BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Al Jazeera - English has a live stream.

Favorite picture of the so far

I prefer the Al Jazeera reporting. running circles round everyone else...

I've somewhat following the events, mostly using stumbleupon and twitter. This is my favorite update so far:

I agree that Al Jazeera has the best coverage (despite the fact that the Egyptian gov't shut down their offices). Check out their TV live feed.

They also tend to have better coverage of regions not consistently covered by US (or BBC UK|US) media. A good place to go when something "unexpected" happens.

Even though these events may seem far away, a lot of the tear gas being used is made about an hour and a half north of here, in Jamestown. So, people are picking up canisters that say "Made in USA" right on them.

It isn't clear to me what a democracy in Egypt would be like.

In Algeria, last time they had an election, the fundamentalist moslems won. The military taking over after the elections was supported by the west.

It is possible that Egypt could become "democratic" with no rights for any minorities. It's possible Egypt would adopt a anti-western policy along the lines of Iran (only Sunni, not Shi'ite, like Iran.)

Egypt is not Algeria, of course. Egypt has a higer per capita income and higher literacy rate. Algeria has a more oppressive and violent history. So my fears might be unfounded.

The Muslim Brotherhood is a major force in Egypt. It is currently pushing for democracy and seems to be working in a parlimentarian fashion. On the other hand, the motto of the Brotherhood was (and maybe still is ): "Allah is our objective; the Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations."

When the Berlin Wall fell, there were a vast number of people that were suddenly allowed to be pro-western. Democracy in the streets was rabidly pro-US.

In Egypt, as in much of the mid-East, the dictatorships are be more pro-western than the population. US allies that are monarchies (not a whole lot different from dictatorships) include Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Will the House of Saud fall soon?

If the House of Saud falls, you can be certain the price of oil will rise. I suppressed saying "will double" but feel safe in saying "will rise". Let's just leave it at that.

Oil going to $150 to $200 a barrel makes this thread much less OT.

the dictatorships are be more pro-western than the population

maybe it's all the [western] subsidies for that tear gas?

But Egyptians are a bit more sophisticated than that; they do take into account US politics.

I have no doubt that the Egyptians are sophisticated and intelligent enough to make their way through this thing. Cradle of civilization, Library of Alexandria, and all that. Based on the fact that the person who seems to be emerging as sort of the spokesperson for the movement is Mohammed el Baradei, one of the most rational and intelligent human beings on the planet, it bodes well for the West.

Regardless of how you may feel about Hillary Clinton not attaining the presidency, the winds of fate have put her at the position to be the most important person of the time, I can't think of a better person for it. If the U.S. responds appropriately to the events, I think we have an opportunity to come out the other side with a stronger, better ally than ever before. My take on this is that the Egyptian people are handing us a trapdoor out of the shitstorm we have made out of the Middle East. But that's me being an optimist, dang.

Americans just need to decide if we believe all this hoo ha we talk about democracy and stuff or if we're just talking.

Last night the Travel Channel re-ran an episode of Anthony Bourdain in Egypt, great TV. When something happens in the world they will throw something into their programming that relates, they are awesome like that, really trying to be more than mindless entertainment.

So, as I think this through, if you really want an equitable, democratic society, the women have to be empowered. So imagine, the rep for the most powerful country on earth rolls into Cairo for talks, Hillary. How do you think that's going to fly with Egyptian women? Fkn' right. This is at least as exciting as a 50 mph downhill. The cards are laid out, this deal is pretty much ours to screw up.

Most awesome photo out of Egypt so far, IMHO:

Land of the free.

the king of jordan has now fired the government. how big will this get?

+1 For Al Jazeera english

@ edmunds This is at least as exciting as a 50 mph downhill

Not quite as safe, though.

I hope the results don't resemble Iran when it had it's revolution.

It's education to review how the Shah got into power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran#Recent_history_.281921.E2.80.93present.29

Wiki doesn't mention that the major oil plant whose nationalization ired the Brits and the US so much was owned by BP. They're still bringing us good things!

Salient quote: "The coup was the first time the US had openly overthrown an elected, civilian government"

Analogous to Egypt right now might be what happened after the butally repressive Shah was removed. The removal of the Shah was widely applauded as a giant step toward a free society in Iran.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran#Iranian_Revolution

Quote: "Although both nationalists and Marxists joined with Islamic traditionalists to overthrow the Shah, tens of thousands were killed and executed by the Islamic regime afterward..."

The part of the Iranian revolution that most affected the US, and continues to influence attitudes in the State department towards Iran is this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis

Quote:"You have no right to complain, because you took our whole country hostage in 1953."

Wiki is a questionable source, but with the exception of "tens of thousands," I've seen all of this in other more reputable places. Including the idea that many nationalists and Marxists were killed.

@hiddenvariable: the king of jordan has now fired the government. how big will this get?

The situation reminds me of politics in the Balkans in the 1910-14 era. This could get bigger than that because of the massive energy resources and the nuclear arms in the area.

@ahlir: That NYT article was reassuring. The comments make an intersting read - it's rare to see comments after an article that are thoughtful and moderate like that.

I'm sitting here trying, and I absolutely cannot fathom staying in a place where literally millions of people are calling for me to leave. I can't even picture a million people.

I can't even think of a crappy analogy to my life where I wasn't wanted somewhere and stayed anyway - at the first sign of that "unwelcome" vibe I skedaddle - I'm not wired to tolerate or overlook that.

Does the guy not have (offshore) savings and a plan B? Wouldn't any head of state, no matter the state, do well to have a solid plan B (other than the lecture circuit)? Would't any plan B be better than what's headed his way?

I can't believe this isn't a bigger deal here. Everybody here is talking about the snow or football. I think it's both too far away, and "isn't there always unrest in the middle east?"

I find it bitterly ironic that the stated aim of Gulf2 was to bring a beacon of liberty and freedom to the Middle East, and yet, it seems that the real impetus for the pro-democracy activity in Northern Africa right now has been the reviled Wikileaks.

On topic, I suspect that in the short term, the odds of oil going over $200/bbl after a revolution in an oil-rich nation are just about the same as a new government opening the spigots and buying public satisfaction. It's hard to say which would carry the day: "screw the West" idealism, or self-interest. Course, the long-term effects of the latter would be dramatic.

So far, this activity hasn't been overtly anti-western. That could change.

This is a somewhat bigger topic in the local Jewish community than it might be in Penn Hills. Personally, I think Israel has misplayed this one.

Mr M has plenty of plan Bs. The Egyptians want him out, they want his regime ended, but I don't think they particularly want him dead. Yet. He could probably negotiate a retirement package, if he acted now.

A primer on the matter at hand by author John Green [video], which starts with 7 seconds of a packed Carnegie Lecture Hall last Friday night. (I'm in the audience, too blurry even for me to recognize.)

In Friday's lecture, he talked about the 1789 French Revolution and actually played this video.

Anyone who showed up for the "mini-Flock" ride last Friday who was approached by people looking for the John Green thing, this is what they were headed to.

things are heating up! the huffington post has an amazing slideshow on their front page right now

+1 for Al Jazeera but also guardian.co.uk. They are the best western source by far

Just saw this in todays Trib (the Trib?[gasp])

"Another solidarity march and "teach-in" supporting the democracy movement are planned for 1 p.m. Saturday at the University of Pittsburgh's Posvar Hall in Oakland."

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_721116.html

By any chance does anybody know any local links regarding this? The article doesn't mention any organizers.

Ok, when I got up this morning I could get on Al Jazeera english, 1/2 hr later I can't get on. wtf? I suppose it could just be net traffic.

Democracy Now! has a reporter in Cairo also.

This is what it's all about, listen. This should be our national anthem as far as I'm concerned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hv6sQXI1WY

"None of us are free if one of us is chained."

Goes for cyclists, too, if the "people still in darkness / And they just can't see the light" continue to treat us like would-be road kill.

Goes for all the downtrodden here, who can't get a break.

Goes for anyone in Egypt, or anywhere for that matter, who's under the thumb of some regime or power broker.

+1 edmonds for finding that song!

"None of us are free if one of us is chained."

Reminds me of the MLK quote, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Some people really inspire me to try to try to change myself (and the world arouns me) for the better. Most of them are musicians, or MLK.

Stu, I just had a chance to watch the video you put up, and noticed the guy has a picture of Woody Guthrie on the wall behind him. Sweet.

That machine may kill facists, but can it get anything it wants at Alice's Restaurant?

(I know, wrong guthrie)

(Exceptin' Alice, yes, yes it can.)

Here's an article that lays out the counter-argument, that Egypt will not go the way of Iran in 1979.

http://www.juancole.com/2011/02/why-egypt-2011-is-not-iran-1979.html

Even if you don't agree with Prof Cole, he does provide an excellent breakdown of the political forces and demographics.

I'd heard a lot of that before, but never in such a succinct and thorough spread. thank you for that link.

I'm starting to have hope from what I've read of blogs from people in the square. The current regime's supporters only have violence on their side. The revolution seems to be taking the high ground. This is sort of the antidote I'd always envisioned when I wonder to myself why people tolerate governments like Myanmar and North Korea. Granted, in those countries they'd get summarily slaughtered. Thank god their Army is protecting the people, not terrorizing them.

Yeah, that's a good write-up.

One of the explanations I've heard for the army sympathizing with the protesters is that they have mandatory military service, every male (I assume) must serve time, so the guys on the tanks can literally envision themselves on the other end of the barrel, or a brother, or father. I've never been in favor of mandatory service, but that aspect seems to have some advantages over the "pay the poor to serve" system we have.

I was looking through some photos and found this incredible photo. Is this someone?

@ Edmonds59 - I assume that's from the G-20?

just got this on stumbleupon:

http://totallycoolpix.com/2011/01/the-egypt-protests/

there are a lot of pictures there, here are my favorites:

The women involved in protesting are total badasses

removing batteries from police trucks

Protester kissing a police officer

Tear gas

In most middle eastern cultures, to point your heel at someone is an insult, basically saying "you are lower than the sole of my shoe." Which is why a few years back, Bush had shoes thrown at him, and there is a shoe on Mubarak.

To me, this is patriotism in it's raw form: when people love their country and care about it and its people enough to take drastic steps to change it, hopefully for the better.

I don't know much about Mubarak and his politics, but I feel that I should start reading more about him, and Egypt in general.

I think Combined Systems, Inc. of Jamestown, PA should place a terrible towel in every box of tear gas canisters they send to the Egyptian government paid for with U.S. aid. That way, pundits would have more fodder for ad hominem debates as well as hyperbolic or simplistic characterizations of the scene in Egypt while I enjoy my morning coffee.

Or, the US could ask its domestically-based suppliers and vendors to put all munitions on backorder until the people install a democratically-elected leader that meets our approval.

Am at a Pitt rally now. Good turnout. I can't post a pic from here.

until the people install a democratically-elected leader that meets our approval.

I dunno...kinda short-circuits the meaning of "democracy", if their choice has to meet our approval.

That's the double-edged sword: when people are given a choice, sometimes the choices they make aren't the ones we'd prefer.

@reddan: I am in complete agreement and was being sarcastic. I support the Egyptians' demands for self-determined leadership & find it very troublesome that my own country claims to stand for one thing, but then deeply undermines it at the same time.

I was thinking about this very thought while listening to the 5pm NPR coverage. Should we support a regime that would do the most good for us, or the most good for the region's and the world's stability? I personally would hope for the former.

Much of how this plays out is up to Barack and Hillary.

Personally, I hope the Egyptians manage to get a government in power who will benefit THEM the most, not the US, not the Middle East, but the Egyptian people. Some aspects are inclusive of all three. Some aren't (at least not in everyone's eyes).

I hope that their government will then encourage the governments of other countries to behave likewise, looking out for the interests of the actual citizenry they represent.

Not corporations. Not conglomerates. Not money. Human beings... all of them.

I hope they have a chance at it. I hope some day we do too.

Y'know, I should proofread my posts better. I made a wording change halfway through typing that, and in fixing it, switched the order of the choices. What I was trying to say was...

I personally would hope for the latter.

*facepalm*

People need to think about short term interests versus long term interests as well. Americans tend to want things wrapped up quickly and neatly with a nice Hollywood ending. This will most certainly not be that, this will require a long attention span.

40 years ago the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam, left them to their own devices, and now it is a thriving country, and a trade partner.

30 years ago Reagan wanted to seal his legacy as the President who caused the fall of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, created Al Qaeda, and left us with the quagmire in which we are currently embroiled. This will probably not be mentioned by Fox News during the current Reagan deification.

And back to the women. The U.S. needs to stop thinking in terms of which thug they will back next. I'm convinced that the way for the U.S. to nudge the region away from destructive Islamic theocracies is to insist that any diplomatic talks include Women's rights organizations at the table. They are a major factor in the Egypt situation. They are powerful, they are our "sleeper cell".

Iran, 2009:

I think such a "sleeper cell" is rallying in Saudi Arabia at the moment.

@sloaps - don't be so sure... from Wiki:

"The Basic Law, in 1992, declared that Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the progeny of King Abdul Aziz Al Saud. It also declared the Qur'an as the constitution of the country, governed on the basis of Islamic law."

"The freedom of women is seriously restricted in Saudi Arabia. Women are not allowed to travel without the permission of their closest male relative, who may be a son or a younger brother. Women who are divorced, return under their father's authority and like any other adult woman is denied the right to live on her own and to marry of her free will.[85] Furthermore, the Saudi government considers filial "disobedience" as a crime for which women have been imprisoned or have lost custody of their child.[85] Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are banned from driving in major cities and towns..."

That's a pretty heavy hand.

but wait, there's more, also from Wiki:

"The World Economic Forum 2009 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Saudi Arabia 130th out of 134 countries for gender parity. It was the only country to score a zero in the category of political empowerment."

"There is evidence that many women in Saudi Arabia do not want radical change. Even many advocates of reform reject Western critics, for "failing to understand the uniqueness of Saudi society." [3][4][5] Journalist Maha Akeel is a frequent critic of her country's patriarchal customs. Nonetheless, she agrees that Westerners criticize what they do not understand. "Look, we are not asking for ... women's rights according to Western values or lifestyles ... We want things according to what Islam says. Look at our history, our role models.""

My biggest issue with "common sense" is that there is very little "common perspective."

"Look, we are not asking for ... women's rights according to Western values or lifestyles ... We want things according to what Islam says. Look at our history, our role models."

Exactly why I think the West must insist that women's representatives get a seat at the diplomatic table.

Although on the other hand, at some point, outside parties have a responsibility to step and say that stoning, cutting off of limbs, ears, noses, mutilation, and the like is just unacceptable, I don't give a shit what your "traditions" are.

Not to detract from the women's rights aspect of this thread, but rather to point out another very important aspect of the whole Egyptian turmoil: food prices.

Why are they high, really? And how does this relate to bicycling in Pittsburgh? It's not "Way OT", really.

Start with this webpage, which explains in detail what I will summarize here in (hopefully) just a few words.

Egypt up to now has exported oil, and used the profits from that sale to subsidize the cost of both fuel and food. However, internal oil use has now caught up with its own exports, so it exports less, approaching zero. Lacking that oil income, there is no money to subsidize food and fuel. The government is using what little income is left to prop up fuel prices, leaving food prices to set their own level. Namely, much higher. This has sparked the uprising against Mubarak.

There's a key line in that story, which I've been repeating ad nauseam for a while now. World oil production has peaked. Fuel prices can only rise from here on out, not just here but everywhere, and no number of holes poked in the Gulf of Mexico or the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve is going to fix it.

Bicycles, people. Learn to ride one if you don't, choose to ride one if you do.

"stoning, cutting off of limbs, ears, noses, mutilation, and the like is just unacceptable, I don't give a shit what your "traditions" are."

What if they are electrocuting, injecting poison intravenously, or hanging?

just sayin.

Yeah, I'm not saying the U.S. has especially solid ground to stand on there, since we "off" people. But other civilized nations don't.

you also have to be careful who you ask about a given culture's "traditions". Afghanistan had female doctors, universities that taught women, all under the Evil Soviets. I'm sure the internets could tell you what the place was like before the soviets moved in (I have no idea personally). 9/11 made it clear what the place was like after they moved out.

So an 85 year old (any gender) may say their society's traditions are grossly different from what a 55 year old woman who remembers the soviets would say, which could be grossly different from what a 30 year old (pick a gender) person who only remembers war and Taliban.

Traditions are what the people decide they are, in some ways they provide cultural identity no matter whether others condone them or not. That's why it's tricky to go in and say "now you have to institute rule by the people" and then let go. Who knows what they'll come up with.

@ejwme Afghanistan had female doctors, universities that taught women, all under the Evil Soviets.

According to the booK "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001," The impetus for the terrorists (er...um..."Freedom Fighters" I mean) to rise up against the Soviets was that the Soviets were making 10 year-old girls learn how to read.

While listening to Born Slippy, I for once saw a useful pop-up on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish?feature=ticker

Hats off to GoogleYouTube for pushing that information

Sounds like the President is stepping down, making an announcement around 3pm EST

Bah, pretty mediocre speech, came about 40 minutes late

He's not stepping down yet

Looks like there will be a regular solidarity demonstration @ Pitt:

DEMONSTRATION IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE AGAINST GOVERNMENT OPPRESSION

DEMAND THE END TO THE MUBARAK REGIME

DEMAND THE U.S. END ALL MILITARY AID TO MUBARAK REGIME

Every Friday at 3PM on the corner of Forbes and Bigelow Blvd. in Oakland.

{edit: I'm not shouting, this is cut n paste from an email}

Mubarak just stepped down!

excellent reporting on it here:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121125158705862.html

and here:

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/11/133674942/egypts-military-throws-its-weight-behind-mubarak?sc=fb&cc=fp

Damn.

A clip from a U.S. State Department document from Jan 28, 11, leaked by Wikileaks:

"April 6's [the movement]

stated goal of replacing the current regime with a parliamentary

democracy prior to the 2011 presidential elections is highly

unrealistic, and is not supported by the mainstream opposition. End"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8289698/Egypt-protests-secret-US-document-discloses-support-for-protesters.html

Whoops.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is now officially on my bucket list.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/02/07/robertson.alexandria.library.cnn

Librarians are awesome.

WOW! congrats egypt! they won!

@nick they won!

Nope.

No "mission accomplished" here. The difficult, dangerous stuff is about to begin.

Well, yeah, it's kind of like they won a 1955 Chevy that needs to be completely rebuilt from the ground up, but it seems like they know what they need to do. Yep, they won.

OK, now would be a good time to review the French Revolution in three parts (one of these was alluded to earlier in this thread) by the Vlogbrothers.

1

2

3

...and then their intro to Egypt.

While I'm sure everyone is glad that Mubarak is gone, I did come across this yesterday:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/21Zz66/www.good.is/post/why-omar-suleiman-will-probably-be-as-bad-for-egypt-as-hosni-mubarak/

It seems the only way for the Egyptian people and it's myriad of loose knit factions to get what they want is for the military to serve the people, and for a strong legislative body with a weak administration to exist - like California. However, I don't believe that is how their constitution is written, and, even if that relationship existed, the conclusion to all this will be measured in years, not days or months.

re: Military - I think temporary military control is just fine for a few reasons:

1. Throughout the last 3 weeks the behaviour of the Egyptian military has been absolutley correct, almost unbelievable - they did not turn against the existing leaders when their power was in question, at the same time did not use excessive force against the protesters, they simply stood ready to keep the peace. I am quite impressed.

2. The military leaders have not (yet) shown any indication that they have designs on political power. My impression is that they sincerely want to carry the country forward to the next phase.

3. The U.S. pays the military's $1.2 B/year paychecks.

Also everyone needs to keep in mind that it took 10 years to develop our own Constitution, our system did not just spring into existence, and it was a pretty painful and uncertain process.

@edmonds Also everyone needs to keep in mind that it took 10 years to develop our own Constitution, our system did not just spring into existence, and it was a pretty painful and uncertain process.

Edmonds is right.

Not only did it take a decade, but for over a century before that, the colonies had functioned as 13 democracy petri dishes. The people had a pretty good understanding of what worked.

Apparently our own little experiment is still simmering, the latest hot spot seems to be - Madison, Wisconsin.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/18/wisconsin.budget/index.html?hpt=T2

And I am a bit more of a Packers fan now,

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/116231984.html

I've heard that in Tunisia and Egypt they're drunk off freedom protests, and have started protesting everything under the sun... I can't find the links, but heard that all kinds of workers were forming unions and going on strike and whatnot, especially in Tunisia.

I keep thinking it's sort of turned into an almost market dickering kind of thing, which if any of you have been to open air markets in that area, you know the kind of negotiating that goes on. I think they'd be even better at democracy than we who culturally look for sticker prices would. Negotiating is in their blood - its how they buy groceries. Well, some do, western influence has eliminated areas of that I suppose.

The Egyptian military has completely blown my mind over this whole experience. I'm tempted to hope for really good things.

I've heard that in Tunisia and Egypt they're drunk off freedom protests, and have started protesting everything under the sun...

Are they learning to speak French as well?

It was astounding in Egypt how many people reporters could just grab on the street and get fluent conversations in English, many of the protest signs were in English.

Imagine if, say, a French TV station sent reporters to a tea party rally in Ohio and started asking questions in French, how might that go...?

It was more of a sarcastic jab at the French, for protesting everything under the sun.

The story in WI is really gaining national media attention. My brother and sister are both unionized workers in Wisconsin. The media is all over the proposal to increase worker contributions to pension and health care. Real issue for the workers is the proposal to eliminate collective bargaining rights, although the other monetary issues are a concern albeit to a lesser degree. (Police and Fire unions are not included in the proposed changes. Teachers and all other public employees are.

Noise levels in the rotunda of the state capital reached 105 dB on Wednesday. That's roughtly the equivalent of being 1 foot from a running chainsaw. That's pretty loud!

My issue isn't even so much any concessions that workers may or may not have to make, it's that this Walker character had the nerve to threaten to call out the National Guard. This guy has an absolutely Henry-Clay-Frickian sensibility regarding what his powers are.

This has nothing to do with budget problems, this has everything to do with taking the country (all the way, I mean, we're already on the road) back to an 1800's oligarchy.

hey - the (educated urban) Tunisians mostly all speak French anyway. I think they'll be ok. Egypt... I bet more of them speak better french percentage wise than Americans.

Vive la Revolution! C'est une fete mondial! Liberte ne dort jamais plus!

and Vive l'Ouisconsin?

If called on, I doubt the Wisconsin Nat'l Guard would exhibit the same restraint as the Egyptian army. And that's pretty sad.

Dan, apologies, I wasn't countering your jab, I just used French because occurred to me that if I used a Spanish TV station in my scenario, the teapartiers would just lynch them or turn them over to ICE for deportation.

Just looked in to the Wisconsin thing, and I think it's kind of funny that the governor and republican majority are claiming they "won't be bullied". Seems to me that ~30,000 Wisconsin people on Wednesday, and ~25,000 on Thursday already made that claim.

When it's tens of thousands of people revolting against a single powerful person (or small group of very powerful), is it still bullying?

Last night, Rachel Maddow characterized the WI protests as the WI GOPs attempt to crush the only "Democratic" counterbalances to the conservative PACs - the unions. She showed a graphic listing the ten largest campaign contributors for the last election cycle and 7/10 were right leaning, the other three: NEA, SEIU, AFSCME.

Bullseye.

Apparently all this about the budget is a bunch of hokum: WI was running a $121 MIL SURPLUS, then the Governor awarded $140 MIL in tax breaks to corporations.

Ho ly s**t. Firefighters, Madison, WI. That's how you do that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc4TXdPxUcE

Wow! THAT is how you enter a room! And those MFers are EXEMPT from Walker's proposal. That's badass.

Fucking bad ass. And back to the original topic, it seems like Bahrain is going to not explode now, but has anyone been following the protests in Libya? God damn. And we won't vote because it's too much work.

Reports that the military has left Benghazi leaving the protesters to themselves, and the protesters have moved on to Tripoli !

James Bond will go the way of Jason Borne movies from herein fighting corruption in UK and USA, filming all the fight scenes in Hampshire and/or Brixton.

Message from Egypt. Damn. (please try to disregard any opinions you may have of Michael Moore and watch anyway)

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/statement-kamal-abbas