Haven't heard anything at all. All this talk about about which government/dictatorship will fall next made me wonder about Saudi Arabia as well as the others mentioned.
Egyptian Revolution II
Fri, 2011-02-11 16:19
#52
Boom Boom
Fri, 2011-02-11 16:53
#53
Boom Boom
Just in from CNN:
- $1.5billion a year aid has been given to the Egyptian military for respecting the 1979 Camp David Peace Acord between Israel and Egypt (Jordan is the only other Arab country to sign);
- 1,000 US troops have been stationed in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt since 1979 to supervise the Camp David Accord and will likely remain;
- US Treasury Dept refuses to comment today on Mubarak financial holdings in the USA.
Fri, 2011-02-11 17:30
#54
Boom Boom
God, what a piece of shit our President Harper is. Someone will have to do a comparative analysis of Obama invoking MLK (and Ghana) today versus Harper's "toothpaste" speech. Harper makes me profoundly embarrassed to be Canadian.
Fri, 2011-02-11 18:08
#55
ElizaQ
The age of political reason is returning to the Arab world. The people are fed up of being colonised and bullied. Meanwhile, the political temperature is rising in Jordan, Algeria and Yemen.
There was a demo today in Yemen. Uncofirmed info says that the cops openned fire and one person died.
Fri, 2011-02-11 18:24
#56
Boom Boom
Former ambassador to Egypt Michael Bell says (on P&P) that Canada has no role to play in the formation of the new Egypt because the Harper government is too pro-Israel.
Fri, 2011-02-11 21:49
#57
Former ambassador to Egypt Michael Bell says (on P&P) that Canada has no role to play in the formation of the new Egypt because the Harper government is too pro-Israel.
Harper is the next Mubarak.
Fri, 2011-02-11 23:06
#58
Boom Boom
Dear safetysue - I did not write what you attributed to me - could you please edit your post? Thanks!
Fri, 2011-02-11 23:11
#59
I would like for Harper to go, too. He's like something sticky on the bottoms of our shoes.
Fri, 2011-02-11 23:20
#60
Boom Boom
If Harper becomes PM again, I'm hoping my province (Quebec) decides to go its own way. Another four or five years of Harper will drive me insane.
Fri, 2011-02-11 23:47
#61
Boom Boom
I must have watched twelve hours of Egypt coverage today - and the thing that sticks out in my mind right now was someone commenting tonight that the military generals will decide how much change they will allow, and how to keep their perks and businesses going - apparently military people run a lot of business in Egypt and I suppose the commentator was referring to graft and corruption - "payola".
Sat, 2011-02-12 00:50
#62
The military is in charge...that about sums this revolution up.... Elvis has left the building.
Sat, 2011-02-12 01:41
#63
It isn't over. The people will keep fighting. Are you dissing the protesters because they didn't commit suicide by attempting an armed struggle AGAINST the Egyptian military?
Your cynicism is horrifying. These people spent EIGHTEEN DAYS risking their lives and you're acting like they're sellouts. What could they possibly have done to deserve this response from you?
Sat, 2011-02-12 05:32
#64
Washington: How Best to Shape the Middle East Playing Field - by Eric Walberg
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23165
"The revolution of January 2011 has suddenly thrust Egypt back into the Middle East's 'great game'..."
Egypt: Washington's Covert Intelligence Operation - by Michel Chossudovsky
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23113
"Obama's Envoy to Egypt Frank G Wisner II is a member of a well known CIA family, son of one of America's most notorious spies, the late Frank Gardiner Wisner, the mastermind behind the CIA sponsored coup which toppled the government of Mohammed Mossadeqh in Iran in 1953. The meetings behind closed doors between Wisner and Mubarak were part of an intelligence agenda. Washington had no intention of pushing toward a resolution of the protest movement. Its priority was regime change.
Wisner's mandate was to instruct Mubarak not to resign, thereby contributing to triggering an atmosphere of social chaos and uncertainty, not to mention the deliberate destabilization of Egypt's monetary system resulting from billions of dollars of capital flight..."
Sat, 2011-02-12 07:29
#65
God, what a piece of shit our President Harper is. Someone will have to do a comparative analysis of Obama invoking MLK (and Ghana) today versus Harper's "toothpaste" speech. Harper makes me profoundly embarrassed to be Canadian.
Harper uses a lot of toothpaste. After all, shit rolls downhill.
Sat, 2011-02-12 08:00
#66
Will canadians follow the example coming out of Egypt?
Sat, 2011-02-12 08:42
#67
Will canadians follow the example coming out of Egypt?
It's likely inevitable, but not in our lifetime.
Sat, 2011-02-12 10:11
#68
Boom Boom
What happens to Mubarak now? Can he be arrested and brought to justice?
Sat, 2011-02-12 10:36
#69
That issue is for the Egyptian people, however, that question should asked be to the governments and peoples that supported him...
Sat, 2011-02-12 10:44
#70
The military is in charge...that about sums this revolution up.... Elvis has left the building.
The resistance has managed to topple or teeter most, if not all of the regimes control structures. Except for the military, there is little left at this point with the broad capacity to preside over what can only be hoped is an interim arrangement. Still, I think it's a reasonable bet to assume that any new system which arises under military guidance will include provisions to safeguard many of their current privledges. We have to weight the fact that we're watching something that hasn't been seen for a very long time against the relentless momentum and terrible news from the last three decades of global civil war, where even far fetched possibilities have been hidden from view. Egyptians have provided the world with a glimpse.
Sat, 2011-02-12 10:45
#71
Boom Boom
On CNN right now: talking about confiscating Mubarak's $$$$billions.
ETA: not much of a story - all they said is that Switzerland has frozen all Mubarak accounts and is investigating whether these are state-owned accounts and properties.
Sat, 2011-02-12 10:52
#72
ElizaQ
God, what a piece of shit our President Harper is. Someone will have to do a comparative analysis of Obama invoking MLK (and Ghana) today versus Harper's "toothpaste" speech. Harper makes me profoundly embarrassed to be Canadian.
I missed his remarks yesterday. I thought your comment about 'toothpaste' was just your way of describing it not the he made an analogy using toothpaste. Just heard it now. The only thing I could do was laugh at the dullard.
Sat, 2011-02-12 11:59
#73
Harper is the next Mubarak.
Other than in the realm of hairstying (well, OK; there's that lackey of Empire thing, too), comparisons between Stevie-boy and Hosni Mubarak aren't very productive, and make us look a bit hysterical
[ed.]I missed the toothpaste reference. Does anyone have a link?
Sat, 2011-02-12 12:03
#74
Sat, 2011-02-12 13:05
#75
Walkom: Cairo Coup Welcomed (Sort Of) By The West
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/937504--walkom-cairo-coup-wel...
"At most, what happened Friday is that one faction of the armed forces ousted another. Egypt's military and business establishment remains firmly in charge. Mubarak may have gone. So far, Mubarakism remains.."
things are still in motion a bit premature this
Sat, 2011-02-12 13:47
#76
Harper said, "A transition is taking place in Egypt... (and) there is no going back... They're not going to put the toothpaste back in the tube on this one."
This is why this goof will never win a majority. Commenting on events which have captured the attention of nation and the world, all he can come up with is the equivalent of "It's always somethin, huh?"
I mean couldnt his brain trust have cut a quick cheque to Peggy Noonan to write some high fullutin gibberish that wouldnt even piss-off our Chinese Overlords/trading partners? hell even a dunce like Peggy Wente could do better than that.
Of course Iggy's no better. He could have made an appearance at the Toronto rally in support of the Egypt protests, said something hopelessly non committal about the beauty of democracy and still appeared on the side of the angels. Of course he never met an opportunity he couldnt pass up. maybe it still smarts that his family had to flee Russia ahead of the torches and the pitchforks.
Sat, 2011-02-12 13:55
#77
Boom Boom
I just watched part of a new documentary by cnn's Fareed Zakaria. Highlights:
- the military owns hundreds of factories in Egypt; and the benefits go to the military
- every one of the military's Higher Ruling Council is a friend and crony of Mubarak
- the higher echelon of the military enjoy vast privileges and lavish lifestyles
Gives an idea of the uphill climb to democracy that lies ahead.
Sat, 2011-02-12 14:05
#78
Putting the toothpaste back in the tube? That exhausted cliché?
There are better analogies out there:
Sat, 2011-02-12 14:18
#79
NDPPHarper said, "A transition is taking place in Egypt... (and) there is no going back... They're not going to put the toothpaste back in the tube on this one."
I mean couldnt his brain trust have cut a quick cheque to Peggy Noonan to write some high fullutin gibberish that wouldnt even piss-off our Chinese Overlords/trading partners? hell even a dunce like Peggy Wente could do better than that.
perhaps he went instead to Bush's ex mouthpiece Ari Fleischer, who is also on retainer to the PMO for such occasions..?
Sat, 2011-02-12 14:59
#80
Actually it does kind of smell like an Ariism. Kind of like Will Rogers, but lacking in both wit and folksiness
Sat, 2011-02-12 23:07
#81
Harper is the next Mubarak.
GO HARPER GO.
Sat, 2011-02-12 23:07
#82
Dear safetysue - I did not write what you attributed to me - could you please edit your post? Thanks!
Done. And still, Go Harper Go. Just go.
Sun, 2011-02-13 09:39
#83
Two Different Versions of Egypt
"Since yesterday and actually earlier, middle-class activists have been urging Egyptians to suspend the protests and return to work, in the name of patriotism, singing some of the most ridiculous lullabies about 'let's build a new Egypt,' 'let's work harder than ever before,' etc. As the revolution proceeds, an inevitable class polarization will happen...
'What's up? Why is class discourse still practically absent from central movement organs, even in the case of Egypt, where the dictatorship was a veneer for class war? At a certain point one must take sides.."
Sun, 2011-02-13 09:44
#84
Boom Boom
The revolution must be careful not to be co-opted by the reactionaries.
Sun, 2011-02-13 10:06
#85
Siddiqui: Canada On Wrong Side of History in Middle East
"As for Harper, he was the first in the world to penalize the people of Gaza for the crime of electing Hamas... He has also been cheerleading Abbas, whose electoral term ran out in 2009 and whose hand-picked prime minister also has no electoral legitimacy. Harper took Ottawa's $300 million humanitarian aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and diverted it to Abbas' security apparatus.
During the recent Egyptian crisis, he was on the side of those rooting for Mubarak to stay on and manage the transition to ensure that the wrong sort of people did not get close to power. Here at home, Harper has bullied those who didn't agree with him on the Middle East. He axed funding for the Canadian Arab Federation and the Christian group Kairos. (The speaker of the Commons, Peter Miliken, has just ruled that a document denying funding to Kairos was, in fact, doctored).
From Ottawa to Cairo and beyond, Canada has decidedly been on the wrong side of this historic debate on democracy."
Sun, 2011-02-13 10:26
#86
[url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011213132610927713...'s army dissolves parliament and suspends constitution[/url]
... and they appear to be trying to clear Tahrir Square.
Sun, 2011-02-13 10:43
#87
Siddiqui: Canada On Wrong Side of History in Middle East
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/937944--siddiqui-canada-on-wrong-...
"As for Harper, he was the first in the world to penalize the people of Gaza for the crime of electing Hamas... He has also been cheerleading Abbas, whose electoral term ran out in 2009 and whose hand-picked prime minister also has no electoral legitimacy. Harper took Ottawa's $300 million humanitarian aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and diverted it to Abbas' security apparatus.
During the recent Egyptian crisis, he was on the side of those rooting for Mubarak to stay on and manage the transition to ensure that the wrong sort of people did not get close to power. Here at home, Harper has bullied those who didn't agree with him on the Middle East. He axed funding for the Canadian Arab Federation and the Christian group Kairos. (The speaker of the Commons, Peter Miliken, has just ruled that a document denying funding to Kairos was, in fact, doctored).
From Ottawa to Cairo and beyond, Canada has decidedly been on the wrong side of this historic debate on democracy."
CBC's Sunday Edition did Egypt this morning. An essay on UN uninvolvment is posted. The segment on the Egyptian military and the interview with Prof Robert Springbord on the Egyptian military''s power, influence and intention is worth a listen..
http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/shows/2011/02/13/egypts-military---ku...
The United Nations of Nowhere
http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/essays/2011/02/13/the-united-nations-...
"In all the tumult, the shouting, the bewildering upheaval of the last 18 days in Egypt, a question.---Where was the United Nations? I know where the UN was--circling over Nowhereville Square, waiting helplessly for landing instructions from the real players..."
Sun, 2011-02-13 11:04
#88
M. Spector
[url=http://www.acp-cpa.ca/en/EgyptSolidarity.html]Statement of the Canadian Peace Alliance, Feb. 12[/url]:
The Canadian Peace Alliance, the country's largest network of peace and anti-war groups, congratulates the people of Egypt for their determined struggle against the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak.Earlier today, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon declined to comment on Mubarak's resignation. Last week, Cannon went so far as to endorse Mubarak's so-called "transition plan" which would have seen the dictator stay in power until September. With scenes of millions celebrating in the streets of Egypt, it's telling that the Harper government keeps silent on this inspiring step towards democracy in Egypt.
For years, the Canadian government, backed the Mubarak dictatorship and supported its policy of enforcing the siege against the people of Gaza. Harper's government has worried aloud about what this move towards democracy in Egypt will mean for the Israeli government and its occupation and siege.
Egypt, and before that Tunisia, has shown that people power can overcome dictators backed by foreign powers. And they have shown that democracy and liberation come from struggle from below, never from US-led wars and occupations. This quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln captures well the dilemma that the revolution in Egypt presents for Harper and Cannon today, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt".
Stephen Harper has shown himself to be an opponent of democracy in Canada and abroad. His ongoing support for the corrupt regime in Afghanistan, against the wishes of the people there, proves he is on the wrong side of history. The Canadian Peace Alliance will continue to call for an end to Harper's support for dictatorships around the world.
Sun, 2011-02-13 11:10
#89
It is official now. The US is governing Egypt today. Don't be fooled by the negotiations with the opposition and even with the Muslim Brotherhood. When colonial powers feel threatened in their interests, they can force the puppet to be inclusive. Remember the February 4th, 1942 which went famous in Egyptian history: when the British (with tanks) ordered Faruq to dismiss the cabinet and to bring the Wafd in government. Communique Number 5 is also noteworthy because the military junta seems to be getting more confident. What also struck me is that Randa Abu-Al-'Azm (the Cairo correspondent for Al-Arabiyyah TV--the news station of King Fahd's brother-in-law) seems to have the eyes and ears of the Ahmad Shafiq government. She was an unapologetic propagandist for the Mubarak regime to the last days, and even wanted to dismiss the protesters as armed goons (baltajiyyah). And I was astonished to hear that the "new"government offered the portfolio of Minister of Information to none other than 'Imad Ad-Din Adib (a propagandist for Mubarak who helped launch the last presidential campaign of Mubarak in the news media through marathon soft-ball interviews). Adib is also close to the House of Saud.
Communique Number Five: Mubarak Regime without Mubarak
Now the hard part of the revolution has to take place.
Sun, 2011-02-13 11:18
#90
Boom Boom
This sounds familiar (from al-Q's link, above): The regime will also be playing games through the divisions of the opposition.
Sun, 2011-02-13 11:21
#91
N.Beltov
RE: quote from the Canadian Peace Alliance
There's the real internationalism of ordinary people and there's the "internationalism" of tyrants, dictators, compradors and Quislings. It's a great thing for the Peace Alliance to draw attention to Harper's natural tendency to support the latter and thereby make the link between the failure to support social struggles abroad and venomous antagonism to genuine and living democracy domestically.
There are plenty of so-called "progressives" who share the right wing view of the "reality" of a Chinese Wall between foreign policy and domestic policy and it's good to see their views get the boots taken to them.
Sun, 2011-02-13 11:22
#92
omit double
Sun, 2011-02-13 11:23
#93
Egypt Military, Autonomous Institution? (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/165019.html
"Pro-democracy protesters in Egypt have rejected the army's appeal to leave Cairo's Liberation Square, persisting in the demand for a civilian government two days after the downfall of Hosni Mubarak.."
Egyptians Aware of US Hijack Plan
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/165073.html
"While the Egyptians are celebrating the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, many are concerned about US/Israeli plans with senior Egyptian military personnel to steal and depress the revolution.."
Sun, 2011-02-13 13:28
#94
Uh oh.
Egypt's new military rulers will issue a warning on Sunday against anyone who creates "chaos and disorder", an army source said.
The Higher Military Council will also ban meetings by labour unions or professional syndicates, effectively forbidding strikes, and tell all Egyptians to get back to work after the unrest that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
Sun, 2011-02-13 13:51
#95
Don't forget that RISING FOOD PRICES were a major issue in fomenting the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.
Food prices are rising at an average of 15% to 20% a year now, and they will continue to rise.
Global warming is becoming a bigger factor in the future as climate changes create harsh conditions for farmers.
The free market system is allowing food speculators to "get what they can" for food products. This is the main factor driving the current increase in food prices.
A change in government in Egypt or Tunisia won't solve this.
Sun, 2011-02-13 14:20
#96
What's with all these apologists for dictators who warn that living in a freer society won't change the weather?
Sun, 2011-02-13 15:26
#97
Please be specific about who you are calling an apologist, and why.
Sun, 2011-02-13 16:53
#98
I have made some posts about the dire, dire material situation that Egypt finds itself in. Exploding population, dependent on food imports, declining oil reserves. The doubling rate is 35 years and there is no food security.
Egypt is like this because of colonialism. The imperial puppet masters have been encouraging these conditions because it has made the region easier to control. Dependent on subsidized food. Exploding population. Little development of sustainable, domestic food systems.
The $2 a day figure that has been bandied about so much is probably an engineered number. Some top asshole economists ran models on a computer in the Pentagon and determined that, for Egypt, $2 a day was the optimal figure for Egypt, low enough to keep the people in chains but high enough that they won't revolt. The empire is truly evil.
The empire does not want Egypt dealing with issues of food security. The empire wants to keep Egypt dependent. The best thing for Egypt's agricultural infrastructure would be a true people's government that is interested in developing it. Being a propped up puppet state is not in Egypt's long term interest.
That said, when imperial puppetry becomes one of the main industries, certain market forces come into play. I'll make an analogy to the prison industry dictating cannabis law reform. People's jobs depend on locking up stoners. Now, I believe in mj law reform and I think wanting to support the prison industry is a terrible reason to keep it illegal. But, serious cannabis activists recognize that they need to address, and deflect the prison industrial lobby rather than ignore it.
The empire is evil and they will use whatever leverage they can against the people of Egypt. They will use that food as a carrot. You've been posting about how the US is still in control and trying to keep it that way--I am posting the same thing but looking at a different sector.
I'll requote a small bit from an article I posted yesterday:
My intent here is not to point out the future difficulties that Egypt faces, no matter who is charge, but to use the change that happened there as emblematic of what we might expect elsewhere, especially in the financial markets.
This revolution has been motivated in part by desperation. And there will be no lack of desperation in the world in the next few years.
The people need revolutions across the world, enough of them that the powers can no longer keep things in control. These revolutions will likely corrrelate with terrible food shortages. The world is in for a rough ride, and it will go well beyond "the weather".
What happened to all the ecosocialists?
Sun, 2011-02-13 17:50
#99
Please be specific about who you are calling an apologist, and why.
Rex Murphy just finished talking to a guy who said that, while he was happy for the Egyptian people, he is worried about the potential for Egyptian democracy. As he said (with good ol' Rex muttering "yes, uh-huh"), the Arab mind isn't sophisticated enough to handle democracy. Democracy will unleash the frenzied mob and Arabs' innate irrational violence will take over.
Mubarak has been seen as a dependable check on this impulse. Better to have Arabs live under despots than to allow them to threaten the world's stability, which would happen if they were allowed to be free.
Sun, 2011-02-13 18:05
#100
And about the weather?
Sun, 2011-02-13 18:39
#101
Q-Bong. I was listening to Cross Country, too. Some neat calls.
I laughed so loud when the former Israeli dude said he'd feel Egypt had made progress when he can hang out in Tahrir square and shout "Long live Netanyahu" without someone chopping him up into pieces. What an oddball thing to say.
Rex didn't know what to say other than "that's quite a test."