FRIDAY LUNCH CLUB
"Egyptians can't take much more of this!"
"...Egyptian nerves are frayed, and not just because of a lingering post-Mubarak transition. There are other examples of insecurity, all from the past week. An HSBC bank was robbed by armed men in broad daylight in a Cairo suburb, while on the same day an armoured truck carrying large amounts of cash was hijacked. A group of Chinese workers from an army cement plant in central Sinai were kidnapped for ransom by Bedouins (they were released after a few days)....
Egyptians can't take much more of this. This is a country where 40 per cent live near the poverty line, where business has taken a massive hit since last year's uprising and whose state coffers are emptying fast. Amid lingering uncertainty about its political future - the street, parliament and army continue to be locked in a heated debate ...
To add to the general confusion, many Egyptians will tell you that this insecurity is planned. The Muslim Brotherhood blamed the stadium disaster on "remnants of the former regime" - a common shorthand for the deep state and former high-level officials - who want to destabilise the political transition and the ascendancy of Islamists.
Many among young revolutionaries believe the military itself is manipulating public opinion with this violence, to get a better bargaining position as it negotiates its exit from power. A common conspiracy theory is that military and the security service officials are behind the chaos, which they hope will help them to avoid being prosecuted for crimes committed before and since the uprising. Indeed, while the army has declared three days of mourning for the victims, the anti-military protest movement is planning a series of marches and protests against the government and the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
It is not only political radicals who hold this view. The morning after the football disaster yesterday, a very staid Egyptian investment banker told me he thought the security services were behind it, as intelligence services had warned that "a group of thugs" were heading to Port Said with the intention of disrupting the game, yet security had been suspiciously lax - as videos of riot police standing still as the crowds erupted onto the pitch show. A common view is that the police wanted to punish football fans such as the Ultras, who made a name for themselves during the occupation of Tahrir Square last year for their fearless battles with police and pro-Mubarak thugs.
Are these conspiracies within the realm of possibility? Perhaps - security at the stadium was certainly extremely lax despite warnings.
But the unproven speculation is distracting from the reality that Egypt needs an operational, authoritative (but not authoritarian) police force, as any state does. The question of police reform, and the rebuilding of its self-confidence, has yet to be tackled seriously, with the past year wasted on superficial changes. The new parliament needs to work with the government so that civilians finally get an understanding of what is behind all this violence - the old regime "remnants", "foreign hands" or perhaps more simply a state and a society that still has to forge a new, hopefully more humane, relationship."
Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 9:42 AM 0 comments Links to this post Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook
'Anonymous' on a rampage: 'Haditha Massacre' files leaked!
"Anonymous is on a rampage today. Just hours after leaking a confidential phone call between the FBI and Scotland yard, members have released a huge archive of emails and documents related to the 2005 Haditha Massacre, which left 24 Iraqi civilians dead.
Just a few minutes ago, Anonymous announced they had stolen 2.6 gigabytes of email belonging to the law firm Puckett Faraj. Neal Puckett represents Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, who was accused of leading the group of Marines who killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha in November, 2005—what later became known as the Haditha Massacre. Last month, Wuterich struck a plea deal where he'll be demoted from Staff Sergeant to Private, but will serve no prison time.
Anonymous promises the emails contain "detailed records, transcripts, testimony, trial evidence, and legal defense donation records" about the Haditha case, and other cases Puckett Faraj handles.
To announce the hack, Anonymous defaced the website of Pucket Farai with this message:
"As part of our ongoing efforts to expose the corruption of the court systems and the brutality of US imperialism, we want to bring attention to USMC SSgt Frank Wuterich who along with his squad murdered dozens of unarmed civilians during the Iraqi Occupation. Can you believe this scumbag had his charges reduced to involuntary manslaughter and got away with only a pay cut?"
The emails should be posted to the Pirate Bay soon. Judging by our quick glance of an advanced archive posted to a website on the TOR anonymizing network, they definitely stole emails from Pucket Faraj..."
Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 11:02 PM 0 comments Links to this post Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook
Pat Lang: 'Mr. President: Tell Bibi No! Publicly!
- Panetta thinks the Israelis are likely to act against Iran soon.
- The US IC still believes that the Iranians no longer have a nuclear weapons program.
- The Israel first crowd are not going to support BHO for president again.
- They prefer Romney or gingrich or anyone else except Paul..
- The Evangelicals are not going to support BHO.
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The cretin element in the population is not going to support BHO. I have talked to numerous Gentile retirees in their ghettoized communities in the warmer regions. Many of them slaver for Iranian blood, fed in their dotage a steady diet of propaganda by Rush and faux news. They are not going to support BHO either.
- The majority of Americans do not want another war, especially one patently boosted for and on behalf of a foreign country mired in its own delusions. Republican support of war against Iran will cost them the election.
-BHO, Panetta and the CJCS have all told the Israeli government that we will not join in a pre-emption against them nor "bail them out" in a pre-emption against Iran.
Soooo
Tell the world that:
If the USIC decides that Iran has a nuclear weapons program that is proceeding with weaponization, we will destroy it. We will not welcome Israel's "help" in this. This should generally be our policy. The present nuclear powers are to some extent "grandfathered," but only from necessity.
An Israeli first strike on Iran has nothing to do with us and WILL have nothing to do with us.
pl
Posted by G, M, Z, or B
