Mubarak is certainly NOT a dictator...

[WCGreen]

Maybe he is a strongman, or perhaps number 1 guy with a bullet, a savy guy who takes care of the opposition, the Dude who doesn't abide, but a dictator, no way....


:sarcasm:

probably should have put this in...

[tabatha]

1. He has been there for 30 years?

and not a dictator?

[vaberella]

3. Mugabe is president of Zimbabwe for 23 years and counting. He is not a dictator.

Or he wasn't labeled one until about 10 years ago.

[tabatha]

5. Mugabe certainly is a dictator.

[vaberella]

9. Until 10 years ago he was not. And that was when he decided to start splitting up the land.

But then again..if he didn't split it up to his friends it would never have been a problem; well it would have been but then the land split was dictated when they gained their independence from England. Since the land was supposed to be divided 20 some odd years ago and yet the land owners never gave it up. Basically...he was not a dictator until that time. And to say he was...is a bit off. And that title was thrust on him by the English. Many in Zimbabwe---the have nots--although were not in full agreement with him did see where he was coming from; shoot my Zimbabwean friend was fully backing him.

[tabatha]

17. When he started out, I was 100%

behind him. I saw a TV interview with him, and was very impressed. I could not stand Ian Smith.

I was even behind his initial land seizures as well, because I knew of the history of Rhodes cheating the Ndebele (Matabele under Mzilikazi) out of their land, much as was done to the Native Americans here - phony agreements.

However, his action against the people of Zim who are not of his tribe, is nothing short of dictatorial. And his insistence in remaining the ruler, is not democratic.

[gateley]

2. Somebody suggested "despot". nt

[vaberella]

4. The power is not absolute...obviously. However, that's the closest. n/t

[Cleita]

7. No dictator or emperor can exist without his army so

none are an absolute power in that way. If the army defects though, he's toast.

[vaberella]

11. Actually Kings in essence had absolute power, their knights in Europe rarely defected.

Army's rarely defected during the times when absolute power was deemed. In any event...present day---he has none and so he's not a despot. A king like King Henry VIII was like a despot.

[Cleita]

12. Well the Roman Praetorian Guard sure did a

number on Caligula, not to mention what the Legions did to succeeding emperors whom they became disgusted with. The medieval knights were loyal only as long as they got their fiefdoms so the kings made sure they did. But I agree, armies have to be pushed to the edge before they will defect. From what I'm seeing in Egypt, they are pretty much with the people and it will only take a small incident for them to topple Mubarak.

[WCGreen]

14. But Rome still pretended to be a Republic...

Of course, the only way to rid yourself of a tyrant is through force...

[Cleita]

16. Well, that's nothing unusual.

The Nazis claimed to be socialists; the Soviet Russians claimed to be communists and we claim to be a democracy.

[golfguru]

21. you get a dictator when

you cross breed a potato with a penis.
Ok ok this is corny but need a laugh with all the grim news.

[golfguru]

6. Hugo Chavez is not a dictator in Venezuela

Never mind he has suppressed opposition a little, but don't we all
like to subdue our opposition? It is just a normal human trait.

[Cleita]

10. There is a difference between reining in the excesses

of the opposition and suppressing them. I have never read anything credible about Chavez suppressing opposition although he has curtailed their excesses. I suppose the day Obamacare becomes fully implemented the insurance companies will claim they are being suppressed too.

[golfguru]

20. yeah we all feel suppressed in one way or another

my wife suppresses my desire to buy sporty cars amongst other things.

[hlthe2b]

8. Matter of semantics... Even Anwar Sadat was considered to have

been a BENEVOLENT dictator. Mubarak is less "black v. white" in terms of his actions being clearly dictatorial or merely "strong-armed" tactics, but he has, at times, during his 30 years acted in ways that meet the criteria of a dictatorship, even if he does stand for "election".


I personally prefer the term "autocrat."

[ProSense]

13. It doesn't matter if Mubarak is a dictator or not

There is an uprising in Egypt against his government.

Is China's President Hu a dictator? Fidel Castro?

What matters more is that if Mubarak steps down, the country moves to hold credible elections soon.

One thing is certain, Egyptians have decided that they're tired of the Mubarak government.

[polly7]

15. I thought I had a comeback until I came back and noted it was sarcasm.

I'll post it anyway:)

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dictator


"Activists trying to oust Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak extended protests against his 30-year rule into a third day on Thursday, playing cat-and-mouse with police and making a new call for protests seeking change."

"Like Tunisians, Egyptians complain about surging prices, a lack of jobs and authoritarian rule that has relied on heavy-handed security to keep dissenting voices quiet."

"Egypt's population of some 80 million is growing by 2 percent a year. Two thirds of the population is under 30, and that age group accounts for 90 percent of the jobless. About 40 percent live on less than $2 a day, and a third are illiterate."

http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=69045

"The overthrow of his 30 years of a dictatorship regime and the military taking over his corrupt government today January 28, 2011 has army tanks fighting back protesters but actually many sympathize with the protesters.

Hosni Mubarak has taken real estate, liquid cash, royal yachts, and has 40 billion in cash and assets hidden away in banks around the world for easy access namely in: Germany, United States, UK, Switzerland, Scotland, England, Dubai, Madrid and other countries. The Alaa Mubarak has properties both inside the country or in the United States major cities of Washington, LA and New York on the finest streets of the land.

His wife Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak and their two sons also are incredibly wealthy and the first lady has another 3-5 billion for her own personal use.
Mubarak’s wealth also has ties to large corporate US interests such as:
Marlboro, Hermes, Mcdonalds, Vodafone, Hyundai, Chili and other large corporations."
http://www.politicolnews.com/pres-mubaraks-steals-40-billion/

"Emergency Law rule
Egypt is a semi-presidential republic under Emergency Law (Law No. 162 of 1958)<22> and has been since 1967, except for an 18-month break in 1980s. Under the law, police powers are extended, constitutional rights suspended and censorship is legalized.<23> The law sharply circumscribes any non-governmental political activity: street demonstrations, non-approved political organizations, and unregistered financial donations are formally banned. Some 17,000 people are detained under the law, and estimates of political prisoners run as high as 30,000.<24> Under that "state of emergency", the government has the right to imprison individuals for any period of time, and for virtually no reason, thus keeping them in prisons without trials for any period."

"Mubarak and corruption
While in office, political corruption in the Mubarak administration's Ministry of Interior has risen dramatically, due to the increased power over the institutional system that is necessary to secure the prolonged presidency. Such corruption has led to the imprisonment of political figures and young activists without trials,<17> illegal undocumented hidden detention facilities,<18><19> and rejecting universities, mosques, newspapers staff members based on political inclination.<20>"

"President Mubarak has been re-elected by majority votes in a referendum for successive terms on four occasions: in 1987, 1993, 1999. The referendum in itself and its results are of questionable validity. No one could run against the President due to a restriction in the Egyptian constitution in which the People's Assembly played the main role in electing the President of the Republic.
After increased domestic and international pressure for democratic reform in Egypt, Mubarak asked the largely rubber stamp parliament on 26 February 2005 to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections by September 2005. Previously, Mubarak secured his position by having himself nominated by parliament, then confirmed without opposition in a referendum."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosni_Mubarak


"The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights has confirmed more than 500 cases of police abuse since 1993, including 167 deaths-three of which took place this year-that the group "strongly suspects were the result of torture and mistreatment." There are now 80,000 political prisoners held in Egyptian prisons. The annual budget for internal security was $1.5 billion in 2006, more than the entire national budget for health care, and the security police forces comprise 1.4 million members, nearly four times the number of the Egyptian army."

Chris Hedges | Outsourcing Torture
Monday 15 October 2007
http://www.truth-out.org/article/chris-hedges-outsourcing-torture

[dipsydoodle]

18. I thought Dick 'Tator

was Irish ? :shrug:

[Lint Head]

19. Yeah. I think you have to actually hold power 31 years instead of 30 to be a dictator.

More :sarcasm:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. Not a dictator?

I don't know why, but this made me laugh!

[customerserviceguy]

23. He may be a dick

but what Third World leader isn't, at least to somebody in the country that they govern? He's been successful at making sure Egypt gets billions of US dollars a year, and all they have to do is not go into a suicidal war with Israel.

Yes, he's corrupt, and so are his police. What part of the developing world doesn't have that going on?

And no, I'm not being sarcastic. The young people protesting Mubarak need to learn that the Islamic world always trades one despot for another after a revolution, unless you're Turkey, and are lucky enough to get a Kemal Ataturk as your George Washington. I fear that they're just going to get used by Islamic extremists who will be more than happy to permanently turn off their Facebook and Twitter.

The best possible solution out of this is a negotiated settlement that gets two or three non-fundamentalists on the election ballot this year, who will continue to take US money not to go to a war that they can't win anyway.