by Esam Al-Amin from CounterPunch. (Part 3 is expected soon.)
We activists have much to learn from the experience of the brave Egyptians. This series is essential study material.
In Part 1 the author expresses what might be viewed as a contradiction by defining "revolution" correctly as "a successful struggle embraced by the masses that radically alters the existing political, economic, and social order." Then, a little later, writing "Although the declared goals of the Egyptian revolution have yet to be fully realized, its primary goal of overthrowing its dictator was spectacularly achieved within a historically short period of time." And clearly with many other statements the author believes that the revolution is continuing and has great promise to fulfill all of its goals.
Part 1
Decentralized and highly organized leadership: This revolution was not leaderless, but the leaders were not visibly identifiable. They cleverly structured their protests and activities without naming a single group or leader. Dozens were speaking on behalf of the revolution, communicating the same message. Some identified with the youth, others with the diverse opposition movements, while many were independent. The security apparatus was confused and could not identify the major leaders of the revolution.
Part 2
The organizers took pride in the fact that all decisions of the activities of the revolution were based on mutual consultation and democratic principles. Every organizer and group was given the opportunity to voice his or her opinion and vote.
Thus, a new code, dubbed the “revolutionary ethical code,” was established and recognized by all. It encompasses values such as freedom, justice, equality, democracy, participation, solidarity, honesty, transparency, responsibility, and sacrifice- values, which many people had abandoned before the revolution upon feeling that they had no stake in a society ruled by bullies, thieves, and crooks.
by Esam al-Amin from Harakah Daily (Malaysia).
Although the author focuses on events in Tunisia, we see the same patterns everywhere in the Middle East and North Africa. He concludes his review of events with some key questions that applies to all these countries:
The verdict on the ultimate success of the Tunisian revolution is still out. Will it be aborted by either infighting or the introduction of illusory changes to absorb the public's anger? Or will real and lasting change be established, enshrined in a new constitution that is based on democratic principles, political freedom, freedoms of press and assembly, independence of the judiciary, respect of human rights, and end of foreign interference?
by Jon Newton from P2P Net.
Quite inspirational, and a link to what appears to be an excellent film: "Zeitgeist: Moving Forward". I have been waiting impatiently for the release of this film, and just decided to buy the DVD.
As I get older I worry — really worry — about the world my daughter and her children might inherit.
from Washington's Blog.
Our ruling class government appears to be inclined to use the internet to manage our consent.
Though many questions remain about how the military would apply such technology, the reasonable fear should be perfectly clear. "Persona management software" can be used to manipulate public opinion on key information, such as news reports. An unlimited number of virtual "people" could be marshaled by only a few real individuals, empowering them to create the illusion of consensus.
by Lee Sustar from Socialist Worker.
This article provides graphic details of the class war as it is being fought on the ground by working people in Wisconsin.
...the one-sided class war is over. Unions in Wisconsin are fighting back--and they're doing so across union lines that have traditionally divided and weakened them. Around the Capitol, it's common to hear conversations from veteran unionists that they'd never seen anything like this from the labor movement--and they couldn't be happier.
But the struggle is far from over--and despite the powerful mobilizations, victory is by no means assured in Wisconsin. Walker has a Republican majority in both houses of the legislature to rely on if he can get a vote. "If this passes, it's going to be nationwide" said Dahnert, the highway worker. "You're going to see the quality of life go way down."
Asked if that means workers have to be prepared to escalate their action, he said: "I believe that's the only choice we have."
from The Nation via War is a Crime.
More details in the class war being fought in Wisconsin.
Buses and cars arrived from Illinois and Minnesota and as far away as Kansas, as teachers and public employees from those states showed up at what American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union president Gerald McEntee says is “ground zero“ in the struggle for labor rights in America.
by Adele M. Stan from AlterNet.
Class war is now raging across the world. And finally, here in the US the workers are finally fighting back against the determined efforts of capitalist attack dogs. Encouraged by the passivity of the people following the bailout of the banks, the obscene bonuses taken by banksters, the cutbacks of public services, continued serious unemployment with dim prospects for improvement, the right-wing has launched its attack on unions. This battle in Wisconsin may be pivotal. If they can win there, it will be a major setback for working people in the US, one which they may not recover from.
...the Kochs are determined to make Wisconsin a laboratory of corporate oligarchy. Nationwide, the war on public workers -- and government in general -- is not simply a facet of an ideological notion about the virtues of small government. The war on government is a war against the labor movement, which has much higher rates of union membership in the public sector than it does in the private sector.
Labor is seen by corporate leaders as the last strong line of resistance against the wholesale takeover of government (and your tax dollars) by corporations. So, by this line of thought, labor must die.
by Umberto Mazzei from Americas Program.
He argues that the current food crisis is fueled by the international food cartels and their ability to control prices, and investor speculation.
International cartels now use their control over the global food supply to make huge profits. There are six major corporations that control the purchase and sale of agricultural products: Cargill, Kraft, Bunge & Born, ADM (Archer Daniels Midland), Nestlé and General Mills. Food prices are set at exchanges in Chicago, New York and London.
For a more thorough explanation of this speculation thesis, view/listen/read this excellent interview [22:15m] on Real News with two economists.
by Carmelo Ruiz Marrero from Americas Program.
I believe that the author is right on the mark in arguing this thesis:
Unlike in neoliberalism, in the new Latin American “progresismo” or “21st Century Socialism” the state has much more participation in the economy and directs part of the foreign exchange funds into social programs, and also China has replaced the United States as the main importer of raw materials. But little else has changed. Instead of post-extractivism now there is neo-extractivism. Extractive activities and the export of raw materials continue as before, but are now justified with a progressive discourse.
It seems, once again, that the more things change, the more they remain the same. Perhaps this is why the Empire has blunted its attacks on the progressive movements in South America.
by Glenn Greenwald from Salon.
This former constitutional lawyer argues that law and the US Constitution are only applicable to those outside of the ruling class--something I've argued many times in the past. He uses the case of Jose Padilla, an American citizen, to illustrate one of the most egregious examples of ruling class immunity from the law and Constitution.
If an American citizen can't even sue political officials who lawlessly imprison and torture him in his own country -- if political leaders are vested with immunity from a claim of this type -- what rational person can argue that the rule of law or the Constitution binds our government officials?
by Yves Smith from Naked Capitalism.
We’ve repeatedly said that offshoring and outsourcing are often not the big cost-savers that the industry promoting them, Wall Street, and the stenographers among the business press would have you believe.
I live near Seattle and thus I hear a lot about Boeing's problems with cost overruns and delays which the author elaborates in this article. She attributes the cause to "hubris".
I think that their are two main factors that account for dysfunctional outsourcing: the usual anti-union strategy and to develop support for the military-industrial complex's highly profitable wars. I think that the latter is probably the most important factor to account for the weakened state of anti-war opposition in the US. By spreading the jobs around the county, they build up political constituencies for more war spending. See this. Anti-war campaigns are successfully framed in the media as being anti-jobs. Political support for weapons spending continues even when the military establishment doesn't want particular weapons--see this.
by Cam McGrath from IPS News.
The current insurrections in the Middle East and North Africa are of critical importance to the Empire. If these popular insurrections result in true popular power, and thus the overthrow of friendly, autocratic allies of the US, then the Empire is in real trouble. And, of course, the leaders of the latter are acutely aware of this. What is unreported is all the behind the scenes activities that they are engaged in to "manage" these insurrections. In any case, in contrast to US liberals, who seem unable to comprehend real people power when it actually starts to happen, I will be following these developments as closely as I can.
The iron fist that has kept a tight grip on Egypt’s labour movements for nearly six decades relaxed this week, unleashing a wave of wildcat strikes that is testing the resolve of the country’s new military rulers.
by Rose Aguilar from AlterNet.
Having been a resident of Madison, Wisconsin in the late 1960s and early 70s, I became acutely aware of that state's extreme political polarization. Madison, the home of the huge University of Wisconsin, is populated by many people on the left of the political spectrum.
This "left", of course, must be seen as relative to politics in the US where the political spectrum has moved to the right ever since the days of Senator Joe McCarthy (also from Wisconsin) and the right-wing anti-communist hysterical witch hunts. The latter were an organized attack by right-wing capitalists following WWII against all the gains made by working people in the 1930s.
The campaign purged all left thinking people from Hollywood, institutions of higher learning, media, government, and labor unions. It was highly successful and resulted in the emergence of the military-industrial complex where government increasingly became directed by private interests operating behind the scenes. Many people saw this development as "friendly fascism". Read The Secret Team by Col.(ret) L. Fletcher Prouty, who saw this happening from the inside, for the details.
At first as I read recent articles like this, I thought that the opposition to the Governor's attacks on state workers was largely confined to liberal Madison and would likely go nowhere. I'm not so sure now.
"I've never seen anything like it. It wasn't just teachers and union members from the University of Wisconsin (UW), where I work. There were Steelworkers, Teamsters, Pipefitters, building trades unions and more--unions I've never seen at a rally in 10 years," he said. "The most amazing thing is when the firefighters came in a delegation. Along with police, Walker has exempted firefighters from the legislation, but they came with signs that said, 'Firefighters for workers' rights.' People were crying."
by Jay Stanley from American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The ACLU is fighting back against government surveillance of its citizens and their right to know what their government is doing.
A few weeks ago, we all learned that the Justice Department had obtained an order demanding that Twitter turn over private information about several of its users in connection with the government’s investigation of WikiLeaks.
by Kevin Zeese from OpEd News.
During that speech Ray McGovern, a veteran who also served for 27 years as a CIA analyst, exercised his freedom of speech by standing and silently turning his back on Secretary Clinton. He was protesting the ongoing wars, the treatment of Bradley Manning and the militarism of U.S. foreign policy. He did not shout at the Secretary of State or interrupt her speech. He merely stood in silence.
There are few people in the US who know more about the war crimes and human rights abuses of the Empire than Ray McGovern. While the Empire's public relations people such as Hillary Clinton sermonize about civil and human rights abroad, this great clip illustrates how the Empire cannot tolerate the mildest form of dissent at home.
by Jack Shenker from the Guardian.
Egypt's revolution is in danger of being hijacked by the army, key political activists have warned, as concrete details of the country's democratic transition period were revealed for the first time.
by Amira Hass from Haaretz.
Even someone in Zionist Israel can recognize the beauty of the human spirit when the yoke of oppression is lifted off of them. She captures some of this spirit in her article.
It is a rare privilege to experience a time when people feel truly liberated and empowered for the first time in their lives. I experienced this spirit when I visited Nicaragua in 1982 when the spirit was still alive after the people got rid of Somoza and established their own government. It is a spirit that is hard to describe. It is a euphoric high like no drug can produce. Love rules everywhere. You can see this in the faces of the people, in their caring behavior toward each other.
Unfortunately, this event so far in human history usually lasts only for a short time until the yoke of oppression is placed on them again by a ruling class. Nowadays, it is the capitalists who allegedly "own" our economy, or all the major components of it; and to serve their economy means that the rest of us must become powerless wage slaves.
See also this piece entitled, "Transformed by the Revolution", from Socialist Worker that also captures some of this spirit.
Revolutions are schools of profound self-education. They destroy submission and resignation, and they release long-repressed creative energies--intelligence, solidarity, invention, self-activity. In so doing, they reweave the fabric of everyday life. The horizons of possibility expand. The unthinkable--that ordinary people might control their lives--becomes both thinkable and practical.
by Paul Craig Roberts from Foreign Policy Journal.
The lies continue to be revealed: Lies used to slaughter millions of people in foreign lands, to justify police state methods in our own land (USA), to starve the public sector in order to feed the voracious appetite of the profiteering war machine, and to serve the psychotic fantasies of power mad individuals.
by Jeremy R. Hammond from Foreign Policy Journal.
Scientists, engineers, and architects continue to punch holes in the official explanations for the collapse of the 9/11 buildings. This singular event was used to justify an extremely aggressive foreign policy that has resulted in US attacks on Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan resulting in millions of lives lost, many more disabled people, millions of refugees, and numerous related modes of suffering.
On the other hand, the invasions have created enormous wealth for weapons and war material contractors, and have resulted in the further weakening of civil rights in the core NATO countries to the point where police state methods are increasingly being used against citizens.
Meanwhile, we continue to find resistance from government officials to address the many discrepancies in the official reports related to the 9/11 phenomenon.
a book review by John Hoey, M.D. from Want to Know.
In this book, her most recent, Marcia Angell explores pharmaceutical research, deplores the rapidly expanding involvement (and distortion of truth) of Big Pharma, and implores us all (physicians, patients, politicians) to do something about it.
See also this piece entitled, "Why Almost Everything You Hear About Medicine Is Wrong". Notice that this capitalist publication carefully avoids connecting the issue of false medicines with profit-obsessed capitalism.
Read this piece entitled, "What Drug Companies are Paying Your Doctor", from Pro Publica.
Capitalism corrupts everything it touches, and it seems to touch everything. It exploits people, it kills people, it creates wars, and it attacks even the planet's ecological system to the point where climate change is now threatening the human race.
by Bill Van Auken from World socialist Web Site.
The author reports on the spreading liberation of oppressed people in several countries in the Middle East ruled by US favored puppets.
Netanyahu said on Monday that “an earthquake is shaking the Arab world,” and that Israel’s nuclear-armed military is “ready for all eventualities.” He described the Israeli military [sponsored by US taxpayers] as “the foundation of our existence.”
See also the Financial Times [free registration required] report on Bahrain in which they report that "Protesters in Bahrain have taken control of one of the city’s main intersections as police declined to intervene after violence rocked the small kingdom."
See also NY Times report entitled, "Clashes Erupt in Bahrain as Tumult Ripples Across Mideast".
by Ilan Pappe from The Electronic Intifada.
This Professor of History and Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter assesses Israeli reaction to the insurrections across the Arab world.
...trust the Israelis not to miss an opportunity to miss peace. They would cry wolf. They would demand, and receive, more funds from the American taxpayer due to the new "developments." They would interfere clandestinely and destructively to undermine any transition to democracy (remember what force and viciousness characterized their reaction to democratization in Palestinian society?), and they would elevate the Islamophobic campaign to new and unprecedented heights.
But who knows, maybe the American taxpayer would not budge this time.
by John V. Walsh from Dissident Voice.
Zionist "human rights" lawyers are going after Jimmy Carter for stating the obvious--the Israeli practice of apartheid against Palestinians. Israel, the product of a confluence of interests among Zionists and imperialist-minded US and British rulers, is the Empire's well armed outpost in the Middle East guarding its access to cheap oil.
by Pepe Escobar from Asia Times Online.
The author underlines the clash of interests represented by the Egyptian military establishment and its US supporters and the rest of Egypt.
segment from Democracy Now broadcast.
Class war is heating up in the US with the current attacks on public employees.
“If Governor Walker pulls this off, if he succeeds in taking away collective bargaining rights from the union, AFSCME, which was founded in Wisconsin back in the 1930s, if he takes down one of the strongest and most effective teachers’ unions, WEAC, in the country, then we really are going to see this sweep across the United States.”
by Eric W. Dolan from The Raw Story.
It didn't pass last week because it was...
...23 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass it under a procedure that allows bills that aren't controversial to pass quickly.
...The measure is now expected to return to the House floor for a regular vote that would require a simple majority to pass. If House members vote then as they did Tuesday, the extension will pass easily.
And today it did.
When the act was first signed into law, Congress put in some "sunset" provisions to quiet the concerns of civil libertarians, but they were ignored by successive extensions. Unfortunately, those concerns proved to be well founded, and a 2008 Justice Department report confirmed that the FBI regularly abused their ability to obtain personal records of Americans without a warrant.
by Sysco Corporation from Food Freedom.
Once again we find that there is no mention in the article of the possible (probable!) connection to climate change. We continue to see extreme weather, but the havoc it is causing now is only a pale version of events to come. Unless we, the people, change the system that is causing climate instability--capitalism, we will all perish.
All of our growers have invoked the act of god clause on our contracts (force majeure) due to the following release:
The extreme freezing temperatures hit a very broad section of major growing regions in Mexico, from Hermosillo in the north all the way south to Los Mochis and even south of Culiacan. The early reports are still coming in but most are showing losses of crops in the range of 80 to 100%.
by Frank Scott from Dissident Voice.
After colonialism officially ended, western domination was maintained over former colonies by governments headed by puppets whose regimes were called democratic as long as they remained under the domain of privately controlled markets and adhered to the dictates of Israel [I assume he means in the Middle East]. That minority-dominated system has never been under more pressure as disgusted majorities are crying out “enough is enough”. This global trend may not always be focused on private capital’s anti-democratic control, but that is the core problem which can only be solved by democratic public control of the political economics of all nations. The rise of a previously subjugated population in Egypt heralds a move closer to that solution to humanity’s collective problem.
Jeffrey Sachs on Bloomberg TV.
The well indoctrinated interviewers on Bloomberg TV seem to have a hard time comprehending what this professor from Columbia University is telling them, I think it is because he is telling it like it is and it doesn't fit with their indoctrination. I hope the professor has tenure.
by Andrew Gavin Marshall from Global Research.
This Canadian reseacher associated with the Centre for Research on Globalization in Quebec provides one of the most comprehensive analyzes of Empire strategies to manage and contain opposition that I have seen. There is so much material in this and related articles that provides one with the conceptual tools to understand contemporary political events. Hence, if one doesn't already have these conceptual tools, it is imperative that you study the article closely.
Having stated the above, I have two problems with this presentation. First, and most importantly, he never mentions capitalism or capitalists in the article. This is a glaring omission. He constantly refers to elites, but fails to mention the system that this segment of the population uses to obtain their wealth and power, and to oppress others. Perhaps this is to avoid directly threatening elite power and having to deal with their attacks.
Second, this paragraph introduces some confusion into his analysis:
Historically, revolutions are never the product of a one-sided development. That is, revolutions predominantly do not come about through the actions of one segment of society, often polarized as either an elite-driven or people-driven revolution, but rather they come about through a complex interaction and balancing of various social groups. The context and conditions for a revolution often do not emerge without the awareness of the upper classes, therefore, the upper social strata always or often seek to mitigate, control, repress, influence or co-opt and control the process of revolution. In this context, we cannot dismiss revolutions simply as a top-down or bottom-up process, but rather a mitigation and interaction between the two approaches.
There is not such thing as an "elite-driven revolution". By definition, elites are in power--how can they revolt against themselves? And likewise, it is confusing to refer to a "top-down" revolutionary process. The latter is called counter-revolution.
by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya from Global Research.
This temporary victory of the people in Egypt and Tunisia will be met with capitalist moves to contain the damage to their system and the people who run it. I will attempt to follow this story and that of the counter-revolution as it unfolds. This article provides the early signs. Currently this observer puts the spotlight on some self-appointed spokespeople identified as "Wise Men" attempting to represent the people in Egypt.
The role that the "Wise Men" play is that of a "manufactured opposition" that will keep the interests behind the Mubarak regime in place and also dilute the real opposition movements in Egypt.
from the Guardian.
At least for today, this appears to be a good site for up-to-the-minute reports on the fast developing events in the Middle East and North Africa.
from Climate Action Centre.
The global ruling classes refuse to give up the system which lays their golden eggs--capitalism. Thus, if we, the people, allow them to keep fouling our atmosphere with their polluting gases, the result as determined by scientific research will be an increase of 4 degrees Celsius in global warming by 2100. This assumes that gas emissions do not increase, a very dubious assumption.
But let's look at what the effects look like if only 4 degrees occur. David Spratt has summarized the findings from the Climate Action Centre:
* The world would be warmer than during any part of the period in which modern humans evolved, and the rate of climate change would be faster than any previously experienced by humans. The world's sixth mass extinction would be in full swing. In the oceans, acidification would have rendered many calcium-shelled organisms such as coral and many at the base of the ocean food chain artefacts of history. Ocean ecosystems and food chains would collapse.
* Half of the world would be uninhabitable. Likely population capacity: under one billion people. Whilst the loss will be exponential and bunch towards the end of the century, on average that is a million human global warming deaths every week, every year for the next 90 years. The security implications need no discussion
* Paleoclimatology tells us that the last time temperatures were 4C above pre-industrial (during the Oligocene 30 million years ago), there were no large ice-sheets on the planet and sea levels were 65–70 metres higher than today. Whilst ice sheets take time to lose mass, and the rise to 2100 may be only 1–2 metres (or possibly a couple more according to James Hansen), the world would be on the way to 65–70 metres.
* 3C may be the “tipping point” where global warming could be driven by positive feedbacks, leaving us powerless to intervene as planetary temperatures soared. James Hansen says warming has brought us to the "precipice of a great tipping point”. If we go over the edge, it will be a transition to “a different planet”, an environment far outside the range that has been experienced by humanity. There will be "no return within the lifetime of any generation that can be imagined, and the trip will exterminate a large fraction of species on the planet".
by Stephen Lendman from OpEd News.
The author goes a bit too far with his cynicism regarding the Egyptian uprising and removal of Mubarak. He seems to think that "Washington" is all powerful and can always control events. For example:
Euphoria also characterized most US media reports. Notably, however, unless Washington plans war or wants foreign adversaries denigrated, rarely ever are overseas events covered, especially uprisings against purported allies. Yet, for days, Egypt's was main-featured on television and in print, including unheard of anti-regime views, meaning official Washington supported them against an out-of-favor leader.
He disregards all the evidence that US ruling circles supported Mubarak until it was clear after a few weeks that he didn't have control of the situation.
The uprising was totally spontaneous, all the ingredients were in place--economic hardships, fear of police authorities, extreme wealth and poverty, rigged elections, etc. This exists elsewhere in the world and especially in the Middle East. What other places lack is a well organized revolutionary core, the April 6th Youth Movement, which was able to take the social explosion ignited by the events in Tunisia a few weeks before and channeled the energy into a successful overthrow of the Mubarak regime and, at least temporarily, his US sponsored and trained military. Mainstream US media and the ruling class political operatives really didn't know what to make of this uprising. Read this, this, and this.
This confusion and the fact that these events were so huge made it impossible for them to manage the news coverage. You can be sure, now, that they will increasingly try frame the news to fit their interests in containing this popular uprising that threatens the Empire's rule over the Middle East.
On the other hand, Lendman with good reason knows that the revolution is not finished, and this is an important point to remember. It was a popular coup, but one that was brilliantly carried off against a favored US puppet and succeeded. This was no "colored revolution" engineered largely by the CIA as we have seen previously. Whether "Washington" can contain this firestorm of genuine democratic aspirations not only in Egypt, but in the Middle East, is not clear, and they, most of all, know it. They have been profoundly shaken by the events in Egypt.
by William Bowles from his blog.
I regard Bowles as one of the more astute commentators on world political events, and especially this one in Egypt.
This article is only slightly dated having been written as Sulieman was handed power, but his observations appear to be on the mark.
For the past thirty years the US has squandered $60 billion supplying Egypt’s military dictatorship and in so doing it has created an military-owned business dynasty that now owns major chunks of the Egyptian economy. It’s a military-political economy, thus the central dilemma is that in order to transform Egyptian society the military-political cabal that rules Egypt has to be overthrown and disowned of its ill-gotten gains. This means taking on the Army. How can it be defanged?
from Global Research.
It appears that the events in the Middle East have had a large influence on this organization.
Capitalism´s destructive force impacts every aspect of life itself, for all the peoples of the world. Yet each day we see new movements rise, struggling to reverse the ravages of colonialism and to achieve well-being and dignity for all. We declare that we, the people, will no longer bear the costs of their crisis and that, within capitalism, there is no escape from this crisis. This only reaffirms the need for us, as social movements, to come together to forge a common strategy to guide our struggles against capitalism.
And even better, they are calling for future anti-capitalist mobilizations:
Inspired by the struggles of the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt, we call for March 20th to be made a day of international solidarity with the uprisings of the Arab and African people, whose every advance supports the struggles of all peoples: the resistance of the Palestinian and Saharian peoples ; European, Asian and African mobilisations against debt and structural adjusment plans ; and all the processes of change underway in Latin America.
We also call for a Global Day of Action Against Capitalism on October 12th, when we express in myriad ways our rejection of a system that is destroying everything in its path.