Of additional interest is the very limited participation by the Muslim Brotherhood. In addition to being late in supporting the protests, they have said they will not be part of any transition government, and won’t run a candidate for president. They seem to believe that possible gains aren’t worth the risks. The MB has problems of its own, as its membership is noticeably graying without many newer, younger members. It would seem that Egyptian youth have decided to be Egyptians first.
Sorry, Ame, but I’m not even mildly shocked that the Obama administration sent a lobbyist who works for Egypt to talk to Egypt. That’s how they handle almost everything. No one in White House has the first clue about the concept of “conflict of interest”.
]]>That said, protests aren’t going to change anything, because protests make people feel good and make the rulers look bad but don’t do much to harm the interests of the rulers. I have been baffled for some time by the U.S. emphasis upon protests. When French workers are upset about benefits cuts or changes in labor laws or whatever, they don’t just politely march around in front of government buildings, they go on strike and they block the roads with their vehicles and they shut down the country and they don’t blink until they get at least some of what they want. But then, I suppose it helps that in France you have a legally-guaranteed right to your job and cannot be fired for going on strike, only for documented incompetence or malfeasance… but that wasn’t always the case, and French workers didn’t get that right written into their lawbooks by politely marching around in a public square with signs.
– Badtux the Puzzled Penguin
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