Posted by butalidnl on 11 February 2011
Mubarak has stepped down! Egypt is Free! The Egyptian people have succeeded in bringing down Mubarak, and have conquered their fear. They now need to build a new Egypt.
During this revolution, I’ve been following a Tweeter in Egypt named Nadia El-Awady. Nadia is an Egyptian science journalist. Her tweets have given me an insight into that revolution which is much deeper (and even funnier) than what the news media can give.
To read the full post in Carlo’s Think Pieces: Reflections of a Filipino in the Netherlands http://butalidnl.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/the-egyptian-revolution-from-nadias-eyes/
I was deeply touched by this post. Thank you, whoever you are.
Inner Workings of My Mind 
Great Coverage – Follow @VoicePalestine on Twitter for the latest on Palestine
Nadia E wrote: “I think we’re so unused to be involved in politics we got sick of it really quick. Must be something needs getting used to”
You are used to the Dictator’s handbook, now you need to acquaint yourself with the Western Leader’s playbook. First lesson – metaphorically, the true degree of separation which needs to exist between sports and politics:
RMR: Best Taiwanese Parliament Fights of All Time
Ken Dryden, then Scott Brison during the Liberal Leadership race
Ken Dryden song
Spoof of attack ad against Stephane Dion using Ken Dryden’s former occupation
Second lesson – strategies used before will be tried again:
Me: Sandmonkey says that the Americans will help Egyptian politican entities with money. What Americans are known for are their attack ads. Didn’t Mohammed ElBaradei work outside of the country for a while? So did Iggy (Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff) – a point that the Stephen HarperTories point out in their American-Style attack ads which end with the refrain “he didn’t come back for you”. Successful strategies get reused.
AA: You are right! The attack used against Baradei is similar. Because he worked abroad. he doesn’t no the people’s need. They also have similar accusation that he came back only for the opportunity to be a president. They also claim that his report assisted Bush to justify the invasion of Iraq, which is not true. On the contrary, to the dismay of US, he testified in UN that no nuclear weapons were found. Another damaging tactic was publishing a made-up photo with wine glasses in front of him. So the accusation then, he does not observe Islam. On the other hand the campaign against Ikhwan, they are strict Muslims, therefor, terrorists! Unfortunately many Egyptians believe these smear campaigns and they do not have the time to look for facts.
Third Lesson – the average person doesn’t like it when they find out that someone outside of the country is calling the shots – or that the same words come out of different mouths:
Stephen Harper (Canada) and John Howard (Australia) giving largely identical speeches days apart:
Fourth Lesson – politicians knows how to ding their opponents while appearing to be above doing so. Think of it as being like a football player who looks like he/she is playing a clean game but isn’t. For example, Obama is good at pointing out the flaws of his opponents without appearing to do so.