Tag Archives: Egypt

Run For It

Rather than Winning the Future, Obama refuses to Lose the Past. At least that’s the way Rich Lowry sees it.

In a noisome bit of body-snatching, the Madison protesters associate themselves with the demonstrators in Egypt. If we must use Egypt analogies, this has it backward. Tapping into new technologies empowering individuals, the anti-Mubarak protesters overthrew a sclerotic political system that no longer fit the times. In their aims, the anti-Walker throngs are more like Egypt’s counterdemonstrators who rode in on camels to try to save a decrepit, 30-year-old political dispensation.

Can You Hear Me Now?

The domino effect has been a standby image at least since the Vietnam war. The social media effect is new.

Kathleen Parker’s column, Tanks vs Twitter, is a good one.

Clueless Clapper

National Intelligence Director, James Clapper, is at it again. Yesterday, when Egyptian President Mubarak decided to stay, before he decided leave, Clapper described the Muslim Brotherhood as a non-violent secular outfit. The administration issued a correction. When last seen, Clapper was being briefed by Diane Sawyer about a major terrorist arrest in London. Don’t ask him if the Pope’s Catholic.

Food Fuel

Here’s a look at the problem from the Simon Nixon blog in yesterday’s WSJ.

The protests in Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan are all clearly rooted in deep political grievances against brutal dictatorships, but they have their origins in soaring food prices. The chart below from Absolute Strategy Research shows why:

Choosing Sides in Egypt

In 1978 Jimmy Carter supported the overthrow of the Shah. The Ayatollah took charge and things haven’t gone well since. In 2009 President Obama passed on backing the Iranian Green Revolution.