Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently wrapped up an important diplomatic mission in Cairo the other day, including lengthy discussions with newly-elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, who said Egypt will respect its international treaties.
But if you saw any of the media coverage of Clinton's visit, you may have noticed significant numbers of protestors in the streets of Cairo.
What were these protestors angry about? Why were they throwing shoes and tomatoes, while using Monica Lewinsky taunts? Robert Mackey explained that the demonstrators "appear to have been inspired by fears that the Obama administration harbors a secret, pro-Islamist agenda which originated with American conservatives."
As my colleague Kareem Fahim reported on Sunday, some political opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt claim that the United States even plotted to install the Islamist party's presidential candidate in office. "Although wildly counterintuitive," my colleagues David Kirkpatrick and Mayy El Sheikh observed on Saturday, "that conspiracy theory has tapped into the deep popular distrust here of the United States."
The strength of that belief was on full display on Saturday in Cairo, as hundreds rallied outside Mrs. Clinton's hotel, waving placards that read: "Stop U.S. funding of the Muslim Brotherhood."
Of course, the United States isn't funding the Muslim Brotherhood. So why have these folks taken to the streets to complain about?
It's amusing in an unsettling sort of way. The protestors believe the United States is too much in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood, and they believe this because they saw reports online from Michele Bachmann, Frank Gaffney, and other American extremists who peddle strange conspiracy theories -- including absurdities about the Muslim Brotherhood "infiltrating" the American government.
But the people on the streets of Cairo don't realize that Bachmann, Gaffney, and their cohorts are ridiculous, so they're taking the strange "news" they're finding on the Internet seriously.
Congratulations, far-right activists, your nonsense now has a global reach.
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The problem is that these idiots like Bachman will take this as a sign of power and feel pride in their anti-America spews.
Now Republicans have Useful Idiots in Egypt.
WARNING!!!
Seriously stupid wingnut trolling below. Proceed with caution!!!
Paranoia is their problem not mine.
Disgusted...,
Now your warning should have the plural..."trolls.
Wow A ridiculous conspiracy theory that has spawned a ridiculous conspiracy theory. Are you sure this isn't from The Onion?
Meanwhile, we have a 500 year drought, a grid that is on its last legs, a healthcare system that is in shambles- and our elected representatives tell us the "Law of the Sea" treaty will hand over our national sovereignty to Third World nations, and there are 80 Communists in congress. A congress that has also been infiltrated by radical Muslims, intent of making Sharia the Law of the Land.
Lucky for us, we have an election coming up, and we can send these loons packing. (This last sentence is- unfortunately- snark.)
Snark? You make my heart break from despair.
We do seem to have a habit of replacing loons with Do-Do birds or Neanderthals.
Maybe they should read The Onion as a more reliable news source than Fox News.
Would somebody please escort that woman to the monkey dungeon?
The monkey dungeon is too good for her!
Sounds very un American to me. Who cares if we undermine the economy and put our country in harms way overseas. As long as president Obama is out of office.
Should we be proud that there are lots of people in Egypt who don't support the MB & try to follow American politics?
There are people (too many) on the streets of the US who don't know or don't care that Bachmann, etc., are ridiculous or worse.
And they follow politicians who would gut education. Sort of a closed loop. You think it's on purpose? (snark on..)
It's too bad because we really like Michele Bachmann - she's very entertaining, but I was assuming it was obvious that no one should ever take her seriously.
If I can't vote for her, I'm wasting my time listening to her. Same with the folk in Cairo, they've got their own @!$%# to deal with.
There are also too many on the American streets that don't have the good common sense that they were born with! That's how WE got stuck with: Bachmann, Shrub, McTurtle, Cantor, and the rest of the idiots in Congress that are so busy trying to make President Obama a 1 term President they're actions are damning US all!!
FIRE THE GOTP IN NOVEMBER!!
the Egyptian Ouroboros seems appropriate here
IMO . . . It comes down to education. Bachmann and her ilk prosper because there are those out there ignorant enough to believe them.
Just as there are those who will buy George W. Bush's book on the economy, listen to Jack Abramoff's radio show, and buy a ticket to see Mike Tyson on Broadway.
Sigh . . . it's disheartening.
Wow, more right wing bashing bs from MSNBC, they don't even hide it anymore that they are liberal political lapdogs....lol....how do you ppl make this crap up? Can't wait til MSNBC is no more soon.
How about reporting on something a little more important like this. This is what Frank Dodd legislation gets you, more unaccountable government like when the SEC was surfing porn while the banking and housing market was melting.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/treasury-employees-cited-violations-including-soliciting-prostitutes-work-corporate-gifts-report-article-1.1115546
Well said Timmy3!
You and I have to excuse MSNBC and it's blind followers. Right now they are at a loss. The lost recall vote in Wisconsin. The loss of Anthony Weiner and the collapse and loss of that sound minded individual of truth and reason, ...............
Alan Grayson.
Then of course there was Unger, he was a looney tunes. Now they've filled that space, very large brain space with Melissa Harris Perry?????????????
And they talk about Bachmann??????????
Not to mention Wasserman Schultz. Yikes and she's the spokesperson for the party????????
Many of the protesters are Catholics who see the over reach of the Obama Adinistration against religious freedom. And what, Bill Clinton's "Monica, Monica"i scandal broke YESTERDAY??????????????? No, they just got their Androids and needed to update them to get 2012 news. Right.
Desperate TRMS has become desperate. Maybe NBC will replace MSNBC with 24 hour coverage of Notre Dame football. That'd be great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes well said. I for one appreciate you demonstrating right winged thin--uh, thought processes, uh, well whatever it is you use your brai, uh...
Strike One
Why would anyone hide right-wing bashing? You should be ashamed if you are NOT bashing the right.
Why, it's Pat the poo flinging loser!! Get some sleep, Pat. And change that mid-life Huggie before you gag everybody.
What is it with the right and excessive punctuation? An interrobang ?! is cool. I can see using three in a row for exasperation's sake ??? !!! I do not see the point in leaning on it for seconds at a time. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The interrogatories and exclamations are somewhat conventional, though. There's some idiot over at thehill.com that uses a string of ten periods as actual full stops, not even ellipses.
What is it with the right and excessive punctuation? An interrobang ?! is cool. I can see using three in a row for exasperation's sake ??? !!! I do not see the point in leaning on it for seconds at a time. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The interrogatories and exclamations are somewhat conventional, though. There's some idiot over at thehill.com that uses a string of ten periods as actual full stops, not even ellipses.
The great thing about the USA is that we have the freedom to be ignorant of world events, uninvolved in our own governance, exploited ruthlessly by our own business interests and can lie, cheat and steal at will. We should thank conservatives for this change in the moral tone of the USA over the past 30 years, otherwise we might still be operating under the false assumption that as a nation we were trying to better ourselves.
Bravo!
You are "operating under the false assumption"...thanks to liberal progressive social political agenda.....anything goes, no responsiblity...gets me some obamacash.
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-07-17/story/saturday-night-flash-mob-takes-over-jacksonville-wal-mart
http://www.kgw.com/news/Flash-mob-targets-Troutdale-Albertsons-store-159463245.html
One last word on Obama's "You didn't do that alone" speech.
He and Elizebeth Warren are borrowing from once First Lady Hillary Clinton's playbook..................
"It takes a Village to raise a child"..................
It takes a village to run a successful business.
Its the same thing!
I'd like to see you try to run a storefront business with no customers or infrastructure. That means no internet, no use of easements or right-of-ways across another's property, no commons at all unless you negotiate it yourself.
And what is your point exactly? Yes it is the same thing. It takes a village to raise a child. It takes infrastructure to run a bussiness. It takes a community to have a society. Say it in which ever way you want. Are you saying that it is not the case? Or are you just mad that the president is using the truth to win instead of lies?
So nice of the trolls to rise to the occasion and let us hear their "views".
Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerike Two!
This is why it's going to be sooooooooo easy to strike you out. You fail to keep your eyes on the ball. You're just swinging wildly even before the ball crosses the plate. You cannot refute what we say. So you attack the pitcher.
Keep your eye on the ball and get a good pitch to hit. I am trying to serve a big fat one right down the middle.
Here it comes, 25 MPH and right in your wheel house................
"It takes a village to raise a child, It takes a village to run a successful business and prosper". It's the same thing.
But don't worry, even after you strike out (Yerrrrrrrrrrr OUT!) we'll give you your "participation trophy", Obama style.
I'll make it easy--glad to see you can count to two, now ...
Strike Three!!!!!!!!!!!!
Inning over, ball game over, Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Yankees Win!!!!!!!!!!
Now go stand along the third base line and wait til your name is called so you can collect your participation trophy.
Paul...,
They don't have actual views, they just regurgitate propaganda they like. And some of them act like totally spoiled hyperactive children. Well, you know, they could actually be totally spoiled hyperactive children
Let 'em play. They amuse me. I have a weird sense of humor,no?
For the benefit of anyone who doesn't already know--and I recently learned that there are a few who don't--every comment has a ! in the lower right corner. Click on it and you get a menu that will allow you to report that comment and/or ignore the person who wrote it, which will collapse all their comments in the future. Very useful if you're watching your blood pressure.
I just had breakfast at the International House of Nonsense the other day, Mitt Rmoney was doing a campaign stop and picking up another hoagie!! Anyway, I think we should send Michelle Bachman to Egypt as a free gift and as an apology for the US fostering the Muslim Bother-hood. Religion poisons everything!
A few hundred Arabs explaining their failure to prevail by reference to theory involving a foreign conspiracy? Unprecedented.
Why has no one brought up the law of libel? It is not legal for these people in power to spew lies. What happens because of that is what the Egyptian blogger said... [paraphrasing] 'a person in such a high position in the government wouldn't make such an accusation without evidence'
Someone needs to bring this up and make an example of someone who is doing this!
The McCarthy Boogey-Man
The McCarthy Boogey-Man is roaming the Halls of Congress, and the American White House which now houses a ‘foreign’ black president and his family. This same Straw-Man, McCarthy Boogey-Man is busily charging through the Right-Wing airwaves and internet dig-a-bite, gigabytes via the megaphone-microphones of highly paid (by some of the new non-profit, social welfare entities worth millions of the Right-Wing Corporate/Political Moguls dollars), and stunblin’ around like a town drunk in search of Terrorists. That’s right ! Terrorists, and their “pigs can fly” Terroristic cohorts. Why ?
Americans want to know what presidential candidate Romney is hiding in his Tax Returns. They want to know if Romney has been quoting scripture, chapter and verse, from the Conservative Bible or the Book of Lies. Whose lies ? Mr. Romney’s (possible and probable cause) lies, and typical 1%er Trickster manipulations of his onshore and offshore Taxes.
So, the Republicans (and Mr. Romney) need a diversion. It’s time for a Witchy-Terrorist Hunt. And since President Obama is a highly Intelligent black man who believes in Social Justice and a Fair Playing Field for All. And Joe Biden is a Knowingly cagey and strongly Passionate Voice for the struggling (and in some cases already drowning) Middle Class. And Hilary Clinton is a highly Effective and Respected Secretary of State - a huntin’ they shall go. Time for a Shoe and Tomato throw. Another Right-Wing Conspiracy scenario. "Monica !"
Load up your shotguns, now, Republican-Tea Party-Right-Wing-Neo-Con Terrorist Hunters ! Load ’em up with sure fire Liar buckshot ! Shoot everything that moves. Especially if it moves to the Left ! Why ?
It confuses Sheeple/People. It creates an Environment of Anger, Fear and vertigo producin’ Distractions. Just what They need ! Load up your sure fire Liar shotguns and make the UnAmerican, Anti-American Liberal and Democrat Terrorists bleed !
Cast aspersions ! Demonize ’em ! Ruin their Reputations ! Sully their Good names ! It’s time we go all out ! Witchy-Terrorist Huntin’ is the most sought after Game in Town ! We can’t let our highly manipulated (and in some cases manipulative) Right-Wing constituents down !
Anyone of ‘color‘. Anyone with a funny (foreign) soundin’ name. Anyone who looks different or acts differently from the norm will get a target painted on their backs. Get out the hounds and run ’em down !
We’ll call those Liberals and Democrats dirty words like Socialists, Communists, Perverts, Immigrants and Clowns. Load up your Shotguns, Republican-Tea Party-Right-Wing-Neo-Cons ! ‘Cause without Equivocation we must make everyone in America (and abroad) think that the Liberals and Democrats are Traitorous, Spyin’ Terrorists. Secret Muslim Radical Supporters (and possibly and probably Secret Radical Muslims themselves).
Yep, Distractions, Prevaricatin’ Smoke Bombs, Reputation-Ruining Stink Grenades, Social Welfare-Non-Profit Million Dollar Tanks (and other such Million Dollar Ad and Destructo-Facto Money Machines brought about and created by the Citizen’s United Decision), the Fear Monger Boogie and the Terrorist Tango are the Strategies, Ways and Means needed for us to make a real Killin’ !
It’s time for the Elitist Kings and Queens, the Corporate, Banking and Speculatin’ Moguls to Rise and Shine ! Time to put the Middle Class and Poor rabble in their place. They all work for Us anyway. If they give us too much lip, keep whinin’ for a Fair and Just Living Wage we’ll really show ‘em who’s in charge. We’ll move everything overseas to low paying sweat shops or have China pay to build us new manufacturing plants abroad, and hide all of our Monies in offshore tax-free accounts ! Ha !
Yes, the McCarthy Boogey-Man is roaming the Halls of Congress, the White House, and the UnConscious Consciousness of America (and abroad, when It can get away with it).
Quick, SomeOne hand the bobbing and weaving McCarthy Boogey-Man a mirror ! But be prepared for The McCarthy Boogey-Man to start unexpectedly jiggin’ around to the Fear Monger Boogie and Terrorist Tango all by Itself, because It’ll find the Real Witchy-Terrorist staring right back at It ! Aaaah !
Should the Liberals and Democrats kindly warn the McCarthy Boogey-Man about the seven (possibly eight) years bad luck that follows broken Looking Glass ?
Beautifully posed and written with an enchanting air of, oh whats that called, oh yes logic. Thank you for laying out the whole situation so eloquently and most of all, thank you for sticking to the point.
Warm and foxy (fuzzy) conspiracy theories: So what do we call puppies when they are born of mother conspiracies?
Since the Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Thomas Rooney (R-FL) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga) are going full McCarthy on Islamophobia (Muslim Brotherhood), after fawning over puppies, we need to find names somehow. Beyond cute, puppies are known to become attached to and revisit same sub area of their mother's body for milk, preferring to feed off a comforting source of nutrition. More directly to be weaned off of mother's milk, is the rule for puppies. But good a conspiracy must have a mongreled beast hiding somewhere and it must grow more and more "iffy", so much more "iffy" that the word "iffy" needs to become a noun used to describe conspiracies. Quite often puppies have uncertain parentage making for more mischief, combined with the need to give puppies away; they happen and are adorable, possibly inspiring the notion of the Trojan horse.
Working backwards and forensically dissecting "Islamophobia", we find phobia to stimulate the darkness of the primal animal state, were a reaction is the necessary trigger, toward some irrational act. Phobias can be self-made or man-made when a conspiracy needs fear, the poison of fear has only one known antidote, not truth as it is unknowable, and so the antidote to fear is the determination not to believe it. Disbelief works to cure deception.
Islam is the foreign sounding word, taking place of communism, world domination, except the interpretations of scripture, including do anything to win, without a central hierarchy. Fear not any such system of belief is inherently self-contradictory and if it existed for any length of time it will soon undo it-self.
But my conspiracy to make much of puppies still doesn't appease the Gods of conspiracy, we have to go on using the alternate definition of conspiracy -"A conspiracy is an economy of thought", where it is desirable to explain as many things as possible with as few unsupported assumptions as possible.
Puppies need milk, to grow and mature and be given away quickly, but suppose that the puppies were never weaned and mother had to grow extra capacity to support them. Suppose that the world economy was run by energy. Suppose that energy was found in Islamic countries. Suppose that a military was needed to guard against hostile takeovers. Suppose that because the consequences of these dependencies enough time over 65 years had passed to allow a new conspiracy (ok puppy) to be developed in retaliation against the dominance of an older conspiracy. The conspiracy had a litter of puppy conspiracies. These puppies need names, but no matter, name one for "follow the money", its investment tail leads to world of finance, investment, stock exchanges, equity stock ownership and CEO's nearly invisible - business. Another would be "give a way", exporting production worldwide to lower cost and by the way increase dependencies. Another would be "lower taxes", just to weaken the defense of a country undermine its infrastructure, and diminish the middle class consumer.
Surrounding conspiracies with cute puppies make them more home, and fuzzy. The energy suppliers would have long been cross bred with finance varieties, bankers, buyout leverages, and water friendly breeds of venture capitalists, future speckled marketers. The oil sniffing breeds all showing various poses, loyalties and lap compatible characteristics. Military puppies and protective breeds crossed and recrossed. So it emerges that the once hostile trained oil sniffing breeds are to found in sumptuous homes in tropical paradise islands, puppies need house training.
It's not your WWII's conflict, nor you advanced remote drone strike forces, most of what the public sees, that is just for show, simple low brow reaction of an entirely preoccupied population who's labor produced more than the wealthy can consume, but none the less need to be kept amused with, poverty, despair, drought, illnesses and age old concerns of old age, and wasted ideological battles better played using video computer games in your parents basement. Just a puppy you train to fetch the next conspiracy. Just think of the higher class show breeds, where sovereign states have merged finances, and aggression via military remains conventional amusement, against imposturous nuclear exchange. The division of class is by order by magnitude five on the monetary scale, five diamonds for the new puppy collar.
We live in a dog palace of the rich and famous, were we only need a fraction of the population supported by oil wealth, the rest can be looked after by being alternately, amused, abused, disused by all the trinketed, gismo, and mindless distractions offered or as puppies to be just given away.
So there you have the results ahead of time, our conspirators, raise puppies swathed in layers of luxury, consuming idleness, and are too far above us that we cannot be noticed. Humans have so managed livestock that humans have become human livestock, or are we all puppies needing adoption.
Oil - is a one word conspiracy.
Sleep well the puppy guards near by.
Keep watch on unstable Congress persons.
I am through..fed up and done. I come to this site to watch the most balanced(yes balanced) and informative news gathering on network tv(yes news gathering) that feeds truth backed by a word called "facts". Something these trolls that have been popping up here lately do not seem to understand. I want to feel sorry for those that have posted on this site and others on msnbc(or nbcnews whatever) but the more they type the more I just want to reach down to their level and sock em one. A really brief history on this topic(and can we stay on topic here?? Do the trolls reading this even remember what the topic was before you spew your programmed nonsense???)
This is about Egypt and their election...does anyone here remember the "Arab Spring" ?? Does anyone here remember that during that time(and even up til now in some cases) that the internet there in Egypt is heavily censored and hard to get info on? Does anyone remember the fact that during the "Arab Spring" the way they were only able to coordinate was thru social networks like twitter and Facebook? Does anyone remember the news reports on how their tv networks were blacked out so information could not be accessible to the people? From what I am reading here it seems not.
My point..as long-winded as it may seem..is this: Egypt is a country just finally tasting the idea of democracy. Egypt's people look to the US as a "bible" of sorts of how their lives should be in this fledgling democracy. Yet they are still being censored on the net, and the networks there still are being controlled by powers that want (or do not want ) certain things to happen. If their access(or lack thereof) of media and political information is restricted in any way...they will get a skewed idea of what we have here and who to look at for a hero, or an ideal of what we represent as a nation. This is the land of Art Bells, Michelle Bachmanns, Hermain Cains, Anthony Weiners, Glenn Becks, Rush Limbaughs, Jon Stewarts, Stephen Colberts, and even Rachel Maddows. We live in this country so we know from that list who the crackpots are and who isn't..yet these people have no base of reference so therefore they go with whomever speaks the loudest as the one they believe. And also to the fact that they believe in their small way that it is impossible to think that stupid people can hold sway over masses..or grow to positions of power over others
Fortunately that was granted here in the US by the freedoms designed by our founding fathers. The right to be stupid and still speak your mind. And those that speak loudest gets the most attention. This is something we know as we have been raised to understand it and ignore it(if you have any intellect) but to these young societies just beginning it is foreign to them... I am sad that they have to learn the worst of what we have to offer in order to be the best they can become.
This turned out to be prescient, didn't it?
Is it that hard to believe that democracy-loving Egyptian moderates listen to American politicians who support vaginal rape, subjugation of women, the supremacy of religion in government—you know, abortion, contraception and same-sex marriage are against G-d's law—creationism, etc... well, is it any wonder they think we're secretly supporting reactionary Egyptian Islamists who believe their country should be ruled by religious law? Ultimately, fundamentalism is fundamentalism.