“Freedom: who could object? Yet this word is now used to justify a thousand forms of exploitation. Throughout the rightwing press and blogosphere, among thinktanks and governments, the word excuses every assault on the lives of the poor, every form of inequality and intrusion to which the 1% subject us. How did libertarianism, once a noble impulse, become synonymous with injustice?

In the name of freedom – freedom from regulation – the banks were permitted to wreck the economy. In the name of freedom, taxes for the super-rich are cut. In the name of freedom, companies lobby to drop the minimum wage and raise working hours. In the same cause, US insurers lobby Congress to thwart effective public healthcare; the government rips up our planning laws; big business trashes the biosphere. This is the freedom of the powerful to exploit the weak, the rich to exploit the poor.”

An Activist Stands Her Ground in Bahrain:

During a protest in Bahrain on Saturday, an American journalist named Matthew Cassel reported on Twitter that he had just witnessed something remarkable: a lone female protester who refused to move as police officers in riot gear charged past her, firing tear gas shells just a few feet from her head.

The woman standing her ground in front of a line of police vehicles was uploaded to Twitter, readers of Mr. Cassel’s feed identified her as Zainab Alkhawaja, an activist whose own Angry Arabiya Twitter feed is devoted to documenting the protest movement in Bahrain.

Here’s an interview with Ms. Zainab Alkhawaja:

An enlightened regime in Saudi Arabia?

Libyan Uprising Boosts Morale in Mideast. The apparent victory by rebels in Libya is sending shockwaves throughout the Middle East. An uprising that appeared to be lost is boosting the morale of protesters facing other Arab governments that have responded with severe repression…Protests in Bahrain also faced a brutal response, with military help from Saudi Arabia. And Yemen’s uprising has entered a stalemate. Great coverage from Voice of America…