Revolution a distant memory as Egypt escalates repression

[Monoriu]

Can you name an existing dictatorship that maintained power for 100 years?  But you are probably right.  Bureaucrats in Communist states usually have nothing to fear.

I have never claimed there is an existing dictatorship that has maintained power for 100 years, or that they last forever, so I don't feel obliged to answer your question.  So you keep predicting that the PRC will fall.  My question is, so what?

Your argument was that it would be a huge gamble to try bring down the regime.  Since it will likely fall in our lifetimes, the gamble doesn't seem so great.  There will be a revolution perhaps sooner then you think.  The Recent events in the Arab world have shown how fragile these governments are.  The question i, where do you want to be and what do you want to do about it?

Lots of dictatorships have transformed themselves peacefully.  Taiwan and South Korea come to mind as relatively recent examples in this part of the world.  Revolution is not the only way out.  I think the recent events in the Arab World show precisely why revolutions may not be a good idea for the population.  Syria stands out as the most striking example, but Egypt and Libya are also useful references. 

There is nothing I as an individual can do about revolutions or politics in general.  So I won't try.   

[Admiral Yi]

How does this"target the lack of democracy" in the same sense that a sit in would at a racist store?

The point is it's not targeting an innocent third party.

[frunk]

The point is it's not targeting an innocent third party.

It's not targeting anybody or anything.  Do you think the demonstrations in the eastern bloc 25 years ago would have been as effective if they were held in the middle of the woods?

[Jacob]

It's funny to watch Mono become so political. Hell, he's even hijacking threads - like this one about Egypt - to talk about his political obsessions.

Mono, I think your Armour of Apathy has been permanently destroyed.

[MadImmortalMan]

But he doesn't even vote. 

[Monoriu]

It's funny to watch Mono become so political. Hell, he's even hijacking threads - like this one about Egypt - to talk about his political obsessions.

Mono, I think your Armour of Apathy has been permanently destroyed.

You are right, of course.  I have said many times that I haven't done a good enough job about being apathetic. 

I will, however, refrain from acting upon my convictions.  No protests, no voter registration, no voting, no political party affiliations.  I will also encourage others to be politically apathetic. 

[Valmy]

I will, however, refrain from acting upon my convictions.  No protests, no voter registration, no voting, no political party affiliations.  I will also encourage others to be politically apathetic. 

Do you know how many dirty aristocrats unwillingly went to their well-deserved deaths so I could have the right to vote?

[Monoriu]

I will, however, refrain from acting upon my convictions.  No protests, no voter registration, no voting, no political party affiliations.  I will also encourage others to be politically apathetic. 

Do you know how many dirty aristocrats unwillingly went to their well-deserved deaths so I could have the right to vote?

Zero multiplied by 10 million is still zero.  The marginal effect of my vote is zero, so it doesn't make sense to go to the voting office.  Remember, even in Bush vs Gore 2000, Bush won by more than 500 votes 

[Valmy]

Well yeah your vote counts for shit when it comes to Presidential elections.  But that is literally the only national vote we have.

[jimmy olsen]

Even ignoring the immorality of it all, this doesn't seem conducive for stability in the long wrong.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/05/16/mohamed_morsi_egyptian_court_sentences_ex_president_to_death.html

Egyptian Court Sentences Ex-President Morsi to Death

By Daniel Politi

An Egypt court has sentenced former president Mohamed Morsi, along with 105 other Muslim Brotherhood supporters, to death for a mass jail break in 2011. The sentence was referred to the grand mufti, Egypt's most important religious authority, "whose opinion isn't legally binding but is traditionally adopted by the court," details the Wall Street Journal. But Yehia Ghanaem, a former managing editor of the newspaper Al Ahram tells Al Jazeera the death sentence is the expected outcome, and whatever the grand mufti decides was "not compelling to the judiciary." The court is expected to make a final ruling on June 2.

The sentence against Morsi, who is already serving a 20-year prison term on charges tied to the killings of protesters in 2012, was immediately condemned by Amnesty International. Morsi's sentence "shows a complete disregard for human rights. His trials were undermined even before he set foot in the courtroom," said Said Boumedouha, deputy director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa program, reports CNN. "The death penalty has become the favorite tool for the Egyptian authorities to purge the political opposition."


Morsi and the other defendants were convicted of killing and kidnapping police officers as part of their escape from Wadi Natroun prison at the height of the revolt that led to the ouster of dictator Hosni Mubarak. More than 20,000 prisoners escaped or were released during the revolt, and the court said Morsi colluded with foreign militants to free Islamists, reports the BBC.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan criticized Egypt for the sentence and the international community for staying silent. "While the West is abolishing the death penalty, they are just watching the continuation of death sentences in Egypt. They don't do anything about it," he said.

[Martinus]

For once I agree with Erdogan. It's a joke that the crime he is getting death penalty for is escaping from prison where he was held by Mubarak.

[jimmy olsen]

A shocking instance of mild justice from Egypt.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/egyptian-court-sentences-police-officer-to-15-years-in-prison-over-killing-woman-protester-1.2417899

Egyptian court sentences police officer to 15 years in prison over killing woman protester

Maggie Michael, The Associated Press
Published Thursday, June 11, 2015 3:28PM EDT 

CAIRO -- An Egyptian court on Thursday convicted and sentenced a police officer to 15 years in prison over the killing of a female protester during a peaceful demonstration in Cairo in January -- a slaying that shocked many Egyptians.

The Cairo Criminal Court ruled against 24-year-old police lieutenant Yassin Hatem Salah Eddin, charged with manslaughter over the death of 32-year-old activist Shaimaa el-Sabbagh. The ruling can be appealed.

The killing struck a nerve with many Egyptians and stoked anger over perceived brutality of the police. El-Sabbagh family members, lawyers and friends welcomed the verdict, many clapping in approval inside the court room on Thursday.

Video footage of the incident showed el-Sabbagh collapsing in a colleague's arms with her head, chest and back soaked in blood after a masked policeman fired birdshot in her direction. A voice was heard in the videos, commanding: "Fire."

Authorities initially denied that police had any involvement in her death. Lawyers had repeatedly demanded that the manslaughter charge be changed to premeditated murder.

Salah Eddin addressed the court before the verdict was handed down, denying responsibility for el-Sabbagh's killing and saying he had no gunshots in his weapon.

"We had no gunshots. We were there for security, not to kill anyone," he said. "This is our job."

Rights lawyers and witnesses have said the police hampered efforts to save el-Sabbagh's life by preventing an ambulance from passing through the cordon.

El-Sabbagh and a small group of demonstrators were marking the anniversary of the Jan. 25, 2011, uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. During the uprising, nearly 900 protesters were killed by police.

In subsequent trials, almost all of the over 100 policemen involved and charged with the killings were acquitted, with judges citing shoddy investigations or lax evidence in the cases, which were largely probed by the police themselves.

The uproar over el-Sabbagh's death prompted Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to urge an investigation. He suggested at the time that individual mistakes should not undermine public confidence in the police.

Egypt's interior minister was subsequently replaced in a Cabinet shuffle.

The verdict comes against a backdrop of a state-orchestrated campaign to silence dissent. An anti-protest law punishes demonstrations staged without police permits and courts dispense heavy sentences against both Islamists and secular-minded activists over charges mostly related to violence.

The campaign escalated following the military's ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013 after mass demonstrations accusing him of abuse of power.

A lawyer representing the slain woman said the ruling was fair.

"The ruling achieves justice and retribution," said the lawyer, Amir Salem. "The soul of Shaimaa will can now rest in peace."