Archive for February 7th, 2011

February 7th, 2011

A different interpretation of events in Egypt

by DickH

Safi Shams grew up in Israel and recently completed his master’s degree research on the 19th century American industrial revolution at UML. He shares his observations on events in Egypt and Tunisia as of two days ago:

The recent events at Egypt and Tunisia echo similar themes and emanate from similar motivations: skyrocketing unemployment, starvation (especially in the case of Egypt), autocracy and dictatorship without an expiration date. However, have no illusions that protests are – in contrast to how they are often represented by mainstream media and, well, mainstream people!– eventually about material needs as well as political ones. The idea that this is a “North African or Arab-specific problem” of political corruption and ruthless, uneducated leaders is nothing but a pseudo notion. If they are really fighting about “free speech”, then they should have stopped by now – these protests were full of speech and “venting”! It is all these factors combined.

The scale of these protests is unprecedented – in Egypt, the largest protests before the current ones took place in 1977 for example, when the IMF-mandated hikes in food prices drove many to starvation; or the one resulting from the recent fires in Russia that raised the price of wheat, mobilizing protesters waving loaves of bread in the streets (Yes! A fire in Russia, not a speech by Obama!). The idea that some slaphappy service like Twitter or Facebook are behind such uprising are as obscure as claiming that Obama’s speech in Cairo moved the masses into action. So, one main point to keep in mind here: people are not robots, unquestionably absorbing catalysts and mobilizations, regardless whether the “mobilizers” are the Muslim Brotherhood, Obama, or some green-revolution-stop-war-I-love-the-world upper middle class activist! Catalysts are appropriated ideas, and just as consumption needs money, appropriation needs tools: fundamentalism needs knowledge of religion, “green” activism requires knowledge about environmental decline along with a “what to do” package and so on.

In both Tunisia and Egypt labor unions and labor activists independent from unions were at the front of the demonstration, more so in Tunisia though. A Tunisian professor, Mohsen AlGhreibi, told “Elbadil”: “attention seems to be fixed upon all parties previously unrecognized.” These include “Al Nahda”, ONE party with a declared Islamist agenda. The rest include The Nationalist Movement, The Communist Worker’s Party, AlWatad (a democratic-socialist party), AlMod (a Maoist party) and more! Although some of these parties have been in existence for decades, the fact that they were not recognized under the recent regime caused their activities to be covert; hence their performance in the open political arena is yet to be seen.[1]

The case is similar in Egypt, although unions do not have a semi-independent federated structure as they do in Tunisia; In other words, unionists in Egypt are backed by the government to replace the independent unionists who were severely prosecuted, facing long-term imprisonments. Live ammunition used against striking workers at the steel mills in the late 80s and early 90s was not unrepeated by the Egyptian government.[2] However, the fact remains that despite the state’s attempts to control unions in Egypt, they still manage to organize strikes –often independently from unions. The textile city of Malha is a good example here, with a large population of workers regularly protesting their work conditions. Strikes at Malha and cities like Suez, among operators of the Suez Canal, were among the mass-protests as well. read more »

February 7th, 2011

A Sign in the Snow

by DickH

Tony Sampas peered through a snowbank to photograph this sign for the Southeast Asian Market on Cardinal O’Connell Parkway in Lowell

February 7th, 2011

In Tewksbury: Save the Date – Breakfast and Roast of Democratic TC Chair Warren Carey

by Marie

Save the Date! Saturday March 12, 2011

The Friends of the Tewksbury Patriotic Activities Committee will hold its Annual “St. Patty’s” Day Breakfast and Roast to benefit TPAC’s year-round fun and free activities like the Memorial Day Parade and the 4th of July fireworks. Well-known area comedian, writer and personality Steve Bjork will be the Master of Ceremonies and the Roastee will be former Tewksbury Treasurer and Tax Collector, Chairman of the Tewksbury Democratic Town Committee, Tewksbury Town Historian - the inimitable  – Warren Carey.

Breakfast and roasting will run from 8:00am to 11:00am at the VFW Post 8164 on 87 Vernon Street ( just off Rte. 38 near the Wilmington line). Tickets are $10.00 per person – a reserved table is $100 which allows one person from the table to participate in roasting Warren Carey. Seating is limited so reserve your place now.

Contact TPAC President – Jerry Selissen at P.O. Box 236 Tewksbury, MA 01876 or send me an e-mail at sweeney133@verizon.net.

 

February 7th, 2011

MassMoments: Remembering the Blizzard of ’78

by Marie

Today MassMoments reminds us that on February 7, 1978 snow was falling in Massachusetts at an inch a minute. This three day record-breaking Nor’easter - known as the Blizzard of ’78 paralyzed the Commonweath and the region. The recent snows and storms might have reminded us – as well – of our Blizzard of ’78 experiences and the fall-out.

On This Day...

      …in 1978, the storm of the century paralyzed the entire state of Massachusetts. The Blizzard of ’78 dropped between two and four feet of snow on the Bay State in the space of 32 hours. Ferocious winds created drifts as high as 15 feet. Along the coast, flood tides forced 10,000 people into emergency shelters. Inland, over 3,000 cars and 500 trucks were immobilized along an eight-mile stretch of Route 128. By the time it subsided, the storm had taken 29 Massachusetts lives, destroyed 11,000 homes, and caused more than one billion dollars in damage. The Blizzard of ’78 is also remembered for many acts of kindness, cooperation, and courage.
Read the full story here at MassMoments. Do you have a memory to share?