Mid-Week Post

Quickly now....


Obama's favourite dictator Morsi is ousted:

After one year in power, Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi – the country's first freely elected president – has been ousted from his position by the nation's armed forces, led by General Abdul Fattahal-Sisi.

It's the second Egyptian revolution in two years, coming just one calendar year after Morsi was elected with 51.7 per cent of the vote and replaced the disposed Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in 2011.
The last revolution effectively began with protests in January of 2011, and fully culminated with Morsi's election in June, 2012.

Crowds and protestors have been gathering in Tahrir Square for four days, the same spot where Sisi announced Morsi's removal just hours after the deadline for his military's ultimatum went unanswered on Wednesday.

"We will build an Egyptian society that is strong and stable that will not exclude any one of its sons," he said, according to The Guardian . He added that Morsi had "failed to meet the demands of the Egyptian people".

Sisi announced – via a televised statement in Tahrir Sqaure – that the constitution had been suspended and that presidential and parliamentary election would follow. A transitional cabinet and interim president will also be named and nominated.

Related: popular press just notices Egypt's "rape mobs":

Human Rights Watch says at least 91 women have been raped over the past four days in Cairo's Tahrir Square, a central site of recent mass protests that have shaken the country's political leadership.

The New York-based rights group reported on its website Wednesday that the attacks were perpetrated by “mobs” in the square, and called on Egyptian authorities to address what it called a “climate of impunity” in the Middle East country when it comes to cases of sexual violence.

The string of alleged attacks “highlight the failure of the government and all political parties to face up to the violence that women in Egypt experience on a daily basis in public spaces,” Joe Stork, the group's Middle East director, said in a statement.

I think what they meant to say was that the emotionally backward Islamic culture holds women back.


Don't forget to mention Islam:

Nuttall and his co-accused, girlfriend Amanda Korody, were arrested on Monday and later described by RCMP investigators as "self-radicalized" extremists who were inspired by al Qaeda to try to inflict massive casualties in Victoria, B.C.

As Canada comes to grips with its latest alleged close brush with terrorism – at the hands of Canadian-born suspects – the question of "who" comes top of mind.

Who are these suspects and what could have motivated them to plan such a thing?

Nuttall and Korody were both residents of Surrey, B.C., where they shared a basement apartment. Landlord Shanti Thaman told the Vancouver Sun they were recovering drug addicts who appeared to be living off of social assistance.

According to Thaman, the pair has recently converted to Islam and could be heard listening to radical Islamist tapes in their apartment.

Does "radicalisation" only matter when the suspects are white-bread?


Suddenly, Obamacare doesn't look so good anymore:

Thanks to President Obama’s politically motivated decision to delay the implementation of Obamacare for employers until after the 2014 elections, many employees are finding themselves on the hook for their own insurance. ““We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively,” said Mark Mazur, Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy. “We recognize that the vast majority of businesses that will need to do this reporting already provide health insurance to their workers, and we want to make sure it is easy for others to do so.” 



But that won’t stop the Obama administration from implementing penalties for individuals who do not have health insurance, allowing Obama the best of both worlds: blaming corporations for not covering health insurance, and drawing additional donations from those corporations for 2014 thanks to this little kickback.

North Koreans may flee to China but still prefer to go to South Korea:

North Korea had long been the main foreign investment and trade option for ethnic Koreans in China. But when China and South Korea established diplomatic ties in 1992, that gave them an alternative.

Annual trade between North Korea and China is $6 billion. By contrast, South Korean and Chinese trade was worth $215 billion last year, according to South Korean data.

John Paul II's case for sainthood has been made:

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has approved a 2nd miracle attributed to the influence of Blessed John Paul II, according to multiple reports in the Italian news media. 

The Congregation also reportedly approved a 2nd miracle attributed to the influence of Blessed John XXIII. 

If the reports are accurate, and Pope Francis adds his approval, both former Pontiffs could be canonized before the end of this year.