Women’s Voices from the Muslim World Short Film Festival

For folks who live in Los Angeles, a brand new film festival will be inaugurated today. Women’s Voices Now presents Women’s Voices from the Muslim World Short Film Festival taking place this Thursday through Saturday (March 17th-19th) at the Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood. Films will be screened about the social, political and economic issues being faced by women in countries from Afghanistan to Iran to Egypt. Admission is free! For more information please go to www.womensvoicesnow.org.

Message From Wisconsin State Capitol

Greetings from the Wisconsin State Capitol!

Sham, Mouli, his friend Jordon, and I are at the Capitol – doors now locked as they plan for the first time in 2 weeks to clear us out. We have slept here several nites. A village has formed and it has been beautiful witnessing teachers, all kinds of union workers, families, off duty Madison police (banned from Capitol on duty), students, musicians, artists, activists, non-union people, journalists, anti-war veterans, you name it! Pizza delvered through the window last nite to feed the protestors (search storiez on Ian’s Pizza!). Amazing discipline throughout the protest. A real moment in history inspired by frustration over the increasing disregard of working and middle class people everywhere. Gov Walker not budging so far but my sense is his days are numbered. Building so far is not being cleared. Some talk of possible arrests but we know the police is on our side. Only time will tell…

Love to you all,
Christa

Egypt Shows Wisconsin The Way

The protesters are displaying their opposition to the republican sponsored bill that drastically cuts government and university employee benefits, and do away with collective bargaining rights that took over 50 years to achieve and win. Some are even demanding the resignation of the new republican governor, Scott Walker, or Scott “Hosni” Walker, as some Green Bay Packers called him.

How Big Business Ruled Egypt

An exposé an AlJazeera on how the Egyptian business elite ruled the country provides some horrifying details about this incestuous relationship that concentrated the nation’s wealth in the hands of the privileged few, virtually destroyed the living standard of the middle class and the poor, and robbed the resources of the country for the benefit of western corporations.

A list of who’s who in the Ahmed Natheef cabinet that was just fired by Mubarak gives you the impression that ministerial positions were being occupied by individuals with specific, narrow agenda of securing favorable environments for their own and family businesses. Mind you Egyptian constitution explicitly forbids public servants from remaining invested in private enterprise or having other jobs or conflict of interest. A few examples:

Tea Party Senator: Wipe Israel Off The Map

Tea Party-packed senator just expressed that he favors cutting foreign aid to all countries, including Israel. This is probably the first time a sitting senator openly calls of ending aid to the apartheid state since Paul Findley of Illinois, who was subsequently ousted by AIPAC.
But of course his proposal drew swift condemnation from both republicans and democrats, reminding us once more that Obama, Palin, and every body in between, have virtually the same morally bankrupt stance on Israel.
Although this may get shut down in the senate, it’s worth keeping an eye on to see if it makes it onto the emails of the Tea Party faithful talking points. If this issue gains traction with partiers, aid will come to end, given the number of congressmen clamoring for their blessing. At the very least, it will lead to a showdown between the Tea Party and AIPAC… wouldn’t that show be worth the admission price? Popcorn on Fadi…

5 Things the US Mass Media Got Wrong on Egypt

It is impressive that the US mass media has managed to conduct round-the-clock coverage of the uprising in Egypt given how little resources and few reporters they have on the ground, the few who are there had been parachuted in late last week, lacking context, perspective, and often facts. But that never stopped US mass media. Aside from the oft-errant reporting, there are a few mistakes the US media seems to insist on making, not sure if the motive is sensationalism, ignorance, or just pure manipulation of public opinion by distracting from important stories, or manufacturing ones to fit the established narrative:

Reading Into Whitehouse Stance On Egypt

Todays Whitehouse press conference was deafening in the prevalence of nothingness in it. Spokesman Robert Gibbs managed to speak for nearly a full hour, yet say nothing.

- It is clear that the Whitehouse is in panic mode that its dictator ally may not survive many more days of this uprising. The Whitehouse should fear reaping what it sowed over the past thirty years of supporting this brutal dictator.

As the first domino falls…

The Arab public has long been bubbling under the surface, but in Tunisia, it is under the surface no more.

Arab dictators now have a warning, and they will try to manipulate the public and issue progressive-sounding promises, they important thing is that people do not accept any of those. If Mubarak was going to allow freedoms to Egyptians, he would have done it in the last 30 years, he does not need, or deserve, another year for a do over.

CAIR, ADC Condemn FBI’s Fueling Animosity Towards Muslims

CAIR and ADC have joint forces to issue a strongly worded condemnation of the FBI for its continued fueling of animosity towards Arabs and Muslims through the entrapment of their teens into committing acts of terrorism, according to a pre-publication memo leaked to KABOBfest Special Investigative reporter, Chaim Sugarman.

Climate Change Threatens To Eliminate Half Of Israel’s Allies

Marshall Islands is one of the four reliable “No” votes usually registered against UN resolutions condemning Israeli human rights violations. Along with the United States, Micronesia, and Solomon Islands, the latter two expected to be flooded at later stages in the firs half of this century.