Egypt rises/America falls in struggle to be free

Notes 41

How we got here

Death of the Liberal Class
A book
ShareThis

Chris Hedges
October 2010 ISBN: 1568586442

For decades the liberal class was a defense against the worst excesses of power. But the pillars of this class—the press, the universities, trade unions, the Democrats, and the liberal church—have collapsed as effective counterweights to the corporate state. In its absence the needs of the poor, the working class, and even the middle class no longer have a champion. The death of the liberal class has permitted the rise of a new and terrifying political configuration. In his devastating new book, Chris Hedges chronicles the gradual corruption and decline of the liberal class, which no longer provides an institutional check to mitigate corporate control of politics, education, labor, the arts, religious institutions, or financial systems. Without any impediments, the corporate state is dismantling the last vestiges of protection for ordinary citizens once put into place by the liberal class.

______________________________________________

Getting familiar with conditions outside the U.S. Sometimes it only takes the despair of one person

The Story of Mohamed Bouazizi, the man who toppled Tunisia
Article
On December 17, authorities confiscated his produce and allegedly slapped his face.
Bouazizi became incensed.
He then drenched himself in gasoline and set himself on fire outside the governor’s office. Bouazizi survived his initial suicide attempt. After being transported to a hospital near Tunis, he was visited by President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali before passing away on January 4.
____________________________________________

Bill Clinton embellishes the myth of American innocence in Davos with bravura performance while rich and powerful clap. “All is well with America.”

DAN PERRY Associated Press
January 27, 2011,
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) —
Clinton spoke for an hour before an adoring audience of global leaders from business, government and academia, who interrupted his words several times with applause — never more loudly than when he said Israel should seize what he described as the chance for comprehensive peace with the Arab world.
_____________________________________________________

Why not? Man in in street getting by on $2 a day while rich and powerful build mansions. Supporting evil empires favorable to U.S oil interests

Hillary Clinton says U.S. not pushing for ouster of Egyptian President Mubarak

Clinton spoke warmly of the Egyptian military as a "respected institution" and advised it to help move the country from its current unrest to an "orderly transition."
"We are urging the Mubarak government, which is still in power; we are urging the military, which is a very respected institution, to do what is necessary to facilitate that kind of orderly transition."
She spoke to NBC's "Meet the Press," "Fox News Sunday," ABC's "This Week," CBS' "Face the Nation," and CNN's "State of the Union."
_____________________________________________


How modest and worthy and patient the goals after only 30 years of U.S support. If Mubaraks slow to transition, U.S. even slower. Why were we in such a rush in Iraq and in Afghanistan?

Clinton: Egypt must transition to democracy
WASHINGTON – The U.S. expects that the protests in Egypt will lead to free and fair elections as part of an "orderly" transition to "real democracy," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday as the Obama administration worked to get a handle on the fast-moving upheaval shaking the American ally.

__________________________________________________

What are our Marines doing in Helmand Province? Protecting the homeland or protecting our national interests. When we cut through myths, the world will change.

By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
January 22, 2011
Reporting from Camp Pendleton — Marines tell of snipers who fire from "murder holes" cut into mud-walled compounds. Fighters who lie in wait in trenches dug around rough farmhouses clustered together for protection. Farmers who seem to tip the Taliban to the outsiders' every movement , often with signals that sound like birdcalls.
When the Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, deployed to the Sangin district of Afghanistan's Helmand province in late September, the British soldiers who had preceded them warned the Americans that the Taliban would be waiting nearly everywhere for a chance to kill them.
But the Marines, ordered to be more aggressive than the British had been, quickly learned that the Taliban wasn't simply waiting.
______________________________________________________


Al Jazeera journalist welcomed to Round Table on Meet the Press 1/30/11. How quickly the enemy can become a legitimate spokesperson

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt's decision on Sunday to close the offices of Al Jazeera illustrates the leading role the Arabic broadcaster has taken in reporting unprecedented popular revolts against Arab rulers.
Egypt has often harassed the Qatar-based channel since it started in 1996, setting off a revolution in Arab media in the face of state-controlled information, but it had never before tried to shut down its operations completely.

Al Jazeera, 1/29/11
Mohamed ElBaradei joins protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

ElBaradei, the former IAEA chief, is one of the best known Egyptians internationally 2/24/10 [EPA]
Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, has received a hero's welcome upon his return to Egypt.
ElBaradei, who arrived in Cairo on Friday, is seen as a potential presidential candidate and has repeatedly called for democratic change in Egypt since stepping down from his UN post.
One local opposition newspaper had printed flight details for his arrival under the headline "Baradei Returns" to rally people to meet him at the airport.

________________________________________________________

The Bottomless PIT. The Public was anxious to put GM out of business for lesser incompetence. Where are they now?

Military notes: More glitches again delay F-35 plan
Travis Griggs • tgriggs@pnj.com • January 30, 2011
F-35 hits keep coming
The Pentagon this month announced a slew of new problems that were discovered during testing of the next-generation F-35 Lightning II strike fighter, which already is over budget and behind schedule.
Each of these problems stands to create additional flight testing delays for the jet, which was supposed to be delivered to Eglin Air Force Base in March 2010.
The new report said flight testing could now be completed by 2016 at the earliest, barring any further problems or delays.

____________________________________________________

Toys last on list this sun day

What a couple married 66 years can tell us about Super Bowl Sunday
By T.J. Simers
From sports — otherwise known as the newspaper's 'toy' department — comes a story about a jewel of a couple, Placentia's Paul & Maxine McGhehey.
"Sometimes we think if we didn't have doctor appointments, we'd have no social life," says Maxine.
"It's not good to sit around all day in your pajamas," says Paul.