a thread about the civil unrest in egypt (& elsewhere in 'the region' if necessary)

or maybe cause iran isn't an arab country

Lolololololol

close enough

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/what-is-the-muslim-brotherhood

not that i have any way of judging but this looks like an ok primer

close enough

for you

Um, somehow I don't think the Iranian films that play at Film Forum have widespread influence in the Arab world.

True 'nuff

Oum Kalthoum, Om Kolthom, Om Kalsoum, Omm Kalsoum, Omme Kolsoum, Oom Koolsum, Oum Kalthoum, Oum Kalthum, Oum Kalsoum, Oum Kaltsoum, Oum Kolthoum, Oum Koulsoum, Oum Kulthum, Oum Kulthume, Um Kalthoum,

Old-school Egyptian singing legend

oh fuck yeah, she's practically a deity

she also has one of the most fun names to say of any performer

close enough

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Friday, February 11, 2011 1:34 PM (46 minutes ago) Bookmark

rmde

they all look alike to Morbz

I'm Irish-American. I don't see race.

Really, ONE nation in the whole area that isn't "Arab," and I'm supposed to remember which one? I have more immediate fish to fry.

morbs never fails to disappoint

J0rd, when you come of age, you will ascribe this trait to humanity as I do.

not even gonna google "rmde"

yes you are supposed to remember which one

Really, ONE nation in the whole area that isn't "Arab,"

uh

FYI there are THREE major ethnicities in the Middle East - Arab, Turk, and Persian, and they all have pretty distinct cultural heritages/histories

Meanwhile:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/02/egyptian-americans-southern-california-celebrate-revolution-egypt.html

And:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/nyregion/12little-egypt.html

man, comments never disappoint do they

Really, ONE nation in the whole area that isn't "Arab,"

Israel?

Also, ethnically, Egypt isn't exactly monolithic. By 'Arab world', I meant the Arabic speaking world.

exactly! whole region is too damn complex.

I'm eating some turkish delight right now to celebrate

right but iran not being arab is kind of a "thing" w/r/t how the region operates iirc

DNFTT

what even is "race".........

http://technabob.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/bele_and_lokai_star_trek.jpg

As the late Shah liked to helpfully point out, the very name Iran stems from 'Aryan'.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9209159/Social_networks_credited_with_role_in_toppling_Egypt_s_Mubarak

I guess mark zuckerberg was the real hero here. totally earned his man of the year award imo

We are all citizens of Cafe World

Morbs, it's ok to say "oh really, I didn't know that" sometimes. I know it doesn't fit easily with all-encompassing cynicism but no one's perfect.

Yeah, go on, and copt a plea

Frank Rich spent his Sunday NYT column pooh-poohing the soc network angle, saying web access for the population is at 20%. But ComputerWorld sez different!

Matt, you and nrq can, u know

michael white i see what u did there

Listen, Misr, that's just between us, oaky?

cairmde

Musicians have not been silent in the movement that brought down Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Perhaps the most popular song of the Egyptian revolution is by Mohamed Mounir, a singer so revered, he's known as "The Voice of Egypt."

The song is called "Ezzay," which means "How come?" Dalia Ziada, a blogger and human-rights activist in Cairo, says Mounir compares Egypt to a lover in the song.

"He's telling it, 'I love you, and I know you love me, too, but you have to appreciate what I'm doing for you. I will keep changing you until you love me as I love you,' " Ziada says, adding that that's exactly how Egyptians feel about their country. Mounir's song was not played on Egyptian state radio, but the video is online, and it's been watched hundreds of thousands of times.

from npr

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/11/133691055/Music-Inspires-Egyptian-Protests

We're staying put. We're not leaving until the regime is gone," said Issa Adel Issa, one of the many youthful organizers of the encampment at Tahrir, or Liberation, Square. "We don't want a military government. We want a democracy with civilians in charge."

Issa ticked off a list of demands: the dissolution of Mubarak's handpicked parliament; the dissolution of his ruling National Democratic Party; the release of thousands of political prisoners; and prosecution of those responsible for the deaths of an estimated 300 demonstrators who were killed during the 18-day revolution.

from the Washington Post

so algerias poppin off now, this is so much fun

u could meet me in the square
its goin down

I wouldn't bet on this going to work everywhere. xpost

I just love the thought of other authoritarian leaders warming up their escape helicopters

so algerias poppin off now, this is so much fun

http://i51.tinypic.com/1zzntpd.jpg

The protesters were hemmed in by thousands of riot police officers and blocked from embarking on a planned march through the capital. Many were arrested, although there were also conflicting numbers for those detained.

A witness said the police had far outnumbered the protesters.

“There was a march of police, not demonstrators,” said a man standing near the square in the afternoon, and who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The marchers had asked to conduct a peaceful march and it was refused. This is how power here acts.”

:-/

Oof

i've been thinking a lot lately about how this whole thing in egypt could not have happened unless mubarak was willing to concede certain things to the people. ie: if he did what Iran did, or what Algeria did, the resistance would have been repressed. i always have this idea in my mind that revolutions occur entirely on the part of the people, but it's kinda like a dance where both parties silently agree on the conclusion and then play through the roles of authority + people until they resolve. if on some level mubarak wasn't on board from the beginning (even if his being on board was as little as 'i will not do just anything to maintain power') this couldn't have gotten off the ground.

we dont totally know at this point but it seems like it was more the army that wasnt on board w/crushing the uprising

that's true. i just hadn't remembered hearing about him actually making a demand to crush the uprising.