Thursday, May 29, 2014

Fasism, Snowden, Kerry, Ukraine, France


THE ABSURD TIMES





ILLUSTRATION:  Latuff shows fascist wave in France.
            LePen defeated the opposition parties with her "Ultranationalist" party recently.  A good part of this is the so-called "austerity" imposed by the European Union and the rest can be attributed to the Socialist Presidents' inability to act like a Socialist.  Most of his campaign promises are unfulfilled, sort of like Obama here who has also been a disappointment.  The only reason Obama doesn't look like a complete fool is that he has the Republicans and their right-wing nonsense.

            A good example is the stupid Benghazi investigation.  I'd support investigating why the hell we invaded or attacked Libya in the first place and whether that attack made it better.  Another is the VA investigation.  Most veterans who actually do get treatment at the VA are pleased with the service and results, but that can be attributed to the fact that it is a government run service, not a private, for profit, venture.  A better investigation would be into the funding for the VA, who voted to increase its funding and who wanted to cut it.  The last point on this is that we must realize that once a soldier is discharged, he is no longer government property and part of a war effort and becomes simply a human being in need of health care.  Such are our values.

            We do support the Fascist movement in Ukraine although the supporters of the Kiev government, for the most part, have stopped carrying around flags with swastikas on them.  Still, more ultra nationalism.

            About the only thing that keeps the U.S. from becoming totally fascist is its own racism.  It is difficult for most people in the U.S. to think of the country in its entirety being made up of a "Mater Race," when so many of its own "races" hate each other.  It is simply too petty and selfish to become classically fascist.

            We do have some other crazy things going on.  Feminists all over are screaming about this Elliott Rodger and all the variant spellings of the first name when he at least had the affliction of mental illness.  Certainly, his attitude towards women was idiotic, but out of frustration.  There is a real problem with that attitude in males who do not have that excuse, and far too many of the morons.

            John Kerry, Secretary of State, has blathered wildly the past few months about a variety of subjects.  Just recently, NBC, a corporate media enterprise, interviewed Snowden to ask about a number of things.  It was a pretty far-ranging interview and surprising in its quality, although it is about a year late.  One of the things John Kerry has been saying is that Snowden should "Man Up" and face trial in the U.S.  I suppose he is implying that Snowden needs testosterone shots?

            Many are saying he should come here and "face the music"?  What music do they have in mind?  Wagner?  Verdi?  Beethoven?  Knowing the culture here, I shudder to think of what sort of "music" they have in mind. 

            I imagine we might as well close with a note on Egypt:

            A fair trial?  The law under which they want to prosecute him precludes, as Snowden pointed out, his presenting any exculpatory evidence whatsoever.   Snowden is not stupid enough to believe that a return would be in any way profitable for him and would at the very least end with him in a prison.   

         I rather suspect that Kerry will have to find other uses for his testosterone shots.

          
 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2014

Egyptian Regime Scrambles to Boost Low Turnout in Election Sealing General Sisi’s Grip on Power

Egypt’s presidential election has been extended for a third day in an apparent bid to boost voter turnout. The outcome is believed to be a foregone conclusion with former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi widely expected to win. But the conspicuously low voter turnout threatens to undermine the credibility of the election and has led the military-backed government to take desperate measures. On Tuesday, the government declared a public holiday to encourage voter participation. It also waived public transportation fares, encouraged shopping malls to close early, and threatened to fine Egyptians who did not vote. Local politicians took to the airwaves to repeat messages from Muslim and Christian leaders about a "religious duty" to vote. If Sisi wins the election as predicted, he will become the sixth military man to run Egypt since the army overthrew the monarchy in 1952. He led the ouster of democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi last year. Some Islamic and liberal political groups have urged Egyptians to boycott the election, arguing that the vote is unfair and illegitimate. We go to Cairo to speak with Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous.

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: We turn now to Egypt’s presidential election, which has been extended for a third day in an apparent bid to boost voter turnout. The result of the election is believed to be a foregone conclusion, with former Army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi widely expected to win. But the low voter turnout threatens to undermine the credibility of the election.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more, we go right to Egypt, where we’re joined by Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Democracy Now! correspondent in Cairo, joining us from a polling place. Can you describe where you are, Sharif, and the significance of the extension of the election and making yesterday a national holiday so people would turn out?
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Yeah, that’s right, Amy. I’m speaking to you in front of a poll station in Dokki, a district in Cairo. As you can see behind me, there’s very few people lined up. In fact, there’s no line outside the polling station. And this has been the case for the past two days. There was a much lower-than-expected turnout for this election, which had the authorities desperate to boost people coming to the polls. So, initially, they extended voting hours on Monday by an hour. Then they declared Tuesday a holiday for both state and private employees. They closed the stock market. They suspended fares for the train and the metro to facilitate people getting to the polls. And they even had the Justice Ministry saying that people were going to get fined if they didn’t go to vote. It also spurred many of the hosts on—pro-military hosts on television, that dominate the airwaves, were in hysterics last night, criticizing people for not turning out, having a lot of elite disdain for the Egyptian people, one host calling people traitors for not voting, another telling business owners to check their employees’ hands to see if there was ink proving that they voted. So, there was really, I think, a lot of shock by the authorities at the level of turnout.
Now, some of the reasons for this lower-than-expected enthusiasm for this poll, there’s many, but one may be voter apathy. I mean, we have seen three—seven elections. This is the seventh poll in Egypt since the ouster of Mubarak just over three years ago. None of the people in office right now have been elected by any of those polls. And when those—when we did have elected officials, much of the political elites spent their time discussing issues over identity rather than issues, the deep—discussing the deep social and economic problems that plague Egypt. So, the electoral process has been increasingly dissatisfying and alienating for many Egyptian voters.
Another reason is, of course, the certainty of the outcome of this election. Unlike the 2012 poll, which had candidates from across the political spectrum, this election just has two candidates, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Hamdeen Sabahi, both of which espouse different brands of the same ideology, Nasserism. And Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is a candidate that’s backed by the state, he’s backed by the business elite, and is widely expected to win. And so the certainty of the results may have played into people not bothering to come.
And certainly, there is an active boycott. We have to remember that the largest political group in the country, the Muslim Brotherhood, is not taking part in this election. They’ve been the subject of an incredibly harsh crackdown. Many of their rank and file have been killed. Their leaders are jailed. And so they have refused to take part, as have groups like the April 6 Youth Movement. So, again, officials are saying the turnout is somewhere between—in the mid-thirties, but that is a much lower turnout than we saw in the runoff that elected Mohamed Morsi in 2012, which had 52 percent.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Sharif, el-Sisi is so guaranteed to win that he hasn’t even made one public appearance during his campaign?
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: I’m sorry, could you repeat the question?
NERMEEN SHAIKH: That Sisi has not appeared publicly once himself during this campaign, even though his images are ubiquitous throughout the country?
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Sorry, Nermeen, it’s cutting a bit, but I—from what I understand from your—what your question is, about Sisi’s campaign. He has run a very, very controlled campaign. He has not had any public appearances, preferring instead to meet people and officials at his campaign headquarters, or do events by video link to other parts of the country. He’s done very few media appearances, and those have been very managed, with very easy questions. And he’s made very clear that he’ll have no civilian oversight of the military; when he was asked bluntly this question, he refused to answer. And his electoral program is shrouded in mystery. He has said that the crisis, or what they call the war on terrorism, is his program.
AMY GOODMAN: Sharif, we’re going to have to leave it there. That does it for the show. Sharif Abdel Kouddous reporting from Cairo.

Creative Commons LicenseThe original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.



ILLUSTRATION:  Latuff shows fascist wave in France.
            LePen defeated the opposition parties with her "Ultranationalist" party recently.  A good part of this is the so-called "austerity" imposed by the European Union and the rest can be attributed to the Socialist Presidents' inability to act like a Socialist.  Most of his campaign promises are unfulfilled, sort of like Obama here who has also been a disappointment.  The only reason Obama doesn't look like a complete fool is that he has the Republicans and their right-wing nonsense.

            A good example is the stupid Benghazi investigation.  I'd support investigating why the hell we invaded or attacked Libya in the first place and whether that attack made it better.  Another is the VA investigation.  Most veterans who actually do get treatment at the VA are pleased with the service and results, but that can be attributed to the fact that it is a government run service, not a private, for profit, venture.  A better investigation would be into the funding for the VA, who voted to increase its funding and who wanted to cut it.  The last point on this is that we must realize that once a soldier is discharged, he is no longer government property and part of a war effort and becomes simply a human being in need of health care.  Such are our values.

            We do support the Fascist movement in Ukraine although the supporters of the Kiev government, for the most part, have stopped carrying around flags with swastikas on them.  Still, more ultra nationalism.

            About the only thing that keeps the U.S. from becoming totally fascist is its own racism.  It is difficult for most people in the U.S. to think of the country in its entirety being made up of a "Mater Race," when so many of its own "races" hate each other.  It is simply too petty and selfish to become classically fascist.

            We do have some other crazy things going on.  Feminists all over are screaming about this Elliott Rodger and all the variant spellings of the first name when he at least had the affliction of mental illness.  Certainly, his attitude towards women was idiotic, but out of frustration.  There is a real problem with that attitude in males who do not have that excuse, and far too many of the morons.

            John Kerry, Secretary of State, has blathered wildly the past few months about a variety of subjects.  Just recently, NBC, a corporate media enterprise, interviewed Snowden to ask about a number of things.  It was a pretty far-ranging interview and surprising in its quality, although it is about a year late.  One of the things John Kerry has been saying is that Snowden should "Man Up" and face trial in the U.S.  I suppose he is implying that Snowden needs testosterone shots?

            Many are saying he should come here and "face the music"?  What music do they have in mind?  Wagner?  Verdi?  Beethoven?  Knowing the culture here, I shudder to think of what sort of "music" they have in mind. 

            I imagine we might as well close with a note on Egypt:

            A fair trial?  The law under which they want to prosecute him precludes, as Snowden pointed out, his presenting any exculpatory evidence whatsoever.   Snowden is not stupid enough to believe that a return would be in any way profitable for him and would at the very least end with him in a prison.  I rather suspect that Kerry will have to find other uses for his testosterone shots.

             




WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2014

Egyptian Regime Scrambles to Boost Low Turnout in Election Sealing General Sisi’s Grip on Power

Egypt’s presidential election has been extended for a third day in an apparent bid to boost voter turnout. The outcome is believed to be a foregone conclusion with former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi widely expected to win. But the conspicuously low voter turnout threatens to undermine the credibility of the election and has led the military-backed government to take desperate measures. On Tuesday, the government declared a public holiday to encourage voter participation. It also waived public transportation fares, encouraged shopping malls to close early, and threatened to fine Egyptians who did not vote. Local politicians took to the airwaves to repeat messages from Muslim and Christian leaders about a "religious duty" to vote. If Sisi wins the election as predicted, he will become the sixth military man to run Egypt since the army overthrew the monarchy in 1952. He led the ouster of democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi last year. Some Islamic and liberal political groups have urged Egyptians to boycott the election, arguing that the vote is unfair and illegitimate. We go to Cairo to speak with Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous.

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: We turn now to Egypt’s presidential election, which has been extended for a third day in an apparent bid to boost voter turnout. The result of the election is believed to be a foregone conclusion, with former Army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi widely expected to win. But the low voter turnout threatens to undermine the credibility of the election.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more, we go right to Egypt, where we’re joined by Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Democracy Now! correspondent in Cairo, joining us from a polling place. Can you describe where you are, Sharif, and the significance of the extension of the election and making yesterday a national holiday so people would turn out?
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Yeah, that’s right, Amy. I’m speaking to you in front of a poll station in Dokki, a district in Cairo. As you can see behind me, there’s very few people lined up. In fact, there’s no line outside the polling station. And this has been the case for the past two days. There was a much lower-than-expected turnout for this election, which had the authorities desperate to boost people coming to the polls. So, initially, they extended voting hours on Monday by an hour. Then they declared Tuesday a holiday for both state and private employees. They closed the stock market. They suspended fares for the train and the metro to facilitate people getting to the polls. And they even had the Justice Ministry saying that people were going to get fined if they didn’t go to vote. It also spurred many of the hosts on—pro-military hosts on television, that dominate the airwaves, were in hysterics last night, criticizing people for not turning out, having a lot of elite disdain for the Egyptian people, one host calling people traitors for not voting, another telling business owners to check their employees’ hands to see if there was ink proving that they voted. So, there was really, I think, a lot of shock by the authorities at the level of turnout.
Now, some of the reasons for this lower-than-expected enthusiasm for this poll, there’s many, but one may be voter apathy. I mean, we have seen three—seven elections. This is the seventh poll in Egypt since the ouster of Mubarak just over three years ago. None of the people in office right now have been elected by any of those polls. And when those—when we did have elected officials, much of the political elites spent their time discussing issues over identity rather than issues, the deep—discussing the deep social and economic problems that plague Egypt. So, the electoral process has been increasingly dissatisfying and alienating for many Egyptian voters.
Another reason is, of course, the certainty of the outcome of this election. Unlike the 2012 poll, which had candidates from across the political spectrum, this election just has two candidates, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Hamdeen Sabahi, both of which espouse different brands of the same ideology, Nasserism. And Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is a candidate that’s backed by the state, he’s backed by the business elite, and is widely expected to win. And so the certainty of the results may have played into people not bothering to come.
And certainly, there is an active boycott. We have to remember that the largest political group in the country, the Muslim Brotherhood, is not taking part in this election. They’ve been the subject of an incredibly harsh crackdown. Many of their rank and file have been killed. Their leaders are jailed. And so they have refused to take part, as have groups like the April 6 Youth Movement. So, again, officials are saying the turnout is somewhere between—in the mid-thirties, but that is a much lower turnout than we saw in the runoff that elected Mohamed Morsi in 2012, which had 52 percent.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Sharif, el-Sisi is so guaranteed to win that he hasn’t even made one public appearance during his campaign?
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: I’m sorry, could you repeat the question?
NERMEEN SHAIKH: That Sisi has not appeared publicly once himself during this campaign, even though his images are ubiquitous throughout the country?
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Sorry, Nermeen, it’s cutting a bit, but I—from what I understand from your—what your question is, about Sisi’s campaign. He has run a very, very controlled campaign. He has not had any public appearances, preferring instead to meet people and officials at his campaign headquarters, or do events by video link to other parts of the country. He’s done very few media appearances, and those have been very managed, with very easy questions. And he’s made very clear that he’ll have no civilian oversight of the military; when he was asked bluntly this question, he refused to answer. And his electoral program is shrouded in mystery. He has said that the crisis, or what they call the war on terrorism, is his program.
AMY GOODMAN: Sharif, we’re going to have to leave it there. That does it for the show. Sharif Abdel Kouddous reporting from Cairo.

Creative Commons LicenseThe original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.





ILLUSTRATION:  Latuff shows fascist wave in France.
            LePen defeated the opposition parties with her "Ultranationalist" party recently.  A good part of this is the so-called "austerity" imposed by the European Union and the rest can be attributed to the Socialist Presidents' inability to act like a Socialist.  Most of his campaign promises are unfulfilled, sort of like Obama here who has also been a disappointment.  The only reason Obama doesn't look like a complete fool is that he has the Republicans and their right-wing nonsense.

            A good example is the stupid Benghazi investigation.  I'd support investigating why the hell we invaded or attacked Libya in the first place and whether that attack made it better.  Another is the VA investigation.  Most veterans who actually do get treatment at the VA are pleased with the service and results, but that can be attributed to the fact that it is a government run service, not a private, for profit, venture.  A better investigation would be into the funding for the VA, who voted to increase its funding and who wanted to cut it.  The last point on this is that we must realize that once a soldier is discharged, he is no longer government property and part of a war effort and becomes simply a human being in need of health care.  Such are our values.

            We do support the Fascist movement in Ukraine although the supporters of the Kiev government, for the most part, have stopped carrying around flags with swastikas on them.  Still, more ultra nationalism.

            About the only thing that keeps the U.S. from becoming totally fascist is its own racism.  It is difficult for most people in the U.S. to think of the country in its entirety being made up of a "Mater Race," when so many of its own "races" hate each other.  It is simply too petty and selfish to become classically fascist.

            We do have some other crazy things going on.  Feminists all over are screaming about this Elliott Rodger and all the variant spellings of the first name when he at least had the affliction of mental illness.  Certainly, his attitude towards women was idiotic, but out of frustration.  There is a real problem with that attitude in males who do not have that excuse, and far too many of the morons.

            John Kerry, Secretary of State, has blathered wildly the past few months about a variety of subjects.  Just recently, NBC, a corporate media enterprise, interviewed Snowden to ask about a number of things.  It was a pretty far-ranging interview and surprising in its quality, although it is about a year late.  One of the things John Kerry has been saying is that Snowden should "Man Up" and face trial in the U.S.  I suppose he is implying that Snowden needs testosterone shots?

            Many are saying he should come here and "face the music"?  What music do they have in mind?  Wagner?  Verdi?  Beethoven?  Knowing the culture here, I shudder to think of what sort of "music" they have in mind. 

            I imagine we might as well close with a note on Egypt:

            A fair trial?  The law under which they want to prosecute him precludes, as Snowden pointed out, his presenting any exculpatory evidence whatsoever.   Snowden is not stupid enough to believe that a return would be in any way profitable for him and would at the very least end with him in a prison.  I rather suspect that Kerry will have to find other uses for his testosterone shots.

             




WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2014

Egyptian Regime Scrambles to Boost Low Turnout in Election Sealing General Sisi’s Grip on Power

Egypt’s presidential election has been extended for a third day in an apparent bid to boost voter turnout. The outcome is believed to be a foregone conclusion with former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi widely expected to win. But the conspicuously low voter turnout threatens to undermine the credibility of the election and has led the military-backed government to take desperate measures. On Tuesday, the government declared a public holiday to encourage voter participation. It also waived public transportation fares, encouraged shopping malls to close early, and threatened to fine Egyptians who did not vote. Local politicians took to the airwaves to repeat messages from Muslim and Christian leaders about a "religious duty" to vote. If Sisi wins the election as predicted, he will become the sixth military man to run Egypt since the army overthrew the monarchy in 1952. He led the ouster of democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi last year. Some Islamic and liberal political groups have urged Egyptians to boycott the election, arguing that the vote is unfair and illegitimate. We go to Cairo to speak with Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous.

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: We turn now to Egypt’s presidential election, which has been extended for a third day in an apparent bid to boost voter turnout. The result of the election is believed to be a foregone conclusion, with former Army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi widely expected to win. But the low voter turnout threatens to undermine the credibility of the election.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more, we go right to Egypt, where we’re joined by Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Democracy Now! correspondent in Cairo, joining us from a polling place. Can you describe where you are, Sharif, and the significance of the extension of the election and making yesterday a national holiday so people would turn out?
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Yeah, that’s right, Amy. I’m speaking to you in front of a poll station in Dokki, a district in Cairo. As you can see behind me, there’s very few people lined up. In fact, there’s no line outside the polling station. And this has been the case for the past two days. There was a much lower-than-expected turnout for this election, which had the authorities desperate to boost people coming to the polls. So, initially, they extended voting hours on Monday by an hour. Then they declared Tuesday a holiday for both state and private employees. They closed the stock market. They suspended fares for the train and the metro to facilitate people getting to the polls. And they even had the Justice Ministry saying that people were going to get fined if they didn’t go to vote. It also spurred many of the hosts on—pro-military hosts on television, that dominate the airwaves, were in hysterics last night, criticizing people for not turning out, having a lot of elite disdain for the Egyptian people, one host calling people traitors for not voting, another telling business owners to check their employees’ hands to see if there was ink proving that they voted. So, there was really, I think, a lot of shock by the authorities at the level of turnout.
Now, some of the reasons for this lower-than-expected enthusiasm for this poll, there’s many, but one may be voter apathy. I mean, we have seen three—seven elections. This is the seventh poll in Egypt since the ouster of Mubarak just over three years ago. None of the people in office right now have been elected by any of those polls. And when those—when we did have elected officials, much of the political elites spent their time discussing issues over identity rather than issues, the deep—discussing the deep social and economic problems that plague Egypt. So, the electoral process has been increasingly dissatisfying and alienating for many Egyptian voters.
Another reason is, of course, the certainty of the outcome of this election. Unlike the 2012 poll, which had candidates from across the political spectrum, this election just has two candidates, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Hamdeen Sabahi, both of which espouse different brands of the same ideology, Nasserism. And Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is a candidate that’s backed by the state, he’s backed by the business elite, and is widely expected to win. And so the certainty of the results may have played into people not bothering to come.
And certainly, there is an active boycott. We have to remember that the largest political group in the country, the Muslim Brotherhood, is not taking part in this election. They’ve been the subject of an incredibly harsh crackdown. Many of their rank and file have been killed. Their leaders are jailed. And so they have refused to take part, as have groups like the April 6 Youth Movement. So, again, officials are saying the turnout is somewhere between—in the mid-thirties, but that is a much lower turnout than we saw in the runoff that elected Mohamed Morsi in 2012, which had 52 percent.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Sharif, el-Sisi is so guaranteed to win that he hasn’t even made one public appearance during his campaign?
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: I’m sorry, could you repeat the question?
NERMEEN SHAIKH: That Sisi has not appeared publicly once himself during this campaign, even though his images are ubiquitous throughout the country?
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Sorry, Nermeen, it’s cutting a bit, but I—from what I understand from your—what your question is, about Sisi’s campaign. He has run a very, very controlled campaign. He has not had any public appearances, preferring instead to meet people and officials at his campaign headquarters, or do events by video link to other parts of the country. He’s done very few media appearances, and those have been very managed, with very easy questions. And he’s made very clear that he’ll have no civilian oversight of the military; when he was asked bluntly this question, he refused to answer. And his electoral program is shrouded in mystery. He has said that the crisis, or what they call the war on terrorism, is his program.
AMY GOODMAN: Sharif, we’re going to have to leave it there. That does it for the show. Sharif Abdel Kouddous reporting from Cairo.

Creative Commons LicenseThe original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.


No comments: