An update here on the situation in Egypt.
Mubarak has resigned..
What does that mean for the people of Egypt?
Well the obvious part is that the protests and was successful. However the interesting part is how we in America are reacting to it. I am surprise toward the large negative reaction in comments and discussions about this.
The main mistake made is believing that this revolution will be similar to anything we have seen before. One popular example is Iran. Iran was a government that America drove to change. The switch of power was not organic but manufactured and as we see in history, those usually fail. Another example is the coups in South America, but again those coups were not by the people but by interested parties. No clear revolutionary is the cause of this. People claim this is a staged revolution refusing to believe that anyone can want freedom. Many Americans take freedom for granted and can't understand an outright revolution against the government.
Also people who think Obama shouldn't intervene miss the risks of this situation. If the American government gains a good name, as they tried to do by helping convince Mubarak to leave, then they may have leverage in case the Muslim Brotherhood (an overblown threat in my opinion) tries to gain power. We can only sit back and watch.
Good luck to the people of Egypt!
Have any fears or opinions? share them in the comments.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Our Crazy World: Mubarak's Promise
Mubarak has announced that he will not be running for another term and will sit out the rest of his current term. He promises to work for a peaceful transition of power and will not flee the country.
However this has not moved protester to calm down or to leave. For good reason, who knows what Mubarak has up his sleeve. We could assume that he wants peace in order to pull a fast one on the people of Egypt. They are saying they will not leave until he leaves.
As I talked in my earlier posts America has chosen the position to urge Mubarak to allow a peaceful transition of power. They have talked with him and are pushing for him to leave office. This reflects their fear of major intervention and of causing more problems by not interfering at the same time. This will hopefully resolve peacefully with Mubarak not doing anything outrageous.
I am siding with the people of Egypt. Mubarak must step down before they will leave. I would not trust someone who has already been shown to not have the best interest of the country in mind and who is willing to even shutdown the entire communication system of a country down in order to remain in control.
However this has not moved protester to calm down or to leave. For good reason, who knows what Mubarak has up his sleeve. We could assume that he wants peace in order to pull a fast one on the people of Egypt. They are saying they will not leave until he leaves.
As I talked in my earlier posts America has chosen the position to urge Mubarak to allow a peaceful transition of power. They have talked with him and are pushing for him to leave office. This reflects their fear of major intervention and of causing more problems by not interfering at the same time. This will hopefully resolve peacefully with Mubarak not doing anything outrageous.
I am siding with the people of Egypt. Mubarak must step down before they will leave. I would not trust someone who has already been shown to not have the best interest of the country in mind and who is willing to even shutdown the entire communication system of a country down in order to remain in control.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Our Crazy World: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood
New arrests during the protests are showing an appearance of a Muslim group called The Muslim Brotherhood. As i mentioned in my last post this is an immediate red flag. The Muslim Brotherhood wants to oust the old government and establish a new Muslim regime. New York Time's writer Bronner believes that this represents one of the most powerful political groups in Egypt.
While some may argue that the Muslim Brotherhood is a peaceful group this does not diminish the fact that a religious group such as them may go to cease power. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and allowing a Muslim group to take control is unacceptable as not only does this pose a threat to America but also this presents us with the more universal issue of separation of church and state.
Does this mean that the US needs to intervene? Maybe, but any intervention would need to be very carefully thought out. Aggressive actions could create another enemy for us on the other side of the world. Perhaps by allowing the ousting of the former government to happen but ensuring it's peaceful transition it the best. But at the same time whenever the us supports a foreign ousting it comes back to bite us.
Most importantly is the information of ties with Hamas which immediately end any possibility of this new Muslim group being peaceful. If neither party in Egypt backs down (current leadership and the protesters) extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood could have their opportunity to strike and establish themselves in the government and bring a more violent era to the history of Egypt and a large threat to United States and it's allies, namely Israel.
While some may argue that the Muslim Brotherhood is a peaceful group this does not diminish the fact that a religious group such as them may go to cease power. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and allowing a Muslim group to take control is unacceptable as not only does this pose a threat to America but also this presents us with the more universal issue of separation of church and state.
Does this mean that the US needs to intervene? Maybe, but any intervention would need to be very carefully thought out. Aggressive actions could create another enemy for us on the other side of the world. Perhaps by allowing the ousting of the former government to happen but ensuring it's peaceful transition it the best. But at the same time whenever the us supports a foreign ousting it comes back to bite us.
Most importantly is the information of ties with Hamas which immediately end any possibility of this new Muslim group being peaceful. If neither party in Egypt backs down (current leadership and the protesters) extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood could have their opportunity to strike and establish themselves in the government and bring a more violent era to the history of Egypt and a large threat to United States and it's allies, namely Israel.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Our Crazy World: Egypt Summary
For all of you too lazy to actual find out what is going on in Egypt here is a great summary I found in, credit to Hossam:
The people are protesting against the president Mubarak who has been in reign with his own regime for 30yrs (Bloggers edit: He also is trying to make his son the successor and this has outraged people who were hoping when he leaves that his regime would be over, instead he is creating a dynasty and he uses the military as a political tool).
They have been influenced by the success of what happened in Tunisia. They want more freedom, more jobs and food prices to go down.The internet has been shut down because it is a way of communicating and protesters can gain support etc in this way. If you are shut down from communications you are more likely to stay at home and do nothing. Mobile phones are not working either. They have also closed down international news channels on TV so the locals do not know what is happening.
The people are protesting against the president Mubarak who has been in reign with his own regime for 30yrs (Bloggers edit: He also is trying to make his son the successor and this has outraged people who were hoping when he leaves that his regime would be over, instead he is creating a dynasty and he uses the military as a political tool).
They have been influenced by the success of what happened in Tunisia. They want more freedom, more jobs and food prices to go down.The internet has been shut down because it is a way of communicating and protesters can gain support etc in this way. If you are shut down from communications you are more likely to stay at home and do nothing. Mobile phones are not working either. They have also closed down international news channels on TV so the locals do not know what is happening.
Our Crazy World: Egypt
Well that was unexpected, in the middle of a recession, in a conflict with Afghanistan and all the other s--t that's going down we Egypt decides to show up. Julian Assange and his Wikileaks have fallen out of favor and for good reason. Looks like we are about to have ourselves a good old fashion ousting! Grab some popcorn and a soda my friends and watch this unfold.
First of all this is an America ally nations so things could get interesting. Usually when an allied Arab or middle east nation has major internal issues United States could have a problem on its hands. Israel for example is more or less friendly with parts of this government but this conflict could bring to the surface a more radical regime. However intervention brings up the issue where America has screwed the pooch on helping and in the long run ruined things.
If this ends up only being a win for democracy then that's good but if some opportunistic groups try to sneak in and wreak havoc then we may have another Iran on our hands. The less democratic leadership leaves but brings in a religious extremist group.
But this fight the power trend is interesting. As we see in Thailand where a similar rebellion is going on and censorship is being used to control it.
I believe we are looking at the effects of the new internet generation getting its hands on what is know cheap information and gaining empowerment on levels that current governments can't control. China is doing a preemptive strike with its powerful censorship laws, but how long can such a facade last?
That's all for now folks but I plan on bringing a more planned out discussion soon.
First of all this is an America ally nations so things could get interesting. Usually when an allied Arab or middle east nation has major internal issues United States could have a problem on its hands. Israel for example is more or less friendly with parts of this government but this conflict could bring to the surface a more radical regime. However intervention brings up the issue where America has screwed the pooch on helping and in the long run ruined things.
If this ends up only being a win for democracy then that's good but if some opportunistic groups try to sneak in and wreak havoc then we may have another Iran on our hands. The less democratic leadership leaves but brings in a religious extremist group.
But this fight the power trend is interesting. As we see in Thailand where a similar rebellion is going on and censorship is being used to control it.
I believe we are looking at the effects of the new internet generation getting its hands on what is know cheap information and gaining empowerment on levels that current governments can't control. China is doing a preemptive strike with its powerful censorship laws, but how long can such a facade last?
That's all for now folks but I plan on bringing a more planned out discussion soon.
Living in America
Hey what's up. This is going to be about what is going on in the world and how it relates to America. This isn't just a news blog but it's a variety show. Whatever I'm feeling or whatever I'm into at the moment is what you guys will be hearing about. Music, religion, world events, links to cool blogs, reviews, and other cool stuff coming your way. And for any scuba diving comrades out there have fun stay cool and I keep you posted on info from San Diego.
Comment tell me what you think. I'm also on the lookout for any cool blogs you guys might have. Tell me and post them up in the comments and you'll be seeing me soon.
Comment tell me what you think. I'm also on the lookout for any cool blogs you guys might have. Tell me and post them up in the comments and you'll be seeing me soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)