It's Nice Outside

Screw the polar bears, it's a nice day.

Just kidding, you should save the polar bears.

In Other News:

-Wisconsin has experienced protests against an anti-union bill that has little standing on the budget of the state. If it passes, thousands of state workers including teachers, firefighters, and police officers, would lose benefits for no reason other than the fact that the neocons had an agenda. Yesterday, all democratic state senators left the state to prevent a quorum on the proposed bill. Around 30,000 protesters had gathered in front of the state's capitol building in order to oppose the measure.

-The informant who convinced the US that Iraq had chemical weapons which prompted the 2003 invasion was discovered to be a liar. He knowingly tricked the western world into invading Iraq based on a lie. Ultimate facepalm.

-The US has unexpectedly joined in a international board to officially censure Israel. In my opinion, the state of Israel is the best hope of bringing peace and progressivism to the Middle East. But if this conference leads to that peace sooner rather than later, it is certainly a good thing.

-A giant cheeseburger, later revealed to be the one true God, has eaten the polar ice caps which lead to a dramatic increase in warm temperatures in the United States. Tomorrow, the oceans are expected to turn into mcdonald's special sauce. I wonder who actually reads this far into my blog.

-The US recently cracked down on over 100 medical practices in order to try to prevent medicare fraud. Saving money through getting rid of illegal activity is always a good idea, so long as you make sure no innocents are harmed in the process.

-Protests in Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain have experienced a crackdown from police. In Bahrain, nearly 50 were injured and in Yemen around 24 were killed.

Mirror this video:

Updates

• The Patriot Act passed the Senate yesterday. President Obama is expected to sign it soon. Then we will continue living without our fourth amendment rights.

• Democrats and Tea Partiers have also worked together to try to block $3 billion worth of defense spending which would only serve to increase our debt and make John Boehner look good. Seems like the libertarian Tea Party candidates finally realized the republican talking point about "smaller government' is really just a false facade.

• Bahrain, a tiny middle eastern island nation, has had the most successful protests. Citizens have crowded into an important city square in a demonstration reminiscent of Egypt's protests. Earlier today, they were attacked by riot police while camping there overnight. I wish them luck in their attempts to truly change things.

• The BBC have put out an amazing interactive map of the Middle East protests, proving once again that they are far superior to US stations.

• Wisconsin has had its own protests. over 10,000 have gathered at the State capitol in order to object to the radical cuts proposed by the state's republicans. if only my state would do the same...

• Justin Beiber on general politics: “I’m not sure about the parties. But whatever they have in Korea, that’s bad.” And people wonder why I hate this kid.

• Unfortunately I have no Vlad comic for my followers this time, but here's something amusing

Dueling Budgets

Earlier this Week, US Republicans unveiled their budget plan which is projected to cut $61 billion off this year's budget. Their proposed cuts include limiting or ending funding to the Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Obama this morning has unveiled his own budget which would cut $1.1 trillion over the next 10 years, or ~$110 billion per year. Cuts in this plan come from placing a spending freeze on domestic projects. Unfortunately, even this plan falls short of the $4 trillion in domestic cuts that would be needed to rectify the deficit.

Neither plan addresses the three biggest contributors to the US budget: Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, and Defense spending. However the lesser of the two evils would have to be Obama's plan. The republicans' is filled with impulsive reactions to programs that would actually save money if they were left alone.

Other Updates:

-Iran protests began earlier today as young university students met riot police in the streets. Continuity is not assured but hopeful. The US State Dept has launched a twitter account in Farsi in order to show support for the protesters.

-Protests in Yemen and Algeria are still going on but only Algeria seems to be picking up steam. Al Jazeera is now giving them equal time as Egypt's aftermath.

-The Grammys are going on. Maybe. I'm actively trying not to pay attention.

-Vlad Putin is still a badass.

Routine Updates

-After Egypt Military has taken control of the country after Mubarak's resignation, they have pledged to ensure civilian rule. This is huge news tot hose who feared Mubarak's crones would regain power or that the military would rule.

-Algerian protests are still going strong. It's still unclear whether they will pick up enough steam to make a significant change. Meanwhile in Yemen, protesters have been getting savagely beaten by riot police.

-Similar protests are scheduled in Iran for Monday. The US has urged Ahmadinejad to allow the rally in an unexpectedly forceful stance.

-In the EU, the notion that multiculturalism has failed is spreading. First the Prime Minister of the UK and then the President of France have made official statements to that effect. This will most likely serve only to heighten anti-muslim sentiments across Europe.

-I've reached 200 followers! Thanks, all.

-Here's Al Jazeera's recent News Update

Next Stop: Algeria

Egypt-style protests have begun in another dictator-plagued North African country, Algeria. Thousands of pro-reform protesters have gathered in downtown Algiers chanting the mantra of the protest, "No to the police state"

Since this is only the beginning of the protests (and hopefully not the end), it is unclear as to exactly how much support they have. Reports are that nearly 10,000 showed up today alone, however the police are expected to take a much more hand-on role in preventing the protests than in Egypt.

The government of Algeria has just shut down social media sites like twitter and facebook in a similar manner of the *former* governments of Tunisia and Egypt.

I wish the protesters of Algiers luck in their venture, and would like to remind them to keep the protests peaceful, progressive, and secular.

As with Egypt, I will be monitoring the protests and will blog about any relevant updates. And also as with Egypt, updates can be found with the only reliable middle east news network, Al Jazeera at http://www.youtube.com/user/AlJazeeraEnglish

Countries where similar protests have the potential to form:

-Yemen

-Libya

-Saudi Arabia

-Tehran

-Iran

-Most likely Not the US or the western countries

Egypt Update

Earlier tonight, February 10, 2011, Egyptian President Mubarak has put an end to rumors that he would soon be stepping down. Despite transferring powers to the equally unpopular Vice President Omar Sulieman, this move was considered a snub to President Obama whose administration earlier helped to leak the aforementioned rumors.

Mubarak's tactics for saving face earlier include promising key changes to certain Egyptian constitutional amendments, claims that the protesters were motivated by out-of-state actors (untrue), and even promising to not run in the next Presidential election in September. None of these appeasements were sufficient for the protesters who understood that Mubarak would still attempt to claim power in his own underhanded way unless he and his supporters were to resign from the government immediately.

The new power holder Omar Sulieman is reportedly a very militant man, with a history in the armed forces as well as a record of using torture to achieve his ends. Bigger Protests are expected tomorrow, with the organizers calling for 20 million ro take to the streets tomorrow to finally achieve a lasting change. Rumors have spread about the protests possibly spreading to the presidential Palace which happens to be only a few blocks from the hub of the previous protests in Tahrir Square.

Rumors of similar style protests in Iran have also been circulating, so don't be surprised when the media switches their coverage there next week.

As always, live coverage of Egypt can be found on Al Jazeera television, as well as on their YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish

Also remember to check in on my blog for any relevant updates!

Mubarak's Speech:

Update: This morning President Mubarak officially stepped down as President after thousands of protesters congregated in front of his multiple presidential palaces. The streets of Cairo are awash in celebration.

Egypt

Egypt is in the midst of a struggle to overthrow a militaristic dictator in order to ensure a brighter and more hopeful future for the everyday citizen. Factors that prompted this uprising range from Wikileaks and Tunisia to the fact that the quality of life gap between the rich and the poor has been growing so rapidly.

Protesters have gathered in Tahrir (Liberation) Square and have demanded that President of 30 long years, Hosni Mubarak, step down from power.

The protests started on January 25th and have swelled in numbers up to today, when nearly 2 million people are gathered in central Cairo in pursuit of a common goal.

Some are worried about the local Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood, taking power afterward, however those fears are baseless as the next leader has been selected to be Nobel Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, a former UN official.

Al Jazeera has been the biggest coverer of the story, with other news networks simply mentioning it only as far as they believe will get them ratings. Al Jazeera's coverage of the story can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish

or here: http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

Here's a video update from Al Jazeera's youtube page

Update: 4:05 EST, President Mubarak promises not to run in the next Presidential Election, Vows to "die on Egyptian soil" and not flee the country like Tunisia's President. The protesters are not buying this and are now chanting "Go Away, go away!"