Open Thread: Egypt and Weekend Edition
For general discussion and debate about all things relating to politics, the economy, and sports.
Possible talking point: Egypt.
How serious is the situation in Egypt? Will this result in a full-scale revolution that topples Mubarak? If so, will this become religious leading to some kind of new Islamic government such as in Iran? Or will Mubarak get control of the situation?
Maybe more importantly, might this spread throughout the impoverished Middle East really threatening international security while sending oil prices to all-time highs and crushing the economic recovery? Or will this be contained in Egypt?
- NB Staff's blog
- Login to post comments















Comments
→ One name
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 12:28pm.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
In Iranian that translates to "Carter Moment"
Great. Another Islamofascist
Submitted by Free Stinker on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 5:05pm.
Great. Another Islamofascist country . . . and one that borders Israel . . .
. . .. meaning Israel is going to be having another tank battle on the Sinai Peninsula in a few years . . .
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
→ Charlie Sheen
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 1:22pm.
Good thing Charlie Sheen checked into rehab. We wouldn't want him to get any more "hernias".
I tried to warn Charlie he
Submitted by stratman on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 4:01pm.
I tried to warn Charlie he could get injured with some of those positions in the Kama Sutra.
"One in a million shot, doc.
Submitted by bkeyser on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 4:06pm.
"One in a million shot, doc. One in a million shot."
Sheen's Area Of Speciality
Submitted by stratman on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 6:21pm.
Charlie probably knows a lot about shots - alcohol and penicillin.
Reuters: Andrea Mitchell injured in Cairo
Submitted by SickofLibs on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 2:10pm.
Just terrible.
When you gather thorns
Submitted by NevadanConservative on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 2:18pm.
expect to get stuck. A press pass is not a bulletproof shield. I don't wish harm, but given their recent antics, asking me to pity is wasted breath.
NVCon
The Egyptian internet shutdown
Submitted by NevadanConservative on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 2:37pm.
was very likely being followed very closely by BHO... probably with him getting a cramp in his hand scribbling down notes as to how it was done.
If Egypt, like Iran, slides back into 7th century theocracy, Israel will be suddenly very ready once again... that is, if they aren't already. ( I doubt Netanyahu has been napping thru all this. More likely not getting any sleep. )
Additionally, we might as well get used to the fact that the Suez Canal will no longer be a viable option for sea routing under American colors, should such a slide occur.
If Mubarak is sincere in his claim to want reforms, he best get on the stick fast. He'd also do well to watch his west border. Qadaffi is a frustrated imperialist, as all dictators are until they make their conquests, and it would not surprise me a) that a lot of these protestors have been agitated or just plain paid by Tripoli and b) Q is getting ready to cross a border with his armed might.
My two rather alarmed bits.
NVCon
what reforms?
Submitted by jon_torlin on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 3:03pm.
The Chairman is pushing Muburak against the wall with this "request"(demand) for reforms claimnig it's for the poor people, but in reality, it's setting the stage for the muslim brotherhood to sweep in and enact a Sharia government. That group is taking advantage of a bunch of poor people by pretending to speak for them. Same thing is happening in Jordan.
In the meantime, since we will see oil prices go up(and by default the price of gas), it is one more reason why we need to do more of our own, but thanks to mister "I want 1 million electric cars by 2015", he won't let that happen and will break the law(as he has done) to do it.
As long as that possob is involved, there's a whole lot more than alarm coming our way.
-Jon
Quite right
Submitted by NevadanConservative on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 4:51pm.
As i earlier said, he is taking notes.
And i was incorrect... I have passed long ago 'alarmed', and passed into fearful for country and, frankly, for myself.
Hope the statists are in here giggling and happy that they have scared a middle aged arthritic working-poor fart.
Enjoy yourselves: every second of BHO in charge is another second closer to your precious People's Union of North America, or whatever the hell you aim to call your blood-raised dystopia.
I will continue within the law to oppose you, and be properly a member of the party of No.
No, I will not worship BHO.
No, I will not take oaths to your new country.
No, I will not heed your propaganda and attempts at indoctrination.
No, I will not grovel for simple things as daily bread thru your let.
No, I will not tamely let the 'thousand years of darkness' your lot have been praying for these past seventy-six years engulf me.
You had your shot and bloodily, expensively blew it with 80 million dead, untold billions in treasure destroyed.
You statists have laughed at our efforts at the soap and ballot boxes. You have corrupted and fouled the jury box. And you are trying to steal the cartridge box.
The pro tem American statists are the 2011 models of the 1935 German originals. For all the tech available to them... cheap copies of a worthless product, only differece being the ability to do what took days and weeks then in minutes and seconds now
. For the undecided in here... Look up the Nuremburg laws of 1935, and every place you see the word 'Jew" or 'undesirable', substitute 'non-Party member'. THAT is what these statists have in mind for those that oppose them.
Oops... my error. Already have it in ObamaCare with the phrase "as the Secretary shall direct".
We are screwed, then, if this whole foulness goes unopposed.
Reagen was right... "Not too long ago, two friends of mine were talking to a Cuban refugee, a businessman who had escaped from Castro, and in the midst of his story one of my friends turned to the other and said, "We don't know how lucky we are." And the Cuban stopped and said, "How lucky you are? I had someplace to escape to." And in that sentence he told us the entire story. If we lose freedom here, there's no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth." -from the Rendezvous with Destiny speech.
And similarly, from "It's A Wonderful Life".. ..".this town needs this measley, one horse institution, if only to have someplace where people can come without crawling to Potter."
I've ran long, and off the track some.
NVCon
I don't care if you got off track
Submitted by ricklail on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 5:30pm.
I liked it. To get you back on if you must here is an interesting article from BigGovemment.com on Egypt
Recently I have been on some
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 2:21pm.
Recently I have been on some peoples faceboob making posts in defense of conservative values. There are some really disturbed people out there. The fb threads I was posting on had some people heavily into bilderbergs and Illuminati control of the world and we were just puppets. While I have looked at those theories , I have determined the effort and circumstances required for such control would be of gargantuan proportions that the idea should be dismissed.
I concluded these people would not be convinced and I was throwing pearls to swine.
Dan
Submitted by ricklail on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 2:53pm.
There was a time that I listened to Alex Jones relgiously on the shortwave, along with many others like Chuck Harder, I belive that is the correct spelling.. I guess they are still on the shortwave but I haven't tuned that in in years. I couldn't get into Bohemian Grove and all like that. The things they were talking about seemed so far fetched that I gave them up.
Don't give that which is holy unto the dogs. One of my pastors preached a sermon on Hogs and Dogs. Wish I could remember it now.
~"some people's faceboob"
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 4:40pm.
ROFL
Great typo.
Those are the best kind
Submitted by Blonde on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 4:48pm.
"faceboob"
That's about what I think of it.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
~A natural result of too many facelifts
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 4:54pm.
Explains the bags under Pelosi's eyes...
Okay, I've officially grossed myself out.
My 82 year old father in law
Submitted by ricklail on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 5:03pm.
My 82 year old father in law just got on Facebook. What is about that sight?. I thought it was for kids.
~It was
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 5:28pm.
Until people found out it was a great new way to make their friends look at pictures of their kids and grandkids.
thought we were friends*
Submitted by cajun2 on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 5:32pm.
You girls could have at least warned me, now I think I've hurt myself...AGAIN!
~Hair of the dog
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 5:34pm.
Or cat, as it were.
Laughter is the best medicine.
LOL
Egyptian chaos almost looks
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 2:28pm.
Egyptian chaos almost looks like Iran 30 years ago. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
NHL All Star match
Submitted by ricklail on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 2:43pm.
I have never paid a lot of attention to the NHL but with the All Star match being in Raleigh tomorrow I've give it more time. NC is not known for hockey. I doubt outside of Raleigh very few in this state could tell you what the Stanley Cup was. When the Hurricanes won the Cup several years ago it made a trip around the state. I got to see it and was impressed with the prestige behind it.
I thought the way the captains, Eric Stall and Nick Lindstrom picked the teams was cool. It reminded me of picking sides when we played baseball, football or basketball as kids. Staal's first pick was his teammate from the Huuricanes, goalie Cam Ward. Later he picked his brother, Mark. He better have done that because he didn't want to face his mom. I know how it was growing up and brothers diidn't pick one another. They went home and told mom and it was on. I didn't have any brothers so I didn't have to worry. I did get some words from mom one time for not picking my cousin but I learned my lesson and I never let that happen again.
Unless you are a fan of the NHL or college b-ball there is not a lot to see on TV. The Senoir Bowl is on from Mobile but that is just too controlled for me. I'll watch part just to see what is going on. Tomorrow is the NFL Pro Bowl. How many watch that? If was not in the contract that the networks that carry the NFL had to carry it I doubt they would carry it. The players don't want to be there. They like the idea of going to Hawaii all expenses paid but they rather be laying on the beach or playing in the water.
There is golf on-the Farmers tournament from Torrey Pines. Tiger is 5 shots back and Jon Daly has sobered up and is making run, Phil is not that far behind so maybe it will be worth watching.
Like the Pro-Bowl, the NHL
Submitted by Dan Diego on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 2:52pm.
Like the Pro-Bowl, the NHL All-Star game is a love fest/scoring contest (no serious checking), as a hockey fan I'll watch some of the skills events and golf...
The Senoir Bowl in on the NFL
Submitted by ricklail on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 3:03pm.
The Senoir Bowl in on the NFL channel They are not on many cable systems. A lot of folkd couldn't watch it if they wanted to. They are saying that Jake Locker's draft stock has gone up. I am curious to see that. He can sling the ball a country mile but he has no accuracy.
It's all about
Submitted by UpNorth on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 2:45pm.
Obama, all the time. He said so in his statement on Egypt yesterday,
"When I was in Cairo shortly after I was elected president, I said that all governments must maintain power through consent, not coercion".
http://nation.foxnews.com/barack-obama/2011/01/28/obama-makes-egypt-abou...
I think it's time for the House to put aside the bug hunts...
Submitted by Dave. on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 3:21pm.
...for now, and start digging around in a very focused and expedited effort to find out just who exactly Barry Hussein Obama Soetoro is, as well as what foreign influences he may be working under.
This man has done nothing but stick his finger into the eyes of our traditional allies, sided with stinking communists (Honduras, China) and the camel-washing savages (Iran, Muslim Brotherhood, etc.) at every opportunity.
There is no possible way this impostor is an American, I don't care if he was born in the top of the Statue of Liberty.
As I see it, Barry Hussein Obama is the single greatest threat to this country currently out there.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Did you hear what Boortz
Submitted by ricklail on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 3:30pm.
Did you hear what Boortz said? He said that although Obama might have been born an American he was never schooled in America through his early education. We all know he was educated under the camel washers in Indonesia so that is all he knows. He was mentored by a known commie bastard, Frank Marshall Davis. I'd be willing to bet he knows a lot more about Lenin, Marx and Engles than he does about Thomas Jefferson or John Adams. He knows more about the commie manifesto than the federalist/anti-federalist papers. He can't quote from the Bible but he sure knows the Muslim call to pray so that should tell you something.
rick,
Submitted by Dave. on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 3:35pm.
I did hear that.
Nice to see Neal is starting to come around when it comes to Obama, as he has been resisting it for quite a while.
He has even started questioning Obama's eligibility.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
I think he really started to
Submitted by ricklail on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 4:47pm.
I think he really started to question Obama's eligiblity when Abercrombie couldn't produce a birth certificate after promising he would get one. I've got a birth ceritficate and I was born long before the Vain One. If there is a record it should be there.
Like An Egyptian
Submitted by miss911ninja on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 3:12pm.
This seems like the perfect time to mention something that I've been thinking for quite awhile.
Since we've never seen BHO's long form birth certificate, which would list the hospital he was born in, the doctor who delivered him, AND the name of his father, we really don't know who his father was, either.
I've seen pictures of his alleged father, and I see NO resemblance whatsoever. Nothing about his facial bone structure or his physique resembles BHO. Some people have speculated that Frank Marshall Davis was his real father, but I don't see any resemblance there, either.
So here's what I'm getting at: I've always thought that Barry looks EGYPTIAN. And even an Egyptian thought so. When BHO was in Egypt, touring one of the ancient sites, his guide pointed out an image or a statue (I can't remember which) of an Egyptian pharaoh and said "That looks just like you."
Arabian
Submitted by jon_torlin on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 3:40pm.
Well, he is part Arabian.
But that comment about the Pharaoah must have given his NPD Ego a huge boost. Ugh. He would love a comment like that!
-Jon
Piers Morgan is a flop
Submitted by ricklail on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 5:00pm.
It appears that Larry King had better ratings than Piers Morgan. Oh yeah, the OWN, Oprah Winfrey Network is a flop too. When she annouced she had a sister she had never met it didn't make big news. Now it she had announced that her Grandpa was her daddy then that would have been big news. Lord forgive me for that but I couldn't resist and remember the pygmies in Africa.
What's up with the Pygmies?
Submitted by miss911ninja on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 3:40pm.
Last I heard, they were being cooked and eaten by some other tribe. And I'm talking RECENTLY. But all cultures are just fine and dandy, and none are better than others, right?
Human hamsters
Submitted by bkeyser on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 3:44pm.
You knew it had to happen eventually, right? According to the Baltimore Sun, a gym in Columbia, MD has modified 20 stationary bicycles to create electricity which is then pumped back into the grid.
(Someone a lot smarter than I may be able to explain it, but I'm just not buying the whole "back into the grid" theory- at least from a cost standpoint to the customer. There are a smattering of local windmills around my area -I'd guess they actually spin about 30-40% of the time based upon my observations- and theoretically, the electricity they generate is supposed to flow back into the grid and their electric usage adjusted for that "flow". Maybe those that have windmills also have a kW meter on them to let them know how much electricity they generate, and maybe their electric bill reflects both the kWhs supplied by the utility company (BGE) and returned by the windmill, along with the resultant savings, but I have my doubts. My guess is windmill owners get a tax exemption.)
Anyway, there's a gym in Columbia which has enlisted the help of it's patrons to ostensibly reduce the electric bill for the gym. According to the article: "Company representative Mike Curnyn says that over the course of a year, a standard installation of 20 generators, used 20 times per week, could potentially generate 3600 kWh – enough to light 72 homes for a month."
As it happens, I just received a notice from BGE about my electric usage over the past two months. According to the report, I've used 3384 kWhs in December and January. My heat is set to 66°, I rarely if ever cook (I don't think the oven has been on for at least two years), and I live in a small 1200 sf split foyer. So I'm a little confused about how 3600 kWh can light 72 homes for a month, unless they're talking about one keyless fixture and not much else.
Ultimately, though, I find it a bit comical that this gym has put their patrons in the hamster wheel in order to save some immeasurable amount on their utility bill. Of course, if we all pitch in, not only can we cut down on our consumption, but we might just knock off a few of those lbs we've been carrying around our mid-sections. Anybody doubt this becomes part of Michelle's campaign against Doritos-eaters?