If Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is toppled, Israel will lose one of its very few friends in a hostile neighborhood and President Barack Obama will bear a large share of the blame, Israeli pundits said on Monday.
Political commentators expressed shock at how the United States as well as its major European allies appeared to be ready to dump a staunch strategic ally of three decades, simply to conform to the current ideology of political correctness.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told ministers of the Jewish state to make no comment on the political cliffhanger in Cairo, to avoid inflaming an already explosive situation. But Israel's President Shimon Peres is not a minister.
Puppet Masters
© Unknown
Citizens rally in the streets in protest of a corrupt Egyptian government
Citizens rally in the streets in protest of a corrupt Egyptian government
So far more than 100 people have died during the rioting that has rocked Egypt over the past week. Other reports put the true number of dead much higher. Scores of shops and businesses have been looted. There have been dozens of rapes. Groups of citizens have formed vigilante groups to protect their own homes. These are the kinds of things that happen when society breaks down.
But could such a thing happen in the United States? Of course it could. Just remember what happened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Imagine what would happen in this country if a disaster on an even larger scale happened. What any of us be truly safe?
© Carlos Latuff
"How low will they (the Guardian)go? Asks the Zionist watchdog.
The Judeo-centric site defines Latuff as "one of the most prolific anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic cartoonists". It is also outraged with Latuff depicting "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a sinister looking (gun wielding) Orthodox Jew."
The Jewish site claims that much of Latuff's work "expresses anti-Semitic themes. Some of his caricatures seem to suggest that Israel is a unique and immutable evil in the world." I am afraid to disappoint the Zionist watchdog; the Jewish State is uniquely evil, and this fact has been exposed numerous times in the last years by UN fact finding missions.
© whatreallyhappened
The dollar won't drop that significantly over the next year, will it? If it does, calls to drop the petro-dollar as the reserve currency will likely turn to reality. And surely the global economy is not expected to grow fast enough to warrant a 50% jump for the lifeblood of civilization. It seems clear that demand for oil will stay relatively flat, so only a catastrophic supply problem would justify these increases.
Enter the new supply problem. A stunning wave of populist protests has swept through Egypt who control the ultra-important Suez Canal. The Egyptian revolution is displaying powerful solidarity in their struggle to oust longtime autocrat Pharaoh, Hosni Mubarak, for corruption and economic suppression. And it's beginning to look as though Mubarak will eventually be forced out and new leadership will be throned to appease the masses.
However, the uprising is expanding, and is likely to spread deeper into the psyche of the eternally oppressed around the world. The outcome of this tsunami of activism is uncertain, but stormy waves means it is surf's up for Wall Street. The civil unrest gives them the perfect excuse to justify what can only be described as outright fraud and manipulation of the oil markets.
© Tim Mitchell/PA
A man washes his eyes after police used CS gas on tax protesters in London.
A man washes his eyes after police used CS gas on tax protesters in London.
Hundreds of people staged peaceful sit-ins at high street stores around the country as part of the latest UK Uncut day of action, designed to highlight companies it says are avoiding millions of pounds in tax.
In London protesters had successfully closed down Boots in Oxford Street - one of the companies campaigners accuse of tax avoidance - when police tried to arrest a woman for pushing a leaflet through the store's doors. Other demonstrators tried to stop the arrest and at least one police officer used CS spray, which hospitalised three people.
Jed Weightman, one of those who went to hospital, said protesters had joined hands to try and prevent the arrest.
"One police officer sprayed towards us and because I was tall I got a lot of it in my face," he said. "My eyes were streaming and I couldn't see anything."
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President Obama and David Axelrod
President Obama and David Axelrod
As revolution threatened to sweep Egypt and possibly other allies - with the horrifying prospect of Islamism replacing reliable friends - the president was on view partying with the IN crowd.
The skepticism beyond the Beltway about whether Washington is just one big Love-In certainly gets fed by the sight - as conveyed by the press pool report - of reporters like ABC's Jake Tapper, NBC's Chuck Todd, National Journal's Major Garrett, and John Harwood of CNBC and the New York Times emerging from a bash with the president that was held to toast his chief political fixer and leading spinmeister.
I understand why reporters would do this - other than the admittedly pathetic notion that, gosh, it's fun to party with the president of the United States! It is pretty good for building sources and getting inside dope. But man, it ain't easy smacking the White House with tough stories all the time if you're getting invited to their exclusive parties, now is it?
© Unknown
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
- Venezuelan leader accuses U.S. of meddling
- Briefed by Libya's Gaddafi and Syria's al-Assad
Chavez, Washington's leading critic in the Americas, said he had spoken to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad for a briefing on the protests in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world.
"In Egypt, the situation is complicated, Chavez said.
"Now you are seeing comments from Washington and some European nations. As President Gaddafi said to me, it's shameful, it makes you kind of sick to see the meddling of the U.S., wanting to take control."
The United States has urged an orderly transition to democracy in Egypt to avoid a power vacuum but has stopped short of calling on President Hosni Mubarak, an ally of three decades, to step down.
The socialist Chavez has generally cast himself as pro-Arab and opposed to the policies of Israel and the United States.
Israel's government are deep in discussions about how best to handle the Egyptian crisis. The possibility of a Muslim Brotherhood-dominated Egyptian government weighs heavily on their minds.
With the Egyptians in the midst of revolution and right now at their most vulnerable in terms of defending themselves against an Israeli strike, the Israelis may well be tempted to retake part of the Sinai in order to create a buffer zone to pre-empt the opening up of the Gaza Strip. This would not only halt the possibility of an increased flow of armaments which the Gazan Palestinians can then use to defend themselves against continued Israeli oppression, but halt the flow of arms into the Gaza altogether.
With the Egyptians in the midst of revolution and right now at their most vulnerable in terms of defending themselves against an Israeli strike, the Israelis may well be tempted to retake part of the Sinai in order to create a buffer zone to pre-empt the opening up of the Gaza Strip. This would not only halt the possibility of an increased flow of armaments which the Gazan Palestinians can then use to defend themselves against continued Israeli oppression, but halt the flow of arms into the Gaza altogether.
© Unknown
The proposals may look to local law enforcement for support, which some opponents worry could lead to armed conflicts with federal officers.
A plan from Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, would void any federal land designation made without the Legislature's approval. The bill is being reviewed by legislative attorneys.
Access to the disputed lands would be maintained by local sheriffs in whatever manner necessary, Wimmer said.
"There's not much more land the federal government can take," said Wimmer. "I'm saying any further land grabs not coordinated with the Legislature will be null and void."
Wimmer said the bill was prompted in large part by a December decision by U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to review millions of acres of undeveloped land in Utah for a possible wilderness designation.
House Minority Leader David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, said Wimmer's proposal concerns him because of its implications for police.
© Associated Press
Mubarak, left, and Suleiman, center, seen on Egyptian state TV.
Mubarak, left, and Suleiman, center, seen on Egyptian state TV.
Israel called on the United States and a number of European countries over the weekend to curb their criticism of President Hosni Mubarak to preserve stability in the region.
Jerusalem seeks to convince its allies that it is in the West's interest to maintain the stability of the Egyptian regime. The diplomatic measures came after statements in Western capitals implying that the United States and European Union supported Mubarak's ouster.
Israeli officials are keeping a low profile on the events in Egypt, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even ordering cabinet members to avoid commenting publicly on the issue.
Senior Israeli officials, however, said that on Saturday night the Foreign Ministry issued a directive to around a dozen key embassies in the United States, Canada, China, Russia and several European countries. The ambassadors were told to stress to their host countries the importance of Egypt's stability. In a special cable, they were told to get this word out as soon as possible.
Comment: Here is a video with a man offering an opinion on his perspective of what might happen if Egypt falls. It is titled "When Egypt Goes, Israel Goes Into Gaza?"
He may very well have a good point.