Monday, November 26, 2012

حول بيان مرسي التوضيحي


بيان الرئيس مرسي التوضيحي بعد اجتماعه بمجلس القضاء جيد ويبدد المخاوف. والترحيب به واجب.
وأهم ما فيه هو أن الإعلان الدستوري، بما في ذلك عدم جواز الطعن بقرار الرئيس، مؤقت وتنتهي صلاحيته مع صدور دستور جديد للبلاد.
والحقيقة أن سن دستور منذ البداية كان سيوفر على مصر الإعلانات الدستورية التي صدرت عن المجلس العسكري، وذلك الذي صدر عن الرئيس. ويفترض ان تعتبر الديمقراطيات العربية الق
ادمة بتجربة مصر.
الدستور الديمقراطي هو الذي يدور فيه وعلى اساسه الخلاف السياسي. تأجيل إقرار مبادئه تجعله جزء من التنافس السياسي، ويصبح الإطار الذي فيه وبموجبه يدور الخلاف هو موضوع الخلاف، ما يمنع الاجماع الوطني والسقف الذي يجمع التيارات والأحزاب.
يفترض ان يشرح الرئيس مثل هذه القرارات كمستوجبة وإلا نشأ فراغ دستوري، وكمؤقتة حتى الاستفتاء على الدستور،
ولا بد منها لاستكمال مهام الثورة، ويفترض ان يفعل ذلك في خطاب للشعب المصري وليس لمؤيديه. كما يفترض ان يعمل هو شخصيا على إقناع من انسحب من الجمعية التأسيسية ان يعودوا إليها، وليس ان يخسر مستشاريه من غير الإخوان
. لا بد لمؤسسة الرئاسة ان تخرج من عباءة الإخوان، وأن تجهل مهمتها بناء مصر الديمقراطية، وان تأخذ بعين الاعتبار في المشاورات وفي التعيينات الرئاسية ذلك التحالف الواسع الذي أوصل مرسي للرئاسة، فهو لم يصل بأصوات الإخوان وحدهم... وأن تخاطب المصريين بشكل عام.

عزمي بشارة

10 Myths about Assad and What’s Happening in Syria

by Maher Arar


A lot have been said about Syria since the popular uprising started in March, 2011.
In what follows I present 10 myths that have been circulating around since the very beginning. Many of these myths are, unfortunately, still being reinforced by many Western journalists and left-leaning anti-imperialism activists.
  1. The United States and its allies have been supplying arms to the Syrian armed opposition.
  2. The fighting that has been taking place in Syria has an entirely sectarian nature and as such can be accurately described as a civil war.
  3. Assad and his regime have been the most hard-core supporters of the Palestinian resistance. That explains why they are still being targeted by Israel (and the West). It is simply a Western conspiracy against Syria.
  4. All members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) are Islamic extremists (also described as hard-core Salafists) who swore allegiance to either Qatar or Saudi Arabia.
  5. The FSA has a single command structure and takes instructions from a single military council.
  6. The FSA is exclusivity composed of Sunni Muslims.
  7. All Shabiha belong to the Alawite minority.
  8. The Syrian uprising was militarized from day one.
  9. The Syrian army doesn’t target civilians.
  10. Most of the anti-regime fighters are foreigners.

Guardian Video: Syrian rebels 'capture helicopter base'



                   
                   
                                   

"Unverified video obtained from a social media website said to have been filmed on Saturday appears to show Syrian rebels capturing the Marj al-Sultan military helicopter base near Damascus. A second internet video which is purportedly filmed at the Marj al-Sultan base shows rebel fighters carrying AK-47 rifles touring the facility."

After Brokering Gaza Ceasefire, Egypt’s Morsi Re-Ignites Protests With Decree Expanding Powers

Democracy Now!

"Printer-friendly
Protests continue in Cairo’s Tahrir Square after Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi issued a decree last week, seizing wide-ranging powers and protections from judicial review or oversight. Morsi made the move one day after he helped secure a ceasefire ending Israel’s assault on Gaza. More than 500 people have been injured in clashes between police and protesters since the decree was issued. Morsi has tried to reassure his detractors that the measure giving him sweeping new powers is temporary and not intended to concentrate power in his hands. He proclaimed the decision just a day after he brokered a deal to end Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. We go to Cairo to speak with Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous....."

Sharif Abdel Kouddous on Gaza’s "Severe Damage" and Why Truce Won’t Stop the Violence of Occupation

Democracy Now!

"Printer-friendly
Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip ended in a ceasefire last week with the final toll standing at around 170 Palestinians killed, and more than 700 wounded. Meanwhile in Israel, four Israeli civilians and two Israeli soldiers were killed, along with dozens of others wounded, in Palestinian attacks. We’re joined from Cairo by Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous, who has just returned to Cairo after several days in Gaza. "Gaza’s damage is severe," Kouddous says....."

Take His Word.....He is Not a Dictator! By Emad Hajjaj


Al-Jazeera Video: Al Jazeera's Sue Turton reports on attacks near Syrian-Turkish border

Al-Jazeera Video: Morsi's assumption of sweeping powers polarises Egypt

Al-Jazeera Video: ما وراء الخبر - التطورات العسكرية الأخيرة بسوريا

Real News Video (with Transcript): "Morsi Must Go" Chant Thousands of Egyptians


Mass Protests Across Egypt demand President Morsi reverse power grabbing decree and many call for his resignation

More at The Real News

Egypt: Live Updates

The Guardian

"'Protesters fired shots' [The same lies used during Mubarak's era!]

Egypt's interior minister Ahmed Gamal has claimed that protesters fired shots during last week's protests, while police only used teargas, Aswat Masriya reports. Gamal is quoted as saying:
The birdshot wounds were found in both parties. The shots that hit the police came from afar while the ones that hit protesters came from a short distance - which proves that the shots came from among the protesters......
Morsi power grab

The Egyptian president followed up Thursday's constitutional decree by ratifying a law on Saturday allowing the government to appoint its loyalists to the Egyptian Trade Union Federation, the Egypt Independent reports.
It says it was the first law enacted in the wake of the decree protecting his decisions from judicial challenged and was made "without any formal announcement".
According to the new law, the manpower minister, who is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, may appoint workers who are members of the group in leadership positions that would become vacant in the ETUF, which has always been affiliated with the government ...
Labour activists fear the law paves the way for Brotherhood control of the federation ...
Ahmed Abdel Zaher, chairman of the ETUF, criticised amendments to the law.
The amendments, he said, violate international agreements Egypt had signed with the International Labor Organization, especially those related to trade unions’ freedom from governmental interventions.
Abdel Zaher told news website Sada al-Balad that Manpower Minister Khaled al-Azhary had introduced the amendments without consulting the ETUF.......

Egypt analysis

Here is a taste of what commentators are saying about the situation in Egypt.
The Arabist's Issandr El Amrani writes, on the National, that Morsi overplayed his hand domestically after foreign policy success:
Where Mr Morsi overstepped is that he formally gave himself open-ended powers to make decrees that are immune from judicial oversight (therefore barring any legal recourse against them), giving himself licence to do pretty much anything else he pleases in the name of national security. He claims that this is a temporary measure to ensure that the country reaches its end goal - a new constitution and a new elected parliament - as quickly as possible. To achieve this, he is taking absolute power for three months or so, and promising to use it sparingly.
Were Mr Morsi a beloved national leader of the stature of a Nelson Mandela, he might have pulled it off. But he is the backup candidate of an organisation - the Muslim Brotherhood - mistrusted by many of his countrymen. He was elected (narrowly) by a coalition brought together by the fact that his opponent was worse. And he made this decision at a time of unprecedented polarisation - over the constitution and religion's role within it, over the performance of the cabinet, and indeed over the poor excuse for a transitional framework to democracy that the country inherited from 16 months of disastrous military rule. Mr Morsi's political capital is simply not as plentiful as he seems to believe, as the furious reaction by opposition leaders and protesters on Friday showed......" 

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Al-Jazeera Video

Hundreds injured, hundreds arrested as police continue attacks

| 25 November 2012
Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: On Friday and Saturday Egypt’s police attacked from Qasr el-Aini street towards Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Early Sunday morning they build a concrete wall, then went around a side street shortly after in an attempt to attack the main square.
Hundreds of protesters have been injured in the ongoing violence, spurred on by near constant tear gas and rubber bullets being fired by police towards the protesters.
According to the ministry of interior on Sunday, over 275 “troublemakers” have been detained by police in the clashes.
On Saturday evening and Sunday morning, videos began to emerge showing police beating protesters they had gotten their hands on, sparking more anger among activists who are calling for the immediate withdrawal of presidential decrees that grant President Mohamed Morsi near complete power above the rule of law.
The ministry added that they are to take legal action against those arrested.
The ministry added that only 164 have been injured in the violence, although even the ministry of health puts the number over 200. Field hospital volunteer doctors have told Bikyamasr.com that they are at full capacity, with doctors at Doubara Church near Tahrir saying on Sunday that they “cannot take anyone else. We have too many people.
Tear gas and rubber bullets continue to boom across downtown as wave after wave of attack continues."

Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة - الإعلان الدستوري الجديد في مصر

Part 1:

Guests include Abdel Halim Qandil and Yasser Za'atra


Part 2:


Syrian rebels report capture of air base near Damascus

Getting Closer!

"(Reuters) - Syrian rebels said on Sunday they had captured a helicopter base 15 km (10 miles) east of Damascus after an overnight battle, the second military facility on the outskirts of the capital to fall to President Bashar al-Assad's opponents this month.

An Internet video which activists said was filmed at the Marj al-Sultan base showed rebel fighters carrying AK-47 rifles touring the facility. An anti-aircraft gun could be seen positioned on top of an empty bunker and a rebel commander was shown next to a helicopter.

"With God's help, the Marj al-Sultan airbase in eastern Ghouta has been liberated," the commander said in the video. Eastern Ghouta, a mix of agricultural land and built-up urban areas, has been a rebel stronghold for months.

Activists said two helicopters were destroyed in the attack as well as a radar station, and that 15 personnel were taken prisoner......"

Israel's shame: Children, the true victims

In Gaza, one-in-three of those killed or injured is under 18

Kim Sengupta Author Biography


The 20-year-old started digging through the rubble with her hands as other members of the family ran into the room and joined in. She then cradled her little girl on the way to hospital in her husband's car. There was an emergency operation, but the injuries from the shrapnel proved to be too severe.

The name of Hanin Tawfil was added to a growing and particularly grim list from the latest Gaza conflict. Out of 104 civilians killed and 970 wounded, 34 and 274 respectively were children; dozens of others who survived have been orphaned and left traumatised by the violence.

The figures are startling even by the vicious standards of the recent bloodlettings in this region....."

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Syria - Patriot missiles: a new provocation ?

Al-Jazeera Video: ما وراء الخبر - خطاب الرئيس مرسي بعد الاعلان الدستوري

The battle for Egypt

| 25 November 2012
Bikya Masr

".....Since the Muslim Brotherhood won the majority of the parliament’s two chambers and the steady, yet tremendous decrease of their popularity after watching them in action, it is getting alarmingly worse for them, much faster than anyone had expected after beating and murdering protesters, following Mubarak’s and the SCAF’s footsteps. Only this time it is under Morsi’s rule who claimed to support freedom of expression and the revolution. If Morsi did not take back his decisions and continued to be as stubborn as Mubarak, it will definitely not end well for him as now it is not just the revolutionaries who are standing against him but everyone in Egypt who doesn’t believe in the Muslim Brotherhood. All is enraged by his latest actions, and those are not a few that Morsi’s brotherhood can oppress. It will definitely lead the country to chaos and the demands for ousting Morsi will increase as people’s patience will not hold for long.

We did not oust Mubarak to create another Gaddafi and put him in power, none of Egypt’s presidents have ever had the legislative, judicial and executive powers all together and it is totally unacceptable to allow creating a Pharaoh in the name of “protecting the revolution” or with any other excuse.

Morsi has always been mentioning how he won the elections fairly in a democratic process and that he was “chosen by the people” not putting into consideration that he won by 52 percent of which almost half of them gave him their vote just because they would have done anything to prevent Shafiq from winning."