As Scorn for Vote Grows, Protests Surge: Hundreds of thousands of disillusioned Indians cheer a rural activist on a hunger strike. Israel reels before the largest street demonstrations in its history. Enraged young people in Spain and Greece take over public squares across their countries. Their complaints range from corruption to lack of affordable housing and joblessness, common grievances the world over. But from South Asia to the heartland of Europe and now even to Wall Street, these protesters share something else: wariness, even contempt, toward traditional politicians and the democratic political process they preside over.
The United States is not exempt either. As our situation degrades and millions more suffer the demise of a failing society more and more average Americans will start coming out in protest. The US military has trained to deal with domestic anarchism and we have the facilities in the FEMA concentration camps
‘Occupy Wall Street’ Protests Turn Violent; Video Shows Police Macing Women
Turkey to press ahead with sanctions against Syria: In the absence of UN security council action, Turkey's move could be decisive in a six-month standoff between Syrian security forces and anti-government activists which has seen more than 2,700 civilian deaths and sharply destabilized the region. Erdogan is preparing for a range of economic, military and political sanctions which will further damage the once-close relationship between the two states.
Men-Only Election Shows Limits of Saudi Reply to Arab Spring: Saudi Arabia excluded most adult citizens from today’s municipal elections, betting that a limited ballot coupled with $130 billion of extra spending will be enough to halt Arab unrest at the kingdom’s borders.
Women weren’t entitled to stand as candidates or cast votes in the ballot, which closed at 5 p.m. local time, and the councilors chosen by Saudi men age 21 and over who aren’t in the military will enjoy few powers. Still, the fact that the ballot took place is an advance from two years ago, when the election was first due and King Abdullah postponed it.
Bahrain Sentences Medical Workers for Treating Protesters: A security court in the Gulf state of Bahrain has sentenced 20 doctors and medics to long jail sentences for treating wounded demonstrators during unrest earlier this year. The court sentence is expected to further enrage the kingdom's restive Shiite majority, which has been protesting the rule of the country's minority Sunni leadership.
Following the way the Shiite majority is stepped on by the Sunni minority was a striking parallel to the way the Republican minority pushes around the Democratic minority here in the US. No wonder the Republicans have remained silent over what has been going on in Bahrain.
* I was listening to one of the organizers of the Wall Street protests saying this is our Arab spring, we the average citizens of every country regardless of ethnicity are fighting for the same thing. We are all fighting because we are being lied to , controlled, we have no jobs, no food, we have no future. In Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain they are being stepped on and killed.
They are protesting in Europe for the same reasons. The entire world is feeling the pinch even China who has been taking measures against its citizens for months. China as you can surmise is starting to hurt because its biggest customers the EU and the US are in trouble. I warned years ago for countries to stop wishing for the US demise because today we are all intertwined, the leader goes down we all go down.
What is happening in Europe and the Arab spring countries will happen here. The weak always feel the hurt first and we have been pretty weak over the last ten years because of our grotesque governing in the first place. Average citizens of the world have hit the breaking point. The Wall street protests have spread to Boston and around the country with promises to get results.
We are all peeved. As our plight worsens at the hands of our grossly inadequate bickering mis-government even in the US the breaking point in many instances has been hit. The worlds Governments and the worlds citizens will pay the price. Anarchy is our future.
James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamerican.blogspot.com
