Greece Is On Fire, Spain In Revolt, And There’s A Lot You Need To Know

May 31st, 2011 - by: danny

GIL SCOTT-HERON (R.I.P.) ON MEDIA

Media does not make a revolution, each one of us do. So don’t expect others to do it, it’s all our responsibility.
The Revolution will not be Televised.
The Revolution will not be a Rerun.
The Revolution will be LIVE!

As Mladic Heads (Eventually) to The Hague, An American Accused of War Crimes Faces Protests Today on The Upper East Side

Protests at 92nd Street Y to Oppose Presence of Henry Kissinger.

The Global FInancial Crisis Claims New Victims: Greece In Despair

Panic Capital Flight in Greece Depositors Yank 1.5 Billion Euros in 2 Days;EU Wants Severe Bail-Out Conditions Including International Tax Collection

A COMMENT FROM ATHENS FROM A FRIEND WHO WORKS AT THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

You can’t imagine what we passed! We face serious and dramatic problems! The Greek people, the government, everybody is disappointed with the situation. Strikes and gathering of young people in the center of Athens is a daily phenomenon. I feel the same with the crowd, but what are we suppose to do?

Press has no clue about what might happen, only the Prime Minister knows the real facts.

Please, cross your fingers and wish us good luck!

SPAIN IN REVOLT

Dick Nichols: Barcelona eyewitness: The Indignant beat back authorities
Barcelona, resist police attacks on their protest camp.

“The central plazas of dozens of cities and towns across Spain bear an uncanny resemblance to Tahrir Square in Cairo. They have been taken over by thousands of demonstrators demanding a “new system”. As of May 29, dozens of other central plazas in Spanish cities and towns look the same — taken over by thousands of ordinary people demanding “a new system”.

“The movement, known as “#spanishrevolution” after the Twitter hashtag used to spread news, pictures and footage of the revolt, began with an internet call for a May 15 protest to demand “Real Democracy Now!”.

“Across Spain, more than 100,000 people turned out. In Madrid, protesters decided to establish a permanent camp in the central plaza, the Puerta del Sol.

A MEMORIAL DAY MEMORY FROM THE USA

Dick Meister, Truthout/Chicago IndyMedia: Yes, We Had A Memorial Day Massacre

“It’s a dramatic, shocking and violent film. Some 200 uniformed policemen armed with billy clubs, revolvers and tear gas angrily charge an unarmed crowd of several hundred striking steelworkers and their wives and children, who are desperately running away. The police
club those they can reach, shoving them to the ground and ignoring their pleas as they batter them with further blows. They stand above the fallen to fire at the backs of those who’ve outraced them.

“Police drag the injured along the ground and into patrol wagons, where they are jammed in with dozens of others who were also arrested. Four are already dead from police bullets, six others are to die shortly. Eighty are wounded, two dozen others so badly beaten that they, too, must be hospitalized.

“The close-ups are particularly brutal. As one newspaper reviewer noted, “In several instances from two to four policemen are seen beating one man. One strikes him horizontally across the face, using his club as he
would a baseball bat. Another crashes it down on top of his head and still another is whipping him across the back.”

“The film ends with a sweaty, fatigued policeman looking into the camera, grinning and motioning as if dusting off his hands.

“The film was made in 1937. It was not, however, one of those popular cops and robbers features of the thirties. It was not fictional. It was an on-the-scene report of what historians call “The Memorial Day
Massacre,” a newsreel segment filmed by Paramount Pictures as it was happening on the south side of Chicago on May 30, 1937.

SOUTH AFRICA IN LIBYA

MAIL & GUARDIAN: Preaching peace, Zuma heads to Libya

The ANC has slammed the bombing of Libya, in a statement on the eve of a visit by President Jacob Zuma to Tripoli for talks with Muammar Gaddafi.

CLG: Al-Jazeera footage captures ‘western troops on the ground’ in Libya

“Armed westerners have been filmed on the front line with ‘rebels’ near Misrata in the first apparent confirmation that foreign special forces are playing an active role in the Libyan conflict. A group of six westerners are clearly visible in a report by al-Jazeera from Dafniya, described as the westernmost point of the rebel lines west of the town of Misrata. Five of them were armed and wearing sand-coloured clothes, peaked caps, and cotton Arab scarves. The sixth, apparently the most senior of the group, may be an intelligence officer.

‘US dropped cluster bombs on Misratah

A Human rights investigation in Libya has found that it was the US and its Western allies who cluster bombed the troubled city of Misratah back in April. The HRI said it has convincing evidence that the cluster bombing blamed on pro-Gaddafi forces was actually carried out by the US navy. The report says at the time of the attack, Human Rights Watch and a ‘reporter’ working for US media immediately blamed forces loyal to Libya’s embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi for the cluster bombing that threatened civilian lives.

Meet Our New General of Generals: (WP)

“President Obama nominated Gen. Martin E. Dempsey as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Memorial Day, the holiday that honors the nation’s war dead. Dempsey, who was sworn in as Army chief of staff just last month, replaces Adm. Mike Mullen, who is retiring when his term ends.

Middle East

Gershon Baskin, Jerusalem Post: Next Steps in “peace”process

“It is now quite evident that there can be no end to our conflict with the Palestinians, and no peace without a negotiated agreement. Yet without a fundamental change in relations between the parties, the option of a two-state solution will soon be off the table.

“That is my assessment with regard to the Palestinian side. Once the current Palestinian leaders in Palestine come to believe that they can no longer advance the cause of peace and end the occupation, they will resign and turn the issue over to the next generation.

“Having spent the past weeks meeting grassroots activists all over the West Bank and speaking to friends and contacts in Gaza, I can categorically affirm that increasing numbers of Palestinians are saying the two-state solution is not viable. They say that (I am paraphrasing) “the Palestinians offered Israel the best deal, the most generous deal it could ever expect. We offered them their state on 78 percent of the land between the river and the sea, but they wanted more. So now we say to them, we don’t want a mini-state on 22% of the land any more. Give us one thing and one thing only: the right to vote. One person, one vote — that’s all we want.”

“If this scenario comes to pass, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be transformed from a territorial squabble resolvable through partition to an intractable identity conflict. Bosnia was essentially an identity conflict — everyone against everyone for everything. In Bosnia, 150,000 were killed in four years. As long as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a territorial conflict, we can figure out how to resolve it. If we fail to end the occupation and allow the Palestinians to achieve statehood on 22% of the land, with Palestinian control of their borders (with agreed security arrangements with Israel), a formula for two capitals in Jerusalem with Palestinian control over the Muslim holy places and an agreed formula for dealing with refugees, then in about one year we will face an entirely new situation — one that even the greatest speeches in the US Congress will not be able to resolve.

Uri Avnery, Israeli Peace Movement Leader on “Bibi and The Yo Yos”

“It was all rather disgusting.

“There they were, the members of the highest legislative bodies of the world’s only superpower, flying up and down like so many yo-yos, applauding wildly, every few minutes or seconds, the most outrageous lies and distortions of Binyamin Netanyahu.

“It was worse than the Syrian parliament during a speech by Bashar Assad, where anyone not applauding could find himself in prison. Or Stalin’s Supreme Soviet, when showing less than sufficient respect could have meant death.

“What the American Senators and Congressmen feared was a fate worse than death. Anyone remaining seated or not applauding wildly enough could have been caught on camera — and that amounts to political suicide. It was enough for one single congressman to rise and applaud, and all the others had to follow suit. Who would dare not to?

“The sight of these hundreds of parliamentarians jumping up and clapping their hands, again and again and again and again, with the Leader graciously acknowledging with a movement of his hand, was reminiscent of other regimes. Only this time it was not the local dictator who compelled this adulation, but a foreign one.

“The most depressing part of it was that there was not a single lawmaker — Republican or Democrat — who dared to resist. When I was a 9 year old boy in Germany, I dared to leave my right arm hanging by my side when all my schoolmates raised theirs in the Nazi salute and sang Hitler’s anthem. Is there no one in Washington DC who has that simple courage? Is it really Washington IOT — Israel Occupied Territory — as the anti-Semites assert?

“Many years ago I visited the Senate hall and was introduced to the leading Senators of the time. I was profoundly shocked. After being brought up in deep respect for the Senate of the United States, the country of Jefferson and Lincoln, I was faced with a bunch of pompous asses, many of them nincompoops who had not the slightest idea what they were talking about. I was told that it was their assistants who really understood matters….

MEDIA

T/H Geo Geller: Study Finds: Fragmentation of Audience Attention Leads to Decline in Perceived Value of Entertainment

European Journalism Center Reports: Mubarak fined for cutting internet and phones

“An Egyptian court has fined ousted president Hosni Mubarak and former officials more than USD 90m for cutting off access to internet and mobile phone services during the country’s massive protests in January. A court source told the Reuters news agency on Saturday that Mubarak’s fine is USD 34m, former interior minister Habib al-Adly will owe USD 53m, and former prime minister Ahmed Nazif has a fine of USD 7m. The amounts relate to compensation for lost revenue as a result of the decision to cut off access for five days starting on January 28, said the source. The fine is to be paid from personal assets, and the state has the right to increase the amount over the year if damages continue to rise. This was the first court ruling against Mubarak since he was ousted on February 11. Mubarak faces far more serious charges, including ordering the killing of protesters, a charge which could carry the death penalty. (Al Jazeera )

Iran vows to unplug Internet

“Iran is taking steps toward an aggressive new form of censorship: a so-called national Internet that could, in effect, disconnect Iranian cyberspace from the rest of the world. The leadership in Iran sees the project as a way to end the fight for control of the Internet, according to observers of Iranian policy inside and outside the country. Iran, already among the most sophisticated nations in online censoring, also promotes its national Internet as a cost-saving measure for consumers and as a way to uphold Islamic moral codes. In February, as pro-democracy protests spread rapidly across the Middle East and North Africa, Reza Bagheri Asl, director of the telecommunication ministry’s research institute, told an Iranian news agency that soon 60 percent of the nation’s homes and businesses would be on the new, internal network. Within two years it would extend to the entire country, he said. On Friday, new reports emerged in the local press that Iran also intends to roll out its own computer operating system in coming months to replace Microsoft Corp.’s Windows. The development, which couldn’t be independently confirmed, was attributed to Reza Taghipour, Iran’s communication minister. Ali Aghamohammadi, Iran’s head of economic affairs, said the new network would at first operate in parallel to the normal Internet – banks, government ministries and large companies would continue to have access to the regular Internet. Eventually, he said, the national network could replace the global Internet in Iran, as well as in other Muslim countries. (Wall Street Journal)

LBN: STRAUSS-KAHN HIRES ‘CRISIS TEAM’:

“Dominique Strauss-Kahn has hired a crack “crisis team,” which includes former CIA spies, New York criminal investigators, and PR specialists. In Washington, he is hiring TD International, a “strategic advisory” run by former CIA officers and diplomats who offer both PR and investigatory services. He is also hiring a private-investigations firm, Guidepost Solutions, in New York, and Euro RSCG, one of France’s top PR firms.

Comments on The Capture of Ratko Mladic

Glenn Greenwald, Salon: “By all accounts, Serbian authorities could have arrested Mladic long ago but finally did so because of the extreme pressure brought to bear by EU leaders.

“Why is it legitimate to demand that Serbians Look Backward and risk extreme domestic divisiveness in order to punish their accused war criminals, while the U.S. refuses to do so? Conversely, why is it legitimate to shield accused American war criminals of all accountability on the ground that investigating and prosecuting them would distract from The Future and trigger political conflict, but not allow Serbians the same luxury? I have no doubt that there are hordes of Americans happy about Mladic’s arrest while simultaneously supportive of Obama’s Look Forward decree for American war criminals, all without bothering to resolve — or even recognize — the glaring, self-serving inconsistency at the heart of that mentality.

Glenn Ruga: “I would like to forward one response to this email exchange from a Bosnian who stayed. Farida Musanovic, her husband Mirza, and two daughters Alma and Aida, lived in Sarajevo when war broke out. Both Alma and Aida eventually left in a convoy and went on to create successful lives in a new country in the United States. Farida, a music teacher, and her husband, a doctor, struggled throughout the war and after. Their home was home to many journalists and aid workers during and after the war (myself included). Farida was featured in a New York Times article during the war for her tenacity to continue to teach piano lessons in the unheated music academy. Both during and after the war she worked with Women for Women in Bosnia, and in 2005 won the Dayton Peacemaker Prize. I know that many people on this list know Farida and her family and would appreciate reading this response from someone who lived through it all and is still living through the legacy of war and genocide in her country.

Farida’s comment: Thank you for your emotional response to the news about Ratko Mladic. There are no celebration in Bosnia because we have been waiting too long and we know that Serbia is trading Mladic for the application for EU. You know that we were not happy with the Dayton Agreement because it divided Bosnia and awarded Republika Srpska for the genocide. The war is still going on but in other means and Bosnia is more divided now than it was 15 years ago! So we still need to explain what we went through.

While i am writing this message, there are many protests in Republika Srpska as they are celebrating Mladic as their national hero. We have to face it and try to do our best for reconciliation and it is very difficult. I know there are so many people in the US who know what was going on here during the war but maybe their voices are not heard. I know how much you supported Bosnia and fought for justice and we all appreciate it very much. Keep going and I wish you the very best. If you come to Bosnia, please let me know as I would like to meet you very much. Best regards, F

“DEFICIT” FACTS THAT SOMEHOW NEVER MAKE THE NEWS

Abby Zimet, Common Dreams: “The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
has updated a widely cited chart to show that Bush-era tax cuts to the rich
and two ill-advised wars – not the economic downturn – are primarily
responsible for the massive debt now driving Republicans to cut health,
education, social services and every other remotely useful program.”

Sam Smith, Undernews: Facts to Make Your Head Spin

We interrupt this deficit cutting for a few facts

Those “non-combat” troops we’re leaving in Iraq will cost about $50 billion, which — writes Joshua Holland of Alternet — could also pay for

24.3 million children receiving low-income health care for one year, OR

726,044 elementary school teachers for one year, OR

829,946 firefighters for one year, OR

6.2 million Head Start slots for children for one year, OR

10.7 million households with renewable electricity — solar photovoltaic for one year, OR

28.6 million households with renewable electricity-wind power for one year, OR

6.1 million military veterans receiving VA medical care for one year, OR

9.8 million people receiving low-income health care for one year, OR

718,208 police or sheriff’s patrol officers for one year, OR

6.0 million scholarships for university students for one year, OR

8.5 million students receiving Pell grants of $5,550

Final Memorial Day Comment by Rudyard Kipling, courtesy of Bradley Laing

We have fed our sea for a thousand years
And she calls us, still unfed,
Though there’s never a wave of all her waves
But marks our English dead:
We have strawed our best to the weed’s unrest,
To the shark and the sheering gull.
If blood be the price of admiralty,
Lord God, we ha’ paid in full!

Greg Writes About Plunder

Just watched – very eye opening (though I have read much of this before). What can we do to make it stop? Can it be stopped (short of taking part in a revolution)? I feel completely powerless and would love to know what I can do to fight back. I am a lawyer and a teacher – what can I do to help get our country back?”

Gisela Sommer writes:

I always love reading your challenging and insightful commentaries.

I agree with you on

‘Too Big To Fail’ Should Have Been ‘Too Big to Jail’

Marcus Georges writes:

just wanted to write you today and say thank you for opening my eyes to some of the issues going on in America. I just recently watch your film Plunder. I have also watched the movie Casino Jack and the United States of Money. If you take knowledge from both films it really makes you wonder how much money is invested by corporation in getting the right guys into office on capital hill. I think that politicians’ have let the American people down by allowing the stock market to run its self ungoverned. If we could get more reporters and film makes to do their jobs like you have, I think that America could really wake up and change our ways before it’s too late. These films really show what America has become about the greed and wealth that one man can make off another mans sorrow. Once again thank you and keep up the great work.

Paul O’Hanlon writes from Scotland:

Parliament Square Peace Campaign reaches 10 years

The peace campaign in London’s Parliament Square reaches 10 years on Thursday June 2nd 2011. The campaign was initiated by Brian Haw on June 2nd 2001 — before the events of September 11th and before the US led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

He was initially demonstrating against the economic embargo against Iraq which according to UNICEF killed over 500,000 children. He has continued to protest 24/7 opposite the British Houses of Parliament in opposition to the on-going occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the continuing siege of Gaza.

Unfortunately in September 2010 Brian was diagnosed with cancer and had to go in to hospital. However the campaign has continued with Australian born Barbara Tucker maintaining a 24 hour presence opposite the Houses of Parliament.”

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