Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (70705)	1/31/2011 12:43:09 PM
From: Cogito Ergo Sum	Respond to of 218579

If BO would have been smarter Been about as smart as every other US prez of my adult life.. :o) IMO..

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (70705)	1/31/2011 1:21:23 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 218579

There´s more: Muammar al-Gaddafi de facto leader of Libya since a coup in 1969

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (70705)	1/31/2011 1:22:14 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 218579

and this one: Eduardo dos Santos, President of Angola, having served in that position since 1979

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (70705)	1/31/2011 1:23:17 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 218579

and also, Mugabe: President of Zimbabwe. head of government since 1980. This is only the begining! time will come for those ones too!

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (70705)	2/1/2011 12:53:39 AM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 218579

jam seems quite the one-stop service point for team usa economy, from cradle to grave, and from rich to poor, always jam, forever jump, till death then part just in in-tray Interesting observations Some 37m on food stamps....about 40% increase last 2 yrs. About 40% of people receiving food stamps still working. WMT transaction flow from food stamps increasing...80% of foodstamps used at WMT, COSTCOs, etc... realecontv.com

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (70705)	2/1/2011 6:24:53 PM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 218579

just in in-tray, per stratfor Dispatch: The Muslim Brotherhood's Strategies in Egypt and Jordan February 1, 2011 \| 2108 GMT Click on image below to watch video: Analyst Reva Bhalla examines the different political strategies pursued by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Jordan. Editor’s Note:Transcripts are generated using speech-recognition technology. Therefore, STRATFOR cannot guarantee their complete accuracy. Today, Jordanian King Abdullah II decided to dissolve the government, and asked for a new Cabinet to be formed. Now obviously the timing of the events in Jordan are critical, as the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan is watching events play out in Egypt. This isn’t necessarily a sign of a domino effect taking place in the region and in fact there are very important factors to keep in mind when comparing the situation in Egypt versus Jordan. Jordan deals with its opposition very differently than the Egyptian government has, for example, the Jordanian government has more of an accommadationist approach with its opposition. The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, the Islamic Action Front is recognized as a legitimate political entity in Jordan even though it is still struggling to adequately represent itself in the parliament. Tensions in Jordan have really been simmering since the parliamentary elections that were held in November last year. The Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm hotly opposed those elections, particularly an electoral law that they argued favored pro-monarchy areas in rural parts of Jordan. Since then, the group has been demanding a lowering of prices in food and fuel, they’ve been demanding a change to the electoral law and they’ve been organizing these mass demonstrations and sit-ins that have been peaceful. Now one thing to note is that they are not demanding regime change, unlike the situation in Egypt. The political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood sees an opportunity right now and they’re basically just trying to take advantage of the current situation to push their own political demands. The Jordanian government has already announced a $452 million subsidy plan to bring down the price of food, to bring down the price of fuel, to increase pension, and things of the sort to basically accommodate the opposition. In other words this is not so much a crisis point like we’re seeing in Tunisia and Egypt, this is more of government trying to maintain the upper hand in trying to rush toward accommodation in preventing a larger conflagration. The image that Jordan is portraying right now in conceding to these demands could carry significant repercussions beyond Jordan’s borders, particularly if the events in Jordan are perceived as an Islamist organization being successful and forcing a regime like the Hashemite monarchy to bend to their demands. This could not only inspire other fledgling opposition groups in other countries to attempt the same, but it could also further embolden the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is playing a very careful game right now. I think the Brotherhood is very well aware that the romanticism of the revolution in the streets could wear off the longer the people go without a regular supply of food, without security, and most important without results. It’s become clear so far that Mubarak does not have any intention of leaving anytime soon. At the same time, the Muslim Brotherhood needs to sustain the momentum in the streets right now. What they want to avoid is having people think that “Look, I waited three decades to get rid of Mubarak, I can wait another eight months until September elections for him to be deposed.” At the same time, the Muslim Brotherhood is very conscious of the negative connotations associated with its Islamist branding and for that reason it’s trying to reach out to certain secularist leaders for example, Mohamed ElBaradei, who may lack credibility but at least he’s a secular leader that a lot of people can at least look to for some sort of leadership while the Muslim Brotherhood works on creating this political opening that they’ve been waiting for for decades.