It Says It All: The Syrian 'Crisis' & Other 'Fights for Democracy'

I came across this brilliant and extremely telling today. It was from a blog called www.democratic-syria.blogspot.com, and for all its possible pro-Assad or anti-West bias (and on even that I cannot make real call, nor should it matter), the points it makes about the sheer hypocrisy of some of the West and Arab world's vitriol against Assad cannot be wished away. Let me see the validity of some this blog's claims:

• "The West has always been and will always be hypocrites when it comes to slogans and what they really aim to do. Issues like Human Rights, Freedom of Speech, Democracy, Protecting Civilians... Are all great slogans for ugly acts, how many lives were lost under these slogans in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Lebanon, Serbia, Bosnia, Vietnam... and the list goes on." - Valid
• "We've seen how Greek officials handle their own peoples' aspiration to rid of the control of bankers of their lives and the result was appointing a banker to rule them." - Valid
• "We've seen Italians and how their government in a copy cat of Greek's handled them." - Valid
• "We've seen the remarkably peaceful and overwhelming Occupy Wall Street movement and how brutally it was handled by 'law enforcement' thugs in the USA." - Valid

Hmmmmm, all very valid points, of course. Which is why so many people look at all the posturing against Syrian "oppression" by countries like the US, UK and France as nothing more than hypocrisy at its most blatant and reprehensible. And that's not even to mention what the Israelis keep doing against the Palestinians or what Saudi Arabia and Bahrain do against their very own people.

Yes, democracy will indeed come to you, replete with bombs and atrocities and dead civilians and destroyed cities and towns and raped economies and puppet governments... whether you like it or not.

Do you get my point?

2010 Organization of the Year: WIKILEAKS

In a year as tumultuous as this one, it was still an easy pick for me: Wikileaks is my organization for 2010. Below are just a few of the reasons why they were the organization that defined a year:

• Because they seek to expose the truth, ugly as it often is
• Because they are a bulwark for democracy, not those who vilify them
• Because they showed up the established p(r)op media for the weak corporate hacks they are
• Because they leaked that which is in the interest of all citizens everywhere
• Because they proved, yet again, how very wrong the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are
• Because they made us think about the power that governments have...and shouldn't have
• Because they re-iterated how dangerous excessive power can be
• Because they re-iterated how power does indeed corrupt 
• Because they go after large corporations and banks as well
• Because they inadvertently showed up the likes of PayPal, Visa and Mastercard for the hypocritical corporate swine they are
• Because they gave a middle finger to the American political-corporate-military complex
• Because, contrary to American propaganda, they go after everyone anywhere
• Because they chose to be brave in this increasingly Brave New World

George Orwell once said, "To see what is in front of one's nose requires a constant struggle." Wikileaks has taken up that struggle on all our behalf.

Wikileaks, may you go from strength to strength in 2011 and well beyond. Thank you so much.