Monday, May 23, 2011

فلنستولد الحق من أضلع المستحيل



ممم.. تبدو البداية دائما بالنسبة لي صعبة.. حين أبدأ الكتابة ارغب دوما في أن تبدو السطور الأولي من مقالي مثير وجاذبة للإنتباه, تجبر القرئ أن يكمل قرآءة ما أكتب حتي النهاية
لكني لن اهتم الآن بأن افعل ذلك.. يبدو الوقت ضيقا, والمشاكل أكبر من أن نبحث عن زخرف القول!!

خلاصة القول أن المجلس العسكري بالنسبة للثوار يبدو محيرا.. أليس هذا هو المجلس العسكري الذي استقبل الثوار جنوده بـ "الشعب الجيش إيد واحدة", وحملوا ضباطه وجنوده علي الأعناق فرحا بـ "المخلصين" المنتظرين؟!! إذا ما الذي يحدث؟؟

في اعتصام التحرير الأول, كان الموقف بالنسبة للمجلس العسكري الأعلي محيرا.. فالثوار مستميتين علي رحيل مبارك.. ولا يبدو في الأفق أي مخرج لهذه الأزمة.. في المقابل, فإن هناك ما هو أولي بالحفاظ من شخص حسني مبارك.. فمؤسسة الجيش تدير في متوسط التقديرات حوالي 20% من الإقتصاد المصري, بين أراض ومزارع ومصانع لا تتكلف العمالة فيها أي شئ, ويذهب كل حصيلتها لجيوب كبار القواد بلا وجود أدني وسيلة لمراقبتها أو مساءلتها.. هذه واحدة

الشئ الثاني يساوي 1.3 مليار دولار, هو حجم المعونات العسكرية الأمريكية, هنا ايضا بلا مساءلة علي أوجه إنفاق هذه المعونة.. بالطبع لا ننسي أن أمريكا لا تدفع هذا المبلغ للجيش المصري لوجه الله.. أمريكا تدفع مثل هذا المبلغ لأنه وسيلة الضمان الأساسية لتحييد الجيش المصري في معركة السيطرة علي مقدرات المنطقة وحماية إسرائيل.. وقد نجحوا في هذا كلية, ففي تقرير للنيويورك تايمز تحت عنوان "البنتاجون يضع رهانه علي جنرال مصري", جاء أن البنتاجون يراهن بعد سقوط مبارك علي شخصية "سامي عنان" من أجل أن يستمر الجيش في الحكم بلا تغيير حقيقي أو علي أقل تقدير أن يصبح للجيش دور أساسي من رسم السياسة المصرية ولو من وراء ستار

الأمر الثالث الذي حسب المجلس العسكري حسابه عندما بدأت الثورة هو أن أي أوامر للجنود بالتعامل مع الثوار وقتها كان أمرا غير مضمون العواقب, فلو حدث أن رفضت مجموعة من الجنود هذه الأوامر - وهو ما كان سيحدث في الغالب - فإن انقسام الجيش علي نفسه كان سيودي بكل هذه المصالح الخاصة بالمجلس العسكري والمصالح الأمريكية إلي الجحيم

لكل هذه الأسباب اضطر المجلس العسكري للتضحية بشخص مبارك من أجل المحافظة علي وضع ونظام مبارك, لأن شبكة المصالح ومنظومة الفساد هذه ليست مما يمكن التضحية به بسهولة, وأن عالم المصالح أولي وأهم دائما من الأشخاص

المشكلة ظهرت حينما اكتشف المجلس العسكري أن الثوار لم يحملوا حياتهم علي أكفهم من أجل خلع شخص مبارك, وإنما كانت الثورة من أجل خلع نظام مبارك.. نظام العمالة والفساد ورجال الأعمال في كل القطاعات
هذا الإصرار الثوري, الذي لا يهدأ إلا ليعود ولا يظهر السكوت إلا ليتضح أنه سكوت ترقب لا سكوت استسلام, يضع المجلس العسكري في حرجه الدائم والأبدي بين رغبته في عدم إحداث تغيير حقيقي للحفاظ علي مجموعة المصالح, وبين خوفه من تجاهل العمل الثوري الذي من الممكن أن يستمر ويتوسع ليطول رجال المجلس العسكري أنفسهم وهو ما يمكن أن يدمر ايضا شبكة المصالح هذه

إذا فهمنا هذا - في عالم تحركه المصالح والتوازنات - سنفهم كل ما فعله المجلس العسكري من محاولاته المستميتة لوقف وضرب اعتصامات التحرير ومجلس الشعب, إلا الحرب الإعلامية الرهيبة ضد إضرابات العمال, ومحاولة حصر مطالب الثورة في مجموعة من المطالب الإصلاحية الديموقراطية الظاهرية وليس تغييرا شاملا في النظام الإجتماعي وطرق توزيع الثروة في المجتمع, والتركيز علي عجلة الإنتاج باعتبار أن الثورة هي ما قتلت الإنتاج وليس 30 عاما من نظام الظلم والقهر والسرقة والفساد الذي قاده مبارك, وشارك فيه قواد وجنرالات الجيش

الحل؟ الحل بالطبع هو أن نفهم موقف الجيش هذا, ونبدأ في الحركة السريعة لحماية وإنقاذ ثورتنا واستكمال مطالبها مهما كان الثمن, الحل في أن تعود المظاهرات والإعتصامات, وأن تنتشر دعوات الإضراب وأن تتوقف مصر كلها عن العمل حتي تستكمل الثورة

تذكروا: سيقولون ها أنت تطلب ثأرا يطول.. فخذ الآن ما تستطيع.. قليلا من الحق.. في هذه السنوات القليلة... إنه ليس ثأرك وحدك, إنه ثأر جيل فجيل.. وغدا, سوف يولد من يلبس الدرع كاملة.. يوقد النار شاملة.. يطلب الثأر.. يستولد الحق من أضلع المستحيل...

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Egypt military trying political prisoners

The war against Libya and the eruption of European imperialism

(Image from AWIP)

The readiness of the European powers to line up almost unanimously behind the imperialist war against Libya is a defining moment in the political life of the continent.

On January 20, 2003, French Foreign Minister Dominique De Villepin said of Iraq, “We believe that military intervention would be the worst solution.” Paris voted against war in the United Nations Security Council.

Together with opposition to the war from Germany, this led to the unedifying spectacle of putative leaders of the antiwar movement amongst “left” groups and the left social democrats hailing Europe as a counterweight to US militarism and even leading chants of “Vive la France!”

In the run-up to the war against Libya, France was in the forefront of demands for military intervention, with the Sarkozy government aligning itself with Britain and Washington against its longtime German ally and publicly denouncing Berlin’s reluctance to back war. With US support, France pushed through UN Security Council Resolution 1973 authorising an attack on Libya. On March 10, 2011, France became the first country in the world to recognise the National Transitional Council as Libya’s government. It led the first air strikes on March 19.

France’s particular enmity towards Libya and the Gaddafi regime stretches back to the civil war in Chad and was made worse by the cargo hold bomb that destroyed France’s UTA Flight 772 in 1989—less than a year after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie. This may have played a part in France’s shift to military intervention in Libya.

More fundamentally, however, it is understandable only from the broader motive of eliminating a regime that France views as an obstacle to its historic imperialist ambitions in Africa. Crucially for Paris, as much as Washington, the mass movement against Western-backed dictatorships in Egypt and Tunisia was seen as a threat to imperialist influence in North Africa. The war against Libya provides the opportunity to install an outright stooge regime and turn Libya in a base of operations against the threat of socialist revolution throughout the region.

Libya is also seen as setting a precedent for further military interventions, with President Nicolas Sarkozy asserting on March 24 that UN Resolution 1973’s citing of the “responsibility to protect” allowed for further interventions in Africa and the Middle East—beginning with the Ivory Coast. Yesterday, French and UN forces opened fire from helicopters on military camps operated by Ivory Coast incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo. Paris has now sent close to 500 additional troops to reinforce its 1,500-strong military presence in its former colony to ensure the victory of its chosen puppet, Alassane Ouattara.

Similar foreign policy considerations animate other European powers in backing war against Libya.

Washington, through its military might and political influence over the Libyan opposition, intends to beat back the challenge to its domination from both China and the European powers. Prior to the war, US economic influence in Libya was minimal. Italy was Tripoli’s major trading partner, followed by Germany and China.

After the war, the National Transitional Council will be called on to ensure that a new balance is established. But most European powers have nevertheless signed on for a military campaign under US leadership in the hope of not being squeezed out of the division of the spoils of war, and because they, like France, have an overriding interest in the precedent set for similar colonial interventions.

The exception of Germany is not simply a continuation of its position in 2003. In the intervening years, Berlin has pursued a marked orientation towards new alliances that strengthen its position against the US.

Germany abstained on UN Security Council Resolution 1973 alongside Brazil, Russia, India and China—known as the BRICs—and against its NATO allies. Germany has, in fact, been seeking closer relations with Russia for years, on which it relies for its gas supplies. German trade with China is in excess of $100 billion a year.

Berlin may believe that its economic influence in North Africa and the Middle East is the best means of projecting Germany’s global interests, but like its European counterparts it must inevitably face up to the gap between such ambitions and its lack of military muscle if it is to avoid being sidelined by the US. As in the 1930s, mounting geopolitical tensions lead inevitably towards European rearmament.

What accounts for this renewed campaign of imperialist domination?

The financial crash of 2008, which wiped out trillions in paper capital assets, has proved to be a turning point in the fortunes of world capitalism, raising antagonisms between the major powers to a new intensity.

The crash was the culmination of a protracted process in which the US was transformed from the premier world economic power and guarantor of capitalist stability into the leading debtor nation and the chief source of economic and political instability on the world arena. It has no way of reversing its decline and meeting the challenge from rising powers, especially China, as well as its traditional rivals in Europe and Japan, other than to deepen the offensive begun in earnest in Iraq to secure its global military hegemony. China, Europe, et al must and will follow suit. This intensified struggle for markets, profits and resources ultimately threatens the eruption of a third world war.

This crisis also dictates a sustained escalation of the class struggle.

Rescuing the banks by emptying government coffers cost the US and European powers trillions. But it was only the beginning of an economic crisis, the likes of which has no equal since the 1930s. After the bailout comes the macroeconomic impact—the onset of recession and the driving up of state debt to 50 percent, 80 percent, a hundred percent and more of GDP.

The only way the bourgeoisie can claw any of this lost revenue back is through the drastic lowering of working-class living standards—a policy of class war at home to accompany imperialist war abroad. Governments throughout Europe are intent on imposing a fundamental realignment of class forces in the interest of the major corporations and the super-rich by means of historically unprecedented austerity drives involving hundreds of billions of euros in cuts, the slashing of wages and a hike in exploitation.

The connection between the new stage in the eruption of imperialist militarism and the turn to class war against working people is reflected in the media’s routine use of military terminology when discussing the austerity measures being imposed.

The March 24 edition of the Economist notes how far this economic blitzkrieg has already gone. It writes:

“The authorities have applied shock and awe in the form of fiscal and monetary stimulus. They have prevented the complete collapse of the financial sector—bankers’ pay has certainly held up just fine. The corporate sector is also doing well… But the benefits of recovery seem to have been distributed almost entirely to the owners of capital rather than workers. In America total real wages have risen by $168 billion since the recovery began, but that has been far outstripped by a $528 billion jump in profits. Dhaval Joshi of BCA Research reckons that this is the first time profits have outperformed wages in absolute terms in 50 years.

“In Germany, profits have increased by €113 billion ($159 billion) since the start of the recovery, and employee pay has risen by just €36 billion. Things look even worse for workers in Britain, where profits have risen by £14 billion ($22.7 billion) but aggregate real wages have fallen by £2 billion… labour’s share has been in decline across the OECD since 1980. The gap has been particularly marked in America: productivity rose by 83 percent between 1973 and 2007, but male median real wages rose by just 5 percent.”

This is only the beginning of what the ruling elite has in mind.

The attacks levelled against workers will deepen, even as crisis-ridden regimes such as Sarkozy’s in France or the Conservative-led coalition in Britain utilise flag-waving over Libya as a means of diverting attention from their domestic agenda.

The working class must formulate its own response to this fundamental political shift. Just as the bourgeoisie’s foreign and domestic policy is dictated by the global interests of the major corporations and the super-rich elite, so too must workers elaborate their own unified international strategy.

Opposition to war cannot be confined to pacifist appeals to either governments or the United Nations, under whose imprimatur the war against Libya is being waged. Neither can a stand against war be expected from any section of the Labour and trade union bureaucracy. Like the struggle to defend jobs and services, the fight against war requires the waging of the class struggle by the workers themselves.

The only viable answer to imperialist war is the independent political mobilisation of the working class in the struggle to replace the rule of capital with a system based upon social equality and genuine democracy. It means workers setting out to take power into their own hands, linking opposition to war with a struggle for decent jobs, social services, health care and education for all, to be paid for through the redistribution of wealth from the ruling elite to working people—the expropriation of the corporate and financial oligopolies and their conversion into democratically-controlled public enterprises.

Source

Saturday, March 26, 2011

FREE RADWAN


My friend, Mohamed Radwan, has been arrested in Syria!!

Radwan is an Egyptian engineer with an American passport. He works these days in Syria. The Syrian regime arrested him trying to convince Syrians that there is a foreign conspiracy against Assad. No poeple, don't believe him..

Spread his word, his story..

(I will update more about Radwan once I am able to pull myself together)

Egyptian Military Abuses Women Protresters With Virginity Tests!!

Serious allegations that the Egyptian military is applying "virginity tests" to women protesters they arrest from different protests. The testimonies came from different sources and yet, the army didn't launch an investigation till now.
These allegations of human rights violations by the Egyptian military are not the first. A lot of documentations of torture of protesters are available and collected by human rights activists and organizations. The systematic torture by military thugs are not stopping till now despite these reports!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Is A No-Fly Zone The Only Way To Help Libya?


Well, America is not that humans-loving! From our experience from Afghanistan and Iraq - the US never give anything for free or for the sake of humanity! So, when they go for a no-fly zone in Libya, there must be another thing than stopping Qaddafi from massacring the Libyan people!!

Put this in mind when you are thinking in the no-fly zone resolution the Security Council just made. This doesn't mean that I am a pro-Qaddafi or endorsing him. Qaddafi is one of the biggest criminals in the human history. I am with the Libyan revolution till forever.

Now, we need to think of something that enables Libyans to continue and succeed in their revolution without allowing western imperial powers to invade and consume Libya's resources in the name of helping the revolution! How can this be done?

Aids and arms need to be smuggled inside Libya, revolutionaries to go there if anyone interested in, hospitals to be opened for Libyan in Tunisia and Egypt. These are examples, I am just triggering a discussion and this can be updated later.

My only point for now is: this is not a only-two-options-available situation between Qaddafi or Western imperialism. There is a third option: to continue the revolution by ourselves...

Monday, March 14, 2011

Thousands of Students Protest in Mansoura Uni


Revolution is rocking inside Egyptian Unis. Thousands of students in Mansoura Uni protested today in campus demanding toppling of NDP-appointed president of the Uni.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Al-Jazeera Cameraman Killed After Gaddafi Forces Ambushed Them.. RIP

(Photo from Al-Jazeera)

Ali Hassan Al Jaber, a cameraman in Al-Jazeera team in Libya. The team was ambushed by Qaddafi's forces near Benghazi and he was killed. Ali was killed just because he was in a team that really works to reveal the truth of the revolution in Libya and massacres carried out by Qaddafi there. May him RIP...

Live Video Feed of Wisconsin Protests at Capitol

theuptake on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Egypt's Labor protests, again and again!!

Does anyone have an objection when we say that the revolution is not over yet and need to continue it? I guess the answer is no: it's not over yet.. We need to continue.

Good, what about the labor protests going on now?

The Egyptian people started their revolution, 40% of them at least was (and still) below the poverty line of $2 a day income. The day by day suffering of Egyptian families is still going on. So, middle-class talky talkers who go back home everyday to find their hot meals and a safe place to spend the night in don't really feel what kind of miserable life the workers are going through Let's agree on that.

Yes, yes.. I know the answer: we are in the middle of a revolution. When we are done with it, the system will be alright and the workers will automatically get their rights back. But, when the workers insist on the continuing their protests, they are stopping "the production wheel" and delaying the "progress of economy" (yea, they assume that the production wheel was running and the progress was on all the time!). OK, let's discuss this..

The business in Egypt can be logically divided into public and private sector. Let's go with private sector first. Here's the situation: Bunch of millionaires and billionaires who are making millions and millions every year and employing tens of thousands of workers who work under very stressful conditions and get paid almost nothing. Now, the workers want their rights back from the millionaires; they want more salaries ad better working conditions. Now, you are saying that you want the production wheel to go on? So, why the hell don't you ask those millionaires to pay the right of workers back to make them go back to their work and continue production?! It drives me crazy to find all people talking and attacking workers for their continuing struggle to get a decent life and not trying for once to blame and attack businessmen who are robbing their workers in the first place! You wanna the so-called production wheel to continue, talk to employers and millionaires not to poor workers for God's sake!

OK, now to the public sector.. Let's agree that the regime wasn't just Mubarak. Mubarak was the head of this corrupted regime but the real body of it is represented in every company, university and institution in Egypt. To topple this regime, we need to topple every head of every governmental institution. This is what the labor protests are doing now. Besides, if we wanna a powerful political life in the future, unions of workers and employees need to be formed everywhere. This is the main starting point and this can only be done by the ongoing struggles and protests. Another thing: let's assume that the Egyptian govt don't have enough money to implement the verdict of the minimum wage of 1200 LE (the truth is they have the money, they should move their asses and get money stolen by the corruption apparatus of Mubarak's regime; that would be enough!), why they don't adopt the verdict firstly and set a time frame to implement it to assure the workers that they will really get their rights back and this is not a game played against them as they used to!

The only thing I can't understand is that when everyone needs to take an attitude and say crap here and there, they attack workers and farmers! Those workers and farmers are the ones who make everything we use and every food we eat and they don't even got fairly paid for that. We can't be sitting on our asses; using what they make and eating what they farm and after all, attack and judge them!!

Yemeni police fire on protesters

Monday, March 7, 2011

Workers Struggle Continues in Egypt


Reports on labor protests from everywhere!

Protests among workers of the Egyptian postal, subway and mining services continued on Monday.

In the cities of Kafr al-Sheikh and Fayoum, Egyptian Post workers staged protests, demanding better salaries and bonuses.

Workers of the Subway Authority staged protests in Helwan. They wanted to substitute their temporary contracts with permanent ones. “The authority’s president had on 17 January ordered permanent contracts for us,” said Islam Ahmed. “But his orders were not carried out even though we have been working here for 15 years.”

Miners in the Baharia Oasis also staged protests. They demanded higher wages and better working conditions

In Minya, Coptic Christians on Sunday protested before the city’s security headquarters. They claimed they were denied elections cards and thus would not be able to cast their votes in the upcoming referendum on constitutional amendments.

In Ismailia, workers of the Suez Canal Authority staged protests for better salaries and bonuses.

Source

Cairo Uni Students Staged A Sit-in طلاب جامعة القاهرة يبدأون اعتصاما

Sunday, March 6, 2011

"America, Keep Your Hands Off Libya"

Video: Egyptian Military Attacks Protesters in Lazoghli Today

Video: State Security Underground Dungeons Discovered



Protesters, after storming into the State Security HQ in Nasr City, Cairo, discovered underground dungeons. The protester who uploaded this video footage describes it as:
Most underground cells are about 1x3 meters, with no light
To remind: this State Security HQ was known as "The Capital of Hell", a lot of detainees got tortured till death, this was one of the scariest places on earth...

Saturday, March 5, 2011

State Security Leaks: Egypt's regime cut a deal with US against democracy


One of the leaked documents from the State Security in Egypt describing a deal made between Egyptian regime and US administration to stop the American pressure on democracy and human rights issues in Egypt. The point highlighted by the red arrow in the document above literally say:
The regime managed to cut a deal with the American administration.. especially with their neglect to to the democracy and liberties issues as they are convinced that the American and Israeli interests in the region will e affected in case the ruling regime in the country changed.

State Security Leaks: State Security Planned The Attacks on Church in Alex

One of the leaked documents protesters found in State Security showing that the SS planned and implemented the attacks on Two Saints Church in Alexandria on the Christmas eve. The document is describing in details who, when and how to operate it..

Another Victory Day: Protesters Storming State Security HQ in Nasr City, Cairo

Afghanistan: US massacres nine children in air strike

(Photo from Boston)

AWIP reports the US massacre.. A video report is also available from Al-Jazeera.

On Tuesday, March 1, the US military massacred nine children in an air strike in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunar province. The attack, which prompted mass protests, is only the latest atrocity in the region, coming less than two weeks after another attack left as many as 65 civilians dead.

Long live resistance, it's the only way we can prevent massacring our children and getting back our land...

From Tahrir...

(Tahrir sq., My photography)

Friday, March 4, 2011

Egyptian Actors Campaign To Free Amr, The Military-trialed Civilian Protester



Egyptian outstanding actors Asser Yassin, Basma and Khaled Abol Naga campaigning to free Amr al-Behery, the civilian protester who got arrested, military-trialed and sentenced for 5 years for forged accusations...

Revolutions Spread Globally: Armenia Strated To Say "No"!


The revolution spread everywhere! Armenians protested on March 1 against their govt...

"Those who make revolutions half way only dig their own graves"


Tahrir square.. (My photography)

Video: Underground Cells Discovered In State Security Building in Alex



After Alex's revolt against state security today...

Video: Inside State Security Building in Alex After Protesters' Take Over



A video from inside the State Security building in Alex after protesters took over it. The video shows tons of documents that have been shredded by State Security officers before they try to escape.

Egypt's Revolution: Brave Protesters' Stand Against State Security

(Photo from hassan Yahya)

Friday, March 4, 2011.. Great Alexandria...

The revolution is still rocking. Protesters across Egypt accomplished the second demand on their last by toppling Shafik's govt. They soon moved to the third one: Down with State Security..

The main theme in chants in today's protests were asking for the State Security to be dissolved. But, Alexandria revolutionaries took the initiative and decided not to only ask for it, they have to do it by themselves as true revolutionaries do!

A huge protest started moving to stage a sit-in in front in the State Security building in Fara'in area but the State Security thugs acted very violently. They opened live ammo and tear gas against protesters which lead to serious injuries of 3 protesters. The protesters decided then that they will not leave.

Reports say that the military stood without any interventions at first. But, after live ammo has been used, the army forces decided to take over. Which is good, the protesters decided that this is not enough. So, hundreds of protesters storm into the State Security building with army soldiers searching for State Security officers who have been shooting them.

I will keep posting updates as soon as I get them...

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Army's Real Face: Military Police Cracks Down Oil Workers Sit-in

(Oil workers protesting, my photography)

The military police cracked down a sit-in of oil workers in front of the Oil ministry in Cairo and arrested 20 workers. The workers have staged their sit-in demanding equality with other branches and companies of Oil industry.

This crackdown of the workers sit-in is another signal the army is giving us about their real face andattitude.. We need to carry on and continue our own revolution by ourselves...

Video: John Rees on Socialists and the Middle East Revolutions



John Rees on Socialists and the Middle East revolutions..

A Free World...

"This must be a world of democracy and respect for human rights, a world freed from the horrors of poverty, hunger, deprivation and ignorance, relieved of the threat and the scourge of civil wars and external aggression and unburdened of the great tragedy of millions forced to become refugees"

Nelson Mandela, Acceptance Speech of Nobel Peace Prize, 1993

Egypt's Revolution: Shafik is Down and We Get A New Lesson!


Shafik is down! God, that was fast!
All the kidding aside, now we have a confirmation of a lesson we already learned before and we learn a new lesson. Today is a practical confirmation of : people's insistence is invincible, there's no power in the world can stand against people's will. The new lesson is: We shouldn't get hesitated or affected by bourgeois counter-revolution attitude.
We should continue our way, insist on our demands till we get a complete victory.
This is our time, we need to fight for our all demands now.. We have the real chance now.. Now or never...

Viva La Revolución!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Military Real Face: Amr al-Behery Sentenced Five Years..

(photo by Mona Seif)

After the military arrested him on Saturday, February 26, 2011, the civilian young protester has been trialed in front of a military court and sentenced five years in jail. Amr was one of a large number of protesters who have been beaten by army in during their sit-in in front of the People's Assembly (the parliament) demanding the step down of Ahmad Shafik.
Despite Amr has been severely beaten(the photo taken by Mona Seif shows his injuries), he has been accused of insulting an army officer!!

The Egyptian army is now showing it's real face.. It's clear now that we need a REAL REVOLUTION, A REAL CHANGE!!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

From Unionists in US to Workers in Egypt: "Our Solidarity!"


A statement that has been circulated by US unionists in solidarity with Egyptian workers:

As trade unionists, we join our Egyptian sisters and brothers in welcoming the fall of dictator Hosni Mubarak. We salute the courage of the Egyptian people who have shed blood and endured many sacrifices in their struggle for democracy, which continues to unfold. The revolution has already inspired people from Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Algeria to Wisconsin to resist the same system of economic injustice and repression.

The roots of this revolution are in a decade of labor revolt against policies that made Mubarak the richest man in the world, while impoverished Egyptian workers earn 43 cents per day.

These workers toppled Mubarak and have continued to challenge a neoliberal regime of privatization, deregulation and union-busting engineered--and brutally enforced throughout the region--by the United States and its allies, taking many actions, including striking and forming new independent trade unions.

Moreover, Egyptians want an end to their government's complicity in U.S. wars of conquest in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere, and in Israel's brutal siege on Gaza.

To keep these detested policies in place, Egypt has long been--after Israel--the largest recipient of U.S. military aid. Thus, while mouthing democratic platitudes, the Obama administration backed Mubarak to the very end, even allowing him to draw on the $1.3 billion in U.S. funding that killed more than 300 democracy protesters.

First, the U.S. and Israel sought to replace Mubarak with vice president, CIA asset and torturer-in-chief, Omar Suleiman--who has helped Israel to strangle Gaza, and openly threatened the revolution with a "coup." Now, it backs the army, which already has refused to rescind repressive emergency laws, has evicted democracy protesters from Tahrir Square, and has threatened to ban independent unions and strikes.

While Egyptians are standing firm, they need support to ensure that this revolution is not--like those in Iran (1953), Guatemala (1954), the Congo (1961), Chile (1973), and so many others--drowned in a sea of blood by the U.S. and its client regimes.

Therefore, we demand that the U.S. cut off all aid to the Egyptian dictatorship--right now.

We also call on all supporters to immediately converge on Egyptian embassies, missions, consulates, and at U.S. government offices, in response to any further attack on the revolution.

We also join with millions of Egyptians to say:

No Mubarak, No Suleiman, No U.S. Puppet Dictator!
Don't Leave the Streets!
Support Egyptian Strikers!
Free the Political Prisoners!
Arrest the Killers and Torturers!
No Neoliberal Economic Austerity!
Open the Border to Gaza!
FULL REGIME CHANGE!

Revolution spirit everywhere: A general strike considered in Wisconsin

(Photo from Mark Danielson/flickr)

Democracy Now! reports Wisconsin workers protests:

Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker is expected to propose deep cuts to the state’s health programs for the poor and aid to local governments. Walker has also threatened to start the process of laying off 1,500 state workers unless 14 Democratic senators return to the state and vote to refinance millions in debt. The Walker administration is coming under intense criticism for largely shutting off the State Capitol to protesters ahead of his speech..
Here is a live Twitter timeline to follow workers fight there!

Solidarity from Egypt, dear comrades!

Protests rocks Jordan..

Zimbabwe: Death sentences for discussing Egypt's revolution!


No, this is not a joke! A group of socialists might face death sentences after they have been arrested and being trialed for discussing Egyptian revolution!

Socialist Workers made a full report (Read it in Arabic here).. We need to help our comrades there, people.. Solidarity needed...

Monday, February 28, 2011

Lebanon: Welcome Revolution!


After, Tunisia and Egypt, the domino effect of the revolution reached Bahrain, Yemen and Libya but the new thing is: it's now in Lebanon!

(Photo from JustImage.com)

Egypt: Journalists Protest in Front of Press Syndicate

Counter-revolution: Stocks Market and Corruption..


Downtown, Cairo: Around 100 protesters were gathering in front of the Egyptian Stock Exchange (ESE). By asking the protesters why they are protesting here not in Tahrir as usual, I got the whole story.

Shafik's govt decided to reopen the ESE again tomorrow, Tuesday. Protesters' main demand there was that we can't open it now as the corrupted members of Mubarak's regime are waiting for this reopening to transfer huge amounts of money abroad. How is that? I got the answer from Dr. Ramadan Ma'rouf, a PhD researcher in political and economical sciences.

Businessmen are waiting for this scheduled reopen to:
1- Some of them can buy all the stocks they have and deposit amounts of money to the International Arab Bank (IAB) which is not subjected to any kind of regulations applied to other banks according to a treaty between Arab countries. After that, they can transfer this money they originally stole from Egyptian people by using the corrupted structure of Mubarak's regime abroad.
2-
GDR: The GDR system allows domestic shares to be offered for sale globally. So here is the deals: Businessmen can buy stocks here in Egypt and go to London to resell them there in London Stock Exchange and here we go! The money is magically there in London.

Besides, reopening the ESE without any measurements from the govt will cause total collapse in the stocks prices. Also, this might expose large shares of a lot of Egyptian people-owned industries to be bought be foreign investors to find significant sectors of our economy to be run by different countries!

According to Dr. Ramadan, this reopen of the ESE will cause losses of around 70 billions LE in the first two days.
Now it's clear, Shafik's govt, which has been appointed by Mubarak, doesn't care about losses and economy as much they care about how Mubarak's regime's businessmen can run away with their money and cover up any corruption leads from the past.

Update: Protesters gained a new success; the reopening of the ESE has been postponed to the next Sunday.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

A testimony On The Arrest Of Protester Amr Abdallah on Friday, February 26

A testimony from Dr. Laila Mostafa Sewif, an eye-witness of the arrest and torture of Amr Abdallah, the protesters who is currently facing military trial after the army made up an arm possession case against him.. (Read it in Arabic too)

At 2 am, Saturday, February 26, 2011 in AL-Qasr Al-Einy st., in front of the People's
Assembly, after the military soldiers and police violently adjourned the sit-in I was part of, and while we were leaving, some military soldiers abducted Mr. Amr Abdallah al-Behery (32 years old, from Kafr Al-Zayyat) and started beating him strongly and hurt his face strongly without any clear reason as we were all leaving. When I, and my company, objected this and declared that we won't leave without this young man, a high-rank military officer calmed us down and ordered to bring Amr and he was severely injured in his face. We took him and walked through al-Qasr al-Ainy st. Dr. Shady al-Ghazaly Harb, Dr. Takadom al-Khatib (a lecturer in faculty of Arts, Mansoura Uni), my daughter Mona Seif al-Islam Abd el-Fattah, my son Alaa Seif al-Islam Abd el-Fattah and his wife Manal Bahei al-Dein Hassan and Mr. Ahmad Abdallah (a relative of Amr who was helping him to walk) were with me.

While we were walking, 2 young men stopped with their car offering a transportation to any place. So, we asked them to take Amr and his relative then Dr. Shady and Dr. Takadom left us to take Dr. Shady's car and I, with my family, continued walking in Garden City's streets.

After minutes, Dr. Takadom called me saying that the military officers stopped them again. So, we went back to al-Qasr al-Ainy st. to find that Amr, his relative, dr. Shady, dr. Takadom and the two young men who were only helping by their car have been all arrested by a large number of military officers.

Then, at around 4 am, Dr. Takadom called me saying that he and Dr. Shady has been released but the other four detainees are still abducted and saying that the army officers who abducted them were saying that Amr is posessing a weapon.

By 2 pm, Saturday February 26, 2011, and after I knew about Statement 23 that has been issued by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces that was stating that all detainees from this morning has been released, I called Mr. Ahmad Abdallah, Amr's relative, who have told me that he and the two young men who have been helping them have been released but he doesn't know anything about Amr.

I would like to assure that Amr Abdallah al-Behery wasn't possessing any
kind of arms. He was detained at first by the army and they would never have release him
as they did in the first time and let him go with us if he was carrying any arms.
Most probably, the army continued detaining Amr and made an arm possession case against him
in an attempt to justify the Amr's injuries after my daughter Mona Ahmad Seif, Dr. Shady al-Ghazaly Harb and Dr. Takadom photographed his injuries and it was clear that we were intending to file complaints about this torture case. Besides, I would like to say that all youths, who have been detained by the army and I talked with, told me that they have been severely beaten and some of them told me that them have been electrocuted.

Dr. Laila Mostafa Sewif
Lecturer, Faculty of Sciences, Cairo Uni
National ID: 25605018800105



Video: Egyptian Military Severely Torturing Detainees الجيش المصري يقوم بتعذيب المعتقلين



A video showing army officers severely and brutally torturing detainees by electrocuting and beating them.. You can see high-rank military officers present while torturing the detainees.. This is what the army is; just an arm of Mubarak's regime...
فيديو يظهر مجموعة من ضباط الجيش يقوم بتعذيب مجموعة من المعتقلين بشدة عبر الصعق بالكهرباء وضربهم.. يظهر في الفيديو أحد الضباط من أصحاب الرتب العالية في الجيش موجودا أثناء تعذيب المعتقلين.. أصبح الأمر واضحا الآن: الجيش هو مجرد ذراع أخري لنظام مبارك

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Monday, February 21, 2011

Libya: The Grandsons of Omar al-Mokhtar...


"We do not surrender.. We win or we die" - Omar al-Mokhtar

(Designed by Mohamed Al-Bakry)

How To Help Libya?...


Please help Libya
You can join/help medical convoys to Libya
by calling:
# Dr. Abd el-Fattah Rizk: 0101434295
(General coordinator of the medical convoy)

# Dr. Ihab: 0100273337
(Coordinator of the medical convoys in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt )

Or you can call two Libyan lawyers
who help in smuggling aids into Libya:

# Mr. Sami Hazza'a 0103370079

# Mr. Gaber Abd Allah: 0105270738

لمن يريد الانضمام ومساعدة القوافل الطبية المصرية على حدود ليبيا

# د/ عبد الفتاح رزق 0101434295 المنسق العام للبعثة الطبية
# د/ ايهاب 0100273337 منسق القوافل الطبية بمدينة نصر- القاهرة

محاميان فى القبائل الليبية يمكنهم تهريب المساعدات
# أ/ سامى هزاع 0103370079
# أ/ جابر على الله 0105270738



Libya.. Ghaddafi Kills All (3)



The massacre of Benghazi yesterday..
(Al-Jazeera says that the footage is what they could broadcast.. After I saw this, I wonder what the other martyrs Al-Jazeera couldn't broadcast looks like)

Libya.. Ghaddafi Kills All (2)



Dead protester..

Libya.. Ghaddafi Kills All (1)



Corpses are founds burnt after attacks by the Libyan army on protesters

Union solidarity with Egypt: UTLA


A statement of solidarity from the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) with the Egyptian revolution and the ongoing workers' strikes and protests:

Support democracy and workers' rights in Egypt! End U.S. aid to the military regime!

MOVED THAT UTLA express our support for the struggle for workers' rights in Egypt following the heroic protests that ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak, and for the recent formation of the Egyptian Federation for Independent Unions as an alternative to the state-controlled Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions.

Further moved that UTLA express our support for the immediate transition to free and fair democratic elections, and demand that President Obama and the U.S. Congress immediately halt all financial support for Egypt's military regime--which has ruled the country and thwarted democracy for six decades.

Rationale: The U.S. government gives Egypt's military regime approximately $1.3 billion per year. This "foreign aid" does not help the 40 percent of Egyptian people who survive on less than $2 per day, but instead helps the military purchase the tear gas, guns and other weapons that were used by Mubarak's police and supporters to attack the peaceful democracy protesters in Tahrir Square.

It is unconscionable that our tax dollars are being used to help foreign governments repress their own populations while education, health care and other public services face budget cuts and layoffs across the U.S.

A rising wave of workers' struggles, strikes and union organizing played a critical role in Mubarak's ouster. Now for the first time many Egyptian workers are creating their own independent unions not controlled by the government. The right to independent unions is a cornerstone of democracy and civil liberties. Our sisters and brothers in the Teachers Independent Union are among the founders of the Egyptian Federation for Independent Unions.

Time Sensitive: Protests and strikes continue as we speak in Egypt, with the future of the country in the balance every day. Messages of support from unions like ours will make a huge difference by giving confidence to the Egyptian workers' movement. Moreover, President Obama just announced his budget proposal, which cuts dozens of crucial public services at a time when they're needed the most.

Thus the federal government is now deciding on budgetary expenditures, including aid to Egypt and other undemocratic regimes. Now is the perfect time to demand "money for educators, not for dictators!"

UTLA House of Representatives, Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Seif Ghaddafi :D



I didn't carry any respect before to that theory saying that stupidity is genetically inherited.. Well, I apologize. Seif Ghaddafi just proved me wrong. That young man just gave one of the funniest speeches in the history of mankind (I dun know about speeches in the world of apes but this might apply there too!). I dun think that there's anyone to compete you in this stupidity better than your dad.. Your family rocks, Ghadaffi apes!
Well, set all the kidding aside, you will never run away with the massacres and blood on your hands. The Libyan revolution just started and will NEVER stop...

Workers protests are still challenging the military orders


Only 24 hours after t military junta's decision about banning strikes, a wave of workers protests and strikes swept different locations in Egypt. Omar Effendi's workers, Egypt Postal workers, local council's employees, Swiss Co. workers, Basyoun Brothers Co. workers, Ezz Dkhayla workers and peasants in different locations painted a brilliant portrait of how to continue the revolution.

Libya: Benghazi is Now Free


The revolution in Libya is moving forward. Libyans just declared it: "Benghazi is Free". The protesters managed to get rid of all Qaddafi soldiers. Stay strong, our brothers and sisters in Libya. You are changing the history..

Egyptian military kills a woman and arrests workers in Suez


The Egyptian military is now proving their real attitude towards our revolution. A military truck just killed a woman in Suez during moving to transport some of drivers military arrested after breaking down drivers sit-in. In Cairo also, the military police has allegedly arrested 5 workers from the Egyptian Railways workshops after they staged a sit-in. I think it's becoming very clear to all people now. If we do wanna make a COMPLETE change, then back to supporting strikes and back to Tahrir square...

Post-Mubarak Graffiti!


A collection of post-Mubarak Graffiti in Cairo streets. Photographed by Mona Seif.

Revolution is Rocking Everywhere!

After Tunisia and Egypt, the revolution is spreading everywhere. I wanna make a 'revolution hot spots' map or something like this!

In Libya:



In Morocco:


In Iran:

Jordan: Peaceful Protesters Attacked By King's Thugs

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Bahrain's Revolution: Army is Deliberately Killing Peaceful Protesters (Video)



This is so brutal. The Bahrain's army is deliberately killing a lot of Bahraini protesters with live rounds. Long live your revolution, our brothers and sisters in Bahrain. Long live your revolution..

Libya's Revolution: 'Many killed' in Benghazi


Qaddafi is burning Libya. The revolution is devastating his authority and he make a revenge before he got toppled. He is definitely going to the hell of of stupid killers (with Mubarak and Ben Ali) but he doesn't wanna make it easy. Al-Jazeera reported mass killing in Libya done by Qaddafi thugs:

Libyan security forces have reportedly opened fire at a funeral in the eastern city of Benghazi, killing at least 15 people and injuring scores more as protests against Muammar Gaddafi, the country's long-time ruler, continued.

The victims on Saturday were mourning the loss of protesters who had been killed during anti-government demonstrations in the city during the past week, witnesses said, bringing the death toll to more than 100 in six days of unrest, according to opposition groups.

Please free people allover the world: LIBYA NEEDS OUR HELP..


Click here for the full Al-Jazeera report on Libyan revolution...

Morocco: The Revolution is Almost Set!



Would February 20, 2011 be the date of the Moroccan revolution?! Thousands of Moroccans are expected to join major
protests demanding limit to the king's powers and handing some to a newly elected government. Well, the domino effect is moving so fast and the history of the whole world is being changed now. We are coming, Palestine.. WE ARE COMING...

Strikes And Our Permanent Revolution in Egypt



I couldn't have imagined that in the middle of our revolution, I might find someone to say that the revolutionaries shouldn't call for any strikes! I thought it was an ABC in the handbooks of the revolutions(!) that after toppling the police and the dictator and intervention of the military, the only weapon to use is the strikes. The military can kill people protesting but CAN NOT deal with striking workers sitting at their home!
So, again, to remind: the strikes are the only way to continue our revolution for these reasons:
1- Before anything, the demands of all strikes and protests now are very legit! They need to have a good life with average standards and actually the participated in the revolution for that very reason.(This is especially true if we put in mind that there is already a verdict of the minimum wage setting it to 1200 LE)
2- The strikes are the main tool people can use to exert more and more pressure on the military to meet ALL the demands of the revolutionaries as the huge businesses worldwide won't stand anymore losses.

3- The revolution was calling for toppling and destroying the whole regime not Mubarak only. Mubarak has gone but there is a lot and a lot of corruption soldiers in every sector of the state. The strikes are the main tool to expose those corrupted officials and remove them. Egypt is like a big ship now, the captain has been killed but we still need to shake this ship well to force all the rats to leave that ship and run away! Strike is the way to make that shaking!

4- If we are looking for a good political environment in Egypt in the future, we need to start building it's core now; and that's the unions. Workers have to start building independent unions everywhere and rebuild new forms to communicate. This needs to be done ASAP as the strikes waves are already there, people are still in the euphoria of the victory and there won't be any police harassment anytime soon!

Mahalla Workers Makes A New Victory

(photo from 3arabawy)

One day after the military junta warned Egyptian workers from continuing striking, Mahalla textile workers managed, after 4 days of striking, to topple the NDP-backed CEO and to raise their development bonuses with 100% and their monthly bonuses with 50%.
This new victory makes it very clear: the widespread protests and strikes everywhere is the main way to continue our revolution and remove all forms of corruption in all sectors of the state (i.e making a TRUE revolution)..

To Continue The Egyptian Revolution...


By this scene, I can't think of anything but this: Our revolution is on the right track.. Just a little more effort and we will do it.. We will bring down the whole regime...

Friday, February 18, 2011

Revoltology!


I always had this very annoying problem: where the hell can I write?! Of course, I tried blogging before but I always failed to continue and that always made me feel like I am letting someone out there down!
Well, I am re-blogging again here. I feel like I have a lot to say and there's no time better than that to start. I hope I can make it this time and manage to keep this blog out there for a while! Wish me luck!