The Protest Movement in Egypt: "Dictators" Do Not Dictate, They Obey Orders.

by Michel Chossudovsky


The Mubarak regime could collapse in the a face of a nationwide protest movement... What prospects for Egypt and the Arab World? "Dictators" do not dictate, they obey orders. This is true in Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. Dictators are invariably political puppets. Dictators do not decide. President Hosni Mubarak was a faithful servant of Western economic interests and so was Ben Ali. The national government is the object of the protest movement. The objective is to unseat the puppet rather than the puppet-master.

The slogans in Egypt are "Down with Mubarak, Down with the Regime". No anti-American posters have been reported... The overriding and destructive influence of the USA in Egypt and throughout the Middle East remains unheralded. The foreign powers which operate behind the scenes are shielded from the protest movement. No significant political change will occur unless the issue of foreign interference is meaningfully addressed by the protest movement. The US embassy in Cairo is an important political entity, invariably overshadowing the national government. The Embassy is not a target of the protest movement.


In Egypt, a devastating IMF program was imposed in 1991 at the height of the Gulf War. It was negotiated in exchange for the annulment of Egypt's multibillion dollar military debt to the US as well as its participation in the war. The resulting deregulation of food prices, sweeping privatisation and massive austerity measures led to the impoverishment of the Egyptian population and the destabilization of its economy. The Mubarak government was praised as a model "IMF pupil". The role of Ben Ali's government in Tunisia was to enforce the IMF's deadly economic medicine, which over a period of more than twenty years served to destabilize the national economy and impoverish the Tunisian population. Over the last 23 years, economic and social policy in Tunisia has been dictated by the Washington Consensus. Both Hosni Mubarak and Ben Ali stayed in power because their governments obeyed and effectively enforced the diktats of the IMF.


From Pinochet and Videla to Baby Doc, Ben Ali and Mubarak, dictators have been installed by Washington. Historically in Latin America, dictators were instated through a series of US sponsored military coups. In todays World, they are installed through "free and fair elections" under the surveillance of the "international community".


Actual decisions are taken in Washington DC, at the US State Department, at the Pentagon, at Langley, headquarters of the CIA. at H Street NW, the headquarters of the World Bank and the IMF.

The relationship of "the dictator" to foreign interests must be addressed. Unseat the political puppets but do not forget to target the "real dictators". The protest movement should focus on the real seat of political authority; it should target the US embassy, the delegation of the European Union, the national missions of the IMF and the World Bank. Meaningful political change can only be ensured if the neoliberal economic policy agenda is thrown out.

If the protest movement fails to address the role of foreign powers including pressures exerted by "investors", external creditors and international financial institutions, the objective of national sovereignty will not be achieved. In which case, what will occur is a narrow process of "regime replacement", which ensures political continuity.

"Dictators" are seated and unseated. When they are politically discredited and no longer serve the interests of their US sponsors, they are replaced by a new leader, often recruited from within the ranks of the political opposition.

In Tunisia, the Obama administration has already positioned itself. It intends to play a key role in the "democratization program" (i.e. the holding of so-called fair elections). It also intends to use the political crisis as a means to weaken the role of France and consolidate its position in North Africa: "The United States, which was quick to size up the groundswell of protest on the streets of Tunisia, is trying to press its advantage to push for democratic reforms in the country and further afield.

The top-ranking US envoy for the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman, was the first foreign official to arrive in the country after president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted on January 14 and swiftly called for reforms. He said on Tuesday only free and fair elections would strengthen and give credibility to the north African state's embattled leadership. "I certainly expect that we'll be using the Tunisian example" in talks with other Arab governments, Assistant Secretary of State Feltman added.


He was dispatched to the north African country to offer US help in the turbulent transition of power, and met with Tunisian ministers and civil society figures. Feltman travels to Paris on Wednesday to discuss the crisis with French leaders, boosting the impression that the US is leading international support for a new Tunisia, to the detriment of its former colonial power, France.


Western nations had long supported Tunisia's ousted leadership, seeing it as a bulwark against Islamic militants in the north Africa region. In 2006, the then US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, speaking in Tunis, praised the country's evolution. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton nimbly stepped in with a speech in Doha on January 13 warning Arab leaders to allow their citizens greater freedoms or risk extremists exploiting the situation. "There is no doubt that the United States is trying to position itself very quickly on the good side,..." " AFP: US helping shape outcome of Tunisian uprising (emphasis added).


Will Washington be successful in instating a new puppet regime?

Find out...! Go here.

Hip-Hop vs. Iron-Fisted, Authoritarian U.$. Puppet Regime.

Tunisian emcee El General was arrested by security forces for uploading this video. Spread it far and wide. Bump local...and global!

North Africa and the Middle East: "Stand Like An Egyptian..."

Just got back from a rally in solidarity with the mass movement in Egypt against the U.$.-supported dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. Protesters took the streets in U.$. cities including Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., Albuquerque, Austin, St. Paul, and Chicago. 

Egypt is the #2 client state of the U.$. in the region. Among many horrible things for the people of that part of the world, this also means that the weapons being used by the security forces there against the demonstrators are "made in the U.S.A.".

Yet, both President O-Bomb-Yuh and U.$. Secretary of State Hilary KKKlinton dare to call for "restraint" and "non-violence" between the pro and anti-government sides; when it is their policies and worldview, and more importantly their material interests as individuals and as a specific political mechanism to enforce the collective will of their socio-economic class (and that of all previous U.$. administrations) that help to shape that worldview, that has allowed Mubarak and his regime to maintain a brutal, iron-fisted, authoritarian state for the last 30 years!? Until now. Lol.

It remains to be seen which political leadership of the various class forces there come together to become the government and under what specific platform and program.

It's not just happening in Tunisia and Egypt, it is also jumping off in Yemen, and Jordan. And the demand is the same (paraphrased): "Attention dickhead who is currently running country into the ground, step down and take your cronies with you!"

From what I have read and watched so far, the root causes are all poverty and oppression related. This is what we here in the 1st world/heart of the empire will soon experience. In fact, we NEED to experience something like this for a 'reality check', let alone because such situations are where the forces of real-deal fundemental change can make a real difference. Indeed, nothing will change in a fundemental way within U.$. borders until we do: ass-whuppins bring clarity and build character!



Liberal Fools Have No Solutions! The Right-Wing Is On The Attack! The Oppressed Must Do For Ourselves: We Can No Longer Afford to Wait Upon "Da Lord"!

From Crooks And Liars.

There's another infamous shooting of a nine-year-old girl that is making headlines this week in Tucson. This time, we wonder if the rest of the media will bother to cover it.

The little girl's name was Brisenia Flores. She lived near the border with her parents and sister outside the town of Arivaca, Arizona. On May 30 of 2009, a woman named Shawna Forde, who led an offshoot unit of Minutemen who ran armed border patrols for patriotic "fun". Forde's gang had decided to go "operational," which meant they concocted a scheme to raid drug smugglers and take their money and drugs and use it to finance a border race war and "start a revolution against the government". They targeted the Flores home, which had neither money nor drugs, based on dubious information. 

They convinced Flores to let them in by claiming to be law-enforcement officers seeking fugitives, then shot him point-blank in the head when he questioned them and wounded his wife, Gina Gonzalez. And then, while she pleaded for her life, they shot Brisenia in cold blood in the head. (Her sister, fortunately, was sleeping over at a friend's.) 

More here.

Israelis Target Macy Gray with Racist Diatribes AFTER She Agrees To Play Tel Aviv.

From Sons Of Malcolm

Under normal circumstances, Gray’s roundhouse attack on some supporters of BDS  (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) and her subsequent pledge to perform in Tel Aviv should have pleased nationalistic Israelis. However, her initial criticism of Israel’s occupation has invited a firestorm of racist, sexist, and generally hateful diatribes from Israelis. Indeed, many Israelis are more furious with Gray for performing inside their country than for refusing to come. Several internet forums, including one called “Don’t Betray,” have sprouted up to incite public anger at artists such as Gray who have criticized Israel — even if they agree to perform in the country. 

Meanwhile, the talkback sections of articles in the Hebrew media about Gray’s Tel Aviv shows have provided a forum for the most extreme screeds about the singer...

The talkbacks are almost entirely negative towards Gray, with many urging her to cancel her show for daring to criticize Israel, while others call her a “ni--er” and denigrate black music as “contaminated.” Gray might be vaguely aware of Israel’s systematic abuse of Palestinians, but is she aware of the racism towards black Africans inside Israel, including Ethiopian Jews? Has she considered how she might be treated if she were living in Israel? 

More here

Film - "Black Power Mixtape". Danny Glover interviewed by Amy Goodman.

Da Circle - "Bombard" (Explicit).

Filming Chicago Police As They Arrest You = 15 Years In Illinois State Prison.

From The Huffington Post:

Chris Drew was finally ready to get arrested. An artist and activist, Drew had spent years protesting a Chicago ordinance that puts tight restrictions on where and how people can sell their art on the street. He was downtown, on State Street, selling silk-screened patches for $1 and defying the city to stop him.

He'd tried his act of civil disobedience three times before -- a First Amendment lawyer on hand to argue his case, a team of videographers ready to film the arrest -- but the police simply let it slide. When, on December 2, 2009, he finally succeeded in getting booked, Drew was ready for a few hours in lock-up on a misdemeanor, and a lengthy court battle. He was in no way prepared for what he would actually face.


The state charged Drew with a Class 1 felony, not for selling art on the street, but for violating the Illinois Eavesdropping Act by recording his own arrest. He faces up to 15 years in prison. More on this here.

Here's an example from Seattle Police as to the REAL reason why law enforcement across the U.$. seeks to stop unarmed citizens with video cameras from filming them in action. The victim in this particular video, Christopher Harris (pictured right), just recieved a $10 million-dollar settlement for life-long around-the-clock care. for his injuries at the hands of these state-sponsored terrorists.

Never Let Your Actions Be Influenced By Your Fears.

The First Lesson From Tunisia Is That Revolution is Possible...

From Democracynow.org

According to Issandr El Amrani, an independent political analyst and writer based in Cairo, who writes the popular blog Arabist.net., the revolution in Tunisia is having an electrifying effect throughout the Arab world.

"The first lesson from Tunisia is that revolution is possible," says El Amrani. "You have to remember that there hasn’t been anything like this in the Arab world for decades." More here.

What Seattle Police REALLY Think.

From The Stranger.

"The Seattle Police Officers' Guild, the employees union representing approximately 1,350 sworn officers, publishes a newspaper each month called the Guardian. Written by and for cops, it's not online, not for sale, and not in newspaper boxes. Most Seattle residents have never seen a copy. But if they had been reading the Guardian over the past year, while the city grappled with several high-profile incidents involving officers using force against racial minorities, they would've gained insight into the views of some police officers.


Take, for instance, last month's issue featuring an editorial by Officer Steve Pomper, who's angry about the five-year-old program to train all city employees on racial disparities and profiling issues...

Pomper described the experience this way: "The 'Perspectives in Profiling' class (or as one officer put it, one of our 'de-policing classes') served as a good way to learn what the enemy is up to. (Yes, enemy. A liberal after my money in taxes may be my opponent, but a socialist attacking the Constitution and my liberty is my enemy.)" More here.  Here's Officer Pomper's original article.

Read about how the inquest jury DOUBTS Ofc. Ian Birk's version of events. The family now begs the system for "justice".

And from The Seattle Times...

Two former U.S. attorneys have joined the call for a federal civil-rights investigation into the practices of the Seattle Police Department, saying they represent a 19-year-old man who was allegedly threatened with a gun by an off-duty police officer during a 2009 road-rage incident.

Mike McKay, now in private practice, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan late Wednesday asking her to consider the incident as she weighs whether or not to seek a wide-ranging Justice Department investigation into the SPD. The American Civil Liberties Union, joined by 34 community organizations, in December called for an investigation into the SPD.

McKay on Thursday said he believes the Police Department and Chief John Diaz, who was acting chief at the time, engaged in a "full-blown cover-up" by trying to prevent the release of case investigative documents requested through the state Public Records Act.

The department was ordered by a King County Superior Court judge in August to pay more than $70,000 in fines and attorney fees for failing to turn over the records in the case. The department has appealed.

But wait, there's more.

Anti-Fascist Action Documentary (UK).

More here

Tennessee TEA-KKKlanners Want To Remove Legacy of Slavery From History Books. Seriously.

From One Peoples Project (via Think Progress).

Tennessee tea party activists presented state legislators yesterday with a list of “demands” for the 2011 legislative session, which opened earlier this week, including, “educating students [about] the truth about America.” “Neglect and outright ill will have distorted the teaching of the history and character of the United States,” according to a document the two dozen activists distributed to reporters. “We seek to compel the teaching of students in Tennessee the truth regarding the history of our nation and the nature of its government.”
 
What “truth” do these conservative activists demand be taught? Apparently it doesn’t involve portrayals of the “minority experience” or anything else that might taint their mythical hagiographies of the Founding Fathers. At a press conference, the activists said they want a focus on the “progress” the Founders and “the majority of citizens” made, to the exclusion of supposedly “made-up criticism” about slavery and the treatment of Native Americans: The material calls for lawmakers to amend state laws governing school curriculums, and for textbook selection criteria to say that “No portrayal of minority experience in the history which actually occurred shall obscure the experience or contributions of the Founding Fathers, or the majority of citizens, including those who reached positions of leadership.”

Fayette County attorney Hal Rounds, the group’s lead spokesman during the news conference, said the group wants to address “an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another."

More here.

Here's Something Else For You To Chew On For MLKjr. Day

Click on the image below...

Go here for more on the Dr. King you usually WON'T hear.



MLKjr Day 2011: "We Shall Overcome Someday" is now "We Shall Swallow Cum All Day".

And then there's this, this, this, this, this, and this, and this, and this! Read each, then continue (I'll wait).

Far too many of us continue to walk around in a daze, like ignorant sheep and cattle: eating and drinking that which poisons us, and gladly serving the poisonous, both cursing them and wishing to be them, at the same time.

And then there's those of us for whom the saying "if the truth hurts you'll be in pain; if the truth drives you crazy, you'll be insane" is very real (many of you have seen this play out on my facebook page). Are YOU of that number? Or are you just another piece of s--t amerikkkan knee-grow that I have to scrape off my shoe before entering my apartment?

"Yes, We Can!"....

Justice For John T. Williams, Punishment For SPD Officer Ian Birk: Jail Is Too 'Nice' For Him!

The point of the inquest is NOT for justice to be served, but for those who shape and define what "justice" is under kkkapitalism to present the public with a dramatization designed to make us feel as if "justice" is being served.

Officals stated that this is NOT a criminal trial, or a forum for deciding if the officer was justifed in his actions (an SPD review already ruled the shooting "not justified"), but only a place for presenting the "facts" to a jury, who then recommend.

According to the Seattle Times, dated 1/11/10, "At the end of the inquest, jurors will answer a series of questions, including some likely to touch on whether Williams posed a threat to Birk. A final list of questions won't be prepared until the jury hears all the evidence. The jury's answers, which do not have to be unanimous, could indicate whether they believe Birk was justified. But the jury will not be asked to reach a criminal or civil legal finding. Its answers will be considered by the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office in determining whether a criminal charge against Birk is warranted."

Predictably, many self-proclaimed "community leaders" (ha!) will just sheepishly accept whatever decision comes out of this grand performance, and then will shift to encourage the family to seek and accept a quick financial settlement and the empty promises of reform from the city and police department that we are all too familiar with.

These promises will remain empty, so long as "we, the people" (ha!), do not have real-world penalties that we can bring to bear upon those who assault and kill us in the name of a local, state, and federal goverment of a much larger social/political/economic system that is inherently destructive in its design and purpose. Indeed, why do we fixate on the symptoms, such as police terrorism, rather than the root cause?

As I have stated before, nothing short of armed struggle, as a specific on-going/continuous campaign of a much larger anti-capitalist/anti-imperialist/anti-oppression movement, will resolve the inequality of power between the police and the people, by resolving the contradiction between those who rule and those who are ruled.

Is this a call for the militant minority: untrained, unprepared, and uneducated in the ways of insurrection and/or people's war (a very specific type of guerilla warfare) in a political climate that is not immediately condusive for such activity and therefore will lack the broad support necessary for its success to go out there and 'get it in'? NO! What is being pointed out here is a material fact: one cannot negotiate with state power, or expect justice from state power, from a position of weakness.

So, if the pacifists (liberals; "friendly" fascists) seek reform, they need to do so from a position of power. Those of us who seek a more permenent solution to the police terrorism question (in particular, the global suffering under imperialism and personally-targeted-by-the-state-for-winning-small "v" victories-against-them question which is not a question, but a fact) must also do our work to land our finishing blows upon this system from a position of REAL power as soon as humanly possible.