Charlie Rose

govaffco  02/12/2011 03:48 PM Report

Something in Mona elNagger's comment "the barrier of fear that had been there for so long was broken" reminded me of an interview with NYT's John Burns when he discussed how deeply traumatized the populace of Iraq was under Saddam Hussein. Would be interesting to hear Burns talk about the change that has occurred in Egypt and whether he thinks that kind of trauma that has been inflicted on populations by autocratic governments is possible in an environment in which social media is generally available.

blank  02/12/2011 02:53 AM Report

it was a checkmark but then turned into a question mark after i posted it fifth paragraph

blank  02/12/2011 02:51 AM Report

http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/2786/38850747.png

this is what i would do (based on limited information):

also i'm tired and i don't feel that well so i'm not worried about how this comes out really i'm tired so it's just a vague not thought out point and i have to go to sleep so i'll write it quick but

i would take Tarek Masoud of Harvard Kennedy School as appeared on this show on january 31st (http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11439)

wow option v makes a checkmark just learned that ?

anyway i would introduce him to the world and say look this is Tarek Masoud of the HARVARD kennedy school of GOVERNMENT he is from egypt and has grown up on your side the protesters in egypt he is one of our BEST and BRIGHTEST who studies government at our BEST schools is an ENTHUSIASTIC BELIEVER in REAL DEMOCRACY this is what he does here we are going to send him as OUR REPRESENTATIVE of the united states to work with the army and people to rewrite and draft the EGYPTIAN CONSTITUTION in order to best assure that the people of egypt are GUARANTEED the same freedom and rights that we here ENJOY and to create a meaningful and operational and functional system of CHECKS and BALANCES in order to give the power of the government to EGYPT

if you want the same freedoms and human rights and powers as the people of the united states that is what we are attempting to have him help create and he would be the best for it by redrafting the current egyptian constitution in order to do that to have the ability to run your own country and lives the way you want to in your own distinct way with the freedom to be who you want to be it will be a template and a tool to use to empower yourselves in the same manner that we empower ourselves and may be messy initially as a state of political equilibrium and development over time is achieved but will give the power into your own hands and guarantee freedom

then something about after a legitimate constitution has been drafted it will be presented to the people of egypt for everybody to read and for a voting by the population to either approve of the constitution, send the constitution back for further specific revisions, or reject it

and that this is just an offer as a friend if you would like help to do this this is our best person to do it otherwise if you would rather run the whole process on your own without help that would be fine too

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i would also remove his family from egypt before this and let him do it behind the scenes in the united states if he wants with as much behind the scenes support that he needed and oversee the process

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i think he would be good also being that he looks like a cartoon and is somebody i look up to and admire

it seems like the people in egypt though they may not like the u.s. as a military want a system of government like what is in the u.s. for the people also considering the u.s. is the generic and official definition of democracy throughout the world is my impression

if you watch the second video down not the one at the top but the second one that has "Protester: 'I'll tell my children we made this revolution possible'" written underneath it she's talking about the first amendment which i assume she's talking about freedom of speech in the u.s. i keep seeing little things like that everywhere

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12433045#

i would then just let him talk like give his own speech type thing and have him say whatever he wants and i would also have questions selected from the population of egypt sent in through the internet that he would respond to and answer live and then just let them decide what they want to do if they want that help but at least let them know that this country has things in place will guide them through the whole process and make sure that it turns out correct that they really receive the same type of freedom that we have if they want us to do that so they don't feel like they are in it all alone i think that would be very scary otherwise

like if you're afraid that the revolution might be hijacked that someone might step in and takes advantage look we are here with this guy and full backing and support that you can judge for yourself to help otherwise just do it on your own if you want

who are the thirty people who organized and started this protest i would get him in contact with them too

just whatever it takes that's my view on it if they succeed at democracy they'll feel like we were there to help it happen if they choose to do it on their own and fail they won't feel like we abandoned them and wouldn't help and hold resentment or if they succeed on their own or if it kinda falls apart they saw the constitution they wanted that they voted on and approved was solid and they can fix whatever is wrong

i think islam is more of a social problem that they will deal with within their country in gradual shifts and less of an international go to war thing if the constitution provides basic human rights and safety it will be approved because it seems like people just want to be free to be themselves

also i would say something like sorry about supporting the regime we supported egypt as a country on the international stage as an ally with us but neglected to really look at the inside politics occurring within egypt and would like to see it's citizens enjoy every right and dream and whatever that we enjoy here in the united states

REMant  02/11/2011 11:27 AM Report

Well we now know, that what happened is that nothing happened. But vastly more disheartening than Mubarak's statement, was the incredibly biased response by the US media, for instance NBC and CBS, who trotted out "Chalabi's" to inflame the viewing public. They are absolutely hopeless. I swear if Iraq were to happen all over again, they would do exactly what they did 8-9 yrs ago. Not to be outdone, today's Post bore the headline "Mubarak refuse to step down," which while not factually incorrect, certainly gives the idea that the paper thinks he should. Suppose that happened here in the US? What would the media say then? Even the president reverted to type, I suppose assuming that hatred of "tyrants" crosses party lines. I don't see really how it could. The question I would put before those backing the protestors is, assuming they have their way, what would they do about Israel? These reporters seemed to me not know anything much about Egyptian politics, or much more than stuff that has been passed around repeatedly. I have to say that does not surprise me.

The issue here is not about letting my people go, but what will occur if they have their way. After having started Vietnam and all that it brought in its wake, to help as LBJ said "our little brown brothers," the young Democrats wailed about Nixon and repression, the same as here, and when they finally got him, it changed nothing at all, even made it worse, until for a brief time Volcker and the promise of a new beginning came along. But it didn't last, and the American birthright has continued to be frittered away telling the rest of the world what to do, and how great we are. It might just be that Egyptian youth have yet to learn the whole story. I would think that more likely than that they read it all on Facebook.