Egypt rounds up Brotherhood supporters after day of carnage

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Reuters.

(Reuters) - Egyptian authorities rounded up more than 1,000 Islamists as the Muslim Brotherhood leadership defiantly called a week of nationwide protests starting on Saturday after a day of carnage.

After Friday's bloodshed in which more than 100 people died in clashes that pushed Egypt ever closer to anarchy, tensions were high with supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in a Cairo mosque where bodies had been taken during the violence, while security forces were stationed outside.

The interior ministry said that 1,004 Muslim Brotherhood "elements" had been arrested, accusing members of Mursi's movement of committing acts of terrorism during the clashes, which took the deathtoll to 700 since Wednesday.

The Brotherhood, which ruled Egypt for a year until the army removed Mursi on July 3, urged its supporters back onto the streets to denounce the military takeover and the subsequent crackdown on followers of the nation's first freely-elected president.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/17/uk-egypt-protests-idUKBRE97514U20130817

[another_liberal]

1. They aren't even people any more, they're just "elements."

Perhaps the generals are using the term "elements" to describe the people they're "rounding up" because some of the thousands they've seized are in fact women and children? The coup-supporters have clearly shown no reluctance to murder women and children among pro-Morsi supporters, so I don't doubt they are being arrested as well. Nevertheless, the rest of the World would look critically on children being herded into police detention, so some relabeling was obviously necessary.

[valerief]

5. Elements. Human resources. The only true people are corporations today. nt

[Scootaloo]

2. Liquidating the opposition n/t

[East Coast Pirate]

3. 'Horrible': Christian churches across Egypt stormed, torched

Kafr Hakim, Egypt -- For 67 years, the Virgin Mary Church has been a peaceful refuge for Shenouda El Sayeh, much like the Giza province village of Kafr Hakim where it rests and where he has lived all those years.

But, as he swept its floors on Thursday, it was painfully obvious things had changed.

The night before, a mob -- chanting against Coptic Christians such as El Sayeh and calling for Egypt to become an "Islamic state" -- had torched and looted the Virgin Mary Church.

"I didn't expect this to happen," El Sayeh said.
Christians targeted in Egypt
Obama on Egypt: Violence needs to stop
Emam mosque becomes temporary morgue

He's not alone. Christians all around Egypt are cleaning up in the aftermath of a spate of attacks, which came on the country's deadliest day since the 2011 revolution that overthrew longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

More: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/world/meast/egypt-church-attacks/

[another_liberal]

6. Egypt's Christians . . .

The generals used Egypt's Christians as popular support for their coup against President Morsi. Now those same Christians and their churches have become predictable targets for violent backlash. Blame for what is happening to Christians in Egypt lies squarely at the feet of the coup leaders.

[Igel]

7. Imagine a class-based revolution.

You're proletariat overthrowing the wealthy.

You find that business owners side against the workers--even if they're in charge of one worker as a counter clerk, they are firmly, as a group, on the side of the billionaires.

Whether you win or lose, do you consider the small business owners to be on your side or the side of the class enemy?

Do you treat them as you would members of the proletariat, or, since they cast their lot in with the oppressors of the people, the running dogs of imperialism, the capitalist sharks, or do you take out vengeance on them, as well?

I know what happened in the revolutions I read about. If you're on the opposing side, death be unto you and yours. So that infants of the class enemies were persecuted as class enemies. Grandchildren of class enemies were class enemies. Those who failed to properly prove their allegiance to the proletarians were class enemies.

Hard to hold the Ikhwan to a far higher standard when so many still yearn for that kind of revolution or make excuses for that kind of revolution.

[East Coast Pirate]

9. Or it could be that Muslims want to cleanse the Middle East of Christians

as they've been doing for years.

[cosmicone]

4. I just don't understand the fetish

of wanting an "Islamic state" or a "Jewish state" etc.

I personally wouldn't want any dogmatic buffoons managing and leading the government.

[Igel]

8. Would you like a Democratic State?

One in which all legislative and elected executive offices were occupied by those of like mind to you?

City council. County council. State legislature and statehouse. Congress. Presidency. Even the courts?

Perhaps not. I haven't kept a dossier on your views. (I just know that I repeatedly want to parse your usename as "cosmi-cone," just now realizing it should be "cosmic-one". Ah.)

But many would like to live in a state-monolith. They fall for the tribal "the worst of my group is better than the best of your group" idiocy. All parties have buffoons but consider them sage. "Sage" can mean wise, but it's also a species of Salvia which, when dried, is often used in seasoning turkeys. Confirmation bias and in-group justification can cause us to confuse the two meanings on a regular basis.

A lot of them are also confident that if such a utopia should ever exist, it would blossom into a Thousand-Year Reign... and I fear what they'd do if it was promptly voted out of office. Silliness, I know. Yet there it is.