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.…

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  • 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]

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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:

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  • 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…

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  • Choices Ahead at the Vatican

    MARK CHMIEL Chmiel wrote the new article “A Young Woman’s Challenge to the Pope (and the Rest of Us).” He is a member of the Center for Theology and Social Analysis and teaches at St. Louis University. He said today: “The Pope’s successor will inherit [a] position in a structure that provides for security, protection…

  • Randall Terry and the Schiavo Case: “Pro-Life”?

    Randall Terry is a spokesperson for the Schindler family. Here are some of his past statements: “When I or people like me are running the country, you’d better flee because we will find you, we will try you and we’ll execute you. I mean every word of it. I will make it part of my…

  • Who Was Right About Iraqi WMDs? Why? What Now?

    IMAD KHADDURI Khadduri worked on the Iraq nuclear weapons program beginning in 1981. In November 2002, Khadduri wrote the article “Iraq’s Nuclear Non-Capability” in which he commented: “Bush and Blair are pulling their public by the nose” with “their hollow patriotic egging on.” He is author of the book Iraq’s Nuclear Mirage: Memoirs and Delusions.…

  • Laura Bush, Women and Realities of Afghanistan

    SAHAR SABA A member of the foreign affairs committee of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, Saba is in Pakistan working with Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan. She said today: “It’s very sad that there is little discussion of Afghanistan except with events like this visit by Laura Bush. The last three…

  • The Future of Copyright in the Internet Era

    Today, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the case of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios v. Grokster. The case raises questions about the nature of copyright in the age of the Internet. The following are available for interviews: DEAN BAKER Co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Baker wrote the paper “The Artistic Freedom Voucher:…

  • Analysts Assess Call by Carter to “Save Nonproliferation”

    Today’s Washington Post features a piece by Jimmy Carter entitled “Saving Nonproliferation” about the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference beginning in early May at the United Nations. In the piece, the former president writes: “So far the preparatory committee for the forthcoming NPT talks has failed even to achieve an agenda because of the deep divisions…

  • WTO Rules: Pulling the Plug on Hundreds of Thousands with AIDS?

    The Associated Press reports that “international aid groups slammed India’s passage on Wednesday of a new patent law that ends the decades-old practice of allowing domestic drug companies to make low-cost copies of expensive Western medicines, saying millions of poor people across the world will be affected. “The changes in patent rights stem from India’s…

  • Israel Trying to Gag Nuclear Whistleblower

    MORDECHAI VANUNU Vanunu exposed the Israeli nuclear weapons arsenal in 1986. He was released from prison in April 2004 after serving an 18-year sentence, most of it in solitary confinement. Since then, Israeli authorities have placed numerous restrictions on his activities and attempted to prevent him from speaking to non-Israelis or media. Last week, a…

  • Terri Schiavo Case: “Err on the Side of Life”

    President Bush stated yesterday regarding Terri Schiavo: “This is a complex case with serious issues but, in extraordinary circumstances like this, it is always wise to err on the side of life.” JEAN KILBOURNE The AP recently reported: “The Schiavos’ lawyer said her 1990 collapse was caused by a potassium imbalance brought on by an…

  • Responses to “Sweeping” UN Report

    United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan today unveiled a report that advocates what the AP is calling the “most sweeping changes to the United Nations since it was founded 60 years ago.” The following are available for interviews: DENIS HALLIDAY Former assistant secretary general of the UN, Halliday said today: “The report importantly brings together…

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