whats goin on in Egypt man?

Alister McFap II Esq. · Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:20 pm

vaGINI

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 9:19 pm

Retlaw83 wrote:The GINI coefficient is pretty much worthless. As an example, the poor of America have a better quality of life than the poor of Egypt; all that chart shows is more of Egypt earns a similar income. It doesn't mention the quality of income.

Not exactly. For example: with the amount of money the American poor spends on housing, you could live like a prince in Egypt (or any other under-developed country) & vice versa. When the cost of living is cheaper and income inequality is lower, people with less money in absolute measures actually fare better than their equivelants in places where these things are the opposite.

My point was that just saying that "50% OF EGYPTIANS LIVE WITH LESS THAN 2 BUCKS A DAY" doesn't actually mean anything. And if you pick another random line, like 1.25 dollars, then you actually have similar level of poverty as in USA.

Low income inequality is also often related to the otherwise high standards of living (including 'happiness') in Scandinavian countries.

It's all about the context.

rad resistance · Post by **rad resistance** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:34 am

Egyptians, once you smell you'll shit bricks.

Tofu Man · Post by **Tofu Man** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 5:59 am

Goddamn, Kashluk why do you have to be so analytical and spoil the thread?
The ozzers just declared war on the americans, who cares about Egypt????

Right. Now you lot get back to fighting one another, this thread can yet be saved.
Remember, there's a reason your swell guy asses got deported off the island and that's to entertain those still in it.

NOW DANCE, BITCHES!

on topic: Kash, that second graphic likens Egypt to Portugal and NZ, and if my eyes aren't fooling me, Morocco to Germany. Oh wait, the CIA made that, nevermind.

Regardless, Mubarak being deposed in favor of an actually democratic environment may be the worst thing for "our" national interests (read: "our leaders' interests"), though the humanitarian in me trusts the superior education Egypt presents (or seems to) amongst most its peers could actually mean some good might come out of it. Surprisingly so, given you'd sooner expect this type of uprising from (even considering the differences and besides obvious recent local deterrents) the pearls of the east, Iran and Lebanon.

It's a case of wait & see.

One thing to note, and a fair guess excuses no western country in this matter, is how the press is so quick to remember any given country's "faults" when the proverbial hits the fan, yet so quick to dismiss them as soon as the dust settles. I reckon public opinion would only mind Saudi Arabia's fantastic track record in human rights violations so long as there's some sort of uprising in Riyadh, if not, then carry on, nothing to see here.

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:26 am

Tofu Man wrote:on topic: Kash, that second graphic likens Egypt to Portugal and NZ, and if my eyes aren't fooling me, Morocco to Germany. Oh wait, the CIA made that, nevermind.

Yup, for the first part: both Portugal and New Zealand have higher income inequality than Egypt. Nope, for the second part: the colors for some nations are a bit wrong, since there is no color in the scale that's used for Morocco on the map. But CIA's Gini statistics state that Morocco has a Gini of 40 while Germany has 27.

Respectively, you can find some of the highest Gini coefficients in countries like Namibia (70.7), Botswana (63), Sierra Leone (62.9) and Haiti (59.2). United States, for example, hits the 45-mark.

Post by **King of Creation** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:43 am

Sorry I haven't be around lately...the government destroying the internet and my subsequent exodus proved detrimental to my online time. Here are some photos I took of the situation:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomintaipei/

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 12:27 pm

That guy throwing back the tear gas probably hated his life afterwards.

Post by **Retlaw83** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 4:54 pm

Goddamn KoC. Glad you made it out of there all right.

Megatron · Post by **Megatron** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:36 pm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomintaipei/5415614331/

does this guy have a necklace for his ears? whut.

go on egypt you can do it make the nile run red with the blood of moses

Post by **Retlaw83** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:55 pm

It's a surgical mask, though I don't know what good it's doing him on his chin.

Post by **King of Creation** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:07 pm

He was trying to wash the tear gas off of his face and out of his eyes.

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 11:55 pm

Dunno if it did him any good. CS naturally clears itself away with clean air. I mean, the burning sensation leaves after afew minutes on it's own, but other than that, washing it would have had minimal effect.

Post by **Retlaw83** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:49 am

I bet that guy figured it out quickly.

Most people don't have practical experience with tear gas.

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:48 pm

That's true. I wonder why there are no pictures of guys AFTER they've thrown the tear gas. I know they had to have gotten burned as CS burns at like 500 degrees in those grenades.

Post by **King of Creation** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:28 pm

Everyone was using coca-cola to wash their eyes and breathing through masks and bandannas soaked in vinegar. Tunisians told everyone to do that via twitter. I didn't try the Coke method, but breathing through vinegar seemed to work pretty well.

SenisterDenister · Post by **SenisterDenister** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:46 pm

Glad to know you're all right, though. Its good that Mubarak stepped down, hopefully shit won't hit the fan.

Psychoul · Post by **Psychoul** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 1:02 am

I too am glad that you are ok. I hope that everything works out with their revolution.

Burning Oasis · Post by **Burning Oasis** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 7:35 am

Muburak is a quitter. QUITTERS NEVER WIN

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:53 pm

Looks like Iran is next on the list.

Post by **Retlaw83** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:57 pm

There's some hub-bub in Algeria, too.

Main thing here is the police and military in Iran are going to be inclined to kill people.

I predicted something like this happening in my lifetime; people I know from the mideast that are in their 20s see what the western world has and want that for themselves. Although I thought we'd be seeing this in like another generation, instead of now.