Egyptian Protesters Seize Evidence of Torture after storming secret police office Hundreds of Egyptians stormed the headquarters of the nation’s secret police, seizing secret documents and evidence of torture. Activists say documents found inside the building contain evidence of phone tapping, election rigging and torture. A full report by McClatchy
Continue readingTag: Egypt
Stop Canadian Complicity in Torture: "Destroying the Evidence" …in Egypt
Egyptian Protesters Seize Evidence of Torture after storming secret police office
Hundreds of Egyptians stormed the headquarters of the nation’s secret police, seizing secret documents and evidence of torture.
Activists say documents found inside the building contain evidence of phone tapping, election rigging and torture.
A full report by McClatchy newspaper:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/03/05/109887/egyptian-protesters-storm-state.html
Stop Canadian Complicity in Torture: "Destroying the Evidence" …in Egypt
Egyptian Protesters Seize Evidence of Torture after storming secret police office Hundreds of Egyptians stormed the headquarters of the nation’s secret police, seizing secret documents and evidence of torture. Activists say documents found inside the building contain evidence of phone tapping, election rigging and torture. A full report by McClatchy
Continue readingpunditman: Mubarak Steps Down, Ceding Power to Military
Peacenik has been trying to follow the Egypt story which has been dragging on for a while now. But Peacenik is confused. The military dictatorship of Murbarak is stepping down in favour of a military dictatorship? How is this an improvement? Why are all those people on TV so happy.
Continue readingpunditman: Mubarak Steps Down, Ceding Power to Military
Peacenik has been trying to follow the Egypt story which has been dragging on for a while now. But Peacenik is confused. The military dictatorship of Murbarak is stepping down in favour of a military dictatorship? How is this an improvement? Why are all those people on TV so happy. Why can I never remember question marks. Until Peacenik sees who steps forth, someone who the people want, Peacenik thinks this may have been an unsuccessful revolution. Peacenik is sure the US is very comfortable with the Egyptian army being in control. Goodbye status quo. Hello status quo. Saudi Arabia is next. Whatever next means, in this case.
CAIRO — President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt resigned his post and turned over all power to the military on Friday, ending his nearly 30 years of autocratic rule and bowing to a historic popular uprising that has transformed politics in Egypt and around the Arab world.
The streets of Cairo exploded in shouts of “God is Great” moments after Mr. Mubarak’s vice president and longtime intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, announced during evening prayers that Mr. Mubarak had passed all authority to a council of military leaders.
“Taking into consideration the difficult circumstances the country is going through, President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave the post of president of the republic and has tasked the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to manage the state’s affairs,” Mr. Suleiman, grave and ashen, said in a brief televised statement.
punditman: Mubarak Steps Down, Ceding Power to Military
Peacenik has been trying to follow the Egypt story which has been dragging on for a while now. But Peacenik is confused. The military dictatorship of Murbarak is stepping down in favour of a military dictatorship? How is this an improvement? Why are all those people on TV so happy.
Continue readingpunditman: Foreign Policy 101: Plus ca Change
punditman says… Punditman is not sure why any student would want to study US foreign policy these days because the course could easily be completed in a couple of lectures. That is if the right prof. is lecturing. Or the student could just survey the internet for a couple of
Continue readingpunditman: Foreign Policy 101: Plus ca Change
punditman says… Punditman is not sure why any student would want to study US foreign policy these days because the course could easily be completed in a couple of lectures. That is if the right prof. is lecturing. Or the student could just survey the…
Continue readingpunditman: Foreign Policy 101: Plus ca Change
punditman says… Punditman is not sure why any student would want to study US foreign policy these days because the course could easily be completed in a couple of lectures. That is if the right prof. is lecturing. Or the student could just survey the internet for a couple of
Continue readingpunditman: Musings on Western Hypocrisy
punditman says… Punditman has been busy these past few days, with, among other things, attending to some urgent family matters. Meanwhile, I am happy to see Peacenik has kept the site up-to-date. Let’s hear it for Peacenik. Punditman does not have much time to comment on the state of the
Continue readingpunditman: Musings on Western Hypocrisy
punditman says…
Punditman has been busy these past few days, with, among other things, attending to some urgent family matters. Meanwhile, I am happy to see Peacenik has kept the site up-to-date. Let’s hear it for Peacenik.
Punditman does not have much time to comment on the state of the world at the moment, but he will point out a few salient features of Western diplomacy and policy that have reared their hypocritical heads a little higher than usual this past little while. Namely, hypocrisy on human rights and the blatent double standard when it comes to the behaviour of “our side” versus “theirs.”
Exhibit A: the terror bombing of the Moscow Domodedovo Airport. Remember that? It was all of two weeks ago, soon to be overshadowed by events in Egypt. But it was a major act of terror: at least 36 killed and 180 wounded. Wow, that’s certainly newsworthy enough to have more than the tepid follow-up that Western media coverage affords it, meaning it will soon simply slip down the memory hole.
Punditman did read an article the next day in the Toronto Star that talked about how Russia needs to rethink its Caucasus policy to “come to grips with the roots of anger and frustration that have grown a crop of deadly extremists.” Not only that, but the situation has become so fragmented politically that it’s not clear with whom Russia can negotiate. Funny, that has a familiar ring to it. Where has Punditman heard that before? Oh yes, in Punditman’s head, that’s where. Because we rarely hear any such sentiments in the mainstream media when it comes to Western foreign policy, in places like, oh, I dunno…Afghanistan? Or the whole Middle East for that matter. That’s because we’re on the side of the angels, and democracy, and human rights, and Israel, and all things bright and beautiful, just like we are in Egypt, which leads to Exhibit B: Have you ever seen such hypocritical drivel oozing from the cake holes of Western leaders? The Egytian eruption is a widespread popular revolt against a Western-backed dictatorship, and yet Stephen Harper and Barak Obama can’t bring themselves to say without equivocation that we support the people, period. Not Mubarak (“I would not refer to him as a dictator,” said Joe Biden), not a Mubarak successor groomed to support our interests, not some sort of “smooth transition,” but the people. Smooth transition is code for putting into place the people we want, so they trot out all the unwarranted fears of the Muslim Brotherhood, etc. Human rights, eh?
Ditto for Israel’s shameful reaction, best summed up by Anshel Pfeffer in Haaretz:
We (Israelis are) all suffering from Orientalism, not to say racism, if the sight of an entire people throwing off the yoke of tyranny and courageously demanding free elections fills us with fear rather than uplifting us, just because they’re Arabs.
Actually Noam Chomsky sums up these attitudes and the situation a lot better than Punditman ever could. Check it out.
punditman: Musings on Western Hypocrisy
punditman says… Punditman has been busy these past few days, with, among other things, attending to some urgent family matters. Meanwhile, I am happy to see Peacenik has kept the site up-to-date. Let’s hear it for Peacenik. Punditman does not have much time to comment on the state of the
Continue readingLate Friday Night Ode To … Peaceful Democratic Uprisings
Back there last Saturday, I wrote the following:As we applaud our Tunisian and Egyptian brothers and sisters, let us keep firmly in mind that it is they whom are bravely uprising in order to win their birthrights of freedom and liberty that are the bon…
Continue readingTattered Sleeve: EXCLUSIVE: Mubarak’s conversation with Obama:
“If I go there will be trouble, If I stay there will be double” So, go.
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Egypt and the Press: Stories and Stories
Coverage of the uprising in Egypt in its second week has become characterised by a number of types of reports, most of which paint colorful pictures, but do little to inform on the situation. There are the political discussions as to the West’s reaction, and how the uprising will unbalance
Continue readingpunditman: When Corporations Choose Despots Over Democracy
Obama and corporations desperately want the status quo. Even when the status quo means supporting a vicious tyrant. Egypt of course has been the country that has done much of the torturing for Obama. And this is what has Obama and corporations befuddled. The uprisings in Egypt are spontaneous. The
Continue readingpunditman: When Corporations Choose Despots Over Democracy
Obama and corporations desperately want the status quo. Even when the status quo means supporting a vicious tyrant. Egypt of course has been the country that has done much of the torturing for Obama. And this is what has Obama and corporations befuddled. The uprisings in Egypt are spontaneous. The
Continue readingpunditman: When Corporations Choose Despots Over Democracy
Obama and corporations desperately want the status quo. Even when the status quo means supporting a vicious tyrant. Egypt of course has been the country that has done much of the torturing for Obama. And this is what has Obama and corporations befuddled. The uprisings in Egypt are spontaneous. The spark that set off the uprising was the self immolation of a vegetable vendor in Tunisia about a month ago. Who’da thunk it. A vegetable vendor joins Arch Duke Ferdinand. The outcome of the revolution in Egypt is unknown and uncontrollable. So far, other than Anderson Cooper getting a boo boo, there hasn’t been much anti-americanism visible. So Obama and the corporations wait and watch. Hoping that whoever emerges as a leader is willing to accept their corrupt and criminal support. Peacenik.
by Amy Goodman
“People holding a sign ‘To: America. From: the Egyptian People. Stop supporting Mubarak. It’s over!” so tweeted my brave colleague, “Democracy Now!” senior producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous, from the streets of Cairo.
More than 2 million people rallied throughout Egypt on Tuesday, most of them crowded into Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Tahrir, which means liberation in Arabic, has become the epicenter of what appears to be a largely spontaneous, leaderless and peaceful revolution in this, the most populous nation in the Middle East. Defying a military curfew, this incredible uprising has been driven by young Egyptians, who compose a majority of the 80 million citizens. Twitter and Facebook, and SMS text messaging on cell phones, have helped this new generation to link up and organize, despite living under a U.S.-supported dictatorship for the past three decades. In response, the Mubarak regime, with the help of U.S. and European corporations, has shut down the Internet and curtailed cellular service, plunging Egypt into digital darkness. Despite the shutdown, as media activist and professor of communications C.W. Anderson told me, “people make revolutions, not technology.”
The demands are chanted through the streets for democracy, for self-determination. Sharif headed to Egypt Friday night, into uncertain terrain. The hated Interior Ministry security forces, the black-shirted police loyal to President Hosni Mubarak, were beating and killing people, arresting journalists, and smashing and confiscating cameras.
World Headlines Review: Egypt, Tunisia, Thailand… Top 10 destinations for Social Upheaval
A Tide of civil unrest has swept through at least 11 nations in just the past week. Media focus has been on the successes of the “Jasmine Revolution” and developments in Egypt, which is populous, geopolitically significant, and in total upheaval; but nations far and wide are experiencing mass-protests and
Continue readingpunditman: Tunisia’s Spark & Egypt’s Flame: The Middle East Is Rising
Peacenik is becoming bored with the Egyptian riots. Peacenik doesn’t know if that says something about Peacenik or about the state of the world. The world is in the early stages of a cataclysmic collapse and Peacenik is bored. Is seven days of watching Egyptians milling around a square boring?
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