Free Republic

Last fall, leftist ideological groups of socialists and communists teamed up with American labor unions to march together for “One Nation.” Now, as labor leaders struggle to maintain a stranglehold on collective bargaining privileges in Wisconsin, the same groups are once again marching together under a banner claiming unions are the heart of the American dream.As we’ve reported, former White House green jobs czar Van Jones this week issued a rallying call for the progressive movement to “renew itself and become again a national force with which to be reckoned.” On Saturday, progressive groups and labor unions are reportedly planning...

Iraq's largest oil refinery was shut down on Saturday after militants carried out a bomb attack and set it on fire, the governor of Salahuddin province said. The militants killed four people and planted bombs at production units for kerosene and benzene at the refinery in the town of Baiji, a former al Qaeda stronghold about 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, Governor Ahmed al-Jubouri said. "There is a big fire in the refinery and the refinery has completely stopped," Jubouri told Reuters. Overall violence in Iraq has dropped sharply since the peak of sectarian conflict in 2006-07, but...

Throughout my 2010 article series "Extend & Pretend" and "Sultans of Swap" I stressed that we were rapidly moving from the Financial Crisis of 2008, through the Economic Fallout of 2009 -2010, towards a Political Crisis in 2011 -2012. We are now clearly beginning to see the early emergence of the final part of this continuum. From North Africa to Wisconsin all are fundamentally based on the single insidious underlying problem - excessive global debt and credit levels.

Recent developments in North Africa have tyrants spooked worldwide At this rate North Korea's scrawny, gnarled slaves  might even see an extra bowl of gruel or two... Saudi Arabia (FT): King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia announced financial support measures, worth an estimated $36B US in a bid to avert the kind of popular unrest that has toppled leaders across the region and is now closing in on Libya’s Muammer Gaddafi. The measures include a 15% salary rise for public employees to offset inflation, reprieves for imprisoned debtors, and financial aid for students and the unemployed. Saudi Arabia’s ruling family has thus...

Aircraft, cargo ships and fishing boats are moving towards Libya to evacuate Chinese nationals living in the North African country. Tunisian, Turkish and other workers are fleeing the country as well. Tripoli – China will send a jet, ships and fishing vessels from nearby waters to evacuate some 33,000 Chinese nationals working in violence-torn Libya. The government has set up an emergency unit headed by Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang to coordinate the repatriation of mainlanders, as well as people from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The State Council (cabinet) “decided to immediately deploy...

Italy says 1,000 killed in Libya unrest Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:26am EST TRIPOLI, Feb 23 - Muammar Gaddafi's increasingly desperate attempts to crush a revolt against his four-decade rule have killed as many as 1,000 people and split Libya, Italy's Foreign Minister said on Wednesday. As countries with strong business ties to Africa's third largest oil producer scrambled to evacuate their citizens, and fear of pro-Gaddafi gunmen emptied the streets of the capital Tripoli, France became the first state to call for sanctions. "I would like the suspension of economic, commercial and financial relations with Libya until further notice,"...

Gaddafi's vow: Will fight to 'last drop of blood' Associated Press Tags : Libya protests, Moammar Gaddafi, Tripoli violence Posted: Wed Feb 23 2011, 08:57 hrs Cairo: A defiant Moammar Gaddafi vowed to fight to his "last drop of blood" and roared at supporters to strike back against Libyan protesters to defend his embattled regime Tuesday, signalling an escalation of the crackdown that has thrown the capital into scenes of mayhem, wild shooting and bodies in the streets.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia When his royal jet lands here in the Saudi capital on Wednesday, ending a three-month absence, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz will find a nation seemingly moored in the eye of the epic storm howling around it. But it is also clear that the octogenarian king, who went to New York in late November for back surgery and then to Morocco to convalesce, is returning to a realm touched in significant ways by the youth rebellions roiling the Middle East. More than ever before, Saudis are openly calling for change, including political reforms. The most vociferous are...

'Leader of the Revolution' appears on Libyan state TVwhile bodies pile-up in the streets of Tripoli... Libyan TV Anyone -like myself- wondering if Muammar Gadaffi's warped son Saif al Islam Gaddafi was just blustering on Libyan TV -wagging his finger while threatening "a river of blood" emanating from "civil war" fought to "the last bullet"- got their answer last night in the form of a gruesome ongoing massacre inflicted by military/security/militia loyalists upon their own countrymen... Saif al Islam Gaddafi There's reportedly been bombing of funeral processions and civilian areas of the capitol by fighter jets, while on the...

Libya's second city Benghazi reportedly already lost...  Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is believed to have fled the capital Tripoli after anti-government demonstrators breached the state television building and set government property alight. Protesters appear to have gained a foothold in Tripoli as banks and government buildings were looted while demonstrators have claimed they have taken control of the second city Benghazi. It is thought up to 400 people may have died in the unrest with dozens more reported killed in Tripoli overnight as protests reached the capital for the first time and army units were said to have defected to...

TONY EASTLEY: As our correspondent pointed out it's difficult to get information out of Libya but there are reports this morning that some members of an army unit in Benghazi have defected and joined the protest movement. Libya's permanent representative to the Arab League has reportedly told journalists in Cairo that he's resigning in order to join the protests. The Reuters newsagency is also saying that a local doctor in Benghazi says that on Sunday alone 50 people were killed in the city, many of them shot dead. The doctor told Reuters that a further 100 people had been seriously...

China tries to stamp out 'Jasmine Revolution' By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press 40 mins ago BEIJING – Jittery Chinese authorities staged a concerted show of force Sunday to squelch a mysterious online call for a "Jasmine Revolution" apparently modeled after pro-democracy demonstrations sweeping the Middle East.

While part of the current unrest in Wisconsin is driven by local issues, new information has been uncovered indicating an orchestrated attempt to stir up 'worker protests' not only in Wisconsin but in at least a dozen states. The coordinated effort is part of a 'revolution' spearheaded in part by a group called 'Heartland Revolution,' a Kentucky-based political action organization. The group was first envisioned by a Kentucky Democrat, John Waltz, who announced his candidacy in 2009 to oppose 2-term Republican Geoff Davis for the 4th Congressional District. Waltz was defeated in the November 2010 midterm elections but embarked on...

The early weeks of 2011 have been marked by a surge of protests in the Middle East and North Africa have now overturned two longstanding autocratic regimes, in Tunisia and Egypt. However, the wave of democratic protests have not been contained to the Maghreb, even if the entrenched regimes of the Gulf and Levant do not appear under immediate threat. One country being watched very closely by Washington is Jordan, which ranks as one of America’s staunchest allies in the region. Jordan looked an unlikely target for the kind of social unrest found elsewhere in the region, with a more...

Tipping Point (in .pdf format and I'm not going to bother converting it to a word document so you'll have to use the link to read it)

<p>Poland's foreign minister warned Belarus' autocratic president on Wednesday that he is at risk of being overthrown by his own people if they decide to follow the example of protesters in Tunisia and Egypt.</p> <p>"Soon a jet plane will have to be kept on standby in Minsk," Radek Sikorski said, referring to the capital of Belarus.</p>

A multimedia feature with classic audio excerpts from interviews with leading US, Israeli personalities over last two decades. Either scripts and active content are not permitted to run or Adobe Flash Player version 10.0.0 or greater is not installed. Get Adobe Flash Player JPost.com is happy to launch its new “JPost Classic” segment, a weekly multimedia feature showcasing classic audio excerpts from speeches and interviews with top thinkers and decision makers. In this inaugural clip from 2001, the former New York Times executive editor and columnist, A.M. Rosenthal foresees the spectacle of angry protesters now unfolding from Tunisia to Egypt...

More than just "Obama's Fault"... he helped plan it! Many have doubted that Barack Obama was on top of the situation in Egypt as he asserts... myself included.  And I was wrong, he was RIGHT on top of it- alas, on the side of the revolutionaries! Fact is, he's been playing his typical double-game, hedging his bets like the duplicitous scoundrel that he is- Wikileaks cables regarding Obama Administration policy in Egypt betray the fact that they've been plotting with opposition leaders to overthrow Hosni Mubarak for years... this despite the fact that the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood dominates the opposition...

It seems to me that the catalyst for the huge amount of unrest in the region of the world was the surge in food prices. One of the things that the wheat market has been watching and anticipating has been Egyptian wheat purchases. They are one of our largest buyers of wheat and there was talk that began last week and continued earlier this week that Egypt was going to be forced into buying a good deal more US wheat in an attempt to make sure that there was sufficient supply for one thing and that they could snag it...