Monday, January 31, 2011

Egypt needs change, but, President Mubarak is not a demon.


Egypt has always had visionaries and peace makers among its leaders.

Oct. 6, 1981
Then-Vice President Hosni Mubarak, left, and President Anwar Sadat, right, attend a military parade in Cairo with the president in 1981 to commemorate Victory Day. Moments later, a group of military Islamist fundamentalists with allegiance to the al-Jihad group killed Sadat in a shooting spree.
The Egyptian people do not have to hate their President to demand the change they want.  Th Egyptian people have a good history and one they can be proud of.  The people are seeking a better country for themselves and their children.  President Mubarak is doing the right thing for his people, at least he is trying to please them. 

Egypt in msny ways has been a 'reformer' country in the Middle East, along side of Jordon. 

I believe the concern, as next year's elections draw near, is whether or not Egypt leadership will represent the will of the people or take on the characyeristics of a monarchy.  There has to be some concern among all Egyptians to the 'opportunity' for diverse leadership.

Egypt's economy has faultered a bit since 2008, but, that is the case with any country that has tourism as an integrated part of its GDP.  Folliwing the investment banks failure of 2008, Egypt had paqlpable changes within its ecomy.  It was already experienced 11.7% inflation, but, it jumped to 16.2% in 2009.  Recentky the inflation rate in Egypt has fallen to 10%,  I am convinced this is a factor in the unrest in the country.  Presideny Mubarak had liitle to do in causing that, but, I am sure the people are unhappy he could not protect them.  The Egyptian unemployment rate during this time has remained 8 to 9 percent, so it the 2008 impact has been felt in the general economy and the cost of products primarily.

There is strife in Egypt and the people grow tired of it.  It is time for the country to change and embrace the will of its people.  There is no reason why the peope of Egypt have to hate their President in order to move more aggressivelt into the future,  This just the next step for Egypt.  The global community should continue to encourage President Mubarak to step aside and allow peaceful transition to occur.

Fear of unrest grows as soaring wheat prices strain Egypt's creaking economy  (click title to entry - thank you)
The Guardian,

...Tempers flare outside a government bakery as the smell of hot baladi (country) bread wafts out from the ovens. There is pushing and shoving as a worker appears at the window to hand out plastic bags of the rough, round flat loaves - each weighing a standard 160 grams (5.5oz)- to customers.
"I've been here since before six and this is what I get," grumbles Umm Islam, her face contorted in fury. "My husband is retired and I have five children and it's not enough."
Others complain of their pitifully small incomes and shortages. In the last two months 11 people have died in bread queues, either from exhaustion, heart attacks, brawls or accidents....
Ian Black in Cairo

More judicial activism on healthcare.

To state a federal law cannot mandate health insurance is one aspect of the law, BUT, to state the entire law has to be REPEALED 'if' the higher courts find this finding to be valid; provides no 'case law' or valid constitutional reason why the entire bill relies on one provision.

U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson's decision is already flawed and completely obvious he threw caution to the wind.  It is an irresponsible decision from all perspectives.

“I must reluctantly conclude (click title to entry - thank you) that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual mandate,” Vinson wrote in his decision. “Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void.”

Where does it state it is NOT severable?  A parent's RIGHT to maintain health insurance for a dependant college student has nothing to do with an individual mandate.  THAT is already demonstrated in its early implementation. 
If the entire law revolved around an individual mandate then no aspect of it could be implemented independantly,

Then Judge Vinson introduces MORE FICTION into the decision by referring to a watchmaker.

Since when does Papa Gepetto sit on the bench?  If that is what decides the law then all a judge needs is a ruler.

It is all political theatrics.

Clyde Roger Vinson (click here)  is with US District Court for the northern district of Florida.. He joined the court in 1983 after being nominated by President Reagan. Vinson is serving on “senior status (semi-retired).” 
Vinson graduated from the Naval Academy with his Bachelor's Degree in 1962 then served six years on active duty on the US Navy as a Lieutenant from 1962 to 1968 during the Vietnam conflict before completing his JD at Vanderbilt University Law School in 1971.
Vinson spent his entire pre-judicial legal career as a Private practice attorney in the State of Florida from 1971 to 1983.
On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Paula Hawkins, Vinson was nominated by President Reagan on September 9, 1983 to a seat vacated by Lynn Higby whom at the time was assuming senior status. Vinson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 4, 1983 on a senate vote and received commission on October 5, 1983.  Vinson served as the chief judge from 1997 to 2004 before later assuming senior status on March 31, 2005.

Old faces dominate Mubarak's new government

An image grab taken from Egyptian state television Al Masriya shows members from Egypt's new cabinet being sworn in by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (right) in Cairo.
Image Credit: AFP

...Newcomers (click title to entry - thank you) to the government include Mahmoud Wagdi as Minister of the Interior; Jaber Asfour as Minister of Culture; Zahi Hawass, Egypt's chief archaeologist, as Minister of the newly created Ministry of Antiquities; Mohsin Al Noumani as Minister of Local Development; Ayman Abu Hadeed as Minister of Agriculture; Sarniha Syed as Minister of Trade and Industry; and Ebrahim Mana'a as Minister of Civil Aviation.

Finance Minister Yousuf Boutros Gali has been replaced by Jawdat Al Malat, who has headed the audit office and gained some popularity for addressing corruption, one source said....


At least I know what the tanks in the street are all about and it isn't the government.

An Egyptian Army soldier gestures to a crowd as he stands atop a tank in Cairo. (Reuters)

Change is coming to Egypt: El-Baradei (click here)

By AGENCIES
CAIRO: Top dissident Mohamed El-Baradei told a sea of angry protesters in Cairo on Sunday that they were beginning a new era after six days of a deadly revolt against President Hosni Mubarak.
Nobel peace laureate El-Baradei, mandated by Egyptian opposition groups including the banned Muslim Brotherhood to negotiate with Mubarak's government, hailed "a new Egypt in which every Egyptian lives in freedom and dignity."
"We are on the right path, our strength is in our numbers," El-Baradei said in his first address to the protest epicenter on Cairo's Tahrir Square. "I ask you to be patient, change is coming."
Six days of nationwide protests have shaken Egypt and left at least 125 people dead. The president has sacked the government, appointed a vice president and a new prime minister. But that has failed to quell the protests.
Parliament Speaker Fathi Surour on Sunday made another concession, saying the results of last year's fraud-tainted parliamentary elections would be revised....


Ecumenical Prayer Service for the victims of Egypt’s New Year’s Eve church bombings (click here)

Christian denominations join for Ecumenical PrayerSservice at St Paul’s Cathedral then press conference at Federation Square for the victims of the Coptic Church bombings in Egypt

This Friday 7th January 2011 at 1pm, Australian Church leaders from all Christian denominations and notable dignitaries will gather at St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne at an Ecumenical Prayer Service for the victims of Egypt’s New Year’s Eve church bombings which took place in the Northern City of Alexandria and claimed 23 lives and wounded over 80 Coptic Christians.

His Grace, Bishop Suriel, Head of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Melbourne and Affiliated Regions, has offered an open invitation to attend the Ecumenical Prayer Service, praying for peace within the church and for an end to the persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt and in the Middle East.  Along with Melbourne families of the victims, the congregation will together mourn the loss of life and pray for the injured.

“Over the past few years, religious persecution of Christians in the Middle East has reached extreme forms of human degradation with constant attacks not only on the minority Copts of Egypt, but all Christians throughout the region,” Bishop Anba Suriel said....

 

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian protesters (click here) turned to the army and to a retired diplomat to maintain momentum in efforts to unseat Hosni Mubarak, but as the president's Western backers called for change, he met with the generals who can keep him in power.
The outcome of six days of unrest, which has killed more than 100 people, rocked the Middle East and rattled global investors, hung in the balance. Troops have let Egyptians bellow their rage at Mubarak's 30 years of autocracy. But the generals have yet to show whether they will keep him on or ease him out....

TUNIS (Reuters) - Thousands of Tunisians (click here) turned out on Sunday to welcome home an Islamist leader whose return from 22 years of exile indicated that his party would emerge as a major force in Tunisia after the ousting of its president.
The reception for Sheikh Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Ennahda Party, at Tunis airport was the biggest showing by the Islamists in two decades, during which thousands of them were jailed or exiled by president Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali.
Ghannouchi was exiled in 1989 by Ben Ali, who was toppled on January 14 by popular protests that have sent tremors through an Arab world where similarly autocratic leaders have long sought to suppress Islamist groups.
Protesters in Egypt demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule have been inspired by the example of Tunisia. Egypt's main opposition group is also Islamist, but played no part in organising the protests there....

Corruption is also a concern of the Eqyptians.

...The fact that tycoons (click title to entry - thank you) close to the regime play an important role in politics is seen in Egypt as a sign of corruption, while Mubarak's son and previous heir apparent Gamal is also closely linked to the political-business milieu....

The USA can do very little to secure Egypt.  We aren't going to be invading, nor should the USA even think about it.  The best the USA can do is lend support to the people and demand the Egyptian government restrain from violence.

I believe Mr. El Baradei can be instrumental in reasonong with the people.  Confrontation should be minimized.  The people of Caoro cannot continue to destroy their city.

...As much as the U.S. (click here) would like to see protesters succeed in replacing Mubarak with a democracy, an Egyptian revolution, just like any revolution, would have to be organic and internal to be legitimate and successful....

The danger in Cairo is significant as Abrams tanks seem worthless and guns are randomly being used against the people.

The death toll (click title to entry - thank you) so far during Cairo's days of protests is much higher than reported in the news, according to doctors at one of Cairo's largest hospitals.

A resident doctor at the hospital who was assisting with surgeries yesterday told Al-Masry Al-Youm today that
most of those admitted were not wounded, but dead. He estimated the number at more than 50....

...Deaths from live bullets aside, the use of rubber bullets can be just as serious. Shot from as close a range as the riot police were to protesters, they easily pierce the skin and organs. Furthermore, because police were shooting at the head, eyes, and chest, rather than at non-fatal body parts, casualties rose, according to the same doctor....

There is looting going on, but not for stealing, but, for supplies to mosques.



Egypt in turmoil

A column of Abrams tanks lines 
(click here) the street as Egyptian demonstartors gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Volunteers stored goods confiscated from looters inside a mosque in Cairo on Sunday.  (click here)

Barrack Obama in my backyard Keehi Lagoon part 2



The Obama victory will be again won at the grassroots.