Unrest in Egypt

[bigmrg74]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

Iran is divided between an educated middle class who is pro-western, a violent uneducated rural mass with a couple token educated demagogues who want an Old Testament strongman and blame all the world's ills on Jews, women, and modernity, and an unaffiliated third just trying to get by, unhappy about rolling brown-outs, but also not keen to have other countries dictate its internal politics.

In other words, it's Texas.

Pretty much sums it up, only without the problem of illegals sneaking across its border looking for work.

 

[Priceless]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

The Egyptian military refuses to fire on civilians. Wonder if our own military will take heed.

“Gov. Scott Walker says the Wisconsin National Guard is prepared to respond if there is any unrest among state employees in the wake of his announcement that he wants to take away nearly all collective bargaining rights.”

 

[WeWantMore]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

 

[geezer]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

The Egyptian military refuses to fire on civilians. Wonder if our own military will take heed.

good lord, the National Guard? that's some serious rhetorical escalation.
The same thing is about to happen in MI. The Detroit News has a story about how with Snyder's first budget about to be released, his honeymoon will doubtless come to a crashing halt and he may need to boost his security detail (my words there). I've gotten campus-wide emails warning that the past two years of frozen wages is only going to be the beginning of the hardships to come at state schools.
They're necessary adjustments, though. MI has been bleeding population and revenue like the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Better now than later.

 

[WeWantMore]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

good lord, the National Guard? that's some serious rhetorical escalation.
The same thing is about to happen in MI. The Detroit News has a story about how with Snyder's first budget about to be released, his honeymoon will doubtless come to a crashing halt and he may need to boost his security detail (my words there). I've gotten campus-wide emails warning that the past two years of frozen wages is only going to be the beginning of the hardships to come at state schools.
They're necessary adjustments, though. MI has been bleeding population and revenue like the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Better now than later.

There's a difference between calling in the national guard to do harm to strikers/employees and calling in the national guard to do the jobs of employees (most notably at state prisons) should they strike. Gov. Walker firmly intends it to be the latter. Reading some stories today, it's being made out to be him calling in the equivalent of the Pinkerton agency to fire on the strikers. It's not.

Also, the local Teamsters evidently didn't get the "new tone" memo:

"Your party, the Republican Party, will forge its name into the annals of American Politics as the anti-freedom party. Hitler should be so proud. He burnt books while you burn rights

 

[geezer]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

There's a difference between calling in the national guard to do harm to strikers/employees and calling in the national guard to do the jobs of employees (most notably at state prisons) should they strike. Gov. Walker firmly intends it to be the latter. Reading some stories today, it's being made out to be him calling in the equivalent of the Pinkerton agency to fire on the strikers. It's not.

Also, the local Teamsters evidently didn't get the "new tone" memo:

oh, gotcha. I should have read the story.

 

[aparch]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

good lord, the National Guard? that's some serious rhetorical escalation.
The same thing is about to happen in MI. The Detroit News has a story about how with Snyder's first budget about to be released, his honeymoon will doubtless come to a crashing halt and he may need to boost his security detail (my words there). I've gotten campus-wide emails warning that the past two years of frozen wages is only going to be the beginning of the hardships to come at state schools.
They're necessary adjustments, though. MI has been bleeding population and revenue like the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Better now than later.

What irks me to no end is that the State of Michigan has been hemorrhaging it's population for two decades (practically three for the Metro areas). The Upper Peninsula took a huge hit when K.I. Sawyer pulled out. Each governor since then has taken the blame for such "new" issues as to "why can't we keep our residents?"

First it was Engler, who just didn't give a *. Then it was Granholm taking the blame for Engler's mess and for being too slow/soft on retaining natives. Now it's going to be Snyder taking on both Engler's AND Granholm's "troubles" but yet he'll get blamed for it.

I fully supported Jenny when I lived in Michigan. It was the rest of the Michigan legislature and Lansing Government officials I could do without. They're the ones making sure they're taken care of before anyone else; they were the ones who shot down Granholm's plans and vilified her.


I'm really interested to see where the Wisconsin troubles lead to. Illinois is currently a powder keg waiting to go off; They just raised the income tax 66% and will STILL have a budget shortfall nearing a billion dollars. All this, while they continue to add layer upon layer to state government, and wonder where their money is going.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

Back to the topic, the spread yesterday was to Bahrain (fairly significant protests), Yemen (still the same level we've seen for the last week or so), and Libya (something new, and good luck against that security state). There was also news about the Iranian "green revolution" of last year that now the government wants to execute the protest leaders (if you're going to march against a dictator, you have to win), and the Jordanian opposition continues to seek more power. Haven't heard anything from the Saudis since they essentially said they'd pay off the entire population -- a Lexus in every pot.

AJE opinion piece on "who's next?," written before Mubarak stepped down.

 

[WeWantMore]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

Pretty awful.

CBS News correspondent Lara Logan is recovering in an American hospital this week after being sexually assaulted and beaten by a mob in Egypt's Tahrir Square late on Friday.

The same day that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, Logan was surveying the mood of anti-Mubarak protesters for a "60 Minutes" story when she and her team "were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration," CBS said in a statement Tuesday. The network said that a group of 200 people were then "whipped into a frenzy," pulling Logan away from her crew and attacking her until a group of women and Egyptian soldiers intervened.

 

[aparch]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

Not sure how trustworthy the source is, but this popped up in my Google Reader as "Recommended reading:"
Mubarak ordered a Tienanmen Square style execution.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinio...rak-clings-on-what-now-for-egypt-2211287.html

But the critical moment came on the evening of 30 January when, it is now clear, Mubarak ordered the Egyptian Third Army to crush the demonstrators in Tahrir Square with their tanks after flying F-16 fighter bombers at low level over the protesters.

Many of the senior tank commanders could be seen tearing off their headsets – over which they had received the fatal orders – to use their mobile phones. They were, it now transpires, calling their own military families for advice. Fathers who had spent their lives serving the Egyptian army told their sons to disobey, that they must never kill their own people.

Thus when General Hassan al-Rawani told the massive crowds yesterday evening that "everything you want will be realised – all your demands will be met", the people cried back: "The army and the people stand together – the army and the people are united. The army and the people belong to one hand."

I do remember the AJE recalling the bombers flying low over the square early in the demonstrations.

 

[Priceless]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

Not sure how trustworthy the source is, but this popped up in my Google Reader as "Recommended reading:"
Mubarak ordered a Tienanmen Square style execution.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinio...rak-clings-on-what-now-for-egypt-2211287.html



I do remember the AJE recalling the bombers flying low over the square early in the demonstrations.

I posted that last week, but it appears the post was cleansed as part of the mass wipe. Wonder what was offensive about it.

Whatever it was, you may want to delete it before you get a warning too.

 

[aparch]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

I posted that last week, but it appears the post was cleansed as part of the mass wipe. Wonder what was offensive about it.

Whatever it was, you may want to delete it before you get a warning too.

Wait, was that when board crashed two Friday's ago taking out everyone's posts? Sorry for duplicate posting.

I'll take my chances with board. Hell, I may even post a photo of some pancakes.

 

[Priceless]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

Wait, was that when board crashed two Friday's ago taking out everyone's posts? Sorry for duplicate posting.

I'll take my chances with board. Hell, I may even post a photo of some pancakes.

No, I received a warning that the quote comparing Christina Green (the 9yo old who was killed when that loon shot Congresswoman Giffords) to Hitler was offensive. Subsequently, a bunch of my posts were deleted and I received a warning for trolling. Ironically, the quote came from Sarah Palin's Facebook page and I was using it to point out the rather distasteful stuff that gets posted by/in defense of politicians. But I'm the troll.

 

[aparch]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

*sigh* If only Board could moderate the mainstream media...

wait... IHOP may never be able to advertise in the US again.

 

[alfablue]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

But I'm the troll.

You, a troll???? say it aint so....

(this one posters opinion- keep it- it's relevant. just as relevant as crazy political FB posts...)

 

[Hopkinja]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

Back to the topic, the spread yesterday was to Bahrain (fairly significant protests), Yemen (still the same level we've seen for the last week or so), and Libya (something new, and good luck against that security state). There was also news about the Iranian "green revolution" of last year that now the government wants to execute the protest leaders (if you're going to march against a dictator, you have to win), and the Jordanian opposition continues to seek more power. Haven't heard anything from the Saudis since they essentially said they'd pay off the entire population -- a Lexus in every pot.

AJE opinion piece on "who's next?," written before Mubarak stepped down.

Bahrain will be tricky, too. The police are not Bahrainis. They're a paid workforce of foreigners - Pakistanis, Palestinian Arabs, etc. Unlike the Egyptian Army, they probably don't care who they attack, because the protesters are probably still better off than the policemen.

Libya will not be an issue because of demographics. The population of all of Libya is less than 8% of Egypt's - in fact it's 1/3 the population of only Cairo. And half of that population is in the two main cities - Tripoli and Benghazi. Control those two cities, and the revolution is over. Add to that that the military is much larger per capita than Egypt's - a.k.a. more soldiers per protester. And there's no tourism dollars to be lost by massacring the people. Qaddafi's going nowhere.

I don't think there's any long term problems in Jordan. The people still like the King, although they don't like the rest of the government. And Jordan is so weak as a country that if the US twists Abdullah's arm, he'll eventually have to give in.

I think Algeria is still ripe for a change and obviously Yemen. Iran...wait and see.

 

[Priceless]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

They're free to massacre away because no one is watching anyway. CNN is covering Jim Carney's first presser at the White House, MSNBC is talking about algae-powered gasoline and AJE is still in Cairo.

Edit: AJE is now covering Libya. There is hardly any media there. The police are using water cannons and running over protesters with their vehicles.

Students in Tripoli are obligated to go out in demos pro Gaddafi threatened with expulsion and promised high grades

 

[Priceless]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

From AJE

At least one person was killed and dozens were injured as hundreds of Bahraini riot police armed with tear gas and clubs storm the main square in the capital as protesters slept.

The predawn assault on Pearl Square, which has become the focal point for protesters demanding reform, was meant to disperse the crowd and regain control of the area.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Sulaimaniya hospital, the main medical facility in Manama, Maryama Alkawaka of Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, said that she saw dozens of injured demonstrators being wheeled into emergency rooms.

"People were attacked while they were sleeping. There was no warning," she said. "And when they ran, the police attacked them from the direction they fled to."

An Al Jazeera correspondent in the area said that he heard loud booms in the square, and felt a strong tear gas in the air.

"The police came in a quick move, using tear gas. It looks like they are trying to move the protesters away from the square, but this is no small protest," he said.

"Authorities are acting because they see clearly how big this is getting."

Matar Ibrahim, an opposition member of the parliament, said that women and children were among the injured.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Sulaimaniya hospital, he also said that at least that many of the wounded were in critical condition.

An Al Jazeera online producer in Manama said police helicopters are circling above the square.

"[Thursday] morning's call to prayer is struggling to become louder than the choppers circling overhead. The roads are nearly empty because of the police blockades, though just a little while ago, vehicles were travelling freely to and from the Lulu area," he said.

Earlier, two people were killed in the pro-reform protests that rocked the tiny Gulf island, sparking more angry demonstrations and calls for the ouster of the ruling monarch.

 

[bigmrg74]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

From AJE

Nightline just had a guy that was filing a report for ABC Radio and got jumped by the thugs there. Sounds like he got thumped pretty good. AJE field reporters are going to be pretty dang tired soon. Egypt is a Big Freakin' Deal, heck, probably both the USA and Euros would like to see them settled in a little bit before some other country gets all crazy with telling the goverment to bugger off.

 

[5mn_Major]

Re: Unrest in Egypt

There's a difference between calling in the national guard to do harm to strikers/employees and calling in the national guard to do the jobs of employees (most notably at state prisons) should they strike. Gov. Walker firmly intends it to be the latter.

I don't buy this. I don't know for sure what he intended...but I see no solid evidence that he intended a radical use of the guard that he felt didn't need any explanation. Likewise, I don't see how anyone can rule out the meaning which the vast majority of people believed he intended...while clearly he needed some cya action in a hurry.