Egypt: Dangerous games

The machinations of the Mubarak regime could yet see much more blood spilt in Cairo.

The Guardian,
Friday 4 February 2011

Blood is not the ideal lubricant for the orderly transition which all political forces in Egypt claim to want. Nor is deceit. Yet there is a clear danger of more of both as the regime in Cairo wriggles and manoeuvres for advantage. They may understand on one level that things cannot go on as they did before, but on another, some of them at least are acting as if outflanking their opponents is the main objective. There is also evidence, in the shape of a worsening of the conditions under which foreign journalists have to work, that they want to do it without the international press at their elbow.

Much of this manoeuvring centres on the physical possession of Tahrir Square. The passionate advocates of immediate change in Egypt have already been pushed out of part of the square by violent pro-Mubarak demonstrators. Now, in addition, they face the more insidious prospect of being "persuaded" out of this symbolic place by the argument that what they are doing will lead to dire consequences for the livelihood of ordinary Egyptians.

The new prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, yesterday apologised for the violence in the square on Wednesday and said it would not be repeated. But he did so in a way which not so subtly equated the two sets of demonstrators, while laying on the anti-Mubarak side the responsibility for the deterioration in the country's economy. Vice-president Omar Suleiman did the same in an interview in which he recounted his attempts to conduct a dialogue with political parties and spoke of the length of time needed to make constitutional changes. The game here is an obvious one: paint the country as more or less equally divided and in need of arbitration and reconciliation, make economic normalisation the immediate priority, and draw out the political process.

One does not have to believe that every pro-Mubarak demonstrator is a thug or a plainclothes policeman to understand that equating the two sides in this way distorts reality. And, while arguments about Egypt's economic plight or the need to observe legalities cannot be dismissed, they are no substitute for creating the trust necessary if there are to be real negotiations about the country's future. Read more.

The Economist:The regime sends in the thugs
Maimi Herald:Egypt's Islamists, caught off guard by uprising, still defining role

The Guardian:Mubarak: 'If I resign today there will be chaos'

Kung Xi Fa Cai

TO ALL MY CHINESE FRIENDS AND CHINESE PEOPLE WHEREVER THEY ARE.

What the Fuss? It's Not CNN Investigative Report,It's A Saudi Secret Report, Mr Anwar!

Hantu Laut

Did CNN carry out the investigation using their own resources, independent, impartial and conclusively reliable ?

Was it not that CNN only read a dossier out of a secret investigation made by the Saudi government and reported accordingly.

Read the full report here.The report made an even more shocking discovery, the funneling of funds through the Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Was not Anwar linked with Yusuf Qaradawi of the Muslim Brotherhood also reported by CNN a while ago.Could the money have been funnelled through the intricate network of the Muslim Brotherhood?

Who owned the Saudi government, the people of Saudi Arabia or the Palace of Saudi Arabia?Would you take such report as gospel truth or rather take it with a pinch of salt?

So! What all the hullabaloo? Anwar screaming his head off saying it's a CNN report when it was a report by the Saudi government, literally, conducted by the royal household, which naturally placed it in a state of morbidity and doubt.

Anwar was quick to capitalise on this news from one of the most biased TV networks in the world citing a report that is as good as the paper it was written on.

Former Drug Blogger's A Bad Dose Of Herpes ?

Hantu Laut

For all intents and purposes 'Lonely Planet' is not a rating agency. They are merely suggestions and recommendations by seasoned travellers who either love or hate what they eat, drink or places they go and stay.It is a travel guide to would be travellers and most of what they recommended in their guide books and websites are of personal preferences. What the writer thinks is good may not be good enough for you. However, they do observed certain level of decency.

I have used 'Lonely Planet' quite a bit and not everything lived up to its promise. It would be foolish to take it as an authority for standard or quality.It is everything but the kitchen sink.It is you who would eventually decide whether the recommendation sits well with you or stinks to high heaven.In the case of Poh Huai Bin he has found his poison.

It has also been my policy to avoid empty restaurants particularly during lunch hours.If a restaurant can't fill up during peak period it is certainly not worth its salt. The last time I visited Jothy's must be about 8 years ago.I reserved my comments.

It's a case of one man's meat and another man's poison.

There are millions of such articles that can be found on the Internet that say bad things or good things about restaurants,hotels,airlines, countries, etc, all in varied form.

Can one be sued for writing frank opinion of what one think is bad quality.If you are stating facts and without malice I supposed it your choice to warn the public or not of such bad places.

In my opinion the case can only succeed if malice can be proven.

This former drug blogger had a brush with the law on drug-related offence.He was caught in possession of 2.85 grammes of cannabis and was fined RM2,500 and jailed 2 months.This young and intelligent guy has turned a new leaf and now blogged about anything and everything under the sun.

I was able to access the website early this morning but it seemed the site has been taken down either by the blogger himself or Google.

His blog is called 'sixthseal.com'.Poh Huai Bin is being sued by Jothy's Fish Head Curry House for defamation.


Here, is a story on his drug escapades.