Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and revolution in MENA

• ptown_trojans_1

  

  First it was Tunisia two weeks ago today. Then it was Lebanon, now it is Egypt.
  Protests and huge swings of internal change in the region not seen in over 50 years.
  
  Tunisia is still trying to figure it out with riots daily and a new government trying to please the people. Tunisia shocked people because it was a moderate country with a solid economy, that fell.
  
  Lebanon fell last week, as the Western back Hariri government fell as Hezbollah withdrew from the cabinet. Then, an ally of Hairi switched to the Hezbollah group. Now, the new Prime Minister is backed by Hezbollah and the government is basically controlled by Hezbollah. That is good and bad. Good as it brings responsibility to Hezbollah, something they do not actually want if you read their statements.
  It is bad as it brings Syria and Iran back to power in the state.
  
  Now, Egypt is falling into chaos as they want to take down a dictator. Mubarack has been a U.S. ally for a while, but this guy has really cracked down on his people, which has boiled up now to this level. The situation is unstable, he could fall, he could not.
  
  If he falls, either former head of the IAEA Elbaradei could rise to lead the country, or the Muslim Brotherhood could rise and take over. Now, the Muslim Brotherhood is not the same as it was during the 1980s. It has become moderate and has really changed its philosophy.
  
  No,w the administration is playing both sides in these things. They support the chaos in Tunisia, but not Lebanon or Egypt, calling for restraint. The one thing about democracy as well all know is it is messy and the results aren't always clear. I would hope the administration would be more vocal in supporting these changes as this is Huge news in the region. Yes, Murbarack is a strategic ally, but we cannot keep supporting this guy as he cracks down on his own people.
  
  Finally, it is nice to see it on the three major networks. Only al Jazeera was really covering it the past few weeks. Now, it is getting the press it deserves. This is basically what we thought would happen after 2003, only it never did. Now, something has sparked it.
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  I guess I can add Yemen to the mix, as 10,000 people protested yesterday. This one is interesting as we have know jihadis in Yemen, and many other elements in the country.
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/27/AR2011012702082_pf.html
• derek bomar

  

  http://www.hark.com/clips/zgpynvhtdv-you-vs-me-and-the-revolution
• majorspark

  

  Mubarack is toast. People have had it with his 30yr dictatorship. He is shitting his pants right now.
• buck

  http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2011/0127/Joe-Biden-says-Egypt-s-Mubarak-no-dictator-he-shouldn-t-step-down?cmpid=addthis_twitter&sms_ss=twitter&at_xt=4d421b92d593d07c,0
  according to biden Mubarak is not a dictator. it will be interesting to see what kind of governments come out of this.
  
  http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/01/28/135395.html
  some police have joined the protest
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  buck;656309 wrote:http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2011/0127/Joe-Biden-says-Egypt-s-Mubarak-no-dictator-he-shouldn-t-step-down?cmpid=addthis_twitter&sms_ss=twitter&at_xt=4d421b92d593d07c,0
  according to biden Mubarak is not a dictator. it will be interesting to see what kind of governments come out of this.
  
  http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/01/28/135395.html
  some police have joined the protest

  
  That is a BS statement by Biden.
  I hate this when the administration decides to support his idiot instead of embracing this.
  This is for real as it is not just college age people, but middle class and business people.
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  Yeah, I'm sure the U.S. wants to be supporting a guy who is shutting down the internet and social media.
  Geesh, we hammered the Chinese and Iran for doing the same thing.
  
  I understand the strategic concerns, but democracy> Murbarack.
• Firad

  

  It's getting wild in Egypt.
  
  http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
• majorspark

  

  Your link is now dead. Reporters are having cameras broken or confiscated.
• I Wear Pants

  We'd be smart to ease up on our support of the Egyptian dictator it seems if we'd like to keep Egypt as an ally.
• Tobias Fünke

  

  Don't we give something like $250,000,000/year to Egypt as aid?
  
  I have a cousin studying abroad in Cairo; he's a criminal science/Arabic major at Tiffin University. His status updates are interesting to say the least. He says the locals tell them it will will simmer down within a week, but I don't know. This thing has gained some momentum.
• majorspark

  

  Gunfire and explosions are being heard in Cairo. Soldiers are opening fire on protesters defying curfew. But as Joe Biden says, Mubarak is no dictator.
• majorspark

  

  Yes, I believe Egypt is second to Israel in foreign aid.
• CenterBHSFan

  

  Hmm.. when in the hell are the balls gonna drop? (if anybody's read some of my derisive comments on this administration, they'd know what I mean) + (oh and yes, I can and will pick and choose my moments and situations)
• I Wear Pants

  
  Egypt ^^^^
• I Wear Pants

  
  This image is actually from Egypt.
  
  It's weird how a photo that could otherwise be an intense and important image loses much of its power because of something silly like the style of a person's underpants.
• september63

  

  Egypt has pulled the plug on the internet!! The entire country went black on the internet as the government did this so companies couldnt continue sending out images of the clashing protestors.
• I Wear Pants

  Yeah, lets see anyone claim Mubarak isn't a dictator now.
• O-Trap

  

  Uh oh. Egyptian spammers are gonna be PISSED! LOL!
• O-Trap

  

  In seriousness, though, this is honestly a good thing. Governments SHOULD be, at least a little, afraid of their constituents, and if a government oppresses like this one has in recent years, the people should bare their teeth.
• I Wear Pants

  http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
• believer

  

  Well - and go ahead and label me a hater - as long as these countries generally ruled by the religion of peace are in-fighting each other, they aren't spending a lot of time contemplating how to bring down the Great Satan. Just sayin'
• september63

  

  Or the USA.
• I Wear Pants

  Haha, that's one way to look at it.
• BGFalcons82

  

  september63;656831 wrote:Egypt has pulled the plug on the internet!! The entire country went black on the internet as the government did this so companies couldnt continue sending out images of the clashing protestors.

  
  If I'm not mistaken, doesn't Lord Obama want this same power in times of "crisis"...whatever the fuck a "crisis" is defined to be?