Egypt, first free elections in 5,000 years.

[Bacchus]

Egypt Votes: 50 million vote in first free presidential election




Today and tomorrow, Egyptians go to the polls in the first free, democratic presidential election in their lives. More than a year after the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, over 50 million people across Egypt are casting ballots in the two day vote.



The rest......

http://www.examiner.com/article/egyp...ntial-election

Very interesting time in the Middle East. I believe any revolution that is accelerated by FB, Twitter and Youtube has to be a good thing, because those are all freedoms that Governments want to edit, censor and minimize.

There will be setbacks but I think this will end up being a great time for the Egyptian people.

[hambone13]

Originally Posted by Bacchus

Egypt Votes: 50 million vote in first free presidential election




Today and tomorrow, Egyptians go to the polls in the first free, democratic presidential election in their lives. More than a year after the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, over 50 million people across Egypt are casting ballots in the two day vote.



The rest......

http://www.examiner.com/article/egyp...ntial-election

Very interesting time in the Middle East. I believe any revolution that is accelerated by FB, Twitter and Youtube has to be a good thing, because those are all freedoms that Governments want to edit, censor and minimize.

There will be setbacks but I think this will end up being a great time for the Egyptian people.

You have to wonder whether the population is ready for a free election with controlled and focused propaganda. Those sorts of environments are not truly free elections or democracies/republics. It will certainly be interesting to see how it pans out.

[Bacchus]

Originally Posted by hambone13

You have to wonder whether the population is ready for a free election with controlled and focused propaganda. Those sorts of environments are not truly free elections or democracies/republics. It will certainly be interesting to see how it pans out.

I agree, and there will be coruption and violence but I think they are on the right road. As long as the people have a voice and the military does not over step their boundaries they will be ok.

[srphoenix]

yep, free to vote themselves back into an islamic "republic" with sharia law and no regard for anyone who thinks differently than them.

hopefully that isn't what happens, but I seriously doubt it.

[ant1999e]

First and last election.

[broncocalijohn]

eh, call me in another 5,000 years.

[sirhcyennek81]

Originally Posted by ant1999e

First and last election.

This.

I'm sure at some point an "emergency" will develop concerning Israel and democratic processes will be suspended. Then we can hear how the Egyptian people got to vote once.

[ant1999e]

Originally Posted by sirhcyennek81

This.

I'm sure at some point an "emergency" will develop concerning Israel and democratic processes will be suspended. Then we can hear how the Egyptian people got to vote once.

That or they'll vote for Sharia Law and become oppressed again.

[cutthemdown]

I read Egyptian tourists sites like ghost towns right now. Also the countryside is now rife with crime and thuggery. I doubt they end up much different then before, just more anti American. Mubarak was our friend and basically did what we said for yrs. Gaddaffi was playing ball with the USA, helped us by giving up nukes and giving us centrifuges we used to make a virus for Iran. We repaid that by letting him have a knife shoved up his ass. Then comes Syria, finally a country and family we should relish taking out....but here is there old friend the soviets to protect them. So we fold and let the Soviets protect there puppet state.

In the end the result is countries see Russia will go to the mat for you, Obama won't. Absolutely no reason to play ball with Obama on anything because he turns on you. America isn't to be trusted. The result is Russia has increased their influence in the region, and we have not. Great job Obama. At least he saw what was happening in time to let Bahrian and the Saudis lay waste that countries protests.

Obama showed his lack of leadership during the Arab spring. Now tension with Israel/Egypt at an all time high since the war ended.

[cutthemdown]

Originally Posted by sirhcyennek81

This.

I'm sure at some point an "emergency" will develop concerning Israel and democratic processes will be suspended. Then we can hear how the Egyptian people got to vote once.

Like when Israel bombs the hell out of Iran uniting the Muslims again?

[barryr]

I have given up hope that much positive will be coming out of the ME anytime soon. People voting, but the election was probably really decided a year ago.

[mhgaffney]

Originally Posted by srphoenix

yep, free to vote themselves back into an islamic "republic" with sharia law and no regard for anyone who thinks differently than them.

hopefully that isn't what happens, but I seriously doubt it.

The fact is that Islamic countries do a better job taking care of the poor, widows, the infirm, the hungry, and the disadvantaged than we do in the primarily Christian US.

At any rate -- those Islamic countries that have not been attacked, bombed, and militarily occupied by a western power do.

[sirhcyennek81]

Originally Posted by mhgaffney

The fact is that Islamic countries do a better job taking care of the poor, widows, the infirm, the hungry, and the disadvantaged than we do in the primarily Christian US.

At any rate -- those Islamic countries that have not been attacked, bombed, and militarily occupied by a western power do.

Yes. I mean it totally makes sense that areas of the world revolt and overthrow their governments because they are completely satisfied with the society they live in.

[mhgaffney]

Originally Posted by sirhcyennek81

Yes. I mean it totally makes sense that areas of the world revolt and overthrow their governments because they are completely satisfied with the society they live in.

The reaction of a typical American A-hole.

The fact is that the US supported tyranny throughout the Arab and muslim world, for many years.

Everything from overthrowing democratic governments - such as in Iran where we installed a dictator -- to propping up absolute monarchs in S Arabia, a monarchy that funded and still funds Wahabist and Al Qaeda extremists.

We also provided nerve gas to Saddam in the 1980s, and vast military support to the corrupt Mubarak regime in Egypt, over many years. The US CIA regularly handed over detainees to Egypt for torture and death.

We continue to support tyranny in Kuwait, Bahrain, Quatar, etc

And when have you EVER raised your voice on behalf of democracy in these countries. Like never.

MHG

[Bacchus]

Originally Posted by mhgaffney

The reaction of a typical American A-hole.

The fact is that the US supported tyranny throughout the Arab and muslim world, for many years.

Everything from overthrowing democratic governments - such as in Iran where we installed a dictator -- to propping up absolute monarchs in S Arabia, a monarchy that funded and still funds Wahabist and Al Qaeda extremists.

We also provided nerve gas to Saddam in the 1980s, and vast military support to the corrupt Mubarak regime in Egypt, over many years. The US CIA regularly handed over detainees to Egypt for torture and death.

We continue to support tyranny in Kuwait, Bahrain, Quatar, etc

And when have you EVER raised your voice on behalf of democracy in these countries. Like never.

MHG

I agree with this. Mubarak tortured his people and kept them down. The people rose up and over threw him and people here in the U.S. are pissed that we did not support Mubarak?? That is outrageous. G.W. Bush talked about having Democracy throughout the Middle East but since we did not topple this government or invade them and impose our kind of Democracy on them people are upset.

Hopefully, they will have a Democratic Islamic nation. Sure we will disagree on many issues, but that is life. After about 20 more years of struggle, since nothing ever comes easy, maybe they can become a stable Islamic country like Turkey.

I feel their country has a much better chance of functioning government then the Democracy in Iraq that we spent $1 trillion on and cost 5,000 American lives.

[Requiem]

Originally Posted by barryr

I have given up hope that much positive will be coming out of the ME anytime soon. People voting, but the election was probably really decided a year ago.

You just don't like Muslims.

[sirhcyennek81]

Originally Posted by mhgaffney

The reaction of a typical American A-hole.

The fact is that the US supported tyranny throughout the Arab and muslim world, for many years.

Everything from overthrowing democratic governments - such as in Iran where we installed a dictator -- to propping up absolute monarchs in S Arabia, a monarchy that funded and still funds Wahabist and Al Qaeda extremists.

We also provided nerve gas to Saddam in the 1980s, and vast military support to the corrupt Mubarak regime in Egypt, over many years. The US CIA regularly handed over detainees to Egypt for torture and death.

We continue to support tyranny in Kuwait, Bahrain, Quatar, etc

And when have you EVER raised your voice on behalf of democracy in these countries. Like never.

MHG

You said, you sanctimonious twit, that Muslim countries treat their poor, infirm, elderly and widowed BETTER than western countries in general, and par the course, the US in particular.

Now follow the logic train, giggles. It was the poor, unemployed and underemployed who led those revolts in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Satisfied people DO NOT revolt. Why would they? They did not suddenly decide one day that US support of Israel was a reason to overthrow established authoritarian governments. They did it to provide greater political and economic freedom for themselves and their children. Or at least some of them did. However, that will not be the case, and more hard-line Islamic factions will be the ones who determine the course of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Democracies in name only.

But anything that weakens US influence and puts Israel in the crosshairs of a Genocide, Act II gets your approval. The Mane's little Nazi.

[sirhcyennek81]

Originally Posted by Bacchus

I agree with this. Mubarak tortured his people and kept them down. The people rose up and over threw him and people here in the U.S. are pissed that we did not support Mubarak?? That is outrageous. G.W. Bush talked about having Democracy throughout the Middle East but since we did not topple this government or invade them and impose our kind of Democracy on them people are upset.

Hopefully, they will have a Democratic Islamic nation. Sure we will disagree on many issues, but that is life. After about 20 more years of struggle, since nothing ever comes easy, maybe they can become a stable Islamic country like Turkey.

I feel their country has a much better chance of functioning government then the Democracy in Iraq that we spent $1 trillion on and cost 5,000 American lives.

Any argument you make automatically becomes suspect when you begin with agreeing with Gaff.

It seems when you say democratic christian or democratic islamic country, they rarely are democratic, and tend to be more theocratic in outlook. When a "free" Egypt ended Mubarak's rule, the first thing they did was declare Israel their number 1 enemy.

BTW, we "imposed" democracy on Japan and Germany. Spent far more in terms of money and lives then will ever be spent on Iraq. But I suppose that does not matter in our modern political setting. Good war vs Bad war, right?

[barryr]

Originally Posted by Requiem

You just don't like Muslims.

You just like going around and following posters to make snide remarks about them in various threads and then pretend you don't do such things. Like I have stated many times, you have something really wrong with you. But I know I have put you in your place numerous times for you to have to resort to such things, so you've obviously been owned and can't handle it I even bet you are continuing to give me silly negative reps even though I don't bother reading that stupidity

[mhgaffney]

This story is not a fluke -- or the exception to the rule. In recent years, this has been the rule.

MHG

US drone strike hits mosque; 10 killed

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...sque-10-killed

[ant1999e]

Originally Posted by mhgaffney

The fact is that Islamic countries do a better job taking care of the poor, widows, the infirm, the hungry, and the disadvantaged than we do in the primarily Christian US.

At any rate -- those Islamic countries that have not been attacked, bombed, and militarily occupied by a western power do.

Ha, that's some funny shyt. I've been to a few middle saddened countries. You think we have poor class here. Poor in the US isn't shyt compared to poor over there.

[ant1999e]

http://news.yahoo.com/brotherhood-mu...061315464.html

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood said on Friday its candidate in Egypt's first free presidential vote would fight a run-off next month with ex-air force chief Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister of deposed leader Hosni Mubarak.
This week's first-round vote has polarised Egyptians between those determined to avoid handing the presidency back to a man from Mubarak's era and those fearing an Islamist monopoly of ruling institutions. The run-off will be held on June 16 and 17.
The election marks a crucial step in a messy and often bloody transition to democracy, overseen by a military council that has pledged to hand power to a new president by July 1.
The second round threatens further turbulence. Opponents of Shafiq have vowed to take to the streets if he is elected.
But to supporters, Shafiq's military background offers reassurance that he can restore security, a major demand of the population 15 months after Mubarak's ouster.
A victory for the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi could worsen tensions between resurgent Islamists and the powerful army, which sees itself as the guardian of the state.
Christians and secular liberals anxious about their own freedoms and the fate of Egypt's vital tourist industry will fret about a promised Brotherhood push for Islamic law.
"Now Egyptians will have to choose between the revolution and the counter-revolution. The next vote will be equivalent to holding a referendum on the revolution," Mohamed Beltagy, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood's party, told Reuters.
If Mursi becomes president, Islamists will control most ruling institutions - but not the military - in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation, consolidating electoral gains made by fellow-Islamists in other Arab countries in the past year.
Israel has nervously watched the Islamist rise, especially in Egypt, its old enemy until a 1979 peace treaty. Mursi vaguely advocates a "review" of the pact, but the Brotherhood says it will not tear it up. Shafiq has vowed to uphold it.
The bluntly-spoken military man came from behind in a race in which former Arab League chief Amr Moussa and ex-Brotherhood member Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh were early favourites.
His late surge reflected the anxiety of many Egyptians about a breakdown of law and order and the often violent political disputes that have punctuated an army-led transition since a popular revolt ousted Mubarak on February 11, 2011.
The Brotherhood announced early on Friday that the run-off would be between Shafiq and Mursi after almost all votes were counted. A member of Shafiq's campaign also said Mursi and Shafiq were in the lead, but that counting was not complete.
Official results are not expected until Tuesday.
Aides to other candidates consistently put Mursi ahead but gave shifting tallies for second place through the night.
Egypt will elect a president before rewriting a post-Mubarak
constitution to define the powers of the head of state, parliament and other institutions. The army, bent on preserving its privileges and influence even after the promised handover, might want to curb the mandate of an Islamist president.
The Brotherhood's Guidance Office, its top body, was meeting to mull a campaign "to galvanise Islamists and Egyptian voters to face the bloc of the 'feloul'," a Brotherhood official said, using a scornful Arabic term for "remnants" of Mubarak's order.
TOUGH CHOICE
The Brotherhood, Egypt's most organised political group, has already secured the biggest bloc for its party in parliament after an earlier vote. Long repressed and banned under Mubarak, the 84-year-old Islamist group has a broad grassroots base.
Young Egyptian revolutionaries who helped topple Mubarak now face what they see as a dispiriting choice between a conservative Islamist and a hardline member of the old guard.
"To choose between Shafiq or Mursi is like being asked do you want to commit suicide by being set on fire or jump in a shark tank," Adel Abdel Ghafar wrote on Twitter, a networking tool used to devastating effect against Mubarak in the uprising.
Tareq Farouq, 34, a Cairo driver, said: "I'm in shock. How could this happen? The people don't want Mursi or Shafiq. We're sick of both. They are driving people back to Tahrir Square."
Many Christians, who form about a tenth of Egypt's 82 million people, complained of discrimination in Mubarak's day, but are likely to vote for Shafiq in preference to an Islamist.
The Brotherhood may be riding high, but to win the run-off it will need to woo the votes of other candidates such as its old adherent Abol Fotouh, who took 20 percent of the vote on an inclusive platform, according to the Brotherhood's count.
Two days of first-round voting went off calmly with polls closing on Thursday. Monitors reported no major infringements, although some candidates grumbled about their rivals' conduct.
The Brotherhood official, who asked not to be named, said that with votes counted from about 12,800 of the roughly 13,100 polling stations, Mursi had 25 percent, Shafiq 23 percent, Abol Fotouh 20 percent and leftist Hamdeen Sabahy 19 percent.
Election committee officials said late on Thursday that about half of Egypt's 50 million eligible voters had cast ballots. The Brotherhood official put the turnout at 40 percent.

[mhgaffney]

Originally Posted by ant1999e

Ha, that's some funny shyt. I've been to a few middle saddened countries. You think we have poor class here. Poor in the US isn't shyt compared to poor over there.

I've been to India. I've seen the poverty of which you speak.

Nonetheless, the squalor of the Pine Ridge Indian reservation -- which I have also seen - is an indictment of America. There is no need for this kind of poverty in a nation as rich as we are.

Where is the moral strength and will to face our own social problems? You almost never see it on this board. Instead -- you see so many ugly faces -- why the world properly fears and despises us.

America = the graveyard of rainbows.

[Rohirrim]

Originally Posted by ant1999e

Ha, that's some funny shyt. I've been to a few middle saddened countries. You think we have poor class here. Poor in the US isn't shyt compared to poor over there.

Don't worry. We'll keep working at it and we'll get there.

[Rohirrim]

Originally Posted by mhgaffney

I've been to India. I've seen the poverty of which you speak.

Nonetheless, the squalor of the Pine Ridge Indian reservation -- which I have also seen - is an indictment of America. There is no need for this kind of poverty in a nation as rich as we are.

Where is the moral strength and will to face our own social problems? You almost never see it on this board. Instead -- you see so many ugly faces -- why the world properly fears and despises us.

America = the graveyard of rainbows.

Unfortunately, everybody else in the world is lacking in your moral superiority. It's a shame, really.