Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia: The Integument Bursts Asunder

"The integument bursts asunder" were the words of Karl Marx in the Communist Manifesto.
He used them to describe the revolutionary ferment in mid 19th century Europe. They are
certainly appropriate to describe the revolutionary situations in Tunisia, Yemen, and Egypt
today. Nobody can say where these revolts will go, but they reveal elements of a revolutionary
situation. In general, a revolutionary situation exists when the people are unwilling to continue with things
the way they are and the old order is unable to continue. That is certainly the case. The third
element is whether there is conscious leadership able to lead to a new desired state; that is
often lacking and may or may not be present in these countries. Still, if any fundamental
changes result from this revolutionary ferment, they could effect profound shifts in the
region and the world. Egypt, in particular, has been a keystone of US domination,
and a genuinely national new regime would be unlikely to play that role. The important
thing to realize is that this is a revolution "from below." Even Nasser's overthrow of
the monarchy in 1952 was from above. There was a mass uprising in 1967 to demand
that Nasser stay in power, but the demands today appear to be much more far-reaching.
The world certainly needs deep and profound changes; we can only hope that these are
signs that it is coming.

Palestinian/Israeli Negotiations and the Crisis in Lebanon

Al Jazeera has leaked documentation on the negotiations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Israeli government. It seems that the PA offered Israel a chunk of east Jerusalem along with the token repatriation of a small number of refugees, perhaps in exchange for other territory. It also seems that Israel informed the PA before they launched their assault on Gaza in 2009. These revelations should further discredit the PA with the Palestinian people. It is very unfortunate that no real left alternative exists since the Palestinian left mostly self-destructed after the Oslo accords. So, Hamas will likely be further strengthened by this information. The leaked documents also make clear that the Israeli govenment rejected even this demeaning Palestinian offer, which proves, once again, that Israel never had any genuine interest in peace or negotiations.

In Lebanon, Najib Mikati has been chosen as prime minister instead of former prime minister Hariri. Sunnis are demonstrating and striking. The US government says it will no longer support the Lebanese army if Hezbolleh controls the Lebanese government. Lebanese see that as a joke since the US government had not been providing such support. But the real joke is the US government's love/hate relationship with democracy. They love to talk about it, but they reject it when democracy produces results they don't like, whether it is the election of Hamas in Gaza or Hezbolleh's political gains in Lebanon.