Politics & Stuff

[Mohammed Seif 1,451]

You gotta add social media

[CHOULO19 24,332]

You gotta add social media

Of course. The role of "traditional" media is diminishing with every passing month.

[Peppen 934]

I'm very grateful that my relatives were deported to Siberia, I'm grateful that they were substituted with unknown russians that were brought in to make Estonia a 'russian minded' country. I'm very grateful that there were no food, every day products like toilet paper in the shops during Soviet era, that food was handed out with STAMPS. I'm grateful that the only way to be successful at life was to join a party and after that magically things started to happen. And most of all - I'm thankful for all the deaths of ancestors who were killed defending a country's , albeit a small one's, independence. I am selfish, sorry.

Estonia is not RUSSIA, we are a FORMER Soviet Union country who were 'peacefully' annexed just like Crimea is now. Russian minded people take over the reigns, opposition 'dies out' somehow, what a happy little life. I'd like to hear the positives - what did you read from the history books that I failed to notice in my everyday life?

Fully agree. The Soviet Union did NOTHING good to the common people of the Baltic States, but mainly targeted people with power to persuade them into implementing totalitarianism. They were just as bad as Nazi Germany, maybe even worse.

Speaking of something completely different:

Any Scandinavian countries (in particular Sweden) that have experience with privatization of core public welfare? Our government is currently looking for areas where private enterprises would provide a better service for less money than our current public one. I read that Sweden privatized their school system and it failed miserably? Am I correct in that assumption?

[Mohammed Seif 1,451]

Of course. The role of "traditional" media is diminishing with every passing month.

That is so insane though. To think that anyone would just pass some information and a lot of people would get carried away behind it, regardless if it is true or not. It has become really pathetic in Egypt. REALLY PATHETIC

[CHOULO19 24,332]

That is so insane though. To think that anyone would just pass some information and a lot of people would get carried away behind it, regardless if it is true or not. It has become really pathetic in Egypt. REALLY PATHETIC

Please, Lebanese people are the pioneers of mindless provocative news reporting, or as I like to call it: the "Breaking News" culture

It's very simple and very effective, at least in our Arab world: Keep the focus zoomed in on small pointless details, over-dramatize and over-sensationalize every little piece of news (if you can make it rhyme, all the better) and keep it coming all day long.

And since people only listen or read the media that agrees with their general political "view", you end up with two different societies inside the country, each made up of people who are unable to see the bigger picture and act wit their instincts instead of reason. Those people are obviously very easily manipulated.

[Mohammed Seif 1,451]

Please, Lebanese people are the pioneers of mindless provocative news reporting, or as I like to call it: the "Breaking News" culture

It's very simple and very effective, at least in our Arab world: Keep the focus zoomed in on small pointless details, over-dramatize and over-sensationalize every little piece of news (if you can make it rhyme, all the better) and keep it coming all day long.

And since people only listen or read the media that agrees with their general political "view", you end up with two different societies inside the country, each made up of people who are unable to see the bigger picture and act wit their instincts instead of reason. Those people are obviously very easily manipulated.

I didn't know that the Lebanese had the same problem and you outrank us in this non sense of social media. Thought we took the lead

I agree with you bro. I know that Lebanon is struggling economically, but due you have the same amount of illiteracy that we have in Egypt? Cause we do have a lot unfortunately, not to mention that the " educated " people who appear on TV shows and lead the public opinions. They bring their information from very reliable sources, facebook and twitter, we khalti aletli, we seme3t men el bawab, we a3det el neswan fel 3asreyya . And people just follow them. The funny thing is that you see in that people like the brotherhood and people like the liberals basically are thinking the in am irrational way, saying a lot of non sense and people would just follow. Again thanks to facebook and twitter. I have been really disgusted by all this political bullshit. I try to escape through football and other sports but it is everywhere around all the time. Again people just keep talking politics based on "afkar 7ashashi" if you know what I mean. No real info, no real data, too subjective, blurry vision and it really gets me irritated.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Thought this is hilarious:

[Fulham Broadway 16,920]

Is this the middle ages or something ?

528 people to be hanged in Egypt. 528 pre meditatively murdered.

Never mind that the "trials" were riven with irregularities. It doesnt matter what persuasion they were, the human race should have risen above this. Do the authorities think in their warped minds it will act as some deterrent to their precious order of things ?? Quite the opposite. History has shown when there are state political murders the victims become beacons, martyrs for others.

Interesting how the cheif capitalist state, the US, is more concerned about property (land in Ukraine) than state sponsored murder. Then again they are quite happy to have people on death row for 30 years then kill them.

The human race should be above all this shit.

[Mohammed Seif 1,451]

Is this the middle ages or something ?

528 people to be hanged in Egypt. 528 pre meditatively murdered.

Never mind that the "trials" were riven with irregularities. It doesnt matter what persuasion they were, the human race should have risen above this. Do the authorities think in their warped minds it will act as some deterrent to their precious order of things ?? Quite the opposite. History has shown when there are state political murders the victims become beacons, martyrs for others.

Interesting how the cheif capitalist state, the US, is more concerned about property (land in Ukraine) than state sponsored murder. Then again they are quite happy to have people on death row for 30 years then kill them.

The human race should be above all this shit.

It is actually more complicated than you what you have read. And it is not related to politics since that the the Judiciary system in Egypt and the Egyptian law have no laws for political punishments. Having said that there is no sentencing for hanging 528.

[Fulham Broadway 16,920]

It is actually more complicated than you what you have read. And it is not related to politics since that the the Judiciary system in Egypt and the Egyptian law have no laws for political punishments. Having said that there is no sentencing for hanging 528.

Hi Mohammed,

If a government is willing to execute 528 of its citizens, sentenced to death in a court, to me that is 100% political.

[Mohammed Seif 1,451]

Hi Mohammed,

If a government is willing to execute 528 of its citizens, sentenced to death in a court, to me that is 100% political.

I understand what you are saying completely. I assure you it is not like that. I will try to explain the system in Egypt ( I am not saying I like it or hate it ).In the judiciary system in Egypt, if someone is convicted of a crime and is on the run, he is sentenced to the maximum penalty for that crime. The moment he is captured or turns himself in the sentence automatically drops and there is a retrial. I don't like this system but that is what we have ( based on the principals of the French law which we follow). Out of the 528 people, 154 where captured, 16 found not guilty and the rest were found guilty. Now when a judge founds someone guilty and thinks he deserves a death penalty he sends his findings that supports the death punishment to an Islamic board. They either confirm it or reject it. ( Again I don't like that part but it has it reasons). Finally the judge makes his sentencing which is not a final one.

Now regarding this case, I assure you it is not political ( again there is the possibility I am wrong or inaccurate). This took place in a provenance called El Minya, relatively known to be poor and full of Islamic radicals. A lot of the population are Christians. It was witnessed a lot of crimes, murders, attempted murders, assaults on Police stations and Churches, robbery of arms and the murder of the Police Commissioner's deputy. ( They attacked him at the police station and then killed him in the hospital where he was taken to). So not in any way this is political as it may have been conveyed by the Muslim brotherhood. Still 148 people is a lot. But this is not a final sentence.

There are a lot more in this case than what you have read I am sure . If it was that simple for the Judiciary system to make a political sentence, then Hosni Mubarak would have been executed long ago, or the Minister of Interior during Mubarak's time would have been sent to death too. Or even the leaders of the Muslim brotherhood. We simply don't have that in our law. The only time that this happened was in 1952, when the Muslim brotherhood members were trialed in military courts and were given death penalties. That has been condemned by all of the Egyptians. Even in the new constitution, we made sure that such events can't happen again ( even though millions in Egypt hate the Muslim brotherhood).

I understand your point though, and I would be happy and grateful to hear your point of view. I may not agree, or agree, but at the end I will respect it.

p.s. The Egyptian Judiciary system is an independent entity from the government.

[Fernando 6,484]

Mohammed your very knowledgeable about politics and such.

So I want to ask your thoughts on this matter.

Iran trying everything they can to go nuclear.

Now this is something I don't like for the world cause Iran hates usa and Israel. In fact they have stated that Israel should be wiped out of the map.

This is very concerning and I see no other way but to have a pre emptive attack on Iran.

The only problem is that I don't see it coming from USA but Israel.

And I think that will look bad, but Israel has to defend itself cause one nuclear weapon going of at their city and you pretty much have made extinct an entire country.

[Mohammed Seif 1,451]

Mohammed your very knowledgeable about politics and such.

So I want to ask your thoughts on this matter.

Iran trying everything they can to go nuclear.

Now this is something I don't like for the world cause Iran hates usa and Israel. In fact they have stated that Israel should be wiped out of the map.

This is very concerning and I see no other way but to have a pre emptive attack on Iran.

The only problem is that I don't see it coming from USA but Israel.

And I think that will look bad, but Israel has to defend itself cause one nuclear weapon going of at their city and you pretty much have made extinct an entire country.

Dear Fernando, I am not that knowledgeable in politics . If you come from the region where I come from, it is practically an every day topic. A lot of generations haven't really known the meaning of stability in this region.

Regarding Iran, I hope it was a simple thing. You have to take in account many factors here when discussing Iran. Religion, Economy and Geography would be your basic foundation for this discussion in my opinion.Iranians follow a denomination of Islam called Shi'a while Saudi Arabia and Egypt ( the strongest Arabian Muslim countries in the region) are Sunnis. Iran wants to spread the Shi'a denomination so Saudi and Egypt are the main obstacles now that Iraq has been dismantled by the U.S. They have also posed and issued threats to the Gulf Region (mainly Sunni's or ruled by Sunni's) and they know that these countries also resemble U.S interests (oil). The hatred of the U.S.A doesn't only apply to Iranians, it applies to the majority of people in the middle east. Simply because people don't accept the fact that the U.S.A always interferes in their business. The U.S public are split regarding their foreign policy because they can feel how much the U.S is hated due their interventions. You also have to remember that the U.S.A helped Iraq in the 80's to start a war on the Iranians ( before they turned their back on Saddam). In a nut shell the reasons for the Iraqi invasion to Iran was so that Iraq would protect itself from "POSSIBLE" revolts that would be caused by the Iranians or Iraqis who were of shi'a denomination. The war lasted 8 years and it was brutal and inhuman as there was intensive use of chemical weapons.

With regards to Israel, Israel resembles the U.S interest in the middle east. The Iranians want to be the strongest power in the middle east and there are certain countries in its way. Israel is just one of them, Saudi Arabia is another and of course Egypt is another because it is the strongest Arabian country in the region (from a military point of view). They think that they have tested the strength of Israel through Hezbollah. Hezbollah are initially Lebanese people who were fighting off Israel's occupancy of areas in Southern Lebanon. Israel was forced to withdraw from Lebanon due to the casualties they suffered from the ongoing military conflicts. Hezbollah are Shi'as. And guess who were the main people that supplied them with arms and training? Iran. That doesn't make the Lebanese bad people, they are brave men who were fighting a country that occupied their lands. Just like any nation would do if their lands were occupied by a foreign power. I am sure you will find thousands of examples through out history. But what I am trying to stress on is that they have influence in the region because of religion. And you can easily make connections between Islamic militant groups in the region. About them saying they would want to wipe Israel off of the map, trust me, if you ask an Israeli who says this, they will tell you the entire Arab world, not just Iran. History has caused a lot of hatred between Israel and the Arab world. Discussing the reasons will be a very long story and each side has its debate. People in the middle east are what we call "hot blooded", can be very emotional and tempered people. That applies to Arabs, Israelis, Iranians, Turks...etc. It is kind of our nature that we got from our geography and history. That can also be clearly noticed from our day to day statement. You might have even realized that when you look at the Galata fans' comments and metaphors. When they say " Hell ", they don't really mean it literally. They just mean it will be a very tough place. They tend to exaggerate the meaning. "Wipe them off the map" is a similar exaggerated statement just t show the amount off hate they have.

Now can they wipe Israel off the map? If we were in the 16th century then sure, after all war was about horses and swords mainly. Right now, it is much more than that. Neither the Iranians nor the Arabs have decent technology to face Israel. So the answer is NO. They are consuming countries and not productive. Even the ones that have productions, are of low quality. The most they have is oil and that is a strong bargaining chip, but still not a weapon. So technologically the gap between Israel and the Iranians or Arabs is atleast 50 years in favor of Israel. Now let us assume and imagine that some miracle happens and those countries who are full of uneducated people, all of a sudden have the know how and secrets of technology and they are up to date like the Israelis and that they have nuclear weapons. Would Iran wipe Israel off of the map? Again the answer is No. Because the Iranians will be facing Israel and the strongest military in the world, the U.S. Not to mention other European countries that will aid Israel or the U.S. If such thing is to happen, Iran needs allies and that is not happening at all. Not now and not in the near future.

Economically they can't even go to war even if they had the weapons. War is not only about having bullets and guns. It is also about having financial power to buy or make bullets and guns. They are doing terribly economic wise. The people don't want to go to war. They want to live and provide for their families and loved ones. They are struggling with their day to day demands. They do not have that capability of going to war. It is all talk by politicians.

On the other hand they are not Afghanistan or Iraq. The U.S.A cannot do what they did to Afghanistan ( which was already broken up and had its internal conflicts) or with Iraq ( which was also exhausted from a war with Iran from 1980-1988 and a war with the world in the first Gulf war in 1990). The U.S knows that very well and the Israelis know that very well. It will not be a simple task where the planes would fly high and start bombing to set the way for ground troops. Israel is not far from Iran and its influenced groups. It will be a massacre for the Americans but mainly for the Israelis and Iranians. Even if the the U.S and Israelis have an upper hand technologically and economically.

But here is a question, what do you think will happen to you, Fernando, if war happens? The oil fields in the Gulf area will be the FIRST target and trust me that is an easy task for the Iranians. Now can you imagine the impact this would have on the world. Can you imagine what would economies all around the world be like if an ENTIRE MAIN OIL SUPPLYING REGION is in war. You will feel immediate impact in your country, simply because there will be shortage in supply. Prices will just fly, affecting every aspect of life. The Americans and the world know that very well. The Gulf region cut their supplies of oil during the 1973 war. They felt the effect. This time it will be much higher and the effect will be disastrous.

A strike is never a good thing. After all what happened in Iraq was a preemptive strike, because the media got the world convinced that Iraq have weapons of mass destruction. When the scandal was revealed, they started twisting things and saying that is was for the sake of "Democracy" and for the sake of Iraqi people. That didn't turn out very well either. Iran is not a threat. It will need at least half a century to be a threat. I am quiet sure that 50 years is more than enough time to solve the problems with Iran peacefully. The Israelis who call for war are not rational. Those politicians don't really care. Do you know that since Israel was established till now all generations have been to war. Weren't all these years enough to understand that with an ongoing conflict and with blood there will be no peace. The sad part is that those politicians in Israel or Iran or the Arab world do not send their kids to fight. They send people who love their country and if they had a choice, they would just live in peace and enjoy life.

To sum this up, Iran cannot start a war or can pose real threat on Israel for so many reasons. A strike on Iran will heavily damage Israel, the Gulf countries and the U.S as well as the Iranians.

Well again that is my opinion. I am not claiming in any sort of way that I know everything or that I have the right opinion on the matter. It is just my opinion based on many things and how I see them. I am also not implying in any way that peaceful talks are easy. But do not let the media take control of your opinion. Try to look at the matter from different angles. The media is biased and most of the time represents the interests of the powerful side or its ally. At the end of the day we all get manipulated by them easily. A simple truth that recently happened was Egypt's second revolutionary wave against the Muslim Brotherhood and the Revolution in Ukraine. Both revolutions were against a " Democratically elected president". In Egypt's case it was condemned because the U.S had already found its interests with the Muslim brotherhood. In Ukraine it was welcomed because the U.S found its interested against the president who pretty much represents Russian influence. I am not judging here. But what I am trying to say that politics is not a simple thing. It is not as straight forward as 1+1 = 2. It can always be changed and manipulated to serve the needs of politicians. The only truth in this is that the only party that really suffers is the people. People of Iran, people of Israel, people of Ukraine, people of Egypt.....people.

Now take what I have said and throw it out of the window. Think about it and tell me your thoughts. I would be more than happy to see things from your side. I will definitely learn something.

I am sorry my reply was than long. Hopefully I didn't bore you to death mate and it makes some sense

[xPetrCechx 13,563]

Just Stop all the mess...

Peace.

[Mohammed Seif 1,451]

Just Stop all the mess...

Peace.

Elaborate please

[bushman 2,043]

Elaborate please

Excuse me, but why is it that Israel possesses nuclear weapons & Iran is not allowed? Who gave Israel the rights? Has anyone ever monitored their nuclear capacities?

[Mohammed Seif 1,451]

Excuse me, but why is it that Israel possesses nuclear weapons & Iran is not allowed? Who gave Israel the rights? Has anyone ever monitored their nuclear capacities?

You have a good point. But if I may ask you, how does Iran having nuclear weapons ( which will take at least a decade with all the limitations they are facing) will solve the Israeli possession of nuclear weapon? Anyways that would be another topic I think, unless I am wrong ofcourse

[Mohammed Seif 1,451]

We have nuclear weapons almost from the birth of our country, we were never close to use it. Iran has intentions to use it against us

It will be naive if a war starts because of "intentions" of using a weapon the " THEY DO NOT HAVE".