The Hollywood Liberal

Freedom now smells like tear gas, feels like rubber bullets
Egypt goes dark, but for most of it’s people it already is.

Always good to see the United States on the side of freedom and change. Nearly 30 years of rule by “emergency decree” and grooming your son to replace you does seem pretty democratic, if by democratic you mean Feudal.

The Obama Administration sure sounds a lot like the Carter Administration, right Joe Biden?

I wouldn’t refer to him as a dictator

Of course not, he’s our “friend”, just because he meets the definition, its no reason to go around truthfully labeling people.

Thankfully for Mubarak, like any leader of a “free” country, he can shut down the internet, have the country go dark and do really democratic stuff like this:

On Wednesday, the interior ministry declared all demonstrations illegal and the police moved in quickly to break up any gatherings

But all that well-spent American aid the last thirty plus years has really paid dividends for the people of Egypt.

The vast majority of Egyptians are too busy scratching a living to join the protests. There is widespread anger and disillusionment with the government, but there are probably not more than a few thousand people actively expressing their anger. That will give some reassurance to the government.

So, mission still possibly accomplished.

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Late, Late Night FDL: F**kin’ Perfect
P!nk – F**kin’ Perfect

P!nk – F**kin’ Perfect

While the cat’s away the mice shall play…!

What’s on your mind tonite…?

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Early Morning Swim

• Tear gas and rubber bullets in Egypt.
• But no Internet.
• Krugman: their own private Europe.
• Meet the new Press Secretary.
• Chuck, fighting the good fight.
• Wait until AIPAC hears about this.

• Tear gas and rubber bullets in Egypt.
• But no Internet.
• Krugman: their own private Europe.
• Meet the new Press Secretary.
• Chuck, fighting the good fight.
• Wait until AIPAC hears about this.

?

The Real Deal
Andrew Foster Altschul’s “Deus Ex Machina,” set amid a TV show that looks like the love child of “Survivor” and “Lost,” explores reality in several senses of the word. Here’s an excerpt from the novel, which will be published next week.

Andrew Foster Altschul’s “Deus Ex Machina,” set amid a TV show that looks like the love child of “Survivor” and “Lost,” explores reality in several senses of the word. Here’s an excerpt from the novel, which will be published next week.

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Broken Record: Fox Still Falsely Claiming That Snow Disproves Global Warming

During their recent coverage of winter storms, Fox News has repeatedly mocked former Vice President Al Gore and cited the cold and snowy weather to attempt to discredit global warming. Fox News and other right-wing media routinely use snow to cast doubt on global warming, and internal emails from Fox News’ Washington bureau show that in the past Fox employees have been instructed to question climate science.

Fox Uses Latest Snowstorm To Mock Gore, Climate Science

Doocy Asks: “I Wonder Where Al Gore Is This Morning?” On the January 27 broadcast of Fox & Friends, host Steve Doocy reported from outside of Fox News’ studios to show viewers how much snow fell in New York City during the previous evening’s storm. During the segment, he asked, “I wonder where Al Gore is this morning?” He then added: “That global warming is really taking its toll. Isn’t it?” [Fox News’ Fox & Friends, 1/27/11] 

Fox Chyron: “What Global Warming?” During one segment about the recent snowstorm, Fox & Friends aired an on-screen graphic that read, “What Global Warming?” [Fox & Friends, 1/20/11]

NASA: 2010 Hottest Year On Record. In December 2010, the Washington Post’s Post Carbon blog reported that NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies had released data showing that 2010 was the hottest climate year on record. [Washington Post, 12/10/10]

2000-2009 Warmest Decade On Record. In January, major meteorological organizations throughout the world — including NASA — released reports showing that the past decade, 2000-2009, was the warmest on record. The reports undermine the right-wing media’s numerous claims that recent snow and cold weather show climate change does not exist or has slowed over the past 10 years. [Media Matters, 1/25/10]

Fox’s Sammon Ordered Reporters To Cast Doubt On Climate Science

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Fox Nation Falsely Suggests January Snow Disproves Global Warming. On January 11, Fox Nation linked to a story about high amounts of snow in the U.S. with the headline, “Someone Tell Gore it’s Snowing in 49 States Today, Including Hawaii.” [Fox Nation, 1/11/11]

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Wash Times Uses Cold Weather In December To Call Global Warming A “Hoax.” In a December 13 editorial, The Washington Times cited recent snow and cold temperatures to call global warming a “hoax.” [The Washington Times 12/13/10]

Right-wing Media Use DC Snowstorms To Attack Gore And Climate Science. Following a February 2010 snowstorm in Washington, DC, right-wing media across the board mocked Al Gore and tried to attack climate science by pointing to the snowfall. Fox Nation and Fox News personalities Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Gretchen Carlson, Steve Doocy, Stuart Varney, and Eric Bolling all used the DC snowstorm to attack Gore or the science supporting global warming, as did Rush Limbaugh and The Washington Times. The New York Post used the snowstorm to suggest that Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) was correct in saying that the snow “must be a sign from God” about the existence of global warming. [Media Matters, 2/10/10]

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How The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce?s Egyptian Affiliate Went To Bat For The Egyptian Dictatorship

As Egyptian protests continue to rage and thousands of people in that country continue to demand democratic reforms, many commentators are rightly calling upon the international community to show solidarity with the demonstrators and join them in battling the Mubarak regime.

However, there is at least one powerful, multinational entity that has continually stood by Mubarak and the Egyptian elite and has continually fought efforts to democratize the country. As ThinkProgress previously reported, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce maintains a network of foreign affiliates known as Amchams, “which are foreign chambers of the Chamber composed of American and foreign companies.” In Egypt, this foreign affiliate is known as the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, known in short as AmCham Egypt.

AmCham Egypt’s relation to the Mubarak dictatorship stretches back decades. In fact, the Egyptian dictator even personally intervened to create the organization. In 1981, Mubarak issued an order to allow for the creation of the AmCham by large Western multinational corporations, like Coca Cola and BP. The Chamber’s member companies account for nearly 20 percent of Egypt’s GDP.

When a powerful corporate-backed entity like the AmCham Egypt gains favorable treatment, it is natural for it to try to protect its patron. So last year, when a group of U.S. Senators — lead by Russ Feingold (D-WI) — introduced legislation that called on the government of Egypt to end crackdowns on pro-democracy activists and hold free and fair elections, AmCham Egypt, at the behest of the Egyptian dictatorship, sprung into action.

As Al Masra Al Youm, a major Egyptian paper, reports, the Mubarak regime tapped AmCham Egypt President Shafik Gabr to do its bidding. Gabr was “dispatched expressly” for the purpose of scuttling the bill:

American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Egypt President Shafik Gabr arrived in Washington on Wednesday to meet with members of US Congress in an effort to persuade them to refrain from issuing a resolution demanding that Egypt “hold fair elections, allow international monitoring of elections, and respect democracy and human rights.”

Informed sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Gabr, who is also a leading member of the ruling National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak, had been dispatched expressly for this purpose by the Egyptian government.

By asking a non-American who technically worked for a nongovernmental organization to do their advocacy for them, the Mubarak regime successfully skirted numerous laws dealing with lobbying disclosure, making it easier to hide its role. But thanks to the intervention of AmCham Egypt as well as a died a quiet death as it wasn’t brought to the floor before the Senate’s recess.

And stunningly, just days before massive protests erupted all over Egypt demanding democracy — protests which were widely expected given events in neighboring Tunisia and the upcoming anniversary of a police massacre at the hands of British colonizers — AmCham Egypt hosted former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who blamed the media for its “sensational coverage” of the Tunisian revolution and said it was in American interests to “continue to support ‘our friends’ in the region, such as Egypt, Jordan and Gulf countries.” “Chaos is in no one’s interest,” he concluded, disparaging the protests:

Negroponte said it will be crucial for US interests to continue to support “our friends” in the region, such as Egypt, Jordan and Gulf countries. […]

During a brief question-and-answer session at the conclusion of his address, Negroponte said he was surprised by the unrest in Tunisia that ended the 23-year presidency of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. He said that what happened in Tunisia is “not necessarily transferable” to other countries. He blamed the news media for sensational coverage of self-immolation protests in Egypt, Algeria and Mauritania, and urged “a little bit of patience.” “Let’s hope the country doesn’t descend into chaos,” he said. “Chaos is in no one’s interest.”

While backing dictatorships is nothing new for Negroponte, it should be noted that he has financial interests at stake in Egypt as well. He is on the board of Agility DGS, a defense company that has major operations in Egypt.

In 2006, AmCham Egypt, in a particularly outlandish move, put out a statement in its Business Monthly that bragged that President Mubarak “became Egypt’s first president to be directly elected in a multiparty contest” in 2005 — a reference to an election where almost all the independent opposition was banned and Mubarak won 88 percent of the vote. For years, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been using its massive amounts of corporate money to distort American democracy. Let the record show that its foreign affiliates appear to be dead set on doing much worse in foreign countries, even if it means backing a brutal dictator like Mubarak.

As Arabs protest, Obama administration offers assertive support
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