The keyboard is mightier than the Kalashnikov

New website to promote building the new Egypt. Please share your opinions

2011-03-05T13:22:00.001-08:00

http://www.kolena.org/

How much of Libya does Gaddafi still Control?

2011-02-28T23:52:00.000-08:00

source: The Guardian

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Gaddafi's son eloquently responds to a reporter's question about his father....okay not really!

2011-02-28T23:29:00.000-08:00

Gaddafi Speech: I will fight and die as a martyr

2011-02-25T11:25:00.000-08:00

Christians and Muslims we're all Egyptians!

2011-02-24T01:17:00.000-08:00

Giant Egyptian flag banner strung between "The Saints" Church and the Mosque across the street in Alexandria. The symbolism is amazing. This was the same Church which was bombed last month because "someone" was trying to inflame religious strife between Muslims and Christians in Egypt. But at last, the true nature of the Egyptian people prevails. I learned first hand in the last few weeks that we all see the best out of each other when the toughest times put us to the test. This was true in Cairo, in Alexandria, and here in Columbus Ohio as well. Simply put: Egypt wouldn't be Egypt without both it's Muslims and it's Christians, that's what makes us great!

Mohamed Bouazizi: The street vendor who changed the face of the middle east.

2011-02-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

It's amazing to think that none of this would have ever happened if it weren't for Mohammed Bouazizi, a simple Tunisian street vendor who sells produce out of a wheeled cart for a living. He was certainly no Che Guevara, Nelson Mandella, or Mahatma Gandhi .These people dedicated their lives to become revolutionaries and to bring social change. Bouazizi on the other hand, or "Basboosa" as he was locally known, never wanted or planned on becoming a revolutionary. I'm sure he never would have dreamed when he set himself on fire in front of the governor's office to protest the corruption of his government and the humiliation he suffered at the hands of the local police when they spat on him, slapped him, and confiscated his goods that his actions would inadvertantly set off a chain reaction that would lead only 2 months later to the toppling of two authoritarian governments and mass protests worldwide for democracy and freedom. Nobody had expected this. While it has always been known that the levels of corruption in middle eastern governments were at epidemic proportions and that the level of poverty, abuse, and suffering that the people had endured were unacceptable; I'm sure that absolutely nobody realized just how big of a powder keg these middle eastern authoritarian governments were sitting on. When Bouazizi set himself on fire that fateful December afternoon in Tunisia he also lit the fuse to this powder keg, and the rest as they say is history. He had accomplished what the most famous and successful revolutionaries in history could only hope to accomplish - by accident as it turns out!

We are now living witnesses to the most exciting and the most important time in our genreation's history. Speaking from the perspective of an Egyptian I can say that we have not witnessed this sort of a grassroot, organic movement for democracy since Saad Zaghloul Pasha led the 1919 revolution against the monarchy and the British. We've been saying for years that Arabs are used to autocracy and have become numb to it. We've been saying that political apathy was so rampant because the people were ignorant of their rights and because it was also a defense mechanism against autocratic rulers who would crush any public dissent with an iron fist. But all of a sudden in an instant, we went from being the most politically apathetic people to the most politically active people. We went from becoming an example of a broken and defeated people to being an example of freedom and liberty through bravery and sacrifice...and all this happened virtually over night. I don't know about you, but when I think about how crazy the last 2 months have been and how utterly improbable the outcome of Bouazizi's encounter with the police turned out to be, I am just in awe of the big picture and I'm still to this day trying to sink it all in, but in vain.

Another Egypt Revolution Tribute....

2011-02-23T12:50:00.000-08:00

No one man should have all that power.

Is there hope of Libya's military turning against Gaddafi?

2011-02-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

Today, two Libyan Air Force Mirage fighter jets landed in Malta. They were both loaded with explosive ordnance and were both equipped with fully loaded cannons to be used for strafing runs. Their pilots, two senior officers in the Libyan Air Force, said that they had been ordered to take off and fire on protesters but instead of following their orders they defected to Malta seeking political asylum. So it appears that there are indeed elements within the Libyan military who are willing to disobey orders and stand up to Gaddafi after all. But can we hope that enough of them will band together to force Gaddafi out of power like the Egyptian military did with Mubarak?

One of the defecting Libyan Mirages in Malta

I'm not sure it will be that easy in Libya and here's why: Despite the fact that there have been reports of certain elements of the police forces and the military, even a whole armored division which has reportedly joined the protesters in Benghazi, defecting against Gaddafi there are two major factors that will certainly come into play when it comes to where the military's loyalty lies in Libya.

The first factor is that the Libyan military is not a cohesive unit with a clear linear chain of command as is the Egyptian military for example. Perhaps it was intentionally designed that way to prevent a military coup. Some elements of the military have been sympathetic with the protesters and have even reportedly armed them to fight other pro-governments elements of the military. However, the likelihood of this happening with other factions of the military is slim to none. Take for example the Khamis Brigade, it's an entire brigade named after, and led by, Muammar Gaddafi's own son. It's safe to assume that they will fight till the last man and the last bullet as Seif Al Islam Gaddafi had warned on TV the night before.

Another element that will come into play when considering how likely the military is to perform a coup on Gaddafi is the fact that this is Libya, where the military is used to crush protests. In Egypt, the military has never in it's history been ordered to fire on the general public and were not about to begin now. The dirty work of the regime was carried out by Egypt's police force and state security apparatus, not the military. In Libya however, having the military use full force to crush the slightest acts of dissent is a normal thing and it's almost become as much of a regular duty to them as protecting their borders or patrolling their waters. To illustrate my point it's sufficient to state that Libya's Air Force has an entire squadron which is designated as the counter-insurgency squadron. So it will take a huge effort and a lot of of blood and sacrifice to force these elements of the military to change their minds. One thing is for sure; singing, chanting, and holding signs in a public square will not topple the regime in Libya. If anything, it will give the counter-insurgency squadron a more concentrated target for them to drop their bombs on.

This is just a tribute...

2011-02-21T10:55:00.000-08:00

January 25th 2011, Egypt

The Arab revolutions inspire small but vocal China protests!

2011-02-21T00:21:00.000-08:00

U.S republican senator of Nevada, John McCain, described the protests in Egypt and Tunisia as a virus that must be stopped. I say if freedom were a virus then it needs to spread like the plague. In an age where the world is a global village and web communication allows people to know in an instant what is happening on the other side of the world, it is a mistake to assume that the protests for freedom and democracy will be contained to the middle east. They will echo with anyone living under authoritarianism and censorship...like the Chinese. Today a few of them made that clear in Shanghai.

I'm not saying that the dictatorship in China will fall tomorrow or even next year, but it does put a smile on my face to know that a bunch of protests half way across the world are putting the fear of God in every dictatorship and authoritarian regime on the planet...even the biggest and the baddest of them all.

Ominous Signs from Libya: Gaddafi's son says, "We are not Tunisia, we are not Egypt, we will fight to the last man and the last bullet."

2011-02-20T19:50:00.000-08:00

The more we see the protests in Libya pick up steam, the more it becomes apparent that this will more than likely be the bloodiest revolution in 2011. This is simply because Gaddafi is the most ruthless of the Arab and middle Eastern Dictators, and the longest lasting. He has been in power in Libya for an astounding 41 years. I have said before that Gaddafi makes Mubarak look like Mother Theresa in Comparison. Here are a few of the differences between them:

While it's true that Mubarak has unleashed the full force of his police force and has also, directly or indirectly, hired thugs and criminals to crush the protests which led to a couple of hundred deaths- he did not use his military, which is far more lethal. Gaddafi on the other hand, from day one, has unleashed the full force of his military to use lethal force and heavy weaponry on unarmed protesters. And is if that wasn't enough, several reports have indicated that he has also hired African mercenaries who have honed their killing and mass murder skills in central Africa's long bloody history of civil wars and coups to crush the Libyan protests.

Another key difference between Mubarak's regime and Gaddafi's regime was their official reaction to the protests. Mubarak offered a concession on his first speech, firing his cabinet and vowing to appoint a new one to appease the protesters. Gaddafi on the other hand gave his first speech today, however it was Gaddafi Jr. who gave the speech, Seif Al-Islam Gaddafi came on Telivision a few hours ago and proclaimed that Libya is not Tunisia and that it's not Egypt. He added that Muammar Gaddafi was Libya's leader and that he would fight to the last man and the last bullet. This speech sent a chill down my spine as it became very apparent that any lingering, residual hopes of a peaceful resolution to the Libyan situation was out the window. What will happen in the next few days cannot be predicted but one thing is almost certain...many more Libyans will die fighting for their rights and for their freedom.

Egyptian man names daughter "Facebook" in tribute to the success of the protests!

2011-02-20T14:02:00.000-08:00

Egyptian paper Al-Ahram states that the daughter's full name is Facebook Jamal Ibrahim.

2011-02-20T12:29:00.001-08:00

Blogtivist has been online for 24 hours and so far we've gotten over 100 hits from 4 continents and six countries. Thanks for your support! Please keep the feedback coming.

Victory Song from Tahrir Square in Egypt

2011-02-20T01:44:00.000-08:00

U.S. vetoes yet another U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank

2011-02-20T00:54:00.000-08:00

Here are the facts:
*15 U.N member states voted on the matter. 14 voted to pass it and the U.S. was the only one to vote against. The bill did not pass due to the veto.

*It was the tenth US veto of a resolution against Israel since 2001, and the first by the Obama administration.

*US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said that she did not want the veto to be "misunderstood" as support for continued Israeli settlement construction. Frankly I don't see any other way for that veto to be interpreted.

Here's my opinion:
The United States and Israel have yet again made a mockery of international law and the United Nations. If the United States isn't going to at least give the slightest attempt at appearing to be a somewhat unbiased mediator in this conflict then Palestine should bypass U.S. approval for statehood and put the issue of statehood to a U.N. referendum. We already know that every country in the world will vote for Palestinian statehood except Israel and the U.S.

Gaddafi is hiring African mercenaries to crush demonstrations in Libya.

2011-02-19T22:42:00.000-08:00

So far, the protests in Libya have been the bloodiest. The exact number of dead is unknown since foreign media is not allowed to enter Libya but various reports from inside Libya put them between 200-400 so far. Gaddafi has been in power for 41 years and this is the first time his rule has been threatened in such a manner. Unlike in Egypt, Gaddafi has not hesitated to use his army to open fire on protesters with 50 Cal. machine guns and sniper fire. God bless all the heroes of Libya fighting for their freedom. They are in my prayers and hopefully yours too.

Here's something to lighten up the mood a little.....

2011-02-19T20:52:00.000-08:00

This is possibly the funniest video on youtube....enjoy!

Middle East Protests Country By Country

2011-02-19T20:47:00.000-08:00

Here's a really cool link from the BBC World News website with a map of the middle East with the names of all the countries which are currently experiencing unrest. In each of those countries the seeds of revolution against some of the world's most autocratic tyrants have already been sown and surely we will be hearing a lot about these countries in the days to come. Simply click on the name of the country and a few paragraphs will show up explaining what the conditions are in that country, who the protesters are, who the dictators are, and why they are protesting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12482311

Bahrain's government is likely to be the next domino to fall in the middle east

2011-02-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

Protesters in Bahrain, encouraged by the success of the protests in Tunisia and Egypt, have taken to the streets and occupied Pearl square much like the Egyptians had occupied Tahrir square until Egypt's 30 year dictator president Mubarak was forced to resign. Arab governments are now resorting to much more aggressive and lethal tactics to stop the protesters because the fear of being toppled has increased significantly with the success of the revolution in Egypt, the most populous Arab country. Security forces in Bahrain opened fire on unarmed, peaceful, protesters and killed several. Criminal acts like these are meant to break the will of the people but they only end up strengthening their resolve.

Attached below is a youtube link to this massacre. Warning, graphic content.

http://www.youtube.com/verify_controversy?next_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DfwnUQcKXmMM%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded

Mission Statement

2011-02-18T19:20:00.000-08:00

I thought for my first post I should create a short mission statement, a few words to describe the purpose of this blog. http://www.blogtivist.blogspot.com is created with the intention of being a place for open dialogue and freedom of expression on all kinds of topics. I will post on anything from current events, to politics, to technology, to the plain stupid; amusing; and ridiculous. Regardless of the topic I hope that this will be a place where people can find out something useful, entertain themselves, and also add their own input to the discussions. Please let me know if there's something on here that you like, and also let me know if there's anything I can improve. Thanks for your participation and support!