Egypt is falling

[JaseSF]

Vive la revolution!! The stables of life are too expensive and there's too much corruption and unfairness at the top. Why let dictactors and outright criminal leaders rule??

[indianasmith]

If you prefer to see the land of the Pyramids become another Somalia more power to ya.  I am in favor of peace and stability, which in the long run is of greater benefit to the people as a whole than letting a bunch of Taliban-style fanatics take over and plunge the country into a new Dark Age while plotting the overthrow of civilization.

[lester1/2jr]

I am in favor of peace and stability

?? I'm a little baffled by your response to what appears to most people to be very good news.

At any rate, theres no alternative. What would you have us do, send in US troops to defend the Mubarak regime? That's not remotely feasible.


Just think:  if we hadn't invaded Iraq this probably would be happening there now too. and like a million people would still be alive and we probably wouldn't be in a recession and and...

too depressing to contemplate.

[Doggett]

The title of this thread is a little dramatic.
Kinda makes it sound like its being wiped of the map by martians.


Its just having bit of a revolution, thats all. Many countries have had them. 

[lester1/2jr]

it was done in the heat of the moment. It was all I could come up with

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

If you prefer to see the land of the Pyramids become another Somalia more power to ya.  I am in favor of peace and stability, which in the long run is of greater benefit to the people as a whole than letting a bunch of Taliban-style fanatics take over and plunge the country into a new Dark Age while plotting the overthrow of civilization.

Unfortunately, this is the problem with freedom-we can't trust others to do 'the right thing" when it's not our call.   So some see this as "a good move" and all that?

I'd like to see the same people say that when American and European tourists (or tourists in general) start to disappear, only to be found dead and thrown into a ditch, or worse, beheaded?  Will it be such a good thing then?

Regardless of what where we see this thing going, it one of those wait-and-see situations that has to play out. That said, regardless of any variables, there's always that set of things you can see coming a mile away no matter what happens. It's the S.O.S.

[Couchtr26]

I'd like to see the same people say that when American and European tourists (or tourists in general) start to disappear, only to be found dead and thrown into a ditch, or worse, beheaded?  Will it be such a good thing then?

That is a concern.  What I am more worried about at the moment is how quickly stability will be restored.  No matter what there will be an interim period that hopefully won't last long but where no one will be sure of what is going on at the moment.  It is how most things occur.  I wonder what side will prevail.  I hope a pro-human rights group that will work towards this end.  However, there is worry a group will act righteous that comes to power and then turns over time into more of the same they have seen. 

[JaseSF]

Some might argue something drastic is needed closer to home especially in the wake of outright criminal actions taken by some thieving corporate heads and their followers....not so very long ago...

[indianasmith]

Some might be murderers, too!

Seriously, no, I don't see that the U.S. needs to try and prop up a regime that is rapidly crumbling - at the same time, many said that Khoumeini would be a moderate and stabilizing influence in Iran, and instead what we have is the Number One world sponsor of Islamic terrorism working towards a nuclear weapon.  So maybe we don't need to rush to embrace the revolutionaries either.

From what I hear, right now, in Egypt, the mobs are burning churches and murdering every Christian they can find.  I have a former student over there studying Egyptology at the University of Cairo. I am terrified for her.  She is a white, blond, Christian female in a country whose people are hostile to ALL those demographic groups!   I am in favor or whatever faction will keep the fanatics from killing every Westerner or Christian that  they can lay their hands on.

Incidentally, if Lester chimes in with his usual "blame America because the U.S. has no business having any presence in the Middle East whatsoever", let me say that the Christians being murdered now are Egyptian Coptics, whose church existed for centuries before Muhammad was ever born.

[Jim H]

From what I hear, right now, in Egypt, the mobs are burning churches and murdering every Christian they can find.

Where'd you hear this?  All the violence reports I've read are much more generalized mob violence.

I'm aware of the long history of violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt, so it wouldn't surprise me - just haven't read anything about it yet as it relates to this mob violence.  On that note, here's a happier story.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gGiADb4YzqsC_nlgj5gkFPvXl7RA?docId=3944f4eda7c64f4c9449a7c017d6e281

Before the army arrived, young Egyptians — some armed with truncheons grabbed off the police — created a human chain at the museum's front gate to prevent looters from making off with any of its priceless artifacts.

[indianasmith]

Hooray for those brave and decent people who united to save national treasures!  It still grieves me to read that two royal mummies were destroyed and several of the treasure's from Tut's tomb are damaged.  WHAT ARE THOSE IDIOTS THINKING?  Are they gonna sell it at at flea market?  

(&^%*(&^$%*&#!! barbarians!!

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

Some might be murderers, too!

Incidentally, if Lester chimes in with his usual "blame America because the U.S. has no business having any presence in the Middle East whatsoever", let me say that the Christians being murdered now are Egyptian Coptics, whose church existed for centuries before Muhammad was ever born.

That's the problem-noone seems to recognize that Christianity isn't just "a White thing."  

There are not only the Egyptian Coptics, but Christian groups in Iran and other places who fear for their lives because they won't recognize Islam.  Any Christian of any race or color is equally at risk as this thing continues to spread.  And if Egyptian Muslims (or any Muslims) are denying their own people the right to worship as they see fit, then they too are just as bad as the ones they're pointing fingers at in the post Crusades\9-11 world.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

Hooray for those brave and decent people who united to save national treasures!  It still grieves me to read that two royal mummies were destroyed and several of the treasure's from Tut's tomb are damaged.  WHAT ARE THOSE IDIOTS THINKING?  Are they gonna sell it at at flea market?  

(&^%*(&^$%*&#!! barbarians!!

It's always funny, isn't it?  Things like this almost always involve rioting. It shows me (imho anyhow) that there are those who just want something for themselves and don't care about what's going on. It's all about what they can get and nothing else.

You would think that these people who want "democracy and justice" and all that would take pride in their country's history and the artifacts that date or pre-date it. 

And indeed, hats off to the ones who bravely stood and defended their country's history and treasures.  I couldn't agree more! 

[JaseSF]

It is worrying that the country might well fall into worse hands than it had before. Hopefully it doesn't but it's certainly plausible it very well could. I think many thought the last presidential election would have brought more widespread change in the U.S. (I really don't think taxpayers should be bailing out large corporations).

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

I'd like to see the same people say that when American and European tourists (or tourists in general) start to disappear, only to be found dead and thrown into a ditch, or worse, beheaded?  Will it be such a good thing then?

That is a concern.  What I am more worried about at the moment is how quickly stability will be restored.  No matter what there will be an interim period that hopefully won't last long but where no one will be sure of what is going on at the moment.  It is how most things occur.  I wonder what side will prevail.  I hope a pro-human rights group that will work towards this end.  However, there is worry a group will act righteous that comes to power and then turns over time into more of the same they have seen. 

Well, far as I can see, I have little or no hope for a human rights group to step in because of the one-sidedness of this thing in the past, and by that I mean this:

All we heard about from guys like Bono and the ACLU and Jesse "the fake Navy SEAL" Ventura, were abuot the stuff WE do to THEM.  Gitmo, water boards, torture, etc.

But yet, we never hear any mention of the Taliban slitting Daniel Pearl's throat,  the Pakistani-based acid attacks against women (and the burning of womens' schools) or the little Iraqi boy Yousef, whose face was disfigured by Iraqi Al-Qaeda about 5 years back, after they poured gasoline on him.  

Or if they did say anything, I haven't heard. But it always seems that noone addresses the atrocities on the other side of the aisle.