tagged w/ Egyptian protests
-
So here's what happened. I wrote this song as a new labor anthem in 2008 and issued it on an album in 2009. But, as much as it was for them, I meant it to be about more than just the current organizational structures for working people. The One Big Union idea, since it was the mantra of the IWW, has for a long time been about the permanent popular offset to entrenched institutional power so often run by bad people with sociopathic motives, aka corporations and faux "public interest" organizations bankrolled by wealthy despots to proselytize the notion that their despotism is a good thing.
Those people, those institutions, have successfully winnowed the numbers of the organized. The Randroids are ascendent in America, telling us that ALL collectivity is heretical communism. But thing about that is, our collectivity is not something up for debate, as viciously as they choose to argue it, as much money as the Kochs, Chambers of Commerce, ALECs and corrupt Supreme Court justices can dump into the message. "Government is collectivity, common sense is heresy, the GI Bill is a communism, rich people paying an extra .02 percent in taxes is theft and violence. You are you and only you, you exist in a vacuum, fuck everyone else."
Except antisocial behavior simply flies in the face of society. We are all a system, which is part of other systems. One Big Union is what cures us of their predations, and what shouts down their sociopathic marketing. It is what gives us a sense of community when financial machinations and shameless propaganda insist we are alone and that we should shut up and pull ourselves up by our own damn bootstraps.
In Wisconsin, in Egypt and Tunisia, in Occupy Wall Street and its affiliate actions around the U.S. and the world, I saw people pulling each other up by each OTHER's damn bootstraps. Look what happened. I saw this song realized anew. Brave people claimed it and made it more vital. I owed them something.
I have never worked in visual media but it dawned on me I really had no choice. I taught myself iMovie and I made this. I hope it is worthy of the amazing things people have done this year in the name of forwarding civil society everywhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwjiP6X3u1kSo here's what happened. I wrote this song as a new labor anthem in 2008 and... more
-
-
Each year the influential Foreign Policy magazine publish a list of the year's top global thinkers. This year's top spot is claimed by no less than 14 people who have all had a hand in the Arab Spring revolutions.Most of the winners are people who have been actively campaigning for change on the streets of Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Syria and Tunisia. But there is also a slightly different revolutionary on the list - Gene Sharp, a 83-year-old academic from Boston. For more than half a century, Sharp has been working to turn the philosophies of nonviolent protest into a blueprint that can be put into practice by activists around the world. His book 'From Dictatorship to Democracy - A Conceptual Framework for Liberation' is a 93-page, 198-step guide to toppling dictators, available free for download in 40 languages. The book was re-discovered by activists throughout the Middle East during and has been instrumental in shaping the Arab Spring revolution as we know it.
The award-winning feature length documentary about how Gene Sharp's ideas work in action called 'How To Start A Revolution' will have its UK premiere right here on Current on 1st January 2012.
Each year the influential Foreign Policy magazine publish a list of the year's... more
-
-
Video at link to aljazeera-
The Egyptian army deployed troops in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday and fired shots in the air to disperse remaining pro-democracy protesters.
A few hundred demonstrators were staying put, state television reported, showing army vehicles in the square and people taking down tents and canopies.
Local authorities say they asked demonstrators to allow traffic to move through the square, after local shopkeepers clashed with protesters for interfering with their businesses.
Demonstrators reportedly refused, so the military and riot police moved in.
The protesters responded by throwing stones and rocks at the security forces and several protesters were injured in the clashes, officials said. Activists said several protesters had been arrested.
Members of the April 6th protest movement say the military did not just storm the square, but attacked the mosque where protesters had sought shelter.
Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Tahrir, said: "There was a split when it came to protesters who wanted to stay and those who wanted to move out.
"There were a good 200 to 300 people who were still camped out earlier. Now it's filled with tanks and army soldiers.
"They've essentially driven out all the people. There do seem to be some civilians moving around but the army is continuing to move out anyone trying to get back into the square."
"People have been telling us, 'They can do what they want but we will just come back once they leave'."
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/08/2011811355629619.html
Ramadan suspension
Egyptian protesters had said they would suspend their sit-in at the square during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began on Monday, but would return to the square to press for reforms after the month was over.
Activists have been occupying Tahrir Square, the epicentre of protests that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, since July 8 to denounce the military rulers' handling of the transition.
The crackdown comes two days before Mubarak goes on trial for his role in killing protesters during the uprising centred on Tahrir Square that drove him from power on February 11.
Twenty-six political parties and protest movements said on Saturday in a joint statement that their three-week sit-in had succeeded in achieving some of their demands, "pushing the Egyptian revolution a step forward".
"But based on our belief that sit-ins are a means, and not a goal, the political parties and youth movements have decided to temporarily suspend their sit-in during the holy month of Ramadan," they said.
The parties stressed that they "will return once again after Eid [feast marking the end of Ramadan] to protest peacefully in Tahrir Square so that the rest of the demands are met"Video at link to aljazeera-
The Egyptian army deployed troops in Cairo's Tahrir... more
-
-
(RT) The Center for Economic and Financial Research and Studies (CEFRS) at the University of Cairo has claimed that the former president embezzled about 87 per cent of foreign aid donated to Egypt. CEFRS director Houda Saleh states that from 1982 to 2010 about $185 billion out of a total of $213 billion never reached its intended destination.
Video here:
http://www.politicalfailblog.com/2011/06/mubarak-stole-185-billion-during-his.html(RT) The Center for Economic and Financial Research and Studies (CEFRS) at the... more
-
-
Egypt: the story behind the revolution - Trailer
Compare and contrast the lifestyles of different strata of society who lived under Mubarak, and how they see their lives changing. Including interview with young revolutionaries fighting for a new start for Egypt. Capturing a snapshot of people's views about what happened, and what should happen next, while the country is in transition.Egypt: the story behind the revolution - Trailer
Compare and contrast the... more
-
-
ksayed
-
added this
-
1 year ago
- |
-
A great edit of Charlie Chaplin's speech from The Great Dictator mixed with footage of today's political turmoil. It makes as much sense now as it did in 1940.A great edit of Charlie Chaplin's speech from The Great Dictator mixed with... more
-
-
CAIRO - Thirteen Egyptians were killed in violence between Christians and Muslims as sectarian tensions resurfaced in Cairo and a new government met for the first time on Wednesday, discussing how to restore law and order.
The Health Ministry said the 13 people were killed and 140 wounded in violence on Tuesday night ignited by tensions built up since an arson attack on a church south of Cairo on Saturday.
The protests spread elsewhere in the capital and hundreds of people faced off in the violence, hurling petrol bombs and rocks, witnesses said.
The injuries included head wounds, bruises, bullet wounds and broken limbs, the state news agency quoted a senior health ministry official as saying. At least one of the dead, an 18-year-old Christian, had been shot in the back.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=211399CAIRO - Thirteen Egyptians were killed in violence between Christians and Muslims as... more
-
-
If you don’t know Wael Ghonim’s name and face, you at least know his impact.
In January of this year, the Dubai-based computer programmer and marketing executive asked his employer of two years, Google, for personal leave to return to his native Egypt. There were protests underway there, and much of the activity was being organized and communicated from a Facebook page Ghonim had set up about opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei.
What happened next has become volunteering history.
On January 27, as protests against corruption and brutality reached a new climax, Ghonim was snatched by police and taken into custody. While his family reported he was missing, Google issued a statement confirming his disappearance. Word reached other bloggers who spread the news. With casualties mounting, everyone feared the worst.
Eleven days later, following huge outcry from international organizations, Ghonim was released from prison, where he was interrogated for his role in the uprising. But if the authorities thought Ghonim would be quietly grateful they were wrong. Upon his release he told a fearful but hopeful crowd: “We will not abandon our demand and that is the departure of the regime.”
continue reading Wael Ghonim's story: http://blogs.volunteermatch.org/engagingvolunteers/2011/03/02/5-things-to-know-about-wael-ghonim-the-egyptian-volunteer-who-helped-bring-down-a-regime/If you don’t know Wael Ghonim’s name and face, you at least know his... more
-
-
WHACKO-TV once again is on the cutting edge with an insightful look at the revolutionary changes taking place in Northern Africa and the Middle East. We called on our expert Omar Kitchendore from Pharaoh University in Arizona to explain what is happening in Libya. And of course, WHACKO-TV even figured out a way to have some clever product placement in the report.WHACKO-TV once again is on the cutting edge with an insightful look at the... more
-
-
Big Brother really IS watching you.
Narus, a CA-based firm owned by Boeing, has contracted with Egypt's government to provide Internet surveillance on protesters all across the social media spectrum.
Source: Al-Jazeera English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uODOBCgNhZcBig Brother really IS watching you.
Narus, a CA-based firm owned by Boeing, has... more
-
-
The circle is now complete.
From Cairo to Madison, some pizza |
Someone in Egypt has been paying attention to what’s happening in Madison and wanted to send a message of solidarity from across the globe — so they ordered a pizza.The circle is now complete.
From Cairo to Madison, some pizza |
Someone in Egypt... more
-
-
While parents in this country worry about their kids spending too much time on Facebook, Egyptian parents are naming their kids “Facebook” to commemorate the events surrounding the January 25 revolution.According to Al-Ahram (one of the most popular newspapers in Egypt) a twenty-something Egyptian man has named his first born daughter “Facebook” in tribute to the role the social media service played in organising the protests in Tahrir Square and beyond.
Translation:A New Day"Man Names His Newborn Girl Facebook"A young man in his twenties wanted to express his gratitude about the victories the youth of 25th of January have achieved and chose to express it in the form of naming his firstborn girl “Facebook” Jamal Ibrahim (his name.) The girl’s family, friends, and neighbours in the Ibrahimya region gathered around the new born to express their continuing support for the revolution that started on Facebook. “Facebook” received many gifts from the youth who were overjoyed by her arrival and the new name. A name [Facebook] that shocked the entire world. //There are five million Facebook users in Egypt, more so than any other country in the Middle East/North Africa region. Facebook itself has reported an increase in Egyptian users in the past month, with 32,000 Facebook groups and 14,000 pages created in the two weeks after January 25th.
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/19/facebook-egypt-newborn/
While parents in this country worry about their kids spending too much time on... more
-
-
Armed patrols prowled neighbourhoods and tanks appeared in the streets for the first time in Manama after riot police with tear gas and clubs drove protesters from a main square where they demanded sweeping political change for the kingdom.Armed patrols prowled neighbourhoods and tanks appeared in the streets for the first... more
-
-
Where is this Bahrain place?
Bahrain is a tiny Kingdom consisting of 33 separate small islands in the Persian Gulf. The country is geographically very close to Saudi Arabia in the west and to Qatar in the south-east, and across the Gulf is Iran.
Who lives in Bahrain?
About 1.2m people live in Bahrain, out of these 54 per cent are non-nationals as many people from Asia and the middle-east move there to work. The vast majority of the population is Muslim, but importantly they are from two different strands of Islam; 33 per cent are Sunni and 66 per cent are Shia. The Sunni al-Khalifa family has ruled Bahrain since 1782 despite a clear majority of the population being Shia.
Why are they demonstrating in Bahrain?
At the heart of the Bahrain crisis is the Sunni/Shia Muslim split, but this goes much deeper than a small island off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
Just so you know, 80-90 per cent of the worlds' Muslim population are Sunnis, the rest are Shias. The only countries with a vast Shia majority are; Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq and Bahrain. Yemen, Lebanon, Kuwait also have large numbers of Shias but they are not in a majority. In Bahrain there have always been tensions between the two communities with the Shia accusing the royal family who are Sunnis of giving the highest positions in the security forces, government and business community to Sunnis.The Iranian government, who loves meddling when Shias are concerned, is giving support to the Shia population while Saudi Arabia and Pakistan side with the Sunni al-Khalifas.
Add to this that the US Navy's 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain, partly to counter Iranian influence in the Strait of Hormuz, and suddenly a small island's domestic political situation becomes of gigantic geopolitical importance.
Hang on is it all about religion?
Well those demonstrating may be mostly Shia, but they have similar grievances to many other Arabs across the region; unemployment, poverty, lack of free speech and social freedoms. However, most demonstrators are Shia and overwhelmingly those cracking down on them are Sunni.
Didn't the UK used to rule this Bahrain?
Yep, Bahrain gained independence from the UK in 1971 and became a parliamentary monarchy, but in 1975 the then King moved against Shia unrest by declaring the island an absolute monarchy. But as in most ex UK run countries chaos erupted as the Brits just packed up and left and didn't think about the consequences.There were violent demonstration during the 1990s as the Shia demanded more rights, these were brutally suppressed, but in 2001 the pressure was so great the ruling family allowed parliamentary elections.Despite this, the Shia opposition parties maintain that the system is still rigged against them, noting that they remain a minority in parliament and that the upper chamber is appointed directly by the king and therefore blocks any reform.Isn't it all about the oil when it comes down to it?Well apart from the religious aspects oil is definitely part of the issue. The Saudi Arabian oil fields lie in the part of Bahrain which are dominated by the Saudi's Shia minority and this explains why the Saudis are so keen to back Bahrain's Sunni royal family with expertise and (it is rumoured) military hardware.
What about the Americans, why are they in Bahrain?
The US desperately wants to maintain its naval presence in Bahrain to make sure Iran doesn't do anything crazy - like nuke Israel and start WWIII.
Source: Sky, BBC, British Foreign & Commonwealth OfficeWhere is this Bahrain place?
Bahrain is a tiny Kingdom consisting of 33 separate... more
-
-
-
-
Call to petition the US government to cease its support of Middle East dictatorships.
-
-
Further evidence you really need to bookmark BBC World Service and AlJazeera and soak up useful information. It's good for you and your mind.Further evidence you really need to bookmark BBC World Service and AlJazeera and soak... more
-
-
New Army regime moves to ban strikes in Egypt
-
-
