It is no overstatement to assert that now in the 21st century the population of much of the developing world is politically stirring and in many places seething with unrest. It is a population acutely conscious of social injustice to an unprecedented degree, and often resentful of its lack of political dignity.
Politically awakened mankind craves political dignity, which democracy can enhance, but political dignity also encompasses ethnic or national self-determination, religious self-definition, and human and social rights, all in a world now acutely aware of economic, racial and ethnic inequities.
That turmoil is the product of the political awakening, the fact that today vast masses of the world are not politically neutered, as they have been throughout history.
They have political consciousness.
The quest for political dignity, especially through national self-determination and social transformation, is part of the pulse of self-assertion by the world’s underprivileged.
The nearly universal access to radio, television and increasingly the internet is creating a community of shared perceptions and envy that can be galvanized and channelled by political and/or religious passions.
These energies transcend sovereign borders and pose a challenge both to existing states as well as to the existing global hierarchy, on top of which America still precariously perches.
Protests involving thousands of protesters have recently been held in:
What replaces the current system lies in our hands, and that system should be one that is better then it’s predecessor as a system of governance that benefits the people with justice and equality for all.
The Wikileak cables start to provide the framework to understand why Saddam Hussein made the decision to invade Kuwait in the first Gulf War, he was encouraged by America.
From Ambassador April Glaspie, in which she said the “US takes no position” on Arab boundary disputes, 7/25/1990.
Glaspie fails to register or discuss Saddam Hussein’s complaint that the Kuwaitis are stealing oil, as indicated on this timeline, an allegation that the US should have at least been aware of, and she does not in any way address Saddam Hussein’s primary complaint, i.e., that due to the costs of the proxy war against Iran that Iraq fought with US encouragement, Iraq is broke, unable to pay its basic obligations because the price of oil is so low.
The Bush Administration, of course, wishes to keep the price of oil low to end the recession and help George Herbert’s re-election chances:
“¶4. SADDAM, WHOSE MANNER WAS CORDIAL, REASONABLE AND EVEN WARM THROUGHOUT THE ENSUING TWO HOURS, SAID HE WISHED THE AMBASSADOR TO CONVEY A MESSAGE TO PRESIDENT BUSH. SADDAM THEN RECALLED IN DETAIL THE HISTORY OF IRAQ’S DECISION TO REESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS AND ITS POSTPONING IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT DECISION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR, RATHER THAN BE THOUGHT WEAK AND NEEDY. HE THEN SPOKE ABOUT THE MANY “BLOWS” OUR RELATIONS HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO SINCE 1984, CHIEF AMONG THEM IRANGATE. IT WAS AFTER THE FAW VICTORY, SADDAM SAID, THAT IRAQI MISAPPREHENSIONS ABOUT USG PURPOSES BEGAN TO SURFACE AGAIN, I.E., SUSPICIONS THAT THE U.S. WAS NOT HAPPY TO SEE THE WAR END.
¶5. PICKING HIS WORDS WITH CARE, SADDAM SAID THAT THERE ARE “SOME CIRCLES” IN THE USG,
INCLUDING IN CIA AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT, BUT EMPHATICALLY EXCLUDING THE PRESIDENT AND
SECRETARY BAKER, WHO ARE NOT FRIENDLY TOWARD IRAQ-U.S. RELATIONS. HE THEN LISTED WHAT HE
SEEMED TO REGARD AS FACTS TO SUPPORT THIS CONCLUSION: “SOME CIRCLES ARE GATHERING
INFORMATION ON WHO MIGHT BE SADDAM HUSAYN’S SUCCESSOR;” THEY KEPT UP CONTACTS IN THE GULF
WARNING AGAINST IRAQ; THEY WORKED TO ENSURE NO HELP WOULD GO TO IRAQ (READ EXIM AND CCC).
Continues below the fold
¶6. IRAQ, THE PRESIDENT STRESSED, IS IN SERIOUS FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES, WITH 40 BILLION USD DEBTS.
IRAQ, WHOSE VICTORY IN THE WAR AGAINST IRAN MADE AN HISTORIC DIFFERENCE TO THE ARAB WORLD
AND THE WEST, NEEDS A MARSHALL PLAN. BUT “YOU WANT THE OIL PRICE DOWN,” SADDAM CHARGED.
¶7. RESUMING HIS LIST OF GRIEVANCES WHICH HE BELIEVED WERE ALL INSPIRED BY “SOME CIRCLES” IN THE USG, HE RECALLED THE “USIA CAMPAIGN” AGAINST HIMSELF, AND THE GENERAL MEDIA ASSAULT ON IRAQ AND ITS PRESIDENT.
…
¶11. COMING TO ONE OF HIS MAIN POINTS, SADDAM ARGUED THAT USG MANEUVERS WITH THE UAE AND KUWAIT (SIC) ENCOURAGED THEM IN THEIR UNGENEROUS POLICIES….
…
¶17. SADDAM SAID THAT THE IRAQIS KNOW WHAT WAR IS, WANT NO MORE OF IT–”DO NOT PUSH US TO IT;
DO NOT MAKE IT THE ONLY OPTION LEFT WITH WHICH WE CAN PROTECT OUR DIGNITY.”
…
¶32. … SADDAM SEEMS TO WANT PLEDGES NOW ON OIL PRICES AND PRODUCTION TO COVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.”
The fuse has been lit – no amount of bribes will stop the flames from spreading.
Saudi’s bandit King Abdullah returned home on Wednesday after a three-month medical absence and unveiled benefits for Saudis worth some $37 billion in an apparent bid to insulate the world’s top oil exporter from an Arab protest wave.
Hundreds of people have backed a Facebook campaign calling for a “day of rage” across Saudi Arabia next month.
The page called for a “revolution of yearning” on March 11 in the kingdom, with the protest organisers calling for many things people in Western nations already take for granted:
* government officials to be elected by the people
* an independent judiciary
* the right to assemble
* freedom of expression
* release of political prisoners
* a minimum wage law
* more employment opportunities
* formation of an entity that would eliminate unfair taxes and corrupt practices by government
* rebuilding the armed forces
* reforming the conservative Sunni Muslim clerics
* abolition of restrictions on women
With all the drama seen on the streets in Libya and neighbouring Bahrain its been important to gauge how the Saudi’s have reacted. Whilst most are concerned about Oil supply, The Akh has to ask whether their is a real hunger for any change from within the magical kingdom?
Whilst Saudi based blogger “Saudi Jeans” seems to be hedging his bets.
Saudi’s pump 4 or 5 million barrels of oil a day, if that is no longer available for purchase, and the Saudis are no longer there to save the day, in a single word, there would be pandemonium.
It wouldn’t take much for the Americans to capture Saudi oil fields to ensure the taps aren’t switched off. Americas’ Carter Doctrine of 1980 made this clear and that is what the foreign policy in the region has been aimed at securing.
Inflation has led to political revolutions since Medieval times and we may be witnessing the fifth such great revolution in history unfolding in the Middle East and in our own country right now… During the past four price revolutions, food and fuel led the upward movement in prices, followed by manufactured goods and services.
The relevance of the history of previous inflation waves to the present situation is downright eerie.
The old thundercat Gaddafi (GaddifiCat) has lost all three pillars of his rule – tribal, military and diplomatic. Judging from his desperate speech last night, he seems to be losing his mind and perhaps his nerves.
That’s why it’s only a question of time for his regime to breakdown.
For the last four decades, Gaddafi has based the stability of his rule on a careful balancing act among more than 100 tribes and clans, especially the 30 influential among them, that pride themselves on playing an important role in freeing Libya from colonialism.
Gaddafi has used bribes when possible, blackmail and scare tactics when necessary, to insure the tribes’ loyalty to the regime, or at least its neutrality.
However, over the last few days, one after the other, Libyan tribes have declared their opposition to the Gaddafi regime and vowed their support and allegiance to the revolution of February 17.
Gaddafi has also lost his diplomatic core as the country’s overseas diplomats have been quitting their jobs in protest against the violence while others have expressed outright support of the revolution.
In reality, the Libyan regime no longer has diplomatic relations with the outside world, which for all practical purposes has severed all relations with his regime.
Much of the world considers Gaddafi’s regime outlawed.
Last but not the least, the Gaddafi security regime has been losing support among its armed forces as fighter jet pilots, sailors and entire military bases disobey orders and take a stand in favour of the revolution.
Gaddafi has admitted that his police force has deserted and gone home refusing to use arms against the protesters. As a result, entire cities have been liberated from the grip of the regime.
Watching Benghazi, the largest city in the east, as well as other cities, celebrate their newly gained freedom illustrates the degree to which the Libyan regime has lost influence in the country.
The capital, Tripoli, might still prove to be the most dangerous. An escalation in the capital where Gaddafi’s sons have concentrated their militias might lead to more bloodshed.
As Gaddafi ‘loses it’, diving deeper in isolation and finding no way out, he is more than capable of ordering the worst crimes.
Unless he loses the loyalty of these militias, or they are deterred from carrying his orders, the last hours and days could prove to be violent.
Having said that, like the Tunisian and Egyptian military before them, the Libyan military and militias could still prove to be more conscientious than their dictators.
Not only that (but what a surprise that) Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News gives Choudry a platform so that he can claim he represents what all Muslims secretly wish for, thus building the anti-Islamic sentiment that sustains America’s right wing rhetoric. These two need each other like flies on stink.
Muslims in the UK have wizened upto his AP tactics and have confronted him and his goonsquad everywhere they have appeared, as documented in an earlier post “Luton Muslims Kicking Out Al-Muhajiroun”
Choudry and his agents have a long track record of causing problems and then running away leaving the locals to pick up the fight – The EDL’s rise in Luton is down to Choudry’s boys antics at a British army homecoming parade, but when it comes to fighting the thousands of far right racists like the EDL & BNP, they are nowhere to be seen.
Here’s some advice, do what you did to his mentor OBM, revoke his passport while he’s out of the country, and then see how he cries foul.
Anyone who believes that Anjem Choudry is sincere needs their head examining.
A rather timely distraction to the struggles taking place in the Muslim world?
David “I’m A Zionist” Cameron admitted that the UK has been prejudiced for believing Muslims cannot manage democracy & Britain was wrong to prop up ‘highly controlling regimes’ as way of ensuring stability.
“For decades, some have argued that stability required controlling regimes and that reform and openness would put that stability at risk. So, the argument went, countries like Britain faced a choice between our interests and our values. And to be honest, we should acknowledge that sometimes we have made such calculations in the past.
But I say that is a false choice. As recent events have confirmed, denying people their basic rights does not preserve stability – rather, the reverse.”
That’s not an excuse, as some would argue, to claim that Arabs or Muslims can’t do democracy – the so-called Arab exception.
For me, that’s a prejudice that borders on racism. It’s offensive and wrong and it’s simply not true.
Camerons statement shows the zionist influence in this country’s foreign policy. For more than a century it has been to firstly prop up dictators and royal families against the wishes of the people, secondly to further israel’s cause at every given opportunity and thirdly to secure a cheap and plentiful energy supply – Oil.
Criticism of Britain’s trade relations with Arab dictators has focused on former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s ‘Deal in the Desert’ with Colonel Gaddafi in 2004.
The coalition government has continued to sell arms to Libya, which included crowd control ammunition, sniper rifles and tear gas.
Recently, the government hastily revoked eight weapons export licenses to Libya amid fears British weapons were used in the slaughter of hundreds of protesters who have poured into the streets to demand their basic rights to freedom of expression and democracy.
Cameron has condemned the violence in Libya as “completely appalling and unacceptable.”
“The regime is using the most vicious forms of repression,” said the Prime Minister.
Aren’t these words a little hollow?
Seeing the government is still promoting arms sales to Arab autocrats.
It’s an absolute disgrace that the Prime Minister has taken these arms dealers with him, when people across the Middle East are dying for democracy at the same time as the government seems intent on flogging their wares to those very regimes that are suppressing these values.
Cameron, however, defiantly defended the inclusion of defence companies on his trip, saying it was right that Britain should be able to sell arms to countries in the Middle East.
I spoke yesterday about Lockheed Martin running our 2011 census, it looks like the pervasive influence that The Military Industrial Complex has over this government is absolutely overwhelming.
The process of running the 2011 Census has been contracted out by the Office of National Statistics to a private company – military & defence giant Lockheed Martin.
The arms company Lockheed Martin, 80% of whose business is with the US Department of Defense and other Federal Government agencies will be responsible for handling the census.
Here’s the warmongers spin on it:
Not worried?
This should concern you because:
– The Census rules mean that every household will be legally obliged to provide a wide range of personal information that will be handled by the chosen contractor.
– Lockheed Martin produces missiles and land mines which are being used in Afghanistan and Iraq and which are illegal in many countries.
– They also focus on intelligence and surveillance work and boast of their ability to provide ‘integrated threat information’ that combines information from many different sources.
– New questions in the 2011 Census will include information about income and place of birth, as well as existing questions about languages spoken in the household and many other personal details.
– This information would be very useful to Lockheed Martin’s intelligence work, and fears that the data might not be safe could lead to many people not filling in their Census forms.
If the first video was a little too low brow, and you have 15 minutes on your hand, watch the following video.
January 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s famous farewell speech to the nation in which he warned against the rise of a “military-industrial complex.”
William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation traces the rise of the military-industrial complex through the story of the nation’s largest weapons contractor, Lockheed Martin.
Hartung’s new book is Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex.
During this revolutionary fervour tearing throughout the Middle East, Western governments have chosen their words very carefully when commenting, fearful for being accused of diktats from abroad, a stark contrast to Iran’s so called “Green Revolution” of 2009.
It turns out that behind the scenes, the US state department and the British government have long been engaged with youth groups from Iran, Egypt and elsewhere, coaching them in how to make the best of online tools – how to effectively harness the social networks to mobilise mass support for a cause.
There’s no doubt that the Egyptian revolution is testament to grass roots activism, but any suggestions that it is entirely leaderless, like has been generally reported, is well wide of the mark, as events have been driven by a key group of activists.
The leaders of the movement were highlighted in detail, in Al Jazeera’s documentary “Egypt Seeds of Change”
It shows how these young activists used mobile phones, twitter and facebook to call for support.
Six months after the strike, one of the leaders of the April 6th movement was invited to attend a workshop in New York, run by The Alliance for Youth Movements.
There he joined a network of international activists, who gathered to discuss ways in which to support non-violent demonstrations against authoritarian regimes across the world.
“I believe that God has planted in every human heart the desire to live in freedom. And even when that desire is crushed by tyranny for decades, it will rise again.”
Exporting democratic values was central to the Bush administrations ideology, Iraq was meant to be part of that, but there was also more subtle work going on.
This 74 minute lecture by James Glassman at the New American Foundation, can be summed up as:
“We developed a different way to communicate, I called it public diplomacy 2.0 and the idea was that we would be conveners or facilitators of conversations…big conversations, broad, deep conversations, in which our views would be one of many that would be expressed. So that was the idea and luckily technology was on our side, because this is what social media do and is what social networks are all about”
So what you have is a congruent coming together of the US state department, with partners like YouTube, Google and Facebook, to take advantage of social networking technology to tell America’s story and to encourage young people with political grievances to find outlets for their protests.
The US state department had been inspired by the successful grass roots demonstrations in Columbia against FARC guerillas in February 2008, that were organised via facebook.
It was this enthusiasm for social change that made the US state department fund The Alliance for Youth Movements inaugural conference in October 2008.
Social networking also played a huge role in the Moldovan revolution of 2009, as JurnalTV’s video above demonstrates.
The New York based Alliance for Youth Movements also provides assistance via Skype conferencing to it’s activists, this time in Pakistan.
As well as being funded by the US state department, it has also seen funds from the British Government and is now seeking money from Google, amongst others for future projects.
“We don’t have a political agenda, and we appreciate that, that, it’s a, it’s a (stuttering) tight line, our goal and our mission is to enable civil society and, um, in putting those tools out there and showing how they can be used”
Facilitating non-violent protest often dovetails with western strategic goals.
Back to James Glassman:
“We are not ashamed to be Americans, we are not ashamed to have strong values that we want to espouse and promote around the world, but we also want to be effective and, um, ah, the most effective means of communicating and influencing, lets not kid ourselves, that’s what public diplomacy is all about, influence to meet strategic goals. It’s a lot easier to be influential if other people rather than US government officials are making the pronouncements and joining the conversation”
Once these networks are unleashed, no one can be sure what direction they will travel in, for libertarians under George Bush this is no problem, because they believe that their arguements about freedom and democracy will win the day.
It’s also true that the west has backed dictators under the name of stability and counter terrorism.
This means this path is not a straight forward one.
We’ve seen the hard power of shock and awe in Iraq.
Are we witnessing across the Middle East right now a form of soft power?
A shock and awe 2.0 where American social networks drive the change rather than laser guided missiles?
Ever needed to play a computer game where Muslims were the good guys – instead of being crudely stereotyped as the terrorist baddies?
Well pretty soon you’ll be able to do just that as the world renowned producer of the Grand Theft Auto series, Navid Khonsari is making a game based around the the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
“Games are really a reflection of the real world and it does not really make a difference what somebody says is good or bad — it is a matter of perspective”
Navid Khonsari spoke to RT about his new project dealing with American-Iranian relations some three decades ago – a new game about the takeover of American embassy in Tehran called “1979: The Game”.
The Akh may break his self imposed video gaming exile for this one, it better be available on Commodore 64.
Lots of revolutionary beats for those who wish to Fight the Power and bring about brighter days and better tomorrows for those on the front lines. We stand against Oppression… and so do many of the artists we feature.. From Dead Prez to Euphrates to Lowkey to Killer Mike….Davey D puts it down.
"Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil & believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And Allah hears & knows all things."
(The Qur'an, Al-Baqara, 2: 256)
“Political authority & religion are kin brothers, neither would stand but by its companion; because religion is the foundation of political power & its pillar, & political power is the guardian of religion; political power is not established with a foundation & religion cannot be implemented without authority.”
- Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
"War is not merely a political act, but also a political instrument, a continuation of political relations, a carrying out of the same by other means" - Clausewitz
"O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)."
(The Qur'an, Al Hujurat, 49: 13)
* Al-Quran.
* The Sealed Nectar - Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum.
* Muhammad: As a Military Leader.
* The rare and excellent history of Saladin, or, al-Nawādir al-Sulṭāniyya waʾl-Maḥāsin al-Yūsufiyya.
* Islam in Britain, 1558-1685.
* Hadji Murat.
* Imam Shamil The First Muslim Guerilla Leader.
* The Autobiography of Malcolm X
* Manufacturing consent : the political economy of the mass media.
* Unspeak : words are weapons.
* The bear trap : Afghanistan's untold story.
* Soldiers of God: Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan & Pakistan.
* Unholy wars : Afghanistan, America & international terrorism.
* Orientalism.
* Bad news from Israel.
* Image and reality : the Israel-Palestine conflict.
* American dream, global nightmare.
* The Israel Lobby & US Foreign Policy.
* The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering.
* The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.
* The Politics of Anti-Semitism.
* McMafia : crime without frontiers.
* Confessions of an economic hit man.
* Freakonomics.
* The Watchmen.
* Footnotes in Gaza.
* Safe area Goražde: The War in Bosnia 1992-1995.
* Palestine forward by Edward Said.
* Pride of Baghdad : inspired by a true story.
* Shooting War.
* Islam, the West & the challenges of modernity.
* iMuslims - Rewiring the house of Islam.
* Yo, Blair!
* Churchill and the Jews.
* The Jews of Britain, 1656 to 2000.
* Weimar and the rise of Nazi Germany 1918-1933.
* The Invention of the Jewish People.
* The Middle East since 1914.
* Warrior Politics: Why Leadership Demands a Pagan Ethos.
* Clausewitz in the Twenty-First Century.
* Strategy and History.
* Energy Security and Global Politics.
* The State of the World Atlas.
* The Prophet.
* Warrior of the Light: A Manual.
* Art of War.
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