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http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/1...ress-nation-party-chief-says/?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

It started with, "Hey! He's stepping down!" and ended with, "Screw you, Egypt! I'm staying and you can't make me go!"

I think his speech was the same one that Louis XVI of France made in 1792. How'd that go for him?

I knew this would happen as soon as the pro mubarak "protesters" starting beating the shit out of people.

Ravenpoe said:

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Ravenpoe said:

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The man makes a convincing argument.

Dave said:

I think his speech was the same one that Louis XVI of France made in 1792. How'd that go for him?

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I thought the same. When I hit the end I thought, "Gee, that sounds like the last speech of every politician who has been drawn and quartered by an angry mob."

That troll face had me dying Jay. Nice.

Mubarak steps down!!

AlJazeera is so much better than the US news it's not even funny.

http://www.youtube.com/user/AlJazeeraEnglish

That's because they still have integrity.

Krisken said:

That's because they still have integrity.

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It's because they don't have to listen to advertisers complain about their reporting and choose between a $500k contract and a news story.

First Lady Puffinstuff said:

It's because they don't have to listen to advertisers complain about their reporting and choose between a $500k contract and a news story.

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Isn't that what I just said?

Krisken said:

Isn't that what I just said?

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Sounds like you are opposed to repetitious redundancy.

That's huge.

Now we'll see if the military does what we hope they'll do or what we fear they'll do.

Hopefully they don't intend to copy the gameplay of the Chinese in the 1989 Protesters vs. Army match.

North_Ranger said:

Hopefully they don't intend to copy the gameplay of the Chinese in the 1989 Protesters vs. Army match.

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If they were going to it would have happened weeks ago.

Now it could happen if the people don't return and allow a constitutional convention to happen.

Yeah, if anything is going to happen, it's going to be because someone doesn't like the results of the election, the election doesn't happen, or there is significant belief that the election was rigged. Anything else will be due to people not going home.

The egyptian military has dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution.

Funny how good that sounds when one is talking democracy.

TommiR said:

The egyptian military has dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution.

Funny how good that sounds when one is talking democracy.

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True, but it also means that they are going to be under marshal law until the elections... assuming some Generalissimo doesn't decide he can do a better job than anyone who could be elected.

AshburnerX said:

True, but it also means that they are going to be under marshal law until the elections... assuming some Generalissimo doesn't decide he can do a better job than anyone who could be elected.

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Yeah. But even if everything turns out for the best, it still feels kind of ironic to think of pro-democracy forces hailing it as good news when the military kicks out the parliament and puts the constitution on hold

Myself, I must admit to some concerns over regional stability over this whole thing. Though I suppose a democratic system is something to be supported for the benefit of the egyptian people over an autocratic regime, I have doubts that any democratic egyptian government will be quite as well-disposed towards Israel as Mubarak's administration was. I'm not sure at all if that's a good thing.

TommiR said:

Myself, I must admit to some concerns over regional stability over this whole thing. Though I suppose a democratic system is something to be supported for the benefit of the egyptian people over an autocratic regime, I have doubts that any democratic egyptian government will be quite as well-disposed towards Israel as Mubarak's administration was. I'm not sure at all if that's a good thing.

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It really just depends on how much they like getting billions in aid from the US. If they aren't pro-Israel, they won't be getting nearly as much and without the aid, it's unlikely the new government will be able to sustain itself. This is especially true if it's a secular government.

AshburnerX said:

It really just depends on how much they like getting billions in aid from the US. If they aren't pro-Israel, they won't be getting nearly as much and without the aid, it's unlikely the new government will be able to sustain itself. This is especially true if it's a secular government.

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Let's hope you're right about the effects. But the US annual aid to Egypt totalled about 1.5 billion $ in 2010, with 1.3 billion $ of it in military and security assistance. These figures do sound to me like too small to be a make-or-break deal for an egyptian government.

According to this article from 2009, it might currently indeed be too small to make a difference, at least for the ordinary egyptian:

With U.S. economic aid to Egypt cut to $200 million for 2009, the per capita share is a measly $2.60 in a country with an average gross domestic income (GDP) per capita at current prices of about $1,697 in 2007 and $2,184 in 2008 according to the World Development Report of 2009—the sharp increase is partially attributed to the high inflation rate of 11.8 percent in 2008. If calculated using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) that adjusts for the relative purchasing power difference between the Egyptian pound and the dollar, the average per capita income in Egypt was $5,352 in 2007 and $5,400 in 2008. Therefore, in per capita terms, U.S. economic aid to Egypt is barely a drop in the bucket.

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edit: Personally, I believe the military represents the best hope for an orderly transition and a favorable post-election situation in Egypt and the region. After the removal of Mubarak and his inner circle, the egyptian military is one of the few remaining pro-US/pro-Israel factions of significance left in Egypt. But I am a bit worried about the Muslim Brotherhood, which is arguably the best organised political force in Egypt, hostile to Israel, and pro-Hamas. Even if things work out in the interim and the elections roll out in September, it is hardly unheard-of in the region for masses of poor people without democratic traditions to "vote wrong". It takes a long time (and some would say a large, strong, and politically aware middle-class) to build such traditions, whilst the democratic process can be subverted in a couple of election cycles.

I'm not saying that the military should take over permanently, mind you. Just that they will be the most crucial factor in the development of a favorable long-term political outcome in the country, IMHO.