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Egypt's president wants more independence from US

radcen said:
If by "more independence", I wonder if he also means less monetary aid?

Color me skeptical, but somehow I doubt it.
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That sounds to me like a speech given to earn points from the Muslims in his country. It's a lot like the politicians in this country who give pretty speeches tailored to the audience they expect to hear them and meant to earn points.

I wouldn't expect Egypt to turn down any US aid any time soon, however.
 
Yeah, but what is in it for us?

I wouldn't be surprised that the US is buying resources from Egypt for less than the market price. It is typically what we do.

And, they just want their resources to fuel their economy. An understandable deal if you ask me.
 
radcen said:
If by "more independence", I wonder if he also means less monetary aid?

Color me skeptical, but somehow I doubt it.
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As long as that means independence from US aid I will be all for Egypt having more Independence from the US.
 
sookster said:
Yeah, but what is in it for us?

I wouldn't be surprised that the US is buying resources from Egypt for less than the market price. It is typically what we do.

And, they just want their resources to fuel their economy. An understandable deal if you ask me.
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It's understandable, but how would they be doing if we weren't?
 
Yes. I'm sure Egypt has the know how to extract their own resources and use them. If it isn't right now, I'm sure they would want to and could figure out how to do it by their own means.

Basically, people get angry in the states when the Government provides too much to the citizenship. But if we make other countries dependent upon ourselves then that is perfectly fine.

The logic is humorous.
 
sookster said:
Yes. I'm sure Egypt has the know how to extract their own resources and use them. If it isn't right now, I'm sure they would want to and could figure out how to do it by their own means.

Basically, people get angry in the states when the Government provides too much to the citizenship. But if we make other countries dependent upon ourselves then that is perfectly fine.

The logic is humorous.
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The lack of consistency in politics... worldwide, not just us... is part of the point of the original question.
 
So, what is happening to exports from Egypt?

Egypt exported US$2.4 billion worth of merchandise to the United States in 2006, up 14.4% from 2005 and up 76.5% since 2002.
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Seems they are up. and what are these exports?

Natural gas …US$828.7 million (34.6% of Egyptian to U.S. exports, up 10.2% from 2005)
Cotton household furnishings & clothing … $576.6 million (24.1%, up 35.8%)
Semi-finished iron & steel mill products … $344.6 million (14.4%, up 259.3%)
Other petroleum products … $131.9 million (5.5%, down 41.2%)
Textile floor coverings including rugs … $106.9 million (4.5%, up 10.9%)
Non-cotton household furnishings & clothing … $95.6 million (4%, up 55.1%)
Aluminum … $34.6 million (1.4%, up 17.8%)
Items returned to U.S. then reimported … $33.6 million (1.4%, down 55.9%)
Stone, sand, cement & lime … $28.7 million (1.2%, down 33.1%)
Fertilizers, pesticides & insecticides … $19.6 million (0.8%, down 13.2).
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Read more at Suite101: Top Egyptian Exports & Imports: Most Popular Products Traded Between Egypt & America | Suite101.com Top Egyptian Exports & Imports: Most Popular Products Traded Between Egypt & America | Suite101.com

Natural gas is #1? It wouldn't seem that would last much longer.
Cotton? We can grow our own, and do.
Iron and steel products? We should make our own, then we wouldn't have a rust belt.

Items returned to U.S. then reimported? What's that, I wonder?

Now, is the US really profiting all that much from trade with Egypt?
 
About half the US aid to Egypt is military and the other half economic. That aid has been in general a bribe to egypt to ensure good relations between egypt and Israel. I would not be suprised if most of the economic aid went to corrupt officials pockets.
 
Lord Tammerlain said:
About half the US aid to Egypt is military and the other half economic. That aid has been in general a bribe to egypt to ensure good relations between egypt and Israel. I would not be suprised if most of the economic aid went to corrupt officials pockets.
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I also wouldn't be surprised if we INCREASED monetary aid to ensure that the newly "independent" Egypt stays on our side. *sigh*
 
No, they are sold at a fraction of the cost to the US. Yes that is a lot of money, but they could earn more if they sold those resources at market price, which western interests won't allow.

The corpocracy as well as western governments, initiate a loan agreement through the IMF to other countries. The other countries need the resources, so they take the loan. The loan, is designed to not be payable after a certain duration. Once the said country doesn't have enough resources to pay back the loan, there is an agreement put in place that the resources from the indebted country are sold at a fraction of the market price back to the United States. There is money lost for sure. And in a sense, the country is screwed. Not only is there lost revenue, but the economy is not able to compete with western corporations (western corporations establish most of the market that they can in whatever country this is happening in). So certain factions from their economies lose employment, ranging from transportation to maybe even some of production or all of production.



It isn't about how much Egypt is making now, it is about how much could Egypt be making. If they get America out of their country, they would do what is necessary for themselves. This whole idea that people have to depend on the United States, if it is true, is put there on purpose to get this allusion that the United States has to have a presence there. It is about "creating empire" and not helping the people for any means. This is how sick our country has become. We make sure people are dependent upon us, so that we can have military and trade influence on countries. Just so we can sustain our culture of materialistic dominion.

Of course, it isn't everyone's fault. Most people are oblivious to such ideas. They go through their lives, working forty hours a week and then watching the football game to relax on the weekend. Not reading, or trying to expand their mind. Because in order to truly not even allow things like this to happen in the first place, there has to be at some point reading to get a better idea of the world around them. Our educational system. It breeds people that maybe educated, but it also breeds people that once they are done, they are done expanding their minds. People don't have the desire to learn more after their degree (most, not all), or if they do, it is about subjects that don't have the purpose of expanding understanding of the physical world. And in my view, this is done on purpose.

We are being controlled way more than we think. And it is bank institutions and huge corporations that have worked diligently to make society this way.
 
President Morsi also said the U.S. has to respect Arab culture. Does this mean he expects us to respect wife beating, clitoridectomies, and the murder of those who disrespect the prophet, even unintentionally? Do we have to respect a culture that makes a woman driving a car subject to the death penalty?

Personally, I will never respect or accept those behaviors.
 
Patrickt said:
President Morsi also said the U.S. has to respect Arab culture. Does this mean he expects us to respect wife beating, clitoridectomies, and the murder of those who disrespect the prophet, even unintentionally? Do we have to respect a culture that makes a woman driving a car subject to the death penalty?

Personally, I will never respect or accept those behaviors.
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Does this mean he will respect our culture and crack down on things that are offensive to most Americans, i.e.: burning the flag, etc.?
 
Patrickt said:
President Morsi also said the U.S. has to respect Arab culture. Does this mean he expects us to respect wife beating, clitoridectomies, and the murder of those who disrespect the prophet, even unintentionally? Do we have to respect a culture that makes a woman driving a car subject to the death penalty?

Personally, I will never respect or accept those behaviors.
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Women are allowed to drive in Egypt.
 
Kandahar said:
Women are allowed to drive in Egypt.
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That's true. And in Saudi Arabia they face a death penalty. President Morsi's demand wasn't the we respect Egyptian culture but Arab culture. That means Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and other states that violate human rights especially as they deal with women.

Next we'll be ordered to respect South Side Chicago Culture.
 
President Morsi also said the U.S. has to respect Arab culture. Does this mean he expects us to respect wife beating, clitoridectomies, and the murder of those who disrespect the prophet, even unintentionally? Do we have to respect a culture that makes a woman driving a car subject to the death penalty?

Personally, I will never respect or accept those behaviors.
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I personally think it is wrong for us to impose our values and beliefs onto another country. If that country wants to be run that way, so be it. It is their own country.
 
Patrickt said:
That's true. And in Saudi Arabia they face a death penalty. President Morsi's demand wasn't the we respect Egyptian culture but Arab culture. That means Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and other states that violate human rights especially as they deal with women.

Next we'll be ordered to respect South Side Chicago Culture.
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I hear pundits routinely talking about "Western culture." Should those pundits then have to answer for Slobodan Milosevic, Manuel Noriega, and Vladimir Putin? Or can we just accept that those pundits mean something else by "Western culture," just as Morsi probably isn't talking about every single problem in Arab society when he refers to "Arab culture"?
 
sookster said:
No, they are sold at a fraction of the cost to the US. Yes that is a lot of money, but they could earn more if they sold those resources at market price, which western interests won't allow.
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Western interests won't allow Egypt to sell their exports in the global market?

No kidding?

Now, that sounds a lot like one of the causes of the American revolution, when England insisted that the colonies trade only with British companies.

But, is it true? The video doesn't back up the statement. Is there anything that does?
 
Patrickt said:
President Morsi also said the U.S. has to respect Arab culture. Does this mean he expects us to respect wife beating, clitoridectomies, and the murder of those who disrespect the prophet, even unintentionally? Do we have to respect a culture that makes a woman driving a car subject to the death penalty?

Personally, I will never respect or accept those behaviors.
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You do realize that we as a nation subjugated a whole race, often times under the guise of religion, right? Don't act like our hands are clean of hate and bigotry. That's their culture and just because we don't like it, doesn't mean we have the right to change it.
 
Chaddelamancha said:
You do realize that we as a nation subjugated a whole race, often times under the guise of religion, right? Don't act like our hands are clean of hate and bigotry. That's their culture and just because we don't like it, doesn't mean we have the right to change it.
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I have no desire to change their culture, I just tire of their ranting, raving, and rioting over every little perceived offense. They are essentially the children of the world, and they need to grow up.
 
Chaddelamancha said:
You do realize that we as a nation subjugated a whole race, often times under the guise of religion, right? Don't act like our hands are clean of hate and bigotry. That's their culture and just because we don't like it, doesn't mean we have the right to change it.
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This is all a business. We want stability they tell us how much it will cost. Morsi's rhetoric is not much different than a used car salesman spewing his canned spiel. The question is how much of his "jibber jabber" does the US buy?
 
lizzie said:
I have no desire to change their culture, I just tire of their ranting, raving, and rioting over every little perceived offense. They are essentially the children of the world, and they need to grow up.
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I think I love you right now. :2razz:
 
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