Showing posts with label Women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Women. Show all posts

Thursday, November 24, 2022

CHURCH AND STATE

The ABSURD TIMES

 

 



 

The voice of the irrational.

 

 

Headscarves

 

 

 

Idiocy in Iran

By Honest Charlie

 

Someone may try to kill me for daring to suggest that this whole deal is idiotic, but then others, here, of a more fascistic bent think I'm all n favor of this crap. So, it seems to be time to clear all of this up.

 

One very good thing about the U.S. is the separation of church and state, or to put it more precisely, between anyone's notion of any sort of unseen divinity and reality. After all, if someone suddenly says that God wants such and such, how do you check? Call 1-800-God-Speaks? In other words, once someone arrives at a conclusion based on some abstract entity no body has ever seen, how do you convince that person with reason or logic that something else is right? It is not happening. That's it. Kaput.

 

Now, how did this all start? It goes way back, but let's just look at the Dulles folks and go from there. A free and fair election in Iran elected a guy named Mossedah as leader. However, he actually believed that everyone should be treated fairly and that the profit motive was anathema. Well, we couldn't have that, so we found a Shah to run things for us. That put them in their place. Some more progressive people had to leave the country and wound up in France, Bani Sadr was foremost of these. The Ayatola was exciled to Iraq, but Saddam said "that's enough of your crap" and out he went. Bani Sadr was with him eventually. Well, Sadr had the idea that Iran should diversify and not be dependent on oil revenues and that made good sense. Finally, the Shah became so oppressive that this Ayatolla eventually took over the country and kicked the Shah out. The Shah left one Shapur Baktiar in charge, a guy who had already been imprisoned by the Shah and knew he was a sacrificial lamb.

 

Anyway, things started out ok, even after we found out that Ronnie Ray Gun convinced these people to keep the hostages until Ronnie was sworn in as President, and he did so. They were released on the day Ronnie was sworn in. Over in Iran, the religious leader snapped into action, not diversifying the economy, oh no, but deciding that women should swim in the morning and men in the afternoon, or vice versa. From then on, it was one long theocracy. Today, they have "morality police" to imprison women who don't cover their hair. [I once asked an Iranian about that bit, and he said that reportedly women's long hair got men horny and likely to rape them.] Well, one was arrested now not wearing a headscarf properly recently and died in custody. Since then, the morality have been attacking all demonstrators, taking them into custody, and raping the ones they thought attractive and also raping many of the men who were demonstrating.

 

Part of the protest includes these women cutting off their long and beautiful hair. That hair does not get me horny, but I think it looks great. Why desecrate yourselves to spite idiotic? Anyway, here's enough detail on that:

 

 

FROM DEMOCRACY NOW

The situation in Iran is "critical" as authorities tighten their crackdown on the continuing anti-government protests after the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the so-called morality police. United Nations human rights officials report Iranian security forces in Kurdish cities killed dozens of protesters this week alone, with each funeral turning into a mass rally against the central government. "The defiance has been astounding," says Middle East studies professor Nahid Siamdoust, who reported for years from Iran, including during the 2009 Green Movement, and calls the protests a "nationwide revolution."

 


Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: We're broadcasting live from downtown Cairo in Egypt with the Nile River flowing behind us.

We begin today's show in Iran, where human rights authorities say the situation has become critical, with reports of dozens of children being killed, injured and detained at recent anti-government demonstrations. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Tuesday that worsening repression by Iranian security forces has led to a rising number of deaths, especially in Kurdish cities. This is spokesperson Jeremy Laurence.

JEREMY LAURENCE: Since the nationwide protests began on the 16th of September, over 300 people have been killed, including more than 40 children. Two 16-year-old boys were among six killed over the weekend. Protesters have been killed in 25 of Iran's 31 provinces, including more than 100 in Sistan and Balochistan. Iranian official sources have also reported that a number of security forces have been killed since the start of the protests. …

We call on the authorities to release all those detained in relation to the exercise of their rights, including the right to peaceful assembly, and to drop the charges against them. Our office also calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately impose a moratorium on the death penalty and to revoke death sentences issued for crimes not qualifying as the most serious crimes under international law.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: This comes as the BBC reports authorities have not been releasing protesters' bodies unless their families remain silent. Some say they were pressured by security officials to go along with state media reports that their loved ones were killed by, quote, "rioters."

On Monday, Iran's national soccer team declined to sing the national anthem before their opening World Cup match in a sign of support for the protests.

AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, on Sunday, two of Iran's most prominent actresses were arrested after they voiced support for anti-government protests and appeared in public without wearing a hijab, as required by law. Ahead of her arrest on Sunday, Hengameh Ghaziani wrote, "whatever happens, know that as always I will stand with the people of Iran. This may be my last post," she wrote. Katayoun Riahi was also arrested and accused of acting against Iran's authorities.

CNN reports Iran's security forces are using sexual assaults of male and female activists to quell the protests.

This week, the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva is set to hold a session on the protests with witnesses and victims in attendance and will discuss a proposal to establish a fact-finding mission on the crackdown in Iran. Evidence of abuses could later be used in court.

For more, we're joined by Nahid Siamdoust, assistant professor in Middle East and media studies at University of Texas in Austin, former journalist who has reported across the Middle East, including Iran.

Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Professor. If you could start off by talking about the critical situation in Iran right now and also the escalating attacks by the Iranian government on Kurdish areas?

NAHID SIAMDOUST: Yes. In recent weeks, we've seen, especially within the Kurdish areas, Mahabad most recently, but Bukan, Sanandaj, Saqqez, in all these cities, the Kurdish people have risen up. And the people have risen up all over Iran. And the authorities are going very harshly against protesters. We see photo after photo on social media of people with, you know, tens, sometimes hundreds, of pellets in their bodies. Some of these people do not survive those shots.

And as you already mentioned in your report, many of the people, of the protesters who are killed, are children. They're teenagers. They're teenagers who have taken their lives into their hands and gone into the streets to protest their living conditions, you know, the bleak future that they're looking into, and really asking for a different future.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And could you explain specifically what is it, the relationship between Iran's central government and Kurdistan? So many of the protests, as you've pointed out, too, the epicenter has been in the Kurdish region. Could you explain what the relationship between the state, following the revolution, and Kurdistan has been?

NAHID SIAMDOUST: Sure. So, Kurdistan — Iran is a system of governorates, so 30 governorates and states, so to speak. And so, each state, including the Kurdish region, will have their own governors. So, the central system controls these regions via the governors that they have in these areas, and they're oftentimes — you know, they're always approved, of course, by the central state.

But the people have risen up, and their religious leaders and sheikhs have spoken up in their defense. So, you know, we've seen one of the sheikhs in Kurdistan joining the sheikh in Balochistan in asking for an independent international body to oversee a referendum in Iran.

And so, you know, the forces that we see, the sepahis that we see, the plainclothes officers and militia that we see in Kurdistan suppressing the uprising or the revolution there, they come from all kinds of different backgrounds, all supported by the central state, of course. And Kurdistan is very much, you know, part of Iran, and this is something that the Kurdish leaders in that region have also stated. So, you know, we have to be — when you talk about the central state and the Kurdish region, we have to be careful not to play into the regime's own discourse of this being a separatist movement.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: No, absolutely, you're right about that. And I wanted to say also — if you could comment, in addition, to the reports that we are seeing now, and that we said a bit in our introduction, of the systematic use of sexual violence against prisoners, principally women protesters but also men? What are you hearing about this on the ground? There have been reports, widely publicized, of attacks by security forces in public, but this is the first that we're hearing of attacks on prisoners, protesters who have been imprisoned.

NAHID SIAMDOUST: Right. So, a couple of weeks ago, there was a video published of a woman sort of open in public being, you know, sort of touched absolutely inappropriately, and that set off conversations about what is actually happening in terms of the sexual abuse of these prisoners. And more recently, a couple days ago, there was a report by CNN with, you know, sort of women and others alleging that they've been sexually abused in these interrogation rooms. And we've seen other reports coming through on social media.

The parents and the families of these detainees are very much pressured to keep silent, and so we don't really have a full account of what is happening in these interrogations. And we know they are abused physically, but the nature of the sexual abuse is something that still needs to really be narrated and come to the fore.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the defiance of the Iranian people, the women who are leading these protests, and the significance of what's happening right now in Qatar with the Iranian soccer team refusing to sing the national anthem of Iran before the game?

NAHID SIAMDOUST: Right. We've seen, you know, Iranians across the board, all over the nation. As you mentioned, people in 25 out of 30 states have been — have been killed. And so, this is really a nationwide revolution. And the defiance has been astounding. The courage with which people have gone into the streets week after week, despite the killings that are happening, despite the, you know, also severe injuries — it doesn't just have to be deaths — people losing their eyes, people losing their limbs — despite all of that, they've risen up and are continuing to protest. And now they've been joined, as you mentioned in your report, by actresses, by athletes, by teachers' unions and professors' unions and so on.

The Iran national team at the World Cup refused to sing the national anthem. However, they have not been fully supported by Iranians at large. It's a very contested field. There are some among Iranians who are supporting their national team, but there are many who are not, because the national team had a visit with the conservative president, Ebrahim Raisi, right before their departure, and Iranians did not like to see their national team sort of bowing and being friendly with a president whom they see as being at the head of, you know, the repressive government — not the state, that would be the supreme leader, but leading the charge against women, not least because since he took office, he promised to bring morality to the streets. And this wave of protests that we see was not least caused by a year long of the morality police sort of upping the ante against women in public spaces. And so, the national team meeting the president did not sit well with many Iranians. And, you know, they had a historical defeat at the World Cup, losing to England.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Professor Siamdoust, you, among others, have pointed out, of course, that there have been many protests in recent years in Iran, starting, of course, with the 2009 protest, which is the time that we spoke to you on Democracy Now! But there is something, as you've said, qualitatively different about the protests that are now ongoing. Could you talk about what those differences are and how you see this playing out? Do you think, despite the brutality of the state response, that these protests will go on?

NAHID SIAMDOUST: Right. In 2009, which was the biggest protest movement since the 1979 revolution, we saw masses of people coming into the streets. You know, in one of the biggest, there was perhaps 2 or 3 million people at once. But the nature of the slogans was still very much about reforming the system from within. We saw people engaging with the Islamic discourse of the government — right? — going to their rooftops and calling "Allahu akbar," calling God to sort of bring forth that kind of Islamic morality and decency, to bring the government into a motion of reforms.

That is no longer the case. The revolution that we see now — and there's a lot of contestation around language, as well. There are people who say we should no longer be calling this an "uprising," this should definitely be called a "revolution." It's not just a matter of semantics, I think.

In the nature of the slogans that we see, this movement is no longer at all engaging with government discourse. There's no reference whatsoever to Islamic, you know, sort of slogans or phrases that people had been using and the government itself had been using. People are calling for a new system. In the 2009 Green Uprising, for example, people would band together and say, "Natarsin, natarsin, ma hameh ba ham hastim!," "Don't be afraid. We're all together." And now it's kind of filtered down to people saying, "Betarsid, betarsid, ma hameh ba ham hastim!," "You should be afraid. You should be afraid, because we are altogether."

And then, when we look at the slogans, you know, the harshness of it, sort of there's — all notion of Persian politeness or any sense of respect for authority or any of that is completely out the window. And we see this in the cuss words that are used against the supreme leader, against the Sepah. They're ferocious. The slogans are ferocious. The movement is ferocious.

And it's of a different nature, because, you know, this movement is leaderless. And so, there are groups of people all across Iran popping up here and there, but there are no leaders to be put down. So the regime can't, just like in 2009, go after the leaders of the movement and try to quell the movement through its leaders. It's a leaderless movement. It's a very smart movement that is sort of coming together and dissolving, and really sort of playing this strategic game, a very sort of organic strategic game against the forces.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Thank you so much, Professor Nahid Siamdoust, assistant professor in Middle East and media studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She's a former journalist who has reported across the Middle East, including in Iran.

The 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.


 

Tuesday, August 07, 2018

Don't Mess With Canada, Relly

Canadian Response To Threatening Saudi Photo An Image Of Women Driving To Vote

by Paul Duncan

49082585 - group of girls having fun with                            the car. taking selfie hile driving
The women claim to have not asked any men for permission for the outing. 

As relations further dissolved between the compulsive arms buyer of Saudi Arabia, and the aspirational arms seller that is Canada, a threatening image from a Saudi Twitter account which appeared to imply that the appropriate response to Canada's condemnation of Saudi human rights abuses is flying airplanes into Toronto buildings, received a response that will be equally horrific to many in the Arab state: women at large in vehicles, on their way to vote. 

The image - which appears to have been posted by a Canadian satirical site known to sympathize with women doing things - is being greeted with anger and confusion amongst the Saudi ruling class.
"Who bought these women a car?" asked an official from the Saudi Foreign Ministry. "How do they know the rules of the road? Are their male guardians aware that they are out of the house and not in a particular rush to return? What do you mean they are on their way to vote? Jesus Allah. This is surely the most threatening thing to ever be directed at our government. We demand it be removed or we will weaponize our control of the oil markets. And by that I mean more than we already have."
Canadians have been quick to point out that if the Saudis thought that women being recognized as fully-fledged people was controversial, wait until they find out that over here many females also enjoy drinking, having sex with whomever they want, and being able to mute or block those who don't like it when they question the patriarchy. 
"As the Canadian saying goes," says Oakville, Ontario resident Wanda Trebuchet, pausing to give her thoughts while being out without a hall pass, "He who ignores the trouble brewing in his own country while punishing other nations for pointing out that he's acting inhumanely, finds what doesn't please him."

Paul Duncan | August 7, 2018 at 1:57 am | Categories: News | URL: https://wp.me/p78BLO-5P8
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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.

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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.

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