Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The Sickest Part Of...

...this:

Bradley Manning faces Up to 136 Years in Prison

...is that his mentor/hero, Julian Assange, gets off Scot free. Oh well. There's a sucker born every minute, and a vulture waiting to eat him alive or, more correctly, chew him up and spit him out onto the cold hard concrete sidewalk. Hope you enjoyed your fifteen minutes of infamy, Bradly. I'm sure Julian Assange thanks doesn't give a shit about you.

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Oh My, Oh My, Oh My!

Irony At It's Most Delicious

Egypt launches 'Operation Desert Storm' against Muslim Brotherhood, Islamists

I hate being wrong, but I'm gonna stick my neck out and say the era that began in 1952 with the coup that ushered Gamal Abdel Nasser to power in Egypt is almost over. Funny how the Egyptian army was front and centre in both "revolutions". Sixty years is just about the right amount of time needed to recognize that the revolution (Arab Nationalism, in this case) has failed. And boy, did this one fail.


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Believe It When You See It

Monday, July 29, 2013

Don't Mess With Old Ladies

Another goody from Facebook:

"Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer.

In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know me?' She responded, 'Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.'

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?'

She again replied, 'Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.'

The defense attorney nearly died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said,

'If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the electric chair.'"

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Getting Down To Business

None of this waiting around for candles and shit:

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Round-Up

Should have moved to Canada, sweetheart:

Obese South African 'too fat' for New Zealand

That excess of blubber will fit right in.

Been a bad month for train travel/transportion:

Spain mourns train crash victims

At least 35 people injured in a head-on train collision in Switzerland

And, for that matter, bus travel:

Italy crash: Bus may have lost parts of engine before collision

Don't tell Lizzy May.

For firefighters on the other hand...it hasn't been all that bad:

'Fifty Shades' blamed for kinky cuff rescues
"The erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey is being blamed after London firefighters revealed they had been called out 79 times to free kinky couple from handcuffs.

It prompted fire chiefs to urge couples to "keep the keys to hand" when experimenting with handcuffs during sex games."
[---]
"London firefighter Dave Brown said: "I don't know whether it's the Fifty Shades of Grey effect, but the number of incidents involving items like handcuffs seems to have gone up.

"I'm sure most people will be Fifty Shades of red when our crews arrive.""
Yup. Firefighter see it all:
"Other sex-related incidents dealt with by the London Fire Brigade included men with their privates stuck in vacuum cleaners and toasters."
Ouch. Gives a whole new meaning to "hot sex", doesn't it.

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Saturday, July 27, 2013

Too Funny!

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"Climate Change" Mania...

...well and truly dead:

Chinese Translation of Climate Change Reconsidered
"Climate Change Reconsidered, a two-volume report from the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) originally published by The Heartland Institute in 2009 and 2011, was translated into Chinese..."
[---]
"A workshop on climate change issues was held in Beijing on June 15, 2013, at which four of the authors presented their findings to members of the Chinese climate science community. The workshop was followed by a conference featuring the NIPCC’s work, hosted by universities in Beijing."
[---]
"“This is a historic moment in the global debate about climate change,” said Heartland Institute President Joseph Bast. “The translation and publication of Climate Change Reconsidered by a division of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences follows strong statements by scientists affiliated with the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Polish Academy of Sciences dissenting from claims that global warming is either man-made or a crisis. The trend toward skepticism and away from alarmism is now unmistakable.”"
When China admits there is no run-away warming, you know the warmanitas have admitted defeat.

Not only that, but it seems cows can resume farting:

Arctic methane bubbles will destroy 1/2 of your wealth

In the meantime, Saskatchewan has had a cold summer so far this year.

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Friday, July 26, 2013

Egypt...

...still at it:



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Monday, July 22, 2013

Well, Finally!!

Kate Middleton in labour

Perhaps now we'll be able to move on. Every day for the last several days the headlines have been about nothing else.

Hehehehehehe! The one and, so far, only comment under that article is: "Omg omg who gives a f$&@"

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Sunday, July 21, 2013

The Religion of Peace...

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Interesting And Hilarious

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Wishful Thinking For July 17, 2013

I hope this lawsuit turns out to be the 21st century's version of the Scopes trial. Especially the suit against the media. Without the lamestream media, folks like Al Sharpton would not have a soapbox upon which to stand while they spew their hatred.

But then again, I could be in one of my Pollyanne-ish modes.

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The Truth Will Out

Petraeus Bombshell: The Administration Censored The Benghazi Truth
"The Benghazi terror attacks were a concerted, organized attack by terror cells on the United States. It happened on 9/11 of 2012. It was, in a sense, the second volley of 9/11. Only this time, Mr. Obama was president, and he betrayed us all every step of the way, intentionally, for weeks."
[---]
"...through the month of September, we were beside ourselves with the way the administration handled the attacks. First, they blamed the freedom of speech. Then, they “detained” the supposed director of a video making fun of Muhammad. Then, it turns out they essentially had originally forced the Marines and the ex-SEALs in the area to leave, requiring our ambassador to Libya be grossly undefended, before the attacks even began. Rand Paul correctly asked, “Where the hell were the Marines?”

But now, news is coming out that is worse than everything else, because it shows that this wasn’t just incompetent leadership. It was something darker and more sinister. General David Petraeus has testified that he knew the attacks were terror all along, but “someone” in the administration censored his message. In other words, the attacks on the video and the claims it was a “spontaneous riot” weren’t just wrong — they were lies."
[---]
"Considering Obama met with his security staff within minutes of the attacks, and that he obviously would keep up with his CIA director’s view of an attack that was plastering the news for weeks, this means only one thing: Obama intentionally tried to cover up the terror attack as just being a protest."
[---]
"...we’ve been lied to, they’ve been busted, and people need to lose their jobs over this."

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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Creak. Groan.

Some things make me feel so old:


Please insert more coins: Payphone’s future is on the line

"Already a quaint relic in many parts of Canada, the old-fashioned payphone could become even harder to find after the country’s telecommunications regulator rejected Bell Canada’s request to double the cost of a call to $1.

The phone company asked for the price hike because it’s getting harder to make a profit from payphones as more consumers carry cellphones in their pockets and communicate via texts and instant messages. An average payphone took in $1,000 only five years ago; that number is closer to $700 a year now."

I grew up with an massive old wooden box attached to the wall, with a mouth piece to speak into and an ear piece resting on a cradle on the side. There was a hand operated crank on the side of the box. The phone was on a party-line with four or five households on the line. To dial someone else on the line, one used the crank to ring a code of long and short rings - for example 2 long and 1 short. I don't remember what our code was, but I do remember that you could hear anyone's phone ringing, if they were on the same line, and were only supposed to lift up the receiver if your code was ringing. You could lift up the receiver (ear piece) and listen in on your neighbours' conversations, or, if need be, interrupt them and tell them to hang up because you needed to make some sort of urgent call. I don't remember when  that changed, but the next big innovation was a rotary dial and then push-button. Ooooo. Progress!!

I also remember when payphones needed only 10 cents to operate.

But there are some things older than I am:

50 million year old fossils found under Brisbane roadworks

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Let Me Fix That For You

Richard Nixon, Watergate cited as anger erupts over Stephen Harper government’s ‘enemy’ list

Should read: Richard Nixon, Watergate cited by lamestream media as they whip up faux outrage up over Stephen Harper government’s ‘enemy’ list

So far, the outrage is confined to the lamestream media and liberals with their noses out of joint.

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I'm Not Sure...

...this was intended, but....

Pregnant cow captured in Fairfax County
"An "aggressive, pregnant" cow was finally captured Saturday, several days after getting loose from a Fairfax farm."
And right below this article was a picture of...drum roll please...Nancy Pelosi.

Okay. Back to what you were doing, now.



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Monday, July 15, 2013

But, But, But....

Lac-Megantic residents seek class-action suit approval
"The court documents were filed in Quebec Superior Court on Monday morning and put forward by lawyer Daniel Larochelle, a 15-year Lac-Megantic resident himself"
How dare they take business away from Tony "Ambulance Chaser" Merchant?

Good luck to them.

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Too Funny!

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Sunday, July 14, 2013

Only His Hairdresser Knows For Sure

(Okay. Okay. Ya, it sucks, but it's the best title I could come up with for now.)

Netanyahu won't confirm that Israel attacked Syrian port

"The explosions that rocked the Syrian port city of Latakia last week, destroying a weapons cache, continue to reverberate in regional politics as accusations and denials abound.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to say Sunday whether Israel was responsible for the July 5 attack, as has been reported. "I am not in the habit of saying what we did do or didn't do," he told CBS' Bob Schieffer on "Face the Nation."

What Netanyahu would say was that his policy is "to prevent the transfer of dangerous weapons to Hezbollah and other terror groups ... and we stand by that policy.""
I wonder how the Mad Mullahs in Iran are doing these days. Shitting their drawers, I bet.

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A Prescient Article, Written Exactly Ten Years Ago, Today!

The Crackup of Arab Tyrannies
"Depending on the Soviet bloc for aid, protection, and diplomatic guidance, the Arab regimes closed their societies to influences from the West, thus reversing a trend that had started in the 19th century. Many of the Arab regimes concluded treaties of friendship and cooperation with the USSR and sent tens of thousands of their young men and women to study in the Soviet empire. The result was a deepening of the culture of totalitarianism within the ruling elite. By the mid-1980s, the last representatives of Western-style liberal thought in the Arab world were either dead or dying.

That opened the way for the reemergence of Islamic extremism as the only alternative to military rule. In Egypt, the regime alternated between ruthless repression of the Islamists (under Nasser), unsuccessful co-optation (under Sadat), and a mixture of the two (under President Hosni Mubarak). In Libya, the state has been fighting an Islamist insurgency since 1986. In Syria, the regime managed to break the back of the Islamist movement by organizing the massacre of an estimated 20,000 people in the city of Hama in 1983. In Iraq, the regime used the iron fist against the Islamists, mostly Shiites, throughout the 1980s, then adopted an Islamist posture of its own in 1991 to rally support against the U.S.-led coalition. In 1991, Saddam ordered the slogan Allah Akbar (God is supreme) inscribed on the Iraqi flag. In Algeria, the government's war against the Islamists started in 1986 and intensified after 1992. In the Sudan, the military came to power in alliance with the Islamists but broke with them in 1999 and has cracked down on their leaders and organizations ever since.

By the start of 2003, the Arab Islamist movement was in deep crisis. It was split in Egypt between those who urged accommodation with governments and those who preached endless war. In the Sudan, the Islamists were going through a process of "self-criticism" and trying to recast themselves almost as Western-style democrats, though few people were convinced. In Iraq, the Islamist movement found itself faced with a choice between alliance with the United States to topple Saddam Hussein and alliance with him in the name of patriotic unity. In Algeria, despite persistent terrorist violence, the divided Islamist movement seemed to be petering out. In Libya, the Islamist guerrillas appeared to be reduced to an enclave in the Jabal al-Akhdar region, while in Syria, hopes for reform under President Bashar al-Assad led to a split within the Islamist movement.

The pan-Islamist movement seems to have suffered a strategic setback with the failure of the Islamic revolution in Iran, the tragic experience of Islamism in the Sudan, and the dramatic end of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The emergence of al Qaeda as the most potent symbol of Islamism also weakened the movement by alienating key elements within the Arab urban middle classes. Al Qaeda's extremism frightened large segments of Arab traditional opinion, forcing them to rally behind the regimes in support of the status quo."
[---]

"Defeated in war, despotism must also be defeated politically. The hardest battles remain to be fought on the field of ideas."
Just one more reason why I think the coup in Egypt might well be Stage II of a long simmering revolution.

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Saturday, July 13, 2013

Foot In Mouth

When babies do this, it's so cute:



When they still do it as adults, not so much:


Of course, it would help if folks actually recognize you.

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Don't Let That Out

Global warming making earth ‘greener’
"THE planet is getting lusher, and we are responsible. Carbon dioxide generated by human activity is stimulating photosynthesis and causing a beneficial greening of the Earth's surface. For the first time, researchers claim to have shown that the increase in plant cover is due to this "CO2 fertilisation effect" rather than other causes. However, it remains unclear whether the effect can counter any negative consequences of global warming, such as the spread of deserts.

Recent satellite studies have shown that the planet is harbouring more vegetation overall, but pinning down the cause has been difficult. Factors such as higher temperatures, extra rainfall, and an increase in atmospheric CO2 – which helps plants use water more efficiently – could all be boosting vegetation."
We told you that would happen, didn't we.

Of course, there is no doubt that all this is due to human activity, but we have to be cautious about which specifically, is the cause - the higher temps (which, btw, have flat-lined), the extra rainfall (which, btw, is the opposite of what they told us would happen), or the increase in atmospheric CO2.

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Friday, July 12, 2013

When The Dust Settles...

...perhaps it will be more than Egypt which has realigned:

"Iraq’s Shiite prime minister seeks alliances with Sunnis
"As Iran exerts its considerable influence in Syria and around the region, it is meeting resistance from an unlikely source: Iraq’s polarized and faltering democracy.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who once sought refuge in Iran as an exile, has officially maintained his neutrality while his eastern neighbor has thrown its full support behind the Syrian regime. Out of political necessity, he also recently has made significant efforts to build alliances with moderate Iraqi Sunni groups, offering a hint of cross-sectarian cooperation in a region increasingly defined by a religious divide."
The article makes no mention of Egypt, but it seems the ground is shaking throughout the Middle East.

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These Two Have Been Sitting....

...waiting for a while. Eqypt has already slipped off the radar screen, but I think these are important as background information:

12 Reasons Why Removing Morsi Was Not a Coup

"Breaking his presidential oath, Morsi had seized dictatorial control of all powers of the government. Is this democracy?"

"A loud chorus of media and political voices have been describing June 30th's Egyptian transition of governmental power as a military coup. On the one hand, Egypt's military did midwife a power transition. On the other hand, for at least 12 reasons the transition was an essential and admirable re-direction away from dictatorship, hopefully toward a more democratic future."

"First, in a military coup the first step is usually taken by the military. On June 30 in Egypt the opposite happened. More than 30 million Egyptians took to the streets in cities all across Egypt to demand the removal of then president Morsi.

This surge of voices included Muslims and Christians of all types: common people, business people, the professional class, media folks and even the police. By contrast, only tens of thousands citizens, primarily Muslim Brotherhood members, protested in support of Morsi.

The people of Egypt did vote; they voted by putting their feet on the street. The military's subsequent action in removing Morsi from the government was a response to this dramatic and remarkably unified vote of the people against a tyrannical leader, not a step initiated by the military to rule the country.

Second, if there had been a military coup, a military general would have replaced Morsi. In this instance, by contrast, as soon as the military had removed Morsi from power, military leaders selected a widely respected civilian leader to rule the country until new elections can be organized.

Third, if the balloting by which Morsi took office is the only factor to be considered, then Hosni Mubarak must still be considered the legitimate president of Egypt. Mubarak also came to power via an election. Note also that he too was ultimately removed by the military.

Fourth, the argument that Mubarak's election had been fraudulent would apply equally to Morsi. In June 2012, Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood supporters surrounded the Supreme Court judges who had the authority to declare the winner in the final presidential race. They threatened to kill the judges and turn the country into a sea of blood if the judges should declare any candidate other than Morsi the winner. Can this be described as legitimate balloting?

Fifth, breaking his presidential oath, Morsi had seized dictatorial control of all powers of the government. To insure his power, he imprisoned and the shot with a bullet to the forehead many of the secular leaders who had launched the "Arab Spring" on social media. Is this democracy?

Fifth, breaking his presidential oath, Morsi had seized dictatorial control of all powers of the government. To insure his power, he imprisoned and the shot with a bullet to the forehead many of the secular leaders who had launched the "Arab Spring" on social media. Is this democracy?"
RTWT

Egyptian Revolution Triggers Unexpected Regional Realignment
"Events following the toppling of Egyptian Pres. Morsi seem to be signalling a decisive blow for the Muslim Brotherhood."
[---]
"The revolution (not a coup) that toppled Egyptian President Morsi isn’t just a decisive defeat for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt; it has triggered events that may signal a regional realignment."
[---]
 "The Muslim Brotherhood’s reign has managed to align the fractured non-Islamist opposition. A Zogby poll taken from April 4 to May 12 showed that only 29% of Egyptians had confidence in Morsi."
 [---]
"The Islamist government of Turkey, facing its own internal challenge from non-Islamists, immediately condemned the Egyptian military and took the Muslim Brotherhood’s side. The Islamist government of Tunisia is urging the Muslim Brotherhood to stay in the streets until Morsi is reinstated.

The countries that immediately congratulated the Egyptian people were Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The Jordanian government embraced its liberal opponents in order to marginalize the Muslim Brotherhood. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah fears a "Muslim Brotherhood crescent developing in Egypt and Turkey" and says Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Morsi are false democrats.

The United Arab Emirates has called for a Gulf coalition against both the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran. The Saudis, though they are Islamists themselves, distrust the Muslim Brotherhood and have been supporting the Brotherhood's rivals in Syria. These are the countries who took the side of the Egyptian people, not the U.S.

The biggest change in the strategic landscape since Morsi’s ouster is the position of Qatar, a U.S. “ally” that was more allied with the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatari support for the Islamists was so massive that the three above countries (including Saudi Arabia!) complained about it.

The developments in Egypt apparently convinced Qatar that it bet on the wrong horse. The Qatari government, which supported Mubarak’s overthrow, congratulated Morsi's replacement.

The Qataris had been the Brotherhood’s biggest governmental supporter. Shortly after Morsi fell, it was reported that Qatar shut down the Brotherhood activity in its territory, revoked Brotherhood spiritual leader Yousef al-Qaradawi’s citizenship and expelled Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal. It was from Qatar that Qaradawi reached 60 million people each week on Al-Jazeera. If it is true that Qatar has switched sides, the damage to the Brotherhood is incalculable."
Hope so. Baby steps.

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One Chance At Redemption

Malala Yousafzai addresses U.N. Youth Assembly

If this little girl actually wins the Nobel Peace Prize, I will actually have respect for the Nobel organization again, until the next time.

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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

More About What's Happening In Egypt

A CBC interview with the Egyptian Sandmonkey, AKA Mahmoud Salem:

A very young Egyptian talking very non-Islamist language: And Western leftards aren't gonna like this one: Cairo airport refuses inbound Syrian flight, Palestinians deported I wonder where they are gonna go now? Poor, poor Pals. This should (I hope) be a big blow to pan-Arabism. The United Arab Republic just got buried a bit deeper. And when the television anchors can't contain their enthusiasm, you know this is seen in Egypt as a the dawning of a new day:
And this might be a bit lame, but YouTube is littered with videos about the events in Egypt. I think that tells us that this is no ordinary coup, or at least that lots of people think this one is different.

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Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Another Very Interesting Facebook Conversation With Egyptians


(Typos and other errors are in the original. Names have been changed to numbers, etc., to protect their privacy.)


American Woman: "Is Islamic jihad breaking out in Egypt?"

Egyptian #1: "trying to...but the army is ready for them"

Egyptian #2: "No , don't worry"

Egyptian #3:"Well they're out. Are they going to be left to wage is the question."

American Woman: "Please keep me posted as our media is reporting armed insurgents attacking government buildings, Port Said (Suez Canal), etc. Massacres are also being reported of the military using live rounds against "peaceful" pro Morsi demonstrators at the presdential place (which I find hard to believe)."

Egyptian #4: "It's early to assume. But, for the first time in history Islamism is subjected to moral, ethical and national judgement."

Egyptian #5: "Not just yet."

Egyptian #2: "All Egyptians are united behind the army."

Dutch guy: "What does 'breaking out' mean in this context?

"Islamism is subjected to moral, ethical and national judgement"

Hurray! Either you deal with radical Islam, or radical Islam will deal with you. Good luck!

"All Egyptians are united behind the army"

Not just Egyptians."

Egyptian #2: "The massacres are done by muslim brotherhood persons , they killed a lot of egyptian as no one now want them here in egypt , no one need Morsi , only the MB."

Egyptian #6: It's not jihad.

Egyptian #7: (Possibly an American kid): Nope.

Egyptian #8: "American woman" your media is not telling the truth ...you can watch it on our satellite channels.

American woman: "Would that I could Egyptian #13! Send me links to whatever may make sense to an English speaking audience or with explanations---appreciated!"

Egyptian-American: "I hope the Egyptian military obliterates the Islamists. Every single one of them."

Egyptian #9: "33 million went out rejecting MB, because we know that we can't do it alone we need and asked the support of our Army, Army asked the Egyptian to show how strongly we need to step down MB and their representative so we went out in that enormous numbers,
all the evidences show that demonstrators of Islamic groups are armed with different primitive and hand made weapons..... they provoke the army in a very critical site and start clashes ( according to several witnesses resides on the nearby Buildings)
my cousin live in a building close to( Rabaa Al Adawia) where they شقث Squatting on Strike since 28th of June she can't go out of her house,or even open the window , her brother is supplying her with food and drinks after passing through agonizing check points,"

This my witness, honestly.

Egyptian #8: "The attack of the Islamic groups to the site is recorded for the world to watch."

Dutch guy: "So...the media lies about you, the international order backs the Islamists, the US has alienated you, the Islamists provoke violence knowing the media will fall for it, you are with your backs to the wall, you must choose between submitting to those who would kill you, or fight for your freedom and be condemned.

So...how does it feel to be an Israeli?"

Egyptian #9: (Egyptian woman): "I am not going to try to defend either side but the truth will prevail soon."

Egyptian #10 (perhaps Coptic Christian, living in Egypt): "So sad that the foreign media is not being fair at all since the out break of the people's reveloution.Yes the so called Islamists are trying very hard to show that they are the victims.But in all honesty they are very violent ,bloody and brain washed killing even their own people to show that they have many casualties.We wish and begging our army to be more firm with them to save Egypt from a possible civil war which their motive.On the other hand we are certain that our beloved army will not allow this chaos for long .Anyway everything is documented and recorded that these terrorists are the cause of all this unrest and violence.We Egyptains are asking The American Adminitration to stop supporting all the Islamic parties coz in the end don't forget their acts against peaceful American or Eouropean citizens.."

Canadian Academic @ U of T: "America under Obama will continue to support to Islamists because it is the most effective way to damage American interests. The world is upside down. If a secular Egypt would be more damaging to the US than an Islamist Egypt, support would go to the seculars.

Obama thinks that if you give bad guys what they want, they will leave him alone. In that philosophy good people simply play no role."

Canadian academic, @ U of T: "@Daniel The Americans are not supporting the MB or any islamists in Egypt. They reluctantly accepted Morsi because he was elected and had to express concern about the overthrow of a democratically elected president. The Camp David Accords require the US to stop funding the Egyptian military if it id deemed guilty of carrying out a coup so President Obama has to appear to be scrutinizing the events but we all know that he is not going to find the Egyptian military guilty of anything. The Egyptian military will continue to be funded by the US and it will continue to be a force that will mitigate Islamist governments should another one be elected. Morsi had to include the military in his government but the military bailed out creating the opportunity for them to "support" the popular Egyptian revolution. The US props up the government of the Saudi Royal family because if it were to fall it would be replaced by radical Salafis many of whom would be Jihadists. There is no way that the international community is backing the Islamists. Furthermore US support for Israel has been unwavering even under the Obama administration despite the fact that Israel's treatment of the PLs on the west bank is immoral."

American academic, U of Pennsylvania: "There has been a scattered, low-level jihad in Egypt for quite some time, waxing and waning since at least the founding of the MB in Ismailiya in 1928. The closest to a major jihad was the terror war by al-Gama`a al-Islamiya that killed a thousand people, mostly Egyptians, in the 1990s. But now a big one is starting, that will be worse if it is postponed, and that I hope will result in the final and total defeat of the Islamists in Egypt. But I'm afraid that not enough people see it in those terms. Appeasement and political inclusion of the Islamists will not work--they must not be trusted in public life again."

Egyptian #12: (woman): "I fully agree with you Raymond Stock, but it does mean then that it will not be possible for Egypt to become a democracy!! They will never fully 'disappear'."

Canadian academic, @ U of T: "There is going to be unrest in Egypt for some time because the nation's farm land cannot support the national population. The population is growing while erosion and other problems are reducing the volume of land that can be farmed. Global warming will also contribute to ecological problems and a loss of national productivity. The country is going to get even poorer than it already is. Yes the Islamists should be shut out because they are bad for the economy and just about every other temporal situation. However I suspect that they will continue to be a populist movement as life in Egypt gets harder"

Egyptian #13: (Not clear whether this man is Egyptian or American. His Facebook profile indicates he is a Jesuit working in Cairo and a graduate of Iowa State University) "The MBs are very hurt and they want by all means to drag the military into violence to cry to the world that they are being attacked by the military... It will not work. The people discovered what the MBs are capable of. We saw them throw kids off the roofs in Alexandria and we saw them throw grenades and club people to death. We heard all their hate speeches and the more they do the more the Egyptians want them out of political life forever."

American academic, U of Pennsylvania: "Thank you, (Egyptian #12), and no, the Islamsits will not disappear. Yet they can be thoroughly defeated--but only if people agree that this must be done. Those who argue that keeping them out of politics radicalizes them further forget or do not grasp that they are already radicalized, and were only waiting until they had consolidated their power before fully implementing their program. There is no meaningful chance they will ever change their ideology, nor will they be satisfied with anything less than total power in the long run. They can never be true democrats, any more than their patrons in the 1940s, the Nazis."

Egyptian #13: "I think Egypt will go through tough times but the economy will boom. Egyptians abroad will invest heavily, the Gulf countries have already started to invest and have pledged to invest more as soon as there is a government. Farmland is plenty, we just have to reform irrigation and find ways of getting more water and there are plenty of studied projects for this that only need investments. The problem will remain that these Islamists will go on doing what they excel at: terrorism but with time they will be purged and refused by the people themselves. Tourism will boom again by next September, so the climate is good but we need to get by these few days and get on a serious path. We just hope that the US administration will not spoil it for us by continuing to be the blood line of the MBs."

Egyptian #13: "The Egyptian people do not want the MBs to participate in any political life, they do not want to hear about reconciliation and no one should encourage this. When Germany was defeated and the Nazis got prosecuted and judged, no one even dared suggesting a reconciliation and a return of the Nazi party to the German political scene. It is exactly the same. The MBs are a fascist religious regime based on excluding anyone who is not MB and by claiming supremacy."

Egyptian American: "I'll take it one step further. Let the civil war between the Islamists and the military begin -without a word from Obama! I'd rather the military slaughter the Islamists then watch the Islamists slaughter 32 million Revolutionaries. The time for compromise is over, the Freedom and Justice Party got their chance and predictably failed, now they need to got the way of the National Socialist Party. And a side note, don't listen to any faux 'liberal' living in Egypt who voted Morsi over the boogeyman Shafiq. If you voted Ikhwan over felool 2 years ago you have no credibility moving forward."

Egyptian # 13: "This is a golden opportunity for the US famous war on terrorism for which it spent trillions of US tax payer's money while Egyptians with a week sit in by the millions got rid of the most dangerous international terrorist organization in the world. If you track down all the Islamic NGO s in the USA, you will trace them back to the MBs and they finance the MBs. Al kaida is also related and it is no coincidence that lots of the MB demonstrators wear the picture of Osama Bin Ladin while they demonstrate and carry the flag of Al Kaida. The US has a golden opportunity here to help Egypt finish this one up but instead they are being a thorn in the back. Sometimes I wish that the US administration should outsource foreign policy help because so far they have been really off!

Egyptian #12: "I think (Egyptian-American) that the Egyptians weren't fully aware of the MB's goal, now they are!!! Well, I am ashamed to notice they still may not know the Salafi mentality?? Taking Nour Party in?? I'm happy they themselves stepped out!"

Egyptian-American: "Egypt desperately needs a Kemal Ataturk. Since this is not happening I'll settle for an Abdel Nasser. Anyone or anything that will put the menace that is 'Political Islam' where it belongs will suffice. The sooner the conflict starts the sooner the conflict will end and it's inevitable."

Egyptian #12: "No problem, as long as there's a decent constitution that keeps the president in line and the people educated!"

Egyptian-American: "The Turkish model under Ataturk (Not Erdogan). Erdogan/Nasser were Islamist crushers."

Canadian Academic @ U of T: "Obama is still constrained by US law that prevents aid being sent to a country that has overthrown a democratically elected government. He is going to face opposition from the Republican controlled House of Representatives. House Republicans oppose him on everything. John McCain has already called for the US to stop sending aid to Egypt ($1.6 billion per year). So far the Obama administration has fended off demands that aid be cut off. Let's be clear. The US funds the Egyptian military. Almost all that aid goes to the Egyptian military. Obama is taking sides by continuing that aid and to the Egyptian military. And yes I agree that the US has one of the poorest track records regarding foreign policy of any country I know. They do not understand the outside world."

Egyptian #12: "Let's be clear, nothing is for nothing!"

Egyptian-American: "For Americans who have a vested interest in Egypt's welfare, this isn't a partisan issue or at least, it shouldn't be. There's no doubt that Obama backed the wrong horse from the very beginning. Morsi was his guy as evidenced by Patterson's comment the day prior to the Revolution. I also think Sen. McIkhwan, while I respect his stay at the luxurious Hanoi Hilton, is out of his mind on cutting aid to Egypt. Obama didn't suspend aid when an Islamist won the presidency, didn't suspend aid when violence, Hate Crimes and Blasphemy charges skyrocketed, nor suspended aid when Morsi appointed a Terrorist as Governor of Luxor. And now both parties are threatening to suspend military aid after 32 million Revolutionaries told the Islamists to go to hell? This is why people hate America."

Egyptian #12: "It's just a bureaucratic rule: if coup, then no aid! If they see it your way Peter Ashamalla, they should also stop being friends with Saudi Arabia! Self interest has always priority! For sure, in the end they will pay!!"

Canadian Academic @ U of T: "@Peter Every political issue in the US is now partisan and the government is deadlocked. The US is very polarized. The Republicans are determined to foil any policy originating from the White House. And I must repeat that the US president is obliged to support a democratically elected government that the US is not at war with. Make no mistake, the Egyptian military did not act without consulting the US government. The US would have said that it was glad to get rid of Morsi but we (the US) cannot be seen to be involved. It would also have said that the Egyptian military had to act in such a way as to give Obama a way of claiming that it was NOT a coup. This included making a well regarded civilian the head of state, demonstrating support of all opposition groups and the statement that new elections will be held very soon. Even with all that political "cover" the Egyptian military could not "act" until 48 hours after millions of protestors thronged the streets so it could claim that it had urged Morsi to deal with the unrest prior to ousting him. The military can claim that it merely carried out the will of the people at a time of extreme crisis that the government was unable or unwilling to deal with. All this was critical to keeping the aid flowing. The Egyptian military did its very best to "comply" with US law which meant the US government was directly involved in choreographing the Egyptian military's coup."

Israeli man: "Those who cry foul with regards to the supposedly undemocratic way in which this dictator was ousted managed to ignore the fact that many of the world’s worst dictators were propelled into power through democratic elections and even more have done so off the back of popular movements."

Egyptian #14 (Young American muslim?): "The struggles of all Egyptians--not only of Muslims--is a well known fact."

No Idea -  Possibly Egyptian: NO

Egyptian #15 (May be Australian): "Yes...The Muslim brotherhood is linked to Jihad in theory and practice!!!...and I growing my beard in protest!!!"




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Talk About Pissed "Off"

Sunday, July 07, 2013

Sorry

I've been too busy to blog. Be back soon. I hope.

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Friday, July 05, 2013

Investor Reaction...

...Market Celebrates Egypt's Coup, But It's Not Over Yet
"The situation in Egypt has not been tenable since the Muslim Brotherhood and President Mohamed Morsi took over, post-revolution, but now that the military has stepped in, ousted Morsi and placed him in detention, foreign investors are celebrating."
[---]
"Morsi and 35 other top Brotherhood figures are now the target of a military investigation and barred from leaving the country. In the meantime, an interim president—Aldy Mansour, head of the Supreme Constitutional Court—has been sworn in, and the military has cut off all communication outlets for the Muslim Brotherhood.

It doesn’t look good for Morsi, especially since Egypt’s new prosecutor general—General Abdel Maquid Mahmoud--is a figure that Morsi personally had deposed in his quest to get rid of any high-level dissent. So he’s got a big axe to grind."
[---]
"Egypt’s EGX-30 (the country’s main index) rose 7.3% on the news of the coup, with the much-beleaguered Egyptian pound strengthening to 7.0264 to the dollar. It had reached a new low the day before the coup. The cost of insuring Egyptian debt against default also declined.

US crude oil futures rose to 14-month highs as oil bulls saw the chaos in Egypt raise the risk for oil and gas transit via pipeline through the Suez Canal. That risk appears considerably lower now that the military has acted decisively. (While oil production in Egypt is negligible at present, the country controls the Suez Canal.)"
[---]
"In the longer term, we should be worried less about threats of Muslim Brotherhood protests—which the military could easily quash if they turned violent—than about reprisals from fringe Islamist groups, which would be doubly empowered should Qatar decide to support them as they have been doing in Syria.

On the political scene, watch the potential rise of Mohamed ElBaradei—former head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). ElBaradei is an opposition leader who has been waiting for the right opportunity, and he’s already been nominated by the Tamarod movement to become prime minister."
[---]
"Qatar, of course, will call it a “coup” in no uncertain terms—at least in the backrooms. Publicly, it’s congratulated Egypt, but this tiny petro-monarchy which has been throwing cash at the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (and more recently Syria) is nervous. Qatar stands to lose the most without the Muslim Brotherhood in power. It was only a couple of weeks ago that Morsi had openly encouraged Islamists in Egypt to take up arms in Syria to fight the Assad regime, certainly at the prompting of its benefactor, Qatar."
The world's still in spin, but I have a good feeling about this one. If things go right, this could be a very, very significant turning point in history, as long as things don't spin so fast that Egypt gets dizzy.

PS: Don't forget to check out Big Pharaoh. His entry of today's date is really interesting.
"Yes it is a coup. However, it is a “coup but”. It is a coup supported by the largest gathering of Egyptians in human history. I am an Egyptian, I have been living here for all my life and I’ve never seen before what I saw this week. I have been involved in almost every major demonstration since the 2011 revolution, what I saw this week is staggering. The numbers, especially on June 30th, far exceeded the numbers of who participated in the January revolution to oust Mubarak. People from all walks of Egyptian life thronged squares and streets even if no demonstrations were called for. If you call this a coup without adding the “but” then you’re not seeing the full picture at all. After seeing the magnitude of the demonstrations and their geographical reach, I can comfortably conclude that June 30 and the days that followed reflected what the majority of Egyptians wanted."
[---]
"It is understandable why many in the West cannot understand the legitimacy behind PLC. In the West, facets of democracy such as an inclusive constitution, human rights, inclusive politics, bills of rights and rule of law are taken for granted. Elections is the only facet they practice every 4 or 5 years. In Egypt, we just had one facet of democracy, elections, and the Brotherhood deprived us from all the other facets that Westerners take for granted.

President Obama was right when he told Morsi in their final telephone conversation that “democracy is more than elections”. Unfortunately, the advise was too late. Toppling elected regime happened before, especially in Argentina, Egyptians this time sought the help of the only state institution they trust: the army."
Emphasis mine.

And here's an interesting round-up of how other Middle Eastern countries are reacting to events in Egypt.

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Just One Question...

...prompted by this comment on a BBC story re. Egypt: "A coup supported by majority of citizens should be called a revolution."

When is a coup just a coup and when is it a revolution?

PS: I like what he says:
"When you elect fanatics, .... you have not advanced democracy. You have empowered people who are going to wind up subverting democracy. The important thing is to get people like that out of power, even if it takes a coup. The goal is to weaken political Islam, by nearly any means."
[---]
"Once elected, the Brotherhood subverted judicial review, cracked down on civil society, arrested opposition activists, perverted the constitution-writing process, concentrated power and made democratic deliberations impossible."

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Well, So Much...

Will It Be Different...

...this time?

Only time will tell, of course, but I see some small inkling of hope in this video. Not only are Egyptians talking about democratic aspirations, but even the army has installed, on an interim basis, a civilian president (at about 4:45 in this CBC report):



The civilian happens to be the chairman of the Supreme Constitutional Court. So far, so good - I think..

I see this as one long march toward greater democracy in the world, stemming from Glastnos and Peristroika in the last days of the Soviet Union, the Solidarity movement in Poland, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Iraq war right up to the Arab Spring and the Green movement in Iran. The world is a much smaller place than it was in the 1950s, and one of the driving forces behind all this change is the Internet. Technological innovation has always driven changes in social and political power, sometimes significant upheaval, in fact. Think, for example, of the impact of the invention of the printing press and what that did to the dominance of the Catholic church in Europe.

BTW, I like the comments under the Washington Post article (at "Supreme Constitutional Court" link):
"This is NOT a military coup, but a real revolution in which millions of Egyptians have participated against all odds, and we would not go back to our homes except after Morsi leaves.

We are the Egyptian people claiming back our country and we ask you to be on our side and not the side of a fascistic clan of fundamentalists who believe that the West are nothing but infidels.

We are people who love freedom, who hail from a civilization that believes in diversity of religions and races.

We are Egypt of the 7,000 years telling you: I revolted."
There is something very fundamental going on here. I keep reading references to ancient Egyptian civilization. I hesitate to say this, but perhaps what we are witnessing is not only the end of an Islamist government and a blow to Islamism, but a movement away from Islam itself. Even the WaPo article hints at that. The Muslim Brotherhood seems to be the target.

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Thursday, July 04, 2013

You Never Know...

...what you're gonna find when you clean house. In anticipation that I may be in for a new computer sometime later this year, I've been going through some old, old bookmarks, that were in a folder called, surprise, surprise, Old Bookmarks. I've been deleting dead ones and deciding which ones I may eventually transfer to my active, current bookmarks, and which ones I will just pitch with my old computer. In the process I came across this one (I don't remember bookmarking this, at all) about the infamous smallpox infested blanket. Anyway, it's a keeper:

Indians and smallpox

Far and away, the best comment in the entire thread is this one:
"And here is what bothers me so much about modern "scholarship." At what point did history become ethics? Why should we subvert the elusive search for facts to moralist concerns? So what if they are on or off the hook? If you want to be a preacher, go preach. If you want to save theworld, go into politics. If you want to invent a world free of evil, take prozac. It was said in Ecclesiasties and it still is true today, people suck. They did then, all ofthem. THey do now, all of us. History is the history of self-interested, competing, aggressive, selfish, murderous humans. At what point did it become a morality play? -Dave WIlliams, George mason Univ."
Right on, good sir!! That is what the study of history is about. Getting your lame brain into the mindset that prevailed in the distant past; understanding what people of a by-gone era could have known and not known; judging them by the standards that prevailed in their time, not according to standards and knowledge that exists today. And the smallpox blanket thingy is one of the most pernicious and long lived examples of how not to do the craft of history,

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Hope So!!!

Morsi’s ouster spells trouble for region’s other Islamist movements

But ya never know which way the wind will blow. But being the eternal optimist, I think this will be a turning point for radical Islam, and the direction of the turning is not in their favour.

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Inneresting...

...The G8 Summit came and went and I didn't hear a thing about protestors. Maybe that's 'cause I don't have TV any more. Since the journalists are, for the most part, locked out of the summit during regular sessions, all they can do is provide free advertizing for the rabble that collects outside. I'm far more interested in what's happening in the inner sanctum and the rabble can just go get a life, as far as I'm concerned. Or maybe they have. Or, maybe it's because we had real things to be worried about.

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Egypt In Turmoil

I follow Michael Yon on facebook. He has posted the following:
"I called a war correspondent friend last night in Egypt. She is highly experienced at war work -- more so than I am -- and she said it is about to blow."
I have to agree with his friend. As much as I relish the fact that Morsi is gone, military coups are military coups. We'll have to wait and see how this one plays out. After all, Morsi had enough followers to get the votes that put him in power, and the military overthrow of a government is hardly a new thing. What will be new is if, somewhere down the road, a genuine democracy emerges out of a military coup. And I'm not alone:

World Concern over Ouster of Egypt's President

About the only thing that gives me hope is that Egypt has always (for as long as I can remember, at least) been a trend setter in the Middle East. I hope ten to fifteen years from now (or maybe sooner) we will have a very different world. In my ever so humble opinion, the toppling of Saddam Hussein was the first step. We haven't seen the last, by a long shot, but along the way, since 2003, there have been many signs that the Middle East is undergoing a revolution of epic proportions, similar in impact to the Reformation in Europe and the expulsion of Buddhism from China.

And this is a different world than that which existed when Gamel Abdel Naser led the way for the Arab world to come out from under the thumb of European colonialism. That was way back in the early 1950s. Arab Nationalist dictators have done squat to ameliorate the living standards of their countrymen. Islamists have taken a bad situation and made it much, much worse. In the meantime, western nations, some at least, have soared to new heights. If it wasn't for Western technology (communications, especially) and ideas, the new democracy movement in the Middle East would not be happening.

Funny, some of the people in this video are holding pictures of Naser (at about 6:28):

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Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Good Grief!!!

...France has completely gone down the tube:

French far-right leader stripped of immunity

"French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been stripped of her European Parliament immunity and may now face charges of racism over comments she made comparing Muslims praying on streets to Nazi occupation during World War II."

For speaking the truth. Let's hope the French courts follow in the footsteps of the Dutch courts, the Danish and Swedish courts, and find her completely innocent, or refuse to even hear the case.

Who's the Nazi, I'd like to know?

Kind of ironic, ain't it? Here we have Egyptians showing up in droves to protest their Islamist government's failures, while in Europe, it seems Islamism has become a sacred cow.

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It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

UPDATED AND BUMPED:  Another (short and sweet) perspective:




And another:



-----------------Original Post Starts Here----------------




Get ready for Egypt's 'second revolution'

The anti-anti-democrats of Cairo

Democracy Muslim Brotherhood style making Mubarak look good

Morsi Critics Demand Early Egypt Elections

The following is an exchange I found on Facebook between an American (?) woman and a number of Egyptians. It follows beneath the same picture I have copied and pasted above. The American woman begins the exchange by asking what the writing on the poster means. I have removed their real names:

Egyptian # 1: it just says go and participate on June30th

Egyptian # 2:  Rebel, participate in 30/6 Egyptian are not cowards, Egypt is not for sale, Participate our demand are still the same: bread freedom and social justice

Egyptian # 3:  it says : stay the fuck out , coz demons are about to be unleashed .

Egyptian # 4:  Top Right & Left - (Big Letters) "Go Down" / the print on the bottom roughly translates to:

"An Egyptian cannot remain a coward."

Bottom Middle - "Our requests are as they've always been: Living, freedom, social justice."

Egyptian # 4: A call for impeachment would summarize the big letters if anything.

American woman: Does anything say this: " stay the fuck out , coz demons are about to be unleashed" ??

Egyptian # 2: NO

Egyptian # 4: Lol not at all.

Egyptian # 3: yeah but its just too small to be seen

American woman: ---the reason I ask is twofold. First, I don't speak Arabic. Second, the Tamarod has been portrayed by some as provocative and instigating violence. If this is written anywhere, that is not good. I suspect it is not written anywhere but your comment is an editorial??

Egyptian # 3: i didnt read these images , i am talking about the main idea of 30/6

American woman: Explain plz...

Egyptian # 3: Tamarod dosn't encourage violence but they - surely- gonna cause some violence

Egyptian # 2: Tamarod in Arabic means Rebel and that the whole idea rebelling against a fascist regime, however egyptians took the streets today two days in advance of Tamarod call for 30/6, unfortunately Ann Paterson is still supporting Moslem brotherhood

American woman: How? and why?

Egyptian # 3:  look we dont have Ghandi right here , and what made 25th revolution succeed is coz there were some need violence . now its about to begin again , some blood must be taken or nothing is going to change

American woman: You don't need Ghandi to have a bloodless revolution---will and determination along with organization of millions. Violence is old school ya Mshfahm

Egyptian # 3: breaking some eggs is the main point for both wings , Eikhwan and Tamorod

Egyptian # 3: stop being so utopic , if people hadnt cracked prisons , kick some police asses , yell in media , chattin in facebook and throwing eachothers with rocks and molotov , we would had our asses raped by Mubarak regime , and we wouldnt be alive till now

American woman: So I understand your first comment now (I think). Get the fuck out or all hell will be unleashed, is that it?

Egyptian # 3: i apologize for using slang words but we all are angry here . yeah i meant by my first commentary is to advice foreign people to not get involved by any form , not to be with or against us . Egypt will decide

Egyptian # 5: Sharon, the answer to your question is simple: open a beginner's history book about Islamists; flip back 1400 years and you'd see the same headlines-- "Despot in power; people want him out." It's the longest broken record in any history.

American woman: I know you are all angry and the last thing on my mind is to interfere. I stand in support of my Egyptian friends to reclaim their country, period. I am ashamed by the activity of the US government and voices in our media that see the Tamarod movement as less than it is--a mass public outpouring of dissent with a strong and thoughtful plan to take back the country from their "freely elected" dictator.

Egyptian # 6: Sharon Bussell what written are 4 poster get down and protest on 30-6 and you of course understood what about Morsi and Ann Paterson (for Ann what we think and mostly written all over Egypt Devil Ann Go home I think you know Why

Egyptian # 2: Tamarod announced in a press conference that they collected 22 Million Signatures to impeach Morsy


(Ed. Actually, considering my belief that history is "just one damned thing after another", I would say it ain't ever going to be over. But isn't that last bit by Egyptian # 5 interesting. Sometimes there are major upheavals that change the course of history, the way rivers sometimes change their course, or climates.   In my ever so humble opinion, I think we are witnessing one here, and it's not just the ouster of an Islamist dictator that I'm talking about, although I surely hope they succeed, or even the Arab Spring, but it's what is implied by Egyptian # 5's  comment. Is Egypt in the process of ditching Islam?  Similar revolutions occurred in the past in China and in Europe.

And this, too: i meant by my first commentary is to advice foreign people to not get involved by any form. Which "foreign" people is he talking about? The West? The Saudis? The Iranians? Russians? All of the above?)


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Monday, July 01, 2013

Every Once In A While...

...the CBC just floors me.

Yesterday, I heard this story on the radio, but the report mentioned "Onion Lake", not Onion Lake First Nation, and I thought to myself, I'll bet the perps were from the reserve nearby, but political correctness kept the media from revealing that detail. Now, low and behold, the CBC actually states right up front that the perps were indeed from the Onion Lake First Nation.

And good for the chief!
"The Chief of Onion Lake told CBC News he was sorry to hear about what happened to Meise.

Wallace Fox said he plans to get in touch with the hiker.

He said he hopes the actions of a few people don't damage the image of his community, and said he wanted to replace Meise's gear."

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