Egypt unrest

[z31maniac]

Has anyone read the article about the book from the last Muslim Brotherhood "leader?"

Not saying it is or isn't true/representative/etc, but if true, it could plunge the middle east into far greater turmoil then has already been experienced.

The Saudi's aren't happy about Mubarak leaving power either, not just Israel.

[Fusion]

^^

Wow, I almost didn't think it would ever happen.

This is only the beginning, for both Egypt and the rest of the Middle East. The protesters in Jordan, Syria and other nearby nations are going to feel even more empowered by the toppling of Mubarak.

Yea, which could raise hell worldwide.

If there's anyone naive and uneducated enough to really believe that there'll be a textbook democracy in Egypt and everyone'll live happily ever after (unicorns, rainbows, glowing mushrooms, Ronald McDonald, *insert weeee - gonads and strife song*), than I feel sorry for that person.

Algeria, Yemen going down now.

[sweet6e30]

you know its coming

[gwb72tii]

And what evidence do you have to suggest that they aren't fighting for democracy?

The hundreds of news interviews of Egyptian protesters saying they desperately want a true democracy leads me to believe that yes, they do want democracy. If you have some great insight or evidence to suggest that those hundreds of interviews are false, please present it.

Also, Egypt has roughly 80 million inhabitants. Most of the estimates I've read about the size of the protests run between 1 and 1.5 million people between Cairo and Alexandria. That's about 2% of the population ACTIVELY participating in the protests, probably backed by a large majority of the total population. The 0.25% estimate is a gross under-representation.

unfortunately what you see in the media, at least in part, are leaders of the "spontaneous" (somehow organized at the same time) uprising that are schooled on what to say to the media while having different goals.

this is not akin to the US revolutionary war
this is akin to jimmy carter aiding the overthrow of the shah (who was also a bad guy) without thought or a plan for the future of egypt. 90 days later we had the takeover of the US embassy and hostages taken for 444 days, in itself an overt act of war.

[mrsleeve]

So this is what democracy in Egypt looks like , Really are the people better off now than they were 2 months ago. 1st part of the link

Blogger get 3 years in prison for criticism of the army with no lawyers

CAIRO — An Egyptian military tribunal has convicted a blogger of insulting the army after he publicized reports of abuses by the military, and sentenced him to three years in prison, human rights groups said Monday.

The military court issued the sentence against Maikel Nabil Sanad, 26, a day earlier in the absence of his lawyers, according to a statement by seven Cairo-based rights groups.

It was the first trial of a blogger by Egypt's military rulers, who took charge of the country after former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted by anti-government protests Feb. 11 after an 18-day popular uprising.

Rights lawyers say the sentence has wide implications for freedom of expression in post-Mubarak Egypt, and could set a precedent for anyone seeking to expose wrongdoing or abuses by the military.

A member of the military council, Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Assar told an Egyptian private TV station, ONTV, Monday, the armed forces is open to criticism.

"There is a difference between criticism with good intentions from a citizen, a journalist or a broadcaster, who mean the public good. There is no problem with that," he said. "The problem is in questioning the intentions (of the army)."

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/11/egypt-blogger-gets-3-years-for-criticizing-army/

Army Killing, shooting and beating protesters. Were the people really that bad off 2 months ago. 1st part of this one as well

(AP) CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators barricaded themselves in Cairo's central square with burned-out troop carriers and barbed wire Saturday and demanded the removal of the military council ruling Egypt, infuriated after soldiers stormed their protest camp overnight, killing at least one person and injuring 71 others.

In a sign the confrontation could escalate, the military warned Saturday evening that it will clear Tahrir Square of protesters "with all force and decisiveness" for life to get back to normal.

The warning could presage a repeat of the scene before dawn, when hundreds of soldiers, including a highly trained parachute unit, swarmed into Tahrir Square, firing in the air and beating protesters with clubs and shocking some with electrical batons. Troops dragged away protesters, while others staggered away bleeding from beatings and gunshot wounds. Witnesses reported two killed, though the Health Ministry insisted there was only one death.

"It was like a horror movie," said Mohammed Yehia, an activist and university student from the Nile Delta who was among the protesters.

The confrontation marks a dangerous juncture in Egypt's three months of upheaval.

When longtime president Hosni Mubarak was ousted on Feb. 11 after 18 days of mass demonstrations against his authoritarian rule, protesters hugged and kissed soldiers on tanks in Tahrir Square, praising them for protecting their "revolution." Most welcomed the handover of power to the Armed Forces' Supreme Council, a body of top generals headed by Defense Minister Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.

In the weeks since, tensions have rised. Protest leaders have been critical of the military council's handling of the post-Mubarak transition and the public has been angered by its failure to prosecute the former president. But both sides also worked to stay on good terms.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/09/ap/middleeast/main20052424.shtml

I guess the moral of the story, here is 2 fold. 1) Its not always greener on the other side. 2) Be careful what you wish for..........You might just get it.

[z31maniac]

Everyone seems to forget that this started as a riot about FOOD PRICES.

[mrsleeve]

but ended in "all they want is democracy".

SO I wonder if they are happy with what they got???? Nice to see the army would not fire civilians when the "dictator" was in power and the masses were trying to oust him. But now that they are up set with the whos in power ..............You know the army, they dont have any qualms with killing a few protesters.

I dont think I said anything in this thread.


But I TOLD YOU SO

[Bill 84 318i]

Do you mean to say that entire revolutions don't start and end in 2 months?

[mrsleeve]

^^^^^^^^^^^

No that kicking out what they had (by a very small overly vocal segment of the population) may not have been such a great idea. Now that the army is starting to rule more like the Iran than Great Brittan.

The Muslim Brotherhood has got it self into a position of influence and will prolly end up taking ultimate control of the country, this is not good then we have another country like Iran with the same motivations in its leadership. While Mubarrack was a shit head he was benevolent shit head not hell bent on destroying the world killing all the unbelievers.