Libya Update

I've been focus very heavily on Wisconsin lately when there's actually a more pressing round of protests out there.

Libya is the country in the Middle East where the protests have really taken off, though unfortunately it is also the country where the most protesters are dying. President Omar Qaddafi has actually ordered his troops to fire live ammunition at the protesters, resulting in a body count of over 100. He then ordered those same troops to kill certain disloyal factions within the army who would not fire on unarmed civilians. The troops burned their barracks down.

Meanwhile, the protests only escalated. Some cities have actually been captured by the pro-democracy protesters, resulting in a situation similar to a civil war. Qaddafi, meanwhile, was going on a tangent about how the Protesters were all on hallucinogenic drugs, garnered from a foreign source. The president's rant was nearly incoherent at times, but he made perfectly clear the fact that he would not voluntarily leave the country any time soon.

Unfortunately, with the UN's recent resolution to not intervene in the conflict, the protesters are alone in their fight to force out the raving lunatic. I wish them huge amount of luck in their quest for democracy.

• Meanwhile, overseas gas prices have been soaring thanks to the middle east unrest.
• In China, a Planned "Jasmine Revolution" was put down by security forces who arrested several of the organizers of the protests, leaving the attendees to mull about at the protest site.
• Protests in Bahrain and Algeria continue, though they are receiving substantially less coverage thanks to the happenings in Libya.
• Wisconsin protests continue unchanged. Governor Walker still refuses to negotiate with unionists.

On Wiunion

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/whats-happening-wisconsin-explained

For days, demonstrators have been pouring into the streets of Madison, Wisconsin—and the halls of the state's Capitol building—to protest rookie Republican Governor Scott Walker's anti-union proposals. Big national unions, both major political parties, the tea party and Andrew Breitbart, are already involved. Democratic state senators have fled the state to prevent the legislature from voting on Walker's proposals. And the protests could soon spread to other states, including Ohio.

What's actually being proposed?

Walker says his legislation, which would strip most state employees of any meaningful collective bargaining rights, is necessary to close the state's $137 million budget gap. There are a number of problems with that argument, though. The unions are not to blame for the deficit, and

stripping unionized workers of their collective bargaining rights won't in and of itself save any money. Walker says he needs to strip the unions of their rights to close the gap. But public safety officers' unions, which have members who are more likely to support Republicans and who also tend to have the highest salaries and benefits, are exempted from the new rules. Meanwhile, a series of tax breaks and other goodies that Walker and the Republican legislature passed just after his inauguration dramatically increased the deficit that Walker now says he's trying to close. And Wisconsin has closed a much larger budget gap in the past without scrapping worker organizing rights.

What's really going on, as Kevin Drum has explained, is pure partisan warfare: Walker is trying to de-fund the unions that form the backbone of the Democratic party. The unions and the Democrats are, of course, fighting back. The Washington Post's Ezra Klein drops some knowledge [emphasis added]:

The best way to understand Walker's proposal is as a multi-part attack on the sta

te's labor unions. In part one, their ability to bargain benefits for their members is reduced. In part two, their ability to collect dues, and thus spend money organizing members or lobbying the legislature, is undercut. And in part three, workers have to vote the union back into existence every single year. Put it all together and it looks like this: Wisconsin's unions can't deliver value to their members, they're deprived of the resources

to change the rules so they can start delivering value to their members again, and because of that, their members eventually give in to employer pressure and shut the union down in one of the annual certification elections.

You may think Walker's proposal is a good idea or a bad idea. But that's what it does. And it's telling that he's exempting the unions that supported him and is trying to obscure his plan's specifics behind misleading language about what unions can still bargain for and misleading rhetoric about the state's budget.

Walker's proposals do have important fiscal elements: they roughly double health care premiums for many state employees. But the heart of the proposals, and the controversy, are the provisions that will effectively destroy public-sector unions in the Badger State. As Matt Yglesias notes, this won't destroy the Democratic party. But it will force the party to seek funding from sources other than unions, and that usually means the same rich businessmen who are the main financial backers for the Republican party. Speaking of which....

Who is Scott Walker?

Walker was elected governor in the GOP landslide of 2010, when Republicans also gained control of the Wisconsin state senate and house of representatives. His political career has been bankrolled by Charles and David Koch, the very rich, very conservative, and very anti-union oil-and-gas magnates. Koch-backed groups like Americans for Prosperity, the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Reason Foundation have long taken a very antagonistic view toward public-sector unions. They've used their vast fortunes to fight key Obama initiatives on health care and the environment, while writing fat checks to Republican candidates across the country. Walker's take for the 2010 election: $43,000 from the Koch Industries PAC, his second highest intake from any one donor. But that's not all!:

The Koch's PAC also helped Walker via a familiar and much-used political maneuver designed to allow donors to skirt campaign finance limits. The PAC gave $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, which in turn spent $65,000 on independent expenditures to support Walker. The RGA also spent a whopping $3.4 million on TV ads and mailers attacking Walker's opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Walker ended up beating Barrett by 5 points. The Koch money, no doubt, helped greatly.

What are the Democrats and the unions doing to respond?

Well, they're protesting, obviously—filling the halls of the Capitol and the streets of Madison with bodies and signs. They're calling their representatives and talking about recalling Walker (who cannot be recalled until next January) or any of eight GOP state senators who are eligible for recall right now. Meanwhile, all of the Democratic state senators have left the state in an attempt to deny Republicans the quorum they need to vote on Walker's proposals, but if just one of them returns (or is hauled back by state troopers), the GOP will have the quorum they need. (Interestingly, the head of the state patrol in the father of the Republican heads of the state senate and house of representatives, who are brothers.) Finally, Wisconsin public school teachers have been calling in sick, forcing schools to close while teachers in over a dozen other school

districts picket the capitol, plan vigils, and set up phone banks to try to block Walker's effort.

How could this spread?

Other Republican-governed states are trying to mimic Walker's assault on public employee unions. The GOP won a resounding series of state-level victories in high-union-density states in November. Now they can use their newly-won power to crack down on one of the Democrats' biggest sources of funds, volunteers, and political power. Plans are already under consideration in places like Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.

How are conservatives working to support Walker?:

It was only a matter of time till the Tea Party got in on the action. Stephanie Mencimer reports that activists are bussing into Madison, and are "promising a massive counter-demonstration." The push is being led by American Majority, a conservative activist group that trains impressionable young foot soldiers to become state-level candidates (check out their ""I Stand With Scott Walker Rally" Facebook page). Founded by Republican operatives, the well-funded group (which, according to tax fillings, had a budget of nearly $2 million in 2009) gets much of its money from a group with ties to those adorable Koch brothers. Conservative media baron Andrew Breitbart will be leading the rally, and will be joined by presidential candidate Herman Cain and maybe—if we're lucky—Joe "The Plumber" Wurtzelbacher. Expect fireworks.

• The words above were not written by me but by the great people at http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/whats-happening-wisconsin-explained
• Unfortunately for the Tea Baggers, less than 2,000 supporters of the governor actually showed up, resulting in a majority of pro-union supporters at a ratio of at least 35-1.
• A huge protest is being planned for pro-unionists on Monday, with over 100,000 expected to show up.
• I was having a lovely discussion with a misinformed right-winger last night. It turns out the protests are over "collective bargaining rights" or, basically, the right for the union to exist. This is not a drain on the state at all.
• The right wing hate machine will do their darndest to lie, cheat, and spin in order to make it seem like the unionist protesters are the bad guys, but in reality they are simply peaceful teachers, firefighters, and police looking to keep their right to organize. These people did not cause the deficit and they certainly are not looking for handouts. They just want to keep their current jobs.

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.

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!"