Middle East and Minimun Wage

“All along, the U.S. had not been very comfortable with (former President Mohamed) Morsi being in office because he comes from the Muslim Brotherhood; they tend to have a very assertive foreign policy, especially when it comes to Israel’s decades-long conflict. It’s much easier for the U.S. to deal with a compliant military than with an assertive group seeking greater independence for Egypt and the rest of the Arab countries from U.S. foreign policy.”

– Emad Mekay, Egyptian investigative journalist, on his Al Jazeera report that the U.S. government believes this third military coup in Egypt has restored democracy.

Report: U.S. Gave Millions to Anti-Morsi Activists as Washington Says Egyptian Military Coup “Restored Democracy”

Interview with Emad Mekay, Egyptian investigative journalist, conducted by Scott Harris

One month after the Egyptian military intervened for the third time in recent years to seize control of the government, the nation remains in turmoil with the threat of another explosion of violence. Egypt’s military overthrew the country’s first democratically-elected president on July 3, after massive protests demanding Morsi’s ouster. Officers placed President Mohamed Morsi under house arrest and rounded up leaders of his Muslim Brotherhood movement. The nation is divided between secular parties and activists who supported the military coup, and mostly Islamist Morsi loyalists. Story continues

New Round of Middle East Peace Talks Greeted with Skepticism and Concern

Interview with Ofer Neiman, an Israeli peace and justice activist, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has coaxed Palestinian and Israeli diplomats back to the negotiating table, three years after talks broke down due to Israel’s refusal to put a settlement ban in place in the West Bank. This time around, the Palestinians have agreed to talks despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal again to freeze the construction of new settlements. And although Netanyahu has declared an informal halt to settlement building for the time being, his government has taken other actions that bolster settlers already living there – which some assert demonstrates bad faith. Story continues

Low-Wage Workers Protest and Strike in Dozens of U.S. Cities, Demanding Living Wages and Union Rights

Interview with Amelia Adams, deputy director with New York Communities for Change, conducted by Scott Harris

Over the past year, the voices of low wage workers across the country have begun to be heard. With protests and strikes by employees at Walmart warehouses and stores – to more recent job actions by fast food workers, the demand for a living wage and the right to join unions is getting louder. In the most recent wave of protests and strikes, thousands of fast food workers in seven cities, including Chicago, Detroit and New York, workers held protest signs demanding an hourly wage increase to $15.00, doubling the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. Story continues

This week’s summary of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon
Months before the recent military coup in Egypt and the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, Essam Elya, a pediatrician in southern Egypt along the Nile River fled for his life. Masked men kidnapped him at gunpoint demanding a quarter of a million dollars in ransom. Local and federal police offered little or no help. (“Trouble on the Nile,” Christian Science Monitor, July 29, 2013)
The anti-union group, Center for Union Facts, launched a campaign in late July tying workers centers to labor unions. The Center’s defenders say the charge is phony since centers like the New York Taxi Workers Alliance and Restaurant Opportunity Centers United do not have collective bargaining rights, but engage in direct actions to embarrass abusive, low-income employers. (“Big business aims to crush workers centers,” In These Times, July 30, 2013)
The closure of the San Onofre nuclear power plant north of San Diego, Calif. was the result of a huge miscalculation by its owner Southern California Edison. (“How San Onofre’s new steam generators sealed the nuclear plant’s fate,” Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2013)

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