Kevin Marshall's America
Mubarak is Egypt's President no more. Image via Wikipedia
Embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has been the country’s autocratic leader for three decades, has resigned and handed power over to the Egyptian military after weeks of angry protests.
Protestors flooded the streets and chanted “the people have ousted Mubarak” and other slogans as the announcement was made on live television by Egypt‘s Vice-President, Omar Suleiman. Egypt will be under military rule until free elections can occur.
Well, that’s the assumption anyway.
See, it’s not as cut and dry as “the military’s good and Mubarak’s bad.” The mainstream media – not just in the United States but throughout the world – had been optimistic about military response due to soldiers in the street assuring protestors they wouldn’t be harmed and in some cases showing subtle signs of support such as hanging signs in support of the movement.
However, what a soldier does in the street and what military leaders do behind closed doors may not be the same thing.
(photo credit: Tara Todras-Whitehill, Associated Press)
To its credit, the military didn’t try to crush the uprising; that was the job of the State Police agency, which failed miserably in its efforts. The optimistic viewpoint is that the military’s neutral stance and attitude in the last eighteen days was due to a conflict over whether to follow the orders of its Chief (Mubarak) or bend to the will of its people. The more cynical outlook – and admittedly one I lean towards – is that the writing’s been on the wall for some time and the military engaged in smart politics by showing itself as the peace-loving troops who yearned for a new democratic government but whose hands were conveniently tied.
The bottom line is that the military can be commended for not taking part in the crackdown, but there is also no indication that it did so by refusing orders from Mubarak. The best we can do is hope for a good outcome and that the attitudes and intentions of the military are sincere and in the best interests of the people. I won’t say that we take them at their word, because nobody knows what that word is.
The news that broke today isn’t that Democracy has returned to Egypt, or that freedom reigns supreme. The news is, simply, that Mubarak is gone.
Whether that means a free Egypt is a complicated question for which we won’t have the answer for many, many months. We are eager to equate freedom from Mubarak’s autocratic rule as freedom in our Western understanding, along with social reforms. But that’s wishful thinking, and it’s not based on any of our understanding of the region.
So the question remains: how “free” does Egypt really want to be?
Only time will tell.
Yemen, an important ally in the war on terror, is stoned out of its gourd. Image via Wikipedia
Like so many other areas of the Mid-East, Yemen has experienced political turmoil as a result of an oppressed populace that yearns for new leadership. Unfortunately, there’s one hurdle that political opposition to the regime that has been in power for over three decades can’t overcome: drugs.
In particular Qat, the noontime stimulant used by Yemenis.
The drug is so popular that political organizers are having trouble keeping the population mobilized and active. Protests will last only a few hours, then the streets empty. It’s Qat time, and it’s keeping a dictator in power.
“After I chew I can’t go out. When I chew qat, the whole world is mine. I feel like a king,” said Mohammed al-Qadimi, a student who has attended Yemen rallies but said it would be hard to motivate himself to protest all day.
Read the full article on MSNBC.com
This Monday is Valentine’s Day, so don’t forget to tip your hooker!
This week – A live chat with Steve Barnes, an anniversary for Teri Conroy, wassup with Alan’s clergy collar and more. This…is Blogorama.
——-
WE’RE YOUR SOURCE: This Week on the Times Union Blogs
Steve Barnes chatting Live on Facebook Today at Noon
Ryan Gosling to Star in Movie Set in Schenectady (Schenectady / Will King)
The Re-Introduction of Me (FarmLife)
My Top Ten Reasons for Living Here (Daniel Nester)
Your Internet Diet (Michelle Kats)
Why I Wear a Clergy Collar (Rev. Alan Rudnick)
Tick-Tock (Amanda Talar)
Blogger Bio: Bethany Parks (Mike Huber)
More amazingness is after the jump.
The other day someone sent me an emoticon and I got to thinking with how bored I am with them.
For those who don’t know – basically it’s the smiley face someone uses after they insult you but want to get away with it.
Seriously, we’ve all been just using this the standard smiley face for so long that it doesn’t even mean anything anymore. I don’t even see it as a smile.
So I’ve decided to create my own, unique emoticons. Feel free to use as you will.
SAD BULLDOG
:<
Look, it sort of looks like a sad bulldog!
THE SAM ELLIOTT
:{
Use when you’re feelin’ manly.
COKE-FACE
:^*)
Use to excuse annoying and/or rude behavior. “Sorry ’bout that, I’m coked out of my mind.”
JUST CLOWNING
:@)
Use after you’ve suckered someone into believing something. The “@” is a clown nose, see.
BAD DAY aka THE JAKE GITTES FROM “CHINATOWN”
:#(
Pretty self-explanatory.
THE “I HAVE HAD MY NOSE SURGICALLY REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH A PIG’S NOSE”
:3)
Use when you have had your nose surgically removed and replaced with a pig’s nose.
My nephew (who turns 1 this Saturday) with a Certificate he received for his first haircut. He was unimpressed, and right after this picture was taken he threw it across the room in frustration.
I don’t blame him. They couldn’t at least frame it? C’mon now.
courtesy Gawker
Let’s say you’re a Congressman. You’re a pretty well known guy in your area and fairly recognizable, especially since you just ran for re-election last Fall.
Now imagine you e-mail a picture of yourself shirtless to an anonymous person in your area – probably a constituent – and tell her you’re a divorced lobbyist.
“Wait,” you say to yourself. “Why would I do that? I’m a married Congressman. Even if I have so little faith in the electorate, I’m not taking that chance.”
Congratulations, reader. You have more sense than Congressman Chris Lee.
A picture that Lee sent to an anonymous woman he began flirting with on Craigslist was posted to the website Gawker yesterday afternoon. Lee, who’s married with a child, told the woman he was a divorced lobbyist and sent her a picture of himself shirtless and flexing in front of a mirror, MySpace 2004 style.
The woman he was flirting with became curious after a few exchanges and did a search for him online, where she uncovered his true identity and found out he was married. In what should come to a surprise as no one in this day and age, she then forwarded the correspondence to the website Gawker.
So let’s recap:
- Married Congressman
- Trolls for women online
- Finds woman and sends her flirty messages and a shirtless pic
- Tells the woman he’s a divorced lobbyist…using his real name and personal e-mail
These are the people we elect, folks.
According to this device, your Thetan levels indicate you should get in the damn van. Image via Wikipedia
The Church of Scientology, the c—sorry, “new religion” that boasts John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Tom Cruise and others among its numbers is under investigation for human trafficking and free labor.
The allegations surfaced after the New Yorker did a piece on writer/director Paul Haggis, who left the Church over its latent homophobia and suspicions that something was amiss with the group whose members believe things in science fiction novels actually happened.
The Church is no stranger to federal investigations. In the 1970s several Church leaders, including founder L. Ron Hubbard‘s wife Mary Sue, were convicted of obstructing justice, burglary of government offices, and theft of documents and government property as part of a program known as “Operation Snow White.” The conspiracy also involved Church members infiltrating various government agencies by attaining clerical and security positions.
Also, I want to point you to prominent Church leader Tom Cruise.
Anyone else notice a theme with leaders of new religions?
All seem to have a strange Christ motif going with their look; the highest position in their organization coming with a prerequisite of long hair, a beard (or close approximation), strange title, and overcompensation of adolescent awkwardness through the relentless pursuit of control and affections of wome—okay, maybe Tom’s a LITTLE different, but you see what I mean.
A new music video for The New Pornographers‘ “Moves.” The video is directed by Tom Scharpling (host of “The Best Show on WFMU“) and stars Julie Klausner as Neko Case along with several other comedic actors, stand-ups, and other NYC notables.
Of particular note is SNL alum Horatio Sanz, who you probably won’t even recognize. He looks great. Seriously.
Warning: potentially NSFW for a middle finger and a coke scene.
Note – fixed as of 2:09pm; video is viewable below.
Facebook: making you hate your friends since 2004.
So I have this group of friends that has a habit of sending a message on Facebook to 25 people at a time. Often it’s to organize a get-together that I invariably can’t make due to a prior commitment.
Unfortunately, even though I’m not going, I still get the messages.
See, Facebook doesn’t give you the ability to opt out of these messages. Once that message is sent and people start replying, you’re going to get every single reply no matter what you do.
Curse you, Zuckerberg. (Image via Wikipedia)
A few months back I brought this to their attention. I was pretty polite about it, noting that I get e-mail notifications every time someone replies, and if they wanted in the future to organize something involving a large number of people they should create an event. That way, only the people that say they’re going will get the onslaught of messages.
Well, word got back to me that I was an a**hole for politely asking that they not flood my inbox. As a result, I’m still getting these messages to go do karaoke, or ice skating, or some other event, and now I’m getting messages from complete strangers telling me that they have a few options for this event that I am not attending.
As a result, I’ve had to turn off e-mail notifications for messages, which I sort of miss since it was pretty convenient.
Folks, I write this today not to crucify those friends who called me an a**hole for asking to be extended some courtesy, but rather to establish some Facebook Rules of Etiquette.
1. DO NOT SEND A MESSAGE TO MORE THAN FIVE PEOPLE AT A TIME. If you need to do so, particularly if you’re trying to organize an outing, create an event. Or – here’s a novel concept – pick up your damn phone.
2. ENOUGH WITH THE FARMVILLE ALREADY. Don’t send someone an invite or request for hay or whatever the Hell it is unless you know they’re already playing. If you’re not sure, poke around, or ask.
3. KNOW WHAT YOU’RE INVITING ME TO. I’m probably not going to make a dinner in Tuledo, nor am I likely to attend a Republican fundraiser when I lean so far left I make five-year plans for my Facebook wall.
4. DON’T ARGUE WITH PEOPLE IN MY STATUS OR ON MY WALL. If you have a gripe, take it to personal message. On a related note,
5. REMEMBER THAT OTHER PEOPLE CAN SEE WHAT YOU WRITE. “God,” you say, “so and so is such a dirty jerk.” So and so is a Facebook friend, you twit, and now I’ve been dragged into your unnecessary drama.
6. DON’T POST A COMMENT ON MY STATUS THAT SHOULD BE A PRIVATE MESSAGE. Me: “Can’t wait for the next episode of Fringe!” You, in reply: “Hey, did the test results come back from the Doctor and do I need to start making phone calls?” No. I mean, not no they didn’t come back (they did and you do need to make those calls), but no, don’t do that. Send me a private message. Or, again, pick up a damn phone.
Alright, folks, turning it over to you. Got any new rules for Facebook?
One of these men did steroids. CAN YOU GUESS WHICH ONE?! (Image by Derek Purdy via Flickr)
The Times Union reported yesterday that Paul Teutel, Sr. – best known for his role as the ill-tempered patriarch and owner of Orange County Choppers featured on the Discovery Channel reality show “American Choppers” – is a juicehead.
Teutel was named as a client of James D’Amico, a Florida dentist who illegally (and successfully) wrote steroid and HGH prescriptions for the reality star and several others, including four Major League Baseball players.
A 61-year-old with freakishly large biceps and the temperament of a toddler did steroids. Knock me over with a feather.
STALK ME
