Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: "Orderly transition" in #Egypt

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  • Steve Barnes,

    If Mubarak falls the siege of Gaza will be over too.

    A bit of a stretch but then it is the middle east. Always coming up with politics those people then the Greeks get all clever on it and before you know it the Italians get in on the game and you know what they're like, all hand wavey and judgemental, fall out even with each other till theyse only gots one City and pretends it were built by wolves or summut and then it gets even smaller an' they gets Popes an stuff, got a lot of land an' money but... now where was I?
    Oh yeah, Egypt. They had done all that before but it got covered in sand an' all the grass died...........

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes,

    Oh yeah, pyramids an' shit.... 'n' shinxiz
    *-)

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Frank Rich supports Gladwell's argument (swallows the line that small uptake means little influence) and considers how little Americans see of the region on their TV screens.

    The live feed from Egypt is riveting. We can’t get enough of revolution video — even if, some nights, Middle West blizzards take precedence over Middle East battles on the networks’ evening news. But more often than not we have little or no context for what we’re watching. That’s the legacy of years of self-censored, superficial, provincial and at times Islamophobic coverage of the Arab world in a large swath of American news media.

    ...

    This provocative debate isn’t even being acknowledged in most American coverage of the Internet’s role in the current uprisings. The talking-head invocations of Twitter and Facebook instead take the form of implicit, simplistic Western chauvinism. How fabulous that two great American digital innovations can rescue the downtrodden, unwashed masses.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Russell has just dug up this damn fine analysis from a BBC editor about the nature of modern protest - highly recommended read, full of great thoughts.

    At the heart of it all are young people, obviously; students; westernised; secularised. They use social media - as the mainstream media has now woken up to - but this obsession with reporting "they use twitter" is missing the point of what they use it for.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso, in reply to Sacha,

    Blimey, thanks for that.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Kracklite,

    Seconded - terrific.

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    I'd also mention this analysis of the complex power structure in the country. The balancing act and power pendulum between the military, the police, the repressive mechanisms of state and a monied elite seem to repeat themselves through much of the developing world.

    Western commentators, whether liberal, left or conservative, tend to see all forces of coercion in non-democratic states as the hammers of "dictatorship" or as expressions of the will of an authoritarian leader. But each police, military and security institution has its own history, culture, class-allegiances, and, often its own autonomous sources of revenue and support as well.

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Christiaan, in reply to Christiaan,

    If Mubarak falls the siege of Gaza will be over too.

    I read somewhere that Israel would reoccupy Gaza and control the border if this happened. Wouldn't put it past them.

    Portugal • Since Dec 2006 • 121 posts Report Reply

  • Christiaan,

    Surprise surprise. The U.S. are backing their man of torture. Did you know Suleiman means "man of peace"? The irony.

    Portugal • Since Dec 2006 • 121 posts Report Reply

  • Christiaan,

    Police in Alexandria shoot kid in cold blood

    Portugal • Since Dec 2006 • 121 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes,

    Has anybody bothered to read Mr Homes "analasys"?

    Trouble for the Egyptian people is that there is so much poverty and it is so deep that the longer the disruption goes on the more the economy will grind down, shops will close, jobs will be lost.

    Of course Mr Homes, it's all about the Economy eh?

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Christiaan, in reply to Steve Barnes,

    Amr Waked, Cairo:

    For all those who think of Economy. The regime's heads have piled away our economy for themselves. Get it back and Egypt will flourish.

    Portugal • Since Dec 2006 • 121 posts Report Reply

  • recordari, in reply to Sacha,

    Russell has just dug up this damn fine analysis

    Yes, that was illuminating.
    Have a vague recollection that TruthOut is not popular here, but this piece by David Sirota was interesting, IMhO.

    As if deliberately bragging about this disconnect between pro-democratic rhetoric and undemocratic reality, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Arab television: “I really consider President and Mrs. Mubarak to be friends of my family.”
    ——–
    Following suit, Clinton said that despite America’s stated commitment to democracy, “we’re not advocating any specific outcome.” When asked whether the administration was at least backing away from her BFF Mubarak, Clinton was reduced to Rumsfeldian incoherence, insisting that “we do not want to send any message about backing forward or backing back."

    ’nuff said.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Christiaan,

    Surprise surprise. The U.S. are backing their man of torture. Did you know Suleiman means "man of peace"? The irony.

    They can't negotiate with an empty space, Christiaan. The statement from Suleiman's office seems markedly better than anything that seemed likely late last week. Which isn't to say the protesters shouldn't hold out for more.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia, in reply to recordari,

    ’nuff said.

    Well, I guess Clinton could have said “we’re not going to give Mubarack or his supporters a pretext to brand the opposition American agents” – though that may be a tad counterproductive.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Dismal Soyanz, in reply to Sacha,

    At the heart of it all are young people, obviously; students; westernised; secularised.

    Other than this sentence early on, I couldn't see anywhere else that Paul Mason justified using the term "westernised".

    Seems a tad patronising to me. The implication being that if the young were not westernised, this revolution would not have happened. Ummm.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2010 • 310 posts Report Reply

  • Dismal Soyanz, in reply to Steve Barnes,

    Holmes' article is full of cultural arrogance and a very selective perspective. He and people like Laws play to an audience that is either stupid or willfully ignorant.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2010 • 310 posts Report Reply

  • Andre Alessi, in reply to Steve Barnes,

    Of course Mr Homes, it's all about the Economy eh?

    I found it funny that Nicola Lamb in the Herald also tried this approach. "Egypt's unemployment rate is 9.7%, of course there's rioting in the streets!"

    As of December, the unemployment rate in the U.S. was 9.4%. And I wouldn't exactly call the Tea Party a "riot".

    Devonport, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 864 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F, in reply to Dismal Soyanz,

    Heh, spotted this:

    Somebody round at TVNZ, some years back, has given in to extortion.

    ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg, in reply to Dismal Soyanz,

    Seems a tad patronising to me.

    And it's a term received with derision in much of the developing world. That said I'm having trouble coming up with a single replacement word that doesn't carry other baggage.

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Dismal Soyanz, in reply to Simon Grigg,

    Although that’s what journo’s are paid for….

    How about savvy and/or activist/engaged?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2010 • 310 posts Report Reply

  • Angus Robertson, in reply to Dismal Soyanz,

    Modernised?

    Auckland • Since May 2007 • 984 posts Report Reply

  • Dismal Soyanz, in reply to Angus Robertson,

    That one occurred to me, too, but was even less sure about how that fitted with the way "westernised" was used by Mason. Bottomline is that because the term was used in an almost throw-away sense, trying to actually figure out Mason's intent is hard. Hence my original comment as to the lack of justification.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2010 • 310 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Dismal Soyanz,

    Seems a tad patronising to me. The implication being that if the young were not westernised, this revolution would not have happened. Ummm.

    I've used the phrase "west-facing" before, which I think is more accurate than "westernised", which implies some sort of mental colonisation.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Am I right in thinking the protesters have done reasonably well for now?

    A government statement said that Suleiman, who is apparently playing an increasingly powerful role, agreed to a number of measures including the formation of a committee of political and judicial figures to oversee changes to the constitution which would scrap provisions that limit the ability of the opposition to run for the presidency

    The government said it will also immediately release "prisoners of conscience of all persuasions" and end legal restrictions on the press. However, it gave only a partial commitment to lift the state of emergency, which gives the president considerable powers and has been used to jail opponents, saying that it will be rescinded "based on the security situation and an end to the threats to the security of society".

    The meeting was greeted with scepticism by Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, who is now a prominent opposition voice.

    "The process is opaque. Nobody knows who is talking to whom at this stage. It's managed by Vice-President Suleiman. It is all managed by the military and that is part of the problem," he said on NBC.

    Another member of ElBaradei's group, the National Association for Change, who attended the talks with Suleiman, said they had been "positive" but did not go far enough.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

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