Which one is next to fall?
"Arab leaders try to dampen anger; Scant resources directed to offset food, fuel costs" by Elizabeth A. Kennedy, Associated Press / February 10, 2011
BEIRUT — Arab leaders are scrambling to boost salaries and subsidies in hope of heading off the kind of popular uprisings that have threatened the Egyptian president’s hold on power and led to the ouster of Tunisia’s leader after more than two decades.
But analysts warn the moves might actually prolong or exacerbate the economic imbalances that helped spark the unrest in the first place.
“Subsidies are needed now for short term political survival,’’ Said Hirsh, Mideast economist with the London-based Capital Economics, said yesterday. But paying for these programs and efforts will squeeze the countries’ finances in the coming months and years, he added.
“This means less money for much-needed economic reform programs and required investments, which is what is ultimately needed across the region,’’ Hirsh said.
Expected drops in tourism and foreign direct investment — key sources of revenue for many countries in the Middle East — will only make the problems worse.
After the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, countries including Jordan, Yemen, and Syria announced plans to ease the rage at decades of economic injustices by boosting subsidies on food and heating oil, increasing salaries, and lowering taxes.
Egypt and Tunisia made similar promises as the countries’ leaders came under siege.
The subsidies have not quelled the unrest, much of which is linked to larger issues such as anger over corruption and authoritarian rule. But many people welcome even token attempts to lessen the burden in an autocratic region where poverty cuts across vast swaths of the population....
Jordan’s economy, which relies extensively on foreign investment and tourism for revenues, is already weighed down by a record deficit of $2 billion this fiscal year, a swelling foreign debt, rising inflation, and rampant unemployment and poverty.
Although the country has seen smaller demonstrations than those in Egypt, King Abdullah II tried to head off bigger demonstrations by firing his Cabinet. But the moves have only served to spotlight the nation’s economic vulnerability, and investors are starting to react, fearing that the momentum in Egypt will ripple across to Jordan.
Ratings agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s have downgraded a host of ratings for Jordan.
Related: Jordan King Getting Jumpy
In Yemen, the poorest nation on the Arabian peninsula, the government is increasing wages by up to 25 percent for more than 1 million civil and military employees — at a cost of $415 million. The government also moved to create 60,000 jobs for college graduates.
Related: Yemenis Get Down and Dirty
Syria announced a $255 million program to provide cash for the poor and said it would boost heating oil allowances from $20 per month to $32, the first increase of its kind since 2001.
Oh, I bet USrael would like that.
See: Syrian Streets
Maybe not.
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"Celebrations across Mideast after ouster" by Zeina Karam, Associated Press / February 12, 2011
BEIRUT — Revelers swept joyously into the streets across the Middle East yesterday after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as Egypt’s president. From Beirut to Gaza, tens of thousands handed out candy, set off fireworks, and unleashed celebratory gunfire, and the governments of Jordan, Iraq, and Sudan sent their blessings....
The boisterous street celebrations erupted within moments of the dramatic announcement by Vice President Omar Suleiman of Egypt that Mubarak had stepped down. The success of Egypt’s protesters in ousting a longtime ruler came less than a month after a prodemocracy movement in Tunisia pushed dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali into exile in Saudi Arabia.
Related: Tunisians Still in the Streets
Yeah, they seem to have been forgotten.
The breakneck speed of developments, after decades of authoritarian rule across the Arab world, left some of those celebrating yesterday wondering where regime change might come next....
Related: Egypt Events on Ground Eclipse Globe
Where is the next REGIME CHANGE, huh?
The Palestinians followed the historic moment closely. The Palestinian offshoot of the Brotherhood, the Islamic militant group Hamas, seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Sigh.
"Hamas overwhelmingly won Palestinian Parliament elections in 2006.... Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections in early 2006.... In 2006, Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections.... Hamas won the last parliamentary elections in 2006"
Btw, Hamas foiled a COUP ATTEMPT!!!!
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I'm tired of the shit-spinning and obfuscating AmeriKan media.
"Egypt’s military assures allies; Pledges to support civilian rule, honor treaty with Israel" by Kareem Fahim, New York Times / February 13, 2011
CAIRO — The impact of Egypt’s uprising rippled across the Arab world, as protesters turned out in Algeria, where the police arrested leading organizers, and in Yemen, where progovernment forces clubbed demonstrators.
The Palestinian leadership responded by announcing that it planned to hold presidential and parliamentary elections by September.
Related:
"In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority announced it would hold local elections, postponed last year, as soon as possible."
"Palestinians to hold elections by fall
RAMALLAH — Palestinians will hold presidential and legislative elections by September, a top aide to President Mahmoud Abbas announced yesterday, a surprise move apparently prompted by the political unrest spreading in the Arab world. Also yesterday, the longtime chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said he resigned from his post. The decision came after damaging leaks by the pan-Arab satellite television station Al-Jazeera detailed some of the inner workings of negotiations with Israel (AP )."
Also see: Palestinians Get a Kick in the Abbas
Rights group: Israel bombed civilian property in Gaza
Somehow that never made my Globe.
And in Tunisia, which inspired Egypt’s uprising, hundreds demonstrated to cheer Mubarak’s ouster.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will travel to Jordan and Israel for talks as both countries deal with the reverberations from Egypt’s revolution....
So WHO is ISRAEL GOING TO INVADE NOW?
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"Thousands join rally for reform in Algeria" by Aomar Ouali, Associated Press / February 13, 2011
ALGIERS — Thousands of Algerians defied a government ban on protests and a massive deployment of riot police to rally in the capital yesterday, demanding democratic reforms a day after similar protests toppled Egypt’s authoritarian leader.
Heavily armed police tried to seal off the city of Algiers, blocking streets, lining up along the march route, and setting up barricades outside the city to try to stop busloads of demonstrators from reaching the capital.
Despite the heavy security, thousands flooded into downtown Algiers, clashing with police who reportedly outnumbered them at least 3 to 1. Organizers said more than 400 people were briefly detained.
Tensions have been high in this North African nation of 35 million since five days of riots in early January over high food prices.
Related: Africa On Edge
Despite its vast gas reserves, Algeria has long been beset by poverty and high unemployment, and some have predicted it could be the next Arab country hit by the popular protests that have already ousted two longtime leaders in a month....
In Yemen yesterday, police with clubs beat antigovernment protesters who were celebrating the resignation of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak and demanding the ouster of their own president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has promised not to run again when his term ends in 2013.
Hundreds of protesters tried to reach the Egyptian embassy in Sana, Yemen’s capital, yesterday but security forces stopped them.
He's AmeriKa's ally.
I don't hear many calls for democracy in Yemen, do you?
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