British opinion poll paints a different picture in Iraq.

[Gan]

MOST Iraqis believe life is better for them now than it was under Saddam Hussein, according to a British opinion poll published today.

The survey of more than 5,000 Iraqis found the majority optimistic despite their suffering in sectarian violence since the American-led invasion four years ago this week.

One in four Iraqis has had a family member murdered, says the poll by Opinion Research Business. In Baghdad, the capital, one in four has had a relative kidnapped and one in three said members of their family had fled abroad. But when asked whether they preferred life under Saddam, the dictator who was executed last December, or under Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, most replied that things were better for them today.

Only 27% think there is a civil war in Iraq, compared with 61% who do not, according to the survey carried out last month.

By a majority of two to one, Iraqis believe military operations now under way will disarm all militias. More than half say security will improve after a withdrawal of multinational forces.

Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, said the findings pointed to progress. “There is no widespread violence in the four southern provinces and the fact that the picture is more complex than the stereotype usually portrayed is reflected in today’s poll,” she said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1530762.ece
__________________________________________________ _

Not that I place a lot of stock in opinion polls.... However, I thought this one interesting since its the first that paints a different picture than what's normally seen in the press.

Any thoughts?

[crazymage]

Dude it's a british poll..

[Warriorbird]

They just withdrew a bunch of troops from Iraq. It's backup for the "peace with honor" spiel (Vietnam-esque) that the Republicans will probably eventually deliver to the US.

[Back]

Its good news that hopefully means we can wrap things up soon and get back to hunting down Bin Ladin and deal with the flare up in Afghanistan.

[Apathy]

Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

[Parkbandit]

Its good news that hopefully means we can wrap things up soon and get back to hunting down Bin Ladin and deal with the flare up in Afghanistan.

LOL

Yea, because we just packed up and left Afghanistan to focus all efforts in Iraq.

LOL

[Kyra]

Well I don't have statistics but I know I've had at least 2 dozen people that I know tell me to thank my fiance who is in Iraq for them for helping their relatives who are still there.

I've read letters from family members who where ecstatic to get out from under Hussein.

That said, I'd just as soon the fucking war was over so he could come home, I'm not a fan of this war no matter what. Who gives a shit about all the political crap.

~T.

[Daniel]

oh nooooeeesss.

I just laugh when people are like..They say its good! It must be lies or people not knowing wtf they are seeing!

[Warriorbird]

So you can say that everything's great there?

[Parkbandit]

So you can say that everything's great there?

Nothing is ever great in a war. Nothing.

But it's also not as bad as people like you would lead the rest of us to believe either.

[TheEschaton]

Is that a Spidey avatar, PB?

On topic: Polls suck. Anecdotal evidence sucks even more. Anecdotal evidence skewed by non-random sampling sucks most. Did you ever stop to think that the people who hate what your husband and his cronies have done aren't very fucking likely to sit down and write you a LETTER about it, or seek you out to give well wishes, Kyra?

-TheE-

[Daniel]

So you can say that everything's great there?

I guess it's subjective. Are you saying it was great before?

[Daniel]

Is that a Spidey avatar, PB?

On topic: Polls suck. Anecdotal evidence sucks even more. Anecdotal evidence skewed by non-random sampling sucks most. Did you ever stop to think that the people who hate what your husband and his cronies have done aren't very fucking likely to sit down and write you a LETTER about it, or seek you out to give well wishes, Kyra?

-TheE-

I go to one of the most liberal and the most political university's in the country. Yes, I fully expect people to seek me out.

[Parkbandit]

Is that a Spidey avatar, PB?



-TheE-

Yes.

[StrayRogue]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6464277.stm

2000, 5000, neither is really an accurate idea. Neither is "two random Iraqi's thanked my husband/brother/son etc". Both polls I imagine are weighted to some regard to one side. The BBC article even says that the difference in opinion between the Suunis and Shias is huge. So unless both are polling half of each...

[Parkbandit]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6464277.stm

2000, 5000, neither is really an accurate idea. Neither is "two random Iraqi's thanked my husband/brother/son etc". Both polls I imagine are weighted to some regard to one side. The BBC article even says that the difference in opinion between the Suunis and Shias is huge. So unless both are polling half of each...


This would go for any polls actually.. whether you agree with the results or not.

[Back]

Also, the newswires are picking up on Stays poll far more than Gans. In fact, I haven’t seen any other news outlet pick up Gans poll from TimesOnline. Just the ABC/BBC poll.

Take that how you want.

[Parkbandit]

Also, the newswires are picking up on Stays poll far more than Gans. In fact, I haven’t seen any other news outlet pick up Gans poll from TimesOnline. Just the ABC/BBC poll.

Take that how you want.

OMG! NO WAY! THE LIBERAL MEDIA IS REPORTING ON A POLL THAT SHOWS HOW BAD THINGS ARE IN IRAQ, RATHER THAN ANOTHER POLL THAT SHOWS THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER!? WTF!

Unless you live in a cave with no source of any information.. then this really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

[Back]

OMG! NO WAY! THE LIBERAL MEDIA IS REPORTING ON A POLL THAT SHOWS HOW BAD THINGS ARE IN IRAQ, RATHER THAN ANOTHER POLL THAT SHOWS THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER!? WTF!

Unless you live in a cave with no source of any information.. then this really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

Or, the more rational explanation... more outlets, with people on the ground IN Iraq currently, found one to be more credible than the other.

I don’t buy the liberal media conspiracy. I do buy Colbert’s “reality has a liberal bias” statement.

[CrystalTears]

Heh, Backlash quoting Colbert. That's funny. Would be funnier if you actually took him seriously.

[DeV]

By a majority of two to one, Iraqis believe military operations now under way will disarm all militias.

More than half say security will improve after a withdrawal of multinational forces.

Any thoughts?
This is a tough one. The questions are posed in a somewhat contradictory manner, in my opinion.

I don't take much of any stock in polls to begin with so I look at them as nothing more than an avenue to initiate discourse more than anything.

[Daniel]

Or, the more rational explanation... more outlets, with people on the ground IN Iraq currently, found one to be more credible than the other.

I don’t buy the liberal media conspiracy. I do buy Colbert’s “reality has a liberal bias” statement.

Except...there are only 2 news agencies that have a perm presence in the country..

[Back]

Except...there are only 2 news agencies that have a perm presence in the country..

That can’t be right. Maybe we mean different things. I know that Washington Post, NY Times and the LA Times have people there 24/7. USA Today on and off. The broadcast networks should have people there. CNN, BBC...

When I say news outlets I mean providers mainly. AP and Reuters are reporting agencies but not the sole source of reporting for outlets.

[Parkbandit]

Heh, Backlash quoting Colbert. That's funny. Would be funnier if you actually took him seriously.


That's where Backlash gets his news from.

Now we know why everyone considers him a giant joke around here.

[Kyra]

Can you even read? For one, I'm not married yet, so I don't know what husband you are talking about...and cronies?? Who the fuck uses that word?

Secondly, not once did I ever say everyone over there was grateful..good lord what a putz...go jump down someones throat who actually was looking for it.

~K.




Is that a Spidey avatar, PB?

On topic: Polls suck. Anecdotal evidence sucks even more. Anecdotal evidence skewed by non-random sampling sucks most. Did you ever stop to think that the people who hate what your husband and his cronies have done aren't very fucking likely to sit down and write you a LETTER about it, or seek you out to give well wishes, Kyra?

-TheE-

[Apathy]

Don't worry about TheEschaton. Pushing people's buttons and being an instigator is his modus operandi.

[TheEschaton]

Especially by signing my posts. It's all a fascist conspiracy to fuck with people like Apathy.

-TheE-

[Sean of the Thread]

Read in the paper today that US casualties are down 20% since the surge.

[Back]

Read in the paper today that US casualties are down 20% since the surge.

Wouldn’t it be great if they were down 100%?

[Apathy]

They're not considered casualties if we're not at war right?

[Daniel]

Wouldn’t it be great if they were down 100%?

And I want a pony for Christmas too. That doesn't mean I'ma get it.

[Back]

Read in the paper today that US casualties are down 20% since the surge.

Do you remember which paper? The only thing I can find that comes close to that is a link from Drudge to this story (http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=961365) from the Kuwati Government News Agency.

[Parkbandit]

Do you remember which paper? The only thing I can find that comes close to that is a link from Drudge to this story (http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=961365) from the Kuwati Government News Agency.


It's not a tough thing to figure out... since most of the news stories out there had a day by day death watch going. Just do the math.

By the way.. more Americans die each year by doctors mis-prescribing medicine than died in the war. I have yet to see an Anti-Doctor Fuckup March planned.

[TheEschaton]

The difference being that we need doctors, we don't need a war in Iraq.

-TheE-

[Daniel]

I could go without doctors giving me lethal medications.

[Back]

It's not a tough thing to figure out... since most of the news stories out there had a day by day death watch going. Just do the math.

By the way.. more Americans die each year by doctors mis-prescribing medicine than died in the war. I have yet to see an Anti-Doctor Fuckup March planned.

That might sound like trying to justify soldiers deaths by citing a completely unrelated national statistic. But I know you wouldn’t mean it like that.

[Bartlett]

Maybe he means that if Bush had been paying for said doctor then you would be all "Bush paid a doctor who lied and people died!" Maybe he means that it seems like people only care about human life if it fits their agenda to act like they do.

[TheEschaton]

I care about human life. I'm against the death penalty, against war...

-TheE-

[Sean of the Thread]

The difference being that we need doctors, we don't need a war in Iraq.

-TheE-

Absolutely delighted that scholars like you understand that!

You know cause if Hussein dumped the US dollar as he was threatening there would most likely not be a hospital open in the US at this point.

[Gan]

Absolutely delighted that scholars like you understand that!

You know cause if Hussein dumped the US dollar as he was threatening there would most likely not be a hospital open in the US at this point.

:wtf:

[Sean of the Thread]

EXACTLY!


rofl

[Sean of the Thread]

Absolutely delighted that scholars like you understand that!

You know cause if Hussein dumped the US dollar as he was threatening there would most likely not be a hospital open in the US at this point.

Iran's euro-denominated oil bourse to open in March: US Dollar Crisis on the Horizon

It is now obvious the invasion of Iraq had less to do with any threat from Saddam's long-gone WMD program and certainly less to do to do with fighting International terrorism than it has to do with gaining strategic control over Iraq's hydrocarbon reserves and in doing so maintain the US$ as the monopoly currency for the critical international oil market.

Saddam Hussein in 2000 insisted Iraq's oil be sold for euros, a political move, but one that improved Iraq's recent earnings thanks to the rise in the value of the euro against the dollar.
[Carol Hoyos and Kevin Morrison, "Iraq returns to the international oil market," Financial Times, June 5, 2003]

In 2003, the global community witnessed a combination of petrodollar warfare and oil depletion warfare. The majority of the world's governments -- especially the EU, Russia and China -- were not amused -- and neither are the U.S. soldiers who are currently stationed inside a hostile Iraq.

Throughout 2004, information provided by former administration insiders revealed the Bush/Cheney administration entered into office with the intention of toppling Saddam.
[Richard A. Clarke, Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror, Free Press (2004)]
[Ron Suskind, The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O' Neill, Simon & Schuster publishers (2004)]

Candidly stated, 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' was a war designed to install a pro-US government in Iraq, establish multiple US military bases before the onset of global 'Peak Oil,' and to reconvert Iraq back to petrodollars while hoping to thwart further OPEC momentum towards the euro as an alternative oil transaction currency ( i.e. "petroeuro").
[William Clark, "Revisited - The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War with Iraq: A Macroeconomic and Geostrategic Analysis of the Unspoken Truth," January 2003 (updated January 2004)]

However, subsequent geopolitical events have exposed neoconservative strategy as fundamentally flawed, with Iran moving towards a petroeuro system for international oil trades, while Russia evaluates this option with the European Union.

Beginning in March 2006, the Tehran government has plans to begin competing with New York's NYMEX and London's IPE with respect to international oil trades – using a euro-based international oil-trading mechanism.
["Oil bourse closer to reality," IranMania.com, December 28, 2004. Also see: "Iran oil bourse wins authorization," Tehran Times, July 26, 2005]

The proposed Iranian oil bourse signifies that without some sort of US intervention, the euro is going to establish a firm foothold in the international oil trade. Given US debt levels and the stated neoconservative project of US global domination, Tehran's objective constitutes an obvious encroachment on dollar supremacy in the crucial international oil market.

Iran is about to commit a far greater "offense" than Saddam Hussein's conversion to the euro for Iraq's oil exports in the fall of 2000.

Petrodollar hegemony is eroding, which will ultimately force the US to significantly change its current tax, debt, trade, and energy policies, all of which are severely unbalanced. World oil production is reportedly "flat out," and yet the neoconservatives are apparently willing to undertake huge strategic and tactical risks in the Persian Gulf. Why? Quite simply ... their stated goal is US global domination ... at any cost.

In the December 2004 issue of the Atlantic Monthly, James Fallows reported that numerous high-level war-gaming sessions had recently been completed by Sam Gardiner, a retired Air Force colonel who has run war games at the National War College for the past two decades.

[Gan]

DONT MAKE ME GET OUT THE HAT!!!

[TheEschaton]

It is now obvious the invasion of Iraq had less to do with any threat from Saddam's long-gone WMD program and certainly less to do to do with fighting International terrorism than it has to do with gaining strategic control over Iraq's hydrocarbon reserves and in doing so maintain the US$ as the monopoly currency for the critical international oil market.

THEN SAY THAT FROM THE BEGINNING....

-TheE-

[Sean of the Thread]

THEN SAY THAT FROM THE BEGINNING....

-TheE-

Meh politics. It's a bitch. Honestly I've often speculated that as being one of the main reasons behind the whole thing but I wouldn't call it HAT material yet. Can you imagine a life where the dollar is worth about a peso?


For the record as if you didn't already know I supported the war and occupation based on it's stated purpose already.

[CrystalTears]

THEN SAY THAT FROM THE BEGINNING....

-TheE-
Right because that would have made things alright and no one would be bitching about a needless war. Yep.

[DeV]

Right because that would have made things alright and no one would be bitching about a needless war. Yep.To be fair, most of the bitching was about the crock of bullshit that lead us into the war in the first place.

[TheEschaton]

No, I'd not be for the war under the new reason. But it's disingenuous to use a polarizing issue like WMD to "sell" the war, when the real reason is something else. Let the people hear the real reason, let the Congress hear the real reason, and see if they're still willing to support it.

The problem is, I think Bush knew people wouldn't support it for those reasons, so he made something up.

-TheE-

[Warriorbird]

Yeah...if Iraq had had real WMDs we never would have gone. North Korea and Pakistan, anyone?

[Sean of the Thread]

He used up the real WMD'S on his own people apparently. Oops.

Oh and I'm sorry I forgot that Iraq was backed by China.


WWIII anyone?

[Warriorbird]

Pakistan is totally backed by China too, right?

[Sean of the Thread]

Pakistan is a threat to our country? (other than blowing the shit out of India)

[Warriorbird]

Bin Laden was. It would've been the internationally unsupported invasion I'd have gone for.

[Ardani]

Pakistan is a threat to our country? (other than blowing the shit out of India)

The man and his goons hiding somewhere in it are...(Bin Laden)

[Ardani]

He used up the real WMD'S on his own people apparently. Oops.

Oh and I'm sorry I forgot that Iraq was backed by China.


WWIII anyone?

Real WMD's with the US flag stamped onto them, yes. The same ones bulldozed on television before the invasion began.

[Artha]

Real WMD's with the US flag stamped onto them, yes.

Oh man, your stay here's going to be awesome to watch.

[Gan]

Real WMD's with the US flag stamped onto them, yes. The same ones bulldozed on television before the invasion began.

You're grasp of International Relations, politics, and war in general is pretty scary.

[Ardani]

Oh man, your stay here's going to be awesome to watch.

Maybe you would like to comment on who provided financial and material backing for Saddam Hussein during the 80's? Or maybe it's just my imagination that Rumsfeld shook hands with Saddam Hussein after he used chemical weapons on Iranian forces during the Iran-Iraq war.

Yeah, you're right. I'm sure the US had nothing to do with that either.

[Artha]

What the fuck? I didn't say anything about that.

It's going to be fun to watch you spout this shit out, get dogpiled on, and either turn into Backlash, TheE, or leave.

[Ardani]

You're grasp of International Relations, politics, and war in general is pretty scary.

Indeed, the truth, when uncovered, can be pretty scary.

http://www.counterpunch.org/dixon06172004.html

[Ardani]

What the fuck? I didn't say anything about that.

It's going to be fun to watch you spout this shit out, get dogpiled on, and either turn into Backlash, TheE, or leave.

Then shut the fuck up if you don't have anything constructive to add kthnx. :yes:

[Artha]

Hey, when you have a three digit post count you can tell me to shut the fuck up.

[Warriorbird]

STFU. I'm not this mean to newbie Republicans.

[Gan]

Real WMD's with the US flag stamped onto them, yes. The same ones bulldozed on television before the invasion began.


You're grasp of International Relations, politics, and war in general is pretty scary.


Indeed, the truth, when uncovered, can be pretty scary.

http://www.counterpunch.org/dixon06172004.html

I did not mean this as a compliment.

Again, You're grasp (lack thereof) of IR, Politics, and War in general is pretty scary.

[Apathy]

Real WMD's with the US flag stamped onto them, yes. The same ones bulldozed on television before the invasion began.

So, what's your point?

[sst]

Indeed, the truth, when uncovered, can be pretty scary.

http://www.counterpunch.org/dixon06172004.html

I suggest you stop using .org's and if you want to post something use something at least as unrepeatable as a major news outlet, they are low and untrustworthy, but not as low and untrustworthy as all the .orgs out there.

[sst]

Maybe you would like to comment on who provided financial and material backing for Saddam Hussein during the 80's? Or maybe it's just my imagination that Rumsfeld shook hands with Saddam Hussein after he used chemical weapons on Iranian forces during the Iran-Iraq war.

Yeah, you're right. I'm sure the US had nothing to do with that either.

Is that before or after Iran did it to the Iraqi's? I mean personally if I was in at war and had the massed man on man battles that were going on during the Iran Iraq war, and the amount of causalities, if the US government didn’t do all they could short of dropping the BOMB to end it and keep me alive id be pretty pissed being a Joe on the ground. Arty coming in really sucks, and there was a whole lot of that going on over there.

[Bobmuhthol]

TLD obviously changes the credibility of a site's content.

[sst]

The man and his goons hiding somewhere in it are...(Bin Laden)

So Let me get this right, You want me, a soldier to have to invade another country, this one an ally who is aiding us in our war on terror?

Will you join up if we invade Pakastan? Why didnt you join up when we stared again afghanastan.

[Back]

So, what's your point?

The point being...

We gave Iraq WMDs to Iraq fight Iran.

[Warriorbird]

Not that great of an ally from what I hear, Dave. Besides...would've been an ideal BEFORE Iraq.

[sst]

Not that great of an ally from what I hear, Dave. Besides...would've been an ideal BEFORE Iraq.

An Ally all the same. You are advocating us attack an ally. And you bitch about the president, and "his war'" hypocrite.

[Warriorbird]

How's that hypocritical? I've never claimed to be anti war, just anti THIS war. I was all in favor of what we did in Afghanistan (despite the Northern Alliance turning out to be drug dealer losers). We could've actually gone after a country sheltering Bin Laden rather than doing an end run on America. We've shown that we can pull off globally unsupported invasions.

[CrystalTears]

The point being...

We gave Iraq WMDs to Iraq fight Iran.
Yeah and my father-in-law gave a gun to his brother for protection. He was found to not be trusted with it later on. He took the gun back.

People make mistakes. Just because you did something 20 years ago doesn't mean you can't try to make it right and have to live with that choice. :D

[Warriorbird]

And now we're giving the country to the Shiites so they can go do the happy dance of love with their new ally Iran.

[sst]

How's that hypocritical? I've never claimed to be anti war, just anti THIS war. I was all in favor of what we did in Afghanistan (despite the Northern Alliance turning out to be drug dealer losers). We could've actually gone after a country sheltering Bin Laden rather than doing an end run on America. We've shown that we can pull off globally unsupported invasions.

Again you are advocating us attack an ally, you're a warmonger. Not every government controls all the things that go on in their country. You're a smart guy, you know that there are areas in Pakistan that the government is unable to go. The government of Pakistan is and has been aiding us since the start of the war on terror, just because they, just like us have been unable to capture ONE now insignificant man, does not give us a reason to invade.

You bitch about the war in Iraq, and the prezes reasons for going there, I’m waiting for the justification to invade Pakistan… Heck their government has not offered him asylum, so lets focus on all the countries that have given it to our criminals since we have capital punishment

[sst]

And now we're giving the country to the Shiites so they can go do the happy dance of love with their new ally Iran.

Yep and that sucks, considering they are the majority population in the country. So here you are advocating us put a government in place that we want instead of letting the people decide for themselves? Its not our fault that the Sunni decided not to v.ote, they fucked shit up for themselves

[Warriorbird]

More suggesting that we shouldn't have gone there.

"You're a smart guy, you know that there are areas in Pakistan that the government is unable to go."

We could've gone to those places.

"The government of Pakistan is and has been aiding us since the start of the war on terror,"

Yet our government has rebuked them more than once regarding their efforts.

I'd just like to have seen Bin Laden die from something other than old age.

[Skirmisher]

Pakistan is like the Anti-Iran.

The people of Pakistan seem to not like the US very much yet the government deals with and proclaims itself to be an ally of the US in the war on terror. I tend to see the Pakistani government as the cop who is on the take and fed lots of little worms to ensure the big one always gets away. Sure they do find alot of suspects yet when nearly every worldwide expert agrees that Bin Laden is and has been hiding out in Pakistan for some time you have to realize that they have not caught him for a reason.

The people of Iran seem to like the US the most outside of perhaps Israel in the middle east while their government denounces us at every turn and allies themselves with any who will spout anti-US rhetoric.

If we play our cards right we can hopefully win over more of the people of Pakistan with the next administration, but I see our best long term chances to be in Iran and would hope that that's where our efforts go.

[Sean of the Thread]

I keep hearing all this "the people of Iran like US" shit but after watching Koppel's "IN Iran" it's the complete opposite.

I call bullshit.

[Skirmisher]

I keep hearing all this "the people of Iran like US" shit but after watching Koppel's "IN Iran" it's the complete opposite.

I call bullshit.

Not having been there I can only go by what I have read and most sources seem to say that so until the preponderance says otherwise I'll go by it.

[Sean of the Thread]

Not having been there I can only go by what I have read and most sources seem to say that so until the preponderance says otherwise I'll go by it.

I just told you of a DEFINITIVE source that says otherwise. If you have cable on demand try to look up Koppel's discovery channel special on his visit in Iran. He was actually the LAST US reporter allowed into the country I believe. (I can't confirm right now)

[sst]

All I know is Iranians try to kill me, and hamper the job I am trying to accomplish. I dont think they like me...

[Stanley Burrell]

Pakistan is a sovereign nation and treated as such. This bothers me quite a bit having lived through 9-11 from a first person perspective.

The thing, though, is that Pakistan is a sovereign nation.

On topic-ly: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/23/iran.uk/index.html

[Sean of the Thread]

Same thing koppel said. A quick search on google will tell you the same thing.

[Warriorbird]

Gonna have to agree with Sean2 and sst on this one. Iran doesn't like us much.

[Back]

I saw the Koppel thing but did not walk away from it with the same impression Sean2 did. Yeah, they chant Death to America, but its because they are told to and its not always full of vitrol. Sometimes its like its just some automated thing.

You have to admit that them hating us is not surprising considering our countries pasts. I mean, even all the way back before America even existed they had to deal with invading westerners.

The culture of Iran, that is, the musicians and artists are more hip to the western culture. This I know from another documentary done by a BBC reporter, though I don’t think it was on BBC. Maybe PBS? I can’t remember the name of it, or the name of the reporter unfortunately but it was another great inside peek at a culture we know little to nothing about.

[Daniel]

I'm sure some of those demonstrations are like the ones here in Egypt. They pay abunch of unemployed fucks to come and act a fool for 30 minutes while the camera is rolling and then they all go home.

[Back]

I'm sure some of those demonstrations are like the ones here in Egypt. They pay abunch of unemployed fucks to come and act a fool for 30 minutes while the camera is rolling and then they all go home.

Sounds like FOX news, er, infotainment.