We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Army "ready to use force" to clear Cairo square

from Reuters report

I have been looking forward with great anticipation to see how the unfinished revolution in Egypt would take shape in view of the fact that the US trained and equipped Egyptian military was still in charge. The events in this article have not been widely disseminated in US media which wants to focus on Libya and Syria--two "rogue" states that the Empire would like to crush. 
Egypt's ruling generals said on Saturday they were ready to use force to end protests in Tahrir Square after troops cracked down on demonstrators overnight and sparked violence that medical sources said killed two people.