While I usually agree with your analysis and your opinions on various subjects, I think that this time you are completely wrong about ElBaradei. You will find several articles showing that he is the most eligible candidate for the post of interim leader. One should not confuse American propaganda with the truth. It is not in the interest of the US to have democracy Egypt, especially with an outspoken person like ElBaradei at the helm.

This Nobel peace laureate was elected Director General of the Geneva based IAEA for three consecutive terms with the full support of countries like Germany, France and Austria at the United Nations. He has also received several decorations for service, merit and peace from Austria, Germany and Italy respectively as well as several honorary degrees from universities in Ireland and the US. So how in your opinion is he corrupt and a sucker to the Iranians. Maybe because GW Bush said so?

What do you mean by “the Palestine question: the 80 year old problem,” sir?

A problem that started in 1929 with the “‘ethnic cleansing’ attack upon [mostly non-Zionist, religious] pious Jews by Arab Muslims in Israel / Palestine”?

“Agitated by the Mufti, Haj Amin al-Husseini’s intentional inflammatory speeches who called the believers to rise up in defense of Islam’s holy places. The brutality -which included beheading of babies by sword, castrating old Rabbis, body mutilation, castrating rabbis with their students before they were slain, breasts and fingers sliced off, eyes plucked from their sockets- was accompanied with cries of ‘Itbach al Yahud’ (kill the Jews) and ‘Allah akbar.’ [269]”) (Source: Wikipedia)

If that, in addition to something else that happened 200 years ago, is a cancer that “has borrowed deep in the Arab sub-consciousness,” then surely you know so much more than anybody about the burning socio-psycho-medical-historical-financial issues of our times that you should not waste your precious time here, and write speeches for Romano Prodi instead. Otherwise, how would we ever be able to get “the game” back “in European hands”?

It’s a problem of extreme poverty. I bet you that most of the civil liberty problems in third world countries will improve immensely once their governments start working and the citizens’ economic situation improves.

The US puts kids in prison for carrying a minimal amount of drugs, at great expense to the state coffers. Year on year the US government spends more detaining a kid than on his/her education.

Several areas of [Egypt] border on anarchy as Muslim extremists set up roadblock[s] and vied for control in different regions.

There was panic in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and the police made it worse with their aggressive tactics whilst the government both state and federal proved totally incompetent.

In this case the situation is made worst by Mubarak removing the police from their posts and using agents provocateurs to make the situation worst and escalate the protest into a military confrontation.

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/01/prominent-former-egyptian-mp-and.html

OK. I am converted. Won’t argue any more. Where is the next stoning, or next jihad please?

Another john. you implied it very clearly so I pulled it out in the open. Nowadays we don’t say negroes, but it’s acceptable to hate because of religion though and most of the time it’s a thin veil of racism and bigotry.

I urge you to read the Palestine newspapers. How the Palestinians were ready to concede territory and security for peace yet they got snubbed by the Israelis because their agenda is simply to get the whole of Erez Israel end expel the other religions from its borders.

When a powerful nation fails at an agreement with weaker third world nations, it usually means they didn’t make them bend over far enough or they needed the charade for PR purposes.

For one, the Ottoman Empire treated minorities, including jews, much better than the empires on its western borders…

No one mentioned ‘lack of civility and innate barbarism’, except you, of course. And you did not acknowledge the fact, and its implications, that the leaders in each African country is a national of that country.

But you can keep blaming the Western imperialists. And as regards the Ottoman Empire, there are volumes to right about its civility and the way it treated its subjects with enlighthened humanity. Everyone knows it.

Yes, Al Jazeera. Seems funny but Fox news in the US is taking a nose dive and Al Jazeera is gaining ground. I bet Israel is going to find WMDs in Qatar soon…

Al Jazeera is a very reputable news channel that compares to the BBC in terms of quality. Certainly better than CNN, ABC, NBC, which spend their prime time hours chasing stars and their peccadillos.

Case in point: CNN had more coverage of Charlie Sheen’s antics than it does of Egypt. Their reputation got a hit when they reported Bush’s lies verbatim, hosted Pentagon officials as independent talking heads and other overt empire propaganda…

You can always read a bit of history on the attitude of the old colonial powers towards the break-up of the Ottoman Empire.

Istanbul was a cosmopolitan city of great merchants. Ismir was effectively under the control of European merchants basically selling the produce from the hinterland at great profit (ie those actually producing were getting short changed). And here’s the clincher: the Ottoman Empire even forfeited most taxes.

Another John, here’s a small sample of what really happens in resource rich Africa:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/world/africa/17nigeria.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11902489

You should also look for links on blood diamonds, why the Congo has been at war for so long, and so on. But it’s easy to blame their lack of civility and innate barbarism.

Baxxter, the French came here with their enlightenment principles and despoiled our country of its silver and gold whilst defacing the knights’ legacy. I’m astounded! Is it a case of two weights and two measures or are you displaying a hint of bigotry? We had two world wars and the continent was ravaged by conflict for the last 1000 years! Are you kidding me?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/palestine-papers-documents/browse

This story seems to have the Israelis in a panic, together with the Wikileaks threat of publishing US cables on Israel.