One of my cousins escaped Egypt. This is his account.

[Nitro Express]

One of my cousins was taking a tour of Egypt. He had booked a tour with one of Africa's best touring companies and was staying in a five star hotel by Giza. He said Egypt had changed a lot since he was there last. They had spent billions of dollars on a new airport, new museums, infrastructure to help the tourist industry. He said it was nice and they were having a wonderful time. He said Egypt is also a place that has tight security with lot's of plain clothes police and undercover police. In the past the Egyptian police did a good job of protecting the tourists and their presence was everywhere.

He said the next day they woke up, there were tanks in the streets and no police at all. No cell phone service or internet service. Their American tour guide said they were on their own and she locked herself in her hotel room and would not talk to anybody. The land lines worked and calls were made to the US Embassy which was no help at all. The US and British airlines were no help at all.

The Egyptian tour company showed up to the hotel with some big Egyptian guys and they loaded up the van and made a mad dash for the airport. Gangs of thugs had set up road blocks and they were armed with anything they could grab. The van just drove through these people at high speed. The military was on the streets but thugs were taking over things and no police in sight.

The airport was hell. A van full of thugs opened fire on people trying to get into the airport (this was never reported on the news). People were pushing and shoving, trampling over children in baby carriages fighting to get on a plane. My cousin said they had to fight and bribe their way onto a flight and got the hell out of there. It cost him thousands of dollars. All the people at the airport cared about was money.

He said it was like being in the movie Titanic when all hell broke loose. He said Egypt needs change but in the middle east, revolutions unfortunately bring in Islamic radicles. His friends in Israel are very concerned about who takes over Egypt because if it's the Muslim Brotherhood, all hell will break loose. He said the Egyptian people are for the most part a gentile, friendly people and it was those people that got them through the raging streets of Cairo and to safety. Not the US Government or American Airlines. Both were useless.

[Blaze]

Thank God your brother made his way out, I am sure many are making due at the airport as we speak. Your brother is fortunate.

But gosh this line reeks of your family's racism. "Egyptian people are for the most part a gentile, friendly people"

Moreover, this line "Egyptian police did a good job of protecting the tourists" is one of the troubles. The police of a society should be protecting all, not a certain segment.
It leaves me to ponder who did you think you needed protection from? The "Egyptian people" who "are for the most part a gentile, friendly people"

[Nitro Express]

Blaze. I've been to Egypt myself and the police protect the tourists because tourism is the main industry of Egypt and because they focused on the tourist money more than the Egyptian people, yeah, that's one of the things that set the Egyptian people off. Also, how is describing the citizens of Egypt as gentle and friendly racist? I take offense because my family is far from racist. My grandfather paid all his employees equal wages back when he could pay his black employees less. Years later I was driving a company truck and these two old black gentlemen saw the company's name and told me they had worked for my grandfather and told me how fair he was. That's how I know, not because anyone in my family bragged about it. So be careful how you toss that word racism around casually and yes I know that is the fad today but it's shows bad taste.

Also it was my cousin and his wife that got out of Egypt and not my brother. My brother died five years ago.

I stated that the Egyptian people for the most part are gentle people because certain media outlets are not telling the truth on that and all the media is showing is the negative side of things.

They aren't showing this.

[Nitro Express]

If my cousin learned anything, you can trust some of the people but you can't trust any government and the corporations just care about money.

[Nitro Express]

What do the tourist need protecting from? Islamic radicals. That minority in Egypt and other parts of the middle east who would love to blow up a bunch of tourists to make a statement and ruin the Egyptian economy so they could exploit it for their own gain. The average peaceful Egyptian saw billions of dollars being paid for the tourist industry as they sat in 40% unemployment. Then food prices went through the roof and they decided they had enough of it.

[Blaze]

I truly apologize about the typo, especially about highlighting it.
My thoughts, I admit, were on my own brother this morning.

But the description "Egyptian people are for the most part a gentile, friendly" people brings to recall the way Missionaries recalled "savages", not only in other parts of the world, but here in America when describing American Natives.

Perhaps it is not racism but it is a prejudicial view of .. umm.. "outsiders" or "things that are not of your own."

[Blaze]

If my cousin learned anything, you can trust some of the people but you can't trust any government and the corporations just care about money.

Your tendency toward blanket statements unsettle me.

[Blaze]

What do the tourist need protecting from? Islamic radicals. That minority in Egypt and other parts of the middle east who would love to blow up a bunch of tourists to make a statement and ruin the Egyptian economy so they could exploit it for their own gain. The average peaceful Egyptian saw billions of dollars being paid for the tourist industry as they sat in 40% unemployment. Then food prices went through the roof and they decided they had enough of it.

Islamic radicals like Rudolph or Jered?

[Seshmeister]

His friends in Israel are very concerned about who takes over Egypt because if it's the Muslim Brotherhood, all hell will break loose. He said the Egyptian people are for the most part a gentile, friendly people and it was those people that got them through the raging streets of Cairo and to safety.

If his friends in Israel stopped electing governments which constantly break international law, steal from the Palestinians and operate a system of apartheid then maybe the Muslim brotherhood wouldn't have so much support. Maybe your cousin should have lobbied his government to stop giving billions in weapons to Mubarak for all these years. Why does no one ever learn from the mistake that propping up these dictators always ends in tears?

[FORD]

What do the tourist need protecting from? Islamic radicals. That minority in Egypt and other parts of the middle east who would love to blow up a bunch of tourists to make a statement and ruin the Egyptian economy so they could exploit it for their own gain. The average peaceful Egyptian saw billions of dollars being paid for the tourist industry as they sat in 40% unemployment. Then food prices went through the roof and they decided they had enough of it.

Seems to me that the Mubarak thugs are a much bigger threat than the Islamic radicals at the moment. Anwar Sadat was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and I don't recall him beating the shit out of journalists.

[ELVIS]

Yeah, the Islamic radicals just want free and fair elections and to spread love throughout the region...


*yawn*

[Nitro Express]

You know what good old Tony Blair said about Murbarak? He was a beacon for good and when the Egyptian people disagreed Blair goes, well I know him from the inside and you just see him from the outside. Unbelievable. They should lock that fuck up in the Tower of London.

My cousin said they probably would have been jacked, raped, and robbed if it wasn't for Abercrombie and Kent and the Meridian Hotel staff. The thugs had guns, the people defending their property had whatever they could get (rocks, sticks, bottles, knives). There was a curfew the night before the military showed up. Their American tour director said everyone was on their own (25 people) and she locked herself in her hotel room. The local hotel staff and Abercrombie & Kent staff had to get home before the curfew and they had families to protect. Once had her 9 year old daughter raped. Then Abercrombie and Kent sent in a bus with some line backer sized dudes. The bus was their weapon plowing through roadblock set up by thugs in the street. My cousin said it was a complete Mad Max. He said it was amazing how much filth and garbage piles up in a few days.

His opinion is Murbak needs to got because if they wait for the election, it will be another shaw of Iran thing happening and Egypt will go radicle like Iran. If he is removed and there is an open election, hopefully, that won't happen. He says it's a war zone right now and thugs rule in such circumstances. He said if there is peaceful protest, he sure as hell didn't see it from his standpoint but them he wasn't downtown.

[Nitro Express]

Yeah, the Islamic radicals just want free and fair elections and to spread love throughout the region...


*yawn*

The Muslim Brotherhood are a minority but only a fool would rule them out. They have a past history of working with certain western interests like the Nazis. This is not a good group of people, but they are well financed and organized and in a chaotic situation, they rule. Like my cousin said they got to the airport because the big bus was their weapon. If they had to take taxi cabs it would have been robbery, rape, and murder. They were shooting people in front of the airport. The thugs had guns and the good citizens had sticks and stones. I don't care how nice and good you are, in this situation, you need weapons to hold the thugs at bay.

[ELVIS]

I think the transition should be slow and it should be moderated by the US...

[Hardrock69]

No shit.

Glad your cousin got out, Nitro.

[Seshmeister]

You know what good old Tony Blair said about Murbarak? He was a beacon for good and when the Egyptian people disagreed Blair goes, well I know him from the inside and you just see him from the outside. Unbelievable. They should lock that fuck up in the Tower of London.

He's a crazy fucking nut job who is as dangerous as the amount of power he can find to wield. Maybe he was always like that but it seems like he has actually had some sort of minor mental breakdown detaching him from any sort of sensible judgement.

It reminds me of Thatcher and Reagan calling Nelson Mandela a dangerous terrorist...

[Seshmeister]

I think the transition should be slow and it should be moderated by the US...

Yeah well trust me, they don't.

[ELVIS]

I can tell that for sure...

[BigBadBrian]

But gosh this line reeks of your family's racism. "Egyptian people are for the most part a gentile, friendly people"

[BigBadBrian]

steal from the Palestinians

There's no such thing as "Palestinians."

[ace diamond]

One of my cousins was taking a tour of Egypt. He had booked a tour with one of Africa's best touring companies and was staying in a five star hotel by Giza. He said Egypt had changed a lot since he was there last. They had spent billions of dollars on a new airport, new museums, infrastructure to help the tourist industry. He said it was nice and they were having a wonderful time. He said Egypt is also a place that has tight security with lot's of plain clothes police and undercover police. In the past the Egyptian police did a good job of protecting the tourists and their presence was everywhere.

He said the next day they woke up, there were tanks in the streets and no police at all. No cell phone service or internet service. Their American tour guide said they were on their own and she locked herself in her hotel room and would not talk to anybody. The land lines worked and calls were made to the US Embassy which was no help at all. The US and British airlines were no help at all.

The Egyptian tour company showed up to the hotel with some big Egyptian guys and they loaded up the van and made a mad dash for the airport. Gangs of thugs had set up road blocks and they were armed with anything they could grab. The van just drove through these people at high speed. The military was on the streets but thugs were taking over things and no police in sight.

The airport was hell. A van full of thugs opened fire on people trying to get into the airport (this was never reported on the news). People were pushing and shoving, trampling over children in baby carriages fighting to get on a plane. My cousin said they had to fight and bribe their way onto a flight and got the hell out of there. It cost him thousands of dollars. All the people at the airport cared about was money.

He said it was like being in the movie Titanic when all hell broke loose. He said Egypt needs change but in the middle east, revolutions unfortunately bring in Islamic radicles. His friends in Israel are very concerned about who takes over Egypt because if it's the Muslim Brotherhood, all hell will break loose. He said the Egyptian people are for the most part a gentile, friendly people and it was those people that got them through the raging streets of Cairo and to safety. Not the US Government or American Airlines. Both were useless.

iwas over in europe in march 2004 when the madrid train bombing occured.
i was in munich, germany at the time.
security on the way back to the states was tighter than shit.

[ace diamond]

I think the transition should be slow and it should be moderated by the US...

imperialism and imperialist attitudes toward foreign affairs is foolish. careful consideration and soft, slow, very careful and gentle footsteps
would be a more advisable course.
this is not a deal wear an iron fist is going to acheive a damned thing.

[Nitro Express]

The real danger of the situation is a snowball effect through out the middle east. If Egypt collapses it will take other countries down with it. The big fear is a radicle Islamic takeover and a move against Israel. That will be a powder keg and with all the oil interests in the region, that could spark off a world war. Until the world can replace oil with something else, the middle east has what the rest of the world wants. Don't think the US invaded Iraq looking for Al Quaida. It had the excuse to get in there before China did.

[Nitro Express]

The Last time I was in China what struck me is how blatantly they copied the United States. China was set back 100 years by Mao's backward policies and it seriously wanted to catch up to the industrialized world. It had a real opportunity to build something new and different. I found myself in a traffic jam in Bejing and the air was hazy with smog. The automobile has taken over there to such an extent that you can't even ride a bike or walk safely. Then it struck me. The Chinese built 1970's Los Angeles. They copied the US so carefully, they even copied our mistakes.

[Seshmeister]

There's no such thing as "Palestinians."

A ridiculous argument.

Of course to subjugate and persecute a people you must first dehumanize them and deny their validity.

Depressingly familiar...