Egypt bans flogging in jails

[Peter K.]

Chuck G.:
>Yes, I got up to about that part of Empire. But you know, you
have to
>have worked in something like NGOs or community service projects
to
>see how close to an accurate assessment the concept of mendicant
order
>is to the realities.
>
>The conceptual function is something like the humanitarian
pretense of
>volunteer organizations. For example the Bush administration
response
>to the WTC victims was to hand them off to an ad hoc volunteer
>effort---almost literally a mendicant order. That's how much the
US
>govt gave a shit.

The Bush administration is a national entity, whilst the NGOs
under discussion
are international. Since there is no international government,
they'll have
to do. I think you're mixing apples and oranges. But yes,
privitization is
all the rage.

I would be interested to learn about the political economy that
led
to the banning of flogging in Egyptian jails. According to the
story
Ulhas posted, the practice was suspended last year by the
Interior
Ministry of what is in essence a dictatorship. Did Western
(imperial)
NGOs play a part? I would think it would be a good thing, at
least
for Egyptian prisoners but maybe I'm missing something. Or maybe
I'm missing the "big picture." You would think if Western
Imperialism
is baring its teeth as has been proposed, such an important
client state, one that receives so much foreign aid, would be
moving in
the other direction. Maybe the bourgeoisie is just trying to
confuse
us?

Peter, who apologizes for the excessive sarcasm today. I'll be
better.