Nice people thread part 3- Nice as pie

tomterm8

Democracy is a great system, but there are basic requirements for it to work. The first requirement is that peoples physical needs have to be met. A society filled with people who are starving or desperately poor can't function as a democracy (because otherwise, votes will simply be bought, or people intimidated into giving the votes). And... most of the african countries, simply don't fulfill this requirement. Egypt is better off than most... but there is too much desperate poverty to really have a functioning democracy. (the other requirements are good education, the rule of law, and good communications).

To be honest, the best thing Egypt can really hope for is a benign dictator or king, or oligarchy.

This isn't really a liberalism issue, because the basic requirements for a liberal society aren't met in most countries in Africa.

In general, what most people consider to be liberalism is actually much nearer to libertarianism. Liberals accept there have to be limits to freedom, and that government has a place to exist, and that freedoms have to be balanced with responsibilities. Libertarians generally are much more forthright about protecting freedom even if it harms other members of society.

PasturesNew

tomterm8 wrote: »

The military are going to stage a coup within the next two or three days to a week, there will be a lot of bloodshed, and at the end of this there will be an Islamic fundamentalist regime that is harder to deal with than the Egyptian regime has been.

Those are just my predictions.

This is NOT good news, in my opinion.

You're only saying that because you're bitter that you didn't snap up armfuls of property like other lucky/intelligent people did in recent years.

I doubt Westerners owning holiday flats to rent out will be seeing those again for a few years.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

tomterm8 wrote: »

To be honest, the best thing Egypt can really hope for is a benign dictator
.

That's what it has now, more or less.

Certainly by comparison to a Saddam Hussein or Kim Jong Il, Mubarak is benign, and has delivered 30 years of stability. Egypt has a relatively open society, a strong tourist trade, a reasonably open business environment (although with room to develop further) a decent if basic education and healthcare system, and Islamic extremism is kept in check.

The vast majority of people had nothing to fear from Mubarak. Dissent was repressed, sometimes brutally, as was the Islamic fundamentalist movement, but such is the nature of dictatorships.

WHilst it's not ideal, the alternative may well be worse.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

tomterm8 wrote: »

To be honest, the best thing Egypt can really hope for is a benign dictator or king, or oligarchy.

Also the discovery of another Pyramid might do wonders

tomterm8

It is a case of a wildly over successful stimulus program. Employed half the population of Egypt during the great recession of 2003 BC, and still providing ten percent of the Egyptian employment today without any government expenditure for the last three thousand years.

Who said stimulus can't work?

(disclaimer: 99% of statistics are made up on the spot).

lostinrates

y stupid wretched back has gone again. Second saturday night in a row that I'm useless. I did much less today than last saturday.:(

michaels

I haven't achieved a lot today either, my tooth didn't used to hurt when it was there but sure does now its gone and I am already fed up of eating porridge with a taste of blood Also paid 300 quid to get my other car back as it needs to be sorned - the 300 was spent on the garage replacing bits that turned out not to be the ones causing the emissions too high on fast idle.

lostinrates wrote: »

y stupid wretched back has gone again. Second saturday night in a row that I'm useless. I did much less today than last saturday.:(

sabretoothtigger

emissions too high on fast idle.

Tried some redex ?or very common with a diesel is a italian tuneup helps with all carbon clog

michaels

Petrol, did try both of your suggestions and even tried an ecu reset - symptoms and ecu said Lambda sensor but garage changed this and spent hours playing with throttle bits before saying it must be the huge hole in the exhaust but by that point they had already spent 400 quid on a service and mot I had been quoted 150 for and I didn't have the 250 plus fitting for the exhaust and 250 for various brake bits they also said were needed for the mot...

oldandhappy

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'm one of those miracle people you occasionally hear about .... I've never had wisdom teeth. I mentioned it to my dentist many years ago and he had a quick look at the X-ray and said "No, you don't have any".

I have still got just the one...baby tooth..................at 62+ not sure either if I'll ever get any wisdom teeth either..even though I have earnt them. ;)Dianne