Somalina;692897 wrote: Are you sure you want to get personal with me? What i do for my people is not up for discussion. Btw, I don't see lecture notes on here, so I really don't know what you are on about. Did I perhaps hit a nerve somewhere? Spare me your calaacal please, I could care less about what some hooligans are doing on the streets of Cairo every 5 minutes. The Arab throwing rocks in Tahrir SQ doesn't give 2cents about the woman losing her livestock in Galgaduud or the kid dying of dehydration in NFD, and If I point out your BS concern for the Egyptian people's well being there is absolutely no need to bite my neck you hear!. I honestly don't care for your nonsense opinion about me, so you better save it for the anti-Mubarak fans on here. I hope I made myself clear. p.s. Don't start something you can't finish. It seems you are quite confused. I'd care less what you personally contribute, it was you who came in this thread preaching from your soapbox about discussion with regards to Egypt. You are in no position to judge what anyone contributes to Somalia while getting emotional when your own approach gets directed to yourself. No one forced or cares if you discuss Egypt just save me your patronizing moral equivalency.

10 points for creativity.

Somalina;692847 wrote: It is interesting to see folks here giving so much attention to Egypt while close to 2.5 million Somalis don't have a glass of water to drink. Do you think Egyptians care about what goes on in Somalia? Ah! Somali men! enough said. p.s. I hope Mubarak stays. Paying attention to Somalia and other world events is not mutually exclusive so please save me your patronising. What exactly have you contributed to Somalia specifically that sets you apart from the people who posted in this thread? Bickering and endless clan posturing that passes as political debate is not helping those 2.5 million. Do you think Somalia operates in a regional vacuum, in the sense that major world events do not effect it? You are free to be apathetic but do not try to lecture anyone on following your stance from faulty moral grounds.

^ Great piece.

LayZie G.;692737 wrote: GoldCoast, what is the population of Cairo? How many hooligans called "the naar square" home the last 10days? And are you going to come here and say the entire Cairo population are out there causing mayhem? Essentially, you are saying not all of Cairo(which is the current hotbed of chaos and a good reason for using the city as an example) but all of Egypt are out on the streets, throwing stones, bleeding to death and if thats not enough, they resort to looting and probably resort to setting vehicles and buildings on fire with a side dish of threats of beheadings. Please, put your glasses on, grab a pen and a paper and do some serious calculations, no cheating.(calculator is a big no no for you) I find it incredible that you would log in to SOL with a straight face and repeat some of the Arab media's talking points. Waxaan oo kale mar danbe meesha hala imaanin. Just like you, I tune to the same foreign coverage (yes, even arab media) and I see what you see. Few hundred(maybe thousands) of disgruntled youth, who have no future and probably have been sniffing glue the night before having a go at the middle age fadhi kudir crowd(you know the shiisha smoking, coffee drinking), while the overwhelming majority of Egyptians have been brought to their knees, cairo and else. Some locked in their homes, glued to their television sets and if they dont have television, those day labourers are putting their 2, 4 or 6 yr old son or daughter to bed not knowing if they will feed them little less than the day before or whether or not they have anything to feed them at all? This is the reality that faces many Egyptians...and especially CAIRO residents. BTW, the person who will never be somebody(directed at your last post) needs some serious history lessons if he thinks the Arab world and Egypt's history started in the 20th century. Maybe while you are crunching some of those numbers above , you might want to grab a book too.(just a sisterly advise) SANKA, don't turn this into a Forbes 100 list where it concerns the Al-Kingpin. Instead, ask yourself, is the enormous source of wealth warranted? It's a legitimate question, one that should be open to debate. More ad hominem, more projection, but little fact or consistency in your arguments as usual. Stop shifting the goalposts and answer the question directly. We have regime orchestrated violence quite easy to witness in this information age with a draconian crackdown that has included chariots, camels,donkeys, bullets and police vans mowing down unarmed protesters yet it was you who first suggested that the protesters represented thugs and terrorists. Since it has become quite clear that you no longer can defend this narrative you have shifted the argument into the direction of more projection based on whatever fits your narrow ideological outlook. Next you will tell us the regimes asnine claims of a Western and Israel devised consipiracy have some sort of validity in them. You question my knowledge of the history of the region, yet quite clearly miss the significance of the uprising. These are without a shred of doubt the largest public demonstrations against a regime in over a century in Egypt, yet you've attempted to characterize it as the minor workings of "hundreds" (LOL). It is the regime that decided to burn, murder, and grind Cairo to a halt not the protesters. Quite hilarious how you mimick the state propaganda by shifting the blame of the chaos and insecurity on to the protesters. It will be quite amusing to see how you shift and squirm to transform your argument when the Western powers withdraw support for the regime. You suggest for me to pick up on my history, but its quite clear you have little to zero understanding of Egypt when minimizing the significance of these protests. Millions of media sources outside of the Arab sphere will also support the contention that the uprising is country wide and not minimized to Tahrir Square. Save the rhetorical aggrandizing for your hypocritical support of democratic rights in one sphere of the world. If you dont support the self determination of the Arabs then at least be forthright in your argument. All your other claims are an insult to the intelligence of this board.

I enjoyed the historical context this article provided: LONDON -- What a supreme irony it was for me to be in London and Paris between Saturday and Tuesday this week, as the popular revolt against the Hosni Mubarak regime reached its peak in Cairo, Alexandria and other Egyptian cities. To appreciate what is taking place in the Arab world today you have to grasp the historical significance of the events that have started changing rulers and regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, with others sure to follow. What we are witnessing is the unraveling of the post-colonial order that the British and French created in the Arab world in the 1920s and 30s and then sustained -- with American and Soviet assistance -- for most of the last half century. It is fascinating but quite provincial to focus attention -- as much of the Western media is doing -- on whether Facebook drove these revolts or what will happen if Muslim Brothers play a role in the governments to be formed. The Arabs are like a bride emerging on her wedding day and many people are commenting on whether her shoes match her gloves, when the real issue is how beautiful and happy she is. The events unfolding before our eyes are the third most important historical development in the Arab region in the past century, and to miss that point is to perpetuate a tradition of Western Orientalist romanticism and racism that has been a large cause of our pain for all these years. This is the most important of the three major historical markers because it is the first one that marks a process of genuine self-determination by Arab citizens who can speak and act for themselves for the first time in their modern history. The two other pivotal historical markers were: first, the creation of the modern Arab state system around 1920 at the hands of retreating European colonial powers. Some of them were intoxicated with both imperial power and, on occasion, with cognac, when they created most of the Arab countries that have limped into the 21st century as wrecks of statehood. Then, second, the period around 1970-80 when the Euro-manufactured modern Arab state system transformed into a collection of security and police states that treated their citizens as serfs without human rights and relied on massive foreign support to maintain the rickety Arab order for decades more. Now, we witness the third and most significant Arab historical development, which is the spontaneous drive by millions of ordinary Arabs to finally assert their humanity, demand their rights, and take command of their own national condition and destiny. Never before have we had entire Arab populations stand up and insist on naming their rulers, shaping their governance system, and defining the values that drive their domestic and foreign policies. Never before have we had self-determinant and free Arab citizenries. Never before have we had grassroots political, social and religious movements force leaders to change their cabinets and re-order the role of the armed forces and police. This is a revolt against specific Arab leaders and governing elites who implemented policies that have seen the majority of Arabs dehumanized, pauperized, victimized and marginalized by their own power structure; but it is also a revolt against the tradition of major Western powers that created the modern Arab states and then fortified and maintained them as security states after the 1970s. The process at hand now in Tunisia and Egypt will continue to ripple throughout the entire Arab world, as ordinary citizens realize that they must seize and protect their birthrights of freedom and dignity. It is a monumental task to transform from autocracy and serfdom to democracy and human rights; the Europeans needed 500 years to make the transition from the Magna Charta to the French Revolution. The Americans needed 300 years to transition from slavery to civil rights and women’s rights. Self-determination is a slow process that needs time. The Arab world is only now starting to engage in this exhilarating process, a full century after the false and rickety statehood that drunken retreating European colonialists left behind as they fled back to their imperial heartlands. It takes time and energy to re-legitimize an entire national governance system and power structure that have been criminalized, privatized, monopolized and militarized by small groups of petty autocrats and thieving families. Tunisia and Egypt are the first to embark on this historic journey, and other Arabs will soon follow, because most Arab countries suffer the same deficiencies that have been exposed for all to see in Egypt. Make no mistake about it, we are witnessing an epic, historic moment of the birth of concepts that have long been denied to ordinary Arabs: the right to define ourselves and our governments, to assert our national values, to shape our governance systems, and to engage with each other and the rest of the world as free human beings, with rights that will not be denied forever. In January 2011, a century after some Arabs started agitating for their freedoms from Ottoman and European colonial rule, and after many false starts in recent decades, we finally have a breakthrough to our full humanity. Rami G. Khouri is Editor-at-large of The Daily Star, and Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, in Beirut, Lebanon.

LayZie G.;691447 wrote: GoldCoast, if you take a look at your above quote, you will notice that I borrowed only 2 and a half lines and discarded the rest? You are probably wondering why, soo maaha? Because you have managed to dodge my earlier question, which asked you what your take was on the egyptian extravaganza as it was yesterday and as it is today? Not the headline take or the Al Jazeera TV version or the emotionally driven response you have plastered on the SOL walls. Instead, I want you to give me a simple hypothesis as a point of contention. Please try your best to just stick to current events and do your best to focus on EGYPT and maybe if it suits you you can draw contrast with Tunisia as that too is a recent event. In doing so, I expect you to uses the relevant history of the Mubarak Regime and the power vacuum in the case of our faithful "the muslim brotherhood" and perhaps and this is the most important ya GOLDCOAST, focus on past protests, the outcome of such protests and finally bring the bacon home ya gold coast. On a side note, I never imagined that the day would come when I would call on the praises on his highness, the devoted, the most loyal of all loyalties, the cult leader of wahhabiya, LORD of the lords, king among kings, the one and only King Abdullah Ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud much less expect to come out in full support of his condemnation. I dont care how many savages were injured or killed in the process of destroying their beloved homeland. They deserve every bit of pain and suffering thats coming to them because their pain and suffering is self- inflicted. That being the case, a legitimate protest should always be supported wherever it may take place but we should not, under any circumstance promote thievery and thuggery for the sake of appeasement and acceptance. PS:on a last note@GOLDIE, i am as serious as daylight, which is why I give people the benefit of the doubt, especially considering that some have more common sense than others. That being the case, talking about IRAN is a side attraction. Which is why you and others have a habit of creating diversions when it suits you, especially when you dont have the answer to my questions. Either that or engaging the person and not the subject, which is probably the oldest unwritten trick in the torah......(not quite literally ofcourse) ...LayZie G Another pathetic cry for attention which I will refuse to entertain seriously for a third time. Its a fact that the revolution is popular in nature, and not the workings of the Muslim Brotherhood. They even admitted so themselves. The January 25th protests which started the uprising were solely the workings of the countrys network of secular activists and opposition leaders. They had a resonance and as a result have grew into the popular movement theyve become today which has gotten the support of all facets of society including the countrys Chrisitian minority. How is this narrative consistent with yours of thuggery and terrorism?

ElPunto;691204 wrote: ^They wanna get ahead of the Egyptian street. They think if they back any successful popular uprising against Mubarak - their relationship with the country will remain the same. Very deluded. Similar to the invasion of Iraq ushering in democracy across the Arab world. Funny thing is they actually had an opportunity to do this. Even an empty message of support would build some measure of goodwill. But that moment has passed a long time ago. Gibbs is embarrassing to hear, and Obama's refusal to face the media is a foreign policy disaster. Entire world is watching Egypt while he flounders and hides behind the oval office.

Che -Guevara;691194 wrote: GoldCoast-So, in fact members of Ben's family are being arrested and warrant has been issued. Yep but what's even more remarkable is that the people have not been appeased with their exile. They want anyone who has any association to ruling RCD party to step down from top to bottom. The Egyptians will surely follow this example. Words cannot underscore how significant such a development could be.

ElPunto;691185 wrote: ^It won't matter if Hosni is gone and replaced by some like minded hack. If I was to take a wager I bet this regime survives more or less intact with the public fobbed off with cosmetic changes. I don't think Egyptians have the stamina to keep up the pressure on this regime. Millenia of acquiescing to rule by Pharaohs won't be swept away that quickly. What is remarkable is that protests are still being counted in the tens of thousands in a country of 80 million plus. You are using outdated claims to apply to a modern day reality. Perhaps last week you could claim Egyptians are too apathetic to cause any real change to their regime, but these developments cannot be undermined in their significance. Prior to the fall of Ben Ali not a single person could ever predict any Arab population would have the stamina and engagement to topple their dictators. All bets are off now and you cannot compare this development to anything that happened in the past. These are the first genuine popular revolutions the region has seen dating back to the colonial era. The fact that its taken a matter of days for the situation to develop into its present conception is remarkable in its own. In Tunisia they have continued to protest to almost all the remants of the previous regime have been removed. The Egyptians will surely follow that example when Mubarak is toppled.

ElPunto;691167 wrote: The western coverage still hasn't reached the heights of the Iran elections aftermath. And the commentary is cautious instead of the mock outrage following the Iran elections. Egyptians need a Neda of their own. Young lady was murdered in Suez but dont hold your breath it still wont resonate.

LayZie G.;691168 wrote: Are they know? Are you sure thats whats driving these goons to the streets? Dont give me the al jazeera version, just your raw, unedited version of what is happening in egypt? and dont forget," my so called secular paradise" does not aspire to bomb churches, namely the recent coptic church bombings". We do not behave like savages. on the streets in an attempt to topple a government without viable solutions in place. How out of touch you are. 400 people injured scores murdered, a permanent tear gas cloud over Cairo, people being shot at while praying and you believe the protesters are at fault!?! You think the protesters are acting like savages, despite clear indications of brutal repression from the government. The internet and all communications were shut down throughout Egypt, a move reminiscent of North Korea, and you support this government? One could only imagine what your position was on the Iranian protests in 2009. Before I search them care to entertain us why you certainly supported that uprising but not this one? You dont even have a grasp of the same system you lionize. Where was Spain up till the late 70's? Germany 60 years ago? How about the European continent? You are going against the current of people who share your ideals and values to support a regime employing draconian measures to stay in power. Don't you see the irony in that? I'm almost certain your trolling for attention here no logical person would make such asnine claims in the face of these events.

ElPunto;691163 wrote: ^Gold-Coast - I don't see how the military is going to allow free and fair elections since that would remove them from the primacy they currently hold in the country. I fear that Egyptians are deluding themselves if they think that the military will easily acquiesce to a large diminishment of their power. Ultimately the Egyptian public will have to confront the military to acheive their aims. Yes this is agreed but its impossible to expect the Egyptian public to confront the military at the same time they are rising against Mubarak's regime. The precedent that has been set by these protests however will not stop after Mubarak's impending fall and that was my point.

Che -Guevara;691162 wrote: Lazy-I'm with the protesters and anyone promoting their agenda as long as men who acts as kings will deposed. One would think you would appreciate as it could be counter to the Islamist movements who were largely born out of lack of political space. It's the secular graduates of the American University, and educated abroad who have been at the forefront of the initial protests on January 25th. Even in the richest suburbs of Cairo, where people benefit from the status quo, protests have been reported. The claim that its been misrepresented by AlJazeera and is the work of "goons" is so illogical words can't truly explain.

Even the most jaded and biased of Western observers have recognized that this is a genuine popular revolution, but on SOL we have our very own Layzie attempting to tell us its a fabrication created by the Al Jazeera agenda. HILARIOUS. Even Mubarak's regime wouldn't make such a ridiculous claim.

Layzie, your smears are an insult to the protesters who have given up blood and life to fight for their universal rights. The funny thing is you are completley out of touch with your own narrative. Don't you describe yourself as being secular? You do realize that these protests have the overwhelming backing of secular Egyptian society whether it is activists, academics, or common people? You do realize that they are clamoring for the same rights that your beloved Western model aspires to provide. And you deride such people as goons? For what? A laughable insult that is not even consistent with your warped ideology.

ElPunto;691151 wrote: Amazing pictures. Can't help but think that they won't affect the change they seek. Either American managed solution or they do the Tianamen option. I don't understand the public embrace of the military - Hosni is a military man and the military is the real power behind the throne. LOL at El-Baradei - talk about opportunism. Egyptians share an affinity for the army partly due to its mandatory enlistment. All Egyptians have to enlist in army for stint at one point or another. Also while Mubarak started out as military man he is ailing and on the tailend of his life. Gamal Mubarak is his impending succesor and rumors have always raged that military did not approve of this. The people are aware of this dynamic and are siding quite logically with an insitution that has wherewithal to force Mubaraks ouster. This is quite similar to what happened in Tunisia, and if Mubarak is forced to exile which looks almost like a certainty at this point, no one would accept anything other than reforms and elections.

Reconciliation is the theme of the day yet the American Supreme Court is hearing the trial of the 80 plus year old General Samatar. The irony.

Che -Guevara;690922 wrote: People leave Stoic alone-there's nothing wrong with supporting region for clan reasons just as long as you don't create or contribute to the conflicts in Somali regions of the Horn. If anything, I hope Stoic helps his people and not just admire their development from distance. You know this is not how clan support manifests itself so why forward a fallacy? Isolating clan as both a mode of development and political motivator only works to the exclusion of others.

Libaax-Sankataabte;690930 wrote: In a country of 80 million, 6 million work for the government. These workers plus their families probably make-up half of the population. Can you image 40 million freedom fighters fighting against 40 million Mubarak sycophants. If the regime doesn't give up on its own, this struggle will be long and ugly. The government has the upper hand so far. We shall see! I have read this premise forwarded by mostly Western academics and I dont agree with it. Those 6 million do not constitute hardcore Mubarak sympathizers. There were no counter protests in support of him. If anything they will react with ambivalence to protests( at worst) but the chance of civilian public servants fighting for the existence of the regime is nil. Those academics and "experts" floating these ideas have their own interests in maintaining the status quo there, as does the American government. The other predictable tactic is to invoke the threat of theocracy from the Ikhwan which is another bogeyman. The struggle will be ugly but only because the security apparatus for the regime and the army are very well entrenched. Not because of its patronage system.

Che -Guevara;690924 wrote: They already shot kid in broad day light. This could be transformational moment. This was when they decided to shut down the internet in the country, when that video got released online. I dont think its a single event thats motivated people per say, the main catalyst is Tunisia undoubtedly. In three hours we will get our answers with regards to whether a majority of Egypts 80 million will mobilize.

Also I read reports of the Friday Khutba to be read in mosques nationwide and its embarrassing to say the least. Basically charging those who stand up against government as being heretics and against Islam. They are attempting to target the poorer classes who make up the majority of the Egyptian population. Muslim Brotherhood called to join the protests and they hold the most sway amongst the group however reports say that the entire groups political leadership has been jailed over the past few hours. They are trying every single stop to stop the people from mobilizing and this is symptomatic of a desperate regime. Hopefully we are watching the beginning of the end of Mubaraks regime here.

Internet completley shut down in Egypt. Even SOLers in Egypt won't be able to post as the country was literally taken off world map communication wise. Mubarak is using tactics reminiscent of North Korea to repress these protests and going to measures even the Iranians did not reach. Imagine the uproar if Ahmednejad attempted to take his countries entire communication system off the grid? In 3 hours Cairo is primed for the biggest protests country has ever seen according to several sources. Inshallah no lives are lost and the people stay strong however this regime is not only shameless but brutal.

Fuad scored quite the impressive goal the U.S. U-20 team today, he's proving to be one of the better young prospects for the Americans. He could very well be playing in the 2014 WC in Brazil if he continues developing at this rate.

Fuad is an American citizen, I read that he grew up in Minnesota and that he is Oromo , either way he's a good young talent that has potential.