Notes 45
Will a transitional government under Mubarak lead to same betrayal as transformational government under Obama and all the elation and hope for a new democracy be destroyed? Interestingly, the rise of Mubarak in Egypt in 1981 coincided with the decay of democracy beginning with Reagan in the same year
Jubilant crowds flood Cairo, escalating protests
Sarah El Deeb And Hadeel Al-shalchi, Associated Press – CAIRO –
More than a quarter-million people flooded Cairo's main square Tuesday in a stunning and jubilant array of young and old, urban poor and middle class professionals, mounting by far the largest protest yet in a week of unrelenting demands for President Hosni Mubarak to leave after nearly 30 years in power.
The movement to drive Mubarak out has been built on the work of on-line activists and fueled by deep frustration with an autocratic regime blamed for ignoring the needs of the poor and allowing corruption and official abuse to run rampant. After years of tight state control, protesters emboldened by the Tunisia unrest took to the streets on Jan. 25 and mounted a once-unimaginable series of protests across this nation of 80 million people — the region's most populous country.
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An interesting rewriting of history. Blair says Sadam was a brutal dictator whose leadership led to an impoverished country while Mubarak was a benign dictator whose leadership led to improving standards for Egyptians--skipping over fact that Iraq suffered under years of progressively punishing embargoes while Egypt was showered with billions.
Tony Blair tells Piers Morgan why it's "over" for Mubarak (even if he stays until elections)
Tony Blair was interviewed by Piers Morgan for tonight's "Piers Morgan Tonight" and When Piers Morgan asked if Blair thinks Mubarak should stay in power until elections and not leave immediately--
MORGAN: If you don't have world leaders telling him publicly it's over, aren't you going to create a - a vacuum and a
void here into which the extremists could well come?
BLAIR: Well, it is over, in the sense that whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a period of transition until we get to elections.
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So the man in the street gets promise of new leadership--next year--and the U.S. juggles all its promises to loyal dictators
Egypt's Mubarak says he won't run for a new term
AP – In this image from Egyptian state television aired Tuesday evening Feb 1 2011, Egyptian President Hosni …
By SARAH EL DEEB and HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press Sarah El Deeb And Hadeel Al-shalchi, Associated Press – 7 mins ago
CAIRO – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he will not run for a new term in office in September elections, but rejected demands that he step down immediately and leave the country, vowing to die on Egypt's soil, in a television address Tuesday after a dramatic day in which a quarter-million protesters called on him to go
His speech came after a visiting envoy of President Barack Obama told Mubarak that his ally the United States sees his presidency at an end. Frank Wisner, a respected former U.S. ambassador to Egypt who is a friend of the Egyptian president, made clear to Mubarak that the U.S "view that his tenure as president is coming to close," according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the ongoing diplomacy
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Abdullah not wasting anymore time
Jordan's king fires Cabinet amid protests
Jamal Halaby, Associated Press – 1 hr 36 mins ago
AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan's King Abdullah II fired his government Tuesday in the wake of street protests and asked an ex-prime minister to form a new Cabinet, ordering him to launch immediate political reforms.
The dismissal follows several large protests across Jordan_ inspired by similar demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt — calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Samir Rifai, who is blamed for a rise in fuel and food prices and slowed political reforms.
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After Egypt, writing on wall no longer in invisible ink. Army finally preparing to end adventure with poison pen.
US general predicts Taliban `assassination teams'
AP
WASHINGTON - The Afghanistan war can be won without Pakistan's army moving against militants in North Waziristan, the No. 2 American general for the war effort said Tuesday, publicly signaling that the U.S. is resigned to the idea that Islamabad won't take on that terrorist safe haven.
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The amazing thing is our leaders can have compassion for our war dead at the same time their decisions are responsible for hundreds of thousands of dead and maimed, and we do not see them as King Macbeths with blood all over their hand. Guess Shylock was right. Some blood isn’t red.
MEMORIAL DAY 2010 / WAR IS AN OLD RECYCLED LIE
Three dead Americans in Afghanistan ~ why ?
War is a waste so why do we celebrate it with parades, flags and glorious war stories when, in reality, they are fought by our youth who are but pawns in the hands of old men ~ seduced by power and greed ~ who are more than willing to waste our most precious resource on illegal wars and occupations : Allen L Roland
The aspect of control and domination is a precipitating factor in all wars, and it is also the the principle aspect of ego consciousness ~ which is directly contradictory to our innate propensity to unite and cooperate, which are the principle aspects of soul consciousness and the Unified Field
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Too bad AZ doesn’t police its own laws. Why local laws and enforcement are insufficient to stop gun killing gun trade.
NYC mayor conducts gun-sale sting in Arizona
Samantha Gross, Associated Press – Mon Jan 31
NEW YORK – Weeks after the shooting in Tucson, sellers at an Arizona gun show allowed undercover investigators hired by New York City to buy semiautomatic pistols even after they said they probably couldn't pass a background check, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday.
"After Tucson, you would think that people, particularly at a gun show in Arizona, would have been much more careful in enforcing the law," he said. "That unfortunately in some cases wasn't the case."
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Another ambitious Democrat veers right. What about paying the bill by eliminating vouchers to the rich and corporations and the money manipulators for free pass on taxes?
Cuomo slashes spending, freezes taxes in NY budget
By Dan Wiessner Dan Wiessner – 10 mins ago
ALBANY, New York (Reuters) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed laying off nearly 10,000 state workers and cutting billions from education and Medicaid programs as he laid out his first budget on Tuesday, designed to close a $10 billion deficit.
The Democratic governor proposed no new or increased taxes in the $132.9 billion budget plan, which would shrink the current budget ending March 31 by 2.7 percent. If the budget plan holds, it would mark the first spending decrease since 1997.
Cuomo had billed the budget as an opportunity to alter a process he labeled a "sham" that led to runaway spending in the past because of automatic spending increases and deception that he likened to what he uncovered on Wall Street in his previous job as the state's attorney general.
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Hurray--earmarks have been a sly way to guarantee reelection of sitting Congressmen by making them favorites at home for bringing home the bacon.
Inouye reluctantly announces earmark moratorium
WASHINGTON – The Senate's foremost champion of "earmarking" pet projects back home has reluctantly joined President Barack Obama and Capitol Hill Republicans in banning them for the next two years.
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To Be or not to BE. That is a question for healthcare law. Perhaps the compromise would be to eliminate “mandate” for “one payer.” Issue eliminated.
PENSACOLA, Fla. –
In the health care lawsuit, Vinson ruled that lawmakers lack the power to penalize citizens for not doing something. Defenders of the law said insurance can't work if people are allowed to opt out until they need medical attention. Premiums collected from many who are healthy pay the cost of care for those who get sick. Since the uninsured can get treated in the emergency room, deciding not to get coverage has consequences for other people who act prudently do buy coverage.
"The judge's decision contradicts decades of Supreme Court precedent that support the considered judgment of the democratically elected branches of government that the act's individual responsibility provision is necessary to prevent billions of dollars of cost-shifting every year by individuals without insurance who cannot pay for the health care they obtain," White House adviser Stephanie Cutter wrote in an Internet posting.
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It’s a game of egos for winners thoroughly beating their opponents, like most games. Maybe Tiger will get his back after his wife beat him in how many ways….
Follow Shane Bacon on Twitter at @shanebacon
PGA Tour rookie Brendan Steele, who earned status this season with the big boys after finishing sixth on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2010, was paired with Tiger on Sunday at Torrey Pines, where Woods closed with a 75 to Steele's 70.
After the round, Steele told Sports Illustrated that he didn't think Tiger gave it 100 percent during the final round.
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