Egypt- Will this affect relations with the US?

[rakgirl]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7014994.stm

What do you guys think?

[tamrahennatx]

I'm not sure the trogs in the White House care what anyone thinks any more. What's funny is, isn't Egypt one of those "extraordinary rendition" countries where we send people when we want to avail ourselves of their torture expertise?

Pot, meet kettle.

[lizajuk]

Last I heard hoteliers and vendors will take money from you even if you're American. That goes for us Brits as well! You're welcome to spend money overhere

[kamilia]

Oh, so they only caught on just now? What about Nasser's expulsion of just about everybody not "Egyptian" in the 1950's? What about the killing of peaceful Sudanese refugee protesters in 2005? What the government-sanctioned persecution of innocent people in between those years? continuing now?

This article could have mentioned a lot more egregious human rights violations, but anyway...

Egypt must have pooed on Bush somehow to warrant this formal recognition of how the country is troubled.

[rakgirl]

that's what i'm thinking kamilia.
it's just such a scary time in the world. governments are making it hard for people who have wander lust. you have to constantly watch out to see what the relationship is like. gone are the days when we can just up and go where we please and expect to be fine. we dont' know what crazy thing our government may have just done.

[cbarros]

Check out what is showing up on YouTube under the topics of "Egyptian Police brutality" or "Egyptian bloggers". Sometimes I think it should be rather obvious that Egypt has problems . . . But is anyone paying attention? That's the problem.

I've got a Google Reader feed setup that shows highlights of various blogs/news feeds regarding Egypt . . . I've been seeing some tough stories (amongst the usual touristy stuff . . ."I rode a camel at the Pyramids").

When I hear these stories, I cry for Egypt.

[kamilia]

Brava, Ms. Barros! Thanks for mentioning that. The police brutality is AWFUL there. They have some pretty explicit videos on metacafe, too.

It's also worth researching the persecution of Copts on the net, too. There are some very interesting accounts out there.

[Bellydancingcaroline]

Guantanamo

[rakgirl]

word caroline. but we don't have video of that now do we? we don't even hear about those men anymore. how long have they been there? 7 years.

[tamrahennatx]

Originally Posted by rakgirl

word caroline. but we don't have video of that now do we? we don't even hear about those men anymore. how long have they been there? 7 years.

You hear about it if you listen to/read the right news. There have been a few recent legal developments, and there are lawyers and rights groups trying to give these people a chance at justice, but as with many things lately, it's like trying to get through a brick wall using only one's head as a battering ram.

[Bellydancingcaroline]

Originally Posted by rakgirl

word caroline.

ooooo ! An authentic American person said "word" to me, that's never happened before. <skips off happily, feeling more "street">

[rakgirl]

i know i'm so 80s. i don't know where that b girl vernacular came from. word to ya motha.

[cbarros]

Originally Posted by Bellydancingcaroline

Guantanamo

And I would mention that on one of the YouTube videos I watched regarding Police Brutality in Egypt, there was a comment regarding police in the States shooting Blacks and Hispanics!! Soooooooooooo, yes, I think there are some of the same problems here. AND, I don't like it here either . . . And Guantanamo is something that I am still shaking my head over . . . how can they do that??? Anywhere??

And did anyone see the video of the shootings by the army in Myanmar (aka Burma) on the news this morning?? Apparently, ppl took those and posted to the internet . . . I've heard that the internet has been shut down now.

Egypt still has internet access so we can continue to hear about these things.