Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

505 comments

  2. jsfox

    as to what happens Egypt. If the million person march, now gathering steam and projected numbers are closer to 2 million, succeeds without the Army attacking then Mubarak is probably gone. If the opposite happens then . . . I just don’t know. How will the US respond? Rock meet hard place.

    Snow.

    It has started here in the Monadnock Region of NH and right now the weather reports are saying 2+ feet over the next 36 hours or so.  

  3. jsfox

    from an American PHd student just home from Cairo on what is and is not happening in Egypt.

    When you hear about a revolution, in the Middle East or elsewhere, some assumptions and images pop automatically to mind. You probably imagine gangs roaming the streets, people using the anarchy to take personal grudges out on each other, or steal some stuff, or beat people up just because they’re sixteen and drunk on power. You expect the movement factions to start maneuvering for to turn on each other as soon as the tyrant is gone. You expect scenes out of Hobbes. And around here, you expect people to start targeting Westerners. Introspect a little. Does this resemble the images that pop unbidden into your mind? It’s okay. I’m not judging. They pop into my mind too – I grew up in the same media environment as other middle class Americans, after all.

    The images fit so naturally together because they’re from a script, one that’s been developed and elaborated in reportage over decades, in several countries. It’s an extremely polished, high-resolution image, backed by decades of examples, tastefully aggregated into a narrative so that details of actual countries and events fall away, and what’s left is a sort of higher-amplitude Truth.

    But so far it just isn’t so. No “death to America”, no-one calling on anyone to hurt foreigners, and nobody actually doing it. There’s looting – half of which I still think is being orchestrated by the government to scare people – but people organized neighborhood watches out of nowhere to prevent it. I admit I’m a little creeped out when teenagers with furniture fragments offer to walk me home, but I also have to admit that my neighborhood is quiet and safe.

    http://colorlessrevolution.blo…

  4. HappyinVT

    that the mood in Cairo Tahrir Square (I hope I spelled that right) is almost festive in some cases.  It is like the early days of the protests when whole families were on the streets.

    Got to give the King of Jordan credit ~ he saw what was happening in Egypt and acted preemptively.  We’ll see if it is enough.

  5. fogiv

    i’m guessing. i don’t know how he retains any sort of power after this, regardless.  seems the only thing even tenuously holding him in place now is the egyptian army, and they’ve made it abundantly clear that they’re largely independent minded. the entire uprising seems to be predicated on the idea that mubarak must go; beyond that the agendas begin to diverge. with no clear leader emerging, and no unified message, the future of post-mubarak egypt and the middle east is in a pretty precarious position. the egyptian economy is completely paralyzed. no tourism, no commerce. the world is feeling that too.

    understandably, the whole thing has rattled (and will continue to rattle) the entire region. the US will just have to deal with events as they take shape. on the plus side (for us), anti-american sentiment has dropped pretty precipitously over the last few years (praise be to kenya!).  i think if this had happened when bush was president we’d have much, much more to worry about.

  6. jsfox

    Mike Huckabee has now copme out and said:

    http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonath…

    Potential 2012 U.S. presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Tuesday that if Palestinians want an independent state, they should seek it from Arabs – not Israel.

    The evangelical minister and Fox News host said Jews should be allowed to settle anywhere throughout the biblical Land of Israel – an area that includes the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

    He called the demand on Israel to give up land for peace an “unrealistic, unworkable and unreachable goal.”

    The complete lack of a clue regarding geo-political history of Israel and the region I find to be beyond stunning. Had this been Sarah speaking I would have laughed. But this goes back to the diary and thread on how the right has just become so intellectually lazy that it should be considered dangerous.

  8. HappyinVT

    the DNC has apparently chosen Charlotte, NC as the host for the convention.  I think this is a smart move.  Obama won NC, barely, in 2008.  If Gringrich runs he’s running his operations out of GA which is somewhere near NC.

  9. John Allen

    to a blizzard warning for tonight. They are expecting 35mph winds and a snowfall rate of 1-3 inches per hour. We are only about 30 miles from the predicted northern edge of the storm, so we may get off easier than Detroit and areas south of there. The heavier snow is expected to start around 7pm with blizzard conditions starting around 10pm and lasting for 12 hours. I’ll be heading to the grocery store in the next couple of hours.

  10. sricki

    It’s 65 degrees right now, partly cloudy and windy. I AM hoping for a nice rain though (just ’cause it sounds so perrrrdy).

    To all you folks where the really bad weather is, be safe.

  11. sricki

    Guy claims Parkinson’s drug turns him into a gay sex and gambling addict?

    The 51-year-old’s lawyers say their client’s behaviour changed radically after he was first administered the drug in 2003 for the illness, which causes tremors, slows movement and disrupts speech.

    Didier Jambart, a married father-of-two who says he has attempted suicide three times, claims he became addicted to Internet gambling, losing the family’s savings and stealing to feed his habit.

    He also became a compulsive gay sex addict and began exposing himself on the Internet and cross-dressing. His risky sexual encounters led to him being raped, his lawyers said.

    The behaviour stopped when he stopped taking the drugs in 2005 but by then he had been demoted in his defence ministry job and was suffering from psychological trauma resulting from his addictions, his lawyers said.

    Raw Story

    It’s a weird world.

  12. HappyinVT

    TPM has a couple of tidbits that may or may not be related and/or verified:

    * The White House briefing has been delayed indefinitely;

    * John Kerry says some “Mubarak announcement” is “in the works;”

    * John King (CNN) is reporting that Mubarak as told the Administration that he will not run in September.

    Looks like today may be quite interesting…

  13. Kysen

    Mubarak is apparently going to announce shortly that he will not run again for President. Not so sure whether this covers his sons/nephews/other family members yet. And absolutely not so sure that it will be enough for the people to stand down. He is NOT going to offer to step down immediately, just to not put his name into the hat for the next elections.

    IMO, it will not be enough.

    I think he needs to step down in order for the people to be satisfied….anything else, including the above promise, will fall short.

    Supposedly a recorded message from him is soon to be released.

    Vee shall seee….

  15. jsfox

    supposed to speak ill of other blogs, but god the stupidity does get to me at times.

    On this announcement that Obama put pressure on Mubarak not to seek re-election the howls from some commenters how he  is trying to give Mubarak time to solidify his position just illustrates how many actually have no clue. And allow personal feeling to cloud anything resembling cognitive thinking.

    I am studiously leaving out the name of said site and links to these comments

  17. Strummerson

    I heard a bit ago, the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood asserts that any future democratic government of Egypt should uphold ALL international treaties!

    This is huge.  If a democratic Egyptian government in which the MB holds 20-30% of the seats and thus cabinet posts stands by its treaty with Israel, with full support of the MB, the whole “there is no partner” and “Arabs are culturally incapable of pragmatic democracy” line of the center-right in Israel takes an ENORMOUS hit.

    Moshe Arens, the former hardline defense minister, has an op-ed entitled “Can Israel only make peace with dictators?” in Haaretz right now (http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/can-israel-only-make-peace-with-dictators-1.340493) that questions the possibility that any democratic Arab government can maintain a peace treaty with Israel.  

    It looks like the first test of the influence of democratic rule in the Arab world on the peace process may come in Egypt. We will be waiting in suspense to see the results if democracy actually breaks out.

    If so, it could be the game changer we’ve needed for a long time.

  18. Shaun Appleby

    That in the wake of Mubarak’s statement and with the movement peaking that the protesters have little choice now but to up the ante somehow.

  19. jsfox

    That Obama thought there was a deal no only for Mubarak not to stand for re-election but to step down now and make way for a transitional government leading up tto the September elections. Mubarak seemed to have changed his mind in the hour between that deal and coming on the TV.

    http://www.enduringamerica.com…

    2120 GMT: While the protesters’ reaction to the Mubarak speech is the lead story tonight, the 2nd story may be the breakdown of talks between US officials and the Egyptian President.

    It was notable tonight that there was a delay of more than an hour between the announcement that Mubarak was about to speak and his actual appearance. In that hour, Obama’s people not only put out the news that the President — through the envoy Frank Wisner — had asked Mubarak to refrain from standing for re-election in September, they added to reporters that they had asked Mubarak to rule out any campaign by his son Gamal.

    The White House delayed a press briefing, expecting to welcome a suitable Mubarak announcement, but time dragged on. The Egyptian President did not appear, and the White House press briefing was scrubbed.

    Whether Mubarak rewrote his speech in that hour is not known, but his defiance and refusal to announce a transition was not a rejection of the millions of his people who turned out today. It was also a rebuff to the US Government.

    Kiss that aid good-bye. At which point the military is going to push him out along with the people.

  21. fogiv

    Reporting from Cairo – Egyptians are hoping against hope that forging a new future won’t cost them their past.

    Tumultuous protests sweeping across the country carry the hope of regime change, a thrilling prospect for a beleaguered citizenry. But as looters move to take advantage of the spiraling unrest, archaeological experts warn that Egypt’s treasure trove of antiquities is in peril.

    The center of the protest movement, Tahrir Square, abuts the Egyptian Museum, home to thousands of priceless artifacts encompassing centuries of Pharaonic history. For days, the ochre-colored neoclassical building in the heart of Cairo has been closely guarded by troops, tanks and a human chain of civilian volunteers – but not before it was broken into last week by looters.

    http://www.latimes.com/news/na…

  22. Shaun Appleby


    Obama just spoke with Mubarak by telephone for half an hour. Obama will speak momentarily.

    Obama:  “Ah…  Hosni?  We need to talk.”

  25. spacemanspiff

    Check out this article (and website).

    The article is on the Top 10 biggest sports douchebags.

    http://deadspin.com/5748972/th…

    It’s IMHO (all caps like bob. lol! ) the funniest sports blog on the net.

    The comments usually “shine like polished gold” and stuff.  

  26. HappyinVT

    In Nebraska, PPP found Palin leading Obama by just one point, 45% to 44%. Compare that to last cycle, when John McCain won the state by 15 points — though, since Nebraska awards some electors to the winner of each congressional district, Obama did take one electoral vote for winning Omaha’s district. In 2004, George Bush trounced John Kerry by 33 points there.

    In South Dakota, the bad omen for a Palin presidential bid is even starker. There, PPP found her outright trailing Obama by eight points, 48% to 40%.

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo…

    Obama may not win NE or SD versus Palin but he might make her spend a ton of money there.

  27. sricki

    in Bed Bath & Beyond. Somehow I got up to the counter with over $300 worth of stuff I don’t need. The really messed up thing is, it was decorative stuff for a bloody bathroom. I don’t know whether anyone can guess just by reading me, but I’m not much for home decorating, other than stuff for my walls (I <3 pictures). And my bathroom looks just fine to begin with. Not gorgeous but perfectly fine

    As soon as I walked out of the store and the “OMG PERDY THINGS HAHAH I’M A GIRL AND I NEED TO DECORATE”-haze wore off, I knew I’d have to take the stuff back. Buuuuuut I’m a bit of a wimp and I embarrass easily at times, so I didn’t have the “balls” to walk right back in and say, “I am an idiot and spent way too much money. Let me return this.” Instead, I will have to somehow make time tomorrow (which is a very busy day for me).

    I don’t understand what happened. I never do stupid shit like that. A lot of other stupid shit, yeah, but not THAT kind of stupid.

    And here’s the awful thing. I left the stuff down in the car so I’d not be tempted to get it out and look at it. And now… so help me, all I can think about is how the stuff would look all set up in my bathroom. And I am ITCHING to go get it. I HEAR myself in my head trying to make excuses as to why it’s okay to have spent that much money, although if I don’t take it back I’m going to get “in trouble,” so to speak. **sigh**

    And no one gives a good goddamn about the money I just spent in Bed Bath & Beyond, so I have no idea why I typed this all out. I’ve already yakked my heart out about it over the phone…

    Okay, done.

  28. Shaun Appleby

    The last word:


    As for Joe Miller, Murkowski told us she might not have challenged him at all had he been more gracious during her concession call.

    Dan Rather – Come Write-In, Senator Huffington Post 1 Feb 11

    Oh, zing…  That’s gotta’ hurt somewhere.

  29. DeniseVelez

    I need to sit on my hands.

    I need to stay away from GOS today.  I’m about to lose it again.

    Somebody tell me a joke.  

    • DeniseVelez

      which can only happen if all Jews return to Israel…(it gets a bit fuzzy after this bit) but they all have to die in some fireball( I think) and embrace Jesus and then Jesus will return and the selected few will all be in paradise together.

      Palin is hooked up with some of this Rapture stuff.

      If you want links I can find you some 🙂

  31. Shaun Appleby

    Is this a comment record here?  We are heading into DKos territory with this diary and leaving Open Left and the site formerly known as MyDD in the dust, so to speak, on their best day.

  32. Shaun Appleby

    I would have bet a steak dinner I would never read anything like this, from this source:


    “What’s interesting about our country, if you study history, is that there are some ‘isms’ that occasionally pop up. One is isolationism and its evil twin protectionism and its evil triplet nativism. So if you study the ’20s, for example, there was an American-first policy that said, ‘Who cares what happens in Europe?'” [President George W] Bush said. “And there was an immigration policy that I think during this period argued we had too many Jews and too many Italians, therefore we should have no immigrants. And my point is that we’ve been through this kind of period of isolationism, protectionism and nativism. I’m a little concerned that we may be going through the same period. I hope that these ‘isms’ pass.”

    Nick Wing – George W. Bush Worried That America Is Becoming ‘Nativist’ Huffington Post 3 Feb 11

    Willing to admit I never saw that coming.  Sounds like some people are concerned that Republicanism is headed over the cliff, maybe?:


    America’s worst major political party has bigger problems [than frivolous primary challenges]: In the midst of an economic crisis they could exploit for political gain, they’re allowing a former half-term governor, reality TV star and confirmed nincompoop to suck all the political oxygen out of the room as they desperately hump the leg of a dead guy who was president back when “Who’s the Boss?” was in prime time.

    Betty Cracker – Chock Full o’ Nutz Rumproast 3 Feb 11

    Heh.  Word.

  33. spacemanspiff

    After the earthquake in Haiti the hospital I was working in got a huge influx of injured haitians. I will not go into detail but it was terrifying and painful. Things I can never unsee and it coincided with my return to the Moose (I think). John, Shaun and blasky were discussing how things get to the point they are. Is it slow gradual change or a sudden shift in events. They were talking about politics and the events unfolding in Egypt but they might as well have been talking about my life. The first few days are a blur but a slowmotion blur. I have worked in places where money is short and improvisation was the name of the game. An already overcapacity and understaffed hospital suddenly had almost double the number of patients they had before. It was filled to the brim with the most horrific injuries for weeks. It was crazy. In all this chaos there were pregnant women too.  I delivered a few babies in those days. I also did the neonatal part of the job (when a baby is born it’s given to a pediatrician) so it was the full process. Help deliver them, stimulate it (rubbing on its back firmly but gently), do the Apgar, cut the chord, put in the erythromycin eyedrops, inject the Vitamin K, clean them up and clothe them. Afterwards they were put in a room where I slept in every 5 days. Remember these kids had nowhere to go so they were kept for a longer time. Our group bought food and helped feed the babies. It was the beautiful. The contrast with the madness in the outside world. These perfect little people had no clue what was going on. I don’t know. Those nights changed me. Even in dark times life has a way to keep on showing you reasons why we must live. Hopes this makes sense.

    I didn’t even know this picture existed so it was a very pleasant surprise.

    I’m sharing because this place has meant so much to me.

    Gotta love the Moose.

    Photobucket

    • John Allen

      I wouldn’t have tried it on if she hadn’t left it here in the first place. I just wanted to see how it would look on me. I’d never worn one before. How the hell was I supposed to know there was a front and back?

  37. Shaun Appleby

    Any reputation we may have earned as a thoughtful, well-informed and decorous site is in the scuppers again.  It was ever thus.  Next time you get in a brawl over at Gos maybe someone will link to this diary, eh Brit?

  38. sricki

    Sricki created the most immature thread on the Moose. Go me!

    It should be noted, however, that I am not necessarily the one displaying the silliest behavior in the thread.

    Now, granted, that is because I am culling through hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of psychology terms/people/acronyms/data/theories/techniques/instruments/dfdjakdfjd;fsdjf

    **brain esplodes**

  40. spacemanspiff

    … like my name was eHarmony.

    Ohhhh!!!

    Yup.

    spacemanspiff – Taking threads down a notch since 2008.

    • Shaun Appleby


      “The latest imagery shows Yasi as very symmetric showing a well defined eye with surrounding deep convection.”

      I’m not much for storm cosmetics but that seems to be what you are referring to in your comment.  We only had twelve hours warning, really, in the popular attention.


      Professor Jonathan Nott, from the Australasian Palaeohazards Research Unit at James Cook University, is an expert in the long term records of natural hazards and is currently in Cairns.

      “This is looking like the most intense and largest cyclone that we’ve had since 1918 for the east coast of Queensland,” he says.

      “It’s a serious event. It’s the biggest one that anyone living today has seen in Queensland.

      “The thing about Cyclone Yasi is its large diameter.  We commonly get ‘midgets’ in Queensland – small diameter but still intense tropical cyclones. From time to time we get one of these very, very large ones but the midgets have been more common in recent years.

      People are really hustling to get into emergency shelters or clear out up north.  And we are hearing stuff like this:


      Been reported on Channel 7 that Willis Island weather station has vanished last reported wind speed from there 175 kph.

      That’s right, gone…  


      …200km winds have the capacity to bring down transmission towers.


      Wind gusts at the centre of Yasi now recorded at 295kmh.

      Crikey indeed.  This is bloody serious.

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