President Abdelaziz Bouteflika promised through official APS news agency that he would lift the state of emergency which has been in force for the last 19 years in Algeria "in the very near future," Government opponents, who have been inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt have been pushing for its end. The promise to lift the banned on public demonstrations is seen as a bid stave off unrest.
Opposition groups in Algeria are calling a major protest on February 12 and they have recently made repeal of the emergency powers one of their main demands. As the anti-government forces in Tunisia have given an example, hundreds have been willing to publicly protest the ban on public gatherings in Algeria.
Map via @Houeida Anouar
Tunisia December 15:
2011-02-01 Tunisian Islamic Leader Returns as EU Freezes Ousted President's Assets
2011-01-27 Tunisia protests continue as a warrant is issued for Ben Ali
2011-01-24 Tunisia today: "It’s not a unity government, it’s a fake unity government”
Today (Thursday, February 3) the Bradley Manning Support Network, an ad hoc, international grassroots effort to help Bradley Manning, the private accused of leaking classified information to WikiLeaks, is holding a National White House Call-in Day. The group says it is holding the Call-in Day because the Obama Administration has pretended not to know anything about the case.
Kevin Zeese, a leader with the group, spoke to WL Central about Manning and the Call-in Day.
"The reason we decided to go to the White House is Robert Gibbs was asked about Manning at a press conference and gave a kind of we don't know anything about it answer," explained Zeese.
A press release for the Call-in Day suggests the White House has no concern for "Bradley Manning's extreme confinement conditions, or the fact that recent pre-approved visitors of Bradley's have been detained and interrogated by military police in order to block their scheduled visit."
Zeese described the work of the network, explaining it started shortly after Manning was arrested and then detained about eight months ago. The group's first task was to "raise money for his legal defense, and thanks to tens of thousands of donors" the group raised around $125,000. Manning was able to choose the military lawyer he wanted to represent him, David E. Coombs.
The group's next task was to "generate support for Manning: when his conditions of confinement came out, that became a key issue." It was an opportunity for the group to discuss his case and make people consider whether he was a patriot or a traitor.
On February 3, 2011, Marietje Schaake addressed the EU parliament on the situation in the Mediterranean, in particular in Tunisia and Egypt. Schaake also called for an investigation into any corporations that might have facilitated the human rights abuses.
Video of her address:
The sources of the Shamir controversy.
Recent writing about Shamir in connection to Wikileaks has been unduly polemical, preferring to telescope conclusions through the use of inflammatory and judgmental language. The matter at hand is certainly, and understandably, an inflammatory matter. But it will be necessary, for the sake of clarity, to examine the evidence with a certain emotional restraint. Judgment should be the consequence of critical thinking and reading, not its antecedent. In proper reportage, moral condemnation is not necessary: a deed speaks for itself.
The earliest controversy over Shamir I can trace follows on from his marginal success as an advocate of the pro-Palestine lobby, in the early years of the decade. Interestingly, at this time, he was even quoted by Christopher Hitchens, in The Nation. The discussions over this are conducted with more restraint than the recent ones, and are therefore more informative. I refer the reader to Shamir's correspondences with Ali Abunimah & Hussein Ibish over his views, compiled on Nigel Parry's site. Shamir's response is in his characteristic, ad hominem style.
Snorre Valen, a member of the Norwegian parliament, has nominated WikiLeaks for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
In motivating his nomination, Mr Valen writes:
... many seek to redraw the map of information freedom with the emergence of institutions like Wikileaks. Political powers and institutions that ordinarily protect freedom of speech suddenly warn against the danger, the threat to security, yes even the “terrorism” that Wikileaks represent. In doing so, they fail in upholding democratic values and human rights. In fact, they contribute to the opposite. It is not, and should never be, the privilege of politicians to regulate which crimes the public should never be told about, and through which media those crimes become known.
Liu Xiabao was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his struggle for human rights, democracy and freedom of speech in China. Likewise: Wikileaks have contributed to the struggle for those very values globally, by exposing (among many other things) corruption, war crimes and torture – some times even conducted by allies of Norway. And most recently: By disclosing the economic arrangements by the presidential family in Tunisia, Wikileaks have made a small contribution to bringing down a 24-year-lasting dictatorship.
The Sydney Peace Foundation has announced that it will award a rare gold medal to WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange for his work on behalf of peace and justice worldwide. The Peace Medal, distinct from the foundation's annual Peace Prize, has been awarded to only three other individuals: the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, and Japanese lay Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda.
Foundation director Stuart Rees said today:
"Peace from our point of view is really about justice, fairness and the attainment of human rights. ... Assange has championed people's right to know and has challenged the centuries-old tradition that governments are entitled to keep the public in a state of ignorance."
Prof Rees said Mr Assange's work was in the tradition of Tom Paine's Rights of Man and Daniel Ellsberg's Pentagon Papers - "challenging the old order of power in politics and in journalism".
"In the Paine, Ellsberg and Assange cases, those in power moved quickly to silence their critics even by perverting the course of justice."
The Telegraph: Iran's missile launchers towed by Peugeots
"Family cars made by Fiat, Peugeot and Renault are being used as missile platforms by the Iranian armed forces because of their difficulty obtaining proper military vehicles, leaked cables show."
The Telegraph: US vs China in battle of the anti-satellite space weapons
"On the night of Feb 20, 2008, Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, was on a plane to Hawaii when his telephone rang."
The Telegraph: The race to take control of space
"The race to take control of space raged throughout much of the cold war and has previously been dominated by the Americans."
The Telegraph: US and China in military standoff over space missiles
"The United States threatened to take military action against China during a secret "star wars" arms race within the past few years, according to leaked documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph."
The Telegraph: Timeline of the space race
"The US and China are locked in a bitter battle to assert their power in space, leaked diplomatic cables have disclosed. Here is a timeline of the space race."
Gaspar Llamazares, a Spanish politician and member of the Communist Party of Spain, is the focus of part of a recent cable released by WikiLeaks.
The cable from Madrid covers a meeting between Ambassador Solomont and Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba that touched on several topics including Haiti, Al Qaeda, training of security forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and Guantanamo detainees. It also featured a conversation on Llamazares, whose photo had days ago been reported to have been used by an FBI forensic artist “to create an age-processed image of Osama bin Laden" for a "Rewards for Justice" website featuring photos of most wanted terrorists.
From 10MADRID49 on January 18, 2010:
Analysts are warning of a food crisis in Egypt. Stratfor reports that, in the best-case scenario, the country has less than 40 days demand left.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who has provided a new home for ex-Tunisian president Ben Ali, has been calling Egyptian protesters "infiltrators" who seek to destabilize their country, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
Saudi King Abdullah called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and "was reassured". "During the call, the king said, 'Egypt is a country of Arabism and Islam. No Arab and Muslim human being can bear that some infiltrators, in the name of freedom of expression, have infiltrated into the brotherly people of Egypt, to destabilize its security and stability and they have been exploited to spew out their hatred in destruction, intimidation, burning, looting and inciting a malicious sedition.'".
Saudi Arabia "strongly condemns" the protest. Whether Saudi Arabia is itself at risk of revolution or mass protests remains to be seen. On November 13, the Saudi Arabian government declared that facebook had "crossed a line" and restricted access to their approximately 27 million people for a few hours, on morality grounds. It would be unlikely that the Saudi government would tolerate mass protest organizing on social media. But there was reportedly a recent protest below, a very rare event, that may be either an anomaly or a precedent.
The conditions of Private Manning's confinement have been widely reported. Not surprisingly, on January 24, Amnesty International called on US authorities "to alleviate the harsh pre-trial detention conditions of Bradley Manning."
As we also reported here, Psychologists for Social Responsibility have joined the call for Manning's humane treatment in an open letter to Robert Gates, which calls upon him "to rectify the inhumane, harmful, and counterproductive treatment of PFC Bradley Manning immediately."
Amnesty International is now calling on British authorities to intervene on behalf of Private Manning on the basis that Manning may be a British citizen.
In a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press, Amnesty International's U.K. Director Kate Allen said Manning's background meant that British officials "should be demanding that the conditions of his detention are in line with international standards."
Manning is very likely, in fact, eligible for dual citizenship by law. Manning's status as a potential UK national was first reported here, where it is pointed out that his mother, Susan Manning, is a UK citizen, having been born in the UK. As was pointed out here, however, things are not so simple in terms of international law.
The Interior Ministry of Yemen issued a statement on its website outlining extra security measures it has taken in preparation for Yemen's Day of Rage on February 3. Security forces have been reinforced around Sanaa, the capital, and transportation routes into major cities have security checkpoints added for 'wanted suspects' or firearms. The opposition parties have called for a million protesters march in emulation of Egypt's current demonstrations and asked for members and other supporters outside the capital to join. Around 15,000 protesters marched in Sanaa last Thursday.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced last week on state TV that he would step down after his second presidential term expires in 2013. He is to address an emergency meeting of the two chambers of the parliament, the House of Deputies and the Shura Council, tomorrow, one day before Yemen's Day of Rage. He is to discuss "issues and developments of interest to the nation and citizens" according to the official Saba news agency.
The Telegraph: FBI hunts the 9/11 gang that got away
"The FBI has launched a manhunt for a previously unknown team of men suspected to be part of the 9/11 attacks, the Daily Telegraph can disclose."
The Telegraph: 9/11 gang with pilot uniforms fled to London
"Even before three men of Middle Eastern appearance had told cleaners to stay out of their room, staff at a Los Angeles airport hotel had become increasingly suspicious of what they were up to."
The Telegraph: Libyan 'frogman' sent to train in Rome couldn't swim
"In Libya, where corruption and nepotism are often stitched into the fabric of society, it is often not a case of what you know, but who you know."
The Telegraph: WikiLeaks files reveal 'cold, callous and brutal' behaviour of ministers
"A mother who lost her daughter in the Lockerbie attack has condemned the “cold, callous and brutal” behaviour of British ministers after WikiLeaks documents revealed how they secretly advised Libya on securing the successful early release of the bomber."
The Telegraph: Libya insists ball in U.S. court on scud B alternative
Protests continue in Khartoum despite violent police suppression which has resulted in one reported death of a protester. Tweets from activists in Khartoum say the government has started blocking some protesters' individual cell phones. On Tuesday, around 200 students were beat back from protesting outside outside al-Nilein university by police who have already arrested and injured many protesters and killed one.
Opposition Islamist Hassan al-Turabi and a dozen members of his party were arrested earlier this month and are being held without charges. The African Center for Justice and Peace Studies released a statement saying "These ongoing rights violations are a pattern to silence dissident voices and limit access to information. The responses undertaken by police forces ... exemplify the extent to which the (ruling party) are unwilling to tolerate any other voices on the road to democratic transformation." They also said that police had detained more than 100 people on Monday and were continuing arrests, with people being taken from their homes and offices. Numbers that have been detained are impossible to keep track of. Rallies are illegal in Sudan without permission, which is rarely given.
Jordan's King Abdullah II sacked his cabinet Tuesday after being confronted with the on going protests by thousands of Jordanians over high unemployment and high food prices. Jordan's Royal Palace announced that the Monarchy had accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Samir Rifai, who many blame for rising fuel and food prices and poor economic performance. The King has asked ex-army general Marouf Bakhit to form a new government. Bakhit has been prime minister before and also has been an ambassador to Israel so while this change may be prompted by the demands of the people in the streets, it is not seen as any real change in the status quo.
At 2:30 PM Egypt time, there are well over a million Egyptians in and around Tahrir Square. The atmosphere is being described by Al Jazeera as a festival atmosphere. CNN has Anderson Cooper reporting from the protests. And, reports are circulating on Twitter indicating Egyptian State TV is running images of Cairo looking serene, void of protesters, and flashing a “Protect Egypt” banner on screen during music videos.
The millions are deliberating over whether to march to the presidential palace or not. Having a foothold in Tahrir Square gives Egyptians control over Cairo, the power to keep the city’s business halted, and that gives them tremendous leverage as the opposition continues to push for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down.
US State Department cables released on Monday by the Telegraph (London) and WikiLeaks reveal that, in September 2009, in response to a perceived insult to President Muammar al-Qadhafi from the Canadian government, the Libyan National Oil Company threatened to nationalize the local assets of Petro-Canada, then a Canadian Crown corporation. The cables tie the diplomatic row to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon's threat to give al-Qadhafi a "public tongue-lashing" over his reception of Abdel Bassett al-Megrahi, whose conviction in the case of the Pan Am 103/Lockerbie bombing and recent release from prison had both been controversial.
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The US ambassador notes the general concerns that Libya's successive threats to Petro-Can had raised in the international community:
Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist party Ennahda, returned to Tunisia after 22 years in exile. In a celebration of their newly won freedom, thousands of supporters welcomed him at Tunis Airport on Sunday. Ennahnda has said it intends to take part in Tunisia's post-revolution elections but Ghannouchi told reporters that fears that compare him to the father of Iran's Islamic Revolution were wrong. He said he is much more moderate in his views “Some Western media portray me like (Ayatollah Ruhollah) Khomeini, but that’s not me.”
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