Category: politics

For years, writers around the Arab world were silenced by the repressive mechanisms of dictatorial rule. Now the chains of censorship appear to be breaking as the region finds itself on the verge of a new political era. Is the pen mightier than the sword? Can literature inspire revolutions? And what role do writers and artists have in social revolutions? More on Al Jazeera here.

excellent documentary that outlines the middle east conflict from start to finish in a concise, informative narrative with terrific historical footage. watch all the way to the end and find out who made this doc and why.

a terrific organization/website with a wealth of documentaries on palestine/israel and other issues related to the middle east. pls check it out here.

Skype, BlackBerry, and other Internet communications services are under attack! The Obama administration and the FBI are pushing legislation that would ban online communications technologies like these unless their developers make it easy for the government to wiretap them. Pls sign petition here.

“There’s a new bill in Georgia sponsored by Rep. Bobby Franklin that would require women to file police reports when they miscarry, since fetuses are Georgia citizens and their deaths are potential crimes.” – a woman’s unusual response to the bill…

Full article.

Several US news organizations had also learned on their own that Davis is a spy, but then voluntarily withheld the information from the American public “at the request of the Obama administration,” which preferred to stick to the fictional story line that Pakistan is holding an American “diplomat” in “violation of the Vienna Convention” on diplomatic immunity.

The kind of killing that Davis was involved in – the daylight execution on a crowded street of two young men on motorcycles, and the equipment police found in his car, which included multiple semi-automatic pistols and high-capacity clips, a telescope, a forehead-mounted infra-red flashlight, multiple cell-phones, a cell-phone locater, clippers, military knives, makeup and masks and a camera filled with photos of schools (common targets for bombings in Lahore and other Pakistani cities) – sound dirtier than the typical CIA fare.

Full article.

It is important for progressives to know that many of the people being promoted in the West as leaders of the [Libyan] opposition are long-time agents of imperialism. The BBC on Feb. 22 showed footage of crowds in Benghazi pulling down the green flag of the republic and replacing it with the flag of the overthrown monarch King Idris – who had been a puppet of U.S. and British imperialism.

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The Wall Street Journal in a Feb. 23 editorial wrote that “The U.S. and Europe should help Libyans overthrow the Gadhafi regime.” There is no talk in the board rooms or the corridors of Washington about intervening to help the people of Kuwait or Saudi Arabia or Bahrain overthrow their dictatorial rulers. Even with all the lip service being paid to the mass struggles rocking the region right now, that would be unthinkable.

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There was no talk of U.S. intervention to help the Palestinian people of Gaza when thousands died from being blockaded, bombed and invaded by Israel. Just the opposite. The U.S. intervened to prevent condemnation of the Zionist settler state.

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Imperialism’s interest in Libya is not hard to find. Bloomberg.com wrote on Feb. 22 that while Libya is Africa’s third-largest producer of oil, it has the continent’s largest proven reserves – 44.3 billion barrels. It is a country with a relatively small population but the potential to produce huge profits for the giant oil companies. That’s how the super-rich look at it, and that’s what underlies their professed concern for the people’s democratic rights in Libya.

Full article.

so disgusting. these clowns (hillary, biden, obama et al) r supposed to work for us. that’s what they get paid for. this is unacceptable.

horrible situation in bahrain. pls share.

Republicans are pushing a “Resolution of Disapproval” that would strip the FCC of its authority to protect our right to free speech online. If it passes, the FCC would not just be barred from enforcing its already weak Net Neutrality rule, but also from acting in any way to protect Internet users against corporate abuses.

We can kill the resolution in the Senate by getting 51 members to stand with us and online freedom. Sign this letter to demand that your senators join us in protecting free speech online, and we will deliver it to their offices in Washington.

Sign here.

In Wisconsin, demonstrators have invoked the mass uprising by workers in the Arab world, comparing Madison to Cairo and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to Hosni Mubarak. In New York City, students protesting against school closures have chanted, “New York is Egypt.” This is entirely appropriate, and is an expression of a growing sense among workers in every country that they face a common struggle and a common enemy. Full article.

Protesters across the country are calling for president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down after 32 years in power, in a movement that has now entered its eighth day in Yemen. Tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out in the cities of Sanaa, Taiz and Aden for a “Friday of Fury”, as it was termed by protest organizers. Full article.

Thousands of anti-government protesters seeking to oust longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi have taken to the streets of Libya’s city of Benghazi, a day after “day of rage” demonstrations led to fatal skirmishes with the security forces. Tight controls on media and communications in Libya made it difficult to assess the extent of the violence, but unverified reports on social network sites said up to 50 people had died. Full article.

Troops and tanks have locked down Manama, the Bahraini capital, and a ban has been announced on public gatherings as pro-reform supporters bury their dead, a day after a violent security crackdown. Riot police using clubs and tear gas broke up a crowd of protesters in the city’s financial district in a pre-dawn swoop on Thursday, killing at least four people. Full article.

love love love!