Good tweet on the current events
http://twitter.com/SultanAlQassemi#

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

It's shameful how long the US has propped up this strong-arm dictator ... and so the blowback begins. *promote

Promoting this video back to the front page; last published Friday, January 28th, 2011 2:57pm PST - promote requested by dag.

I can't help draw the parallel between China's call for restraint after the North Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong (and the condemnation it received for not flat out denouncing it) and Hilary Clinton doing the same visa vi Egypt's protests.

EDIT - Actually, watched it now and it's probably an unfair comparison.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTpVXsRMAM8

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

That's a great observation. No small amount of hypocrisy there.

The US somehow manages to get away with espousing democracy out of one corner of the mouth and supporting crappy dictators out of the other in the name of "stability". 1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt every year ... disgraceful.

>> ^RedSky:

I can't help draw the parallel between China's call for restraint after the North Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong (and the condemnation it received for not flat out denouncing it) and Hilary Clinton doing the same visa vi Egypt's protests.

And USA wants that power too.

*music

Adding video to channels (Music) - requested by ant.

It's just a continuation of the sad, shameful story of American foreign policy since World War II: As long as you're not communist, or are not mean to Israel, you will be our friend, and we totally don't give a shit how you treat your people. And still some idiots are completely baffled about why so many people hate America. Are they supposed to love us when we befriended their brutal leaders? Nope, it's just easier to label legitimately angry Muslims as terrorists who hate freedom, apple pie, monster truck rallies, and the Yankees. And everyone knows you don't have to be a terrorist to hate the Yankees.

If Mubarak is overthrown, I wonder how much money we'll dangle in front of the new regime just so they'll play nice with Israel? Will it be the same as what Mubarak is getting now, or will we up the ante just to show our 'commitment' to the 'will of the Egyptian people'? (If the Egyptian government is toppled, I guarantee that you'll be hearing those platitudes, over and over again.)

In the mean time, no one gives a fuck about the crisis in Ivory Coast. They're too poor, they don't produce oil or any other valuable resource, there are no American big businesses there, and they're too far away from the Middle East to have any influence. I'm sure the US State Department has Ivory Coast (along with most of Africa) on the official "Fuck Them" list.

>> ^dag:

That's a great observation. No small amount of hypocrisy there.
The US somehow manages to get away with espousing democracy out of one corner of the mouth and supporting crappy dictators out of the other in the name of "stability". 1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt every year ... disgraceful.
>> ^RedSky:
I can't help draw the parallel between China's call for restraint after the North Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong (and the condemnation it received for not flat out denouncing it) and Hilary Clinton doing the same visa vi Egypt's protests.

lies...
"For the first time in history, a government has shut down all national Internet and cellular access."

Ok forgetting about China and DPRK use of filtering and control of the internet.
Iran did this EXACT SAME THING about a year ago when they shut off access to Twitter ad much of SMS and internet in major cities when they had the same protests.

So, what is with the lies like Eqypt is different and Iran this never happened.

You know the more I watch this the more I get pissed. What kind of lies and propaganda. You can replace EVERY line in this video with what happened in Iran. Except in Iran there was real desire to elect different leadership and real proof of fraud. In Egypt it is a lower class that keeps electing this guy for 30 yrs. Just recently the lower-middle class is pissed.

Net Neutrality.

lol; what happens in Ivory Coast stays in Ivory Coast.
>> ^kronosposeidon:
I'm sure the US State Department has Ivory Coast (along with most of Africa) on the official "Fuck Them" list. .

@joedirt I had the same reaction... didn't this happen in Iran? Except they forgot about Twitter at first and that was the only thing getting out.

Still. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Won't it be something if the internet (net neutrality! net neutrality!) ends up being the means whereby the workers arise.

I haven't had a chance to listen to Chomsky's top 15 talk on Egypt. I will have to come back to this after I get a bit of education on the subject.

You know what the sad part is? Everyone hates the people of the US instead of the leaders. You think a majority of the people in the US determine foreign policy? No. You think the people determine where the troops or funding go? No. The only control we have is over who we elect. Which as history has shown consistently, they preach one thing and do the opposite every single time. We think, "Hey! Finally some change and we can fix all the shit we've done wrong!" Then the guy gets elected, gives the people the finger and does what he wants. It just amuses me when I meet people from other countries who automatically hate and/or loathe me for things out of my control. I'm sure there's things we as a whole can do but...

You know what the really sad part is? Most of us simply don't give a fuck because it doesn't have a direct effect on us. So next time you hate someone for being an American, don't do it because of the leaders, at least do it for their indifference. If I could run for President I would, but I just don't have the resources or backing because doing what you say is a bad thing in politics. That's why foreign policy sucks. That's why the shit that happens around the world is out of our control.

Change it or go play basketball with my buddies...99 times out of 100 I'm grabbing my sneaks.
>> ^kronosposeidon:

It's just a continuation of the sad, shameful story of American foreign policy since World War II: As long as you're not communist, or are not mean to Israel, you will be our friend, and we totally don't give a shit how you treat your people. And still some idiots are completely baffled about why so many people hate America. Are they supposed to love us when we befriended their brutal leaders? Nope, it's just easier to label legitimately angry Muslims as terrorists who hate freedom, apple pie, monster truck rallies, and the Yankees. And everyone knows you don't have to be a terrorist to hate the Yankees.

*africa

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*internet

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