The Dark Shadow of Egypt's New Constitution

Egypt has passed its new constitution, with 56% of the popular vote.  However, many of those who took the streets risking life and limb to effect the removal of Mubarak from his dictatorship are feeling disenfranchised.  There is a great fear among the secular, Christian and liberal population that the new constitution paves the way for an Islamist state which tramples on civil liberties.

An editorial in the Bangkok post writes:

"It remains to be seen if Mr Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood will steer the country sharply in an anti-secular direction as is feared by the opposition, and frankly, by much of the world. The prospect of another fundamentalist regime in the volatile neighbourhood is not a pleasant one. It seems likely that Mr Morsi is much too astute to willingly back his country into the same kind of isolationist corner that Iran is in. Mr Morsi has promised that Egypt will abide by its peace treaty with Israel, and there are high hopes in Washington and other capitals that Egypt will keep to a fairly moderate path. That may not be possible, however, if hard-core religionists are allowed to take over the reins of government.

The founding fathers in America got it right when they sought to set up a system that keeps religion out of government as much as possible, and pretty much every democracy since has followed that lead. The biggest losers if Egypt continues on its anti-secular path will be the Egyptian people, whatever their religion. As indicated by the recent protests and the voting on the referendum, 40% or more of the population are adamantly opposed to an Islamist-led government, and fully 10% are Christian. If efforts aren't made now to ensure that Egyptian society is open and inclusive, the country may be in for a long rocky ride."

 We can only watch and wait, and hope that the new regime rejects the oppressive policies of the old one and works to be a responsible international partner for peace.

Source:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/327538/democracy-buried-in-anti-secular-slide

Going Down the Mountain with Sam

Ein Gedi, freshwater spring of legend, sanctuary of David. In the scorching desert, the Negev. In the mountains above Yam HaMelach, the Dead Sea, the burning sea of salt.

Sam, falling down while climbing out of a gorge carved in a high, rocky outcropping, its steep chutes formed by the rains of a geologic epoch.

Us, lifting our brother up through the narrow way.

Him, on hands and knees, right foot broken in two places, pulling himself up a cliff foot by foot.

Our hands, a protective net–above, behind, below.

Him, hopping along a narrow track, loose with crumbling rock and gravel, far above the floor of the wadi, both hands gripping the wall, gripping our hands, finding a way forward.

We carried him down on our backs, our packs shed, our water gone.

An access road. A jeep arrives. The park service.

We drive to the site of an ancient synagogue, ruins from the time of the talmud. Our friends are waiting, there is water, benches, the road back to Yerushalayim.

Time resumes. The sun hangs low in the sky. Pardes gathers for mincha.

A Manifesto for the Occupation

Manifesto for 2012

We are a free people. Our rights are inalienable. The source of laws is greater than any individual, any legislative body, any society. All humans by virtue of their existence as sentient beings are entitled to a life with dignity; a life free from oppression and exploitation.

Throughout history, the powerful few have dominated the weaker masses. In the time of cavemen, might made right. As primitive societies developed, the most powerful members of a tribe would subjugate others. Empires grew and fell; feudalism begot monarchy. Wars were fought over territory, resources and slaves. Marxism and fascism are the dictatorship of the ideological architects over the masses. Capitalism and democracy, as they exist in America today, have merely become the dictatorship of the extremely wealthy over everyone else. Our political system is completely beholden to those who control the economic levers. Most politicians are mere pawns that will do anything for their small piece of corruption and power. With few exceptions, they are more interested in corporate campaign contributions and staying in office than doing what is right for the country. They do not represent us. They do not represent the 99%.

America skips happily down the slippery slope towards a police state. Jack-booted thugs pour pepper spray down the throats of peaceful protesters exercising their most fundamental rights to freedom of speech and assembly. Tents are burned and belongings smashed and the courts say protests are not protected speech--even as we scream "I reject this social compact, I am taking back my country!" Meanwhile, corporations can make unlimited donations to political campaigns and that is protected as free speech. The coercive power of the state, the monopoly of force, has been built up and concentrated. The police protect and serve—but who do they protect? Who do they obey? The overwhelming power of the state is being wielded to subjugate the population it ostensibly serves.

The methods and tools have changed throughout history, but the overall structure remains the same. A very few at the top have outrageously concentrated power and use it to their own constant benefit while everyone else suffers. This kind of "power" being exerted by the oligarchs to oppress and exploit the 99% is nothing short of psychopathy. It is a pathological disregard for the well-being of fellow-man, a greed that borders on insanity, an abhorrent refusal to recognize and end the suffering that is created by the lust for power and money.

What are the consequences of this pathological greed exhibited by the 1%? The costs are high and widely dispersed across society. A few get ever richer and more powerful. Everyone else pays. When the financial system collapses due to reckless risk-taking, the criminals who caused the mess get bailouts while the average American loses first a job, then a home. When pollution contaminates our water and poisons our air, ordinary people suffer while polluters reap record profits. When wars are fought over oil and American families lose their military sons and daughters, oil executives run away with eight-figure paychecks. Everywhere one looks, the public goods of society are given away for nothing to the already rich, looting the equity built up by past generations as social programs are cut, real wages decline and the poor and jobless become ever more desperate.

Some have accused us of being vague. Does this sound vague? Maybe. Or maybe not. Maybe it's just enormous. Maybe it is because we are taking on the whole corrupt system. This is a call for revolution. Not a violent one, but a democratic one. One that takes power back from the few and puts it in the hands of the many. This is a call for true representation of the people. This is a call for an end to milksop politicians and their corporate masters, an end to corporate campaign contributions, corruption and lobbyists writing the laws. This is not right wing or left—we reject your labels. This is a cry to the people of the world to wake up and demand our rights, to demand a return to our values: democracy, freedom, plurality, the sanctity of life and respect for others. To demand that these ideals are the motivating forces of our society—not money, not power, not greed.

This is our planet. We are occupying it. We are many. They are few. We will overcome. We will succeed. We will take back our world.

Why is U.S. taxation so unfair?

Seems unreasonable that many corporations are spending more on lobbying than on taxes. And if reducing corporate taxes is good for job creation, why do the biggest beneficiaries of tax breaks--companies making billions of dollars of profits--keep laying off workers? Why are these corporations paying negative taxes? They are literally being paid by the government to make profits, while average people pick up the tax burden. All this while executive pay is now 343x that of the average worker and median household income fell $3,719 between 2000 and 2010, when measured in 2010 dollars.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/264481/20111209/30-major-u-s-corporations-paid-lobby.htm

(Thanks to Max for the link)

Pepper Spray Nation

‎"[It] is the bizarre bifurcation of America's First Amendment freedoms, with one virtually unlimited form for 1%, who really don't need any protection, and another, carefully constricted form for the 99%, who really do need it. For the 1%, "money is speech", an absurd proposition that effectively transforms democracy into plutocracy. But for the 99%, actual speech, along with the closely-linked right of assembly, is subject to all sorts of restrictions as to "time, place and manner". Tents may cost money, but that doesn't make them speech. Don't be ridiculous. We're not talking about the kind of money that the 1% has."

--Paul Rosenberg

Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/11/20111124103714508499.html