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[personal profile] mistersandman
Marking the 8th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, protesters rallied Saturday against continued American involvement there in Chicago.

The protesters also spoke out against the U.S. military getting involved in Libya.

Their message is simple. They want U.S. military involvement in the Middle East to end.

"We cannot continue to spend billions of dollars on war," said protester Julie Harley.

Many peace activists in Chicago took to Michigan Avenue Saturday to mark the 8th anniversary of the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq.

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mistersandman: (Default)
[personal profile] mistersandman

If organizers planned big protests in China to echo those in the Mideast and North Africa, they failed.

On Saturday microbloggers passed around tweets calling for protests at 2 p.m. (0600 GMT) Sunday in a dozen major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. But no specific place was cited until several hours beforehand.

In Beijing, the place was supposed to be in Wangfujing, a typically busy shopping street less than a kilometer from Tiananmen Square.

Wangfujing may have been a perfect place to trigger a mass action. The four-lane street is a designated pedestrian street, with thousands of people walking there at any given business hour; no cars and buses are allowed. For decades it has been a favorite shopping district, especially for out-of-town Chinese and foreign tourists. (Locals prefer to shop elsewhere.)

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Twitter, Facebook and You Tube are regularly blocked in China, even though savvier internet users could overcome the firewall with a VPN, or virtual private network. The popular Sina Weibo microblogging service is erratic, with retweeting and the posting of photos blocked.

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Success or no, in the wake of the protests, the Chinese government blocked the word "jasmine" from all search engines.  I'd say that's definitely a Pyrrhic victory at the very least.  The next protest should be the Harmonious Society Protest.  That would really throw the government for a loop!  :D

mistersandman: Friends are a nice thing to have... Could you be my friend, too? (happy dance)
[personal profile] mistersandman

It is still very early, but day one of the post-Mubarak Egypt has already yielded some positive signs for the future of the country and the Middle East.  Those who are fearful of the revolution have said that the country could fall into the hands of radical Islamists and that Israel may be threatened by the new government of Egypt.  However, according to early reports some of these fears may have been overblown.

In place of the Mubarak regime the Supreme Council of the armed forces has been put in power.  Today the Supreme Council announced that they intend to honor all of Egypt's international treaties, including the 1979 treaty with Israel.  The Egyptian-Israeli treaty is considered a key piece in maintaining what little stability remains in the Middle East.  Israeli Primi Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the announcement from Egypt's military saying,

"The long-standing peace treaty between Israel and Egypt has greatly contributed to both countries and is the cornerstone for peace and stability in the entire Middle East."

In addition to this positive news, the Muslim Brotherhood has announced that they will not seek the presidency in Egypt in the next election.  Conservative commentators have warned that the revolution in Egypt would allow the Brotherhood, considered a threat by some, to take over the country.  However, in the following statement the Muslim Brotherhood announce their intention to abide by the temporary military government and not to seek the highest office in the Egypt,

"The Muslim Brotherhood ... are not seeking personal gains, so they announce they will not run for the presidency and will not seek to get a majority in the parliament and that they consider themselves servants of these decent people. We support and value the sound direction that the Higher Military Council is taking on the way to transfer power peacefully to create a civilian government in line with the will of the people."

Finally, many critics were concerned that the military in Egypt would try to stay in power permanently rather than handing over control to a civilian authority.  Today the Egyptian military tried to allay those concerns by releasing a statement saying they are "looking forward to a peaceful transition, for a free democratic system, to permit an elected civil authority to be in charge of the country, to build a democratic free nation."

Of course, actions ultimately mean a lot more than words.  The best test of the Egypt's democracy will be time, not statements released by various parties.  Still, the initial steps of the new government in Egypt have to be at least a bit heartening to those who hope for the best.

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mistersandman: (SHAME)
[personal profile] mistersandman
Israel called on the United States and a number of European countries over the weekend to curb their criticism of President Hosni Mubarak to preserve stability in the region.

Jerusalem seeks to convince its allies that it is in the West's interest to maintain the stability of the Egyptian regime. The diplomatic measures came after statements in Western capitals implying that the United States and European Union supported Mubarak's ouster.

Israeli officials are keeping a low profile on the events in Egypt, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even ordering cabinet members to avoid commenting publicly on the issue.

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Could there be any stronger indication that the United States' alliance with Israel is little more than a Cold War relic? When it is in the United States' "genuine interests" to prop up a massively unpopular president-for-life, maybe it's time to reconsider some priorities.

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