What’s interesting in the news today?
Open thread, as always. 🙂
First up, more on the targeting of Christians in Egypt, and how the Obama admin should deal with it.
From NationalReview “Even the military rule is better than Muslim Brotherhood rule because the Muslim Brotherhood is against humanity itself,” says Thabet. That the most secular, liberal-minded Egyptians prefer a military dictatorship to the Muslim Brotherhood is telling, though it must be added that they hope it is temporary.
The military has been slow to respond to civilians’ desperate pleas for help. Even before this week’s violence, the Egyptian government was unable — or, perhaps more accurate, unwilling — to take basic steps to protect Egypt’s Christians or their churches, which are a particular target of the Muslim Brotherhood’s attacks. Still, Copts have no question which is the lesser of two evils.
They also have a strong sense of betrayal by the West and America. Having struck a blow for freedom at considerable personal cost and in the face of significant odds, the millions of Egyptians who took part in the June 30 Revolution are confounded by the Western reaction. “I don’t know why the American media did this. It is terrible,” said Thabet. One liberal American missionary who has lived in Egypt for several decades was irate in an e-mail message. “Christians here are getting hit hard. . . . I am thoroughly [upset] at the hypocrisy of the EU and the U.S. What whores we have running the world. I can only say worse things about western news coverage in general.”
And more from NR here as well.
From NationalReview “Not One More Plane, Not One More Tank, Not One More Dollar, Until Egypt’s Christians are Protected”
“As churches burn, as nuns are paraded through the streets by the Muslim Brotherhood, and as Christians across Egypt fear for their lives in the face of the jihadist onslaught, American policy can and should get very simple, very fast: Not one scintilla of aid until the Egyptian military demonstrates — by deeds, not just words — that it is committed to stopping this wave of persecution in its tracks, protecting the most basic human rights of its Christian citizens, and utterly defeating the Muslim Brotherhood. The crisis could escalate quickly to Balkan- or Syrian-level brutality and religious cleansing, but the Egyptian military — well-stocked with equipment we purchased, made, and keep in good repair — is capable of ending the onslaught against Christians.”
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Further proof that the Obama admin is using former ACORN employees to help with ObamaCare.
From TheDailyMail “A liberal organization tapped Monday to manage a new federal government-sponsored video contest aimed at encouraging young Americans to embrace Obamacare is run by ACORN’s former top lobbyist, MailOnline can reveal.”
“Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, who was among the most vocal Republicans during the 2010 battle over ACORN’s federal funding, told MailOnline that the White House is risking a public backlash with its choice of partnerships.
‘The fact that the Obama administration is putting a senior staffer of the now defunct and notoriously corrupt ACORN in charge of giving away cash to bribe young Americans into accepting Obamacare is cause for grave concern,’ Gosar said.”
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Let me guess… “Unexpectedly” 🙄
From HotAir “How did Barack Obama’s Magical Economy Tour do in convincing Americans to stay the course on Obamanomics? Not only did it fail to impress voters, it didn’t do much for employers, either. According to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, joblessness rose in 28 states while only falling in eight — the worst showing since January:
Unemployment rates rose in more than half of U.S. states in July and fewer states added jobs, echoing national data that show the job market may have lost some momentum.
The Labor Department says unemployment rates increased in 28 states. They were unchanged in 14 and fell in eight states — the fewest to show a decline since January.
Hiring increased in 32 states in July compared with June, the fewest in three months. Seventeen states reported job losses. California, Georgia and Florida reported the largest job gains, while New Jersey and Nevada lost the most.”
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Wandering Views 
The cash available for the ACA ads aimed at twentysomethings is a grand total of $30, 000. Far cheaper than hiring an ad agency.
Egypt — Obama is using aid as a leverage on the Egyptian military. He’s threaten to cut it if the body count doesn’t slow down and stability doesn’t return. However, the billions in aid to Egypt go mostly to the military who in turn must purchase US made military goods with it hence a suspension of aid will cost US jobs. The US must also consider in what direction Egypt will go if aid is cut — will Egypt accept aid from the Arabian peninsula and change their foreign policy as a result?
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From what I’ve read, Saudi Arabia is offering to make up for any lost US aid. They’re more worried about security than diplomacy. If only our govt. did too. Then maybe we wouldn’t arm and finance our enemies, like the MB and Syrian rebels.
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/20/20108694-with-big-promise-of-aid-saudi-arabia-puts-security-before-diplomacy?lite
“Saudi Arabia’s pledge to replace U.S. aid to Egypt that could be cut in the wake of the military’s bloody crackdown makes clear the American ally’s priority in the Middle East: to keep deposed President Mohammed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood at bay and its own kingdom secure – even at the risk of stepping on American toes.
“I confirm to everyone, the Saudi Kingdom leaders, government and nation has stood and will forever stand with Egypt and the Arab community will not allow ever to have their fate manipulated or their security and stability tampered with,” an official Saudi news agency quoted Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal as saying. “As for those who announced that they will stop their support to Egypt or threatened to stop it, for the Arab and Muslim world is rich with its people and capabilities and will not hesitate to offer a helping hand to Egypt.”
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Jesse Jackson’s taking some heat today on twitter under the hashtag #frownedupon:
http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/21/jesse-jackson-frowns-upon-chris-lanes-murder/
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The Saudi pronouncement is not surprising. The Muslim Brotherhood is a populist movement and is a threat to the autocratic regimes of the Arabian peninsula.
A little background to understand the Christian dilemma. The original nationalist movements in the Middle East were against European colonizers and the Ottoman Empire (Turks). Thus they were secular pan-Arab movements that later adopted socialist economics. Christian Arabs particularly in Syria and Iraq but also elsewhere played a huge role in these movements and participated in the governments established after decolonization. As these movements devolved into dictatorships, tribalism and autocracy, a new populist movement began and took over from the now discredited pan Arab socialism and this movement is Islamist in character. The Christian association with the previous regimes (again esp in Iraq and Syria but also Egypt) and the Islamic nature of the new populism is making life very difficult for Christians. Islamic groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas have built up parallel states providing services the official state does not (eg health care to the poor). When the parallel state takes over, Christians then are automatically excluded and persecuted.
An interesting side note to the pan Arab Christian socialist — for the most part their movements receiving very little support from the West. Because of their economic policy, they were shunned. And in the most obvious cause of Arab nationalism the Palestinians the US supported the other side despite the secular nature of the PLO and the Christian affiliation of many of its leaders (including Aarfat’s widow). The West missed the boat here.
Also an interesting globe and mail article today, discuss two competing theories of Egypt – the deep state vs the Brotherhoodization. The Muslilm Brotherhood claims there is a “deep” state within Egypt of military generals, judiciary, police, and businesses that was preventing them from ruling. Hence, the need for quick constitutional powers and Morsi’s near dictatorial turn. The military in turn claims that the MB was attempting to completing change the civil service and military in a process they called Brotherhoodization … ie the parallel state takes over the official state. Due to this process, the military now has the support of liberal secularist and Christians. Personally I think both is true there is a deep state and there is Brotherhoodization. The MB demonstrates a lack of patience and political acumen in trying to change the nature of the state so quickly.
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More on the complexity of the Egyptian mess:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/getreligion/2013/08/latimes-sees-the-layers-of-threats-against-copts-in-egypt/
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And a call to action:
http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/23148
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More on the media:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-20/how-democrats-may-lose-their-media-edge.html
” … Note that I’m not saying that my liberal colleagues in the media deliberately distort what they report — while I’m sure that happens, because no profession is 100 percent angels, I don’t think it happens very often. Rather, it’s a matter of worldview. …
“What this summary (from “Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind,” by Tim Groseclose of UCLA) suggests is that a large number of people, from political professionals to academics who have studied the matter, think that the media’s ideological composition has a substantial effect on elections.
“As I say, a more ideological media will probably also be a more conservative media, because there are a lot more conservatives in the donor class, and in the audience, than there are in the media. Which means that this edge will probably slip. …”
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