Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Email response from a University of Wisconsin professor:

Email response from a University of Wisconsin professor:

Date: Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 9:34 PM
Subject: Information concerning the confidentiality of your e-mail

As you may know, the Republican Party of Wisconsin has submitted an Open Records request for the e-mails of a faculty member after he presented scholarship critical of them.  I do not know if that request will be granted. Because I have recently been at certain protests and have signed certain petitions (on my own time, not university time) that the Republican Party would also object to, I am informing all who e-mail me that I can not guarantee your confidentiality. My private e-mail is [redacted].  However, it is unclear whether I can guarantee confidentiality of my private e-mail if the content is deemed to be official university business, and I may not be able to discuss information protected by the federal educational privacy act.  You can also call me at [redacted], but please note that voice messages are e-mailed to me.  I apologize for the inconvenience and hope this situation resolves itself soon.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Netanyahu's Dangerous Posturing (Israel PM: Must be military option against Iran)

Prime minister Netanyahu's over-the-top call for Iran to be "stopped" like Gadhafi's regime in Libya reflects either his venality in promulgating a doomsday scenario, his active desire to utterly mislead the public through the false equation of the Gadhafi regime with the Iranian government, or his naivete in terms of strategy. Any of my freshman students knows that the two governments are utterly different in their history, their composition and their philosophy. What does the Prime Minister think that this rather ridiculous call to action is going to accomplish? It certainly is not going to persuade the Russians! And every military leader knows that a preemptive attack on Iran invites utter disaster for the region and the world. Additionally, unless one accepts the false assertion that Hamas and Hezbollah operate under the direct orders of Tehran, Iran hasn't actively threatened anyone. Nor is there any indication whatever that Iran  "dreams of world supremacy" as Netanyahu asserts.  This is just another foolish attempt to ratchet Iran up to the status of über-Bogeyman. Isn't it reasonable to expect that world leaders not indulge themselves in this kind of childish, irresponsible rhetoric?

Bill Beeman
University of Minnesota



usatoday.com

Israeli PM: Iran should be 'stopped' like Gadhafi

MARCH 24, 2011

MOSCOW (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran's government should be "stopped" like Gadhafi's regime in Libya.

Netanyahu said that Iran's nuclear and other ambitions pose an immediate threat to global security.

"This is a very belligerent Islamist regime that dreams of world supremacy, and it has to be stopped," he told the Vesti television channel. "If we have to tame Gadhafi, we have to stop the Tehran's regime in the same way."

Netanyahu arrived in Moscow Thursday, a day after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev welcomed his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas. Observers believe their visits are aimed at overcoming the obstacles in the Palestinian-Israeli talks.

Russia is part of the so-called Quartet of Mideast peace brokers that also includes the United States, the European Union and the United Nations. The Quartet's principles include recognition of Israel, a renunciation of violence, and adherence to previous Palestinian agreements.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Justin Elliott--A history of Libya and blowback--Interview with William O. Beeman


A history of Libya and blowback

The "coalition" has no clothes - Libya - Salon.com

The "coalition" has no clothes - Libya - Salon.com
Sunday, Mar 20, 2011 12:10 ET

Note from William O. Beeman: The idea that the attack on Libya was the result of a coalition, and not a United States unitary action is utterly absurd on the face of it. This article from Salon by Justin Elliott points this up very clearly, with explicit documentation. If Colonel Qaddafi prevails, he will be able to say, as he did in 1986 when a Ronald Reagan-ordered attack on him failed, "Qaddafi has beaten the United States."

The "coalition" has no clothes

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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Libya's Opposition Leadership Comes into Focus | STRATFOR

Libya's Opposition Leadership Comes into Focus | STRATFOR
March 20, 2011

Note from William O. Beeman: STRATFOR is a semi-reliable source prone to leaps of conjecture and frequent inaccuracy. However, this is the most detailed account I have seen of the organization of the opposition forces in Libya. Given the dearth of information about the opposition and the uncertainty of the outcome in Libya, the account here is worth paying attention to. I caution readers not to accept this account uncritically.

Libya has descended to a situation tantamount to civil war, with forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in the west pitted against rebels from the east. One of the biggest problems faced by Western governments has been identifying exactly who the rebels are. Many of them, including former Libyan Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil and former Interior Minister Gen. Abdel Fattah Younis, defected early on from the Gadhafi regime and represent part of the leadership of the National Transitional Council, which lobbied Western governments for support soon after its formation. Challenges posed by geography and lack of military capabilities remain, however, meaning that even with the aid of foreign airstrikes against Gadhafi’s forces, the rebel council will struggle to achieve its stated goal of militarily toppling Gadhafi and unifying the country under its leadership.
Editor’s note:This analysis was originally published March 8 but has been significantly updated with current, accurate information.
Analysis

Identifying the Opposition

One of the biggest problems Western governments have faced throughout the Libyan crisis has been identifying who exactly the “eastern rebels” are. Until the uprising began in February, there was thought to be no legitimate opposition to speak of in the country, and thus no contacts between the United States, the United Kingdom, France or others. Many of those who now speak for the rebel movement are headquartered in Benghazi. There have been several defections, however, from the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to the eastern rebel leadership, and it is men like these with whom the West is now trying to engage as the possible next generation of leadership in Libya, should its unstated goal of regime change come to fruition.
The structure through which the Libyan opposition is represented is the National Transitional Council. The first man to announce its creation was former Libyan Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who defected from the government Feb. 21 and declared the establishment of a “transitional government” Feb. 26. At the time, Abdel-Jalil claimed that it would give way to national elections within three months, though this was clearly never a realistic goal.
One day after Abdel-Jalil’s announcement, a Benghazi-based lawyer named Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga held a news conference to refute his claims. Ghoga pronounced himself to be the spokesman of the new council and denied that it resembled a transitional government, adding that even if it did, Abdel-Jalil would not be in charge. Ghoga derided the former justice minister as being more influential in the eastern Libyan city of Al Bayda than in Benghazi, which is the heart of the rebel movement.
The personality clash between Abdel-Jalil and Ghoga continued on for most of the next week, as each man portended to be running a council that spoke for the eastern rebel movement in its entirety. It was significant only insofar as it provided just a glimpse of the sort of internal rivalries that exist in eastern Libya, known historically as Cyrenaica. Though Cyrenaica has a distinct identity from the western Libyan region historically referred to as Tripolitania, that does not mean that it is completely unified. This will be a problem moving ahead for the coalition carrying out the bombing campaign of Libya, as tribal and personal rivalries in the east will compound with a simple lack of familiarity with who the rebels really are.
The National Transitional Council officially came into being March 6, and — for the moment, at least — has settled the personal and regional rivalry between Abdel-Jalil and Ghoga, with the former named the council’s head and the latter its spokesman. Despite the drama that preceded the formal establishment of the council, all members of the opposition have always been unified on a series of goals: They want to mount an armed offensive against the government-controlled areas in the west; they want to overthrow Gadhafi; they seek to unify the country with Tripoli as its capital; and they do not want foreign boots on Libyan soil. The unity of the rebels, in short, is based upon a common desire to oust the longtime Libyan leader.
The transitional council asserts that it derives its legitimacy from the series of city councils that have been running the affairs of the east since the February uprising that turned all of eastern Libya into rebel-held territory. This council is, in essence, a conglomeration of localized units of makeshift self-governance. And while it may be centered in the east, the rebel council has also gone out of its way to assert that all Libyans who are opposed to Gadhafi’s rule are a part of the movement. This is not a secessionist struggle. A military stalemate with Gadhafi that would lead to the establishment of two Libyas would not represent an outright success for the rebels, even though it would be preferential to outright defeat. Though it has only released the names of nine of its reported 31 members for security reasons, the National Transitional Council has claimed that it has members in several cities that lie beyond the rebel-held territory in the east (including Misurata, Zentan, Zawiya, Zouara, Nalut, Jabal Gharbi, Ghat and Kufra), it has promised membership to all Libyans who want to join, and it asserted that the council is the sole representative of the whole of Libya.
The council’s foremost priorities for the past several weeks have been garnering foreign support for airstrikes on Gadhafi’s forces and the establishment of a no-fly zone. Absent that, the rebels have long argued, none of their other military objectives stood a chance of being realized.
It was the lobbying for Western support in the establishment of a no-fly zone that led the transitional council’s “executive team,” also known as the crisis committee, to go on a tour of European capitals in mid-March designed to shore up support from various governments and international institutions. Mahmoud Jebril, an ally of Abdel-Jalil, and de facto Foreign Minister Ali al-Essawi, the former Libyan ambassador to India who quit in February when the uprising began, comprise the executive team. The result of this trip was the first recognition of the transitional council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people, which was provided by France on March 10. France, as we were to see in the following days, was to become the most vociferous advocate of the international community coming to the aid of the rebel council through the use of airstrikes.

Challenges

Before the decision was made to implement a no-fly zone, the Libyan opposition forces collapsed in the face of Gadhafi’s onslaught, and they have shown little sign of coalescing into a meaningful military force. While the loyalist eastward thrust was against a disorganized rebel force, Gadhafi’s forces have demonstrated that they retain considerable strength and loyalty to the regime. That means that even with coalition airstrikes taking out armor and artillery, there will still be forces loyal to Gadhafi inside any urban center the rebels might encounter in a westward advance, meaning that the rebels would be forced to fight a dedicated force dug into built up areas while operating on extended lines, a difficult tactical and operational challenge for even a coherent and proficient military force. So even though the coalition airstrikes have since shifted the military balance, the fundamental challenges for the rebels to organize and orchestrate a coherent military offensive remain unchanged.
It is important to note that little of the territory that fell into rebel control in the early days of the insurrection was actually occupied through conquest. Many military and security forces in the east either deserted or defected to the opposition, which brought not only men and arms, but also the territory those troops ostensibly controlled. Most fighting that occurred once the situation transitioned into what is effectively a civil war, particularly in the main population centers along the coastal stretch between Benghazi and Sirte, consisted of relatively small, lightly armed formations conducting raids, rather than either side decisively defeating a major formation and pacifying a town.
Just as the executive team represents the National Transitional Council’s foreign affairs unit, the council also has a military division. This was originally headed by Omar El-Hariri, but the overall command of the Libyan rebels has since reportedly been passed to former Interior Minister Gen. Abdel Fattah Younis. Younis’ name arose early on as the man with whom the British government was engaging as it tried to get a grip on the situation unfolding in rebel-held territory. He was not included in the original transitional council membership, however, despite several indications that he did in fact retain widespread support among eastern rebels. This, like the clash between Abdel-Jalil and Ghoga, was another indication of the rivalries that exist in eastern Libya, which paint a picture of disunity among the rebels.
Younis, however, now appears to have been officially incorporated into the command structure and is presiding over a National Transitional Council “army” that, like the council itself, is the sum of its parts. Every population center in eastern Libya has since the uprising began created respective militias, all of which are now, theoretically, to report to Benghazi. Indeed, the most notable of these local militias, created Feb. 28, has been known at times as the Benghazi Military Council, which is linked to the Benghazi city council, the members of which form much of the political core of the new national council. There are other known militias in eastern Libya, however, operating training camps in places like Ajdabiya, Al Bayda and Tobruk, and undoubtedly several other locations as well.
Younis has perhaps the most challenging job of all in eastern Libya: organizing a coherent fighting force that can mount an invasion of the west — something that will be difficult even after an extensive foreign bombing campaign. More defections by the military and security forces in the west, like the earlier defections in Zawiya and Misurata, would perhaps benefit the transitional council even more than the bombing campaign under way. There is no sign of imminent defections from the west, however, which will only reinforce the military and geographic challenges with which the rebel council is faced.
Libyan society is by definition tribal and therefore prone to fractiousness. The Gadhafi era has done nothing to counter this historical legacy, as the Jamahiriya political system promoted local governance more than a truly national system of administration. Ironically, it was this legacy of Gadhafi’s regime that helped the individual eastern cities to rapidly establish local committees that took over administration of their respective areas, but it will create difficulties should they try to truly come together. Rhetoric is far different from tangible displays of unity.
Geography will also continue to be a challenge for the National Transitional Council. The Libyan opposition still does not have the basic military proficiencies or know-how to project and sustain an armored assault on Tripoli; if it tried, it would run a serious risk of being neutralized on arrival by prepared defenses. Even Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte — almost certainly a necessary intermediate position to control on any drive to Tripoli — looks to be a logistical stretch for the opposition. An inflow of weapons may help but would not be the complete solution. Just as the primary factor in eastern Libya’s breaking free of the government’s control lies in a series of military defections, the occurrence of the same scenario in significant numbers in the west is what would give the National Transitional Council its best chance of overthrowing Gadhafi.

This report may be forwarded or republished on your website with attribution to www.stratfor.com

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Journey | Minnesota performance list | MinnesotaPlaylist.com

Journey | Minnesota performance list | MinnesotaPlaylist.com

Journey

Presented by University of Minnesota/Elemental Ensemble
A lyric drama with original music based on the medieval Islamic text: Hayy bin Yazqan by the Muslim philosopher and author, Ibn Tufayl, a work that inspired Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. The Journey is one of discovery as the parentless boy Hayy (called Cyrus), raised in the wild, evolves in his understanding of natural principles and spiritual life. Cyrus is portrayed by a lyric male dancer/actor, and his spiritual exploration of nature is narrated by a storyteller.

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Genres

* Classical dance
* Contemporary drama
* Kid friendly
* Modern dance
* Music theater

Schedule and venue

Children's Theater Company, Cargill Stage
2400 3rd Ave. S., Minneapolis

* Thursday, February 24, 2011 8:00pm
* Friday, February 25, 2011 8:00pm
* Saturday, February 26, 2011 8:00pm
* Thursday, March 3, 2011 7:30pm
* Friday, March 4, 2011 7:30pm
* Saturday, March 5, 2011 7:30pm
* Sunday, March 6, 2011 2:00pm
* Thursday, March 10, 2011 7:30pm
* Friday, March 11, 2011 7:30pm
* Saturday, March 12, 2011 7:30pm
* Sunday, March 13, 2011 2:00pm

Tickets
Discounts available

* Senior (65+)
* Student (with valid identification)
* Minnesota Fringe button discount
* Minnesota Public Radio membership

$10-20 at CTC March 3-13
Call (800) 838-3006

Tickets online: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/159102


Reservations/buy tickets
Eddie Oroyan stars in JOURNEY
Cast + crew
Role Artist
Cyrus Eddie Bruno Oroyan Edit
Storyteller Anika Reitman Edit
Roe, Pirooz Patrick Jeffrey Edit
Boy Josiah Laubenstein Edit
Officer Josiah Laubenstein Edit
Officer Levi Morris Edit
Director and Author Mohammad Bagher Ghaffari Edit
Stage Manager Stacy Schultz Edit
Costumer Sonya Berlovitz Edit
Technical Director Ian Knodel Edit
Production Assistant Shanté Zenith Edit
Producer William O. Beeman Edit
Artistic Consultant Lynn Lukkas Edit
Composer, Music Director Yukio Tsuji Edit
Cellist Cory Goldman Edit
Percussionist Tetsuya Takeno