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i know there are a few threads on this, but i thought it'd be nice to compile the major uprisings currently happening in the arab world. take a look at this economist map to get a nice interactive pic of the arab world and click here for a great google map of the intifadas currently underway. i'll start with some of the bigger ones to watch right now:
bahrain:
from human rights watch:
66 dead right now.
what did the US have to say about this?
atta boy, obama. hit em with words that truly hurt. i mean, just three months ago, bahrain was a model partner according to hillary clinton.
so i guess this is progress right?
personally, as much as i've been awestruck by al jazeera's coverage of the egyptian and tunisian revolts, their coverage of bahrain has been lacking. bahrain banned them, but so what? so did egypt, that didn't stop them from ripping apart mubarak's regime and aggressively supporting the protesters. i think the reason why their not pushing hard against bahrain is because it's a neighbor and a fellow gulf state.
we'll see if the protesters can build enough momentum to force al jazeera to actively support them.
jordan:
jordan:
the govt's response:
total amount of US aid to our moderate ally the jordanian king:
$530 million.
much like the egyptian police, the jordanian security forces are particularly notorious for their torture techniques:
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/10/08/jordan-torture-prisons-routine-and-widespread-0
libya:
the disgusting, vile qadaffi has no problems cheering the revolution in egypt, but he's been going on a rampage to prevent protests gaining steam:
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/18/libya-security-forces-kill-84-over-three-days
he's shutdown the internet now too:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/world/africa/19libya.html
but protests continue on. we'll see how far they can get; at least the libyans will have the new superpower al jazeera on their side since their far away from the gulf.
phew.
so, in case this wasnt clear, i'd like to see every single one of the dictators, sultans, and kings of the arab world exiled to saudi arabia.
it'll make it that much easier to execute every single one of them when the fascist, theocratic nutjobs of the house of saud get overthrown.
i don't care if their islamist or secular, they all need to be taken out.
and secondly, i'd like to say that if supporting democratic freedom in the middle east is contrary to american interests, then fuck american interests.
there is something fundamentally wrong with our foreign policy if we require hundreds of millions of people to be under jackbooted dictators in order for us to be the superpower.
fuck all of that.
bahrain:
from human rights watch:
Several patients at the Salmaniyya hospital told Human Rights Watch the army and police opened fire without warning on a crowd making their evening prayers near the heavily guarded roundabout. One protester said he was attacked by an armed man in civilian clothes.
66 dead right now.
what did the US have to say about this?
I am deeply concerned about reports of violence in Bahrain, Libya and Yemen. The United States condemns the use of violence by governments against peaceful protesters in those countries and wherever else it may occur
atta boy, obama. hit em with words that truly hurt. i mean, just three months ago, bahrain was a model partner according to hillary clinton.
so i guess this is progress right?
The United States provided approximately US$20 million in military assistance to Bahrain in 2010, primarily for the purchase of military equipment, weapons, and training. It has proposed another US$20.2 million in assistance for 2011. It is unclear whether such equipment was used in today's attacks against the protesters.
personally, as much as i've been awestruck by al jazeera's coverage of the egyptian and tunisian revolts, their coverage of bahrain has been lacking. bahrain banned them, but so what? so did egypt, that didn't stop them from ripping apart mubarak's regime and aggressively supporting the protesters. i think the reason why their not pushing hard against bahrain is because it's a neighbor and a fellow gulf state.
we'll see if the protesters can build enough momentum to force al jazeera to actively support them.
jordan:
jordan:
"We want a complete overhaul of the political system, including the constitution, the parliament dissolved and new free and fair elections held," she said"
the govt's response:
At least 200 government supporters trailed the anti-government protesters, chanting: "Our blood and souls, we sacrifice for you Abu Hussein" - a reference to Jordan's King Abdullah II before clashing with the opposition march.
Tareq Kmeil, a student at the protest, said: "They beat us with batons, pipes and hurl rocks at us. We tried to defend ourselves, to beat them back."
He said at least eight people suffered fractures to the skull, arms or legs.
"Police didn't do anything to protect us. They just stood on the side watching us getting beaten," Kmeil said.
total amount of US aid to our moderate ally the jordanian king:
$530 million.
much like the egyptian police, the jordanian security forces are particularly notorious for their torture techniques:
Most common forms of torture include beatings with cables and sticks and the suspension by the wrists of inmates from metal grates for hours at a time. Guards flog the defenseless prisoner with knotted electrical cables, beat him with hoses and truncheons, or kick him with fists and boots.
Islamists accused or convicted of crimes against national security (Tanzimat) face greater abuse than ordinary prisoners.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/10/08/jordan-torture-prisons-routine-and-widespread-0
libya:
the disgusting, vile qadaffi has no problems cheering the revolution in egypt, but he's been going on a rampage to prevent protests gaining steam:
Government security forces have killed at least 84 people in three days of protests in several cities in Libya, Human Rights Watch said today, based on telephone interviews with local hospital staff and witnesses.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/18/libya-security-forces-kill-84-over-three-days
he's shutdown the internet now too:
Libya has now started shutting down its Internet and social networking sites that could help revolutionaries organize, multiple news outlets reported late Friday.
Libya demonstrates both the power and the limits of the Arab uprisings. The country, though the most isolated in the region, is not disconnected enough to black out the news of autocrats falling in two of its immediate neighbors. But information about what is happening inside Libya — and the ability of protesters to mobilize world opinion on their behalf — is far more limited.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/world/africa/19libya.html
but protests continue on. we'll see how far they can get; at least the libyans will have the new superpower al jazeera on their side since their far away from the gulf.
phew.
so, in case this wasnt clear, i'd like to see every single one of the dictators, sultans, and kings of the arab world exiled to saudi arabia.
it'll make it that much easier to execute every single one of them when the fascist, theocratic nutjobs of the house of saud get overthrown.
i don't care if their islamist or secular, they all need to be taken out.
and secondly, i'd like to say that if supporting democratic freedom in the middle east is contrary to american interests, then fuck american interests.
there is something fundamentally wrong with our foreign policy if we require hundreds of millions of people to be under jackbooted dictators in order for us to be the superpower.
fuck all of that.