Missing the point. I'm arguing about the fact that the general public is too easily duped and manipulated. It's similar to the Crusades of olden times. The public will support a war out of some misplaced sense of justice, BS spoon fed by their state/church.
Once in a blue moon I agree with you. That said, Mubarak is a ****head and I empathize with the anger out there on the streets.
Joe Biden says Egypt's Mubarak no dictator, he shouldn't step down... http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Back...book&sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d425edc2150d06e,0
For many reasons, I was really really incredibly humbled when I read that Christians are shielding the Muslims from the police today during Friday prayer (because the huge protest has been planned for right after Friday prayer and police are out in full force). Just goes to show how splits in the population is always created by those in power and the media, but when people see/meet/feel for each other, they come together. I have no doubt that this is what will happen between Palestinians and Israelis one day. On a very sad note, Israeli officials are saying Mubarak is not going anywhere.
A long time. te level of brainwashing in the country is incrediblly effective. Don't you see the working Tea Partiers and the folks on the bbs with ordinary college grad jobs clamoring for tax breaks for millionaires and even billionaires due to libertarian/conservative ideology.
It is interesting to see a few of the fat cats realizing their own well being and ability to enjoy their comfort depends on stability and giving a few more crumbs to the peasants. Now if we could just get the average libertarian/economic conservative to realize this since old fashioned morality or a sense of justice doesn't register.
Shades of the US beloved Shah of Iran and Tunisia. If and when the troops fail to fire on their neighbors it is all over in a flash. Sadly I'm sure the CIA and the US is trying their best to support the secret police and Mubarek. We may have a good chance to advance moderation if we can just stop supporting the dictators. I doubt we will do it.
I don't care what side of the political fence you're on - this is just a bold faced lie. (and standard US policy) I love the actual quote: Translation:
Thanks for the advice. My brother has been living in Damascus since last June, so it should be a good time hanging with him and his local friends.
just a few thoughts... After dealing with many Muslims on a personal level while there, including a 25 year old female guide that my wife and I had take us around for a full day...including to all of the famous mosques in Cairo....I actually came away with a more positive view of the common, working class there. However, I worry about Islam's impact on the lower class, the unemployed, and the other folks on the margin (which are numerous). As most know, the country has become more "conservatively Islamic" over the past years, as every single woman we saw was wearing the hijab. The leaders of the various mosques have a lot of control over how these folks think and behave, through their messaging. Mubarak, in my opinion, with his more hands off approach to religion, has largely allowed the more fundamentalists there to increase their power and influence, leading to a less peaceful co-existence with the Coptic Christians, for example, and also to the more conservative women's dress.
