Here is the news article One of the detainees is Alaa Abd El-Fatah, a prominent activist blogger. His fellow arabian bloggers fear for his safety and have launched a campaign to stop his, very likely, indefinate incarceration.
My God..... In the middle of that brutality and injustice, it is however interesting to note the growing power of the internet as an international force for truth and equality - and the importance of it remaining unmoderated by governments. Unlike the recent sad China/Google debacle.
Old Kirschen is right, it *is* the Sadat days all over again. And those that say it's much like his final days also appear correct. Poor Alaa. Heck, poor everyone. Egypt's getting more unstable by the day.
I can't write worth crap. Any suggestions? Letter to my various congresscritters: Congressman/Senator, Sir, thank you for serving us by being our voice in Washington/Harrisburg. I am writing to you about the current situation in Egypt regarding "pro democracy" supporters of an independent judiciary. I can appreciate the difficulty of the situation. On one hand, we have the values that we hold dear. Freedom of speech, freedom to peacefully assemble, the independence of the judicial branch. And on the other hand, we have our national interests. Egypt is our ally. They do not hate Israel. The Suez canal is there. And they are the bridge between South West Asia proper, and North Africa. Which of the two do we put before the other, our values or our interests? I must ask though sir, can the two not be mutually exclusive? We have a problem with the way that we are perceived in the world. It is said by many people abroad who share our ideals that we are a nation of hypocrites. That all we care about is our national interests. Fighting for freedom of expression takes a back seat to securing a valuable resource, they say. In a sense, these cries are hypocrisy. All countries in the world are concerned about their national interests. It would be foolish to think that the US is unique, even in the West at putting its' interests before its' values. But, we have a small problem that other countries do not. We are the sole superpower in the world. We are the most powerful nation in existence at this time. While most countries can only significantly influence a few others, we can influence the world. Our power combined with our concern for our interests makes us appear to be less caring about our values than many other nations in the free world. This is not the case, but at many times the appearance of impropriety is enough. I submit, that if we begin to take steps to tell our friends that do not agree with our values, that we are disappointed with them publicly that we will both improve our image in the world, and assuage our consciences. We must say to them that we are still their friend, but that they have done something that has offended us. And, explain to them that if they keep acting in this manner we cannot be friends in the future. Just as you would do to a friend who lives a block or two away we should do to our ally nations a continent or two away. I have two final remarks, sir. Firstly, there are people in this region of the world who share our value system. We MUST promote them. If we do not, then we run the risk of losing them due to disillusionment. And finally, we are the superpower of the world. Power comes with responsibility. Having this responsibility we must have the intestinal fortitude to put our values before our interests at certain times. Thank you for your time and service. And references follow. With Gratitude, SPC Bradley D Kenny 2-28 BCT (PAARNG) Camp Habbaniyah, Iraq Home of record follows References: Link the First Link the Second Link the Third edit: displayed my HOR
Shit happened. edit: And shit got stopped before it became even worse shit. Alaa's free as of a few minutes ago.
