Muslim brotherhood candidate wins in Egypt

[Jaboney]

Jaboney, you know exactly what I mean.
[...]
Put forward a decent argument or go back to the kids table.

I know what you wrote.
I know what I wrote.
Be a good fellow and write sensibly; save the straw men for the fields.

The copts were attacked by the Muslims who are the majority in Egypt. Not exactly moderate.

You realize you're effectively adopting the definition offered by the most radical Islamists?
Egyptian = Muslim = radical.
Ridiculous.

[bigduke6]

Which party won the Egyptian elections pray tell?

[Jaboney]

In the first round of voting, 30% of Egyptian voters cast a ballot for the Brotherhood.

The run off round of voting was between an old regime thug and a member of the Brotherhood.
1. Not a great pair of options.
2. The vote was something like 48.5% to 51.5%.

Hardly a monolithic block.

By your logic, all Canadians are rednecks because the Conservative Party won a plurality in the last election; all Americans are pinko crypto-Muslims because Obama won a majority... and eight years ago, all Americans were ignorant warmongering torturers because Bush won.

Silly.

[bigduke6]

Not silly at all. The election result represents the will of the majority of the population. This cannot be argued at all.

Now go and do some studying about the Freedom and Justice Party, and the Brotherhood.

The majority of Canadians who voted support the policies of the party in power. If a policy of the Canadian Conservative party, is that we are all rednecks, then I would say the majority of Canadians support this position. I do however, doubt this was one of their policies?

The same for the Americans or any other country for that matter. This is logical.

[Jaboney]

Not silly at all. The election result represents the will of the majority of the population. This cannot be argued at all.

Wrong again. A majority of voters chose Option A or Option B. That is not an explicit endorsement of policy: it's a choice between set alternatives.

What would you choose: torturous military dictatorship, or untried religious party? Are you consenting to be defined by that choice?
The world's more complex than your two-tone paint-by-numbers schema acknowledges.

[bigduke6]

Not silly at all. The election result represents the will of the majority of the population. This cannot be argued at all.

Wrong again. A majority of voters chose Option A or Option B. That is not an explicit endorsement of policy: it's a choice between set alternatives.

What would you choose: torturous military dictatorship, or untried religious party? Are you consenting to be defined by that choice?
The world's more complex than your two-tone paint-by-numbers schema acknowledges.

I believe there were sixteen parties in the 2012 parliamentary election. That's nearly a whole alphabet.
Islamist parties won 17 500 000 votes out of 27 000 000.

Also 23 candidates officially registered for the Presidential elections. That's nearly the whole alphabet.

After some had been prohibited from standing, 13 were left. That's A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L, and M.

[Jaboney]

I believe there were sixteen parties in the 2012 parliamentary election. That's nearly a whole alphabet.
Islamist parties won 17 500 000 votes out of 27 000 000.

Also 23 candidates officially registered for the Presidential elections. That's the whole alphabet + 1.

After some had been prohibited from standing, 13 were left. That's A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L, and M.

Soooo... What you're saying is there are a wide variety of groups struggling for political power, each with its own embryonic programs and policies. The two that made it through to the final round of voting were the representative of the old regime and army, and the representative of an organization that's been around for 80 years. All the new, poorly organized parties... lost. That's hardly surprising. It's a function of organization and voter recognition, not a declaration of ideological adherence.

So long as the Brotherhood and military distrust each other, there's room for democracy to gradually set down roots and creep up the middle.

[bigduke6]

Thank you for clarifying my point.

At least you are big enough to admit that there were not only 2 options as you insinuated in your earlier post.
I applaud you.

The fact that only two made it through is not relevant. The options were definitely there, covering the entire political spectrum.

I still suggest you do some reading on the Brotherhood. There is no confusion what their aims are.

[Winston Smith]

The electoral choices facing moderate Americans this fall aren't any better. Between the Neocon Lite policies of Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obomber and the heavy duty policies of Neocon poster boy Mitt Bomney bombs will fall, civilians will die, blood will flow. Nations will be attacked without provocation and endless religious war fueled by paranoia and hallucinations of weapons of armageddon will continue. The only possible endgame of the Neocon world view otherwise intelligent, educated westerners have signed up for is an endless downward spiral towards civilizational suicide. Have a nice trip, pilgrims, but stop acting so surprised each time you reap your increasingly bitter harvest because it's only going to get worse.

[ChewDawg]

Will be interesting to see how this violence further impacts tourism on the Sinai in Sharm El Sheikh and Dahab and if the military steps in. If the Muslim Brotherhood doesn't curtail this violence, I don't see the army just sitting back. This area is a major revenue earner for the government/army's coffers with resort cities, St. Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai etc., major tourism $ on Red Sea diving etc.

Masked gunmen killed 16 Egyptian guards Sunday at a security checkpoint along the border with Gaza and Israel, attacking with automatic rifles and weapons mounted on their vehicles, a security official said.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/wor ... le4464101/