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This Week at TheNation.com: Triumph in Egypt

Coverage and analysis of Egypt's uprising. Plus: A Nation conversation.

Katrina vanden Heuvel

February 11, 2011

After eighteen days of protest, Mubarak’s nearly thirty-year reign over Egypt was brought to a triumphant close today. Ousted by the people, Egyptian protesters stood strong, exhibiting nothing short of sheer jubilation as the news broke. We’re committed to staying with this story on the pages of The Nation and here at TheNation.com as the revolution continues to unfold and redefines the Middle East.  We’ll be covering and reporting on the popular, populist insurgency, offering analysis on what it means for the future—in addition to working towards changing US policy toward the region.

Be sure to take a look at some coverage and analysis from today here at TheNation.com. Robert Dreyfuss has been live-blogging the protests daily and will continue to offer analysis as events unfold. Sam Graham-Felsen takes a look at the role of the internet in the uprising in his piece, "How Cyber-Pragmatism Brought Down Mubarak," and the power of online organizing. Laila Al-Arian reports from Cairo, writing that the city has been transformed from "an overcrowded metropolis with chronic traffic jams to a battle of the wills."  Read her piece, "Revolution in Every Street of Egypt,” here. Also, be sure to read this week’s Nation magazine: Washington editor Christopher Hayes looks at US strategies for promoting democracy abroad in his piece, "Discomfited by Democracy," and our editors argue that the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia have "revealed some uncomfortable truths about US foreign policy" in "For Democracy in Egypt."  Stay tuned for more, and you can watch a live stream of the celebrations here. Also this week…

BLOG: Changing the Banking System

This week I argued for the need to organize for systemic change in the US banking system and the crucial role it plays in job-creation and economic growth. The concentrated power of behemoth banks—now controlling 44 percent of US deposits—has been devastating. Be sure to read my piece, "Banking for the People" to find out more about the State Bank movement—and how state-runned banks could provide one possible solution to the US’s banking problems. Also, check out this week’s slide show, "8 Corporations That Owe You Money," including institutions that hide fortunes in tax safe havens—and still received bailout funds.  From Bank of America to Citigroup, learn more about the corporations that continue to owe the government money. Go here to see that slideshow.  VIDEO: Chomsky on Climate Change

Thanks to filmmaker Karen Rybold Chin and On the Earth Productions, TheNation.com continues to present a video a week between now and March in the series, "Peak Oil and a Changing Climate," featuring an extraordinary line-up of environmental activists, thinkers and writers. This week’s video features linguist, philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky. Chomsky discusses how global warming became a “liberal hoax” and how a climate of hate has derailed productive dialogue. Pointing to the fact that most of new Republicans in Congress are global warming deniers, Chomsky warns, “If this was happening in a small country, it wouldn’t matter much.  But when it’s happening in the richest, most powerful country in the world, it’s a danger to the survival of the species.” Watch this important video here.

AUDIO: Nichols on AOL/Huffington Post Merger

John Nichols went on Pacifica’s Uprising Radio this week to break down what the $315 million AOL/Huffington Post merger means for both readers and journalists. Nichols says that Huffington Post may not be able to maintain its space for progressive bloggers and left-leaning news. As Huffington Post produces a lot of aggregated content and does not always pay journalists, Nichols worries that "journalism cannot survive as a small ‘d’ democratic force." Listen to that conversation here—and for more on the deal, read Nichols’s blog post, "With AOL’s $315 Million Deal: Will Huffington Post Still Be Huffington Post?"

WATCH: Russia, US Interests & Reagan

On Tuesday, I sat down with Nation contributing editor and NYU professor of Russian studies Stephen F. Cohen on Morning Joe to discuss whether or not Russia and US foreign interests are at odds—and if Russia presents any security threat to the United States. Watch that video here as we look back at both countries since the Reagan and Gorbachev years.

CONVERSATION: Feminism in Iceland

We were happy to post a Nation conversation this week between executive editor Betsy Reed and contributor Janet Elise Johnson to discuss feminism’s recent successes in Iceland. Johnson reports that the unexpected result of Iceland’s government collapse of 2009 was a new appreciation for women in leadership positions and a push for more feminist policies. You can download that podcast here, and for more, be sure to read Johnson’s recent piece in The Nation, "The Most Feminist Place in the World."

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Thanks for reading.  I’m on Twitter—@KatrinaNation. Please leave your comments below.

Katrina vanden HeuvelTwitterKatrina vanden Heuvel is editorial director and publisher of The Nation, America’s leading source of progressive politics and culture. She served as editor of the magazine from 1995 to 2019.


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