EGYPT POST #3

[imagines]

eta: New ONTD_P livepost just posted! Yay!

BAD SHIT GOING DOWN.

So, last night in Alexandria, there was an altercation between a pro-Mubarak group (who may have been plainclothes police and/or paid by the government to be there, said Al Jazeera) and the rest of the protestors. That was nasty enough.

Now it's gotten worse, this time in Cairo.

Comments

[kohl_eyed]

yeah, I was reading some articles on it this morning and was like, "pro-Mubarak supporters? ...did they just materialize?" first time I'd read of pro-Mubarak groups since this began. there's no way they're not gov't plants.

[gerald_duck]

There are genuine Mubarak supporters, and the BBC has talked to some. However, apparently they're mainly in the military and in rural areas. Urban civilians are Mubarak's opponents.

[imagines]

Good to know--I have been thinking that there HAD to be some genuine supporters, so thank you for the confirmation.

Interesting that there's an urban/rural split. What's going on in rural areas? AJE has been staying in the cities. I might have to start watching BBC side by side. :p

[gerald_duck]

I'm not sure, but on the general principle that people are the same everywhere, my guess would be that rural areas were generally more conservative and right-wing, just like in the UK and USA.

The BBC's not been covering rural areas much, either, but John Simpson did stop off in a few places while moving from Cairo to Alexandria the other day.

[gerald_duck]

While there's obviously a lot to be said for letting Muslims rule their own countries, we do need to give at least some consideration to what then happens to Israel. The will of the people throughout the Middle East is, broadly speaking, to wipe it off the map. The nastier elements want to kill the people as well as the nation.

Frankly, they've got a point. And the US's repeated sponsorship of Israel's atrocities these past few decades is scandalous. But it would be nice if this were remedied by something other than the outbreak of WWIII.

[imagines]

If this did turn into WWIII, I couldn't see it as entirely caused by Middle Eastern people suddenly ruling their own countries. Nobody had to back the Israeli government's atrocities for so many years, and that historical context could have an effect on the outcome of all this. I just really hope this doesn't come down to a question of which group of people gets to get killed more. :/

[gerald_duck]

I don't think this is going to turn into WWIII. However, it's worth noting that Egypt borders Libya (Gadaffi), Sudan (the Southern oil-rich half has just voted to separate from the poorer North that borders Egypt; also the Darfur situation) and Israel (Gaza Strip, etc.). It's only just across the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia (most fundamentalist Islamic nation in the World; US-sponsored theocratic hereditary dictatorship). Israel also borders Jordan (wants the West Bank back), Syria (wants the Golan Heights back), Lebanon (wants Lebanon back). Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia border Iraq (hohum). Iraq borders Kuwait (oil-rich state; despotic monarchy reinstalled by US intervention in early nineties). Syria and Iraq border Turkey (at war with Greece over Cyprus, whenever Greece can afford it). Iraq and Tukey border Iran (might have a nuke soon, just like Israel and Pakistan), as does Afghanistan (completely fubar hellhole, since the time of everyone's great-great-great-grandfathers). Afghanistan borders Pakistan (disputed Kashmiri border

[jedusor]

I'm at Dr. K's and she has the television on. She's telling me that she isn't seeing protesters in the traditional dress that she saw the Egyptian lower classes wearing on her visits to Cairo, mostly just the Western clothes of the young and educated. Do you know anything about that? I wouldn't be surprised if protesting had been initiated by the college-student demographic, but at this point I'm wondering what the poor people have to say about all this, if Dr. K is right.

...oh man, that tree is very on fire. D:

(Fun fact I have just learned: Dr. K's daughter knew the king of Jordan when they were both in high school. Apparently she and her friends had a lot of fun dressing up in scary costumes and jumping his bodyguards. Not much of a self-preservation instinct, that.)

[jedusor]

ack ack ack it looks like the museum is on fire aaaaack bad

[jedusor]

Oh, it's not the museum. I can identify buildings. :/