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redfox
2-11-11, 1:52pm
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/world/middleeast/12egypt.html?_r=1&hp

I have Egyptian family, in Alexandria & in Seattle. WOW!!! What is happening is astonishing. I'm thinking of my sister's FIL, who has spent his life fighting wars for corrupt Egyptian leaders, and is now retired in poverty, while the 6 of his 7 sons are jobless and miserable. My BIL, his eldest, fled to the US for hope and work. He is an attorney in Egypt, and drives a limo here. And here he stays.

This is so amazing...

HappyHiker
2-11-11, 2:53pm
Thank you for posting this. It really puts what's going on--and why--in perspective. Please let me extend best wishes for a new Egypt that brings more hope, possibilities and vitality to everyone. Now I more fully understand the joyous celebration I'm seeing in videos from Cairo. I hope you'll keep us up to date.

Alan
2-11-11, 3:42pm
The question still remains, what will Egypt look like 6 months or a year from now? Will the military fill the leadership void and continue on as if nothing has happened? Will a secular government spring out of nowhere? Or will the Muslim Brotherhood rush in?

It's going to be interesting.

Charity
2-11-11, 3:54pm
Redfox,

Send my heartfelt congratulations and admiration for the Egyptian people to your family. What they accomplished today inspires us all.

Crystal
2-11-11, 4:32pm
A comment from a friend today I thought was interesting: "Let's keep in mind that it's not necessarily in the cards for each nation to be a carbon copy of the US." Nor should they be.

And comment from another friend: "I wonder who the CIA has picked to govern Egypt next?"

HappyHiker
2-11-11, 4:38pm
A comment from a friend today I thought was interesting: "Let's keep in mind that it's not necessarily in the cards for each nation to be a carbon copy of the US." Nor should they be.

Yes, that's going to be crucial to keep in mind, isn't it? Self-determination needs to be the hallmark of each nation.

ApatheticNoMore
2-11-11, 4:41pm
A comment from a friend today I thought was interesting: "Let's keep in mind that it's not necessarily in the cards for each nation to be a carbon copy of the US."

Let's hope not!

loosechickens
2-11-11, 5:11pm
It definitely remains to be seen what the new government of Egypt shapes up to be........whether the military holds the country together while free and fair elections are set up and run, or whether they simply become another military dictatorship under a new name. Time will tell.

Unfortunately, despite our "Egypt should be self determining", this country does not have a good record in that department. We are all for "democracy" until those folks vote in someone of whom we do not approve, and we get our hands in the pie pretty quickly at that point, and don't quit our efforts to topple that "democratically elected government" ASAP.

bae
2-11-11, 6:35pm
Will a secular government spring out of nowhere? Or will the Muslim Brotherhood rush in?


No worries there, Alan. Yesterday, during a House Intelligence Committee hearing, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said:



"The term 'Muslim Brotherhood'...is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam," Clapper said. "They have pursued social ends, a betterment of the political order in Egypt, et cetera.....In other countries, there are also chapters or franchises of the Muslim Brotherhood, but there is no overarching agenda, particularly in pursuit of violence, at least internationally."

Zigzagman
2-11-11, 7:00pm
Or will the Muslim Brotherhood rush in?

I hope that is not the case - based upon their actions in the Sudan that would not be a good thing. I suspect that unless we change our "foreign policy" towards the middle east then we can only expect more and more of this.

Peace

JaneV2.0
2-11-11, 7:00pm
Are you sure, Bae? That's not what Glenn Beck said. :devil:

bae
2-11-11, 7:02pm
Are you sure, Bae? That's not what Glenn Beck said. :devil:

Who is Glenn Beck?

lhamo
2-11-11, 7:05pm
So happy for your family and the people of Egypt today, redfox. It has been a bit eerie watching this from Beijing. So many echos of what happened here in '89, and yesterday when I heard about Mubarek's speech I was really, really afraid for all the demonstrators about what might happen. So what a wonderful development to wake up this morning and hear he has stepped down! It is certainly going to be a long, hard struggle to reshape the country politically and socially after so many years of his dominations, but at least this is a positive change. Sending positive mental energy to the people of Egypt today -- good luck building a new future for yourselves.

lhamo

JaneV2.0
2-11-11, 7:39pm
He's a self-described rodeo clown. Carry on...

Re Egypt, so far so good! I hope they get their secular democracy and a smooth transition to it.

Alan
2-11-11, 10:19pm
No worries there, Alan. Yesterday, during a House Intelligence Committee hearing, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said......:

That seems to be what the Brotherhood and our government want us to believe. Unfortunately, their charter, their actions and their membership seem to disagree.

It's sort of like the Carter administrations representation of Ayatollah Khomeini as a Ghandi like figure when he returned to Iran 32 years ago this month. I wonder how many Iranians would agree with that now?

redfox
2-11-11, 11:12pm
The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt are not a dominant voice. They are a voice, however, and deserved to be respected as such. That's what democracy is about! I heatedly disagree with the Tea Party, but welcome their existence and participation in US politics.

ElBaradei is a key negotiator, and I am glad for that. And I don't really have deep inside information, just a very jubilant extended family. I do recommend checking out the Al Jazeera website for up to date news.

Everyone in Egypt hopes for short term military control, and open, fair elections soon. We shall see. They were inspired by Tunisians, and the Syrians are watching, as are other countries. It's an exciting time.