Whoever believes that a truly democratic outcome is the real goal of the Muslim Brotherhood has failed to understand--or purposefully ignored--the group's motto.
WSJ, therefore subscriber-only, but who knows what you might find if you check the right search engine's news page.
#2
My daughter just walked into the living room and said "Dad cancel my allowance, rent my room out, throw all my clothes out of the window, take my TV, stereo, iPhone and jewelery to the charity shop. Sell my car, take my front door key and throw me out of the house". Well she didn't actually put it like that... actually she said...
"Dad this is my new boyfriend, Mohammed."
Posted by: No I am The Other Beldar ||
02/18/2011 14:43 Comments ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] It seems that Tunisia was destined to be the catalyst for the greatest event in modern Arab history. And it seems that Mohammad Bouzeizi, who set fire to himself in protest against an insult to his personal dignity, triggered a revolt for the restoration of Arab dignity. But when Egypt is at the heart of events, it will be different from anything the Arab region has seen in the past few decades.
First, because the event was produced by the masses of Egypt, 'the mother of the world', the people who crossed the Suez canal in the 1973 war, the people who built the pyramids, started the Arab revolutions of liberation from colonialism. Second, Egypt was forcefully taken out of the Arab-Israeli conflict by one tyrant and shamed, for three decades, by another through complicity with the enemy. This weakened and humiliated the Arabs who saw the West arming Israel with arrogance and intransigence while arming submissive regimes with dictatorship, oppression and tyranny. In this atmosphere of humiliation, Zionism prospered. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said, "We have enjoyed thirty years of quiet and security" during which Israel attacked Leb and Paleostine on a daily basis, continued to build settlements and became entrenched in extremism. Third, the 'free and democratic' West remained unable, for 18 days, to support the revolution of freedom and democracy which they claim to support in other countries. One more reason is that the process of democracy, intended by George W. Bush and his generals to be marred by the shame of foreign occupation, is now crowned by the triumph of people's will against oppression and tyranny.
What is striking to all Arabs, and maybe to the whole world, is the blanket Arab support of the revolutionaries of Tahrir square and their honorable fight for freedom and dignity, compared with the United States' and the West's opposition of this revolution.
The position taken by the United States, the West in general, and Israel towards this revolution should define the future of inter-Arab relations, on the one hand, and Western -- Arab relations, on the other. The American position has been hesitant, contradictory and complicit with Israel and aimed at injecting Mubarak's regime with life in a manner that should be embarrassing to a country which claims to defend freedom, and launches wars to spread democracy. The reason might be the shock and confusion of the American administration caused by the events in Tunisia, in the beginning, and then in Egypt, which befits a new century and ushers a new era in which Arabs make history and do not only keep its record. This position flies in the face of the values of democracy, freedom and human rights. ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... Arabs now realize that the main drive for Western policies in the Middle East is that Israel should impose its hegemony on the Arabs, take over their land and suppress their aspirations for freedom, dignity and democracy. They now know for sure that the West befriends some Arab rulers in as much as they befriend Israel; it is pleased with them in as much as they please Israel. Four hundred million Arabs do not mean anything to Barak Obama, Catherine Ashton and other Western politicians who have suddenly become mute while they have been extremely vociferous against Iran.
The primary concern of all Western policies in the region is Israel, then their interests in terms of oil, ransacking our peoples' resources through laundering corrupt rulers' money in their banks, companies and economies. It has become clear that the West looks at Arabs with Israeli eyes, which was once articulated by Golda Meir when she said that "a good Arab is an Arab buried three meters deep under". We should recall that Arab decadence and the deterioration of their living conditions have been in direct correlation with Israel's creation and expansion in the second half of the 20th century. Israel has spearheaded the campaign to distort the image of the Arabs and branding them with terrorism after 9/11. It also spearheaded efforts to drum up the American war on Iraq and launched its own wars on Leb and Gazoo under European and American protection.
People like Elliot Abrams, a staunch neo-conservative, were adamant in claiming that Bush's policies were the right ones and that he was right in wondering whether the peoples of the Middle East were capable of living freely, or whether they are doomed by their culture and history to live under despotism (quoting a speech by Bush in November 2003). The Egyptian answer today is that the Arab people can teach the world how to fight for freedom, but not the Bush way when he killed a million people for the sake of Israel. The answer given by the Egyptians to Obama and Bush supporters is: enough rhetoric; Arab people yearn for a freedom they make, their way and for their own historical, social and political reasons. They do not trust false friendships, illusory rhetoric and claims of embracing 'Western values'. Now everything is absolutely clear, and no power in the world can deceive the Arabs again.
The spring of democracy ushered on our Arab streets is the greatest event in Arab history since the revolutions which put an end to Western colonialism and its lackey regimes. Liberation today is rooted in the Arab will based on their conviction that the age of submission and humiliation is over; and that the dawn of pride, dignity and freedom has arrived.
Western reactions show that the West has not yet recovered from the shock; and that's quite natural. This shock should make a shift in Western thinking from branding Arabs with terrorism to acknowledging Arabs as major contributors to civilization that they uphold important values, reject injustice, love freedom and are willing to die for democracy. The West should also realize that the Arab identity is the common element which brings Arabs together. It informs their conscience, and no power will be able to take it away from them.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2011 00:00 ||
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#3
They have a different definition of freedom. As long as the state is "free," that is not controlled by an outside power, they're happy. That the citizen is the property of the state is the normal way of things.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2011 10:38 Comments ||
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#4
...and now they're free to vote in the Muslim Brotherhood. Which will happen unless the Army stops it, much like Mubarak...
Posted by: Jefferson ||
02/18/2011 12:37 Comments ||
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#6
Yusuf al-Qaradawi gave a speech in Tahrir Square today attended by 200,000 - the takeover of Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood has begun. In the Arab world, "free" just means free to be led by the most inhumane religious fanatics.
Also note this article about a less-noticed power grab:
The old regime has in Egypt has gone up in flames, but unfortunately not in Cuba, my home country - the nation with the longest dictatorship in the world. It remains draped in a political Pyromex shield: Cuba will not burn.
Oh, there was much hope and excitement at first. On the island and in the Diaspora, we looked at the hypnotizing images of Egypt in revolt and forgot our own situation. Facebook pages were launched to provoke uprisings in Syria, in Libya and, yes, in Cuba.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
02/18/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Protecting himself during a robbery attempt would not be considered part of his official function in the country, and therefore his actions that day would not be covered under functional immunity
One might argue that being a failed ISI hit would take this out of everyday life in Pakistan and back into the realm of geopolitics and diplomacy. But this really isn't about Davis, is it?
#2
No, it's about rolling Obama and how many goodies they can extort from the US while we have an anti-colonialist president.
They are just doing to Obama what Obama is doing to Wisconson.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/18/2011 11:31 Comments ||
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#3
DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS' > Investigat Artics are proclaiming to had found alleged DAVIS LINKS to the TTP [Taliban], as well as Pakis-perceived "ILLEGAL" US DRONE STRIKES???
PAK Net investigations of Davis are on-going.
* OTOH NEWS KERALA > STRATFOR WARNS OF [Pakis]"MOB FURY" AGZ AMERICANS IN PAKISTAN IFF DAVIS IS RELEASED FROM DETENTION.
[Asharq al-Aswat] I carefully read the speech given by [Hezbullies chief] Hassan Nasrallah yesterday and I did not notice what others did with regards to this speech being threatening or menacing. On the contrary, it was clear to me that he [Nasrallah] was worried as he listed the benefits of the Khomeini revolution and criticized other Arab regimes, describing them as being [foreign] agents.
This was a deplorable sectarian speech by a partner of the Iranian regime, and this man [Nasrallah] refrained from even saying one word about the [anti-government] demonstrations that are taking place in Iran, but rather he proceeded to list the advantages of the Wali al-Faqih regime in an attempt to portray the scene today as being ripe for Iranian control. However this is nothing more than wishful thinking, and it appeared that Nasrallah was trying to reassure the Paleostinians, the Syrians, and others about the situation in Iran. Nasrallah's speech was nothing more than a call on Iran's allies to hold steady, and he was attempting to say that the Iranian regime is not being shaken.
However one of the important issues regarding the speech made by the Lebanese Wali al-Faqih yesterday was Nasrallah's attempt to distract attention away from the huge celebration being held by Hezbullies on the return of Sami Shehab, the Hezbullies member who beat feet from prison in Egypt. Hezbullies welcomed Sami Shehab [back to Leb] in a manner very similar to the manner in which Samir Kuntar was welcomed back from Israel [following an Israel -- Hezbullies prisoner swap]. Sami Shehab appeared on stage and received a standing ovation from the audience of Hezbullies supporters as if he were a hero returning from the heart of Israel after successfully completing a mission, rather than just an beat feet prisoner. This was a scene that makes one wonder: is Egypt like Israel [in the eyes of Hezbullies]? For if Shehab is innocent, as Hezbullies asserts -- and remember the Hezbullies leader welcomed the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions, describing these as being noble Arab revolutions -- then why should they celebrate Shehab in this manner? Or rather, is Hezbullies trying to tell its followers that it is capable of carrying out its operations on any Arab territory in order to strengthen the morale of its other operatives in Arab territories?
Hezbullies is clearly attempting to deceive Arab and Egyptian public opinion by insulting the former [Egyptian] regime and championing the revolution in an attempt to say that it is justified for the party to tamper with Egyptian national security as it likes! However the pressing question that must be asked here is not "how did Shehab escape from prison?" but rather -- and this is something that we have asked a number of times -- "how did Sami Shehab manage to leave Egypt and arrive in Leb?" This is because it could be considered normal for somebody to exploit the chaos that occurred in Egypt with regards to the disappearance of the police forces and escape from prison; however what is puzzling is, how did Shehab escape from Egyptian territory and reach Leb, particularly as the two countries do not share any borders? This question should be on the minds of all Egyptians, and indeed all Arabs, for attacking and criticizing the former regime in Egypt is one thing, but infiltrating the country's national security is something else.
Therefore it is up to the Egyptians today, who are in the midst of arranging their affairs, to ask the major question: how did Hezbullies infiltrate Egyptian security? They must ask this question in order to ensure that the land of Egypt does not become a stage for [foreign] agents from all across the world, and to ensure that what happened to Leb does not happen to Egypt.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2011 00:00 ||
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American politics just keeps getting more polarized. Be assured that Obama wants it that way. I argue in Radical-in-Chief that Obama's long-term hope is to divide America along class lines (roughly speaking, tax payers versus tax beneficiaries). Obama's attack on the Supreme Court at his 2010 State of the Union address, his offensive against the Chamber of Commerce, his exhortation to Hispanics to punish their enemies, and several similar moves were all efforts to jump-start a populist movement of the left. Like his socialist organizing mentors, Obama believes that a country polarized along class lines will eventually realign American politics sharply to the left. Yet the entire strategy is based on the need for an activated, populist movement of the left. So far, Obama has failed to create such a movement. His expensive economic agenda has provoked a populist counter-movement of the right instead: Obama's nightmare.
Now, however, Obama may belatedly be getting his wish. The very success of the Tea Party is calling forth an opposing movement of the left. Obama's exhortations may have failed to polarize the country along class lines, but his policies have finally provoked the long-sought battle. The once-dormant legions of Obama's group, Organizing for America, have now been activated. This is the moment they were created for. It is only going to get worse and it will get violent. Just how violent depends on when a side backs down. If both refuse... Kansas 1850s may be a dress rehearsal for the coming class clash.
#2
The democrat party is the most corrupt enterprise this nation has ever seen. It's a fraud.
The "me, my, mine" party. The party of unions, government, deadbeats, illegals, lawyers, and felons.
Shame on you ALL.
Last fall it came out that the feds were going to push for a law that would require wiretap backdoors in all forms of internet communications. As many people pointed out at the time, there are all sorts of reasons why this is a very bad idea, starting with the fact that putting such backdoors into all forms of communication will certainly lead to them being abused.
And, when we say "abused," we don't just mean by the feds -- who have a long history of illegally abusing surveillance powers -- but by others as well. If the feds really think that only they will have true access to these backdoors, they're a lot more naive than we thought. This is a catastrophe in waiting.
Either way, it appears that the geniuses over at the Justice Department and the FBI don't seem to care. Despite plenty of people raising these concerns, it's still going forward with a push for such laws.
The plan that will be pushed would require any technology provider to offer up a way for law enforcement to spy on "Web-based e-mail, social networking sites, and peer-to-peer communications technology."
Of course, the feds already have subpoena powers to get email and social networking info, when appropriate.
And the FBI demanded and received wiretapping abilities over such things a few years ago -- but hasn't explained why that wasn't sufficient. Either way, it's the P2P part that's really questionable, because basically they're asking for a way to wiretap encrypted voice systems like Skype.
What's stunning to me is that the feds don't even seem to consider the inevitable unintended consequences of forcing such wiretapping backdoors into these forms of communications. Such backdoors will almost certainly be hacked by those with malicious intent.
If the feds thought Wikileaks and groups like Anonymous were troubling now, just wait until they can also record and listen to a growing number of voice calls.
And, for those who support these kinds of wiretaps, claiming that without them the FBI will "have no way to know" what these people are talking about, that's a bogus complaint. There are all sorts of other ways to figure out what people are doing. It's called basic detective work, and it's what our law enforcement folks are supposed to be doing.
Just because it sometimes takes work is no reason to throw our basic privacy rights out the window. As I've suggested before, surveillance is an open-ended obsession. Even 'nineteen eighty-four'-style monitors in all rooms in all buildings would not be enough for the voyeuristically obsessed, disconnected from any reasonable security needs.
#2
Why would anyone expect a balanced portrayal of Islam in the news? Mostly the news is about bad stuff happening (and American Idol), and if the bad stuff was done by Muslims, then of course (those) Muslims will be portrayed in an unfavorable light.
If stuff about Muslims being good makes the news, it would have to be because good Muslims were the newsworthy, unusual condition - which also proves Fox's distribution is appropriate.
#4
Did I miss Sewer-boy's parallel story about the WAPO's slanted reporting of the Tea-party?
Posted by: Jack Salami ||
02/18/2011 10:13 Comments ||
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#5
I take this to mean that sewer boy is worried the truth is getting out. The reasons for MSNBC and CNN lagging are that they are agenda-driven, slow catching up, not interested in the news, have leftie moonbats on their staffs, have falling viewership and don't want to offend anyone, are too PC, or all of the above.
#7
Beck was very fair and balanced last night. He compared the Twelvers to Christianity and had a "moderate" Muslim on as well. Just because anyone with a brain can only draw one conclusion doesn't make it a lie...but it does challenge those(Progressives) that cling to a false reality. Like Glenn says: "Do your own research".
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
By Ayaan Hirsi Ali
American politics just keeps getting more polarized. Be assured that Obama wants it that way. I argue in Radical-in-Chief that Obama's long-term hope is to divide America along class lines (roughly speaking, tax payers versus tax beneficiaries). Obama's attack on the Supreme Court at his 2010 State of the Union address, his offensive against the Chamber of Commerce, his exhortation to Hispanics to punish their enemies, and several similar moves were all efforts to jump-start a populist movement of the left. Like his socialist organizing mentors, Obama believes that a country polarized along class lines will eventually realign American politics sharply to the left. Yet the entire strategy is based on the need for an activated, populist movement of the left. So far, Obama has failed to create such a movement. His expensive economic agenda has provoked a populist counter-movement of the right instead: Obama's nightmare.
By Adam Serwer
