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Egyptian 1st grader. . . (Original Post) ashling Jul 2013 OP
This kid in 2016! shenmue Jul 2013 #1
Good Lord... jjewell Jul 2013 #2
I'm not surprised.... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #3
And Egypt is NOT the USA Warpy Jul 2013 #6
The people are tired of living in poverty as the ruling class gets rich.... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #7
But this is an attempt to put back in charge the people who wreck the economy in the first place. happyslug Jul 2013 #17
Actually, it's a case where the people rose up against a theocracy. Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #18
Yes, that is why the other Religious Party backs the revolt happyslug Jul 2013 #19
They don't want ANY theocracy. No matter what flavor.... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #20
Remarkable Doc_Technical Jul 2013 #4
Definitly the Light of Hope!!! K&R!!! hue Jul 2013 #5
He's 12 or 13 - Egypt's "1st grade" is not the same as ours starroute Jul 2013 #8
+1,000 Kennah Jul 2013 #9
Give that boy a scholarship! ReRe Jul 2013 #10
So the 1% wants the Moslem Brotherhood out, what about the other 99% of the population? happyslug Jul 2013 #11
Holy Smokes!!! Plucketeer Jul 2013 #14
So, rich kids in the US can say the same thing this kid is saying, and it also would mean nothing. happyslug Jul 2013 #16
Thanks for the history lesson Plucketeer Jul 2013 #23
That was the clearest explanation for the demonstrations that I have seen or heard. Excellent. JDPriestly Jul 2013 #12
Brilliant young man. JNelson6563 Jul 2013 #13
Yeah but.... Plucketeer Jul 2013 #15
There is still hope for the future. bluedigger Jul 2013 #21
He gets my vote..... AnneD Jul 2013 #22

jjewell

(618 posts)
2. Good Lord...
Sun Jul 7, 2013, 12:56 PM
Jul 2013

Most American ADULTS aren't as informed and articulate as this kid.

If he is representative of the next generation, Egypt will be fine...

 

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)
3. I'm not surprised....
Sun Jul 7, 2013, 01:09 PM
Jul 2013

Meanwhile Tweety is on the tube all confused wondering why Egypt tossed out the Muslim Brotherhood after voting them into office.

As if the whole world is a two party system.

I'm gonna go over this one more time....

The youth vote was split amongst dozens of candidates, the Muslim Brotherhood lied about who they were and by the time the primaries were over you had a choice between voting the old regime back in or a guy who promised he wouldn't be an asshole and then turned out to be the asshole everyone knew he was. (But at least the old regime was kicked to the curb.)

And YES, I know they put someone they knew from the old regime back in temporarily but that had BETTER be temporary because people are on to the games they're playing.

Warpy

(111,336 posts)
6. And Egypt is NOT the USA
Sun Jul 7, 2013, 01:42 PM
Jul 2013

Political parties have been stifled there for decades. They needed time to develop which they did not get. The only people organized enough were the crazies in the mosques.

It's good that Morsi is gone. A religious dictator proved to be much worse than a military one.

We (and they) will just have to wait to see whether or not the interim government becomes permanent and how they crack down on political parties that might not be friendly to the military.

 

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)
7. The people are tired of living in poverty as the ruling class gets rich....
Sun Jul 7, 2013, 01:53 PM
Jul 2013

The problem with people like Tweety is he actually thinks the people there WANT to be led by a tough guy because that's what HE admires. They like to think of Middle Easterners as a bunch of savages that need to be taught how to walk upright.

 

happyslug

(14,779 posts)
17. But this is an attempt to put back in charge the people who wreck the economy in the first place.
Mon Jul 8, 2013, 02:04 PM
Jul 2013

You can NOT blame the Egyptian Economy on Morsi, he has only been in Power a year, and every time he appears to start something, the courts rule against him (for example when he is about to ask Parliament for needed reforms, the Courts rule the Parliament is illegal, when Morsi works around that ruling the Army pulls a coup). It is the Army officer corp that opposes economic reforms, for they know who has the economic power in Egypt and that is them, and any reform has to come at they expense. Thus when Morsi was able to get into a position to do the needed reform, you had a coup.

 

happyslug

(14,779 posts)
19. Yes, that is why the other Religious Party backs the revolt
Mon Jul 8, 2013, 05:01 PM
Jul 2013

The Ak Nour Party are presently supporting the coup, there view the Moslem Brotherhood as to accommodating to non-Islamic groups.

Remember in the election, the Moslem Brotherhood was #1, the Salafist al-Nour was a close, but distinct second. Combined they received over 50% of the vote.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Nour_Party

It is the closest party in Egypt tied in with the Wahhabism, which bin Laden was a follower of.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salafi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahhabism

If anything this group is MORE Radical Islamic then the Moslem Brotherhood.


They are even less tolerate of Shiites and Christians then the Moslem Brotherhood (and woman's issues is clearly NOT on their agenda)

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/502/32/Muslim%20Brothers%20and%20Salafis.aspx

It seems Al Nour is supporting the Government to weaken the Moslem Brotherhood so it can became the #1 Islamic party in Egypt.

 

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)
20. They don't want ANY theocracy. No matter what flavor....
Mon Jul 8, 2013, 08:49 PM
Jul 2013

It would serve a lot of these religious types a lesson if they elect a woman.



It's not like it would be against their history.

starroute

(12,977 posts)
8. He's 12 or 13 - Egypt's "1st grade" is not the same as ours
Sun Jul 7, 2013, 01:55 PM
Jul 2013

Still a remarkable level of awareness for a kid, but a lot more plausible. That's exactly the age when a lot of smart kids become acutely aware of politics and are able to explain issues in their own words.

ReRe

(10,597 posts)
10. Give that boy a scholarship!
Mon Jul 8, 2013, 12:07 AM
Jul 2013

K&R

I don't care how old he is or what grade he's in, he's got a head on those shoulders. I hope he is the future of Egypt! Thanks for posting this, ashling.....

 

happyslug

(14,779 posts)
11. So the 1% wants the Moslem Brotherhood out, what about the other 99% of the population?
Mon Jul 8, 2013, 02:04 AM
Jul 2013

Last edited Tue Jul 9, 2013, 02:36 PM - Edit history (1)

Lets remember Egypt is a very poor county. :

From the World's Bank:

The Household Income, Expenditure and Consumption Survey (HIECS) for 2010/2011 showed that the poverty rate increased from 21.6 percent in 2008/09 to 25.2 percent in 2010/11. Conversely, the extreme poverty rate declined from 6.1 percent in 2008/09 to 4.8 percent. Inequality remained constant over the last 2 years, according to the Gini coefficient recorded with 31 percent in both 2008/09 and 2010/11. Although only a little over half of the population lives in rural areas, more than 78 percent of the poor and 80 percent of the extreme poor live there. These income disparities are reinforced by the gaps in social indicators, where virtually all health indicators and literacy rates are worse in Upper Egypt than in Lower Egypt and worse in rural areas than in urban areas.

http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/egypt/overview

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2013/0225/Egypt-s-economy-is-collapsing-and-no-one-is-stopping-it

http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-320124-egypt-threatened-by-an-economic-meltdown.html

The problem is no one wants to do what is needed to fix the economy of Egypt. With 25% of its population in Poverty, and another 35% near poverty, you have over 60% of the population that can NOT afford the food they need to survive. Now, Flour is and has been subsidized for decades, this was to keep this 60% of the population from revolting. No one wants to cut out the Subsidy, but it is hurting the State AND given the raise in grain prices, what the lower 60% pays for food has climb so much that anything but Flour is out of reach.

To make a Long Story short, Government Spending needs to be cut, but if the Government cuts its subsidy on Flour, it will face continued unrest. Thus it has to cut the Military OR increase taxes on the upper 40%. The upper 40% of any population can be divided into three groups, the top .1%, the people with all the money. These would be rich people even in the US and deals with the top .1% in the rest of the world all the time.

The next lower 9.9% (often called the top 10% for they tend to by nothing but sycophants of the top .1% and thus thing just like the top .1%, this is the traditional "Middle Class" not the "Middle Class" most Americans believe they are in, often called the "Upper Middle Class&quot are often the movers and shakers of society. These are the Officers in the Army and other people in industry and government.

You then have the next lower 20-30% of the population, people who do not deal with the top ,1% themselves, but are tools the top .1% use to gather they money from the bottom 60%. This is the traditional "Petty Middle Class", not workers, but management and professionals. These are the people who the members of the Working Class have to deal with on a daily basis. The income of the "Petty Middle Class" tends to be substantially higher then the lower 60%. The problem is when the Working Class (the bottom 60%) hit what is called the "Iron rule of Wages" i.e. that point where people will revolt rather then take further pay cuts (Pay cuts demanded by the upper .1% due to their demands for increase in profits) and thus it is impossible to demand more from the working class, the top .1% demands its increase profits from the "Petty Middle Class".

When this occurs the Petty Middle Class demand that the workers take the cut instead for that is what workers had done in the past, but having hit the "Iron rule of Wages" labor can not, thus the Petty Middle Class are caught in a bind and tend to radicalize themselves, but against the workers, their perceived enemies, not the upper .1%. This continues till enough of the Petty Middle Class loses their income so they also hit the "Iron Rule of Wages" and tend then to join the Working Class in revolt.

It is as the point when the Petty Middle Class hits the Iron Rule of Wages that Marxist revolutions occur. You have unrest prior to that point, even over throwing of Governments but not a Marxist revolution till the Upper Middle Class join the Workers in Revolt.

In many ways, the recent food increases is the cause of the Arab Spring and the problems in Egypt , for it is the driving force not Twitter or Facebook, for most of the bottom 60% have a weak hold in electricity let alone computers and electronic devices. Computers and Electronic devices are common among the top 40% of the population, thus we are getting a lot of reports in Computers, given the economic situation that means we are NOT getting information on what the lower 60% of the Economy are thinking. Right now, they seem to support Radical Islam but also economic development. We may be seeing the start of a long line of suppression of the lower 60% or just a temporary drop till they take over the country and demand and get radical economic reforms. The radical religious right is presently divided (Just like Radical Left wing tends to be to divided), the key to getting them to work together till economic changes can be done.

Morsi had a problem, he never had the ability to do the radical economic surgery needed in Egypt. He can not confiscate land and redistribute it to the poor. He can not risk losing American Grain Subsidies till such reform is implemented. The top .1% (which includes the Generals of the Egyptian Army) oppose both land reforms and aid to the poor. They oppose increases taxes, for they know the poor can not pay them and thus any taxes has to be put on them. Thus what we are seeing is a coup of the Top .1% to protect they interests and as such no long term solution to the problems of Egypt is possible.

What Egypt needs to a "New Deal" program to protect the lower classes. The top .1% must accept such a program in needed or they will continue to do what they are doing today and that will lead to a Marxist revolution sometime in the Future.


Please note: In many ways the Communist Revolution in Russia in 1917, was never a Marxist revolution, instead you had an over throw of the Government and a movement to eliminate the Petty Middle Class by members of the Petty Middle Class that had embraced Marxism. Lenin believe he could take over Russia and lead the population to Communism, even if that was a rejection of Marxist dogma at the time. This dispute over dogma is why the rest of the Communist Revolutions of 1917-1919 (Germany, Hungary and Austria) all failed while Russia's succeeded. This Communism in one Country violated Marxist dogma but became the rule in Russia till the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989 (and by that time had become more a dogma everyone stated they observed, but then violated it in real life).

As to China's Communist Revolution, that was clearly a traditional Chinese Peasant Revolt, that had replaced prior Emperors (for example when the Ming used a Peasant Revolt to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty set up the Mongols).

In many ways, Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" was his answer to the fear of the Communist revolt in the US. He attacked the top 1% in the form of high 90% tax rates on very high income (FDR then arrange for them to be taxed as long term investments at 45% not the 90% rate). The 90% rate was to take money made due to manipulating the Stock Market to go to the Government not people manipulating the Stock Market. Reagan ended this two tier tax system AND drop the top tax rate to 35%. Thus you were taxed at the same rate, if your income was due to a long term investment that was to make something useful or if you just manipulated the Stock market (or other financial institution). The Bank crisis is a result of this change in Tax Law. Prior to Reagan, banks were hesitate to make short term investments for 90% of the profit went to the Federal Government (while long term investments the bank could keep 55% of the profit). After Reagan, it took a few years, but banks came to see short term investments as preferred, for you are taxed about the same for both but you can get the profits today from short term investments while you have to wait years for profits from Long Term investments,

In many ways a Marxist revolt in the US was killed by the 90% tax rate. IT forced investors into long term investments not a quick profit. Since Reagan, the US has been heading to a Marxist revolution to do the Federal Government's refusal to rein in the rich. The best way to rein in the rich is to re-adopt FDR's method of a 90% top tax rate subject to a 50% disregard for long term investments (50% of 90% is 45%). The US needs to adopt it, so does Egypt in an effort to rein in the top .1%.

 

Plucketeer

(12,882 posts)
14. Holy Smokes!!!
Mon Jul 8, 2013, 10:23 AM
Jul 2013

Any chance you happened to notice the KID in the video? A kid who if in this nation, wouldn't be able to tell who the VP is! A kid that in this country would have ear buds in place while his hands twiddled a Gameboy!

 

happyslug

(14,779 posts)
16. So, rich kids in the US can say the same thing this kid is saying, and it also would mean nothing.
Mon Jul 8, 2013, 01:56 PM
Jul 2013

Sorry, your point in lost on me, I am pointing out the PERSON MAKING THE VIDEO is closer to the top 1% of Egypt then to the lowest 60% of Egypt AND SO IS THIS CHILD and thus all this Video shows is what the 1% wants NOT want the lower 60% of the population wants. This is like the famous observation of "Freedom of the Press" of about 1900 applying only to those people who can buy a press (did not apply to anyone who was NOT rich enough to buy an actual Newspaper company).

During Vietnam I saw all types of people saying the War was good and we were winning, was it true? No, but that is what the people making those films wanted people to hear. Thus statements done on Film or video does NOT make those statements true. The same here, we are seeing what the VIDEO MAKER wants us to hear, not facts or even the truth (and please note I am NOT saying what this child is saying is NOT the truth, but that such comments, by themselves, prove nothing as to what is true or not true).

My point is statements like the one this child is making is meaningless by themselves, what is the context? Who is he supporting? I would not be surprised if his father is an officer in the Army, thus access to Video Equipment and a way to distribute it. We have a very prejudicial view of what is going on in Egypt due to who has access to computers and who does not. Most of the people who has access to Computers and Videos are in the top 40%, most of the people who do NOT have access to either are in the bottom 60%. Thus based solely on who has access to what, determines what we see and thus what we think is going on in that country. That prejudice is what we must watch out for, and it is clear in this video why it was made and put on the net (i.e .to support the coup).

 

Plucketeer

(12,882 posts)
23. Thanks for the history lesson
Tue Jul 9, 2013, 10:00 AM
Jul 2013

I STILL contend this kid is remarkable even if only in his command of language. I don't care if he IS a propaganda tool who only memorized what he's saying - said memorization, a marvel in itself.

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
12. That was the clearest explanation for the demonstrations that I have seen or heard. Excellent.
Mon Jul 8, 2013, 03:33 AM
Jul 2013

That young man knows what he is talking about.

 

Plucketeer

(12,882 posts)
15. Yeah but....
Mon Jul 8, 2013, 10:28 AM
Jul 2013

Does he know any football stats? What's the latest and greatest available on MP3? Hmp! 'Merikin kids got it all over this furrin' upstart.

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