How the Corporate Media is Snookering You on Syria

For those versed in the black arts of propaganda, the hijacking of Arab Spring must be a beauteous thing to behold. First came evidently spontaneous uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Then some up-and-comer in Washington or London or Paris had a brainstorm, a new twist on a very old idea: if you can’t beat em, join em. Or even better, co-opt them, and use them for your own purposes.

The old way of getting rid of “inconvenient” leaders was so 20th-century—in the case of Saddam Hussein, a monstrous lie followed by a massive bloodletting on both sides. Tahrir Square suggested how to bring down a regime in a manner far less costly and far more palatable to the public: lots of medium-sized and little lies, war through Twitter, war through expendable proxies. Provide financial incentives to key figures to publicly renounce the old leadership, create a steady stream of heart-rending moments and photos and allegations, generate endless “human rights violations” by baiting the government into a military response, then very publicly petition international bodies for redress of humanitarian concerns. Read more>>

Dominoes falling in the Arab world

A series of street protests in December 2010 and January 2011 led to the ouster of Tunisia's former president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14.

The events in Tunisia have set off a chain reaction across the entire Arab world as citizens of Arab countries have been inspired by the Tunisians' people power movement.

Major demonstrations have been held in Yemen, Egypt, Algeria, and Jordan, and there have been smaller demonstrations and minor incidents in Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Oman, Sudan, and Libya.

A demonstration was held in Jordan on January 14 in which protesters demanded that Prime Minister Samir Rifai and his cabinet step down. After demonstrations in Yemen, on January 23, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced that he would step down when his current term expires in 2013. Read more...

Wheat Poised for Longest Rally in 14 Months

Image via WikipediaWheat rose in Chicago, set for the longest winning streak since November 2009, as North African importers boost purchases to curb food inflation amid riots over high prices.

Egypt purchased 659,800 metric tons of U.S. wheat from the start of the marketing year on June 1 through Jan. 6, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. That’s up from 366,000 tons last year, according to the USDA. Tunisia bought 100,000 tons of wheat on Jan. 24, Reuters reported. Elevated food prices contributed to outbreaks of rioting in both countries.

“In the case of wheat, prices are reflecting food-security issues we’ve seen recently,” said Erin FitzPatrick, an analyst at Rabobank in London. “There’s certainly some correlation with a lot of those countries coming into the market and saying they want to increase their stock levels.” Read more...

Tunisia - armed gangs continue to loot and burn

Image via WikipediaIn the capital of Tunis and other areas of the country, residents reported knife-wielding and balaclava-clad gangs attacking apartments and homes. Organised groups were said to be attacking shops, hospitals and factories. Many had piled into stolen hire cars and careered around the city and suburbs, stopping only to smash and burn.

One young lawyer who hastily left his office in the centre of Tunis for the quieter southern suburbs said: "There's complete confusion and everyone is trying to understand who is behind this, whether it's Ben Ali's militia clinging on. Yes, there has been isolated looting of shops. But the gangs seem organised; they are inciting thieves.

"They seem to be making trouble to convince public opinion that things were better under the dictatorship. Joy has turned to extreme caution and fear for people's safety." Read more...

Global food chain stretched to the limit

Image by magharebia via FlickrStrained by rising demand and battered by bad weather, the global food supply chain is stretched to the limit, sending prices soaring and sparking concerns about a repeat of food riots last seen three years ago.

Signs of the strain can be found from Australia to Argentina, Canada to Russia. On Friday, Tunisia's president fled the country after trying to quell deadly riots in the North African country by slashing prices on food staples.

The U.N.'s fear is that the latest run-up in food prices could spark a repeat of the deadly food riots that broke out in 2008 in Haiti, Kenya and Somalia. That price spike was relatively short-lived. But Abbassian said the latest surge in food stuffs may be more sustained. Read More...