*promote

Self promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Friday, February 11th, 2011 9:03am PST - promote requested by original submitter Morganth.

Dear Egypt,
Welcome to democracy. Please don't muck it up as much as we have.

Signed,
America

And in the vacuum the people will ask for a "leader" and soon a dictator will rise again.

*time=2:25 EDIT: is it *length=2:25 ?

Ima double post and test *length=2:25

Hurray!

The duration of this video has been updated from unknown to 2:25 - length declared by WaterDweller.

Ultimately--you need a plan that replaces the old with an acceptable new, and the new must have been placed there by the plan before the Murabarak fell. I doubt this is the case...but who knows, there might be hope.

>> ^blankfist:

And in the vacuum the people will ask for a "leader" and soon a dictator will rise again.


And here I figured you'd be cheering for the end of the Imperialist puppet scum.

I'll bet kittens make you sad, thinking of how every day of their lives they will only get uglier and uglier.

Very true. After all, Great Britain had a huge part in helping write the U.S. constitution, and they helped ease a gradual change from British rule to American sovereignty. Any other way just couldn't have worked, ...right?

*politics
*worldaffairs

Adding video to channels (Politics, Worldaffairs) - requested by NetRunner.

>> ^ShakyJake:

Very true. After all, Great Britain had a huge part in helping write the U.S. constitution, and they helped ease a gradual change from British rule to American sovereignty. Any other way just couldn't have worked, ...right?


Indeed, they moved straight on to a stable democracy with freedom and equality...

If you were a wealthy white male.

America as we know it is the result of better than a hundred years of pain and suffering fighting for what it is today. Egypt may well be on the start of that same road, but that isn't going to promise it will be pleasant for them or their neighbors.

>> ^bcglorf:

>> ^blankfist:
And in the vacuum the people will ask for a "leader" and soon a dictator will rise again.

And here I figured you'd be cheering for the end of the Imperialist puppet scum.


There's a power vacuum now. I worry who'll fill it. Another puppet? Another extremist? Or can they truly have a representational government?

I'm glad the people were able to influence Mubarak enough to make him resign. That's great. I was rooting for them. I don't think this is the revolution that will bring about the kind of change they or anyone on here desires for them. There's so much about Egypt and their politics and culture that I simply do not have knowledge of so I don't even want to speculate how it turn out for them.

I hope we all can move toward a free and voluntary society, but it's probably an evolution not a quick jump.

>> ^blankfist:

>> ^bcglorf:
>> ^blankfist:
And in the vacuum the people will ask for a "leader" and soon a dictator will rise again.

And here I figured you'd be cheering for the end of the Imperialist puppet scum.

There's a power vacuum now. I worry who'll fill it. Another puppet? Another extremist? Or can they truly have a representational government?
I'm glad the people were able to influence Mubarak enough to make him resign. That's great. I was rooting for them. I don't think this is the revolution that will bring about the kind of change they or anyone on here desires for them. There's so much about Egypt and their politics and culture that I simply do not have knowledge of so I don't even want to speculate how it turn out for them.
I hope we all can move toward a free and voluntary society, but it's probably an evolution not a quick jump.


Shudder. We are largely agreed. I'm kind of judging this as a case of things having to get worse before they get better. If this kind of precedent can be encouraged, even if it means some strong armed fringe of the brotherhood taking over for awhile, I think it will on the whole be a positive influence. Most likely Egypt will have to fight much longer to truly get the free and fair elected government they desire, but at least they can start making and learning from their own mistakes again. If it catches on in the region, so much the better. Iran's green movement almost got their last time, maybe they will succeed next time after this.

>> ^bcglorf:
Shudder. We are largely agreed.


Now you have to come over here and suck on these nuts to make the disgust official. Swallow the gravy.

It's amazing that they got results without the United States invading their country. I guess the Americans are just too busy elsewhere.

Another win for Twitter.

I imaging there's going to be more than just democracy conceived in Egypt tonight. A LOT more!

The thumbnail image for this video has been updated - thumbnail added by kronosposeidon.

>> ^blankfist:

There's a power vacuum now. I worry who'll fill it. Another puppet? Another extremist? Or can they truly have a representational government?


The vacuum is being filled by the army with high acceptance by the people. The behaviour of the Egyptian army over the past few weeks has been truly amazing. They read the people and the tide extremely well and should be commended for how they handled themselves.

It's a shame that the same could not be said of the police; who wasted 300 people's lives.

The internet played a massive role in this revolution; kinda ties in nicely with the recent Steven Pinker sift which covers mutual knowledge; which facebook and twitter provided in this instance.

Hopefully it also serves as a warning to other regimes, that if they're not serving their people; there is still a breaking point.

Mubarek's address yesterday was a total facepalm. The first half he almost sounded half convincing that he had the people's interests at heart (apart from the patronising "from a father to his sons" opening). Then any small chance he had he blew out of the water when he started talking about himself, and how great he was.

Nobody knows who will lead Egypt yet, and there's going to be lots of difficulties because of the region they are in; but I really hope it works out for them. I think the people will have very little tolerance for being hoodwinked.

I wish I saw as rosy a picture as mainstream media portrays, but I can't. The popular uprising may not have been in the plans of Mubarak's regime, but he and his cronies still managed to come out of it largely unscathed. Democracy? When Sulemain remains as sitting president? He shares all of Mubarak's undemocratic worldview and there is no evidence he will leave power in September.

The Egyptian army has been favorably portrayed in this revolution because it didn't fire on the protesters, but -despite a few words to the contrary- they didn't *really* side with them either. Oh sure, there may have been some solidarity between the average soldier and the common protester, but none of them broke ranks. Rather, the military elite stayed stolidly in Mubarak's camp and disciplined. The army played "good cop" while Mubarak's internal police forces - disguised as plainclothes Mubarak supporters- were the "bad cop" in the equation. To further heighten the tension, Mubarak then pulled back the legitimate cops so criminals could operate openly. Meanwhile, the army quietly captured the city (literally doing an encirclement maneuver around Tahir square) and providing "safety" and "stability" from Mubarak's own intentionally-fired anarchy. The protesters fled right into the arms of the very forces that are the basis of Mubarak's own sovereignty.

Yes, Mubarak might be "out" (although it is equally likely he will still remain a very real power operating from the background). But the regime that supported him, empowered by the military elite who -to a man- supported Mubarak through the crisis- remains in control. Promise of free elections in September are likely empty. A few of the chairs may gave been shuffled around, but is unlikely that the people have any greater say in their governance than they did a few weeks ago. It was a masterful management of the situation and one, I am sure, our own popularly-elected officials, are taking note of how it could be done should our own people one day rise up and say "enough is enough".

Mainstream media portrays this as a great victory for the common man, but look closely; nothing has really changed in Egypt. It's a snow job designed to make people feel good while the people with the power make sure they remain the *only* ones with real power; the "common man" (not just in Egypt, but across the world) -lulled by this easy "victory" - goes back to not questioning the power structure because he "knows" he has made a change for the better.

Man, this situation seems like something you would see in the movies... No one saw this coming, especially how just yesterday he said her was going to do everything but resign...

Let's hope that this is a sign of good things to come, otherwise current events could be the least of our worries...

Lookin' pretty *happy to me.

Invocations (happy) cannot be called by messenger because messenger is not privileged - sorry.

yeah, *happy

Adding video to channels (Happy) - requested by WaterDweller.

Insightful analysis. If Mubes Inc. really isn't going to continue running the scene from behind the throne, it will be the muslims taking over. Lesser or greater evil.


>> ^NirnRoot:

I wish I saw as rosy a picture as mainstream media portrays, but I can't. The popular uprising may not have been in the plans of Mubarak's regime, but he and his cronies still managed to come out of it largely unscathed. Democracy? When Sulemain remains as sitting president? He shares all of Mubarak's undemocratic worldview and there is no evidence he will leave power in September.
The Egyptian army has been favorably portrayed in this revolution because it didn't fire on the protesters, but -despite a few words to the contrary- they didn't really side with them either. Oh sure, there may have been some solidarity between the average soldier and the common protester, but none of them broke ranks. Rather, the military elite stayed stolidly in Mubarak's camp and disciplined. The army played "good cop" while Mubarak's internal police forces - disguised as plainclothes Mubarak supporters- were the "bad cop" in the equation. To further heighten the tension, Mubarak then pulled back the legitimate cops so criminals could operate openly. Meanwhile, the army quietly captured the city (literally doing an encirclement maneuver around Tahir square) and providing "safety" and "stability" from Mubarak's own intentionally-fired anarchy. The protesters fled right into the arms of the very forces that are the basis of Mubarak's own sovereignty.
Yes, Mubarak might be "out" (although it is equally likely he will still remain a very real power operating from the background). But the regime that supported him, empowered by the military elite who -to a man- supported Mubarak through the crisis- remains in control. Promise of free elections in September are likely empty. A few of the chairs may gave been shuffled around, but is unlikely that the people have any greater say in their governance than they did a few weeks ago. It was a masterful management of the situation and one, I am sure, our own popularly-elected officials, are taking note of how it could be done should our own people one day rise up and say "enough is enough".
Mainstream media portrays this as a great victory for the common man, but look closely; nothing has really changed in Egypt. It's a snow job designed to make people feel good while the people with the power make sure they remain the only ones with real power; the "common man" (not just in Egypt, but across the world) -lulled by this easy "victory" - goes back to not questioning the power structure because he "knows" he has made a change for the better.

Indeed. What's the worst-case scenario for the more hawkish US policymakers here? Perhaps that the Egyptian people actually manage to create something resembling a stable democracy without US military intervention...

>> ^Fusionaut:

It's amazing that they got results without the United States invading their country. I guess the Americans are just too busy elsewhere.

>> ^rebuilder:

Indeed. What's the worst-case scenario for the more hawkish US policymakers here? Perhaps that the Egyptian people actually manage to create something resembling a stable democracy without US military intervention...
>> ^Fusionaut:
It's amazing that they got results without the United States invading their country. I guess the Americans are just too busy elsewhere.



The worst case scenario is that the Hamas end of the Muslim Brotherhood ends up seizing control of Egypt, eventually leading to another large scale war between Egypt and Israel. I suppose worst case would also mean the Egyptian scenario emboldening the Sudanese North into starting the civil war all over again too.

A more likely scenario though is a lot of instability leading to more woes for the Egyptian people than anyone else.

Point is that despite how good it is to be rid of a dictatorship, the end result is yet to be seen. More often than not dictators that are chased out are replaced by another one within a decade, and generally that dictator is even more brutal and harsh than the one before him. After all, even Al Jazeera openly observes that it was the relative tolerance of Mubarak's regime that allowed the protests to succeed where those in Syria and Iran have faltered under much more brutal suppression.