“Twitter, Facebook, and various instant messaging platforms (SMS, Skype, Google Chat, etc.) act as force-multipliers for revolutionary movements…” — Jeffrey Carr
________________
As the world watches Egypt crumble into chaos, with over 100 dead and 2000 injured, the Obama administration continues to be somewhat and rather curiously ambivalent. On the one hand, on Friday, Vice President Biden came to the defense of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, saying that he shouldn’t step aside. Yet, on the same day, the Telegraph (ala Wikileaks) reported that the U.S. had planned “regime change” for the “past three years” while both President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton demand that internet be restored to the Egyptian protesters. This morning, Secretary of State Clinton again clarified the United States’ official position, ”We do not want to send any message about backing forward or backing back.”
For all the lack of clarity on where the Obama administration stands, one thing is becoming more and more clear: Signs are beginning to point more toward the likelihood that President Obama’s State Department, unions, as well as Left-leaning media corporations are more directly involved in helping to ignite the Mid-East turmoil than they are publicly admitting.
If it is indeed the case that the Obama administration, with help by private-sector companies and the union movement has led an “internet revolution” in the middle east and toppled two governments within a month, the longer-term ramifications for U.S. relations with other allies such as Saudi Arabia and certain other Arab monarchies, could prove to have much more far-reaching consequences.
The Role of Unions in the Tunisian Revolution.
Last month, a riotous and deadly revolution began in the North African nation of Tunisia, which led to the ouster of long-time ruler President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. According to a Huffington Post report:
After 23 years of iron-fisted rule, the president of Tunisia was driven from power Friday by violent protests over soaring unemployment and corruption. Virtually unprecedented in modern Arab history, the populist uprising sent an ominous message to authoritarian governments that dominate the region.
[snip]
U.S. President Barack Obama said he applauded the courage and dignity of protesting Tunisians, and urged all parties to keep calm and avoid violence.
Although there have been numerous articles regarding the role of unions in the Tunisian “revolution,” perhaps none have been so clear as this one in the Huffington Post:
Though the movement appears to be a mix of grassroots spontaneity and targeted direct actions, it has achieved political valence through the savvy of organized labor activists. In the days leading up to the uprising, unions were feeding the foment of the demonstrators by calling strikes nationwide, including an 8,000 strong lawyer strike that paralyzed the courts.
As Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst commented:
Unlike the short-lived uprising in neighbouring Algeria or recent socio-economic protests in other Arab countries, the popular Tunisian uprising was immediately supported by all the opposition groups, from the Islamists to the Communists, as well as by the labour unions, which helped it spread to all major parts of the country, including the influential north.
While the General Tunisian Workers’ Union (UGTT) was initially involved in helping to set up a transitional government, its leadership has since pulled out due to a popular uprising from the rank-and-file workers. Nevertheless, the AFL-CIO announced on its blog that:
The global union movement is reaffirming its strong support for the General Tunisian Workers’ Union (UGTT) and the Tunisian people in their courageous struggle for equality, social justice, political freedom and democracy.
[snip]
In a statement, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which includes the AFL-CIO, said it welcomes the fall of the dictatorship in Tunisia and fully supports UGTT ’s call for an end to corruption and nepotism and a genuine transition toward a true democracy.
As the Tunisian fires still burned with political confusion and turmoil, almost spontaneously, an explosion of unrest has thrown Egypt into chaos as well. However, as the Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin notes, the two events cannot be viewed separately:
Stephen McInerney of the Project for Middle East Democracy says that the events in Tunisia are anything but unique to that country. To the contrary, the massive protests in Egypt were “inspired by and a direct result of” recent events in Tunisia. Despite Feltman’s dim view of the trans-national nature of democratic movements, McInerney says, “I was in Cairo the day Ben Ali stepped down. Immediately the conversation was, ‘How do we translate this to Egypt?’”
In fact, the mass political protests in Egypt would not, he says, have been possible and would not have been so successful if not for Tunisia. A mass movement, run almost entirely by secular groups and directed solely at Egypt’s political system is “unprecedented,” he explains. The Muslim Brotherhood allowed its members to participate, but did not organize or populate the street demonstrations, he says. “Egyptians are watching very carefully what happens in Tunisia ” he reports. It sends a “powerful message” to Egyptians, Algerians and throughout the region that secular democracy can be theirs as well.
As the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center, which works with other union around the globe, has been supporting Egyptian unions for quite some time, it is not surprising that it posted on its website support for the Egyptian protests as well: The Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services has issued a statement supporting the popular uprising in Egypt and calling on President Hosni Mubarak to respond to the people’s demands.
Is the State Department & New Media Companies Driving a Coup in the Middle East?
On Friday, the Egyptian government shut down access to the internet in an effort to keep protesters from communicating virally. This drew a sharp rebuke from the Obama Administration, including from President Obama himself:
President Obama called on Egypt to bring back the Internet and access to social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter that have been suspended this week by the government there.
“The people of Egypt have rights that are universal,” Obama said. “That includes the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to free speech and the ability to determine their own destiny. These are human rights and the United States will stand up for them everywhere.
“I also call upon the Egyptian government to reverse the actions that they’ve taken to interfere with access to the Internet, with cellphone service and to social networks that do so much to connect people in the 21st century.”
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs also wrote on Twitter, from his @PressSec account, on Friday “Very concerned about violence in Egypt — government must respect the rights of the Egyptian people & turn on social networking and internet.”
For an administration that seems to be trying to walk a fine line between supporting an ally and “respecting the rights of the Egyptian people,” a call to turn the internet back on seemed rather odd. However, it’s really not when the pieces of the puzzle are put into place.
One of the Wikileaks linked in the Telegraph article makes mention of this interesting passage:
On December 23, April 6 activist xxxxxxxxxxxx expressed satisfaction with his participation in the December 3-5 \”Alliance of Youth Movements Summit,\” and with his subsequent meetings with USG officials, on Capitol Hill, and with think tanks. He described how State Security (SSIS) detained him at the Cairo airport upon his return and confiscated his notes for his summit presentation calling for democratic change in Egypt, and his schedule for his Congressional meetings. xxxxxxxxxxxx contended that the GOE will never undertake significant reform, and therefore, Egyptians need to replace the current regime with a parliamentary democracy. He alleged that several opposition parties and movements have accepted an unwritten plan for democratic transition by 2011…
The Alliance of Youth Movements Summit referenced in the Wikileak was a summit held on December 3-5, 2008 and took place at the Columbia Law School in New York one month after Barack Obama was elected President.
According to the Summit’s press release:
From December 3 to 5, leaders of pioneering youth movements will launch a global network that seeks to empower young people to mobilize against violence and oppression. Brought together by Howcast, Facebook, Google, YouTube, MTV, the U.S. Department of State, Columbia Law School and Access 360 Media, leaders of the organizations will travel to New York City with the mission of crafting a field manual on how to effect social change using online tools.
Among the panelists that spoke at the 2008 summit were Sam Graham-Felson, Director of Blogging and Blog Outreach for 2008 Obama Campaign, Scott Goodstein, External Online Director for Obama for America, Joe Rospars, New Media Director Barack Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign, as well as Jared Cohen, Policy Planning Staff, Office of the Secretary of State (now with Google).
Since 2008, the Alliance For Youth Movements appears to have shortened its name to Movements.org, although its facebook page still uses both and stating:
AYM identifies, connects, and supports youth activists from around the world who use technology to organize for social change.
Movements.org is non-profit 501(c)(3) organization comprised of individuals from technology companies, media, the NGO community and digital activists from around the world. We provide a global network that aims to support and sustain campaigns for nonviolent social change that harness 21st century tools to safeguard human rights, promote good governance and foster civic engagement.
On it’s homepage and blog, this weekend, it has a post entitled 5 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT EGYPTIANS FROM ANYWHERE
It’s the weekend! And a possible revolution steams forward in Egypt. The stakes are incredibly high – a point underlined by the news that activists targeted for their involvement in the failed 2009 uprising in Iran were hung yesterday – so it makes sense that international onlookers are looking for any way that they might be able to help. Here are some ways to get involved if you’re not in Egypt but want to do something.
Note that a lot of these are for the more technically inclined. If that’s not you, one thing you can do is spread these tips who may be.
In other words, Movements.org is a 21st Century private and public-sector partnership for regime change. This is an organization that has the biggest internet players, as well as the U.S. State Department involved and is openly working to support uprisings.
According to Movements.org’s website, its list of private and public sponsors include Google, YouTube, Facebook, MTV, CBS News, MSNBC, as well as the Columbia Law School and the U.S. State Department.
As Jeffrey Carr notes on a Forbes post:
A powerful engine of change is rolling through Tunisia and Egypt, overthrowing the old ways of governing as well as those who govern. However, to call these history-making movements “Twitter revolutions” or anything similar does a huge disservice to the people involved.
Twitter, Facebook, and various instant messaging platforms (SMS, Skype, Google Chat, etc.) act as force-multipliers for revolutionary movements because they enable the entire world to bear witness and express support for the revolutionaries’ courageous acts.
Given the State Department’s involvement with a group committed to using the internet for “social change,” which calls into question both the President’s as well as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s call to restore the internet, it appears the world may be witnessing the first internet-led attempts at “regime change,” orchestrated by President Obama and his allies on the Left.
Photo credit: Freestylee
[Emphasis added throughout.]
_________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776
Moe Lane
PG DeFreese
Victoria Coates
Daniel Horowitz
Dan Spencer
We need to raise the voting age
DerKrieger (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 12:51PM EST (link)It’s interesting how much the Left relies on the ‘youth’ to help drive its agenda. The young are driven by emotion, are impressionable, inexperienced, and largely ignorant of how the world really works. They’re driven more by idealism than realism and IMO their votes are often dangerous to our republic. My own 17 yr old son is woefully ignorant about just about everything yet he regularly spouts off about how stupid Sarah Palin is, how racist Conservatives are, how we should all have “free” health care, etc. Basically the whole Liberal line.
It’s the youth that are rioting about the cost of college education around the Western world demanding it be “free” not understanding that it is being paid for by their seniors.
Yes, we must raise the voting age or we will pay the consequences. Especially since the Left has so successfully captured education and uses it as a vehicle for Leftist indoctrination.
“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” — John Locke, 1690
The voting age is not the problem; education is
ohiohistorian (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 12:58PM EST (link)Inexperience can belong to any age group. The unfortunate part is that the youth get the message that the world could work the way they are taught with “fairness” of outcome for all, if only the capitalists weren’t so greedy and would pay a little more in taxes. It is the EDUCATION that is the problem.
This carries forward as well. If you ever read the exit polls, it is the people with less than a high-school diploma and with PhD’s that are fellow travelers with the left. Presumably, those who get a good education and do not go on to try to teach fellow travelers learn enough in real life that they can reject part or all of the left’s story.
We used to educate kids really well in this country. We can do so again. Let’s get rid of the education monopoly and get the kids some real education.
““Liberals tend to put the onus of your success on society and conservatives on you and your family.”
—Dennis Prager
One other thought
ohiohistorian (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 12:59PM EST (link)If voting age is the only problem, how is it that we have all of these 25-70 year old legislators from the left in Congress? Education is the answer, not age.
““Liberals tend to put the onus of your success on society and conservatives on you and your family.”
—Dennis Prager
Experience is the problem
DerKrieger (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 1:12PM EST (link)Some people never learn but there are countless stories about people who were Liberal in their younger years that became conservative as they entered the workforce, started paying taxes, raising families, and were really exposed to the true cost and burden of government. Raising the voting age would have an impact because you could eliminate many of those that haven’t yet gained the experience necessary to question their emotional liberalism.
Yes any age group can be inexperienced but the numbers of inexperienced drastically declines after the age of 30.
“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” — John Locke, 1690
yes 'Kreiger - nt
Mike gamecock DeVine (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 7:07PM EST (link)Mike DeVine’s Examiner.com, Charlotte Observer and The Minority Report columns
“One man with courage makes a majority.” – Andrew Jackson
It wasn't our generation who bankrupted this country
madnorskie Sunday, January 30th at 8:04PM EST (link)…nor are we the ones standing in the way of entitlement reform.
Also, would you really seek to disenfranchise the men and women who have been fighting for this country over the past decade?
LibertyLives.org
Some call for ending direct election of US Senators. Some call for raising the voting age. Both are unrealistic.
Spiral (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 8:09PM EST (link)You will never convince the voting public that the problem is based on their right to vote.
I would support longer terms of office for the US House of Representatives, making it 4 years instead of 2. But that’s not going to happen either.
The Obama Bread Lines
How would longer House terms be an improvement?
JSobieski (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 8:35PM EST (link)Don’t we want there to be a difference in terms between the Senate and the House? I think the 2 year/6 year dichotomy makes a lot of sense.
My rules of the road for primary season.
Rule #1: Vote for YOUR first choice in the primaries
Rule #2: Vote for the R in the general.
Rule #3: Don’t let anyone convince you to violate Rule #1 or Rule #2
Rule #4: When in a center-right argument, reaffirm Rules #1-#3–it will help us all to get along better.
Rule #5: If you are using the language of the left, you probably aren’t furthering conservativism
Rule #6: The priority is issues first, candidates second, and supporters third. Nobody is bigger than the issues. Conversely, if you spend your time focusing on supporters, you are wasting everyone’s time.
STOP THE MADNESS!
A reduction in the rate of spending increases is NOT a cut!
In-state tuition for illegals is NOT amnesty!
Requiring someone to pay their medical bills is NOT an individual mandate!
Reducing tax rates is NOT a tax increase!
Re: How would longer House terms be an improvement?
Spiral (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 8:41PM EST (link)Well, I hestitate to spend much energy on this answer because it ain’t gonna happen.
But I think the 2 year term for US House of Representatives makes it difficult for members of that chamber to make unpopular decisions, such as restraining/reforming entitlement spending, which would require passage in both the US House and the US Senate.
In other words, you get in the US House a chamber full of people who are good at satisfying the public’s desire for instant and short term gratification and little concern for the long term health of the country.
Still, I understand that there are good arguments in favor of keeping the 2 year term. And I am not going to march on Washington to demand a 4 year term, since it has no chance.
The Obama Bread Lines
If you ask about the Senate filibuster, I will explain
Spiral (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 8:46PM EST (link)You might wonder if my views on the 2 year term for the US House is consistent with my views on the Senate filibuster.
This is my argument.
I think it should be possible for Congress, both the US House and the US Senate, to pass both popular and unpopular legislation. It would be great if the judicial branch did their job and struck down unconstitutional legislation, but that doesn’t happen often.
I think we would be better off if Congress could pass legislation and then after the public could observe how the nation have performed under that new “regime” of legislation. If they don’t like the result, they throw out the old SOBs and put in power the new SOBs. And the new SOBs have the capability of repealing the legislation passed by the old SOBs.
I’m not a fan of “direct democracy,” passing popular referenda. I prefer representative democracy that forces the voting public to be reflective. I think 2 year terms makes it hard for us to enjoy reflective representative government. Instead we get frenetic representative government.
The Obama Bread Lines
4 years is hardly a long term view anyway
JSobieski (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 9:15PM EST (link)and when the government overreaches, its nice to have a dramatic response.
Think of November 2010. Why would you want to water down?
We should not rely on courts holding things unconstitional. The SCt can only take a small number of cases each year.
The Senate is just as incapable of long term thinking as the House. In terms of unpopular actions, the Democratic House did most of the pushing of Obamacare, and it was the Senate D’s that held back. The House D’s seemed pretty willing to act against the will of the country.
My rules of the road for primary season.
Rule #1: Vote for YOUR first choice in the primaries
Rule #2: Vote for the R in the general.
Rule #3: Don’t let anyone convince you to violate Rule #1 or Rule #2
Rule #4: When in a center-right argument, reaffirm Rules #1-#3–it will help us all to get along better.
Rule #5: If you are using the language of the left, you probably aren’t furthering conservativism
Rule #6: The priority is issues first, candidates second, and supporters third. Nobody is bigger than the issues. Conversely, if you spend your time focusing on supporters, you are wasting everyone’s time.
STOP THE MADNESS!
A reduction in the rate of spending increases is NOT a cut!
In-state tuition for illegals is NOT amnesty!
Requiring someone to pay their medical bills is NOT an individual mandate!
Reducing tax rates is NOT a tax increase!
If we had four year terms already we would still be stuck
davesinsanantonio (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 6:48AM EST (link)with Queen Nancy, And, there is not telling what additional evil she could wreak on this country with another two years with the gavel in her witch’s grip!!!
Brilliant article
mschnezler Sunday, January 30th at 10:51PM EST (link)This article is very close to the truth of this whole matter. It is not a Democracy movement as the media is trying to spin.
ElBaradei is also very much behind this movement through his “National Organization for Change” movement. There is that CHANGE word again… Their main slogan is “Together we can change”?
Sounds more like Obama now doesnt it with those “Together we thrive” signs at the AZ memorial service…
The US movement that spun of Mohammed ElBaradei’s group is called “EGYPTIAN ASSOCIATION FOR CHANGE”. The funny thing about their website eacusa.org is that the domain name was registered in April 2010, the very same month Elbaradei was in the US speaking about change in the mideast and also about non nuclear proliferation.
This was also just before the Gaza flotilla’s that a lot of leftist organizations were a part of….
Make no mistake, this is a 100% planned and coordinated event………
Michael J. Schnezler
DerKrieger ...
cam1 Monday, January 31st at 9:04AM EST (link)you need to sit down and talk to your 17 year old son. If you had, he wouldn’t be the “woefully ignorant” spout he seems to be.
Parenting begins at home.
Upon Achieving One's "Majority"
myron_j_poltroonian Monday, January 31st at 3:10PM EST (link)Upon achieving my “Majority”, in 1962, I had three years of very valuable experience under my then comparatively short belt (a 28″ or 30″ one, as I remember). Experience I gathered in voluntarily serving my country for three years, half in this country and half in West Germany. I went from Fort Ord, near Monterey, California to Fort Gordon near Augusta, Georgia, and got quite a lesson in how different race relations were in some parts of this country than I grew up with in New England. I got quite an eduction in how national politics were viewed in countries outside of America when, as both part of my job as P.I.O. Photographer for my helicopter battalion, as well as on my off duty time, I went out amongst the populace, taking pictures and, naturally, asking questions. Almost all of the WW II german veterans I spoke to were “On the Eastern Front” whether or not they really were was immaterial, that was their story, and they stuck to it. I also spoke to three 17/18 year old youths who had recently escaped from Berlin just after the wall went up. Why did they do it? “Because the Russians treated the German people with disrespect”. (They had to kill four Russian soldiers, and one of their own was shot and killed during their escape.) But, they also thought Hitler wasn’t too bad because “He put people to work and instilled pride in the German people.”. So, upon my return to civilian life, I didn’t “Feel” disenfranchised one bit. (Except for the fact that while “underage” and stationed in California, I couldn’t legally drink off base.) However, I grew quite early to appreciate that bit o’ Twainism: “When I was 18, I was ashamed of my father and how ignorant he was. By the time I turned 21, I was amazed at how much he had learned”. Just you can create a life at 14/14/16/17 or even 18, doesn’t mean your mature enough to make a wise, mature decision.
I feel your pain...
Melody Warbington (rwm52) (Diary) Friday, February 4th at 12:07AM EST (link)My 20 year old son, a soph in college, calls himself a “libertarian” but falls to the left more often than not. I pray this changes with age, experience and having to live in the real world when he finishes college, but for now he fits your profile. The good news is that we’ve seen signs of maturing and have managed to have some rational, calm discussions with him about politics and religion. He at least admits to us that he knows neither we nor our conservative friends are racist because our actions speak for themselves. I do take heart that he doesn’t yet care enough to vote. That’s one less I have to worry about.
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh (he that is called Christ): when he is come, he will declare unto us all things. (John 4:25)
Obama and Hillary finally get involved...to actively inject Socialist / Sharia govts in the Middle East
fpete13527 (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 12:52PM EST (link)….and Obama empowers the Mulsim Brotherhood who is fueling the speed of the Socialist / Sharia takeover.
You will note that the the useful idiot leftist news media, and the “no labels” types” useful idiot news media are rigorously denying ANY possibility that this is being fueled by radical Islam groups (IE the Muslim Brotherhood.”)
And so far in the Republican Congress there are MAYBE only one or two that agree with or understand this and the rest are afraid to take a stand.
Obama’s actions here and in ALL his foreign policy have been a disgrace.
Radical Islam knows that they have strong friends in Obama and Hillary and they will take full advantage of this to inject fundamentalist Sharia Islam into as many Middle East countries as possible while their friends (Obama, Hillary) are in office.
Yes, and they won't stop with injecting it into the ME, fpete13527.
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 1:03PM EST (link)The push for sharia law in many aspects of American banking and jurisprudence is getting absolutely frightening.
meh
maurizio689 Sunday, January 30th at 5:50PM EST (link)n/t
Huckabees comments were disappointing
mine Monday, January 31st at 3:01PM EST (link)I agree. This does not feel like a democratic uprising at all. I remember the uprisings in China and Eastern Europe in the 90s. These feel contrived in comparison. I am sure the Islamists will be in charge over all of Africa at the end of this. I was very disappointed at Mike Huckabees comments on Geraldo at Large. He seemed very comfortable with what was going on in Egypt.
I would be disappointed
aesthete (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 3:04PM EST (link)if I didn’t already have low expectations for Huck’s postulations on foreign policy.
The act of defending any of the cardinal virtues has today all the exhilaration of a vice – G.K. Chesterton
Not unexpected
ohiohistorian (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 12:52PM EST (link)Remember that there were rumors of Louise Slaughter and Morris Hinchee meeting with the Kurds revolutionary people to try to get them to do the same thing to shut down the flow from Turkey through the Northern Iraq area of US aid.
Taken with the House statement on genocide in Turkey almost a century ago, it is apparent that the left in this country is trying for “democratic” revolution in numerous places. Unfortunately, their version of democracy is card-check, shutting down opposition with hate-speech rhetoric, and a socialist approach to guaranteeing “human rights” such as free food, free lodging, a “living wage” and free health care. Bush should have cleaned out the DOS after Clinton, but didn’t. And Powell was too much of a fellow-traveler to do so.
““Liberals tend to put the onus of your success on society and conservatives on you and your family.”
—Dennis Prager
Interesting, LUR, that the Left finds regime change
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 1:00PM EST (link)under their own direction perfectly acceptable, something to plan for, get allies for, raise money for, ask for every reasonable and freedom loving person to get on board and support. And they don’t hesitate to commit violence if they find someone in their way to stop them.
Yet, when our own former government did it in an open and aboveboard and lawful manner, the Left howled and screeched for years. I hope and pray that your piece here is sent to just a whole bunch of folks with are truly outraged by this and get the investigations moving fast. This is corruption at the highest levels. Thanks for writing it.
Be careful what you wish for, Lefties!
tenntom Sunday, January 30th at 1:06PM EST (link)Imagine the Left’s “surprise” when they find out the “grassroots movement” they helped take power turns out to be the bloodthirsty, totalitarian Religion of Peace (TM), Islam.
They will be dumbfounded when their champions of liberty start murdering Jews, Christians, homosexuals, pagans, members of non-approved mosques, and other infidels. Shocked! Shocked!
That is the way of Marxist Revolution... historically...
H (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 1:47PM EST (link)the vanguard of the revolution, the zealots and ideologues who skulked in the night and threw rocks during the day, are rounded up and shot, imprisoned, or enslaved. Can’t have such troublemakers around while you impose actual Marxist rule on the unwashed masses
And likewise, the Umma cannot tolerate Marxists
tenntom Sunday, January 30th at 2:08PM EST (link)Right you are. Marxists are, by definition, Infidels, since they are atheists or worshipers of the Marxist state. They must die or submit, as well, in an Islamic state.
Islam and Marxism are both totalitarian and collectivist in nature, and thus, competitors in the food chain. They will not co-exist any longer than it is convenient for both, any more than Marxism and Nazism did in Europe.
As soon as either side dominates and kills the other, it will begin to feed on itself and metastasize to the region and to the world.
They will be dumbfounded when their champions of liberty start murdering Jews, Christians, homosexuals, pagans, members of non-approved mosques, and other infidels
izoneguy (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 2:06PM EST (link)Start? That goes on everyday in Iran, Indonesia and other closed Muslim countries.
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
Start?
tenntom Sunday, January 30th at 2:37PM EST (link)No argument. That is their consistent pattern. My only point was that the lefties who are helping the Islamothugs take over as we watch will be shocked when the beheadings start. That’s why they call ‘em Useful Idiots!
The radical Islamists will end up in charge. This is because
Tbone (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 1:15PM EST (link)they are ruthless ideologues. They will kill any pro-democracy idealists in their way. It makes them efficient and ultimately victorious.
Egypt is headed towards Iran 2.0, just you wait and see.
Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.
Frances Fox Piven has lamented that the unemployed
usadying (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 1:22PM EST (link)have not banded together to demonstrate for change (ie. riot against the capitalist system). Is the flash mob being organized as we speak?
KABOOM 5^5
Deskpilot (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 1:33PM EST (link)Oh! the tangled webs that have been woven by these leftists.
Remind me again why my money or time doesn;t go to any of the supporters listed.
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can still read it in English, You’re Welcome
Deskpilot, AM(H)1 (AW), USN (Ret)
Join the RedState Strike Force
The future is rarely certain...
anotherindyfilmguy (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 1:38PM EST (link)Egypt could have a sudden and swift civil war that ends badly for the muslim brotherhood* or it could be that the riots/demonstrations go on for a while and fizzle** or it could be a new theology driven regime takes over… It’ll take time to develop either way.
*don’t underestimate the desire of the secular folks to not want to be owned by the clerics. Attaturk taught the middle east a lesson in how to deal with religious fanatics.
**people gotta get on with their lives/feed their families. If the riots shut down normal food distribution for to long don’t think the military/police folks or the families of the less committed rioters and non-rioters will let their families go hungry to satisfy the fanatics.
Santorum? Well, at least he’s not Romney…
http://www.zazzle.com/enemy_of_the_statist_tshirt-235977043035297478
They probably see this as a test run.
NickLevi86 (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 1:46PM EST (link)If protests are so effective in the ME, they’re probably dreaming of pulling the same stunt in support of Hope’nChange.
“Any love letter is incomplete without a Ronald Reagan quote”
–my sophomore year roommate
www.robbinsblog.wordpress.com
Stop All of You
tedpomeroy (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 1:48PM EST (link)What is happening in the MidEast right now are nothing but frustration over food prices.
This is a direct result of the actions of the Federal Reserve, the Ethanol debacle and our incompetent President.
We need to
1) Stop devaluing the USD.
2) Roll back the ethanol in gasoline to 10%. (then 5% then 0)
3) Get this economy growing in excess of 5%!
Tedpomeroy
izoneguy (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 2:09PM EST (link)WTF????
That is about the dumbest reasoning I have ever heard.
The Muslim Brotherhood is behind this.
They are testing Obama and I am afraid Obama will fail.
Obama has no interest in growing the America economy.
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
So, izone, you don't think the Egyptians are upset that we've devalue the USD?
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 2:29PM EST (link)Nah, me neither. Plus, I’m REALLY positive that they don’t give a fig what rate the US economy is growing at. And I’d be gobsmacked if they were willing to go up against thugs in the street or their own military on behalf of the percentage of ethanol in our gasoline.
I’m glad you challenged this guy. The first time I read his remark, I thought I was in bizarro land. Second time, too.
not the first time that commodity inflation has
dsmurf (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 4:13PM EST (link)shown up, plus
BBC had some stories earlier this week about the unemployment being so bad that there were several self immolations, one was educated in computer science, started selling vegetables at a local market to support his family of 8 kids. His license was taken away. What was the man to do?
The rest of the world is very concerned about food inflationg and inflation in general, hence Australia, China have raised rates, and the ECB has warned on it as well. The only people who don’t see inflation are the people at our own Fed. Anyone who shops for groceries can say that there is food inflation, Intermarket texts show clearly the relationship between a weak USD and commodity strength, so it seems a stretch that inflation due to ethanol here would show up there, and everywhere? Consider, Russia banned wheat exports this year due to a shortage of wheat. Was the wheat shortage due to Ammericans planting more corn than wheat for their ethanol payouts? Your guess is as good as mine, but it may be likely that corn pays more than wheat and there is the W mandate, thanks to the Big Corn lobby, the Big Green lobby that begged for the renewable energy mandate that will use the whole current corn crop by 2022.
From the BBC from around the Jan 25th.
“Egypt has many of the same social and political problems that brought about the unrest in Tunisia – rising food prices, high unemployment and anger at eofficial corruption.”
Call me stupid if you want, I will call you illiterate in financial markets and in the basic laws that have passed recently, especially the ethanol mandate of 2007.
then there is this wikipedia food vs fuel
dsmurf (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 4:22PM EST (link)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_vs._fuel
I never denied the truth of the guy's statements.
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 5:08PM EST (link)I just don’t think that is why Tunisia and Egypt and other countries are doing what they are doing. Did you even bother to read the piece that all of us are commenting on here? It has to do with the involvement of unions, corporations, and our own government.
So, yeah, you could be called stupid for deciding to school me on facts I didn’t dispute, only their inappropriate usage in these circumstances.
I don't dispute any of the above, just a mistake
dsmurf (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 6:38PM EST (link)to discount the role of higher inflation as catalysts in third world countries, so all us financial markets watchers-leading to the above “bizarro conclusion”- are going to sound bizarre when we point to a weak USD as an issue world wide.
it sure is enlightening to see something as subversive to other governments as this, especially when the main alternative are Islamists groups, like the Tunisians have just welcomed back a leading exiled, Islamist- Or something like
this editorial http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/561401/201101281856/Fright-Of-Egypt.htm
from Jan 28 saying that an Egyptian paper says that Obama met secretly with the Muslim Brotherhood, an ally of Hamas, in Washington in 2009. If the link doesn’t connect, then going directly to Investors.com> IBDeditorials>”Will Obama lose Egypt?”( It will be good until replaced by the 31st’s editorials.)
I’m not calling you or your like minded buddy stupid, just illiterate in financial markets and the role that inflation may be playing. Illiteracy can be resolved.
The underlying causal factors...
LaborUnionReport (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 7:22PM EST (link)being economic squalor and authoritarian rule are indeed factors.
The intent of this post literally started due to a couple of articles talking about how unions were instrumental in the Tunisian uprising. However, as one source led to another source, etc., it became more clear that this is more than a popular uprising over economics…there was “some help” involved.
The post is about that “help” and the forces behind it.
In that regard, I’ll leave the financial watching to you financial watchers.
BTW: You’ll also note that, in the post, no position was taken as to whether the ‘uprisings’ in either Tunisia or Egypt are right or wrong. However, there is a question as to whether there should be a private and public-sector partnership engaging in fomenting or encouraging the overthrow of governments.
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine December 23, 1776
In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.-Ayn Rand
LaborUnionReport.com
The Most Comprehensive Source for
News & Views on Today’s Labor Unions.
Follow @laborunionrpt
WTF = Winning the Future...? nt.
LaborUnionReport (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 2:42PM EST (link)“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine December 23, 1776
In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.-Ayn Rand
LaborUnionReport.com
The Most Comprehensive Source for
News & Views on Today’s Labor Unions.
Follow @laborunionrpt
Is this a posibility
concap (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 4:30PM EST (link)Charles Payne on Fox 01/29/11
Riots in Egypt not based on poor against rich.
The riots in the mid east are fuelled by the poor’s inability to clime the ladder of success.
It’s just a grass roots movement that started in Tunisian set himself on fire.
He was a have-not trying to become a have on his own.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vU_2XRG2Vc
When the riots start here in the U.S., it will not be the haves against the have-nots,
It will boil down to the have-nots inability to climb the ladder of success and be a have, because of to many regulations and an over sized Government.
The left’s goal, is to keep the have-nots from having, unless it’s given to them, as opposed to them earning it on their own.
The Tea Party movements main goal should be to reinstate a Government that will advocate a means by which the have-nots can start climbing the ladder of success once again.
Just a thought. Not sure if correct.
The Constitution is neither Right or Left, it is American.
You need neither be Right or Left to vote American.
When you vote on the Federal level based on politics, you are voting for a lobbyist to promote your own personal wants and force them on others through taxation and legislation.
FF/FS/SL/RMIL/OK
Fiscal Federal/Fiscal State/Social Local/Retired Military/Oath Keeper
555 - nt
Mike gamecock DeVine (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 5:04PM EST (link)Mike DeVine’s Examiner.com, Charlotte Observer and The Minority Report columns
“One man with courage makes a majority.” – Andrew Jackson
As in Egypt, there is history behind the Tunisian uprising...
LaborUnionReport (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 5:08PM EST (link)http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Tunisia+uprising+years+making/4177359/story.html
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine December 23, 1776
In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.-Ayn Rand
LaborUnionReport.com
The Most Comprehensive Source for
News & Views on Today’s Labor Unions.
Follow @laborunionrpt
Impeach
E Pluribus Unum (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 2:33PM EST (link)That won’t stop what is going on, and I do nor propose it for that purpose. I propose it because the elected POTUS is engaging in conduct that represents severe misbehavior (aka “misdemeanors”) that is both unfitting and directly opposed to the charter of the United States.
Kill the Terrorists
Protect the Borders
Punch the Hippies h/t IMAO
It is by DELIBERATE design,
heartlander (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 11:17PM EST (link)Obama is ACTIVELY trying to, in the words of his sponsor George Soros, “take down the United States.”
I fear this has all been planned for a very long time, especially given what we are finding out now about the role in the Egypt uprising of none other than Bill Ayers.
http://biggovernment.com/taylorking/2011/01/29/did-muslim-brotherhood-learn-day-of-rage-egypt-protest-tactics-from-obama-allies-bill-ayers-and-code-pink/
“The still, small voice of God in every human soul is the greatest ally of the pro-life cause, and why it will ultimately prevail.”
–Donald R. McClarey
Do you know about the Red-Black Alliance?
proudmarinemom (Diary) Tuesday, February 1st at 12:30AM EST (link)Look again, if you can stand it, at the photos of the Obama family on the night of his electoral acceptance speech. What message do you think was being sent to the Communist-Islamist revolutionaries by something so innocuous as the new First Family’s style of dress? These people are all about symbolism and not-so-subtle innuendo.
I felt a chill when I saw Mrs. O and the kiddies trotting out in their Mao-inspired, Che-chic evening-vare. Really creepy.
whatever the reasons may be.....
macbookben Sunday, January 30th at 2:38PM EST (link)in Egypt, there’s going to be a domino effect in the entire ME region. And then the Arab peoples will unite behind their most organized leader (Iran?) after the major states are left in crumbles. Maybe they can scapegoat Israel to help pull this off. Iran will emerge as the leader of the effort to bring about a massive conflict involving the remnants of these states who will band together to destroy Israel. Given Obama’s historical apathy towards Israel, I wouldn’t count on him giving any reassurances to Netanyahu that America will stand by him and their people
The assurances must come from conservative leaders in the US..
bobmontgomery (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 3:02PM EST (link)…and they must come soon. This includes Senators, new or old. They must ignore any complaints by Obama that foreign policy is his territory. In fact, they should very strongly hint, even *suggest* that Obama is a flake and doesn’t know what he’s doing and that once he is gone the Mid East will be cleaned up. A strong statement now about what is coming will do one of two things: It will either speed up this Islamic revolution that is taking place and *force* this administration to exhibit some sort of resistance, or it will send a signal to those doing it that we know who you are and we will be coming for you, making them perhaps a little less bold and the task post 2012 a little less messy.
If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
George Washington
how 'bout...
macbookben Sunday, January 30th at 7:04PM EST (link)…Joe Lieberman. He’s always stood alongside conservatives (for the most part) on ME issues; could easily beat up on the press who wish to ‘protect’ Obama; plus he’s retiring and needs to work on that legacy of good works (and possibly atone for his political transgressions) before the end of term.
Lieberman effectively took himself out of the picture...
rbdwiggins (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 8:34PM EST (link)Sen. Lieberman term-limited himself, and he won’t be around long enough to help repair the damage caused by the ongoing failure of the Obama Doctrine.
He may have some credibility left with the American press, but in the Arab world, he’s likely to be seen as siding with Israel as opposed to siding with the Egyptian people.
Which really isn’t fair. Because in this case, both Israel and the Egyptian people are on the side of freedom.
“Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn’t so.” – Ronald Reagan
Which really isn’t fair. Because in this case, both Israel and the Egyptian people are on the side of freedom.
bobmontgomery (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 8:57PM EST (link)good point. As are the Iranian people. As are the Iraqi people. As are the Lebanese people. Anybody who has ever had a taste of it is on it’s side
If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
George Washington
I wouldn't be so sure
JSobieski (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 9:11PM EST (link)HAMAS ring a bell?
My rules of the road for primary season.
Rule #1: Vote for YOUR first choice in the primaries
Rule #2: Vote for the R in the general.
Rule #3: Don’t let anyone convince you to violate Rule #1 or Rule #2
Rule #4: When in a center-right argument, reaffirm Rules #1-#3–it will help us all to get along better.
Rule #5: If you are using the language of the left, you probably aren’t furthering conservativism
Rule #6: The priority is issues first, candidates second, and supporters third. Nobody is bigger than the issues. Conversely, if you spend your time focusing on supporters, you are wasting everyone’s time.
STOP THE MADNESS!
A reduction in the rate of spending increases is NOT a cut!
In-state tuition for illegals is NOT amnesty!
Requiring someone to pay their medical bills is NOT an individual mandate!
Reducing tax rates is NOT a tax increase!
That's what happens when the law of unintended consequences rears its ugly head...
rbdwiggins (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 10:10PM EST (link)The “moderate” factions cancel each other out, and the radicals prevail.
“Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn’t so.” – Ronald Reagan
The communists were a minority in the 1917 Russian Revolution
JSobieski (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 12:05AM EST (link)But they were well organized, and the most brutal. Very analogous to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The idea that people with no background in Western culture are really capable of kicking off a democracy is utopian.
Rule of law first.
Minority rights second.
Ballot box third.
Otherwise, you end up with one vote one election one time.
My rules of the road for primary season.
Rule #1: Vote for YOUR first choice in the primaries
Rule #2: Vote for the R in the general.
Rule #3: Don’t let anyone convince you to violate Rule #1 or Rule #2
Rule #4: When in a center-right argument, reaffirm Rules #1-#3–it will help us all to get along better.
Rule #5: If you are using the language of the left, you probably aren’t furthering conservativism
Rule #6: The priority is issues first, candidates second, and supporters third. Nobody is bigger than the issues. Conversely, if you spend your time focusing on supporters, you are wasting everyone’s time.
STOP THE MADNESS!
A reduction in the rate of spending increases is NOT a cut!
In-state tuition for illegals is NOT amnesty!
Requiring someone to pay their medical bills is NOT an individual mandate!
Reducing tax rates is NOT a tax increase!
5555 JSobieski
heartlander (Diary) Tuesday, February 1st at 1:15AM EST (link)“The still, small voice of God in every human soul is the greatest ally of the pro-life cause, and why it will ultimately prevail.”
–Donald R. McClarey
Iran is Shia and Persian, most of the ME is Sunni and Arab --- nobody is going to follow Iran
JSobieski (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 7:59PM EST (link)however, in that scenario, some country out there would become worse than Iran. Maybe get them to fight each other?
My rules of the road for primary season.
Rule #1: Vote for YOUR first choice in the primaries
Rule #2: Vote for the R in the general.
Rule #3: Don’t let anyone convince you to violate Rule #1 or Rule #2
Rule #4: When in a center-right argument, reaffirm Rules #1-#3–it will help us all to get along better.
Rule #5: If you are using the language of the left, you probably aren’t furthering conservativism
Rule #6: The priority is issues first, candidates second, and supporters third. Nobody is bigger than the issues. Conversely, if you spend your time focusing on supporters, you are wasting everyone’s time.
STOP THE MADNESS!
A reduction in the rate of spending increases is NOT a cut!
In-state tuition for illegals is NOT amnesty!
Requiring someone to pay their medical bills is NOT an individual mandate!
Reducing tax rates is NOT a tax increase!
Understand that the Persians are NOT Arabs. So,
davesinsanantonio (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 7:00AM EST (link)Arab Muslims will not unite behind Iran. In addition, there is that Shiite/Sunni thing. While some may took to Iran for leadership, others will be looking for ways to thwart them.
This is not to say that the Middle East will not be a mess, or that the results will be beneficial. There will be chaos, terrorism, and just plain stupidity enough to keep the region in turmoil for decades or longer.
As a country we need to determine our own vital interests in the region and work for those, ignoring any short term situations that do not impact on our long term interests.
We will not be able to accomplish this with the ideological children in the current administration.
Make no mistake
mspector (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 8:39AM EST (link)Shiite/Sunni, Shia/Arab, yes these distinctions mean something. But don’t think for a minute that a fundamentalist Islamic government in Egypt would not ally with Iran in a military campaign to destroy Israel. They would be happy to put off settling their differences until later … if ever.
“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” (Thomas Paine)
“A friend of mine was asked to a costume ball a short time ago. He slapped some egg on his face and went as a liberal economist.” (Ronald Reagan)
dave, you are right, we should determine our vital interests in the region
heartlander (Diary) Tuesday, February 1st at 1:18AM EST (link)Problem is, the POTUS does NOT WANT to advance American interests in the region. He’s on THE OTHER SIDE.
This is why we’re in such a weird place. We’ve had bad presidents before — but never one who was installed with the specific purpose of destroying the Republic. We’re in a pretty pickle.
“The still, small voice of God in every human soul is the greatest ally of the pro-life cause, and why it will ultimately prevail.”
–Donald R. McClarey
Egypt is a dry run for the Radical left revolution here in the US
johnnyd (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 3:02PM EST (link)Why do you think Van Jones has been going all over America “speaking” and “organizing” the bottom up revolution? Van Jones said that is all that is left to start the “revolution” the bottom up riots so Obama can bring the top down “military” and force martial law on the land.
Please do not dismiss this. I did until the facts kept adding up.
It will happen before the 2012 elections, if not this summer. Obama and the left will not give up the power that they have now. Never have so many come out against America/capitalism than we have now. They will not go down quietly.
Stock up on food and supplies everyone, we are in for a rough ride. I gave up on the GOP jumping in to save the day since there is NO SENSE OF URGENCY on the part of the House. Our system was designed to be a long drawn out process that the last few presidents have shredded. But Boehner needs to act quickly.
I agree.
usadying (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 3:30PM EST (link)It was so bizarre for Obama to urge Muburak to re-instate the internet and social networking. He would not do that unless he was one of the organizers in chief. Thank you for the research, LUR. We have another dot connected.
Look closely
barbara125 Monday, January 31st at 8:50AM EST (link)at the photos of the support demonstrations here in the States. You will see the yellow pre printed signs supplied by A.N.S.W.E.R. I will leave it up to you to do some research on that communist/socialist organization and decide if it is a good thing to have them in the streets advocating for government overthrow.
A.N.S.W.E.R. is the worst of the worst
heartlander (Diary) Tuesday, February 1st at 1:20AM EST (link)Stalinist North Korea-supporting offshoot of the Workers World Party, a nasty bunch. And they’re anti-Semitic as all get-out.
“The still, small voice of God in every human soul is the greatest ally of the pro-life cause, and why it will ultimately prevail.”
–Donald R. McClarey
The very fact that there ARE support demonstrations -- on such short notice -- is a red flag
heartlander (Diary) Tuesday, February 1st at 1:21AM EST (link)The international coordination of this whole thing is terrifying.
“The still, small voice of God in every human soul is the greatest ally of the pro-life cause, and why it will ultimately prevail.”
–Donald R. McClarey
This is probaly the only spot that I've found
throwback59 Sunday, January 30th at 3:09PM EST (link)where people aren’t insane on Egypt. Everywhere else the revolution is being cheered on. No one seems to realize the consequences to American national interest if Mubarak falls.
We have a history of forcing out pro-American leaders who end up being replaced by individuals & govts. far worse. We pushed out Ian Smith in Rhodesia and got the Marxist tyrant Mugabe, got rid of the White Govt. in S. Africa and now that nation is the murder/rape/AIDS capitol of the world. And don’t forget Iran where Carter turned his back on the Shah and we got the so-called islamic Republic.
How a govt. treats its people must always take 2nd place to how it treats the US.
It's hard to justify dictatorship, the idea that some are allowed to ride on the backs of others
Spiral (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 5:20PM EST (link)Thomas Jefferson wrote about how dictatorship (in his day it was called Monarchy) contradicted human nature. He wrote that human beings were all endowed with inalienable rights. If one accepts that Jeffersonian concept, justifying dictatorship is an impossibility.
The Obama Bread Lines
Having someone ride on your back if preferable
throwback59 Sunday, January 30th at 6:54PM EST (link)to having a bullet in the back, which is what usually happens when we force out these admittedly imperfect strong men. The fix is often worse than the problem.
A recent survey in Egypt showed that 80% of people surveyed supported stoning for adultry. Democracy and Third World peoples aren’t always the best mix.
With apologies to Jefferson, Democracy is not imbred in human nature. Post WW1 Germans hated it and eagerly embraced Hitler. It had to be taught to them after WWll, same with the Japanese. Ditto the Iraqis.
In the meantime, the only pertinent question is “Who best serves American interests?”
Re: Having someone ride on your back preferable
Spiral (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 7:12PM EST (link)It’s hard to see how the people of Egypt would be willing to go along with this arrangement.
Would you be willing to give up all of your human rights, including your right to freedom of speech, in order to serve the interests of people in another country?
We can’t be too surprised when the people of a country begin to question the right of a dictator to rule over them with impunity.
While we might want to install a dictator in Egypt who would serve American interests, you can be darn sure that any “leader” viewed by the people of Egypt as an American-backed puppet isn’t going to last long.
If the Soviet Union couldn’t keep dictatorship in place in Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe, you know that the United States will be incapble of keeping dictatorship in place in Egypt.
The Obama Bread Lines
German opposition to representative government prooved to be temporary
Spiral (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 7:40PM EST (link)Once the Germans found out the extremely high costs of having a dictatorship, which included perpetual war with other nations and extreme economic hardship, they found that representative democracy was a better alternative.
That’s why most people take for granted that today’s Germany is governed in a representative, consensual manner, not in the manner of Hitler.
There are lots of other examples too. For many years the nation of Spain was the odd country out in Western Europe under General Franco. Many analysts believed that Spain was not capable of having a representative government. But when Franco died the transition to representative government was smooth. Today, again, most people could not imagine Spain not having a representative government, nor could most people imagine a dictatorship governing a Western European country.
The reason for this is that it is nearly impossible to justify dictatorship, but justifying representative government is fairly straight-forward.
The Obama Bread Lines
You cannot compare someone used to living in
throwback59 Sunday, January 30th at 10:02PM EST (link)a democracy with someone who has never experienced it. The Egyptians haven’t given up rights since they don’t have any. Don’t get me wrong, when the dictator is a communist like Ceausescu or Kim, I’m all for a people’s revolution.
The Germans opposition to Rep. Govt. wasn’t temporary, they never experienced it before 1919. They suffered perpetual war and economic hardship before WWll and still embraced authorian control. Democracy literary had to be forced down their throats by the West. And there are still people there today who wish for “the good old days.”
Regarding Spain: Franco was a staunch anti-communist who if not an actual ally, made common cause with the US. The current govt. is weak, soft on terrorism, an an unreliable ally at best with a socialist govt. And the Falange sure as hell would not have legalized abortion.
There are reports today that terrorists who were expelled from Tunisia are entering the country again in the absence of strong central control. Let’s see how much better theTunisian people are in 6 months.
It depends, Spiral
aesthete (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 11:17PM EST (link)The one redeeming quality that an autocracy has is that there is no question that government is separate from, and stands in opposition to, society and the individual. This is in some ways better than pure majoritarian government, as decisions made by a dictator are not seen as legitimate in the way that decisions made through democratic fiat are. Stable freedom must develop organically and within a civilization that already has some level of development; England may have been inclined towards freedom from the Dark Ages onwards (judging by English common law), but this freedom could only be realized after various advances were made among the populace itself, and within the context of a stalemate between unpopular sovereigns (namely, the barons and the kings).
While I believe that all people have the general inclination and ability to create and maintain Jeffersonian democracies, not all people will do so. In third-world countries in particular, democracy can be more problematic than dictatorship, as it legitimizes results that would otherwise be seen as ghastly, poorly thought-out, or poorly implemented. Low expectations for autocrats, and a general dislike for the institution, makes it easier for the denizens of a nation to correct the mistakes of the autocrat after they advance to being able to support their own democracy. Countries with traditions of corruption are particularly prone to remaining victims of democracy: high expectations for democracy and its purported ability to bring prosperity are shattered by corruption and other factors that are a fact of life in Third World nations.
Post-colonization has been a miserable failure, largely because the citizenry was unable to protect the institution of democracy, which is a high-maintenance project indeed! I don’t know what factors, exactly, make for a stable, liberal democracy (though basic morality/ethics, a commitment to liberty and fair play, and basic education seem to play a role), but I don’t think that what Egypt has at the moment is it: while the recipe for Egyptian democracy is extant, the ingredients are not quite right (particularly given its flirtations with radical Islamists).
The act of defending any of the cardinal virtues has today all the exhilaration of a vice – G.K. Chesterton
The problem with democracy has always been the tendency toward
davesinsanantonio (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 7:13AM EST (link)mob rule. It is what the founders feared most. That is why they created a republic with redundant checks and balances in a federal system.
Islam seems to tend also toward mob rule as directed by their imams and ayatollahs. It is also a communist practice directed by their party leaders as in the case of the Great Leap Backward and the Cultural Revolution’s attacks on all thing “Chinese”.
So, the Left will work with the Egyptians until the Muslim Brotherhood decides it is time to go it alone, and then the Left will be slaughtered in the name of peace.
does obama's
sta46 Sunday, January 30th at 3:19PM EST (link)potential involvement in this constitute an impeachable offense? to me, this is a whole lot worse than Clinton/Lewinski.
There are actually dozens of impeachable offenses so far
heartlander (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 11:28PM EST (link)See, for examples:
“50 Impeachable Crimes and Counting”
and of course, David Limbaugh wrote a whole book about it:
Crimes Against Liberty: An Indictment of President Barack Obama
“The still, small voice of God in every human soul is the greatest ally of the pro-life cause, and why it will ultimately prevail.”
–Donald R. McClarey
Funny how Obama is calling for the Internet to be turned back on
Michael Dugas (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 3:48PM EST (link)while at home here in the states he’s working to create an “off” switch under his control so he can shut us down when he feels the need.
Typical lefty BS.
Intro to Federalist Papers; section 5;
paragraph 4.
“…dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the zeal for a firm and efficient government.”
Remember: A Citizen on the dole is a Liberal Vote at the Polls.
END ENTITLEMENTS!
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum !
Your right
concap (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 3:57PM EST (link)You know if the sh#t hit the fan here, he would be the first to hit the button.
The Constitution is neither Right or Left, it is American.
You need neither be Right or Left to vote American.
When you vote on the Federal level based on politics, you are voting for a lobbyist to promote your own personal wants and force them on others through taxation and legislation.
FF/FS/SL/RMIL/OK
Fiscal Federal/Fiscal State/Social Local/Retired Military/Oath Keeper
Yes, Michael, because it serves a different purpose.
janis (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 4:01PM EST (link)Over there, he wants the Left to hear him and others urge them on. Here, he wants to hit that kill switch to make sure no one on our side can communicate. It’s going to take more than that to shut us down.
Goes without saying Janis
Michael Dugas (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 8:08PM EST (link)Here at Redstate we understand that it’s all about controlling the message that gets out there. Here in the USA the fact that he CAN’T
“dictate” what gets out to the people chaps his extremely thin hide. While with Egypt he is hoping to provide a little first aid to his image
and prove to the world he isn’t as inept as he really is.
Intro to Federalist Papers; section 5;
paragraph 4.
“…dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the zeal for a firm and efficient government.”
Remember: A Citizen on the dole is a Liberal Vote at the Polls.
END ENTITLEMENTS!
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum !
"Workers of the world unite!"
bjwilson83 (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 4:00PM EST (link)Hmm, where have we heard that before. Is it really any surprise Obama would be supportive?
As much as it pains me to defend
runner12 (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 4:04PM EST (link)Obummer and his administration, I think it is quite a stretch to attribute the escalation in Egypt on Obama. If we are not careful, we will sound as ridiculous as the Left did when they blamed Bush for everything and anything.
I take another view of this. I think this is the last thing Obama wanted. He does not like anything that “distracts” him from his domestic agenda ( his response to the BP oil spill is a perfect example of this). That is why we saw such mixed messages initially. HIs administration was so unprepared and they looked incompetent in the outset. Right now they are doing the only thing they can do, which is ride the fence. Time will tell if they handle this thing in the right way.
You're misreading this...
LaborUnionReport (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 4:56PM EST (link)This isn’t the administration alone…
You might have missed this:
It is a “popular” uprising that has its seeds sewn discontent in the rulers of those countries (Tunisia and Egypt so far), but the “uprising” (or revolutions, if you will) appear to have been nurtured by a public private-sector partnership.
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine December 23, 1776
In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.-Ayn Rand
LaborUnionReport.com
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News & Views on Today’s Labor Unions.
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LUR- Public and private
Scope (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 5:49PM EST (link)are surely at play. What would you call private? I call it all of the groups/organizations that are driving the Obama presidency. You cannot say Left without including George Soros.
Beck has done tremendous work in exposing George Soros, and who and what he is. Beck has played video and audio, of Soros in his own words, saying that it was “fun” overthrowing regimes and government. His own statement, in his own words on video-
“When you try to let’s see, improve society you affect different people and different interests differently and they are not actually commensurate. So you very often have all kinds of unintended adverse consequences. So I had to experiment. And it was a learning process. The first part was subversive regimens. That was a lot of fun and that’s what actually got me hooked on this whole enterprise. Seeing what worked in one country, trying it in another country. It was kind of what developed a matrix in fact we had, national foundations, and then we had certain specialized activities.”
Soros is accredited with the “Velvet Revolution” in the Czech Republic, the “Rose Revolution” in Georgia, and the “Orange Revolution” in the Ukraine. The current revolution in Tunesia and Egypt have his fingerprints all over it.
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/47910/
In trying to discredit Beck’s expose on Soros, a NYT author actually makes the role of Soros in the push for “democracy” front and center.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/glenn-beck-sees-george-soros-as-iran-does/
This is just a very interesting article, from aljazeerah, from a supposed British journalist, Yvonne Ridley. Hmmm, doesn’t sound like much of a muslim name to me. She is the European President of the International Muslim Women’s Union. You know many muslim women in muslim countries that are allowed to work, or own property? She talks about “freedom and liberty” for the muslims. You see anything wrong with that? I do. Her hate of America is pronounced.
http://www.aljazeerah.info/opinion Editorials/2011/january/160/
Scope, in this instant case, I'm referring to...
LaborUnionReport (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 6:34PM EST (link)Movements.org…
Do we want private corporations (whether from the Right or the Left) sponsoring regime change?
I know Hearst did it and, as well, others…
However, this is pretty blatant, as in: Hey! We’ve got this really cool gadget and if you use it right (and with the help of our government), you can overthrow your government!
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine December 23, 1776
In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.-Ayn Rand
LaborUnionReport.com
The Most Comprehensive Source for
News & Views on Today’s Labor Unions.
Follow @laborunionrpt
Yes but LUR, could the Unions really be doing what they are
Michael Dugas (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 8:11PM EST (link)without the tacit support of this administration? Unions could be prevented from assisting in the destabilization of foreign governments
if our government wanted too.
Intro to Federalist Papers; section 5;
paragraph 4.
“…dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the zeal for a firm and efficient government.”
Remember: A Citizen on the dole is a Liberal Vote at the Polls.
END ENTITLEMENTS!
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum !
Depends on who is in control of whom... nt.
LaborUnionReport (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 8:18PM EST (link)“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine December 23, 1776
In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.-Ayn Rand
LaborUnionReport.com
The Most Comprehensive Source for
News & Views on Today’s Labor Unions.
Follow @laborunionrpt
I am sure that they are trying to stick
runner12 (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 10:57PM EST (link)their finger in this pie and use people to achieve their goals. My point is that there are people in Egypt who truly want freedom. Some of them Christians, who are angry at Mubarak for looking the other way when their churches were burned. It is a complicated situation.
What we have here is a dictator who repressed his people and kept many of them poor and uneducated. Now that there is revolt, you have many different groups trying to use it to gain power, including the unions, the Marxists, and the MB. My prayer and hope is that they are unsuccessful and that somehow a true civil and democratic government can thrive and flourish there. But the Egyptian people must fight for this because they have some vultures waiting in the wings to devour their country.
Dictatorships always have a "legitimacy problem." Why should the people accept the dictator's rule, as in Egypt?
Spiral (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 5:17PM EST (link)It’s not hard for a dictatorship to lose legitimacy. It’s hard for a dictator to present to the people a rationalization as to why the dictator should have absolute power and why the people should have no power.
Many Middle Eastern dictatorships use Islamic religion as a justification for their autocratic rule. But even that represents a weak justification for rule.
People might obey the dictator’s commands based on fear of being killed by the regime or having ones family members killed by the regime. Still, the dictator must rely on his henchmen, his secret police, his security forces to obey him and carry out his commands if the dictator is to make his fear-based regime credible.
This is where the dictatorship of Egypt seems to be near death. It appears that even the people with the duty to enforce the dictator’s commands are no longer willing to obey.
Representative government has proceeded gradually around the world. For years observers thought that Spain would always have a dictator like General Franco. But when Franco died there was a smooth transition to representative government. In Egypt the transition will not be smooth. Nor is the result guaranteed to be representative government. The result could be another dictatorship.
The Obama Bread Lines
Most Islamic country's replace one dictator with another
Michael Dugas (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 8:56PM EST (link)We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. I expect that no matter what government replaces Mubaraks it will still be mostly Islamic and a democracy in name only. It will be anti American and anti Israeli
and won’t be a positive for us.
Intro to Federalist Papers; section 5;
paragraph 4.
“…dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the zeal for a firm and efficient government.”
Remember: A Citizen on the dole is a Liberal Vote at the Polls.
END ENTITLEMENTS!
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum !
If the obama admin. says that
dwintnf (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 4:16PM EST (link)they have been planning this uprising for three years it means that ‘bush’ must have started it.
I hope ‘bush’ gets some credit…
Do you really know your family, friends and neighbors ?
Kenny Solomon (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 4:39PM EST (link)After reading this fantastic diary by L.U.R., I’d got to thinkin’ a spell – Yes I know, that’s a very dangerous thing for me to do.
Wanting to have something ‘real’ to say as opposed to some sort of simple ‘reaction commentary’, I backed off a bit and started watching the golf tournament on TV.
After figuring out where I wanted to take my commentary, I saw that Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit linked this outstanding diary on his site.
That’s when the thoughts really solidified. This commentary is at my forum, Jim’s place and now here. I was considering not putting this here at all. Then started to think about doing this as a separate diary, but would need to expand on this greatly and at the moment, I’m honestly not in the mood to become ‘edgy’.
Anyway……
Your Neighbors Are Looking To Overthrow The Tunisian, Egyptian & American Regimes.
Sounds pretty over the top, right ?
Well, there’s a few things to consider.
Give a look at this link at Jim Hoft’s place – Gateway Pundit.
His main posting title is : Marxists & Leftists Rally To Overthrow Tunisian, Egyptian & American Regimes.
Along with some video, photographs and a link to The ANSWER Coalition maniacs, there’s a link to [this main diary by L.U.R.].
These people are Anarchists, Communists, Socialists, ‘normal’ Muslims and worse…… Most of them are Americans just like your neighbor outside right now shoveling his walkway, washing her car, walking the family dog, etc.
At minimum, they want to take your Rights, imprison you for upholding freedom of the individual and even outright kill you because of your beliefs.
These are the folks who want the FEMA Camps to be real and opened long ago.
They’re backed by unions, corporations, private investors like Soros and the guy who owns Progressive Insurance. But worse, is their biggest public backer: The US State Department.
There’s a war coming and it’s going to make all of ‘em combined look like a water balloon fight at a day camp.
If you show this to your friends and neighbors, here’s what you’ll get from about half of ‘em: “It can’t happen here.”
It *can* happen here...
H (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 5:14PM EST (link)As a consevatively thinking person, I instinctively recoil from such thoughts, but as a former motorhead and as a seasoned engineer, it’s my professional opinion that all the wheels are on theur revolutionart go-cart, and the engine is bolted in place. With Obsma, they have their driver. All they need is the fuel, and they are ready to go.
Read Chesterton and Kenny
Scope (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 6:16PM EST (link)I agree with you both, it is only a matter of time. We have some posts right on this diary saying as much as “it can’t happen here”, which is exactly why it will happen here. There are some that believe that the Republicans are going to ride in on their big white horse, and save the day. They can’t and they won’t. It has grown to a degree that it is out of their control. McConnell mainly has allowed this administration to get the foothold in Congress, while they have also worked on the outside to accomplish their goals.I am thankful to LUR that he was brave/smart enough to post the “real story.” Go back to the wikileaks dump. Once someone is exposed, they have to step up the goals, before too many have a chance to figure it out. We are in for a world of hurt, sooner rather than later. This is not going to be pretty. Sorry, I’m scared crapless. As off the wall as this may sound, I got a chill up my spine when Mike Pence said he wouldn’t run for the Presidency, and, I thought alot about why. He knows that the Obamabots are willing to do everything they can to stay in power. I really don’t see any Republican, even if Ron Reagan was cloned, winning in 2012. Pence has a much better chance of shunning the feds on a state level, if there are states left to protect.
Read Chesterton, I've been surprised at some of the people...
heartlander (Diary) Tuesday, February 1st at 12:48AM EST (link)…who do think like you (and me). My father is an engineer, as hard-headed as they come, the ultimate pragmatist AND usually a git-r-done, can-do optimist. When I heard HIM coming up with the same assessment that I had — that Obama’s installation was planned for a long time by people who want to destroy this country — I was floored. Pragmatists and engineers and optimists aren’t supposed to think that way, right?
And yet — even the talk radio people shy away from coming right out and saying what’s going on, with the possible exception of Mark Levin. Glenn Beck is inhibited from getting into all the details about Islam because al-Aweed bin Talal owns too big of a chunk of Fox News.
Bill Ayers, that little snot, should have been hanged for treason a long time ago. Remember how he got acquitted? His rich daddy — ah, yes, one of those evil capitalists — hired a hot-shot lawyer who got Billyboy off on some technicality. Remember how the little snot sashayed out of the courthouse, grinning, and said, “Guilty as hell, free as a bird. What a country!”
“The still, small voice of God in every human soul is the greatest ally of the pro-life cause, and why it will ultimately prevail.”
–Donald R. McClarey
Bill Ayers
proudmarinemom (Diary) Tuesday, February 1st at 12:52AM EST (link)should be looking over his shoulder and avoiding dark alleys about now. Never in the history of the world has evil triumphed over good for very long. Evil’s time is running out.
Bill Ayers needs to be brought to justice
heartlander (Diary) Tuesday, February 1st at 2:29AM EST (link)I want investigations, I want a trial, I want the verdict of treason, which carries with it the punishment of the death penalty,
I want the American version of the Nuremberg Trials.
Ayers, Soros, Obama, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd — all of ‘em. For treason, and for crimes against humanity.
“The still, small voice of God in every human soul is the greatest ally of the pro-life cause, and why it will ultimately prevail.”
–Donald R. McClarey
Thanks for posting that link, Kenny...
LaborUnionReport (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 8:20PM EST (link)I didn’t look for the protests here in the states…
Sadly, it’s not surprising though.
We live in an astro-turf world…
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine December 23, 1776
In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.-Ayn Rand
LaborUnionReport.com
The Most Comprehensive Source for
News & Views on Today’s Labor Unions.
Follow @laborunionrpt
both oceanfaring canals
doncorleone Sunday, January 30th at 5:02PM EST (link)When carter abdicated control of the panama canal in ’77, and the joint agreement w/ panama was allowed to expire in ’99, c o s c o, (china overseas company) purchased the land in front of and the rear of the canal. With the other oceanfaring canal in dire jeopardy of falling under the control of a conglomerate of groups ranging from our state dept, the muslim brotherhood (which was behind the tunisian revolt, and one of their aims is to annul the camp david peace accords between israel and egypt), u.s. & international progressives and marxists, funded by left leaning corporations here in the states tied to soros. Wikileaks and the london telegragh, the b.b.c. are a few of the sources. Want to take a guess how long it takes gas to hit 10$ a gallon?
Wow. I didn't know about China/Panama Canal.
usadying (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 5:45PM EST (link)I did some more research to verify. This all sounds like the perfect storm. Could the left be so incredibly organized to have put all this together? Humans being what they are, I hate to sound like a conspiracist. But everything Obama has done in the last 2 years has put another nail in our economic coffin. He blathers about solar shingles and green energy, knowing full well we are still totally dependent on oil. China owns us, the Fed is operating the dollar printing press, the government has expanded to an unprecedented size, the govt/union coop gets stronger by the day, and the baby boomers have begun to collect Social Security and Medicare. We are going down…….
Wow. I didn't know about China/Panama Canal.
usadying (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 5:45PM EST (link)I did some more research to verify. This all sounds like the perfect storm. Could the left be so incredibly organized to have put all this together? Humans being what they are, I hate to sound like a conspiracist. But everything Obama has done in the last 2 years has put another nail in our economic coffin. He blathers about solar shingles and green energy, knowing full well we are still totally dependent on oil. China owns us, the Fed is operating the dollar printing press, the government has expanded to an unprecedented size, the govt/union coop gets stronger by the day, and the baby boomers have begun to collect Social Security and Medicare. We are going down…….
The linchpin is the duo of Bill Ayers and George Soros
heartlander (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 11:33PM EST (link)And yes, “going down” is their agenda. They’re nihilists, and they want to take the whole world down with them.
“The still, small voice of God in every human soul is the greatest ally of the pro-life cause, and why it will ultimately prevail.”
–Donald R. McClarey
No, I doubt o had the brains to organize a worldwide youth uprising
renny (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 6:35PM EST (link)he never finished a project in his life and never held a 9-5 job, and is likely completely flummoxed by events of the moment as he has bowed and embraced foreign Muslims despots as he has aspired to be one.
Also, the unions in Arab nations are not the same as Western unions, and may or may not be linked by any AFL-CIO-type organization or old-style communism.
Doubtless, the Middle East and many areas with highly educated young people and tyrannical regimes will be targeted by a tidal wave of discontent among the college-educated who may never be able to secure a job, let alone a career.
In Egypt, since Nasar, the nation has had universal education free though college, but after college, many have never had anywhere to go. Some have attached their futures to the tourist industry which has been Egypt mainstay, and which now will be in terrible jeopardy. Others once went to Afghanistan to fight the Russians, but that was long ago.
All the Arab states, and a Persian state like Iran, have very young populations, and with youth comes upheaval and desire for change. Look at the college students who once swarmed to little o, but who will not be there in 2012.
DC just has to be astute enough not to drive Egypt into the arms of al Qiada or the Taliban or the Muslim Brotherhood, which started there and makes noise but has been very oppressed and criminalized by Murbarak and predecessors, so that there is likely not a large population of Brotherhood around for seizing the gov’t.
But, the loss of Egypt and her wealth of culture and history to barbarians who would destroy her treasures and some have already tried in the Cairo Museum is maybe even worse than the lives that are in the balance now.
Agreed. Dictatorship is a tough sell, which is why dictators usually have to kill to stay in power
Spiral (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 7:21PM EST (link)You make some excellent points. Dictators maintain power by killing or threatening to kill anyone who threatens the dictator’s power. The dictator does not care about the interests of the population, but only cares about the survival of his regime. If keeping the nation in poverty is the price that must be paid to keep oneself in power, the dictator is willing to extract that price from the population over which he rules.
Eventually the people say, “Enough!” And some of the security forces, the people who are supposed to enforce the dictator’s commands, begin to disobey the dictator’s orders. That’s when the dictator’s house of cards begins to fall.
We saw how Eastern Europe rebelled against dictatorship in the late 1980s. It’s not surprising that the people of Egypt might think that their dictatorship is as fragile as those of Eastern Europe, since Egypt doesn’t have the Soviet Union backing up their dictator as did the dictator’s of Eastern Europe.
The Obama Bread Lines
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood eyes unity gov't without Mubarak
LaborUnionReport (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 7:28PM EST (link)So much for that theory…
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/egypt-s-muslim-brotherhood-eyes-unity-gov-t-without-mubarak-1.340168
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine December 23, 1776
In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.-Ayn Rand
LaborUnionReport.com
The Most Comprehensive Source for
News & Views on Today’s Labor Unions.
Follow @laborunionrpt
As if the reports regarding an ElBaradei-Muslim Brotherhood partnership weren't bad enough...
rbdwiggins (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 10:02PM EST (link)There’s this from Stratfor:
Red Alert: Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood
January 29, 2011
Bottom Up, Top Down… And, the law of unintended consequences.
“Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn’t so.” – Ronald Reagan
renny- I'm sorry for you
Scope (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 7:06PM EST (link)that you are so very naieve. Nothing else really needs to be said about your comment.
Need to keep up the pressure
maurizio689 Sunday, January 30th at 7:53PM EST (link)The conservative movement has been victimized for years by these buffoons, and we are entitled to see our vision of the ME play out! These Dims will see what their ‘diplomacy’ will get them.
Who's this "we", Maurizio689?
blooch Monday, January 31st at 12:34PM EST (link)Your one-note “”Victim” sonata grows tiresome. Play something else.
“Lieutenant Dike wasn’t a bad leader because he made bad decisions. He was a bad leader because he made no decisions.”
"We"are the ones
maurizio689 Monday, January 31st at 12:45PM EST (link)that see the Libs for what they are and no one will listen! The MSM has played us and played us and we need to get out the word that we are the victims of their malfeasance!
No sale, maurizio689
blooch Monday, January 31st at 1:39PM EST (link)http://aka-img-2.h-img.com/media/img/s/Z/Y/X/ZYX-3666803.jpg
“Lieutenant Dike wasn’t a bad leader because he made bad decisions. He was a bad leader because he made no decisions.”
We're all tough guys here
maurizio689 Tuesday, February 1st at 12:01PM EST (link)whatever the libtard MSM says about us.
Offer Prayer
pamela1631 (Diary) Sunday, January 30th at 9:13PM EST (link)Concentrated directed prayer that the rioting and violence stops.
That rational heads prevail in the creation of a democratic government for Egypt and other countries in turmoil in the Middle east.
Pray that freedom will be the outcome and the citizens of these countries not be subjected to 7th century barbarisms on a daily basis as control measures.
Just offer prayer for divine intervention, for if there is not intervention,
I think this almost 5 billion year old creation of God will be in a world of hurt and intense suffering for everyone.
This republic was not established by cowards; and cowards will not preserve it. ~~Elmer Davis
I am stone forged from the fires of creation into flesh ~~Pamela1631
The greatest civilization is one where all citizens are equally armed and can only be persuaded, never forced.~~Maj. L. Caudill, USMC (Ret.)
With the left leaning, muslim bowing regime ...
cam1 Monday, January 31st at 9:13AM EST (link)we have in Washington. It will be a miracle from God if Egypt isn’t taken over by radical muslims.
Another Iran, or...?
CJB68 Monday, January 31st at 9:50AM EST (link)When I started reading this article, I was thinking along the lines of Obama trying to outdo former President Carter, and presiding while a US ally got overthrown and replaced by a faction hostile to our interests. This is what happened in Iran.
Reading more into the article, what’s being said here reminded me once more of the warning that Glenn Beck has given us over the past couple or years, pointing out the union involvement in similar uprisings in Greece. These are dangerous times we’re experiencing right now. While most of us are struggling to make ends meet in the economic downturn (imposed by “progressive” policies and the consequences of social engineering presumably friendly to the unions), there is a part of our society which is being ginned up for similar riots here in the United States. What is happening in the streets of Tunis and Cairo could well start happening over here in those of Detroit, New York City, Philadelphia and DC.
I’m keeping an eye on the situation.
Delusional and Arrogant. The Modern Democratic Philosophy.
Do as I say, not as I do ...
chrisnj Monday, January 31st at 12:19PM EST (link)Obama’s calls for a despotic regime to restore Internet and cell phone service during a period of civil unrest might be seen as noble – EXCEPT for the Obama regime’s own ongoing efforts to enable HIM to shut down opposition, the Internet, and cell phone service at will in THIS country – by simply declaring a “national emergency”.
If Tea Party activists were gathered on the streets of most major cities on the scale that we see in Egypt, and were calling for Obama to “step down” – you can be sure that Obama would be waiting for the first rock to be thrown so he could send in some troops.
And lacking a TP rioter, he’d have the SEIU send in a provoceteur (or two) carrying a TP sign to start a scuffle.
As I Posted in TWT Earlier Today
myron_j_poltroonian Monday, January 31st at 3:51PM EST (link)And what do you think will happen to the internet here when BrObama declares martial law? “He”, most likely, will not call it that, but, access to the internet will be curtailed. All in the name of “Fairness” and/or “Security”, of course. I’m sorry if I either offend you, anger you, or, and most importantly, strike you as some sort of paranoid nut. The facts remain as they are. this “[im]Potentate Of the United States” (“[im]POTUS”) has missed almost no chance to diminish, demean, deny or dismiss America’s greatness, her history and the very foundations upon which she was built. His call during the campaign for “A civilian police force. Just as large, just as well funded [just as well armed?] as the military”, has already been realized in his healthcare law. It authorizes an armed “Enforcement Force”. To what purpose? “Compliance!” Pure and simple. To quote a dear friend of mine: “Paranoia is what they call perceptivity, before you’re proven right”.
Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood leader: "Obama must understand that the people have woken up and are ready to unseat the tyrant leaders who remained in power because of U.S. backing"
izoneguy (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 1:26PM EST (link)Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood leader: “Obama must understand that the people have woken up and are ready to unseat the tyrant leaders who remained in power because of U.S. backing”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/01/jordans-muslim-brotherhood-leader-obama-must-understand-that-the-people-have-woken-up-and-are-ready.html
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – The leader of Jordan’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood warned Saturday that unrest in Egypt will spread across the Mideast and Arabs will topple leaders allied with the United States.
Hammam Saeed’s comments were made at a protest outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman, inspired by massive rallies in neighboring Egypt demanding the downfall of the country’s longtime president, Hosni Mubarak.
About 100 members of the fundamentalist group and activists from other leftist organizations and trade unions chanted “Mubarak, step down” and “the decision is made, the people’s revolt will remain.” [...]
“The Americans and (President Barack) Obama must be losing sleep over the popular revolt in Egypt,” he said. “Now, Obama must understand that the people have woken up and are ready to unseat the tyrant leaders who remained in power because of U.S. backing.”
Saeed did not specifically name King Abdullah. But he said Jordan’s prime minister “must draw lessons from Tunisia and Egypt and must swiftly implement political reforms.”
“We tell the Americans ‘enough is enough’,” he said….
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
Speaking of American backed dictators
Scope (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 1:48PM EST (link)that the Muslim Brotherhood wants to replace, I’ve read that Rachid Ghannouchi, the deposed and exiled former leader of Tunisia, has returned to that country. He is reportedly a radical Islamic Immam, who is anti-American and backs Iran and the Mullahs. I don’t know if the American government, or the Muslim Brotherhood is backing him as becoming the leader once again or not. Baby Doc, the radical murderer, and former leader of Haiti, has returned to Haiti. Again, I don’t know if Clinton is backing his possible return to power. She and Obama backed Zelaya remaining in power in Honduras, even though he was removed legally according to their constitution, so anything is possible with the Hillbama dynamic duo.
Very interesting
mspector (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 3:42PM EST (link)So we have an internet-based group, very loosely defined, using its social links to foment “change” and “revolution” sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Very interesting.
“Revolution” denotes the overturn of the existing order, leaving a rubble. The real question is: what rises from the rubble? Typically that question is answered by the group with the clearest ideology, tightest organization and best weaponry. We can rest assured this will not be the twittering Facebook geeks.
“Change” implies changing from something into something else. What is that something else to be? Nobody is saying, and in all probability nobody really can say. and certainly will not say in the midst of crisis.
Is this duplicity? Is the Obama administration trying to use the social networks to accomplish “change” through the backdoor so we can come in and support the forces of “change” without seeming to be the ones who instigated it in the first place? If so, whom do they think they are going to fool?
“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” (Thomas Paine)
“A friend of mine was asked to a costume ball a short time ago. He slapped some egg on his face and went as a liberal economist.” (Ronald Reagan)
Upon Achieving One's "Majority" - Edited, Updated & Revised
myron_j_poltroonian Monday, January 31st at 3:44PM EST (link)Upon achieving my “Majority”, in 1962, I had three years of very valuable experience under my then comparatively short belt (a 28″ or 30″ one, as I remember. Yes, I was tall, skinny and “Ate like a horse”, according to mom). Experience I gathered, by the way, in voluntarily serving my country for three years, half in this country and half in West Germany. I went from Fort Ord, by Monterey, California to Fort Gordon near Augusta, Georgia, and got quite a lesson in how different race relations were in some parts of this country than those I grew up with in New England. Against a rich tapestry of cultural and historical significance a millennia old, I also got quite an education in how national politics were viewed in countries outside of America when, as both part of my job as P.I.O. Photographer for my helicopter battalion, as well as on my off duty time, I went out amongst the populace, taking pictures and, naturally, asking questions. Almost all of the WW II german veterans I spoke to were “On the Eastern Front” whether or not they really were was immaterial, that was their story, and they stuck to it. I also spoke to three youths (two were 17 and one was 18) who had recently escaped from Berlin just after the wall went up. Why did they do it? “Because the Russians treated the German people with disrespect”. (They had to kill four Russian soldiers, and one of their own was shot and killed during their escape.) But, they also thought Hitler wasn’t too bad because “He put people to work and instilled pride in the German people.”. So, upon my return to civilian life, I didn’t “Feel” disenfranchised one bit. (Except for the fact that while “underage” and stationed in California, I couldn’t legally drink off base.) However, I grew quite early to appreciate that wise bit o’ Twain’s wisdom: “When I was 18, I was ashamed of my father and how ignorant he was. By the time I turned 21, I was amazed at how much the old man had learned”. Just because you can create a life at 16 or 17, or even 18 or 19, that doesn’t mean your old enough to make a wise, mature and informed political decision. (Especially if, like me, all you’ve ever had is public schooling.)
Anyone else notice the Pepsi logo?
heartlander (Diary) Monday, January 31st at 11:31PM EST (link)I see that movement.org’s sponsors include the despicable Pepsi, the biggest corporate Obama-whore besides GE.
“The still, small voice of God in every human soul is the greatest ally of the pro-life cause, and why it will ultimately prevail.”
–Donald R. McClarey
Rachel Maddow just mentioned this post today.
barrypopik (Diary) Tuesday, February 1st at 1:26AM EST (link)Rachel Maddow mentioned this post on the air on Monday. See my MSNBC Watch.