Egypt: Goodbye Mubarak, Hello Information Age

Egypt doesn't have a President Hosni Mubarak any more. Mr. Mubarak decided, or was forced, to give up the position he's had for almost 30 years.

The Lemming will be back, after this from Reuters:

First Tunisia, Now Egypt

"End of Mubarak era as protests topple president"
Edition: U.S., Reuters (February 11, 2011)

"A furious wave of protest swept Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak from power Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond.

"Mubarak, the second Arab leader to be overthrown by a popular uprising in a month, handed power to the army after 18 days of relentless rallies against poverty, corruption and repression caused support from the armed forces to evaporate.

"Vice President Omar Suleiman said a military council would run the affairs of the most populous Arab nation. A free and fair presidential election has been promised for September, though some question the army's appetite for real democracy.

"Mubarak, 82, had flown with his family from Cairo to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, a ruling party official said.

"Ecstatic Egyptians celebrated a peaceful 'White Revolution' in carnival mood on the streets and people embraced in Tahrir, or Liberation, Square, the main focus for protest, claiming a victory over their 'Pharaoh' they hardly dared to believe...."

'And They Lived Happily Ever After?' Unlikely

Based on the last 5,000 or so years of recorded history, the Lemming thinks that Egypt without Mubarak will not be a wonderland of peace and prosperity.

On the other hand, the Lemming thinks that swapping out an old autocrat is a big step in the right direction.

As for "military rule" replacing an autocrat: the Lemming thinks that could be a problem. So could rule by a committee of interior decorators. From the Lemming's point of view, any government that involves human beings is going to have problems.

But since that's all Egypt - or anybody else on Earth - has to work with: well, the Lemming thinks it could be worse. Seriously: rule by interior decorators?

Old-School Habits, Information-Age Social Structures

The Lemming thinks that information technology isn't the only thing that brought down Mubarak's reign. But the Lemming thinks it helped.

Or, more specifically, the Lemming thinks that our vastly-expanded ability to communicate with each other helped. Together with emerging social structures, like Twitter and other online communities.

The Lemming posted about this yesterday, in another blog:

"...I remember the 'good old days,' when most Americans relied on a few news editors, media executives, and publishers to tell them about what happened outside their circle of friends and acquaintances. Because we didn't have many other options....

"...Americans still, I think, rely on a few news editors, media executives, and publishers to tell them about what happened outside their circle of friends and acquaintances.

"But now our 'circle of friends and acquaintances' can easily include folks all over the world."

"For me, and others who don't mind finding out what someone besides old-school journalists and established authorities think: the Information Age is a great time to be alive.

"The folks who used to have more control over what 'the masses' were allowed to know? I suspect they aren't quite so thrilled...."
(Another War-on-Terror Blog (February 10, 2011))



Related posts:

• "Today's World: Not Boring; Not Simple"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (February 10, 2011)
  More: same blog, same day
  • "Egypt, Iran: It Can't Happen Here?"
    
  • "American Terrorists and Getting a Grip
    
  • "Saudi Arabia and Propping Up Mubarak"
    
  • "Iran, Dissent, and Threats to National Security"
    
  • "Shutting Down Egypt's Internet: A Responsible Act?!!"


• "Egypt: Again"
  (February 10, 2011)


• "Lemming Tracks: Egypt, Wael Ghonim, and the Information Age"
  (February 7, 2011)


• "Egypt: Changing Times"
  (February 5, 2011)


• "Lemming Tracks: Egypt, Dealing With Criticism, and Getting a Grip"
  (February 4, 2011)

News and views:

• "End of Mubarak era as protests topple president"
  Edition: U.S., Reuters (February 11, 2011)
• "Egypt's Mubarak resigns as leader"
  Middle East, BBC News (February 11, 2011)
• "Egypt's revolution is just the beginning"
  Kenneth Pollack, CNN (February 11, 2011)
• ""
  ()
• "After Mubarak, U.S. Intelligence Officers Look to Monitor Mideast 'Aftershocks'"
  FoxNews.com (February 11, 2011)

Egypt: Again

"Egypt's Mubarak refuses to quit"
BBC News Middle East (February 10, 2010)

"Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has said he will stay in office and transfer power only after September's presidential election.

"His comments confounded reports he was preparing to stand down immediately. He said he would ignore 'diktats from abroad'.

"President Mubarak said he would delegate some powers to Vice-President Omar Suleiman.

"Egypt's military earlier said it was standing ready to 'protect the nation'...."

"Diktat?" It means just what it sounds like:

"1. A harsh, unilaterally imposed settlement with a defeated party.
"2. An authoritative or dogmatic statement or decree."
(thefreedictionary.com)

Well, Mr. Mubarak is the leader of a sovereign nation - and as a rule shouldn't have to take orders from other national leaders.

It's the Lemming's opinion that Mr Mubarak would have been well-advised to pay attention to what his subjects have been trying to say since 1981 - and the Lemming's written about that before.

What's this post doing in Apathetic Lemming of the North? The Lemming is interested in freedom of speech, the effect that Information Age technology and social structures are doing to regimes that haven't kept up, and the all-too-real threat of being 'protected' from dissenting opinions.

And the Lemming's written about that before, too.

Related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: Egypt, Wael Ghonim, and the Information Age"
  (February 7, 2011)
• "Tunisia, Twitter, Change, and Staying Sane"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (January 23, 2011)
• " 'Search Neutrality:' Deciding What We're Allowed to Find?"
  (January 22, 2011)
• "FCC, the Internet, Regulations, Freedom of Speech, and a Ranting Lemming"
  (December 23, 2010)
• "Blogs, Freedom of Speech, and Threats to the Status Quo"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (July 31, 2010)

Lemming Tracks: Egypt, Wael Ghonim, and the Information Age

"Google executive Ghonim released in Egypt: report"
Edition: US, Reuters (February 7, 2011)

"A Google Inc executive who had gone missing in Egypt was released on Monday and was on his way to Tahrir Square, the center of two weeks of anti-government demonstrations, Al Arabiya television reported.

"The station did not give details, but Orascom Telecom Chairman Naguib Sawiris said on Sunday authorities promised him Wael Ghonim, Google's head of marketing for the Middle East and North Africa, would be freed.

"Google said last week Ghonim had not been seen since January 27 and began a public search for him, giving out a telephone number for information about him.

"Activists said Ghonim had been involved in founding 'We are all Khaled Said,' an anti-torture Facebook group named after an activist who rights groups said was beaten to death by police in the port city of Alexandria. Two officers now face trial...."

The Lemming's discussed - ranted? - about what's happening in Egypt quite a bit lately. Part of the explanation is in yesterday's post about Wael Ghonim and the Information Age.

Ghonim, Egypt, and All That

Looks like the Google executive is free - and alive.

Hats off to whoever made the decision to release him - although not snatching Ghonim in the first place would have been smarter.

Maybe, of course, he kidnapped himself. To embarrass Egypt's President Mubarak. The Lemming doesn't think that's very likely. Mubarak and his people have been doing a pretty good job of besmirching their reputation - and don't seem to need any help. In the Lemming's opinion.

Although Wael Ghonim being (apparently) alive and free is good news for Ghonim, his friends and family, and folks who are trying to turn Egypt around: The Lemming isn't entirely sure that it's all that important in the 'big picture.'

The Lemming isn't one of those folks who think that individuals aren't important, and that all that 'really' exists are economic classes and/or ethnic groups. Benjamin Franklin, for example, put his stamp on a fair percentage of the politics, culture, and technology of 18th century America.

One Person Can Make a Difference

Wael Ghonim may be one of the pivotal players in changing Egypt from an old-fashioned autocracy with a permanent president, into part of the Information Age's global culture.

But, in the Lemming's opinion, change would have happened anyway. Maybe later - but inevitably. Since Wael Ghonim and others are acting now, dissent in Egypt is taking a particular form.

The Lemming hopes that Ghonim and others use their influence to reform Egypt into a nation that's not run by control freaks. Or, on a more positive note, that allows folks to disagree with whoever's in charge - without disappearing.

Change Happens - We Deal With It, or Get Dealt With

The Lemming's discussed change on geological and cosmic time scales quite a bit in this blog:

• "Change, American Culture, Trilobites, Humanity's History, and the Big Picture"
  (routinely updated)

Let's put it this way: There's a reason why you won't find a recipe calling for fresh trilobite. Change happens.

Mubarak's Wake-Up Call: It's Not 1981 Any More

President Mubarak was elected in 1981. There are plausible claims that he's arranged election rules that pretty much guaranteed his reelections ever since.

Can't say that the Lemming blames Mubarak, in a way: It's nice to have a regular job with steady pay.

On the other hand, the Lemming learned in each new job - and the Lemming didn't hang on to control of a country for almost three decades. And mismanage the place, apparently.

The Best Form of Government - Is One That Works

Someone leading a country for decades isn't, in the Lemming's opinion, a bad idea by itself. Provided that the leader is competent.

And has the good sense to pay attention to the folks he or she is governing.

Mubarak and his party don't seem to have been doing that.

That's a very bad idea, in the Lemming's opinion: because complaints, as annoying as they can be, let leaders know that something may not be working as it should.

And it's easier - again, in the Lemming's opinion - to let folks complain, and then check out what's happening, than to constantly monitor a system for glitches.

The 'Good Old Days' - Weren't

Back in the 'good old days' before the Information Age, someone like Mubarak might have been able to get away with ignoring reasonable complaints. For the autocrat's lifetime, anyway.

The folks who had better ideas than the president could communicate with their neighbors, and maybe even print pamphlets and write letters. The American Revolution got started that way - but England was, as the Lemming recalls, distracted at the time: and that's another topic, almost.

In a place like Egypt, back in 1981, a 'troublemaker' like Wael Ghonim could be dealt with by snatching him and either holding him in a cell somewhere: or simply killing him and quietly disposing of the body.

That approach can be tried today: but state-run newspapers, radio, and television aren't the only way folks can get - and share - information. Even in places like Egypt or Iran. (remember Neda Agha Soltan - Another War-on-Terror Blog (June 26, 2009))

Between video cameras in cell phones, voice-to-text software, and the Internet, it's getting downright difficult to keep 'the masses' from finding out what's going on in the rest of the world - and keep them from updating the rest of us.

The Lemming doesn't mind the 'divisive,' 'chaotic,' sort of global culture that we're getting. Partly, perhaps, because the Lemming hasn't been on the same page as 'the establishment' for a very, very long time.

Partly, perhaps, because the Lemming thinks it's a good idea for folks to be able to speak their minds - and live.

Sort-of-related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: Egypt, Google Exec Wael Ghonim, and Freedom of Speech"
  (February 6, 2011)
• "Tunisia, Twitter, Change, and Staying Sane"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (January 23, 2011)
• " 'Search Neutrality:' Deciding What We're Allowed to Find?"
  (January 22, 2011)
• "FCC, the Internet, Regulations, Freedom of Speech, and a Ranting Lemming"
  (December 23, 2010)
• "Blogs, Freedom of Speech, and Threats to the Status Quo"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (July 31, 2010)

The Lemming on Freedom of Speech and Other Untidy Ideas

• "COICA: A Federal Official Deciding Who Gets to Stay Online"
  (November 19, 2010)
• Protecting intellectual property rights
  • Basically a good idea
  • What could possibly go wrong?
    • A federal official decides
      • Who's allowed to be online
      • And who's not
  • An honest citizen like the Lemming doesn't have anything to worry about
    • Right?
    • Right??!!
      
• "Cultural Chaos, Divisiveness, and CNN"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (April 1, 2010)
  • Who gets to comment
    • And who doesn't
• "What is an Information Gatekeeper?"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (August 14, 2009)
  Particularly
  • Cultural Chaos! Divisiveness! I Like It!
• "Venzuela's Chavez, America, and Freedom: It Could be Worse"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (August 1, 2009)
  Particularly
  • Criticism is not Terrorism
  • It Can't Happen Here, Right?
• "The Subway Project and 'Why Islam?' - Terrorists in the Subways! Or, Not"
  (July 23, 2008)
  Particularly
  • Smoke, Fire, and a Few Facts
  • People, Please! Check Your Facts!
  • Why Defend an Islamic Group That's Promoting an Islamic Site?
  • Various Versions of Niemöller's 'They Came for the Jews'
• "No Wonder Some People Hate Technology: Grad Student Twitters Out of Egyptian Jail"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (April 25, 2008)
• One was released
• The other disappeared

Lemming Tracks: Egypt, Google Exec Wael Ghonim, and Freedom of Speech

The Lemming has been posting quite a bit about Egypt lately. That's because this blog is strictly limited to stuff the Lemming thinks is interesting.

And the meltdown of a decades-old 'agree with me or disappear' regime is - interesting. To the Lemming, at any rate. Maybe you, too. If not, the Lemming will be back in a bit with something completely different.

Egypt and Google Executive Wael Ghonim: Smart Move; But a Little Late

"Reports: Egypt to Release Missing Google Exec Wael Ghonim Monday"
Sam Gustin, Epicenter, Wired (February 6, 2011)

"A Google executive who has been missing in Egypt for over a week is to be released Monday, according to family members and friends who say they've been contacted by Egyptian authorities.

"In addition to being the top Google marketing executive in the Middle East, Wael Ghonim is an internet activist who had been critical of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in the days leading up to the violence that has paralyzed Egypt.

" 'Wael is going to be released tomorrow at 4 p.m., several people from the authorities … called us to tell us,' Hazem Ghonim, Wael's brother, told The Wall Street Journal in a telephone interview from Cairo.

"Ghonim hasn't been heard from since January 27th, the night before protesters held what they called a 'Day of Rage' filled with violent clashes between police and protesters.

"Since his disappearance, Ghonim has become a symbol to internet activists who have struggled to overcome internet and cell-phone blackouts, which have accompanied widespread media repression, including violent attacks against journalists that have left at least one reporter dead...."

Good News: Wael Ghonim Doesn't Seem to be Dead

It isn't Monday, of course: and the Google boss who doesn't seem to approve of Egypt's president might 'commit suicide,' or maybe be 'shot while trying to escape.' The Lemming prefers to believe that the lot who have been running Egypt since President Mubarak's reign started in 1981 aren't quite that stupid.

It's possible that - a little late in the game - someone's talked sense into key decision-makers in Mubarak's government. This isn't the 'good old days,' when autocrats could have folks who weren't properly adoring of the president, chairman, or whatever - disappear, have accidents, or be reeducated. Not without other folks raising a fuss.

The Lemming thinks it isn't so much a matter of people around the world suddenly having a whole lot more sympathy for others. It's more likely, in the Lemming's opinion, that Information Age technology has made it possible for folks in mismanaged parts of the world to get word out - so that their neighbors know what's going on.

When the Lemming was growing up, what we'd hear from places like Egypt would - most likely - come from official sources in the Egyptian government, or from state-run news media in Egypt.

Sure, there'd be intrepid reporters and the occasional traveler with a tale to tell - but that sort of thing took time to do.

Enough! The Lemming has ranted about this before.

Related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: Egypt, Dealing With Criticism, and Getting a Grip"
  (February 4, 2011)
• "Google, Twitter Launch Workaround for Egypt's People"
  (January 31, 2011)
• " 'Search Neutrality:' Deciding What We're Allowed to Find?"
  (January 22, 2011)
• "Google, China, Censorship, Compromise: 'Totally Wrong;' or, Not"
  (March 23, 2010)
• "China, Egypt, Iran Lead World in Blogger Arrests"
  (June 17, 2008)

Egypt: Changing Times

"Shake-up in Egyptian ruling party"
BBC Mobile US & Canada (February 5, 2011)
An Egyptian protester describes what life is like in Cairo's Tahrir Square

"The politburo of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) has resigned en masse, in an apparent response to anti-government protests.

"Two key allies of President Hosni Mubarak, including his son Gamal, were stripped of their posts.

"Hossam Badrawi, a reformer and top physician, took both positions.

"US special envoy Frank Wisner welcomed the resignations and said President Mubarak should stay in power to steer the transition.

"Protesters still occupy Cairo's Tahrir Square, but their numbers have fallen from Friday's huge rally.

"President Mubarak has also held talks with his ministers to try to revive the economy.

"Banks will reopen on Sunday, but Finance Minister Samir Radwan said the economic situation was 'very serious'.

"Analysts say the uprising is costing the country at least $310m a day...."

Today's World: Not Boring

Any way you slice it, this is not a dull period in world history.

The Lemming thinks that what's happening in Egypt, what happened in Tunisia, and what may soon happen elsewhere across north Africa and the Middle East, isn't isolated to that region.

Here in America, the dominant culture seems - in the Lemming's opinion - to be having an increasingly difficult time dealing with the Information Age. 'The masses' have options other than accepting what traditional information gatekeepers think we should know - and we're using those options.

The Lemming's discussed information gatekeepers before:

• "What is an Information Gatekeeper?"
  (August 14, 2009)

Managing the Lower Classes: 'For Their Own Good,' of course

Basically, an information gatekeeper is someone who decides what information gets passed along to other folks in a culture - and what doesn't. Also, what spin gets put on the information that is allowed through.

In America, during the Lemming's 'good old days,' information gatekeepers included news editors, media executives, teachers, and publishers. Happily, many of those folks thought they believed in freedom of speech. Problem is, they weren't always - in the Lemming's opinion - aware of their own biases.

Then there were fashionable ideas like 'don't let facts get in the way of Truth:' In other words, if you really want something to be so, it's okay to make up your own facts.

It wasn't just 'those liberals.' The Lemming remembers when 'regular Americans' had an inordinate level of control over what ideas were allowed in public. Between McCarthyism and political correctness, the Lemming has little reason to be nostalgic about the 'good old days.'

And that isn't another topic.

Egypt: Even Autocrats Should Listen

The Lemming doesn't think that there's a single "correct" way for folks to run their countries. Being a constitution-based federal republic with strong democratic ('small d') traditions and a bicameral legislature works fairly well for the United States. The Lemming's written this opinion in another blog: The best form of government is one that works. (Another War-on-Terror Blog (January 24, 2011)

In principle, a country could, in the Lemming's opinion, be ruled with an iron fist by one person: provided that the chap in charge had the good sense to delegate authority to obsessively-conscientious altruists; and to listen to what the citizens said.

In practice, autocracies don't tend to work that way. Probably, in the Lemming's opinion, because autocrats tend to be know-it-alls who are convinced that they, and they alone, know what's best for the masses. That's a best-case scenario, actually. The Lemming suspects that many or most autocrats do what they do because they like giving orders.

Egypt has had the same president since 1981. That's 'stability,' by some standards. The Lemming's run into the assertion that it's more a matter of having election rules that pretty much guarantee a Mubarak victory.

If the Egyptian president had the good sense to listen to complaints - maybe this wouldn't have happened. As it is, Egypt was a world leader in arresting bloggers who didn't say the 'right' things.

That is not, in the Lemming's opinion, any way to run a country.

Which brings the Lemming back to America: and that's been discussed in yesterday's "Related posts."

Today's related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: Egypt, Dealing With Criticism, and Getting a Grip"
  (February 4, 2011)
• "Google, Twitter Launch Workaround for Egypt's People"
  (January 31, 2011)
• "Divisiveness, Cultural Chaos, and the Monkey's Paw"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (January 30, 2011)
• "Tunisia, Egypt, and the World: Speculation and Opinion"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (January 24, 2011)
• "China, Egypt, Iran Lead World in Blogger Arrests"
  (June 17, 2008)

Egypt: The Lost Capital of Ramses II, Pi-Ramses

" 'Lost City' of Tanis Found, but Often Forgotten"
Brian Handwerk, Mysteries of the Ancient World, National Geographic (undated)

"The treasures found in the 'lost city' of Tanis rival those of King Tut's. Yet for more than six decades the riches from its rulers' tombs have remained largely unknown.

"Many who know of Tanis at all remember the city as portrayed in the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. In the famous film the city was buried by a catastrophic ancient sandstorm and rediscovered by Nazis searching for the Ark of the Covenant.

"In reality, the Ark was never hidden in Tanis, the sandstorm didn't happen, and the Nazis never battled Indiana Jones in the site's ruins. But the true tale of Tanis is also fit for the silver screen.

"A City Vanishes

"Tanis was known by many names. Ancient Egyptians called it Djanet, and the Old Testament refers to the site as Zoan. Today it's called Sân el-Hagar.

"The site, in the Nile Delta northeast of Cairo, was capital of the 21st and 22nd dynasties, during the reign of the Tanite kings in Egypt's Third Intermediate period.

"The city's advantageous location enabled it to become a wealthy commercial center long before the rise of Alexandria. But political fortunes shifted, and so did the river's waters—and in recent centuries the Tanis site had became a silted plain with some hill-like mounds thought to be of little interest.

"It was known that the ancient city was hidden somewhere in the area, but not where...."

The Lemming watched "Egypt's Lost City," an episode of the Inside Lost Worlds series. (2007) The documentary picks up roughly where Mr. Handwerk's article leaves off - where Tanis / Djanet / Sân el-Hagar was identified as Pi-Ramses the ancient capital of Egypt built by Ramses II.

Just one problem. Several, actually.

Pi-Ramses Found - Sort of

The ruins of Tanis had buildings and statues of Pi-Ramses - but Pi-Ramses had been built on the easternmost branch of the Nile. Ancient Tanis had been on a branch of the Nile, near the east edge of the Nile delta. But the Nile hadn't been there during the reign of Ramses II.

Then there was the pottery found in ancient Tanis - it was old, but not quite as old as Ramses II.

Pi-Ramses - Right Buildings, Wrong Location

So we've got an ancient city, with the buildings and statuary of Ramses II's capital, Pi-Ramses. On a parcel of land that hadn't been on the Nile when Ramses II lived. With pottery that had been made well after the reign of Ramses II.

What's with the Nile moving? Rivers do that - The Mississippi, in North America, has shifted its course since Americans used it as a reference point for state borders. And that's another topic.

Working out where the Nile had been during the three millennia of Ancient Egypt meant analyzing a detailed contour map to work out where major channels had been - and then digging along each of them to get pottery, to identify the times during which each channel had been active. That was a job for someone with a profound interest in ancient Egypt - and a high tolerance for repetitive tasks. In the Lemming's opinion.

Change Happens - People Adapt

Looks like Pi-Ramses was built near Tanis - at a place called Qantir. Which was on the Nile when Ramses II lived. A century or so later, that branch of the Nile slithered into another channel. Scans that look below ground show where streets and buildings had been. But not the buildings and statues of the city.

So, we've got the foundations of Pi-Ramses under Qantir: and the rest of the city at Tanis.

National Geographic published a map in 2003, by the way, showing sites along the Nile River: ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/egypt/images/Egypt.pdf.

Archeologists covered by the "Egypt's Lost City" documentary on Pi-Ramses figure that someone decided to - move the city. Most of it, anyway.

The Lemming will say this for the ancient Egyptians: They didn't seem reluctant to take on big jobs. Like disassembling a city, moving it overland, and putting it back together.

Why? The documentary doesn't go into that, but the Lemming speculates that it was a political decision. If America's capital, Washington D.C., became uninhabitable: it might make sense to relocate the capital, taking along parts of the old one as a symbol of continuity.

A Lot Can Happen in 3,000 Years

Ramses II lived a bit upwards of 3,000 years ago. (3500 BC-2011 Timeline, Google) Quite a bit has happened since then. Persians took over Egypt about 23 centuries back, followed by Greeks. Egypt still had pharaohs, but they weren't - quite - like the old sort.

Then the Roman Empire got interested, and what was left of ancient Egypt was gone. Folks still lived there - but it was the place that had been the land of the pharaohs, not ancient Egypt.

The Roman Empire went out of business about 15 centuries ago, leading to a sharp drop in property values in places like Londinium. That crisis passed, and descendants of the folks living along the outskirts of Rome's domain are sending robot spaceships to explore the universe, making dog food commercials, and - here in central Minnesota - shoveling out from the last snowfall.

Life goes on.

Sort-of-related post:

• "Cat God Temple Found in Alexandria - The One in Egypt"
  (January 21, 2010)

Lemming Tracks: Egypt, Dealing With Criticism, and Getting a Grip

It's the Lemming's opinion that Egypt just hasn't been the same, since the Persians took over about 23½ centuries back. It's also the Lemming's opinion that President Hosni Mubarak hasn't been the worst possible leader, since he took over on October 14, 1981.

Still, Egypt's citizens could have done a lot better, in terms of leadership. In the Lemming's opinion.

(More about the last 50 centuries or so of Egyptian history - highly condensed - at "Egypt," CIA World Factbook (last updated February 1, 2011))

Criticizing Government Policy Isn't Necessarily Treason

It would be nice if a country could have an all-wise leader who never made mistakes, thoroughly understood what each citizen needed, and spent every waking moment striving to improve the lot of everyone in all the land.

That'd be nice.

It's not gonna happen. Not any time soon - in the Lemming's opinion, again.

President Mubarak seems to like being president. News and backgrounders suggest that he's arranged for elections at regular intervals. And made sure that the rules guarantee that nothing short of a miracle will let anybody but Mr. M. win.

So, he's been re-elected. A lot.

A country run along those lines might work - provided that whoever was in charge had the good sense to listen to complaints and do something about the ones that made sense.

President Mubarak doesn't seem to have been doing that.

In fact, his supporters - some of them - seem to be implying that disagreeing with the president is treason.

Big, big mistake, in both cases. In - what else? - the Lemming's opinion.

Egypt: Protests; the Establishment, and Disinformation

"Trolls Pounce on Facebook's Tahrir Square"
Spencer Ackerman, Danger Room, Wired (February 4, 2011)

"Cairo's Tahrir Square is a warzone, thanks to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's goon squad. But the crackdown isn't limited to physical spaces where the protest movement congregates. Ever since Mubarak restored Internet service on Wednesday, the most important dissident Facebook page has seen a curious flood of pro-regime Wall posts, sowing disinformation.

"Some of the new up-with-Mubarak commentary at We Are All Khalid Said is classic concern-trolling: people wringing their hands over how Egypt's dictator deserves better than calls for his downfall. Some is pure abuse, questioning the loyalties of the page's administrator. And some are blatant attempts to disrupt the protests by claiming upcoming rallies have been canceled.

"It's hard not to see the trolling as part of a larger effort by Mubarak's allies to win the propaganda battle surrounding Egypt's unrest. They're detaining and beating foreign journalists in order to control the information flow. On Thursday, it arrested online activists...."

Mr. Ackerman has a fairly well-defined attitude toward President Mubarak, and the anti-Mubarak protest. The Lemming tends - strongly - to agree with him.

The next bit isn't as off-topic as it seems. Remember: The Lemming thinks that human beings act pretty much like human beings, no matter what country they're in. For good or ill.

Kent State Isn't in Egypt

The Lemming's teens happened during the sixties. By the end of that period, the Indochina involvement, police action, Vietnam War - whatever it eventually gets called - was being disastrously micromanaged by Washington: and quite a few Americans were getting fed up.

Including those crazy college kids: like the Lemming. Eventually I'd be in a peace march - although I had my own reasons. Back in high school, I'd designed my own protest sign - as a sort of art class project. The original is lost, but this is a pretty close imitation:



What can I say? The Lemming never was particularly good at doing 'conventional.'

Kent State, May 4, 1970: Sad, Avoidable, Heavily Mythologized

There's a pretty good recap of what actually happened at Kent State University in May of 1970. The Lemming's hat is off to whoever dared put this page together, and post it on a university website:

• "The May 4 Shootings at Kent State University: The Search for Historical Accuracy"
  Jerry M. Lewis and Thomas R. Hensley
  Published in revised form by the Ohio Council for the Social Studies Review, Vol 34, Number 1 (Summer, 1998) pp. 9-21

Odds are what you read there isn't the version you've been given before. Folks who are convinced that the commies were behind the Kent State shootings, and those who are equally convinced that it was a plot by the military-industrial complex - won't be convinced.

The Lemming's father once said, 'never attribute to malice, what can be explained by stupidity.' He had a point.

Custer's Last Stand, Kent State Massacre, Trolls on Facebook: Not Much has Changed

Americans, in particular, may be surprised by Lewis and Hensley's account of what actually happened at Kent State. The versions that many Americans were fed - including one which found its way into textbooks used in America's government schools - is, to be polite, factually inaccurate:

" 'In May 1970, at Kent State University in Ohio, National Guardsmen confronted student antiwar protestors with a tear gas barrage. Soon afterward, with no provocation, soldiers opened fire into a group of fleeing students. Four young people were killed, shot in the back, including two women who had been walking to class.' "
(A People and a Nation: A History of the United States. Fourth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin (1994), cited by Lewis and Hensley - and alternatively accurate)

At least the text put Kent State U. in the right state.

That doesn't prove that 'those liberals always lie.'

Imaginative re-tellings of what happened at Kent State are, in the Lemming's opinion, another example that human beings tend to believe what they want to believe - and don't always let facts get in the way.

Like what really happened because of General George Armstrong Custer's enthusiastic and lethally flawed handling of tactics at the Little Bighorn. (New Perspectives on the West, PBS, "George Armstrong Custer") The Lemming remembers when "Custer's Last Stand" was taught in schools - with quite a few important details left out. Which isn't quite another topic.

The Lemming likes living in America - but this country is run by human beings, just like every other one on the planet. And where you've got human beings, you've got trouble. And, all too often, a certain diffidence when it comes to being truthful. Particularly when the facts are unpleasant.

Wrapping up the Kent State fiasco: The Lemming doesn't think it was right that four people were shot at Kent State. But the Lemming also thinks that teaching America's students a bowdlerized version that suits America's dominant culture isn't right, either. Little wonder that the Lemming's kids have been home schooled. Which is another topic. (see a Catholic Citizen in America, "Home Schooling: It May Not be What You Think" (May 20, 2010))

Back to Egypt, Mubarak, and fighting the powers that be in today's Egypt.

Reporters: How Not to Handle Them

CNN's Anderson Cooper attacked again in Egypt"
Bikya Masr (February 3, 2011)

"CNN's Anderson Cooper was again attacked in Egypt. According to a tweet by the American network's star journalist, he said that he is okay after plain clothes thugs attacked the vehicle he was riding in.

"'Situation on ground in #egypt very tense. Vehicle I was in attacked. My window smashed. All ok. #Jan25,' he wrote on Twitter.

"According to a CNN producer, Anderson Cooper was “hit in the head 10 times” by pro-government supporters on Wednesday.

"In central Cairo, the army continues to not attempt to stop the pro-Mubarak demonstrators from attacking the thousands of anti-government protesters, sparking one activists to lament, 'the army has failed us.'..."

The Lemming opines

It's the Lemming's opinion that some Egyptians really do support Mubarak's reign. It's a rare leader, the Lemming thinks, who doesn't manage to elicit loyalty from at least a few of the subjects.

On the other hand, the pro-Mubarak demonstrators seem to have shown up - very much not wearing uniforms - right about the same time that the Egyptian army apparently decided that shooting protesters wasn't winning them any friends. Or deciding to cease fire, at any rate.

Coincidences happen - but when they conveniently happen just when a deeply-entrenched monarch (or apparently-permanent president) needs them: The Lemming becomes dubious.

Death Toll, so Far, About 300: and Counting

"Is a Human Tragedy Unfolding in Egypt?"
Dr. Manny Alvarez, FoxNews.com (February 2, 2011)

"Much like every other American, I am watching the events unfolding in the Middle East with great concern. Egypt, as of late, has erupted into chaos after thousands of citizens have demanded change.

"Just recently, I had a conversation with a dear friend who is an Egyptian doctor with very close ties to the country and with family members living in Cairo. I spoke to him to hear his thoughts on the situation and to express my concern for his family members still in Egypt.

"According to the United Nations, as many as 300 people have died in the past week as citizens have led violent demonstrations against the 30-year reign of their president, Hosni Mubarak. Stock, bond and oil markets have been rocked by the unrest. Mubarak, for his part, has refused to step down until September, infuriating protesters even further...."

President Mubarak: Or, How Not to Run a Country

No way around it: What's happening in Egypt is a sad situation.

President Mubarak could, in the Lemming's opinion, have kept this debacle from happening - by listening to complaints since his reign started, back in 1981.

Instead of apparently letting - or having - his supporters assert that folks who don't agree with the president are traitors.

That didn't work for red-white-and-blue-blooded Americans back in the sixties and seventies: and the Lemming doesn't think it'll work in Egypt today.

Related posts, about:

• Traditional information gatekeepers and the Information Age
  • "Divisiveness, Cultural Chaos, and the Monkey's Paw"
    Another War-on-Terror Blog (January 30, 2011)
  • "Lemming Tracks: Egypt Government Shuts Down Internet: It Can't Happen Here?"
    (January 29, 2011)
  • " 'Search Neutrality:' Deciding What We're Allowed to Find?"
    (January 22, 2011)
  • "Tunisia: Goodbye Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Hello Information Age"
    (January 15, 2011)
  • "COICA: A Federal Official Deciding Who Gets to Stay Online"
    (November 19, 2010)
• Online communities and old-school leaders
  • "Google, Twitter Launch Workaround for Egypt's People"
    (January 31, 2011)
  • "Fretting About Twitter"
    (January 22, 2011)
  • "Tunisia: Goodbye Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Hello Information Age"
    (January 15, 2011)
  • "FCC, Internet, Rules, Technology, and Business"
    (June 21, 2010)
  • " 'Criticism is Terrorism:' Chavez and Twitter 'Terrorists'"(February 1, 2010)
• The Lemming and the Information Age
  • "Lemming Tracks: Erin Andrews, Policing the Internet, and Power to the People"
    (July 29, 2010)
  • "The Web Rewires Your Brain: Ain't That Great?"
    (July 2, 2010)
  • "Data-Driven Art: For an 'Overwhelmed' 'Hive Mind???' "
    (January 27, 2010)
  • "Tofu Turkeys, Genetically Altered Foods, and the Evil Eye"
    (November 14, 2009)
  • " 'You Will Forget' - The Doctor Will Fix You Now?"
    (April 13, 2009)
• The Lemming and technology in general:
  • "Gun Law Case: Stark Raving Mad"
    (December 2, 2010)
  • "Mirrors, Television, and MP3 Players"
    A Catholic Citizen in America (November 6, 2010)
  • "Segway Boss, Dr. Frankenstein, and Getting a Grip"
    (September 27, 2010)
  • "Well, That's Interesting: A Priest Blogs About an AP Story About an iPad Mass App"
    A Catholic Citizen in America (June 19, 2010)
  • "DC Gun Ban, Online Censorship, Individual Rights, and Power to the People"
    Another War-on-Terror Blog (June 27, 2008)
    Particularly
    • Computers and the Internet: Now Anybody can Publish and be Heard
    • Footnote ¹ on dangerous technologies

Google, Twitter Launch Workaround for Egypt's People

"Google launches Twitter workaround for Egypt"
Edition: U.S., Reuters (January 31, 2011)

"Google Inc launched a special service to allow people in Egypt to send Twitter messages by dialing a phone number and leaving a voicemail, as Internet access continues to be cut off in the country amid anti-government protests.

" 'Like many people we've been glued to the news unfolding in Egypt and thinking of what we could do to help people on the ground,' read a post on Google's official corporate blog on Monday.

"The service, which Google said was developed with engineers from Twitter, allows people to dial a telephone number and leave a voicemail. The voicemail is automatically translated into a message that is sent on Twitter using the identifying tag #egypt, Google said.

"Google said in the blog post, titled 'Some weekend work that will (hopefully) enable more Egyptians to be heard,' that no Internet connection is required to use the service. Google listed three phone numbers for people to call to use the service...."

Good for Google, in the Lemming's opinion. Although now the Lemming thinks it's possible that the Egyptian government will shut down phone service for its subjects, too. Daft and self-destructive as such an act would be. ('And if you don't stop, I'll shoot myself in the other foot!?')

This isn't Politics: It's Common Sense

This isn't, as the Lemming has been saying fairly often of late, a political blog. Still, it seems to the Lemming that Egypt's President Mubarak might have been able to avoid the mess his country's in - if he'd bothered to listen to what his subjects had to say. It's not like he's a tyro at the job - he's been Egypt's president since 1981.

As the Lemming wrote elsewhere elsewhere, criticism hurts. (Another War-on-Terror Blog (January 30, 2011)) But, in the Lemming's opinion, it's a good idea to listen anyway. Sometimes the criticism is just someone blowing off steam. Sometimes the other guy's right.

Related posts:

• "Divisiveness, Cultural Chaos, and the Monkey's Paw"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (January 30, 2011)
• "Lemming Tracks: Egypt Government Shuts Down Internet: It Can't Happen Here?"
  (January 29, 2011)
• " 'Search Neutrality:' Deciding What We're Allowed to Find?"
  (January 22, 2011)
• "Tunisia: Goodbye Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Hello Information Age"
  (January 15, 2011)
• "COICA: A Federal Official Deciding Who Gets to Stay Online"
  (November 19, 2010)

Three Dozen Centuries of Juggling

"Research in Juggling History"
Professor Arthur Lewbel (November 1995, revised March 2002)

"While some reference works on jugglers from the Vaudeville era to the present exist, to my knowledge no one has attempted a rigorous investigation into the history of juggling prior to Vaudeville. This article summarizes material I have found during some years of casual research in this area, and some of my own analyses and conclusions. This is not intended as a definitive study, but will I hope provide a useful starting point for anyone interested in pursuing thorough research.

"This paper ends with a bibliography of articles and books that specifically discuss medieval or earlier juggling. Though short, compiling this bibliography proved extremely difficult. Using computer searches for finding juggling publications is almost impossible, because the very vast majority of published material containing the word juggle does so only as a metaphor for coping with many problems at once, instead of being literally about juggling. Most of the few references that really do concern juggling then turn out to be either fiction or instructional materials. Almost all of the references I ultimately did find were in places that are too obscure to be found by computer searches.

"A wealth of information can be found on topics related to juggling history. Hundreds of books and articles can be found concerning jesters, jongleurs, fools, clowns, magic, etc. These generally will mention juggling only in passing, if at all. Some histories of ball play and ball games, while not directly about juggling, may be useful for descriptions of balls that jugglers might have used. ..."

As you see, this isn't the lightest reading you'll find on the Web. On the other hand, it's a pretty good resource for someone who's interested in learning who was juggling what and when.

The professor traces juggling back quite a long ways - over three dozen centuries to ancient Egypt. The article's an overview, touching on juggling in places including China and the Americas.

Then, if you want to dig deeper into the subject, there's that bibliography at the end of the page.

Anubis at Denver Airport: 'Have a Nice Flight'

"'God Of Dead' Statue Joins 'Bluecifer' At DIA"
KMGH Denver (June 3, 2010)

"As if travelers weren't already freaked out by a 32-foot tall blue stallion with fiery eyes, now a towering statue of the Egyptian god of the dead is welcoming fliers at Denver International Airport.

"Workers erected a 26-foot tall, seven-ton replica of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the dead, on Wednesday. The blue and gold statue gazes into the main terminal to promote the King Tut exhibit that opens June 26 at the Denver Art Museum.

"Anubis stands not far from the rearing blue 'Mustang,' an often derided artwork branded 'Bluecifer,' "'Satan's Steed' and 'Blue Devil Horse' by critics...."

As I recall, folks were appalled at an eyesore designed by some engineer for the Paris Exposition of 1889. Today, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel's tower may be the best-known - and loved - emblem of Paris.

Back to Anubis.

"...Now the Internet is abuzz with talk about Anubis, who, as the ancient "Lord of the Underworld" and the "god of mummification," ushered the dead on their final journey.

" 'Why would they place a statue of a god associated with death outside of an airport? Especially one I'm going to in two months?' a puzzled traveler wondered on tvtropes.org...."

It makes sense, sort of. There's a big King Tut exhibition coming to Denver, and that statue of Anubis is part of the show's publicity.

I have to wonder, though: with all the Egyptian pantheon to choose from, why Anubis? God of the underworld? And mummification?

Well, it could have been worse. The powers that be in Denver could have opted for a statue of Apep/Apepi/whatever or Set/Seth/Sutekh and so on.

Cat God Temple Found in Alexandria - The One in Egypt

"Temple to cat god found in Egypt"
BBC (January 19, 2010)

"Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a 2,000-year-old temple in Alexandria dedicated to a cat goddess.

"The temple is the first trace of the royal quarters of the Ptolemaic dynasty to be revealed in Alexandria.

"The find confirms the Greek dynasty of Egyptians continued the worship of ancient animal deities.

"Many more ruins of the ancient capital of Hellenistic Egypt lie preserved under the modern city, yet to be unearthed, archaeologists say.

"The temple, discovered in the Kom el-Dekkah neighbourhood of the city, is believed to belong to Queen Berenike II, wife of Ptolemy III who ruled Egypt in the third century BC, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities has said...."

Third century BC: That'd be about 23 centuries ago. That's a long: but Egypt had been around for about 2,700 years when Alexander came through, founded the city that still bears his name, and set up Greek Pharaohs who lasted until Rome took over management from Cleopatra.

There's Ancient, and There's Ancient

Maybe this'll put in perspective. Londinium is about 1,960 years old.

There was a sort of property value crisis after the fifth century, when Rome pulled out. About two centuries after that, the place got going again under the name of Lundenwic: A bit west of the original site.

These days, we're calling it London: and, on the whole, the city has been doing rather well. (more, at "London History," "Anglo-Saxon London")

Another three and a half centuries, give or take, and Londimium will be as old as Alexandria is now. Another three thousand years, and it'll be as old as Ancient Egypt would be, if it was still a going concern.

Back to Bast

That Bast temple is old, and an important archaeological find. But it's from the time when Ancient Egypt was on its last legs - with only about three centuries to go before it became another Roman province.

The BBC article gives a pretty good overview of 3,000 years of Egyptian civilization and culture, and how it related to the rest of the ancient world.

It got me to wondering: what will, say, Los Angeles look like in another couple millennia? Which is another topic.

Swine Flu / Influenza 2009 H1N1 - Reason for Concern, Not Worry

Influenza 2009 H1N1 / swine flu is literally front-page news for the World Health Organization (WHO).

As of 06:00 UTC / GMT, 11 countries have officially-confirmed cases of influenza 2009 H1N1.

Country	# of known cases
Austria	1
Canada	34
Germany	3
Israel	2
Mexico	156
Netherlands	1
New Zealand	3
Spain	13
Switzerland	1
United Kingdom	8
United States	109

(source: WHO)

Also from WHO: "...There is also no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness...."

I'm glad WHO is trying to make that clear. I'm concerned that more countries will follow Egypt's lead, killing pigs with no perceivable reason.

List of posts relating to Swine flu 2009; and list of background resources:

• "Swine Flu 2009"
  • "Swine flu 2009 posts"
  • "Background and more information"
  • "WHO Alert Phases"
  • " 'Public Health Emergency' - What's That Mean? "

In the news:

• " Confirmed number of flu cases jumps to 331"
  CNN (May 1, 2009)

China, Egypt, Iran Lead World in Blogger Arrests

Have you ever thought that there should be a law against criticizing your favorite ideas or people? Places like Canada, America, and England now have 'hate speech' laws that, rightly or wrongly, make it illegal to express unsanctioned ideas.

The leadership in some countries goes a few steps further, making headlines like this possible:

"Blogger arrests hit record high"
BBC (June 16, 2008)

"More bloggers than ever face arrest for exposing human rights abuses or criticising governments, says a report.

"Since 2003, 64 people have been arrested for publishing their views on a blog, says the University of Washington annual report.

"In 2007 three times as many people were arrested for blogging about political issues than in 2006, it revealed.

"More than half of all the arrests since 2003 have been made in China, Egypt and Iran, said the report."

Having lived and been educated in America, I realize that "hate speech" is one thing, and the right to criticize the government is another. And, that "human rights abuses" can be a very serious thing indeed.

So, two points:

1. If you're one of the bloggers who risk genuinely harsh treatment from your government, if you express the 'wrong' ideas, my hat's off to you
2. If you live in a country with fewer restrictions, be careful what you wish for: that 'protective' restriction on expression might not be as good an idea as it seems