al jazeera

Al Jazeera - Empire looks at the dramatic changes taking place in the Arab world and their strategic implications. The fear factor has been broken, the genie is out of the bottle. Arabs have taken to the streets demanding freedom. As the winds of change blew across the Arab world, the US, the power that has long dominated the region, has been particularly absent. With all its allies crumbling one after another, what will the US do to maintain its influence in the region? And what can be expected of Israel, the country's closest ally in the region? Will the spread of democracy lead to a peaceful end to decades of autocratic rule in the Middle East or will the fear of Islamist extremism galvanize Washington's resolve to reinforce Pax Americana? Our guests today are: Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University; Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer-winning author; and Thomas Pickering, the former US under secretary of state. Our interviewees are: Clovis Maksoud, the director of the Center for the Global South; and Rob Malley, the Middle East director of International Crisis Group. This episode of Empire originally aired on February 7, 2011. more info: http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/empire/2011/02/20112875931593543...

The Al Jazeera of The Bay Area
Zionist David Holsey (bsfholsey on youtube) and his friends confront yours truly at an Anti-AIPAC rally in front of the Marriott Hotel in Oakland, California in December 2010. Recently I received the following comments: "nice one tom with that cindy sheehan soap box newsletter bullshit. well i suppose turn about is fair play. i hope you piss your pants again next time we run into each other. and there will be a next time. despite all the BDS you leftists have been trying to push forward Israel's economy is still growing while the muslim world is in turmoil and now begging for the "American Empire" to come to the rescue in that crap hole libya. say good bye to your friend gaddafi." bsfholsey 6 days ago "can i get an allah akbar? how about it Tom? found you at AIPAC in Oakland and i'm gonna find you again to finish our chat." bronxiegirl 1 month ago From: TomVeeTV Views: 220 2 ratings Time: 01:26 More in News & Politics

Toll mounts as pro-democracy supporters apparently come under attack from Mubarak loyalists in the Egyptian capital. Heavy gunfire is being heard in Cairo's Tahrir (Liberation) Square as pro-democracy demonstrators continue to defy curfew in the Egyptian capital. Ambulances were seen heading to the area on Thursday morning and at least two fatalities were reported. Protesters from the pro-democracy and pro-government camps fought pitched battles on Wednesday in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of demonstrations against Hosni Mubarak for the past nine days. At least three people were reported to have died and more than 1,500 others injured in those clashes, according to officials and doctors quoted by the Reuters news agency. An Al Jazeera correspondent, reporting from just outside Tahrir Square late on Wednesday night, said dozens of pro-Mubarak supporters erected barricades on either side of a road, trapping the pro-democracy supporters. They were gathering stones, breaking streetlights and using balaclavas to cover their faces, apparently in preparation for a fresh standoff with the pro-democracy crowd. Our correspondent said local residents thought the men preparing for the standoff were police officers but the claim could not be independently confirmed. Just hours earlier, an Al Jazeera online producer reporting from near Tahrir Square said: "Someone - a few people actually - were dropping homemade bombs into the square from the buildings surrounding it." Gunshots were also regularly ringing out of the square. Army standing by Witnesses said the military allowed thousands of pro-Mubarak supporters, armed with sticks and knives, to enter the square. Opposition groups said Mubarak had sent in thugs to suppress anti-government protests. One of our correspondents said the army seemed to be standing by and facilitating the clashes.