A Truth Journal: Egypt In a Nutshell: Muslim Brotherhood Are Terrorists, Opponents To Peace

Suspects are rounded up near a burnt annex building
at the Rabaa Adawiya mosque in Cairo on Aug. 15.
 Photo: Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

A Truth Journal: Egypt In a Nutshell: Muslim Brotherhood Are Terrorists, Opponents To Peace: From Denny:  Violence erupts in Egypt.  The knee jerk reaction is the Pentagon howls about what they might be in jeopardy of losing.  The Pentagon never does get their priorities right.  So, President Obama hurriedly does the Pentagon's bidding and rushes out onto the international stage to make their case before he fully understands Egypt.

The State Department is collectively wringing their hands that Egypt might become another Syria with years of civil war on the horizon.  And the rest of the world is shaking their head at the inept policies coming out of the American government that seems to be rudderless in addition to clueless.

Here are the principle players in this international drama:  the Muslim Brotherhood, the people of Egypt who want a secular government and peace with their neighbors, the Pentagon and Big Business defense contractors.

Here is Egypt's current situation in a nutshell summary...

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GOP Plans To Axe Food Stamps For Over 150 Million Americans

Federal food stamps card that is used to purchase food. (Getty)

From Denny:  Over 46 million households in America depend upon the food stamp benefits program to put enough food on the table to feed their families.

If each household is a family of four then you are looking at maybe as many as 184 million Americans.  That is over half to two-thirds of America in need of help to eat each day.  No one said it meant three meals a day either.

It does not seem to matter to the GOP and Congress that these same Americans have contributed as taxpayers to support these programs.  Now, the unthinkable for the majority of them is to draw food stamps benefits.  They have no choice; the economy is that bad.

Many active duty military to retirees use $100 million in food stamps benefits.  Are the Republicans just out of control crazy to do this to them and the rest of America?  What is wrong with these people?

Dennys Global Politics: Egypt: Revolution Loses Meaning As Women Denied Rights, Role in Society

photo by Fatma Naib

Dennys Global Politics: Egypt: Revolution Loses Meaning As Women Denied Rights, Role in Society: From Denny:  Egypt held so much hope for the world when the Arab Spring broke out last year, toppling the regime.

Then reality set in.  The very women that protected the men who marched, the very women who gave medical aid and money to help the revolution, were turned upon and denied their respect and freedom.

The protesters took it all and gave nothing in return by denying women a seat at the table while they restructured the national government.  The former male protesters and the Egyptian military council refused the concepts of generosity, kindness, partnership and equality.  To the women, the protesters and the military are no different than the regime:  all deny freedom and equal rights to women.

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Egypt: Obama Blunders With $65 Million In Unwanted Democracy Grants

15 July 2011 - Tahrir Square protests, Photo by Kahlil Hamr/AP

From Denny: President Obama campaigned on how things would change in Washington. Well, he lied. Not much has changed, at least for the better.

The New Egypt

Fast forward to The Egypt Revolution and their transitional government getting its feet wet trying to create a new Egypt. 

What does Obama do? He tries to do what America has always done: patronizingly decide what is good for someone else because we want to give it to you. Of course, foreign country gifts always come with a price tag, now don't they?

Jon Stewart Interviews Egypt Revolution Activist Gigi Ibrahim

From Denny: Stewart dishes out the political satire in a semi-serious interview aimed at exposing how for decades American policy has had little to do with the reality of every day Egyptians.

What is so funny about the experience of this young woman is how she became involved in the Egypt Revolution this past January in Tahrir Square.  She went to a class, "The Social Mobilization Under Authoritarian Regime," at the American University in Cairo.

It was there she learned from a prominent Middle Eastern blogger about the opposition movement that had been ongoing in her own country.  The opposition movement was so underground few people knew how to contact them.  She learned their history and what was happening recently and how to join the protests.

Posts Roundup at Dennys Blogs - 13 Feb 2011

From Denny: What an exciting week it has been with the 18 Day Egypt Revolution, following the twists and turns of real life drama. I'm proud to say I wrote many posts to cover it. The most time consuming was to wade through various English written Egyptian blogs to find out what was going on, what they thought was happening in their own country.

Remember the state controlled the news. You think it's bad in America, try living under martial rule with news black-outs and propaganda. OK, the Republicans do so love to spread their political gospel but at least most Americans know it's all lies. Comics make jest of what the GOP churns out of their "war rooms."

I've started yet another silly blog for interesting people, whatever I find as I find it: Dennys People Watching. Originally, I thought it might be interesting to cover world leaders but then Lady Gaga just had to get some face time. She is my most favorite outrageous person. If she's this cheeky at age 24, can you imagine her at age 50? Sure hope she doesn't burn herself out and become a conservative in her old age.

I also waded through a tremendous number of political cartoons about the Egypt Revolution which, naturally, have proven to be a big hit with the Middle Eastern countries.  I even started posting the Egypt news on The Social Poets rather than Dennys Global Politics because I was concerned anyone from the Middle East or Egypt might be in danger for visiting what the state might perceive as a  mainstream American media site  After all, who would think a poetess would be a political subversive? OK, bring on the political clowns... :)

During this fast-paced Egypt news we had the Chinese New Year and the Super Bowl.  I managed to get up some great recipes so take a look at the four food blogs.

Another blog I just birthed too, still in development stage, is Dennys Guest Bloggers. I thought it might be fun to invite other bloggers to answer interview questions for their readers to better get to know them.  It's also an interesting way to help market your blog, your art work or whatever.  I'm always up for figuring out ways to get out information - of which I am The Ultimate Information Junkie - and experiment with how to reach maximum awareness on the web.

If you are interested and want to post there - which would get linked on my many other blogs and linked in search engines and social sites - leave a comment on the blog or email here: warriorspearl@gmail.com.  It might be a good idea to catch my eye with the subject heading: Dennys Guest Bloggers.

Over the past several months artists and other bloggers have written for guest blogging but some of them were not a fit for my blogs or I couldn't get to them at the time.  So, I've been wracking my brain to figure out how to create a fit for just about any blogger - and in a timely manner. So this crazy blog idea was born.

Take a look around. Put up your feet; take a load off and enjoy yourself as you trip through what I found to post!  Sometimes, I feel like a writing monkey as depicted in that silly photo...


The Social Poets:

Gabby Giffords Speaks 1st Words, May Attend NASA Space Launch

American Political Cartoons - 12 Feb 2011 

Breaking News: Egypt Jubilant, This Blogger Called It Right: Mubarak Leaves

Breaking News: Mubarak Angers Protesters As Saves Face, Justifies Rule, Long Goodbye 

Egypt: Tahrir Square Excitement Builds, Protesters Await Confirmation Mubarak Leaving

Breaking News: Egypt Protesters Win, Mubarak Stepping Down!

Poll: Obama Will Not Win 2012 Reelection - The mood of the American people does not bode well for President Obama if he wants to seek a second term.

Cartoons: My Demo-Yard-Cats and GOP Temper Tantrums - What is it about my Democrats? Like the typical yard cat they don't seem to know their name or come when they are called.

Cartoons: Some Hummers to Scratch Your Head Why - OK, these are those wonderfully obscure type of cartoons that some people don't always "get" as to why they are funny but they sure made me grin.

Cartoons: Just Good Old-Fashioned Political Comedy - Sometimes, Life is just too amusing and these cartoonists certainly have capitalized on the opportunists capitalizing on us

31 More Egypt Revolution Cartoons - Cartoonists churn out new opinions at as fast a rate as the situation changes in Egypt during the protests.

Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil Predicts Early Spring for 2011 - Check out this year's funny prediction from the famous American groundhog and plenty of groundhog day trivia and more.

Posts Roundup at Dennys Blogs - 30 Jan 2011

Political Cartoons: Obama 2011 State Of The Union

Taxpayers to Goldman Sachs: Give Us Back Our $3 Billion You Stole

American Political Cartoons - 12 Feb 2011

Outgoing Prez Bush with Incoming Prez Obama Image via Wikipedia

From Denny:  What a whirlwind week with the peaceful people's Egypt Revolution finally winning and ousting Mubarak! America was on the periphery. President Obama was clueless as to what to do, constantly changing his position from day to day. Republican think tanks were apoplectic, frothing at the mouth trying to force Obama to their strong man line of leadership, how he was supposed to be in control of Egypt and Mubarak.  Israel, Jordan and other Middle Eastern countries were frantically calling Obama to come out and declare this or that, in other words, lead the situation.

This Egypt Revolution was of the people and no one else for a pleasant change. This was one time my father's precious damned CIA, the Pentagon and the White House were not working feverishly in sync to destabilize and topple a foreign government just to place their favorite puppet in power. When American politicians, military and intelligence finally get their egos out of The Big Picture this world will be a better place. Why does it always have to be about what's good for America? Don't they understand that what is good for that particular country ends up being good for everyone in the end?

Man up, world governments, and learn to respond and adapt to what evolves in any situation. Quite trying to control it and then cover up your mistakes when things go awry. The weak indecision of President Obama actually played in his favor in the Egypt situation. As usual, Obama is late to the party. He isn't a joiner. He isn't a people person. He isn't a leader. He's a professor who should have stayed in the classroom that he could control. Real leadership is messy because life is messy. America is a democracy, not an autocracy, contrary to what the Republicans and this White House want to create for their convenience and ease of operation.

By doing nothing Obama looked like he was not interfering in Egypt, therefore not creating a backlash onto America as the Republicans would have slammed our way.  It could have escalated into a bigger mess with Middle East anger directed at America for all the past mistakes of previous presidencies. Obama gets a gold star in my book any way.  Sometimes, it is better to stay out of the game.



George Bush weird:

Breaking News: Egypt Jubilant, This Blogger Called It Right: Mubarak Leaves

Image by robertxcadena via Flickr

From Denny:  This blogger gets to tell the mainstream media, "You were wrong!" They were claiming Mubarak would not leave. This blogger told them Mubarak was just doing his military leader version of The Long Goodbye. "I told you so!" never felt so good because now the Egyptian people have a real chance at democracy and truly free and fair elections of their own choosing.

It will be exciting to watch it unfold over the months ahead.  Do not underestimate the Egyptian people.  They will not allow a fundamentalist Islamic regime to grab power.  They are fed up with being held down, oppressed, and treated like starving dogs.

Right now the status is that Mubarak left Cairo last night after giving his unwelcome speech as the crowds swelled to millions in the Tahrir Square. The mainstream media were churning out stories of how Mubarak was still in power but with much less power since he transferred much of it to the new Vice President Omar Suleiman .

Right now the Army is taking over the transition to new government, aiding the Vice President who is basically the new President until someone can be elected.  The Army came down on the side of the protesters, giving Mubarak a safe exit.  Today many of the military are out in the Tahrir Square celebrating with the protesters.  After all, how can Mubarak ask the military to fire upon their own relatives and friends?  It was never going to succeed for Mubarak to hold onto power.

Another interesting development is the protesters are demanding to know, "Mubarak, where is all the money?" You guessed it. Follow the money. Turns out today the Swiss banks froze Mubarak's assets until this all shakes out. I guess the next question is, "But did Mubarak move money to Saudi Banks?"  They do own controlling interests in several American banks.  Are they hiding any of Mubarak's money in America? As you recall, the Saudi monarchy wanted to prop up Mubarak because they fear their own people will riot and depose their regime.

Egypt has a lot of well-wishers in the Arab world besides in the West. Palestinians in the Gaza and the Tunisians all took to the streets, horns blaring, celebrating with jubilation.

From Egyptian anchor Amr Nassef, who was once imprisoned in Egypt for alleged ties to Islamists, cried emotionally on the air and said: "Allahu Akbar (God is great), the Pharaoh is dead. Am I dreaming? I'm afraid to be dreaming."

It's a good day in Egypt!  We wish them well.

Watch the video of the celebration as Richard Engel reports:

Breaking News: Mubarak Angers Protesters As Saves Face, Justifies Rule, Long Goodbye

Image by robertxcadena via Flickr

From Denny: Mubarak seriously ticked off the thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square in Cairo as they just heard him speak to the nation. He did not quickly capitulate to their demands to leave immediately.

Mubarak tried the argument of how the economy and "the little people" will suffer if they don't quit with the protests and come back to his style of law and order.  He attempted to sway any Egyptians sitting on the fence who have yet to side with the protesters.

Mubarak pointedly told "outside powers" that he will not give in to their demands. There must be more foreign countries calling than we know, pressuring him to leave. Interesting. Saudi Arabia is just as obnoxious. They threatened President Obama they will prop up Mubarak if Obama comes out in favor of the protesters. Like that would work at this juncture.

Mubarak is known for being a very stubborn man and so I certainly did not expect a former general to state precisely he would give in to them and leave now. What I did expect is exactly what he did. He did the usual military leader dance, detailing how he has been a true patriot for decades, how he loves his country, how he paternalistically always had their best interests at heart even if they are too stupid to understand. His one mild concession was to tell the protesters they had "legitimate demands and they were just."

Mubarak went on to try and sell "free and fair elections in September" and that's when he will make his graceful exit. Like most military leaders, Mubarak is tone deaf to his people. He repeatedly spoke about his grand vision for Egypt. Clearly, no one else shares his vision among his countrymen.

Mubarak claims he will give - let's see, maybe "share" is a better word - some of his presidential powers to  the newly created Vice President position. No one believes that either. Unanimously, the protesters rejected his speech and his vision.

What is clear is that Mubarak will leave, what he thinks is his own timing: September. The protesters do not trust him to keep his word for free and fair elections. Nor do they trust him to properly investigate and punish those security forces who killed hundreds of protesters.

What Mubarak has accomplished is to strongly unify the protesters and increase their numbers by the hour.  Government workers have thrown in with them, especially those on the almighty money maker, the Suez Canal.  Mubarak is worried about his economy now?  After that disastrous speech, the whole country will now refuse to come to work tomorrow.  He can't last until September.

Western journalists keep pounding the message that Mubarak is not stepping down. Yes, he is. He is doing it with his own version of the truth and trying to save his dignity. This is what every former general does and how he does it. Write it on a rock and take it to the bank. Stubborn or not, proud or not, resistant or not, Mubarak is out.

Egypt: Tahrir Square Excitement Builds, Protesters Await Confirmation Mubarak Leaving

From Denny: Just two hours ago we received word here in America that Mubarak is truly stepping down, yielding power to his newly created Vice President. The Army is expected to assist in the transition to a new civilian government. The protesters are gathered by the thousands in Tahrir Square in Cairo to await Mubarak's "See ya!" speech.

This Mubarek departure has been confirmed by CIA Director Leon Panetta. President Obama spoke about an hour ago in Michigan, declaring America will assist the peaceful transition to a new democracy for Egypt in any way it is asked.

Breaking News: Egypt Protesters Win, Mubarak Stepping Down!

From Denny:  The crowds in Tahrir Square are electrified. Mubarak is about to speak to the crowd. It is expected he is to announce he will step down immediately, yielding power to his newly created Vice President, that according to CIA Director Leon Panetta too.

Arrangements have been made with the Egyptian Army to temporarily take over to oversee the transition to a newly elected democratic government. Most expect this to be a peaceful transition. This is not a military coup but rather an agreement between the Army and Mubarak. There are others in the West that dread the Muslim Brotherhood and wonder if that organization will try to take control in the euphoria of the moment among the protesters.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is threatening President Obama. Basically, they are taking America hostage economically by doing so. Saudi Arabia says they will prop up Mubarak if Obama demands Mubarak to go in a public way, humiliating him. And these dictatorship style governments in the Middle East wonder why their peoples want to get rid of them? It's all about their egos and "saving face" instead of what is good for the whole country and the benefit of the people.

Congratulations go to the Egyptian protesters who have risked their lives and their freedom to create their democracy.

31 More Egypt Revolution Cartoons

Cartoonists churn out new opinions at as fast a rate as the situation changes in Egypt during the protests.

From Denny: The fast pace of revolution is, well, why they call it a "revolution"! Events unfolding in Egypt are astounding to witness. The first few days of the week the protests were primarily peaceful with the exception of a few idiot looters.

In the early days the protesters called for Mubarek to step down immediately. Mubarek said "No!" but did dissolve his cabinet and created the first Vice President, a man of his own choosing, of course. The protesters were not well impressed and demanded Mubarek and his whole government leave. Mubarek was tired of his idea of concessions to the voice of his people.

Mubarek drew back the hated corrupt police force as a way to teach the people how much they needed him. That backfired. That act of depraved indifference for his people did not deter the protesters. Instead, they organized themselves in every neighborhood and created their own security task forces to guard themselves and their property.

Did I mention Mubarek also let loose thousands of violent prisoners, emptying them into the streets to terrorize the populace into submission? Then Mubarek closed down the internet and cell phone service which he later restored in a couple of days. He probably found out he couldn't run his own affairs without it.

Yesterday the protests turned violent with the odd addition of thugs on horses and camels riding into the protesters, swinging clubs and battering anyone they could. They especially went after foreign news crews with cameras to prevent the news from getting out of the country.

Clearly, Mubarek sent in those thugs in place of official police or the military. Who knows? Maybe those thugs are really plains clothes police who are afraid of what will happen to them if Mubarek does leave the country, abandoning them. That might explain the passion and the furor of which they fight because they may feel they are fighting for their own survival.

The Army refuses to fire upon the protesters, often joining in photo-ops and chants with them. Both the protesters and Mubarek have been competing for the loyalty of the Army. What's a ruthless dictator to do? Well, unleash every psychopath he can lay his hands on so he is not forced to let loose his 30 year grip on power.

If the protesters stand strong and fight back they will eventually win the day. A million protesters against a few hundred thugs will win in the end.

President Obama's response seems to be shifting and changing along with the situation. If Mubarek wants to live through this someone with a stronger will than Obama needs to convince this guy it's past due time to leave. Why not send a military man to talk to a military man?

And another question: Has Obama stopped the flow of foreign aid funds to Egypt yet? That's a reputed $1.3 BILLION  I would hope so until we know who will be in office running the country. Otherwise, our hard-earned taxpayers funds may end up in some Swiss bank account with a Mubarek (secretly) named owner. I guess we don't have to worry about hunting it down. Surely, WikiLeaks will blast those secret accounts all over the internet. It's enough to make you want to hide your cashed paycheck under the mattress. :)

Human Interest News: Cane-Fu Fighting for Elderly

From Denny: Now this is an interesting development for the elderly. They are learning how to use a walking cane, especially designed to be effective against attackers, as a new style of self-defense martial arts.

Here are a few excerpts from the article:

"At the helm of the class is one of the country's most recognized cane fighters, Mark Shuey, a slight man who, at 62, has hair and skin starting to show signs of age. He has traveled from Lake Tahoe, Nev., to teach this group of 16 how to protect themselves from attackers.

"He calls it Cane-Fu.

"Cane fighting classes have popped up all over the country, in part due to the influence of Cane Masters, the company Shuey founded that sells wood canes made of harder, thicker wood, to sustain wear and wider crooks to fit around an attacker's neck. Now, it's being offered at dojos and increasingly in senior centers and retirement communities.

"'You don't have to be powerful, you don't have to be fast,' said Gary Hernandez, who runs the dojo here northeast of Tampa where the session was held and where he teaches cane fighting classes himself. 'It's a piece of hard wood. It hurts...'

"Fitness alone won't ward off those who might hurt them, though, and Shuey talks briefly of recent attacks on elders. His hazel eyes look severe as he points to the cane and delivers his message.

"'When you put this little crook around someone's neck, their whole attitude changes real fast,' he said...

"It takes years to master cane fighting like Hernandez or Shuey, but they say they can teach a senior several crucial moves in an hour. Perhaps more importantly, though, it gives them confidence that can help them escape a dangerous situation...

"It isn't an entirely new use for the cane. In ancient Rome and Egypt, canes were used as weapons. In the 13th century, swinging a cane before a member of royalty would assure your beheading. In the 17th century, canes required a permit.

"'Things changed 200 or 300 years ago. You don't want to take a cane to a gunfight, so the cane became a crutch and it's been visualized as that for the last couple hundred years,' Shuey said. 'Today when you carry a cane, they think you're a gimp.'"

By Matt Sedensky @ AP
Photo by AP