Manning’s character has been dissected and abused by those who never knew him and claim to support him........"
By John Pilger
CounterPunch
"......Describing the attack by an Apache helicopter crew who filmed civilians as they murdered and wounded them in Baghdad in 2007, Manning said: “The most alarming aspect of the video to me was the seemingly delightful bloodlust they appeared to have. They seemed not to value human life by referring to them as ‘dead bastards’ and congratulating each other on the ability to kill in large numbers. At one point in the video there is an individual on the ground attempting to crawl to safety [who] is seriously wounded … For me, this seems similar to a child torturing ants with a magnifying glass.” He hoped “the public would be as alarmed as me” about a crime which, as his subsequent leaks revealed, was not an aberration......
The criminal nature of the American military is beyond dispute. The decades of lawless bombing, the use of poisonous weapons on civilian populations, the renditions and the torture at Abu Graib, Guantanamo and elsewhere, are all documented. As a young war reporter in Indochina, it dawned on me that America exported its homicidal neuroses and called it war, even a noble cause. Like the Apache attack, the infamous 1968 massacre at My Lai was not untypical. In the same province, Quang Ngai, I gathered evidence of widespread slaughter: thousands of men, women and children, murdered arbitrarily and anonymously in “free fire zones”.
In Iraq, I filmed a shepherd whose brother and his entire family had been cut down by an American plane, in the open. This was sport. In Afghanistan, I filmed to a woman whose dirt-walled home, and family, had been obliterated by a 500lb bomb. There was no “enemy”. My film cans burst with such evidence.
In 2010, Private Manning did his duty to the rest of humanity and supplied proof from within the murder machine. This is his triumph; and his show trial merely expresses corrupt power’s abiding fear of people learning the truth. It also illuminates the parasitic industry around truth-tellers. Manning’s character has been dissected and abused by those who never knew him and claim to support him........"
Lebanon: Palestinians Fleeing Syria Denied Entry
Over 200 People Stranded at Border
"(Beirut) – The Lebanese government began on August 6, 2013, to bar Palestinians from entering the country from Syria. Refusing to allow asylum seekers to enter the country violates Lebanon’s international obligations.
Two Palestinians told Human Rights Watch that they were among about 200 Palestinian asylum seekers barred from crossing the border, after Lebanese General Security on August 6 abruptly changed its entry policies for Palestinians living in Syria.
“How can Lebanon turn its back on desperate people who have lost their homes, relatives, and livelihoods and are running for their lives from a war zone,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Lebanon shouldn’t push them back to a place where their safety and very lives could be in danger.”....."
"(Beirut) – The Lebanese government began on August 6, 2013, to bar Palestinians from entering the country from Syria. Refusing to allow asylum seekers to enter the country violates Lebanon’s international obligations.
Two Palestinians told Human Rights Watch that they were among about 200 Palestinian asylum seekers barred from crossing the border, after Lebanese General Security on August 6 abruptly changed its entry policies for Palestinians living in Syria.
“How can Lebanon turn its back on desperate people who have lost their homes, relatives, and livelihoods and are running for their lives from a war zone,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Lebanon shouldn’t push them back to a place where their safety and very lives could be in danger.”....."
Shades of the Old Soviet Union?
By Eric Margolis
".....China’s Taoists warned, “you become what you hate.” They are right: the September 2001 attacks on the US, as John Le Carré wrote, producing a period of temporary psychosis. America was knocked back to the ugly days of Sen. McCarthy’s Red Scare of the 1950’s. The big difference was that today the bogeymen of “terrorists” have replaced menacing Marxists. And today, terrorists were everywhere.....
The dramatic revelations of fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden brings back sharp memories of Soviet-era dissidents, jailed, banished, locked in foul psychiatric hospitals for daring to speak the truth.
In my day, those seeking justice and freedom used to defect from the East Bloc to the United States and Britain. Now, ironically, we see a major defector, Ed Snowden, fleeing to Russia.
While the corporate-owned US news networks sugarcoat or obscure the NSA and Afghanistan War scandals, it’s left to Russian TV (RT) to tell Americans the facts. Who would have thought?
We journalists used to mock Pravda and Trud as party mouthpieces. Today, it’s the party line all the time from the big US networks, online news, and newspapers.
The Republican far right calls Snowden and Manning traitors; some demand the death penalty. Snowden’s lawyers warn he faces torture and possibly execution if he returns home; Manning has already had a long term in solitary confinement, which is itself a form of psychological torture......
Snowdon and Manning were, in my view, patriotic Americans warning their nation that its ruling elite, obsessed with power and global hegemony, had veered way off course and were violating the US Constitution. However foolhardy, they acted with courage and honor."
".....China’s Taoists warned, “you become what you hate.” They are right: the September 2001 attacks on the US, as John Le Carré wrote, producing a period of temporary psychosis. America was knocked back to the ugly days of Sen. McCarthy’s Red Scare of the 1950’s. The big difference was that today the bogeymen of “terrorists” have replaced menacing Marxists. And today, terrorists were everywhere.....
The dramatic revelations of fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden brings back sharp memories of Soviet-era dissidents, jailed, banished, locked in foul psychiatric hospitals for daring to speak the truth.
In my day, those seeking justice and freedom used to defect from the East Bloc to the United States and Britain. Now, ironically, we see a major defector, Ed Snowden, fleeing to Russia.
While the corporate-owned US news networks sugarcoat or obscure the NSA and Afghanistan War scandals, it’s left to Russian TV (RT) to tell Americans the facts. Who would have thought?
We journalists used to mock Pravda and Trud as party mouthpieces. Today, it’s the party line all the time from the big US networks, online news, and newspapers.
The Republican far right calls Snowden and Manning traitors; some demand the death penalty. Snowden’s lawyers warn he faces torture and possibly execution if he returns home; Manning has already had a long term in solitary confinement, which is itself a form of psychological torture......
Snowdon and Manning were, in my view, patriotic Americans warning their nation that its ruling elite, obsessed with power and global hegemony, had veered way off course and were violating the US Constitution. However foolhardy, they acted with courage and honor."
Portrait of the General as a Not-So-Young Grad Student
Egypt's army chief isn't an Islamist -- in fact, his work at the U.S. Army War College suggests he may be a Mubarak clone
Foreign Policy
"What does Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi really think about democracy in the Middle East? From the moment President Mohamed Morsy promoted Sisi as Egypt's defense minister in August 2012, rumors have swirled about his supposed Islamist leanings. The army chief was said to be particularly devout, and the fact that Morsy passed over more senior generals in selecting him fueled claims that Sisi was a Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer. Even after he deposed Morsy, observers of Egyptian politics have wondered whether he hopes to use his newfound power to implement an Islamist agenda.
A 2006 paper Sisi wrote while studying at the U.S. Army War College, titled "Democracy in the Middle East," has garnered much attention in this regard. Naval Postgraduate School professor Robert Springborg contended in Foreign Affairs that the document "reads like a tract produced by the Muslim Brotherhood," and "embraces a more radical view of the proper place of religion in an Islamic democracy."
This view of Sisi as an Islamist may prove accurate, because little is known of the sunglass-sporting general who is now Egypt's de facto leader. But after thoroughly examining Sisi's paper -- which you can download here -- I found little evidence of Islamism. If anything, the paper reflects the boilerplate, nationalistic rhetoric of Mubarak-era Egyptian officials -- not the theocratic rhetoric of the Muslim Brotherhood.....
Sisi's paper, in other words, doesn't reflect Islamists' obsession with constructing an Islamic state -- it reflects Mubarak's obsession with preventing Western pressure to democratize. For Sisi, the question is not whether Islam and democracy can coexist, but "whether the rest of the world will be able to accept a democracy in the Middle East founded on Islamic beliefs."
It's an especially ironic sentence to read today. For better or worse, the international community was prepared to accept a state in Egypt "founded on Islamic beliefs." Sisi and millions of his fellow Egyptians, however, were not. "
Foreign Policy
"What does Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi really think about democracy in the Middle East? From the moment President Mohamed Morsy promoted Sisi as Egypt's defense minister in August 2012, rumors have swirled about his supposed Islamist leanings. The army chief was said to be particularly devout, and the fact that Morsy passed over more senior generals in selecting him fueled claims that Sisi was a Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer. Even after he deposed Morsy, observers of Egyptian politics have wondered whether he hopes to use his newfound power to implement an Islamist agenda.
A 2006 paper Sisi wrote while studying at the U.S. Army War College, titled "Democracy in the Middle East," has garnered much attention in this regard. Naval Postgraduate School professor Robert Springborg contended in Foreign Affairs that the document "reads like a tract produced by the Muslim Brotherhood," and "embraces a more radical view of the proper place of religion in an Islamic democracy."
This view of Sisi as an Islamist may prove accurate, because little is known of the sunglass-sporting general who is now Egypt's de facto leader. But after thoroughly examining Sisi's paper -- which you can download here -- I found little evidence of Islamism. If anything, the paper reflects the boilerplate, nationalistic rhetoric of Mubarak-era Egyptian officials -- not the theocratic rhetoric of the Muslim Brotherhood.....
Sisi's paper, in other words, doesn't reflect Islamists' obsession with constructing an Islamic state -- it reflects Mubarak's obsession with preventing Western pressure to democratize. For Sisi, the question is not whether Islam and democracy can coexist, but "whether the rest of the world will be able to accept a democracy in the Middle East founded on Islamic beliefs."
It's an especially ironic sentence to read today. For better or worse, the international community was prepared to accept a state in Egypt "founded on Islamic beliefs." Sisi and millions of his fellow Egyptians, however, were not. "
Egypt, democracy and the fascist triangle
An unholy trinity of rampant neo-fascism, sharply rising Islamophobia and viral classism has gripped Egypt, showing that the era of Mubarak is far from over
Mohamed El-Menshawy , Thursday 8 Aug 2013
Ahram Online
"Without condensing the issue of democracy in Egypt and diagnosing it as a struggle between the Islamist current and what is known as the civil current, democracy in Egypt is subject to many threats. Most notably, an alarming trinity founded on rising exclusionary fascist rhetoric; encouraging Islamophobia; and overt calls to marginalise lower and poor classes.
Many countries have endured chaos, violence, death and terror in order for their people to enjoy the right to choose their rulers in recurring free and fair elections. But it seems the formula of “one man, one vote,” giving all citizens — rich or poor, lower, middle or upper classes — equal voting rights is not favoured by large sectors of Egyptian society who believe they possess more humanity, culture, cleanliness and education than the majority of the citizenry.
This class does not accept that an “ignorant populace” can choose their rulers, and believes “a starving people” should focus on their “livelihood” not politics and elections. This class prefers to be described as the “old elite”, but I believe “Egyptian neo-fascists” better describes them......
For many decades, this group of elite distanced itself from the real Egypt and the problems suffered by the majority of millions of Egyptians. This was evident in the education sector where the elite did not mind seeing government schools and university education fall apart, and created for themselves alternative education that they believe is good, in private schools with foreign curricula, such as British, American, French and even Turkish. The same thing happened in the health, transportation and housing sectors.
Today, these people claim to be revolutionary, true only in its worst form, and advocate the need to maintain security at the expense of freedoms — security and freedoms they want only for themselves and their ilk, not for all Egyptians equally.
The goals of the January 25 Revolution were not only to overthrow Mubarak, but also change the dynamic of relations between ruler and ruled. This change will never begin as long as the class linked to the former regime remains immune to the winds of change, as events since 30 June have shown they remain."
Mohamed El-Menshawy , Thursday 8 Aug 2013
Ahram Online
"Without condensing the issue of democracy in Egypt and diagnosing it as a struggle between the Islamist current and what is known as the civil current, democracy in Egypt is subject to many threats. Most notably, an alarming trinity founded on rising exclusionary fascist rhetoric; encouraging Islamophobia; and overt calls to marginalise lower and poor classes.
Many countries have endured chaos, violence, death and terror in order for their people to enjoy the right to choose their rulers in recurring free and fair elections. But it seems the formula of “one man, one vote,” giving all citizens — rich or poor, lower, middle or upper classes — equal voting rights is not favoured by large sectors of Egyptian society who believe they possess more humanity, culture, cleanliness and education than the majority of the citizenry.
This class does not accept that an “ignorant populace” can choose their rulers, and believes “a starving people” should focus on their “livelihood” not politics and elections. This class prefers to be described as the “old elite”, but I believe “Egyptian neo-fascists” better describes them......
For many decades, this group of elite distanced itself from the real Egypt and the problems suffered by the majority of millions of Egyptians. This was evident in the education sector where the elite did not mind seeing government schools and university education fall apart, and created for themselves alternative education that they believe is good, in private schools with foreign curricula, such as British, American, French and even Turkish. The same thing happened in the health, transportation and housing sectors.
Today, these people claim to be revolutionary, true only in its worst form, and advocate the need to maintain security at the expense of freedoms — security and freedoms they want only for themselves and their ilk, not for all Egyptians equally.
The goals of the January 25 Revolution were not only to overthrow Mubarak, but also change the dynamic of relations between ruler and ruled. This change will never begin as long as the class linked to the former regime remains immune to the winds of change, as events since 30 June have shown they remain."
The US view of Yemen as an al-Qaida hotbed is a travesty of the truth
Yemen is a real place where people are demanding social justice and democracy. Their cause is only harmed by the US
Brian Whitaker
Brian Whitaker
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Al-Jazeera Video: Images suggest Syria used ballistic missiles
"Amnesty International has published a series of satellite pictures taken over a period of time in the northern city of Aleppo.The organisation believes the images show Syrian military attacks using ballistic missiles against rebel targets in residential areas.The UN human rights chief says the incident may constitute a war crime.Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reports."
Nuclear strikes on Syria: The genie is already out of the bottle
Nuclear strikes on Syria: The genie is already out of the bottle
By Jon Snow
| Editors Note - This item was posted on the Channel 4 (UK) website at this location http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/nuclear-strikes-syria-genie-bottle/20846 on August 05, 2013, and has since been removed. A copy can still be found at Google Cache - and has been recovered and archived below. |
The fight against Assad’s
brutal regime has taken an unexpected turn late Thursday afternoon when a large
weapons cache belonging to the so-called national protection force in Homs city,
an arm of Assad’s Shabeeha, was destroyed. The explosion was reminiscent of the
attack on Qasyoon mountain, a stronghold for the Syrian army and a location said
to house missiles targeting Israel.
It was first reported that the
missile fuelling station had blown up which seemed like a reasonable proposition
especially since an ammunition depot was targeted.
But the two explosions in Homs
and Qasyoon share the same property: They are both above ground air bursts
according to Greg Thielmann, an expert on arms control policy whom I spoke with
on Saturday at great length. I was first alerted to the connection by slow
twitter chatter right after the bombing in Homs.
Needless to say I was shocked
at what he told me next: “The fact of the matter is, what we are seeing in both
these cases is a tactical nuclear strike, probably by cruise missiles launched
from aircrafts near the borders of Syria or right off the coast in the
Mediterranean.”
But sure, Greg, wouldn’t this
mean a nuclear holocaust? Not so he says. “Tactical nuclear weapons lower the
threshold on use of a nuclear bomb as their modern incarnation can be tuned in
yield in order to target military sites using stand off weapons without
escalating by destroy surrounding civilian infrastructure.”
He went on: “Keep in mind a
nuclear bomb sounds like a huge device, but it can have a yield as small as the
equivalent conventional payload carried by a formation of 5 F-15s. Sites in
Syria are inaccessible to these jets due to the Russian support available in the
field of air defense. So these strikes are an option for the west to implement
its policy.”
The likely assailant in both
cases is Israel he claims: “Israel is the only nation that can deploy these
sorts of weapons with impunity without fear of a counter-attack. Syria has shown
no appetite to get into a shooting fight even over the deployment of such
weapons”.
This all presented a
remarkably delicious possibility of removing the tyrant Assad using all tools
available. “The army can be gradually destroyed with these sort of strikes, or
destroyed all in one go in a devastating nuclear attack. Should Assad attempt to
counter-attack, the cities can be destroyed by larger nuclear bombs with ease,
since the insurgents have done the job of deteriorating Assad’s command on the
ground”, an anonymous military strategist added.
What about the coast, I asked
him? “The coast does present a problem for suppression of air defense missions
by NATO due to Russian missiles stationed there, but as I speak hordes of
Muslims are throwing themselves on coastal cities in the hopes of destroying
these weapons to allow Israel and NATO to intervene.”. This made no sense to me
since the coastal cities are amongst the most supportive of Assad. “It’s not an
issue, the insurgents are now armed with chemical weapons manufactured in
Georgia exactly for this scenario. Assad’s pulse was tested in Khan Assal a week
ago when an entire brigade was killed with chemical weapons and there was no
response. We don’t see a likely response to further use of this
tool.”
I concluded with him that it
is awfully ironic that an inhuman weapon such as nuclear weapons and chemical
weapons could be used to promote human rights and freedom in the world. But the
Syrian people, or at least who will remain of them after these attacks, deserve
to enjoy the same freedoms enjoyed today by Iraqis.
“Don’t be so sure”, another
anonymous strategist disagreed, “We are now playing with nuclear fire and the
use of all these weapons of mass destruction will definitely attract a
counterattack with massive force. We are now on a slippery slope, there is no
such thing as a limited nuclear strike, the retaliation will be delayed, but it
is coming and god save us all when the nuclear fire spreads to our
backyards.”
Spooky stuff. All I know is,
I’ll be spending time in my summer home in the woods for the next few
weeks.
Aleppo satellite images show devastation, mass displacement one year on
Amnesty International
"New satellite images of Aleppo provide the most recent evidence of how the protracted conflict in Syria is resulting in massive human rights violations against the civilian population which is bearing the brunt of the spiralling violence, displacement, and humanitarian crisis.
The new analysis – one of the most comprehensive satellite image analyses of an active conflict zone to date – shows alarming trends in how the conflict is being fought: with utter disregard for the rules of International Humanitarian Law, causing extensive destruction, death, and displacement. The analysis was produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in collaboration with the Science for Human Rights program of Amnesty International.
The devastation revealed in the images has been substantiated by Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Response Adviser, who returned from a visit to Aleppo last month.
“Aleppo has been utterly devastated, its people fleeing the conflagration in huge numbers,” said Donatella Rovera, who has spent prolonged periods of time investigating human rights violations on the ground in Syria......"
The conflict in Syria is resulting in massive human rights violations against the civilian population.
© DigitalGlobe/Atrium/Analysis by AAAS
"New satellite images of Aleppo provide the most recent evidence of how the protracted conflict in Syria is resulting in massive human rights violations against the civilian population which is bearing the brunt of the spiralling violence, displacement, and humanitarian crisis.
The new analysis – one of the most comprehensive satellite image analyses of an active conflict zone to date – shows alarming trends in how the conflict is being fought: with utter disregard for the rules of International Humanitarian Law, causing extensive destruction, death, and displacement. The analysis was produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in collaboration with the Science for Human Rights program of Amnesty International.
The devastation revealed in the images has been substantiated by Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Response Adviser, who returned from a visit to Aleppo last month.
“Aleppo has been utterly devastated, its people fleeing the conflagration in huge numbers,” said Donatella Rovera, who has spent prolonged periods of time investigating human rights violations on the ground in Syria......"
OP-ED: The Making of the Middle East’s Newest Strongman
- Before an ultimatum to attack an anti-coup sit-in earlier this week, Egypt’s new strongman and coup leader Gen. Abdel Fatah Al-Sissi received one of his warmest endorsements ever – something that might have been torn right out of the steamy pages of the “Arabian Nights”.
Gen. Abdel Fatah Al-Sissi. Credit: U.S. State Department/public domain
A female secular columnist for the liberal, privately-owned daily Al-Masry Al-Youm wrote in support of his planned action, literally offering herself as “a sex slave”.
If this sounds like a typical example of how depraved Arab tyrants such as Saddam Hussein and Hafez Al-Assad strengthened their iron grip on their countries on the shoulders of compliant media and elites, it is because it is.
After all, this is the Middle East where more than two years after the Arab Spring, the elite, military and local media remain the world’s most skilled inventors of ruthless autocracies, from mad despots such as the deceased Muammer Gaddafi of Libya to brutal tribal monarchs such as the Al Saud royal family in Saudi Arabia and Al Nahian tribe in the United Arab Emirates......
The rhetoric from the private media, owned by the country’s wealthy elite classes and members of the minority Christian Coptic church who both support Sissi, routinely encourage crackdowns against opponents. Examples include urging Sissi to cut off water and electricity from opposition sit-ins, flooding the sit-ins with sewage, and calls to shoot at “just their legs”, while all along showing fanatical devotion for their new Pharaoh, Sissi the Savior.
But nobody has yet matched Sherif’s offer. “Sissi, all you have to do is just wink,” the liberal writer titled her column.
“He is a man that Egyptians are infatuated with. If he wants to take four wives, then we are at his bidding. If he wants just a sex slave, by God, we’ll not be hard to get either.”"
Arab elites push back political Islam
By Ramzy Baroud
Asia Times
"From Jordan to Tunisia to Algeria, ruling Arab elites have for decades co-opted and manipulated Islamic opposition parties to keep the reins of power. Perhaps the most significant illustration of the trend is in today's Egypt. There, exploiting a resilient power structure and corrupt media, the old regime has managed to turn the revolution against itself......
In some sad way, the Arab regimes are making gains. Some are doing so through war, others through military coups, and some are actively plotting in hopes of making their move soon. As costly as the revolts have been, however, one thing is for sure - the old Middle East paradigm of powerful elites backed by formidable allies oppressing weak peoples seems unlikely to ever be resurrected. "
Asia Times
"From Jordan to Tunisia to Algeria, ruling Arab elites have for decades co-opted and manipulated Islamic opposition parties to keep the reins of power. Perhaps the most significant illustration of the trend is in today's Egypt. There, exploiting a resilient power structure and corrupt media, the old regime has managed to turn the revolution against itself......
In some sad way, the Arab regimes are making gains. Some are doing so through war, others through military coups, and some are actively plotting in hopes of making their move soon. As costly as the revolts have been, however, one thing is for sure - the old Middle East paradigm of powerful elites backed by formidable allies oppressing weak peoples seems unlikely to ever be resurrected. "
Emad Hajjaj's Cartoon
Arab Dictator to Islamist:
"Don't Shame Me and I Will not Shame You......
Uncle Sam Supports Us Both!"
To be a Gazan in Tahrir
Politically charged Palestinian rap provides an outlet to express frustration towards Hamas.
By Mark LeVine
Al-Jazeera
"In the months leading up to the removal of President Morsi, Palestinians became an increasing object of distrust and even attack in the Egyptian media. This situation has continued since his ouster, as the media has reinforced the sense that Egyptians are besieged by domestic and foreign forces that threaten its security and even soul. Yet Palestinians were in many ways a primary inspiration for the first revolutionary wave of 2011 through their actions during the al-Aqsa intifada and the history of Palestine solidarity groups on Egyptian campuses, where many of the key revolutionary activists first became politically engaged.
Mohammed Antar is one of Gaza's growing crop of celebrated rappers, whose songs well capture the grim realities and lack of choices that represent life as a constant prisoner in the tiny Strip and the sometimes desperate attempts by youth to assert some autonomy and power in the present situation.
Antar has been staying in Cairo the last several months and sat down with Mark LeVine to discuss his experiences as a Gazan in Cairo today, the situation in Gaza, and the ongoing role of art in revolutionary struggles......"
By Mark LeVine
Al-Jazeera
"In the months leading up to the removal of President Morsi, Palestinians became an increasing object of distrust and even attack in the Egyptian media. This situation has continued since his ouster, as the media has reinforced the sense that Egyptians are besieged by domestic and foreign forces that threaten its security and even soul. Yet Palestinians were in many ways a primary inspiration for the first revolutionary wave of 2011 through their actions during the al-Aqsa intifada and the history of Palestine solidarity groups on Egyptian campuses, where many of the key revolutionary activists first became politically engaged.
Mohammed Antar is one of Gaza's growing crop of celebrated rappers, whose songs well capture the grim realities and lack of choices that represent life as a constant prisoner in the tiny Strip and the sometimes desperate attempts by youth to assert some autonomy and power in the present situation.
Antar has been staying in Cairo the last several months and sat down with Mark LeVine to discuss his experiences as a Gazan in Cairo today, the situation in Gaza, and the ongoing role of art in revolutionary struggles......"
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
US senators call for Egypt dialogue. I Am Waiting for the Pope, the Dalai Lama, Ban Ki-Moon, Shimon Peres, etc to get involved; What a Farce!
| On trip to Cairo, two senior lawmakers urge timetable for elections and ask Morsi's supporters to renounce violence. |
Al-Jazeera"Two US senators have met Egypt's army chief and urged the country's divided political factions to renounce violence and agree to a national dialogue.Lindsey Graham and John McCain, both Republican senators, travelled to Cairo at the request of US President Barack Obama......" |
Egypt’s foreign relations
Don’t exclude the Muslim Brotherhood
by Alain Gresh
Le Monde Diplomatique
"“To avert a bloodbath and civil war, the military will govern Egypt for a short period of not more than a year,” said an editorial in Saudi Arabia’s Okaz newspaper on 30 June: a few days later, after the demonstrations, Morsi was removed by the army. Okaz’s foresight was unsurprising since there had been liaison between Egypt’s high command and Riyadh for months.
The army had a guarantee from Saudi Arabia that it would come to Egypt’s aid provided the army removed from power the Muslim Brothers, who are hated by the Saudi royal family, and treated ex-president Hosni Mubarak better. (Saudi Arabia, which took in Tunisia’s former president, Zine al- Abidine Ben Ali, was unhappy with Mubarak’s treatment.) King Abdullah was among the first to congratulate the new leadership in Cairo and offer $5bn in aid: $1bn in cash, $2bn in oil and $2bn in bank deposits.
Morsi’s departure is a clear victory for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and a setback for Qatar. After a smooth transition of power in Qatar with the accession of the emir’s son, there might be a less interventionist policy. However, there will still be rivalry between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, even if both depend on their strategic alliance with the US......
After Morsi’s fall, the military flooded the press with “secrets” about his alleged refusal to re-establish order in Sinai, an unstable region important to the military command. Since then, operations there have been stepped up and the army has reverted to the strategy of the Mubarak period, when all-out repression — and contempt for Sinai inhabitants, often considered second-class citizens — played into the hands of jihadi groups. In Gaza, drastic restrictions have returned at the Rafah terminal and there has been a political campaign equating Palestinians with terrorists....."
by Alain Gresh
Le Monde Diplomatique
"“To avert a bloodbath and civil war, the military will govern Egypt for a short period of not more than a year,” said an editorial in Saudi Arabia’s Okaz newspaper on 30 June: a few days later, after the demonstrations, Morsi was removed by the army. Okaz’s foresight was unsurprising since there had been liaison between Egypt’s high command and Riyadh for months.
The army had a guarantee from Saudi Arabia that it would come to Egypt’s aid provided the army removed from power the Muslim Brothers, who are hated by the Saudi royal family, and treated ex-president Hosni Mubarak better. (Saudi Arabia, which took in Tunisia’s former president, Zine al- Abidine Ben Ali, was unhappy with Mubarak’s treatment.) King Abdullah was among the first to congratulate the new leadership in Cairo and offer $5bn in aid: $1bn in cash, $2bn in oil and $2bn in bank deposits.
Morsi’s departure is a clear victory for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and a setback for Qatar. After a smooth transition of power in Qatar with the accession of the emir’s son, there might be a less interventionist policy. However, there will still be rivalry between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, even if both depend on their strategic alliance with the US......
After Morsi’s fall, the military flooded the press with “secrets” about his alleged refusal to re-establish order in Sinai, an unstable region important to the military command. Since then, operations there have been stepped up and the army has reverted to the strategy of the Mubarak period, when all-out repression — and contempt for Sinai inhabitants, often considered second-class citizens — played into the hands of jihadi groups. In Gaza, drastic restrictions have returned at the Rafah terminal and there has been a political campaign equating Palestinians with terrorists....."
The Creeping Police State in Egypt: Egyptian doctors angry as health minister 'bans' strikes
New health minister on Monday issued a ministerial order effectively banning physicians from striking
Ahram Online
"Egyptian Health Minister Maha Rabat on Monday issued an order banning strikes in public hospitals.
A memorandum issued by the minister's office banned any action that would lead to partial or complete strikes in hospitals, with instructions to take legal actions against whoever calls for such actions.
Dr. Ihab Taher, the general secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, criticised the minister’s decision.
"We were expecting the new government to try to solve the problems of the healthcare sector in Egypt and not to try to ban the doctors from demanding their rights," Taher told Ahram’s Arabic website, adding that the decision would not stop doctors from reclaiming their rights through legal methods.
"The first decision by the new minister is actually to suppress freedoms in the health sector, standing against the anger of the doctors and claiming that her decision is to protect the sick - although she has not take any decision to improve the healthcare of the sick," said Dr. Amr El-Shura, a the member of the Doctors Without Rights pressure group.
"If she really cares for the sick, then she has to increase the healthcare budget and to provide free healthcare, medicine and medical supplies, as well medical appliances," El-Shura said.
From October to December of last year, Egyptian doctors held a nationwide general strike in public hospitals, demanding better working conditions for doctors and increased state budgets for healthcare. "
Ahram Online
"Egyptian Health Minister Maha Rabat on Monday issued an order banning strikes in public hospitals.
Dr. Ihab Taher, the general secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, criticised the minister’s decision.
"We were expecting the new government to try to solve the problems of the healthcare sector in Egypt and not to try to ban the doctors from demanding their rights," Taher told Ahram’s Arabic website, adding that the decision would not stop doctors from reclaiming their rights through legal methods.
"The first decision by the new minister is actually to suppress freedoms in the health sector, standing against the anger of the doctors and claiming that her decision is to protect the sick - although she has not take any decision to improve the healthcare of the sick," said Dr. Amr El-Shura, a the member of the Doctors Without Rights pressure group.
"If she really cares for the sick, then she has to increase the healthcare budget and to provide free healthcare, medicine and medical supplies, as well medical appliances," El-Shura said.
From October to December of last year, Egyptian doctors held a nationwide general strike in public hospitals, demanding better working conditions for doctors and increased state budgets for healthcare. "
Dispatches: All it Takes is One Stone
Heba Morayef
"The Egyptian Interior Ministry is threatening to forcibly break up a Muslim Brotherhood sit-in, where protesters are demanding the reinstatement of Mohammed Morsy as president.
I visited Rab’a al-Adawiya in Cairo, where thousands of protesters have been camped out since June 30. Some were wearing helmets and holding sticks. They’re expecting a crackdown by the authorities.
We know based on our work in Egypt over the last two years that when the police try to disperse sit-ins, they consistently use excessive force and kill unarmed protesters – 137people were killed in the past month alone.
We’ve said there should be no forcible dispersal of the sit-in. All it takes is one stone thrown from the protesters for the violence to escalate, and even when the Interior Ministry swears it will only use birdshot, we’ve seen them use live gunfire again and again."
"The Egyptian Interior Ministry is threatening to forcibly break up a Muslim Brotherhood sit-in, where protesters are demanding the reinstatement of Mohammed Morsy as president.
I visited Rab’a al-Adawiya in Cairo, where thousands of protesters have been camped out since June 30. Some were wearing helmets and holding sticks. They’re expecting a crackdown by the authorities.
We know based on our work in Egypt over the last two years that when the police try to disperse sit-ins, they consistently use excessive force and kill unarmed protesters – 137people were killed in the past month alone.
We’ve said there should be no forcible dispersal of the sit-in. All it takes is one stone thrown from the protesters for the violence to escalate, and even when the Interior Ministry swears it will only use birdshot, we’ve seen them use live gunfire again and again."
Monday, August 5, 2013
Greenwald: Is U.S. Exaggerating Threat to Embassies to Silence Critics of NSA Domestic Surveillance?
Democracy Now!
"The Obama administration has announced it will keep 19 diplomatic posts in north Africa and the Middle East closed for up to a week, due to fears of a possible militant threat. On Sunday, Senator Saxby Chambliss, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the decision to close the embassies was based on information collected by the National Security Agency. “If we did not have these programs, we simply would not be able to listen in on the bad guys,” Chambliss said, in a direct reference to increasing debate over widespread spying of all Americans revealed by Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian. “Nobody has ever questioned or disputed that the U.S. government, like all governments around the world, ought to be eavesdropping and monitoring the conversations of people who pose an actual threat to the United States in terms of plotting terrorist attacks,” Greenwald says. Pointing to the recent revelations by leaker Edward Snowden that he has reported on, Greenwald explains, “Here we are in the midst of one of the most intense debates and sustained debates that we’ve had in a very long time in this country over the dangers of excess surveillance, and suddenly, an administration that has spent two years claiming that it has decimated al-Qaeda decides that there is this massive threat that involves the closing of embassies and consulates around the world. … The controversy is over the fact that they are sweeping up billions and billions of emails and telephone calls every single day from people around the world and in the United States who have absolutely nothing to do with terrorism.” Greenwald also discusses the NSA’s XKeyscore internet tracking program, Reuter’s report on the Drug Enforcement Agency spying on Americans, and the conviction of Army whistleblower Bradley Manning........"
"The Obama administration has announced it will keep 19 diplomatic posts in north Africa and the Middle East closed for up to a week, due to fears of a possible militant threat. On Sunday, Senator Saxby Chambliss, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the decision to close the embassies was based on information collected by the National Security Agency. “If we did not have these programs, we simply would not be able to listen in on the bad guys,” Chambliss said, in a direct reference to increasing debate over widespread spying of all Americans revealed by Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian. “Nobody has ever questioned or disputed that the U.S. government, like all governments around the world, ought to be eavesdropping and monitoring the conversations of people who pose an actual threat to the United States in terms of plotting terrorist attacks,” Greenwald says. Pointing to the recent revelations by leaker Edward Snowden that he has reported on, Greenwald explains, “Here we are in the midst of one of the most intense debates and sustained debates that we’ve had in a very long time in this country over the dangers of excess surveillance, and suddenly, an administration that has spent two years claiming that it has decimated al-Qaeda decides that there is this massive threat that involves the closing of embassies and consulates around the world. … The controversy is over the fact that they are sweeping up billions and billions of emails and telephone calls every single day from people around the world and in the United States who have absolutely nothing to do with terrorism.” Greenwald also discusses the NSA’s XKeyscore internet tracking program, Reuter’s report on the Drug Enforcement Agency spying on Americans, and the conviction of Army whistleblower Bradley Manning........"
Syria: Ballistic Missiles Killing Civilians, Many Children
End Indiscriminate Attacks on Populated Areas
Human Rights Watch
"(New York) – Ballistic missiles fired by the Syrian military are hitting populated areas, causing large numbers of civilian deaths, including many children. The most recent attack Human Rights Watch investigated, in Aleppo governorate on July 26, 2013, killed at least 33 civilians, including 17 children.
Human Rights Watch has investigated nine apparent ballistic missile attacks on populated areas that killed at least 215 people that local residents identified as civilians, including 100 children, between February and July. It visited seven of the sites. There were no apparent military targets in the vicinity of seven of the nine attacks investigated by Human Rights Watch. In two cases there were nearby military objectives that may have been the government force’s intended targets, but were not struck in either attack.
“You cannot distinguish between civilians and fighters when you fire ballistic missiles which have a wide-area effect into populated residentialareas,” said Ole Solvang, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Even if there are fighters in the area, you cannot accurately target them and the impact in some of these cases has been devastating to local civilians.”....."
Human Rights Watch
"(New York) – Ballistic missiles fired by the Syrian military are hitting populated areas, causing large numbers of civilian deaths, including many children. The most recent attack Human Rights Watch investigated, in Aleppo governorate on July 26, 2013, killed at least 33 civilians, including 17 children.
Human Rights Watch has investigated nine apparent ballistic missile attacks on populated areas that killed at least 215 people that local residents identified as civilians, including 100 children, between February and July. It visited seven of the sites. There were no apparent military targets in the vicinity of seven of the nine attacks investigated by Human Rights Watch. In two cases there were nearby military objectives that may have been the government force’s intended targets, but were not struck in either attack.
“You cannot distinguish between civilians and fighters when you fire ballistic missiles which have a wide-area effect into populated residentialareas,” said Ole Solvang, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Even if there are fighters in the area, you cannot accurately target them and the impact in some of these cases has been devastating to local civilians.”....."
Military Boot Pushes Down on Democracy
Analysis by Cam McGrath
"- Egypt’s military chief, General Abdel Fatah El-Sissi, who in July announced on state television that the army had ousted Egypt’s first democratically elected president, has tried to wrap a veneer of democracy around actions that most others have condemned as a coup.
In the weeks since he deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, the 58-year-old head of the armed forces has repeatedly claimed that military intervention was necessary to resolve a debilitating political impasse and “save democracy” in Egypt.......
“They’re clamping down on Islamists, and once they are firmly in power they will go after anyone else who speaks out.”...."
The killing of Muslim Brotherhood members has only strengthened their resolve to fight on. Credit: Khaled Moussa al-Omrani/IPS.
"- Egypt’s military chief, General Abdel Fatah El-Sissi, who in July announced on state television that the army had ousted Egypt’s first democratically elected president, has tried to wrap a veneer of democracy around actions that most others have condemned as a coup.
In the weeks since he deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, the 58-year-old head of the armed forces has repeatedly claimed that military intervention was necessary to resolve a debilitating political impasse and “save democracy” in Egypt.......
“They’re clamping down on Islamists, and once they are firmly in power they will go after anyone else who speaks out.”...."
Underage Girls Are Egypt’s Summer Rentals
By Cam McGrath
"- Each summer, wealthy male tourists from Gulf Arab states flock to Egypt to escape the oppressive heat of the Arabian Peninsula, taking residence at upscale hotels and rented flats in Cairo and Alexandria. Many come with their families and housekeeping staff, spending their days by the pool, shopping, and frequenting cafes and nightclubs. Others come for a more sinister purpose.
In El Hawamdia, a poor agricultural town 20 kilometres south of Cairo, they are easy to spot. Arab men in crisp white thawbs troll the town’s pot-holed, garbage-strewn streets in their luxury cars and SUVs. As they arrive, Egyptian fixers in flip flops run alongside their vehicles, offering short-term flats and what to them is the town’s most sought-after commodity – underage girls.
Each year, in El Hawamdia and other impoverished rural communities across Egypt, thousands of girls between the ages of 11 and 18 are sold by their parents to wealthy, much older Gulf Arab men under the pretext of marriage. The sham nuptials may last from a couple of hours to years, depending on the negotiated arrangement......"
Teenage girls in low-income areas of Egypt are vulnerable to trafficking. Credit: Cam McGrath/IPS.
"- Each summer, wealthy male tourists from Gulf Arab states flock to Egypt to escape the oppressive heat of the Arabian Peninsula, taking residence at upscale hotels and rented flats in Cairo and Alexandria. Many come with their families and housekeeping staff, spending their days by the pool, shopping, and frequenting cafes and nightclubs. Others come for a more sinister purpose.
In El Hawamdia, a poor agricultural town 20 kilometres south of Cairo, they are easy to spot. Arab men in crisp white thawbs troll the town’s pot-holed, garbage-strewn streets in their luxury cars and SUVs. As they arrive, Egyptian fixers in flip flops run alongside their vehicles, offering short-term flats and what to them is the town’s most sought-after commodity – underage girls.
Each year, in El Hawamdia and other impoverished rural communities across Egypt, thousands of girls between the ages of 11 and 18 are sold by their parents to wealthy, much older Gulf Arab men under the pretext of marriage. The sham nuptials may last from a couple of hours to years, depending on the negotiated arrangement......"
Al-Qaeda to the rescue
By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
"Fatwas from former Osama bin Laden sidekick Ayman "Doctor Evil" al-Zawahiri and jailbreaks galore have given the US a golden opportunity to deflect attention from the heady atmospherics of the Edward Snowden saga and back to trusted terror firma. Washington is waving its al-Qaeda false flags high, while hiding the colors of a truer enemy....."
Asia Times
"Fatwas from former Osama bin Laden sidekick Ayman "Doctor Evil" al-Zawahiri and jailbreaks galore have given the US a golden opportunity to deflect attention from the heady atmospherics of the Edward Snowden saga and back to trusted terror firma. Washington is waving its al-Qaeda false flags high, while hiding the colors of a truer enemy....."
Egyptian Military Opens New Chapter of Fear
by Ahmed Maher
(Ahmed Maher is a founder of the April 6 Youth Movement, an Egyptian activist group.)
The Washington Post
"......
Moreover, I cannot accept that, once again, the government is exerting control over the media on the pretext of the war on terror. Based on my previous experiences with the military — I was arrested and beaten for my activism in 2008 — I cannot help but fear that I may be accused of terrorism if I criticize the new regime.
No one can defend the mistakes committed by Morsi or the Brotherhood. But is it not my right to question, with great concern, the deaths of more than 100 Morsi supporters, many of them by bullets to the head and chest?
Despite my support for the June 30 revolutionary wave, and despite the fact that it was a people’s movement before it was a military intervention, I now see much to fear. I fear the insurrection against the principles of the Jan. 25 revolution, the continued trampling of human rights and the expansion of restrictive measures in the name of the war on terror — lest any opponent of the authorities be branded a terrorist."
(Ahmed Maher is a founder of the April 6 Youth Movement, an Egyptian activist group.)
The Washington Post
"......
Moreover, I cannot accept that, once again, the government is exerting control over the media on the pretext of the war on terror. Based on my previous experiences with the military — I was arrested and beaten for my activism in 2008 — I cannot help but fear that I may be accused of terrorism if I criticize the new regime.
No one can defend the mistakes committed by Morsi or the Brotherhood. But is it not my right to question, with great concern, the deaths of more than 100 Morsi supporters, many of them by bullets to the head and chest?
Despite my support for the June 30 revolutionary wave, and despite the fact that it was a people’s movement before it was a military intervention, I now see much to fear. I fear the insurrection against the principles of the Jan. 25 revolution, the continued trampling of human rights and the expansion of restrictive measures in the name of the war on terror — lest any opponent of the authorities be branded a terrorist."
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة.. أميركا ودعم الإخوان في مصر
A GOOD VIDEO
"الضيوف :
حاتم عزام
وائل قنديل
دوغ بانداو
حسن نافعة
"
"الضيوف :
حاتم عزام
وائل قنديل
دوغ بانداو
حسن نافعة
"
زحالقة (فيديو): "كنا قبلك وسنبقى بعدك"، نتنياهو يرد:" الجزء الثاني لن يكون"
عــ48ـرب
COMMENT
I salute the 1948 Palestinians for their defiance, resistance and smart activism. They are the ONLY segment of all Palestinians still alive; the rest of the Palestinians are in deep coma and are hopeless. Instead of supporting the 1948 Palestinians in their struggle to prevent the eviction of Palestinians from Al-Naqab and the mass expropriation of their land, they instead start "negotiating" under US orders, to give up more Palestinian lands!
وصل النقاش حول اقتراح قانون "الاستفتاء العام"، الذي أقرته الكنيست بالقراءة الأولى في الساعات المتأخرة من ليلة الخميس الماضي، ذروته عندما هاجم النائب جمال زحالقة مشروع القانون قائلاَ: "الموضوع يتعلق بالقانون الدولي وليس بالقانون الإسرائيلي. ليس المطلوب استفتاء الشعب بل استفتاء الشعوب. يجب ان تسأل شعوب الأرض عن رأيها بالاحتلال، لان ان يسأل الشعب في اسرائيل عن رأيه في انه يحتل ارضاً لشعب آخر."
وبعد أن قاطعه النائب اليميني، مردخاي يوغيف صارخاً: "أرض اسرائيل تابعة لشعب اسرائيل"، أجاب زحالقة: "كنا هنا قبلك وسنبقى بعدك!". وأضاف: "سننتصر على العنصرية وعلى اعداء الديمقراطية ونبني مستقبلاً مشتركاً رغم انف العنصريين."
وأثار رد النائب زحالقة جدلا صاخبا بينه وبين عدد من الوزراء بينهم أوري اريئيل، وزير الإسكان، ويوفال شطاينتس، وزير التخطيط الاستراتيجي، وبنيامين نتنياهو، رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي. هنا طلب نتنياهو حق الكلام، بشكل استثنائي، للرد على زحالقة، وقال: "سمعت أقوال زحالقة، أنت قلت: كنا قبلك وسنكون بعدك. الجزء الأول غير صحيح، والجزء الثاني لن يكون". وصفق أعضاء الائتلاف الحكومي لنتنياهو، رغم ان التصفيق ممنوع ومخالف لنظام الكنيست الداخلي.
زحالقة من جهته طلب حق الكلام ورد على الوزير شطاينتس، الذي اتهمه بأنه يريد ان يطرد اليهود، وعلى كلام نتنياهو: "أنا لم اتحدث الى يوغيف كيهودي بل كيميني متطرف. وأعود وأؤكد بأننا سنبقى هنا بعد التخلص من العنصرية والعنصريين لنبني مستقبلاً لنا ولأبنائنا يهوداً وعرباً."
ونشر نتنياهو الجدل الساخن مع زحالقة على الشبكات الاجتماعية- صفحته الرسمية على الفيسبوك وعلى حساب التويتر، متبجحاً بأنه استطاع تلخيص النقاش التاريخي مع الفلسطينيين بجملة واحدة. من جهته قال النائب زحالقة معقباً: "نتنياهو يجتر الاكاذيب الصهيونية. انصحه أن يدرس التاريخ، وأقول له ولغيره بأنه يجب حل التناقض بين العدالة والصهيونية لصالح العدالة ولصالح سلام عادل بلا هيمنة صهيونية."
COMMENT
I salute the 1948 Palestinians for their defiance, resistance and smart activism. They are the ONLY segment of all Palestinians still alive; the rest of the Palestinians are in deep coma and are hopeless. Instead of supporting the 1948 Palestinians in their struggle to prevent the eviction of Palestinians from Al-Naqab and the mass expropriation of their land, they instead start "negotiating" under US orders, to give up more Palestinian lands!
وصل النقاش حول اقتراح قانون "الاستفتاء العام"، الذي أقرته الكنيست بالقراءة الأولى في الساعات المتأخرة من ليلة الخميس الماضي، ذروته عندما هاجم النائب جمال زحالقة مشروع القانون قائلاَ: "الموضوع يتعلق بالقانون الدولي وليس بالقانون الإسرائيلي. ليس المطلوب استفتاء الشعب بل استفتاء الشعوب. يجب ان تسأل شعوب الأرض عن رأيها بالاحتلال، لان ان يسأل الشعب في اسرائيل عن رأيه في انه يحتل ارضاً لشعب آخر."
وبعد أن قاطعه النائب اليميني، مردخاي يوغيف صارخاً: "أرض اسرائيل تابعة لشعب اسرائيل"، أجاب زحالقة: "كنا هنا قبلك وسنبقى بعدك!". وأضاف: "سننتصر على العنصرية وعلى اعداء الديمقراطية ونبني مستقبلاً مشتركاً رغم انف العنصريين."
وأثار رد النائب زحالقة جدلا صاخبا بينه وبين عدد من الوزراء بينهم أوري اريئيل، وزير الإسكان، ويوفال شطاينتس، وزير التخطيط الاستراتيجي، وبنيامين نتنياهو، رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي. هنا طلب نتنياهو حق الكلام، بشكل استثنائي، للرد على زحالقة، وقال: "سمعت أقوال زحالقة، أنت قلت: كنا قبلك وسنكون بعدك. الجزء الأول غير صحيح، والجزء الثاني لن يكون". وصفق أعضاء الائتلاف الحكومي لنتنياهو، رغم ان التصفيق ممنوع ومخالف لنظام الكنيست الداخلي.
زحالقة من جهته طلب حق الكلام ورد على الوزير شطاينتس، الذي اتهمه بأنه يريد ان يطرد اليهود، وعلى كلام نتنياهو: "أنا لم اتحدث الى يوغيف كيهودي بل كيميني متطرف. وأعود وأؤكد بأننا سنبقى هنا بعد التخلص من العنصرية والعنصريين لنبني مستقبلاً لنا ولأبنائنا يهوداً وعرباً."
ونشر نتنياهو الجدل الساخن مع زحالقة على الشبكات الاجتماعية- صفحته الرسمية على الفيسبوك وعلى حساب التويتر، متبجحاً بأنه استطاع تلخيص النقاش التاريخي مع الفلسطينيين بجملة واحدة. من جهته قال النائب زحالقة معقباً: "نتنياهو يجتر الاكاذيب الصهيونية. انصحه أن يدرس التاريخ، وأقول له ولغيره بأنه يجب حل التناقض بين العدالة والصهيونية لصالح العدالة ولصالح سلام عادل بلا هيمنة صهيونية."
Nobel laureate Arab activist Karman deported from Cairo airport
File photo: Nobel Peace Prize laureates human rights activist Tawakkol Karman of Yemen (Photo: Reuters)
The world-renowned Arab Spring activist – who voiced criticism for the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by the military in July – learned upon arriving at the Cairo airport that her name had been added to airport security's no-entry list.
On her Twitter account Karman had published that she would be coming to Egypt and going on a solidarity visit to the pro-Morsi large five-week sit-in at Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square in northeast Cairo pressing for Morsi's reinstatement......."
Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Syria : Where do Syria's Kurds stand?
"It has been a week of major developments for Syria's Kurds, the largest non-Arab ethnic minority in the country. On Tuesday, the main Kurdish militia issued a call to arms against factions fighting the President Bashar al-Assad's regime. This followed the killing of Isa Huso, a leading Syrian Kurdish politician, in a car bomb attack near the Turkish border. Huso, a member of the Supreme Kurdish Council was targeted outside his house in Qamishli. The incident raises questions about where the Kurds stand in Syria's confusing and bloody conflict. In the days after Huso's death there have been battles between Kurdish fighters and armed men from groups allied to al-Qaeda. There are many Syrians who fear the Kurds are using the conflict to carve out a separate state but the main Kurdish party says it is simply defending its own people."
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