Via Tigerhawk, who wants us to spread the word:
Egypt has apparently arrested, Alaa, one of its most prominent Arabic bloggers, in connection with the ongoing struggle in that country over the independence of the judiciary. Haitham Sabbah has the story and the context, and the Sandmonkey has more, with a picture of Alaa.
The contact information for the Egyptian embassy is below:
The Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
3521 International Ct. NW
Washington DC 20008
Phone (202) 895 5400
Fax (202) 244 5131
(202) 244 4319
Email:Release the hounds.
Remind me again how much we pay this regime each year?
True, we can’t fight every battle against every autocratic regime simultaneously. But we can do things to make them uncomfortable.
And sunlight being the best disinfectant and all…
Hmmm.
$2 billion a year. That’s just in direct subsidies and doesn’t cover indirect money routed through the UN or other such nonsense.
This could be a watershed moment in the advance of individual rights.
On the other hand, the reaction by the Egyptian gov’t may go something like this…
Mubarak aide: Excellency, we have received over one million emails regarding the jailing of a dissident!
Hosni Mubarak: A million what? What is this “email” you speak of?
Mubarak aide: Apparently it is a campaign by the bloggers, Excellency!
Hosni Mubarak: “Bloggers?” Guards! Remove this babbling idiot from my presence until he can learn to stop making up words!
We need real diplomatic attention brought to this. You should probably also be writing your Congresspeople, who at least have a vested interest in pretending they care what you think.
They should immediately freeze payments. And, in general, separate direct payments into some 200 “days”—so that they could freeze or even eliminate some days.
They’re scummy regimes, no doubt.
But there’s not a goddam thing anyone can do about it.
Nothing anyone in the West can do will discomfit
the Egyptian authorities in the least.
Juan Cole, who speaks Arabic, says: This guy should have known better. It is the CULTURE to not question the regime. You would never catch Juan Cole doing such a clueless thing!
Or Carl W. Goss. At least not where there are consequences.
But if we don’t send the money Jimmy Carter will lecture us on his disappointed with our inhumane treatment of holy innocent people.
oops that’s ‘disappointment with our treatment of innocent holy people.’
I am not so sure I agree with you, my friend.
Yeah. I’ll hold my breath waiting for the media and the Hollywood elites to start trampling over each other to make this into a big deal.
After all, why go to bat against a facist regime squashing free speech from a private citizen when RIGHT HERE in our own backyard Bu$hitler operates the REAL facist power?
Remember when he had Steven Colbert taken out back and shot last week?
And the enabling goes on, and on, and on.
Idiocy or evil, Carl.
Does he have to choose, Noah?
OK, Sortelli, tell me; what do you propose?
Outside of useless e-mails.
Lemme tell ya. Sometimes I think that the West ought to get back into the colonialism business; at least as regards the Middle East.
Permanently.
Maybe what’s needed is a little neo-imperialism.
A few bayonets pointed in the asses of the local population for about a hundred years or so, could work wonders….
Dontcha think?
The email/letter/phone call campaign to save the Afghani christian convert wasn’t exactly useless now was it Carl?
I know, you just can’t help yourself. I think you should re-evaluate your thinking, but then that would be like asking the sun to stop rising.
Nothing anyone in the West can do will discomfit
the Egyptian authorities in the least.
I can think of 2 billion things per year that would hurt them a lot by withholding.
But doesn’t it take longer to write my senator than jot useless comments here?
Carl W. Goss,
On a different thread (sorry I don’t have teh link anymore), actus wrote that you were a Karl Rovebot and that even if you weren’t your liberalistic poseurocity wasn’t needed here. But please don’t argue with him.
Thanks.
tw:start
Well, I say we steal those pyramids they’re always going on about. Get the SGC to use Asgard tech to beam ‘em to a dry lake outside Winnemuca and put, like, rides on ‘em, man…
Goss, to his credit, only drops one turd per thread.