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[DJ]

Most democracies were bought with blood. If the people think it's worth that price, who are you to judge them?

[Africa]

Oh I'm not judging them, just being pessimistic about the outcome and asserting that, even if most democracies came from revolution, that definitely does NOT mean that most revolutions end in democracy.

[Sir Pseudonymous]

I guess French shouldn't have revolted either, we'd all be better off if we never switched from feudalism

And how many revolutions did France have? I know there were three directly related to Napoleon alone, and there was at least one before him (one famous for its pointless bloodshed and psychotic leaders) and at least two after him... I confess I'm hardly an expert on French history, but it seems that France is the ideal example of exactly what I'm talking about. Revolution breeds bloodshed, instability, and more revolution.

Most democracies were bought with blood. If the people think it's worth that price, who are you to judge them?

The people are manipulated or otherwise dragged into the conflict by ideologues. The vast majority of people do the smart thing and keep their head down unless some asshole manipulates them into serving their political aspirations.

[DJ]

Freedom is more valuable than peace.

I mean, should USA have preserved slavery to appease the South and avoid the Civil War?

[Africa]

That's a false dichotomy which assumes the war was undertaken in order to end slavery. If it weren't for the slavery thing, I think most people would say the south absolutely had a right to secede. After all, no government has the right to rule over people without their consent right? The existence of a systematized evil like slavery being committed by the ones seceding (who, otherwise, were just exercising their right to self-determination) makes the whole thing more complicated.

Also, who knows if the US "should" have not gone to war against the south? Yeah, slavery ended. Also, a shitload of lives were lost, decades of economic disaster followed, and a lot of freed slaves ended up in situations just as bad as where they were before. Nobody can say what would have happened without the war, so it doesn't really make sense to talk about what should or shouldn't have been done. Especially when ending slavery wasn't even the point of the war.

[DJ]

I learned everything I know about Civil War from movies

[Sir Pseudonymous]

The south flipped their shit, formed a loose confederation based on the original model of the US (the one that failed horribly in under a decade, due to the whole "a weak, fragmented state is fucktarded as fuck all" thing), and attacked a northern fort, because a candidate with abolitionist sympathies, who guaranteed that he wouldn't try to end slavery, won the presidential election. So, basically, the US was appeasing them, and they just sort of went batshit anyways. And, the issue of slavery (which I don't particularly give a shit about, since industrial capitalism was even more brutal and inhumane (after all, slaves were valuable property, employees were cheap and expendable) for better than a century (on a global scale)) aside, I don't believe the south had a right to secede. They were in violent revolution against the legitimate government. They received bloody retribution for it. That is the natural order of things.

[Aqizzar]

So yeah, anyway.  How 'bout that Egypt, eh?

People are back in crowds in daylight hours, still marching since there's really no one for them to throw anything at.  Violence breaks out when police occasionally take stands again, mostly teargas and rubber bullets, but they're spread thin and apparently a good number of them didn't turn up again after the night ended.  The Army is present, but has still not taken any action besides sitting in the street.  The national party headquarters in Cairo is still burning after 24 hours.  People are chanting about food prices, unemployment, and outrage about the dissolved-cabinet quickfix.

No more official statements about what Mubarak or ElBaradi have been up to or any change in their status.  Oh, and oil prices jumped 5% overnight.

[Africa]

After seeing Garbage City (yeah, there's an entire fucking district of Cairo called Garbage City, but it's not as nice as the sugar-coated name makes it sound) I had no doubt that eventually the place was going to erupt in some kind of revolt.

[Jackrabbit]

If I were him, I'd have embezzelled away enough cash to get the hell out of there quick years ago. I do hope for his sake he was clever enough to do that.

Piss poor preparation equals piss poor preformance.

[Phmcw]

Divided on the issue, there, but the protest arose spontaneously, so no point discussing the relevance of revolution. We pretty much have to roll with it.
I am convinced that wikileak's cable have a strong influence on these protest.
The strong anti American/Israelis propaganda doesn't have much weight left after you have the proof that your government is working hand in hand with them.
 

[Aqizzar]

If I were him, I'd have embezzelled away enough cash to get the hell out of there quick years ago. I do hope for his sake he was clever enough to do that.

I have a distinct feeling that Mubarak never intended to leave, and never expected to need to.  He's also 82, and probably does have a lot of money.  However, I bet his heir-apparent son managed to squirrel away some cash, and is desperately tugging on Dad's arm, trying to convince him that a burning Egypt isn't worth giving up a shot at luxurious exile.

[Il Palazzo]

So, eh, what's the colour of this revolution?

[Leafsnail]

I'd just like to say that the "stopping to pray" thing doesn't really indicate that it's a religiously driven revolution.  I mean, praying 5 times a day is just something a lot of Muslims do.

Most democracies were bought with blood. If the people think it's worth that price, who are you to judge them?

Interestingly, I'm currently learning about how England's democracy was bought gradually with almost no violence.

[Aqizzar]

I'd just like to say that the "stopping to pray" thing doesn't really indicate that it's a religiously driven revolution.  I mean, praying 5 times a day is just something a lot of Muslims do.

Well, the cases mentioned were specifically where people would line up in front of the police cordons to pray, explicitly daring the police to attack them.  Since they never took the bait, it doesn't seem to be happening anymore.  Some of the reporters have anecdotes about bearded men in traditional garb trying to whip up a religious frenzy before being shouted down by blogger-types in polo shirts.  The Muslim Brotherhood organization does publicly claim to be active in the protests, but good luck finding them.

So, eh, what's the colour of this revolution?

Doesn't seem to be one.  I'd say brown because I see a lot of brown clothes, but that's a half-assed attempt at humor on my part.  Maybe it'll be gold or something, since they all band together in a hurry to protect the treasures of the pharaohs.  On that note, the museum is still in danger, and it sounds like it's getting harder to keep people out.

I wish the Yemeni protests and riots were getting more press right now.  Their viva-la-revolution-color of choice is apparently bright pink, which is just an awe inspiring sight.