Happy Valentine's Day

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Ghonim and Said

Friends of mine, even politically aware friends, ask what's up with the Egyptian "revolution"? Why are they revolting? Most of my friends aren't aware of what is meant by "brutal dictatorship". Khaled Said is the unfortunate classic example.

Khalid Said

On June 18, 2010, the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) reported that:

Egyptian businessman Khalid Said died during what witnesses say was a brutal public beating by police officers on June 6 in Alexandria, [Egypt].

He was described as "an affable, middle-class man." The CSM reported that:

The government’s first official autopsy report claimed that Said died from asphyxiation after swallowing a plastic bag of narcotics when he was approached by police. Said’s family and witnesses at the Internet cafe where police apprehended him tell a different story, saying police began the abuse in the cafe, then dragged him outside, where they beat him to death.

Said was reportedly targeted because he intended to make public a video that allegedly shows police officers dividing the spoils of a drug bust. Graphic pictures of the injuries that killed Said, coupled with the public nature of his beating death ... have propelled his tragic case to prominence, largely through posts on social-networking sites and blogs.

The following photo of Said, prominently displayed on a Facebook site, drives home the word "brutal."



Another Facebook website entitled "We are all Khalid Said" is credited with promoting the uprisings widely said to have begun January 25, 2010. Until recently, the initiator of "We are all Khalid Said" website was unknown.

What was known, however, was that Wael Ghonim was snatched from the streets of Egypt by plain-clothed police. He was widely described on Tweets in late January as a "Google Executive"People of Egypt feared the worst as the days passed with no word on the fate of @Ghonim, as he was known on Twitter. Video of Ghonim being snatched chilled people who understood what the word "brutal" means in the phrase "brutal dictatorship".[1]

Arrest widely said to be Google Exec Wael Ghonim

Then, on February 7, 2012, Wael Ghonim was released. Egyptian blogger @Sandmonkey and @ SultanAlQassemi tweeted the some of the first translations of an interview with Wael Ghonim with Dream TV. Some of Ghonim's statements, roughly translated & tweeted by SultanAlQassemi follow (not originally tweeted in this order):

I was taking a taxi, suddenly four people surrounded the car, I yelled "Help me, Help me" I was blindfolded then taken away. [Doesn't fit with video above, but see link to video with English subscripts below]

They wanted details, information. "Are the people who planned this outsiders?" We didn't do anything wrong, this was an appeal

The interrogators wanted to know if outsiders were involved. I convinced them this was a purely Egyptian movement.

The treatment was very good, they knew I was a good Egyptian. I was blindfolded for 12 days, I didn't see their faces.

I kept thinking "are people thinking of me?" I was wondering if my family knew where I was, my wife, dad, mother.

I can't claim I know what happened when I was inside. I didn't know anything until one day before I left.

I met with the Minister of Interior today. He was sat like any other citizen. He spoke to me like an equal. I respected that

I told the Interior Minister if I stripped naked & told people that I was beaten even without marks they would believe me.

I told the Interior Minister we have two problems 1- we don't talk to each other, this must be solved, 2- There is no trust

There were several men in the room with me & the Minister of Interior. I asked him if I can speak about this he said as u wish

The youth on the streets made Dr Hossam Badrawi (General Secretary of NDP [Mubarak's political party]) drive me to my house today

I am not a hero. I was only used the keyboard, the real heroes are the ones on the ground. Those I can't name.

I spent all my time on computer working for my country. I wasn't optimistic on the 25th but now I can't believe it

The DreamTV interview with Wael Ghonim, with subtitles, the day he was released.

[1] The film repeats, the second time in slow motion. Notice a point in the film in which three police are walking @Ghonim away when fourth police comes in from the right of the screen and lifts off one of his feet as he violently grabs @Ghonim's by the hair, yanking his head down.

Palin = Soma

Soma is the name of the fictional drug featured in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Soma was a pleasure drug promoted by the "government" to keep the masses distracted. Brutal authoritarian methods were not needed to control the people in Huxley's authoritarian world, because the masses were busy self-medicating with soma, among other diversions.

Palin = Soma. Matt Taibbi has pretty well nailed it, as he often does.

Her followers will not know that she is the perfect patsy for our system, designed as it is to channel popular anger in any direction but a useful one, and to keep the public tied up endlessly in pointless media melees over meaningless nonsense (melees of the sort that develop organically around Palin everywhere she goes). Like George W. Bush, even Palin herself doesn’t know this, another reason she’s such a perfect political tool. Full Taibbi Piece.

Yes. It's not hyperbole to say "We live in Huxley's Brave New World, and Sara Palin is a human form of Soma."

Sources:

Thanks to Pragpro Blog for the lead on this Matt Taibbi piece.

Fall Colors Begin to Emerge

Changing Seasons

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I took that picture ;-)

Fleeing War

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REUTERS/Athar Hussain, Karachi May 21, 2009.

Long Shadows in Spring

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Deliciaa

The Blossoms are Here

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Alegas

Happy Valentine's Day

Graphic Credits:

Valentine eye by phlezk

Her Valentine Dragon by Zilla

Steampunk Valentine by rsandberg

Valtentine box held by depart

Valentine on hip by li bra

RNC Chair Michael Steele's Voice "unimportant"

Michael Steele, former Lt. Governor of Maryland and newly appointed chair of the Republican National Committee, has egg on his face. In discussing Obama's stimulus package on Democracy Now, James Galbraith, economist and professor of public affairs and government at the University of Texas, dismisses the wacky verbiage of Michael Steele.

AMY GOODMAN: Professor Galbraith, what do you make of the new RNC chair, Michael Steele, saying these aren’t jobs, they’re simply work?

JAMES GALBRAITH: Well, it’s interesting that this semantic philosopher has taken over the Republican National Committee. It’s going to lead to some exceptionally—historians will have fun with the logic chopping and sentence parsing that we’re going to get from Mr. Steele, obviously, during his tenure. But otherwise, it’s unimportant.

Steele supposedly coined the slogan "drill baby drill." It's said that when a political party is initially discredited, like the Republican Party is today, most of the moderate members run for cover. This leaves a vacuum for the fringe elements, like Michael Steele and Sarah Palin, to take center stage. As media studies professor Susan Douglass recently said about Sarah Palin, following her is like watching a train wreck over and over, which can be entertaining if you enjoy the surreal.

Sources:

Democracy Now, Economist James Galbraith: Bailed-Out Banks Should Be Declared Insolvent, February 10, 2009.

Flattened by the Blues

If you want to see this blue montage right-side-up, you'll have to Click Here for a little repliderium.

Psssst... Do Something

• Contact the Broadcast Media
  
• Contact the Newspapers
  
• Contact the US Senate
  
• Contact the House of Representatives

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It's Ultimately So Sad

Now we must struggle to "make the world a better place," knowing that we have so much to over come just to get back to where we were eight years ago. But the reality is that Bush has done irreversible damage to so many aspects of our existence. * sigh * I guess it's time to get to work.

Psssst... Do Something

• Contact the Broadcast Media
  
• Contact the Newspapers
  
• Contact the US Senate
  
• Contact the House of Representatives

Ahhhh... Fall

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Photo Credit: Boodie

Autumn Mood

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Photo/Art Credie: Aimelle

Swirling Autumn Leaves

Side note: According to my web page statistics, people are conducting google searches on the phrase "will Bush declare martial law?"

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Photo/Art Credit: ph33lth3lov3

Autumn Magic

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Photo Credit: Sortvind

Autumn Colors

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Photo Credit: toadsmoothy2

Democracy and Capitalism

The House of the Rising Sons blog voices an important concept:

Democracy is not an outgrowth of free markets. Democracy and capitalism are antagonistic entities.

More on this is said and is worth reading. The same post also quotes a successful hedge fund manager who, not trusting banks anymore, has suspended operations. He has critical words for the financial elite and governing class. For example:

legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have [reined] in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it.

The establishment is out of control. It is a historic moment in which informed people need to step up and recognize the other thing stated in that blog entry:

Democracy, like individualism, is not based on personal gain but on self-sacrifice.

Image Credit: GDAEman on DeviantArt

Black Friday

Sources:

Associated Press, World markets slump on recession fears, October 24, 2008.