Pages

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

pOmo Money is Blowing Up the Financial System

This article and this one here, and this one explain precisely how the economic-monetary system is being blown up. The pOmo war on reality strikes again!
Let's clarify this! Take a concept like, peace. Tensions and clashing interests will have to be absorbed by self control and endless parley, opine the peaceniks. What they are actually proposing is pretending there's a state of peace. Which makes it an end in itself. But guess what? Sooner or later stress will rebuild. It's a natural state of affairs. You can't make that go away by merely wishing it. Thought does not make reality.

Now let's have a look at the fallacy. Peace isn't an end in itself, but a condition, the result of a number of factors resulting in an equilibrium. Who wants peace, must make sure that these factors are in place. But by basically taking a short cut and aping peace, the result is a peace of plastic and styrofoam. It's the perception of peace, form without content. With pOmothinkers this stuff is on the order of the day!

Now let's turn to the monetary system. Like the peace of the peaceniks, QE is producing fake growth: it's in fact a hoax. Politicians evading the factors leading to growth do so because they hurt. Because prior to growth there's weeding, bankruptcies and creative destruction (here an explanation from nature). That sort of stuff doesn't make you popular as a politician. So they prefer a short cut, and try to think of ways to mimic growth. In the last century we had the printing press and the state interventions thought up by Keynes (tax and spend and the non existent jobs plans). Now we have QE. Like the fake peace, this will collapse at some point. What precisely will happen, no one knows. Here be dragons, no one has ever pulled a hoax like this.

>>> The fallacy exists because pomo thinkers deny the existence of concepts. Therefore they're unable to properly identify: what is this object in essence, how do I know that, and then solumnly declare: A=A, it is what it is.

Another example from the peaceniks: "Make love, not war" is the morality of a backward infant. The concepts 'love' and 'peace' are being crushed here: love is the reward for integrity of values, and peace isn't the absence of violence, as we have just seen. Holding elections in a failed state is a short cut to a civil society: it's pretending it's a 'democracy'. Gaza teaches us where such a deception may lead.

These pomo creation of perceptions are actually short cuts to something for nothing, the mindset of the criminal. There's a word for coveting a value without wanting to do the necessary effort, or paying the price: it's called theft. The mental crime caught fire by Marx, who proposed to abolish money, so that material inequality might be banned. Here value is being crushed by money. 

What is money? Money is a thing in itself (paper, metal), but the real value is in the energy and the material of the surplus production which is represents. QE, or fiat money is just money in itself (paper and metal) without the value of the surplus production. Without a gold standard or some other value reference, it is hot air, funny money.

On the philosophical level pomo thinkers are making the same 'mistake' (actually they do it on purpose) Marx made in economic terms: if you strip a thing of its value, equality will be the result, or at least that is the logic. But abstract values are immaterial and therefore indestructable. In the end the war on values will fail: cynicism, nihilism, ridicule, delegitimization, stripping words of their essence and warping their definition will not lead to more equality.


In the picture above: pomo art, a wild attack on values, but note the projection! It is supposed to be Capitalism, but it actually is QE! We're in a bond bubble! We are printing money to buy our own debt! It doesn't get any more perverse than this!

Monday, October 17, 2011

OWS Def's Analysis of the Extremely Dangerous Occupy Death Cult

www.thepeoplescube.com
The #OccupyWallStreet movement started in the United States. The protesters want more equality and less avarice. It is mostly the private sector that is being targeted (barring a few grunts against the FED).

Since the last couple of days the protests have spread to other cities in the world. Since Saturday October 15 #Occupy rallies are being held in 82 countries.

Should you be one of those braindead nihilistic lemmings, you are probably unaware what the Occupy movement is forcing on us. But the next chart is making that plain in the blink of an eye.
This chart is showing the strategies and tactics used over the last decades to lumber the world with Socialism/Marxism. The colored text represents the most recent period. If you look carefully at the terms and the paths taken, you'll see that Socialists over the years have often chosen much less direct propaganda methods. Those methods were not chosen haphazardly, but were developed by the Frankfurt School

The last method worked wonderfully until very recent, but it has been losing ground due to the free flow of information on the Internet. So Socialists were forced to think of new ways. Many powerful Leftists involved are well capable of such a feat, for instance: Naomi Klein, Michael Moore, Slavoj Žižek, Naom Chomski, Paul Krugman and George Soros.

A broad coalition was formed who said rthat the soft, indirect method isn't working anymore, so let's use the current momentum (the crisis) to adopt a more direct way. Enough already with the half baked rants about multiculturalism and environmentalism; let's take a blunt implement to ethics and reality. The result is your typical Occupy protester: semi and full throttle hippies who often enough don't even know why they are there and are unashamed to admit it; complaining that wealth and money are the root of all evil.

People who support liberty, individualism and life, are at a loss how to handle the new, in your face movement. They are scared stiff, like a deer in the head lights. And that is not very clever and it's very dangerous besides. In form and nature these protests are in the tradition of the agitation that led to the rise of Communism, fascism, the 1968 student rebellion and the ensuing counter-cultural revolution, and the Islamo-Marxist Arab 'spring'.

Rest assured that with lack of a prompt answer the direct method will be even more effective than the indirect way. Within months the thousands may become millions. The only reason why the direct method has failed in the past, is that it was tried and self destructed. The world cannot afford another socialist experiment. Do not allow the Occupiers their Utopia! Destroy them (with the pen) before it's too late.

By Def

Def blogs @ www.pomoland.com

Friday, October 14, 2011

OWS: Who Are the pOmo Revolutionaries? (2)

Continued from "#OWS: The Pseudo Religion of Socialism"

Houston, we have a problem! Far leftist anarchists with a view to taking a sledge hammer to the ruling paradigm have been uncovered. By Andrew Breitbart, no less. The meta theory is: Washington is intolerably corrupt, but it isn't nearly as powerful as it should be: the Flea Party are Obama's foot orcs, blaming a broken Congress, the rich, the banksters and Big Corporations for Obama's devastation that is called the US economy: the demogogue has been feeding his cretins on a steady diet of class warfare!

But now it seems no-government anarchists are involved in the fleabaggers movement: Andrew Breitbart:



Meanwhile the evidence has been posted. An excerpt:

(...) By embracing the Occupy movement, President Barack Obama, the Democrat Party, and their union allies may be supporting an effort to harm both the domestic and global economies; to create social unrest throughout the democratic world; and to embrace other radical causes, including the anti-Israel movement. Ironically, the emails suggest that the President and the Democrat Party may soon find their friends in the Occupy movement to be a political burden. (...)
As we speak Breibart's site, Big Government has also posted this under cover evidence, including the fleabaggers email archive (twitter hashtag #owslist).

The relationship with George Soros fascist propaganda outfit has already been made, who incidentally also signed for inciting the Arab Spring. This in turn inspired the European Indignants, who are currently putting up camp just outside the gates of Brussels.

Limbaugh has traced the origins of the #Occupy fleabaggers back the Vancouver based, SoroS backed anti consumer organization Adbusters, which is also staunchly pro Pali antisemitic. The racist association of Jews with bankers and Wall Street is an easy one to make.

That this 'revolution', which should culiminate some time tomorrow, is a completely artificial construct has been clear for anyone who cared to watch it. Here's some evidence of actors being involved. But great fun is had by all, including under cover Conservative muckraker,  James "Bankster" O'Keefe!

Europeans are buying the deception hook, line and sinker. But then, they wouldn't recognize evil collectivists if they were to fall over them! 56% of Dutch support #OccupyAmsterdam, Rotterdam etc. etc., 16% oppose.

Another movement involved is Zeitgeist, a progressive, Utopian, sustainable, social engineering madhouse that wants to replace current civilization with a money-free and cybernated "resource-based economy" (home page). What is the Zeitgeist movement.
The Zeitgeist Movement and the Venus Project promote replacing human labour with automation, government will be through collective participation of the public, aided by advanced cybernation. According to the movement, there will be no decision-making process regarding greater social issues by human beings, those decisions are arrived at by using the scientific method, based on the carrying capacity of the Earth, rather than using human opinions. The replacement of human decision making by artificial intelligence is termed 'Social Cybernation'. Private property will not be abolished, but it will become obsolete as culture grows, being replaced by "a system of universal access".
By the time Utopia is attained no doubt the bodies will be piling up.

Tomorrow posting the final chapter (hopefully).

Thursday, October 6, 2011

OWS: Of Revolution, Chaos, Mayhem and a Global Coup

It didn't have to be this way. The revolt that has been brewing for the last couple of years, that temporarily came to the eruption known as "the Arab Spring", is now on its way to the West. It is at present converging on Wall Street #OccupyWallStreet and Brussels #OccupyBrussels #Revolution_info #globalchange.

- The New Counter Cultural Revolution, same
as the Old Counter Cultural Revolution -
The apotheosis of this 'spontaneous, grassroots rebellion' is foreseen for some time next week. It's a wide range far lefty outfit, consisting of midguided libertarians, #Anonymous Wiki Leaks supporters, eco fascists, anti consumer brigades, anti globalists, unions and other rag tag lefty causes. For an illustration visit Occupy, a global action site against banks and banksters.

Spooky Dude, SoroS' money is involved (just as it was in the Arab Spring).  Now here's a tentative hypothesis about the next move on the global chess board.

Although the Obama regime's closest friends are keeping shop on Wall Street, let's not kid ourselves where loyalties lie. A Limbaugh informer has confirmed Obama needs rioting in the streets to fan his re-election strategy for class warefare.

In 2009 the Obama threatened the bankers: I’m the only thing standing between you and the pitchforks. They didn't behave; so here are the pitchforks.The movement has a synergy with the regime, and its policies of entitlements, class war fare, mob rule, virtual money printing (QE), and tax and spend.

If you want a good laugh, here's their list of demands consisting entirely of entitlements. Oh, but that's not us. This is just dizinformation to confuse "irresponsible news/commentary agencies like Fox News and Mises.org". Confused? Nah. You won't be after reading the official demands issued by a rival lot (don't miss the page on spirituality!).

- The anti corporation agenda of Occupy,
attacking the very source of jobs, wealth and value - 
The Europeans are on the side of deep cuts and austerity. On 17th September we saw how tax cheat Timmy Geithner warned the assembled European FinMins. Today he'll testify to US lawmakers that "Europe’s Financial Crisis [is] Increasing Risks to Global Growth", calling for a more “powerful financial backstop” for European banks and government borrowers, one that is “conditioned on policy actions that credibly address the underlying causes of concern.”

Have Obama's commie Americans been plotting a coup against Europe? They sure are on the side of international Socialism. According to good revolutionary theory chaos and mayhem is the way to accomplish it. Besides, you're so much more persuasive if a few million useful idiots in the streets are screaming their affirmation.

As said, it didn't have to be this way. Here's a word on solid money, backed up by gold. Never again let it be said after Rousseau, that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. It was never true, but certainly not since 1980, thanks to
(...) Professor Robert Mundell, the primary source of the original supply-side manifesto, “The Mundell-Laffer Hypothesis,” which led to the low-tax-rate, strong-dollar policy at the heart of Reaganomics. The world’s GDP in 1980 was around $11 trillion, reports the World Bank. Today it is around $60 trillion. Mundell had much to do with this. The added $50 trillion-per-year capitalizes to over $100 trillion in new wealth — even when adjusted for inflation. Lower tax rates, free trade and more stable currencies moved something like 2 billion people out of dollar-a-day penury into prosperity. That achievement arguably makes Mundell the greatest living humanitarian.
Forbes: "The Emerging New Monetarism: Gold Convertibility To Save The Euro"

Then, a reminder who stood at the birth of the single currency: staunch Europeans like Delors, Kohl, Schroeder and Dr Lubbers. Margaret Thatcher wasn't able to prevent the approach to a European super state. Read in an atmospheric article on the history of the plojri how Utopianism trumped common sense -

Der Spiegel: "The Ticking Euro Bomb - How a Good Idea Became a Tragedy"

Why the mistakes that would later threaten the euro were already made in the foundation phase. How Greece and other countries cheated their way into the monetary union. Why the common currency is a trillion-euro bet made by politicians against the markets -- and one that they would ultimately lose. (...)

The true problems were not addressed in the wake of the Jan. 1, 2002 introduction of the euro. Despite all the declarations of intent in Maastricht, the 12 new euro countries drove up their debt by more than €600 billion in the five years of preparations for the introduction of the euro. By the end of 2002, they had a combined debt of €4.9 trillion, with Italy's debt alone amounting to €1.3 trillion. (...)

Rogoff observed that a trans-Atlantic rift was developing between two groups of economists. The Americans and the Western Europeans, who usually more or less agreed on key macroeconomic issues, were suddenly arguing to the point of insult. The Europeans accused their overseas colleagues of failing to recognize the historic processes, the grand vision and Europe's great leap forward. The Americans, dry and pragmatic, accused their European counterparts of downplaying the risks. Once again, they felt that Old Europe was being overly romantic and blind to reality. (...) >>>

To be continued.

Related posts:

- Pomoland: "Viva La Revolución! On the Barricades! A la Lanterne! NOT"
- Pomoland: "EUtopia: the debris of failed state megalomania"

Related files:

- "Money and Economy"
- "The Urban Guerrilla"

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Euro Rescue Operation or Mass Usurpation of Parliament?

The following posting on the site of the German publication Welt Online, written by Gunther Lachmann is relaying a video that has lately gone viral on the German language section of the Internet, much to the dismay of supporters of the parliamentary system.

- Will Europeans defend
their sovereignty? - 
What started out as a bailout program for Greece and Ireland, rendering these former proud sovereign nations de facto wards of state of the EU, has now grown into a hatchling Leviathan, EFSF. By 2013 it is to morph into a fully fledged monster (ESM) that will usurp the Parliamentary budget right of all euro zone countries.

We are sleep-walking into serfdom. The future will be taxation without representation! Where is the EuroTeaParty?

It's important to keep an eye on Germany. The Constitutional Court has pulled the brakes at the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, when politicians forgot for a moment that Europe isn't (yet) a state. In fact, there's a new ruling:

Update: ZeroHedge: "Explaining The German Constitutional Court Ruling".

Here's a translation of Lachmann's piece:

~ o ~

Video Reveals the Hidden Agenda Behind the Euro Rescue Operation

The new EU financial authority is seeking rights for itself that has left democrats dumbfounded. Politicians know it since May - and are keep stum about it.

For several days now a video about the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) has been making the rounds on the Internet. The video analyzes the draft agreement that the euro-zone countries have charted out in spring of this year. Two interesting things have emerged. First, the features have not yet been publicly debated in Germany, although the draft treaty has already been delivered to the parliamentary parties in May. Secondly, elected officials do not speak directly about the issues as mentioned in the video.



Here is some background information: As of 2013 the ESM will succeed the temporary euro rescue operation (EFSF). The German federal parliament will debate the EFSF later this month. The ESM is to be adopted in December.

In the video, the following points from the preliminary draft Treaty ESM are discussed:


  • The ESM is to get a share capital of €700 billion. That's twice as much as the entire German federal budget this year.
  • The ESM members agree "irrevocably and unconditionally" to payment "within 7 (seven) days".
  • The Board of Governors may decide to change the share capital.
  • The ESM, its property, and its financial assets enjoy full legal immunity.
  • The property, funds and assets of the ESM are "exempt from access through search, seizure, forfeiture, expropriation and any other form of seizure, taking or foreclosure by government action or a judicial, administrative or legislative action"
"Welt Online" confronted all parliamentary parties with the findings, produced a "representatives-check.de" video and asked for a brief assessment of the points highlighted in the video. On the advisory board of "deputies check.de" are journalists, such as former "Welt" editor Adam Konrad and longtime "FAZ" correspondent, Karl Feldmeyer.

The SPD announced that it will refrain from "commenting on the video" because of the "dubious campaign" against the euro by "a single operator of various websites - including one on which present video is found". "For further information on its euro policy" the SPD referred us to their Home Page. And since the ESM contract was currently under renegotiation, the statements in the video are outdated and untrue anyway.

What does the Union think

The CDU/CSU parliamentary group is defending the ESM. The financial affairs spokesman Klaus-Peter Flosbach wrote down in their stance for "Welt Online": "The video is much too biased to be informative. This only deepens the voters' confusion. Important issues, central to the functioning of the European stability mechanism, are omitted.

It does not, for example, point to the particularly high hurdles under which financial assistance may be granted. Also missing is information about the participation of the private sector, or that Germany has veto power. This video is but one example of the great need for information. We need to better explain to the voters why we have taken this route in dealing with the European sovereign debt crisis".

What say the Greens

The Green Party said that they had been in conclave the past week and spoke "very intensely about the problems as mentioned in the video". This has led to the following conclusions:

"Despite the need for improvement, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is a useful tool. Therefore, we support it. The ESM must be made operational quickly and credibly. Only that will calm down the financial markets and will a market-driven debt crisis be prevented from happening in the future. At the same time, the rights of the legislature as imposed by the Federal Constitutional Court ruling regarding Lisbon and the integrity of the German Parliament, must be maintained. Therefore a far-reaching involvement of the German Bundestag in important".

The existing laws on the participation and involvement of the German Parliament in matters concerning the EU will serve as a model for the future involvement of parliament in ESM. The Greens call for:

- "The nature, amount of German contributions, and the instruments must be determined by law and can only be changed by an amendment.

- Similarly, should other countries apply to be included in the permanent rescue plan, the agreement of the Bundestag is mandated. Should the federal government for any compelling reason disagree with the decision of the Bundestag, the Bundestag must be immediately informed before the crucial vote takes place.

- Furthermore, the government must inform Parliament of any action in the ESM and decision-making bodies at the earliest possible date, comprehensively, continuously and in writing and orally. The information includes relevant documents, including preparatory articles".

However, should the parliament not agree with the billions of aid, the Greens will immediately reserve their right of democratic participation:

"But the ESM must be able to act in a crisis and be able to respond quickly. Therefore, a mandatory decision of the Bundestag before the granting a loan would hamper coping with the crisis".

But they expect that "the European Parliament will be fully involved: the ESM is to insure financial stability in the euro zone as a whole".

What does Die Linke

Alexander Ulrich, chairman of the Group in the European Union Committee, spoke on behalf of Die Linke about the video: "Die Linke rejects the European stability mechanism - probably the only group in the Bundestag - off hand". Their reasons, however, are different from those in the video. The video completely ignores the participation rights secured by the German Goverment.

"Decisions are either taken unanimously or by a majority which includes a German vote," said Ulrich. Also, the participation rights of the Bundestag are misrepresented in the video, for example that the ESM can't raise capital independently. The Bundestag has set the ceiling for German participation in national law.

"But it is true: Parliament should have more rights in the future, and decide on euro rescue packages," said Ulrich. "What these participation rights should be is up to parliament to negotiate in the forthcoming ratification of the ESM Treaty".

Criticism of the ESM is justified, but the real weaknesses must be pointed out: "We can't waste billions of taxpayers' money in order to save banks and speculative profits. Recipients should not even be driven into recession by socially unjust and economically nonsensical reduction programs that raise their debts instead of lowering them, "Ulrich wrote.

De Linke therefore demand euro bonds and loans from a European Bank for public bonds, so that exorbitant rates of capital markets and speculators are reigned in.

Criticism of economic law expert, Kerber

Outside of politics the issue is viewed differently, says a Berlin economic law expert, Markus C. Kerber, who represents 50 entrepreneurs in a Court action against the policies of the federal government: "The ESM is the future of Finance. The ESM contract will lead to the elimination of the budget right of Parliament". He specifically warns against this road.

More contributions by Günther Lachmann

Courtesy @hlelowrold & @berryhoning

Related

- Orphans of Liberty: "The European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism", by James Higham

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Civilization Uncut (Updated)

Update

Proof has been uncovered the Left is still plotting the collapse of capitalism and the middle class. In the footage a former SCIU public sector union bozo is explaining how a private sector variety of the Cloward-Piven tactic will do the job:



More on The Blaze - update


The scenes around the capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin this week are symbolic for the short lived upsurge in new found civility in political debate, as called for by President Obama himself after the ferocious attack on Congresswoman Gifford, which was hastely put at the feet of the Tea Party. Very civilized, that was!
Faster than Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker could say collective bargaining rights, Obama's army of unions and Organizers for America descended on the capitol, while the Democratic cohort of representatives went into hiding just over the border in Illinois. It had all the trappings of a comedy caper.

After having lost the battle, the union storm troopers lost all interest, went back to their respective states and left a cleaning up bill totalling 6-7,5 million dollars. The Xtreme Tea Party radicals had to clean up after them. Well, they do that very well, as we have seen.

Cutting the states' budgets has brought to the fore a problem with collective bargaining rights as well as the right to strike where civil servants are concerned. Collective bargaining is driving up the cost to the taxpayer to such an extent that the servant is earning more than his employer, the tax payer.

Furthermore, the matter has uncovered a political racket in a nexus between the Democrat Party and the unions: the channeling of money from the taxpayers who are funding civil servants, who pay dues to unions, who donate to the Democrat Party. Statists, being collectivists, are having no problem at all with these arrangements.


In fact, there's a global effort under way to crank up the level of violence and rhetoric a few notches or so. Having just lost the elections in Britain, UK Uncut is an effort by the Left to make up for that electoral loss. The Left is that democratic! Except when it comes to their bottom line!

We are at present facing battles with USA Uncut, Canada Uncut, Ireland Uncut, Australia Uncut, and no doubt soon also on the European continent, the entire civilization is being Uncut. Germany is mentioned, but that may be wishful thinking. Indymedia's Dutch language site - the Left's 'independent' bullhorn on the Interwebs - can hardly contain its enthusiasm.

When the financial crisis broke the Left for a while had images of a Marxist spring, a Socialist Renaissance, believing capitalism would be blamed for the financial and economic melt down. This didn't happen (how this convenient crisis was triggered, scroll down this file, specifically the entries with an exclamation mark in the margin). On the contrary. If anything, the reds have been losing elections in spates!

Their program of 'the moral high ground' being what it is, the democratic process must be somehow by-passed by - let's put it this way - irrational means of the will. The narrative: if corporations had paid enough taxes the crisis would have been averted and budget cuts would not be necessary. This is how an organized looting campaign is legitimized.

So how does Uncut operate? It mobilizes 'the poor and the disenfranchised' to gather at shops, singled out in advance for what the Left perceives to be politically incorrect behavior, or stores that have come into their cross hairs for some reason or other. These are in effect slur campaigns, smearing these businesses as 'tax dodgers' that have created 'a false economy' and 'tax injustice'. The pattern is of course the Left's usual  template.

Banks that have been bailed out are specifically targeted as 'double outrage'. Also public services, earmarked for budget cuts - libraries for instance - are being picketed and barricaded. Barclays Bank and Vodafone outlets (video) were targets of 'spontaneous' actions last year in the UK. Great care is taken to create the perception of grassroots actions.

Indymedia is especially proud of the paradigm shift, of the reframing they've attained here: the unwashed are no longer on the defense as looters and moochers, but go on the offense against the people who're "really behind the crisis", and who "caused the deficits by not paying enough taxes".

The self appointed champion of injustice (any variery), agit prop film maker Michael Moore meanwhile is actually calling for war.

Ayn Rand, the goddess of the markets, would have had a word or two to say about collective rights as a contradiction in terms.



Related

- Tax Justice Network
- Fight Back reader
Netroots conference
False economy
Nederland belastingparadijs voor multinationals

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

What's Next for the Ummah? Freedom or Socialism?

Humans in their primitive stages, had to survive in a wild and hostile natural world. Danger lurked under every stone and in each and any shrub. A sole individual, thrown back on his own devices, could hardly hope to live long enough to tell the tale. A lone existence was a constant existential threat. So humans sought security in numbers and shelter with each other, within the safety of the tribe.

Random individual acts, which could endanger the survival of the community as a whole were not just discouraged, but severely punished by exile, shunning and worse. Morality consisted in the common good, the well-being of the whole of the tribe; the single tribes man or woman, was dispensable.

Since the collective security is the tribe's entire reason of being, these were what we would term today, small totalitarian communities. Individuals were not supposed to have private lives, or undertake 'rogue' actions. Even today there are many peoples who do not even have a word for 'privacy', or for 'individual'.

Humanity has come a long way. In the Western world, with the onset of the Renaissance and the period of the Enlightenment, we discovered person-hood and what it means to be a man or woman. And that our prime instrument for survival in a cultivated world, are our own wits. Morality shifted from collective survival, to the survival of the individual.

It is not always appreciated how far this development has helped human progress. There are forces in the Western world today that prefer humans with tribal minds. They say, one person's wits aren't sufficient, that rationality can break down or can be fooled, or reason isn't relevant to a social being.

Some even say wits do not exist at all, and that humans live by instinct, or by synapses and secretions, or that they are steered by God, or by a fate determined in some parallel universe.

They say that in our hearts of heart we are still members of the tribe called humanity and we should share whatever we have, just as in olden days. Some say we should only share things which ensure common security, others advocate sharing the things with which we produce other things. And then there are the peddlers of ideas who come for people's souls. Their morality is altruism. They say, an individual's only use consists in his utility to be tribe.

Peoples in other parts of the world walked other historical paths. They quietly wandered off the reservations in droves, while other tribes held it together. Sometimes new ones were created based on common religion, Islam for example.

In Islam the whole of the faithful - the Ummah - is such a new tribe, replete with tribal justice - Sharia - to ensure its survival, and death for whoever dares to wander off, or pledges loyalty elsewhere. As the discovery of individualism took place in the Western context, this process from collective to individualization is often understood by Muslims as "Islam being besieged by the West".

The painful process we are witnessing before our very eyes in the Middle East and North Africa may be the death throes of the Muslim collective. Muslim men and women may find their person-hood, assuming the personal responsibility for their own body and soul - a thing impossible to achieve in a totalitarian group.

They may be fighting for the rights that a sole individual requires to survive: inalienable, universal, negative rights, leading to limited government, a public space not filled with the plasma of the tribe.

Liberties are negative rights that are inherent in human beings. It has two corollaries: free market capitalism and limited government, that is a government that protects the inalienable rights of the sovereign people.

For some, as we saw in "2001: Obama's Principles for a Socialist State (Analysis)" - these negative liberties are not enough; they cast them aside as "just the stuff that government cannot do to you", or - in our context - what the tribe cannot do to its members to prevent them from surviving on their own wits as free spirits.

The positive rights as advocated by President Obama, are the rights the tribe generously bestows upon its members, in lieu for their promise not to wander off the reservation on their own.

We see that the principles of negative and positive rights are markedly different in nature and in principle. They are opposites. Negative rights liberate individuals from the suffocating oppression of tribal existence. Obama's positive rights on the other hand, newly enslave individuals to the collectivism of the state.

We don't appreciate by half how rare and precious individual liberties really are. Wherever they exist, they are lone stars in oceans of collectives that seek to enslave free spirits to the suffocating risk-free safety of the tribes.

Each nation and each generation has its own battle with the tribes. Today, it is the Tunisians, the Egyptians, the Libyans and the Bahrainis rising up in rebellion. As Thomas Jefferson said, "From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots."

The reform process which would ensure the continuation of Islam as a faith, would have to consist in practicing it as a collection of individuals, rather than as the oppressive 'living organism' of the Ummah.

We wish the defenders of liberty all the strength they need to win their battle with the religious collective and hope they have the wisdom to resist the temptation to foist upon themselves a Socialist government that bestows and retracts positive rights. In that case they haven't found freedom, but have mere substituted one totalitarian tribe for another.

Long Live Liberty!

Related

- NRO: "The OIC and the Caliphate", by Andrew McCarthy

Related dossiers


- "The Dystopia of Paradise"

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Egypt's Future: How to Build a Free Nation (Part II)

by Dr Sam Holliday

Continued from Part I

United States Misconceptions since 1945
Before offering a conceptual framework for a new Egypt it is necessary to comment on some of the misconceptions, which have dominated the thinking in the foreign policy establishment of the United States since 1945.

Those identifying with a nation must be responsible for what happens to their nation. Others can assist, but the leadership, dedication, vision, and energy must come from within.

There are several critical differences between building a nation and the creation of a state, or the expansion of an empire, or the formation of a federation.

- A state is based on coercion--by either force or law--and administration.

- Expanding an empire i.e. creating hegemony, requires a desire to dominate, superiority of armed forces that control territory, and ruthlessness.

- A federation requires agreement among its parts.

- A confederation is a state with considerable decentralization of authority to smaller self-governing units.

From these, Egyptians must determine the form of governance of the new Egypt. At the heart of the new Egypt will be the creation and maintenance of a common sense of identity from which behavior will be self regulated, and coercion will only be required against criminals and insurgents.

Attempting to persuade rival groups, prepared to use force to eliminate each other, to form a coalition government is not wise. This should not be attempted in Egypt. It is naive to treat factions, each of whom demand control of an all powerful centralized government, as parties in a system of parliamentary government based on checks and balances.

This was the error the United States made from 1945 to 1947 in its policy toward China. The United States made the same error in Vietnam, the Middle East, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan—and many other places. Obsession with (1) authority of the central government, (2) “rule of law” to replace custom and tradition, and (3) “democracy” defined as universal suffrage and elections, have caused this same error to be repeated again and again since 1945.

Ideological tunnel vision of American policy makers, who wanted others to have the benefits of American democracy and economic system, have often squandered billions of dollars and produced meager results.

Economic development of the kind practiced by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), often hinders more than it contributes. It has left a trail of destruction and poverty. It has propped up corrupt and chaotic governments. Many of the dams and highways it has financed have damaged the environment and destroyed social patterns of cooperation. It has contributed to the debt of many of the poorest countries.

Economic development has too often been determined by desires of central governments in their attempts to increase the state’s power. This view of economic development needs to be replaced with economic change to provide a better life for the people of Egypt.

Economic development in Egypt is essential; however, it should not focus on centrally controlled projects financed by an external source. There should be primary economic development, controlled at the local level, which provides the basic necessities of food, water, and shelter. There should be secondary economic development that provides the education and training so that Egypt can take advantage of technologic changes in production, distribution, financing, and marketing so as to benefit from an integrated worldwide capitalistic economic system.

The creation of a nation is a long--several generations at least--process; the maintenance of a nation is a never-ending process. This is at odds with the American desire for a quick fix. Today there are many examples of how long it takes to build a nation, even under favorable conditions. Spain after 500 years is still trying to absorb the Basques and the Catalans. After 300 years as the British Isles, Ireland broke away in 1922; both Wales and Scotland still have separatist movements.

Although some countries in South America and Asia seem to have developed national identities, it is difficult to find any true nation in Africa. Will Canada breakup? After extreme efforts in Germany and Italy to build nations around common languages, the primary identification of many Germans and Italians remain with something other than their nation-state.

Both building and preventing the decline of a nation is an art requiring the balancing of many factors. It is not something that can be done quickly or by following a specific recipe, and foreigners certainly cannot do it. However, a realistic conceptual framework of nationbuilding can be a useful tool for Egyptians as they tackle the difficult task of building a new Egypt.

A Conceptual Framework for a New Egypt
Egyptians should pay continual attention to four interrelated tasks:
  • Achieve Security
  • Provide effective local authority
  • Organize and motivate
  • Satisfy aspirations
Achieving a security shield is the first task since it is a prerequisite for the other three tasks. However, security cannot be seen as an end in itself. It is merely a means to the end of building a new Egypt. Also, if the focus was primarily on the creation of an Egyptian state, actions to establish centralized control by the police and the Army might be carried to the extreme--such actions would actually hinder identity with the Egyptian nation since they would not produce a self-regulating equilibrium.

Security is achieved when the various levels of government have a monopoly on the use of force, and no group within Egyptian territory is willing to use force to achieve political ends. In the new Egypt internal security will primarily be the responsibility of the police of the districts, villages, and neighborhoods; however, these police must be integrated into an alliance coordinated by the central government in Cairo. In addition, the central government would have the Army to protect Egypt’s interests and to ensure stability within Egypt.

Any group committed to the use of force to weaken or overthrow the established government must be neutralized. For Egypt this would mean insurgents of either the left (neo-Marxists) or the right (Islamists). First of all, this requires an effective intelligence system that will allow rapid response to any attempt at intimidation by any insurgent group, or payment to it.

When terrorism becomes a tool, a capability greater than that appropriate for policing ordinary crime must be added. This will usually require some temporary limitations on civil rights and the legal system. Finally, if insurgents gain control of a part of Egypt’s territory, control must be regained, using both the police and the Army, and the leaders of the insurgent group must be either killed or confined.

A second task for the new Egypt is to provide effective local authority. Each individual lives in a concrete, human, face-to-face world of clear and specific events and situations. Aspirations and an unseen environment may shape spiritual and material life of an individual, but he knows through what he sees, hears, smells and feels. This task provides local leadership.

Leadership which is: alert for signs of problems, inequalities and injustices; able to use initiative and flexibility to win loyalty and produce results; capable of countering acts of intimidation, violence, and destruction; able to see that everyone can earn a decent living; able to accomplish primary economic development; loyal to the established institutions; capable of educating each individual with values which blend freedom, ambition, duty and responsibility as well as the skills needed for economic improvement.

The third task of the new Egypt is to organize and motivate the people. The new Egyptian nation will be no more than Egyptian citizens welded together by a common destiny that binds into an active whole, yesterday, today and tomorrow. This task creates and maintains shared values, attitudes, habits and goals which shape the institutions through which a nation lives and grows: patterns of cooperation and conflict; the fabric of sanctioned relationship; the unseen lines of magnetic strength which link, join and confine; the elusive cultural environment. This task creates kinship and facilitates both primary and secondary economic development.

The fourth task of the new Egypt is to satisfy aspirations of Egyptian citizens. The fuel of progress is the never-ending attempt to satisfy aspirations. Economic development is a critical part of satisfying aspirations, but it must be joined with belief.

At this time Islam provides the strongest belief system in Egypt, but the Islamists would return Egypt to the 4th century. The belief of modern Muslims is not strong enough to effectively challenge the Islamists—nor is that of any other religion. Therefore, the only belief system that can provide a stronger horse than Islam is Egyptian nationalism and patriotism. The Egyptian military are well suited to use this belief system to neutralize the Islamists.

Aspirations can unite people in common effort; yet, aspirations can set one against another, preventing progress. Satisfying aspirations is an elusive, two faced task. Sole concern with satisfying aspirations can only result in turmoil, frustration and bitterness; as past aspirations are approached new and more demanding ones are invented.

This task means that Egypt must have its own, unique, ideology. Egypt must reject the ideologies of the Islamists and the neo-Marxists, since both would enslave Egyptians to the control of non-Egyptians. However, this task, just like the first task of achieving a security shield, must not be carried to an extreme.

If this conceptual framework is to be useful for the new Egypt, actions to accomplish these four tasks must be interrelated, and the building and maintenance of the new Egyptian nation must be seen as a never-ending process.

Conclusions
Egyptians need to remember the meaning of the Sacred Red, White, and Black of their flag. They must be prepared to fight against the ideologies of the neo-Marxists and Islamists. Americans cannot do any of this for the Egyptians, but they must understand and support Egyptians as they do about accomplishing the four tasks of building a new Egypt.

Copyright © 201 Armiger Cromwell Center, Atlanta, GA 30319.

Permission is granted to forward this article by e-mail to friends or colleagues on a fair use basis. For reprint permission, contact Armiger Cromwell Center at armigercc@comcast.net

For more essays and articles published by Dr Sam Holliday on Politeia  please refer to our file on Articles,  "The Armiger Cromwell Center"

Related

- "Who is a Patriot"
- "The Mandate of Heaven" (on authority and sovereignty)

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Egypt's Future: How to Build a Free Nation (Part I)

by Dr Sam Holliday

On the night of 10-11 February 2011 the Egyptian military staged a bloodless coup to remove President Hosni Mubarak, following two weeks of turmoil and 19 hours of chaos. They promised to carry out the will of the Egyptian people. However, there is no way of knowing who will emerge to lead Egypt, or what the role of the military will be in the long run. For now the regime retains its power, for the aims of the younger military officers of the regime were the same as the crowds, i.e. to get rid of Mubarak and the patriarchs. The regime is a complex centered on the military but includes many civilians in the business and the government bureaucracies.

Since there is no consensus on Egypt’s future, the coming months and years will be a struggle between competing visions. Will it become a real revolution, or will the regime hold its control? This will be determined by the youth. What should be the policy of the United States during this move to a new Egypt—and a new Middle East?

FForemost should be the realization that the new Egypt is the responsibility of Egyptians, not Americans. Egyptians must establish a climate of order and satisfaction, they must rebuild Egypt’s economy, and Egyptians must determine a form of governance based on their own customs and traditions.

Also, the United States must not repeat the errors made, by the foreign policy establishment, around the world since 1945.

U.S. Foreign Policy Regarding Egypt
In relations with Egypt, the United States should do what it can to advance Sacred Red, White, and Blue/Black—the colors in the American and Egyptian flags.
Sacred Red symbolizes the courage, practicality, and duty of Moses, Saint Paul, Oliver Cromwell and George Washington.
White symbolizes the compassion, purity, and honor of Jesus, Buddha, and John Adams.
Blue/Black symbolizes the unity, shared identity, and administrative skill of the Egyptian Pharaohs’ in linking humans with the divine, of Genghis Khan’s “blue sky”, and of America’s founders dreams.

This Red, White and Blue/Black must be integrated into a whole through checks and balances of principles, ideals, individuals, factions, and institutions. The outcome should be the decentralization of power to achieve governance of, by and for the people, rather than the centralization of power in the hands of an elite in accordance with the Hegelian dialectic. Also the United States should do what it can to counter the threats of the socialist collectivism (Secular Red) and the social-political ideology of Islam (Green).

The waving of the Red, White, and Blue/Black flags of the United States and Egypt should be constant reminders that Americans and Egyptians are both in an existential struggle with true believers of both the right (Islamists) and the left (Neo-Marxists). The Egyptian youth were revolting against the paternalistic, unaccountable authority that as prevailed across the Middle East for thousands of years. It is essential to remember that free individuals, making judgments based on their inner compass, are hated by both the Islamists and the Neo-Marxists; some may consider them political opposites, yet they share the Hegelian view that authoritarian control, by true believers, of a collective is the best form of governance.

Democracy is a noble goal; however, since the word “democracy” has so many different meanings, it can be fool’s gold.

For Egypt U.S. foreign policy should seek: (1) a version of democracy which allows Egyptian citizens to determine their own destiny, (2) a constitution which maintains stability and economic development, (3) the recognition of how technology has changed communication, and (4) citizenship which is a privilege for those who give primacy to the interests of Egypt.

In Egypt the aim should be individual Egyptian citizens with the free will to determine their own destiny; the aim should not be equality of outcomes among individuals or factions.

The goal should be equality before God, equality before the law, and equality of opportunity; the goal should not be so called social justice, which takes from the haves and gives to the have-nots. There should be civil rights, given to individuals by God, which protect life, freedom, and property as individuals pursue happiness as determined by Egyptians—not human rights as determined by others.

There should be processes and procedures to ensure long-term governance of, by and for the Egyptian citizens--not processes, procedures and elections to insure compliance with specific written documents. “One man, one vote, one time” must be prevented. A future collective totalitarian state—of either the left (socialistic) or of the right (Islamic) must be avoided.

Consensus on a social contract (expressed in customs and traditions and also in a written constitution) is necessary, but not sufficient. Respect for the rule of law, political parties to champion competing points of view, freedom of speech, freedom of political expression, and freedom of assembly, and freedom of association are all needed to insure the Secular Authority of the state.

In addition there must also be primary economic development to ensure that there is adequate food, water and shelter and that the poorest aspire for a better life. Also there must the secondary economic development so that Egyptians think they are the economic equals of their peers and can see themselves as a worthy descendents of their 7,000 year history. Yet such worldly accomplishments must be in equilibrium with Sacred Authority, i.e. a common identity and shared principles and ideas which provide an inner compass to guide judgments between right and wrong, good and bad.

In the past when communication and transportation were more restricted national identity was based on cultural, ethnic, racial, or religious convictions. However, the global village of today and tomorrow make this impractical. Any future Egyptian nation must be based on shared principles, ideals and beliefs. This makes it necessary to exclude those individuals, groups, and parties who primarily identity with belief in a collective of either the left (neo-Marxists) or the right (Islamists)—as well as those who give their primarily allegiance to another state or to world governance.

Therefore, Egyptian citizenship must become a privilege to be earned, not a right of residency that allows master manipulators to control others. Universal human rights can remain an ideal, but the civil rights of Egypt must govern the behavior of Egyptians. Only those who have pledged their loyalty to, and demonstrated their patriotism for, Egypt should be allowed to participate in the struggles to determine Egypt’s future.

What the United States has Done Since 1945
Since 1945, inept actions by the United States in many countries has squandered billions of dollars, contributed to the deaths of millions, created poverty, and caused the loss of many opportunities. Most of this was done with the best of intentions and humanitarian instincts. Often these were the consequences of unquestioned preconceptions regarding how to build a state or nation. Such preconceptions have dominated the thinking of Americans, in and out of government, who have shaped U.S. foreign policy.

Will this be admitted? Certainly not. Can this be proven? Probably not. Most likely, articles and studies will continue to debate what happened, and why, with the "history" presented determined by the preconceptions of the authors.

In the past many have questioned the appropriateness of the United States being involved in building states and nations around the world. And today this debate continues. During such debates regarding Egypt it is essential that the difference between building a state and building a nation be understood.

State building is the creation and maintenance of legitimate authority, a legal system, and administrative capability to govern territory. Nationbuilding is the creation and maintenance of a sense of common identity among a people. Also it is important to recognize the reasons for the successes and failures made in the name of “nation-building”.

Obviously there have been successes since 1945. Changes in Western Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and even parts of Eastern Europe have been more positive than negative. Yet such progress has primarily been the result of efforts by the people of those countries, and circumstances unique to them. Nevertheless, preconceptions about building states and nations have hindered improvement in much of the world since 1945.

The Preconceptions
Unquestioned preconceptions about the creation and decline of nations were forged during World War II. The horrors of that war were blamed on nationalism and the nation-state. This overlooked the fact that paranoia and unspeakable crimes are to be found throughout history. The horrors committed by tribes, sects, and empires probably did affect fewer people, but they were no less repulsive.

Human beings need beliefs that offer a sense of order, that overcome the fears of an arbitrary environment, that give people some hope of control over random events. Group identity and religion have always been the two main sources of such belief systems. Moreover, human progress has depended on how group identities (be they family, tribe, sect, class, religion, or nation) relate to political structures having a monopoly on the use of force.

Human progress accelerated when the nation-state became the focus of personal loyalties, social order, political institutions, and economic coordination, because it was able to combine the cohesiveness of the nation with the legal authority and administrative capability of the state. However, with this progress came the excesses of integral (or totalitarian) nationalism.

Since World War II three contending ideologies (all called democratic) have been offered as replacements for nationalism: capitalism based on merit, communism based on equality of outcomes, and internationalism based on universal human rights. Yet none of the three have been able to create a sense of identity, vigor, innovation, and climate of order to equal that created by nation-states.

None have provided the new political form to replace the nation-state. This suggests that as a political structure the nation-state is superior to a multicultural state, or a coercion based state. It also suggests that any new world order must be of small nation-states rather than the centralization of power in world governance.

The challenge is achieve common identity among Egyptians yet to prevent the excesses and extremes, which have at times been associated with integral nationalism. Therefore, there is a need for a conceptual framework for building an Egyptian nation, which will be held together by sovereign nationalism—not by the integral nationalism of Egypt’s past statism.

Integral nationalism is intolerant and ethnocentric. Integral nationalism is linked to totalitarianism, and demands the highest loyalty be to the state in accordance with the views of Hegel. Integral nationalism seeks cultural and religious uniformity, plus institutional and economic unity. It tends to arise from religious or utopian beliefs, internal economic and political difficulties, or historical rivalries. The goal of integral nationalism is uniformity of purpose, appearance, beliefs, attitudes, and prejudices. It is linked to the statism, which many Islamic countries took from Western culture during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Sovereign nationalism seeks the ideals expressed in American Declaration of Independence. Sovereign nationalism is an expression of the human desire for freedom and self-government. It places an emphasis on popular sovereignty, a constitution, decentralization, and civil rights—it is legitimized by a social contract between a people and their state. Sovereign nationalism is often a melting pot resulting in E Pluribus Unum (of many, one). It is sovereign nationalism that offers hope for the Egypt—and the 21st century. It can provide peace, security, self-government, and stability by creating loyalties, emotional ties, and a common sense of identity among citizens.


United States Misconceptions since 1945
Before offering a conceptual framework for a new Egypt it is necessary to comment on some of the misconceptions, which have dominated the thinking in the foreign policy establishment of the United States since 1945. Those identifying with a nation must be responsible for what happens to their nation. Others can assist, but the leadership, dedication, vision, and energy must come from within. (...)

Copyright © 201 Armiger Cromwell Center, Atlanta, GA 30319.

Permission is granted to forward this article by e-mail to friends or colleagues on a fair use basis. For reprint permission, contact Armiger Cromwell Center at armigercc@comcast.net

For more essays and articles published by Dr Sam Holliday on Politeia  please refer to our file on Articles,  "The Armiger Cromwell Center"

Related

- "Who is a Patriot"
- "The Mandate of Heaven" (on authority and sovereignty)

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Egypt Fallen to the Unholy Alliance (updated)

Updates Feb. 15, 2011

UPI: "Muslim Brotherhood steps into politics"
- Associated Content: "Google Egypt: Ghonim Not the Only Tie to Protests"
- Pundicity: "Pyramid Scheme", by Clifford May




It's no secret to The New York Times. They are very open and upfront about it. But then again, the paper doesn't think a close cooperation between the Left and Islamists is any problem.

Cartoon by Mike Lester
Except if Glenn Beck is devoting a program to it. Then Media Matters steps in to deny what anyone with a pair of eyes can see for himself.

Watch the Glenn Beck program after Pres. Mubarak stepped down. Oh, and get this:
"they aspire to a Western-style constitutional democracy where civic institutions are stronger than individuals" ... 
... that would be a socialist collective! Does that sound to you like a Jeffersonian democracy based on individual rights? They have no idea what they're talking about! These kids are clueless! The NYT again (our emphasis):
In the process many have formed some unusual bonds that reflect the singularly non-ideological character of the Egyptian youth revolt, which encompasses liberals, socialists and members of the Muslim Brotherhood
“I like the Brotherhood most, and they like me,” said Sally Moore, a 32-year-old psychiatrist, a Coptic Christian and an avowed leftist and feminist of mixed Irish-Egyptian roots. (...) Islam Lotfi, a lawyer who is a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Youth, said his group used to enlist others from the tiny leftist parties to stand with them in calling for civil liberties, to make their cause seem more universal. Many are now allies in the revolt (...)
So that's the MO. You throw around a few Western sounding labels about 'democracy', 'freedom' and 'diversity', pretending cooptation towards a common cause and no one is asking questions. One Egyptian president - Anwar Sadat - was murdered by that bunch!

In the last couple of weeks the media have been jumping through hoops to picture the Muslim Brotherhood a respectable organisation in the eyes of the world.

A few enigmas that have sprung up over the last few weeks have been cleared up. Other mysteries have taken their place. Some are exceedingly disturbing!

Cartoon by Chip Bok
James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence sat in front of a House Intelligence Committee this week and asserted publicly that the Muslim Brotherhood was a “largely secular” organization.
The term “Muslim Brotherhood” ... is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam.
That would be the same Clapper who was uninformed about what was the great news on that particular day. Either the US 'intelligence community' has suffered a collective stroke, or they are exceedingly bad actors. I can't go as yet with Alex Jones' latest conspiracy theory, that it is in fact the CIA's invisible hand that's behind this cascade of uprisings.

On the other hand the Obama administration was seen flat-footed with Egypt's uprising. That perception was covered by the pretense that they had been supporting pro democracy groups all along! But that would be Bush's evil Neocons.

Obama's foreign policy was primarily framed by the narrative of 'thou shalt not foist Western style, liberal democracy on others'. Others may [sarc on] like their regimes slightly tyrannical. Who are we to judge?! There isn't just one true democracy. There are as many forms of democracy as there are people! [sarc off]. This has prompted the administration to cut funding as soon as it had changed the drapes in the Oval Office.

The information black hole sparked the institution a year ago of the bi-partisan Working Group on Egypt. It informed and warned the White House publicly and repeatedly, that Egypt was approaching a turning point and that the status quo was untenable. The first sentence of its opening statement read: "Egypt is at a critical turning point."

It should come as no surprise that the stooge for the unholy alliance is the 'social justice' loving former head of the IAEA, Mohammed ElBaradei. The safety of the world has been in this man's hands for years, during which he's been whitewashing and covering up the Iranian nuke program.

It is also no coincidence that both George Soros and ElBaradei both sat on the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group, one of Soros' agitation groups. His fingerprint is all over this revolt, as we've seen in "The Nature of the Revolution Is Socialist, Stupid!"

Here's how these misguided kids negotiate with the Muslims Brotherhood!
"On the question of alcohol — forbidden by Islam — he suggested that drinking was a private matter but that perhaps it should be forbidden in public."
They seriously believe the Brotherhood is going to stand for that! These people are going to be crushed. On the question whether the Left or the Islamists will prevail, my money is firmly on the Brotherhood.

As to what will be the model for this 'democratic' society? One Egyptian jacobin is with Tareq Ramadam on that: well, it's Turkey of course. As it happens that secular country, since the Islamists came to power, has been slowly sinking into an abyss, at the bottom of which is Islamofascist Iran! It was Turkey that aided and abetted the Gaza (r)aid flotilla for crying out loud!

Read in this article in Wall Street Journal, "The Secret Rally That Sparked an Uprising" how the revolt was pulled of, with a little help from a little worm, Google Inc. executive, Wael Ghonim.
Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

Well, will wonders never cease? And some are thinking the Left is against military dictatorships. But that should read of course: the Left is against any military junta, other than those they believe can be exploited to their advantage. Long live the Egyptian junta!

The same is true of Obama's neutrality and strict non-interference doctrine: that would be applicable to Iran where the lines of parley must remain open at all times. The Green movement be damned! But as far as Egypt is concerned, this is a historic moment for the Egyptian youth.

Related

- The Graph: "The Socialist Roots Of The Egyptian Protests", by Brooks Bayne
- Africa Workers Organizer: "The Egyptian revolution has started" (Scribd doc) (via Uruknet)
- NoisyRoom: "Of Philanthropists and Monsters - Rockin' the Casbah", by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton (H/T Trevor Loudon"

Related dossiers

- "The Economy and Monetary file"
- "The Middle East Project"
- "The Levant Intricate Intrigues"

 
RatePoint Business Reviews