Don't worry about it. If you can make it in this hell hole of America, Syria, Lebanon, Nigeria, their all the same!!!! Signed, Thadeus
I know this may sound crazy, but I got it from the csmonitor article Pharaoh King linked to and that I quoted in the same post.
This actually makes me kinda nervous. I am/was optimistic about Tunisia's chances to develop a responsible democratic government, and be given the support they need from the West. If this is going to spread across North Africa and Middle East though, it's too much chaos to manage at once, it can get really volatile, and it's more likely to have really bad things result. If they succeed, I think it could be a good thing on a macro-historic level and a century or two from now we'll look back and be happy about it. In the short-term, there could be a whole lot of pain.
So "poor" Muslims are succeptible to religious extremism while "not poor" Muslims are not. Seems like economics plays the major role in the cause of the susceptibility. I'm shocked...
I just heard on the news that Al Jazeera has been asked to shut off its camera , that journalists have been detained along internet and cell phone cut off. Things right now seem very chaotic and things could go a lot of different directions.
This is something I posted a couple of days ago in the Tunisia thread. I didn't quote anyone, but I think it was in response to a comment about how unlikely Egypt was to have the same thing happen as Tunisia.
These are the moments when all those speeches American leaders make about "supporting people's rights for self determination" become nuisances.
Wikileaks weighs in- http://wikileaks.ch/Evidence-of-torture-and-repression.html As for the military being deployed-I fear for the people of Egypt. If there is another Tiananmen (which I pray will never happen in our lifetimes), all bets are off.
Didn't Mubarak crack down heavily on the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic groups? I wouldn't look to the Hijab as a sign of backward Islamic conservatism. You see lots of women in modern and moderate Malaysia and even in Singapore wearing the Hijab. The hijab in and of itself is not a sign of religious conservatism.
I think it's more than just the poor factor, actually They're poor and don't get other world views, but completely absorb what their Imam tells them, which in my experience tends to be more inflammatory than typical leaders of other religions, but that's a long discussion probably not suited for this thread on Egypt.
yeah I got that. thanks. it's emblematic, though. There are other signs, such as the questions our female guide and driver got about whether they were married (since they were together in a restaurant), as well as my wife and I were asked if we were married at a police checkpoint, etc. google if you want more info
I'm glad we wouldn't hand over control of the internet to the government.... ooops. How Egypt Cut Off the Internet (and How a U.S. 'Kill Switch' Might Work) Reports have now verified that Eqypt has cut off access to the internet amid political protests. Renesys, an internet monitoring firm based in Manchester, New Hampshire, calls the situation "an action unprecedented in Internet history," according to a company blog post. The development of an internet "kill switch" that our own government could use in the case of a national emergency has been proposed here in the U.S., and if we take a look at how Egypt has already flipped its own kill switch, it may give us more insight into how such a system would work here. Read more: http://techland.time.com/2011/01/28/how-egypt-cut-off-the-internet/#ixzz1CLqYfj6i Joe Lieberman Says "Relax" Over Internet "Kill Switch" By Abraham J. on Jun 21, 2010 Last week Joe Lieberman introduced legislation that would give the president authority to “shut down” the internet. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) says to “Relax” on State of the Union with Candy Crowley. Joe Lieberman goes on to say that "Right now China, the government, can disconnect parts of its Internet in case of war and we need to have that here too.” http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/ahamadeh/joe-lieberman-says-relax-over-internet-kill-switch Barack Obama will protect the openness of the internet: Obama and Biden strongly support the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet. Deploy a modern communications infrastructure: Obama and Biden believe we can get true broadband to every community in America. Improve America's competitiveness: Obama and Biden will ensure our goods and services are treated fairly in foreign markets, invest in the sciences, and will provide new research grants to the most outstanding early-career researchers in the country. http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/index_campaign.php
Revolt against tyranny, democracy for the people -Hezbollah- There is no democracy without a free exchange of ideas within the body politic. A theology dominated revolution will not lead to democracy. There is no real democracy in the United States when agnosticism is a disqualifying factor for election either. What percentage of the best and brightest in the US are agnostics or have a history of recreational drug use? Meet the new boss .....
No one is ever disqualified for running for election because of their belief or lack of believe. Whether your beliefs impair your ability to win or not does not mean we have no real democracy.