> On Jan 24, 2016, at 12:03 PM, JOANNA A. <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Yes. And in the U.S., 2016, the content of "Peace" is "Cops off the Street."
"Three Basic Facts.
"One: the people came out in January 2011 under a straightforward banner: “Bread. Freedom. Social Justice”.
"Two: despite all claims to the contrary, no one made the people come out. Yes, activists articulated and politicised their demands; facilitated the protests and the sit-ins; tried to protect and save individuals from Mubarak, the police and the military; but the people – under a certain confluence of circumstances – came out of their own accord. And they knew what they wanted.
"Three: the people are realising that they are further than ever from their aims. The killings they suffered, the fascist phase when they colluded in the killing of others – all count for nothing. The grand projects touted by the government – even if they are real – will have no effect on the lives of the poor. The number of ordinary citizens detained and ill-treated by the security services is higher than ever. Even in its chosen war, the “war on terror”, the regime fails: our soldiers and citizens are killed in Sinai every day. The infrastructure of people’s daily lives – hospitals, schools, transport, employment – is getting worse. The reasons people came out in 2011 are still there – are more acute.”
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/23/arab-spring-five-years-on-writers-look-back