Blog

  • Mubarak, Army, U.S., Israel vs Egyptian People

    [As government forces have attacked peaceful protesters in Tahrir Square, Emad Mekay from Cairo reports] Mubarak is clearly backed by the Americans. He took some moves after speaking with Obama and a visit by a former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Frank Wisner. Mubarak, the army, the Americans and the Israelis are clearly on one side.…

    Read more »


  • Unrest Spreads to Sinai

    A Bedouin youth casually spreads out a piece of cloth before a police headquarters in Sheikh Zwayyed town in Sinai, the vast desert area to the east of Cairo across the Suez. “I will leave when Mubarak leaves,” he says. [Full piece from Inter Press Service]

    Read more »


  • Chomsky: Strategic and Economic Objectives, Not Anti-Islamization, Drives U.S. Policy

    [While many are claiming that a central goal of U.S. policy is to minimize influence of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Noam Chomsky contributed this to our blog] It is well-established, including the major scholarly literature, that the U.S. supports democracy if and only if that accords with strategic and economic objectives.  Following…

    Read more »


  • An Open Letter to President Barack Obama

    ————————————————————————————————————————— [To sign; for recent news releases on Egypt from the Institute for Public Accuracy] Dear President Obama: As political scientists, historians, and researchers in related fields who have studied the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy, we the undersigned believe you have a chance to move beyond rhetoric to support the democratic movement sweeping…

    Read more »


  • Report from Cairo

    From Alex Ortiz in Cairo: “The army is beginning to come into Cairo … tens of thousands converged in midan al-gala’ coming from three different protest marches. Total communication blackout. Reports of senior police officers ordering their men to stand down and not beat or fire tear gas at protesters in Midan al-gala an hour…

    Read more »


  • Report on Latest from Cairo

    CAIRO, Egypt [11 p.m. local time] — 1-Some government media figures appear to be joining ranks with the protesters. Mahmoud Saad, a talk show host in the Egyptian state-run TV, has announced that he will no longer appear on TV starting tonight after he came under pressure from top government officials to report “untruths” about…

    Read more »


  • Police in Cairo Beating up Jounalists

    [From 9:28 a.m. ET]: Police started beating up journalists protesting outside the Press Syndicate in downtown Cairo. They beat up women journalists too who were screaming and crying for help. “Do not club women. Do not club women,” some of the men rushed to the police asking them not to target women. “You’ll make things…

    Read more »


  • From Alex Ortiz in Cairo

    [The Egyptian government has apparently block Twitter, Facebook (as of Wed. morn U.S. ET) and other internet tools, though apparently some people are able to get around such restrictions. Email from 8:45 a.m. ET:] Downtown Cairo today remains in a state of high alert. There are many security forces and plainsclothed policemen visible on every…

    Read more »


  • Video from Cairo

    Phone lines are intermittent and Twitter has reportedly been blocked in Egypt. Here is a live video feed: ustream.tv/channel/cairodowntown [update: ustream has been blocked, streaming now intermittently at livestream.com/cairowitness — further update, now at: www.justin.tv/cairowitness] Here is a YouTube video from earlier today:

    Read more »


  • Ukraine’s Assault on a Free Press

    In Ukraine, where media diversity is often defined by which powerful oligarch controls which TV station, one network, TVi — known for its independent investigative style — is under intense legal pressure, with its owner not part of Ukraine’s power circles. TVi faces a court hearing on Tuesday over a legal claim that the station’s…

    Read more »


  • Could Biden Be Impeached for Aiding and Abetting Israeli War Crimes?

    “Biden has repeatedly stated that Israel has the ‘right to defend itself’ — effectively a green light for bombing — rather than demanding an immediate ceasefire and allowing the Security Council to do its job. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has correctly understood Biden’s statements and dismissed Biden’s rhetorical call for ‘de-escallation.’ “The Biden administration is thus now…

  • If Israel is an Apartheid State, Shouldn’t it Be Sanctioned?

    He just wrote the piece “How to Stop Apartheid Israel” which states: “It is imperative that we of the international community redouble our efforts to aid the Palestinian people in solidarity actions. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign remains the most formidable weapon in our arsenal. It worked to bring about the demise of South…

  • What is the Palestinian Children and Families Act?

    She said today: “We are in a moment where more people around the globe are speaking up against Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people — including members of the U.S. Congress. The disastrous impact of not holding the Israeli and U.S. governments accountable for violating Palestinian rights is seen as each apartment building in Gaza…

  • Biden “Aiding and Abetting War Crimes” by Israel

    “Biden has also knowingly let U.S. weapons to be used by Israel to commit war crimes in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the U.S. Arms Control Export Act and the Arms Supply Agreement between the U.S. and Israel.” Regarding the use of the term “genocide” — see commentary by the late noted legal expert…

  • Biden Approves More Weapons to Israel as It Threatens Schools

    He is with Samidoun, the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which organized the listing of world-wide protests that took place this weekend and are continuing. They are now calling for a “Day of Action in Solidarity with the Palestinian Uprising and General Strike: Tuesday, May 18.” He highlights reports that Israel has informed the Gaza ministry of education…

  • “Gaza Unsilenced” with Global Protests Against Israeli Assault

    Saturday is “Nakba Day” commemorating the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians that accompanied the creation of Israel. This takes on increasing meaning this year with more overt attempts by Israel to drive Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem, use of tear gas and stun grenades at the Al-Aqsa mosque, numerous attacks on…

  • Coalition to Fight Rahm Emanuel Nomination

    “We are appalled at the reported plans to nominate Rahm Emanuel as ambassador to Japan,” the statement said. Noting that “back in March, we publicly warned against such a nomination of Emanuel,” the organizations said: “The deep concerns that we expressed at that time will now be greatly amplified. Top diplomatic posts should only go to…

  • From Gaza

    The Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe” — commemorated on May 15 — refers to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in 1948. Eid and many other Palestinians view this as an ongoing process — as Israel expels Palestinians from their homes and makes life for Palestinians more unbearable in Gaza and elsewhere — a…

  • Israel-Palestine: Is BDS the Solution?

     “On Wednesday, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized Biden’s statement of support for Israel’s attack on Palestinians: ‘Blanket statements like these w/ little context or acknowledgement of what precipitated this cycle of violence – namely, the expulsions of Palestinians and attacks on Al Aqsa – dehumanize Palestinians & imply the US will look the other way at human…

  • Biden Green Light for Israeli Aggression?

    “A state cannot simultaneously exercise control over territory it occupies and militarily attack that territory on the claim that it is ‘foreign’ and poses an exogenous national security threat. In doing precisely that, Israel is asserting rights that may be consistent with colonial domination but simply do not exist under international law.”

Mastodon