Middle East Thread of Despair: More Broken Than Syria

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Middle East Thread of Despair: More Broken Than Syria

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

Apology posted:

Seems like all these Middle East/Northern African dictators use the same playbook.

Although I have to say, attacking medical personnel seems to be a new one. Bahrain is innovative. They're going to have to add a page to the playbook now I guess.

It's pretty clear they are all getting scared at just how quickly a population can rally together with the internet and modern technology in it's hand. They want to crush this as fast as they possibly can but I think the revolutions in Egypt and whatnot have shown that it can be done.

I dunno if any of them will be able to stop it just by killing and beating up some people at this point.

# ¿ Feb 18, 2011 00:46

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 15:40

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

Blurry Gray Thing posted:

I don't want to sound like one of those technophile assholes - but it really is because of the spread of technology. The dictators are using old methods that just don't work with all these new forms communication around. All of a sudden, people are talking to each-other. They find out that a lot of people feel the same way they do. They find out about other places where people in a similar situation did something about it. They can plan a protest - and be pretty drat sure that, when they show up, there will be far too many people there to simply arrest.

A dictator counts on ignorance. People let themselves be oppressed only when they think there's nothing they can do about it.

It's more then just organizing quickly. If everyone has technology capable of recording videos and pictures of protests then it's impossible for the government to turn around and go "HEY GUYS THEY WERE JUST SOME VIOLENT TERRORISTS GO BACK TO YOUR BUSINESS!"

That is the true power of the technological changes. You can't fool people and force them with violence as easily as before now. These regimes are treating these protests like back in the old days and all it's leading to is it blowing up in their face.

When everyone is able to send a quick tweet out saying whats going on and giving each other support it's a lot harder to break a group like that.

# ¿ Feb 18, 2011 03:45

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

ChubbyEmoBabe posted:

They're just...reacting. It's what people do. Picture guy may have been a reporter and their job is to report not to triage.

A picture will do infinitely more good for the people not shot in the head.

Putting your hand on a bullet wound to the head isn't going to do much for the guy but at least the pictures and videos will be proof of what is going on to everyone else. The greater good and all that.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2011 01:13

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

Mad Doctor Cthulhu posted:

Bizarrely enough, those who are the most unlikely to see it are the same ones who boast of 'revolution' simply because the president isn't of their exclusive choosing. But regardless, a free Internet benefits everybody. Especially in cases like this where several regimes attempt to deny access and still fall.

Really at the end of the day all of America's boasting of "freedom" and "wanting to spread democracy" is just the same goal as every other nation on the planet. America's only looking out for itself and it's own interests. The leaders want to stay in charge and have no problems doing whatever they can to keep it that way. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just fooling themselves into sugar coating the world.

The problem is just that some people are really happier just going along with whatever someone says as long as it lets them keep whatever lifestyle they are accustomed to. Hell of a lot easier to ignore something then do something about it.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2011 07:18

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

genesplicer posted:

I wonder what he would feel, if he knew what his act was going to give rise to. So much is changing because of him, but so many are being killed or wounded.

I know it was not simply his act that sparked all of this, any more than Princip's assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the only cause of World War I, but I feel safe in saying that historians will look back at his act and say "This was the tipping point."

Wait isn't that the definition of sparking something? Like he was literally the spark that lit the already gas soaked nation to create flames of rebellion?

# ¿ Feb 19, 2011 09:05

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

He totally was both metaphorically and literally the spark that light the fire of revolution.

quadratic posted:

Add Djibouti to the list. (AJE)

quote:
Thousands of demonstrators have rallied in the East African nation of Djibouti to demand that president Ismail Omar Guelleh resign, the latest in a series of demonstrations spurred on by political protests across Africa and the Middle East.

Amid a tight police deployment, the demonstrators gathered at a stadium on Friday with the intention of staying there until their demands were met.

But the demonstration escalated into clashes after dusk, as authorities used batons and tear gas against stone-throwing protesters.

Guelleh has served two terms and faces an election in April, but critics are concerned by changes he made to the constitution last year that scrapped a two-term limit.

Officials from the Union for Democratic Change, an umbrella group of three opposition parties, gave speeches at Friday's demonstration calling for Guelleh to step down.

The group's leader, Ismael Guedi Hared, told the AFP news agency before the demonstration that Guelleh should leave power and called for a sustained protest movement.

"For the moment, our goal is to remove Ismael Omar Guelleh from power," he said.

All this stuff is really inspiring to see and hear about. Maybe the horrible world we live in isn't so horrible after all...

It's just a shame there isn't a way to help everyone fight for what they want with out mass slaughter.. There isn't any way a nation will step in to help and with out that the only support that can be given is after the revolution is over. It's just awful though that all the nations with the ability to actually do something care more about maintaining their loving image with the people murdering protesters in the street then actually stepping up doing whats right.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2011 09:22

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

Patter Song posted:

EDIT: is he SERIOUSLY claiming that the African mercenaries are in the protestors employ?

Don't you all understand the protesters hired African mercenaries to shoot them just to discredit the government!

# ¿ Feb 21, 2011 00:43

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

Sivias posted:

This is such a balancing act though. If we don't have UN approval, we'd effectively be "going rogue" Even if the global community approves of it, politically it could have astronomical impacts.

The most hosed up thing is that this is even an issue. You have a government carpet bombing its own city and shoot anyone they see but that still doesnt matter in the international community.

Makes you wonder just how bad it would have to be for them just act with out deliberation.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2011 20:41

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

Ace Oliveira posted:

You know, it just dawned on me, but we don't know what's exactly happening in Tripoli right now. There's next to none information coming out of the country right now. We know nothing about the situation in Tripoli, except that the air force are pulling an Operation Rolling Thunder on anybody alive in there, while mercenaries kill any survivors. But from all we know, the army could be fighting alongside the protesters, or they could be helping the mercenaries. The protesters could be fighting back, or getting completely wasted by the mercenaries. We just don't know. All we can do is speculate.

Im pretty sure that bombing the city is not the airforce fighting along side protesters. From the reporys by the defected fighter pilots its pretty much clear that they are just bombing any large civilian group they see.

There isnt any other way to see the situation.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2011 21:05

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

Ace Oliveira posted:

I...didn't say that?

Nah im just saying there isnt much to speculate in this.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2011 21:12

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

SauceNinja posted:

When I saw this

I immediately thought about this.

http://static.manolith.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/starmax219799-rourke-8010509dpaad-mickey-rourke-1.jpg

Dude he makes Mickey Rourke look like Fabio.. There is nothing good going on with Gaddafi's face.

# ¿ Feb 22, 2011 05:02

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

Suntory BOSS posted:

It just occurred to me that these protests would certainly have taken down Saddam Hussein by now, had the US not invaded.

It makes the loss of trillions of dollars and several hundred lives that much more appalling, knowing that with a little historical foresight we could have let the Iraqi people pursue their own freedom (likely with far less bloodshed and probably a more stable, less corrupt end result).

Hmm yes I can see how you might say that but 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11
9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11
9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11
9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11 9-11...
terroristsalquedawmd9-11?

In all honesty I don't think anyone expected these to be as massive as they ended up being.

# ¿ Feb 22, 2011 06:41

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

Also lets be honest Iraq has never been about or ever will be about freedom for the Iraqi people.

# ¿ Feb 22, 2011 06:45

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

Jut posted:

Osama's Bin Lacin people's coffee with revolution drugs! (hopefully Alex Jones hasn't got word of this yet, he'll be all over it like a rash)

Man that speech was so insane I think even Glen Beck would take a step back and be all Whaaa?

# ¿ Feb 25, 2011 10:27

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

Paddyo posted:

The Assyrians, Babylonians, Hittites, Sumerians, etc. would like a word...

Pssh more like Suckmerians, Buttbylonians, Shittites, and uhh well Assyrians! Doesnt count if you aren't around to say anything.

Nations will just always believe they are the one special case that will never ever fail ever because people are dumb and like to believe what makes them feel good. Usually calling other people on their failures and insulting them.

Just look at Ghadaffi and his whole "Hey everything is fine dont mind any of that hey hey look at my shiny umbrella."

# ¿ Feb 28, 2011 23:16

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 15:40

randombattle: Oct 16, 2008; This hand of mine shines and roars! It's bright cry tells me to grasp victory!

DevNull posted:

gently caress the politics of it. The rebels on the ground are getting some help. They are happy.

Seriously I hope Obama or someone just goes gently caress you guys and your political horseshit. Not letting unarmed people be blown to pieces by AA guns is a good thing and that should be what matters.

# ¿ Mar 21, 2011 21:26

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Middle East Thread of Despair: More Broken Than Syria