A Niall Ferguson smackdown.

h/t Ward
Nic Robertson’s 0-for-2: “Well, my message to President Obama is just, “We started this revolution without any outside help, and we are going to finish it also without any outside help.” (h/t Lev)
You say you want a revolution?

Another consistent feature is that revolutions take place, not in the most repressive of tyrannies, but more typically in despotisms whose grip is already loosening, and where both a degree of economic prosperity and liberalization are already taking place. The administration of Louis XVI was the most liberal and reformist ever known in France; it attempted to introduce a free market system and break the economic hold of the aristocracy over the masses. Similarly, Tsar Nicholas II alternated between harsh repression and encouraging the Duma to share power with the crown; during his reign, the Russian economy was one of the fastest growing in Europe, reaching levels in agricultural production that Nikita Krushchev conceded in 1956 had still not been equaled.
In the case of Egypt under Mubarak, the outbreak against his rule was preceded by a period in which modest progress was being made in Egypt’s economic prospects and standard of living, due to a small amount of oil, a lot of tourism, and increasing foreign investment. This year the economy grew by a robust 6%. Ditto in Iran, where the Shah was committed to political and economic Westernization and secularization. Ditto in Russia, where Gorbachev’s toppling of the Soviet regime was preceded by the Brezhnev era in which Russians were finally tasting some solid economic benefits.
Common to these cases is Toqueville’s thesis of the revolution of rising expectations. Fitful and semi-effective autocratic reformers whet people’s hopes for a better future, but cannot satisfy the expectations they arouse. Their own semi-effective reforms unleash the forces that overthrow them. Then the liberal reform regime is in turn swept away by the true revolutionaries, who do not want a liberal “bourgeois” revolution like the American revolution, but want to revoke both traditional authority and the half-completed modernization in favor of a populist collective.
During the flash point that signals the downfall of the autocrat, there is often a moment of truth when it becomes clear that the autocrat’s own allies, especially the military, will not take the extreme measures necessary to crush the revolt, and tell the autocrat they will not fire on the people. This happened with Louis XVI, the Tsar and the Shah. In the case of Gorbachev, he himself refused to use the Soviet military and security services to halt the out-of-control pace of his own reforms. And now Mubarak, whose generals told him the same thing, finally easing him out. In contrast, determined tyrannies like the Soviet Union under Lenin and Stalin will methodically kill tens of thousands of people until rebellion is crushed (for example., the Kronstadt rebellion). Currently, Syria exudes the silence of the grave as popular uprisings flair nearby, a sign of how grimly effective its tyranny is. And, since there is no television footage, no one calls for the demise of this far more lethal regime.

Mainstream Media Talkingheadville:

“The Egyptian people took to the streets to their claim their God-given right to freedom…”

Meanwhile, the number of Americans who believe their President is a muslim continues to rise.

Another day, another victim of “aspirational guidelines”.

With a totalitarian party to vote for.

h/t Instapundit

Two days ago:

Multiculturalism and mullahs: The British prime minister gets it
…

‘State multiculturalism’ has failed – Cameron [with video]

…
I wonder how much detailed coverage Mr Cameron…will get in the Canadian media…

The answer today: almost none (the Vancouver Sun did carry an AFP story–in their “Life” section and I suspect it was online only; the Toronto Star had a Reuters story, again I bet online only). Now why might that be? Your thoughts?
Update: Lowell Green of CFRA Ottawa did most of his show today on Mr Cameron’s speech, with extensive audio clips. You can listen live to the re-broadcast tonight at 8 pm ET (thanks to MadMacs of Bytown in “Comments”) or hear the show here at Feb. 7.
Upperdate: A nice analysis from Publius, with a glance back to Enoch Powell (and complete video of Mr Cameron’s speech):

Please, Go Back to Where You Came From
…
The shock of the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks began a slow questioning of this intellectual straitjacket. David Cameron’s about face on multiculturalism – he was actually attacking the somewhat more nebulous concept of “extremism’ – is belated recognition that Powell’s concerns were not wholly unwarranted. Cameron was also correct to stress cultural values as defining Britishness, rather than some trivial custom or symbol. This is something which Powell actually missed, or perhaps took for granted. Britishness is really an idea. A crude racial nationalism could never have held together the British union for so long, or built a vast and polyglot Empire. These were universal values, if often expressed in Anglo-Saxon terms.
The real victims of multiculturalism are not the old stock British (or Canadians, or Americans), but the immigrants themselves. There are few worse tortures imaginable, at least for decent and aspiring men and women, to escape from the primitive hell of much of the Third World, to reach a free and civilized land, only to be confronted with the nightmare you left. A nightmare made all the worse because officialdom regards these throwbacks not with horror, but with sympathy and support. A century ago the British were civilizing the world, today they are helping to de-civilized themselves. That is what Enoch Powell feared, and what belatedly David Cameron has realized.
Update: Multiculturalism and its discontents:
Gurmukh Singh…
It need not be added that if Mr Singh’s name was Mr Jones – or Powell – he’d be denounced as a bigot. He’ll probably be denounced as an Uncle Tom, in short order, by members of his own group. That he is stating the blindingly obvious to anyone who has attended these events, is beside the point. The pieties must be defended…

While I very much support the right of ALL people to be free of the shackles of their oppressors, the pro-Egyptian Freedom campaign *appears* to be taking a pretty ugly left turn towards the all too familiar “Hate Israel” narrative.
Blazing Cat Fur reports on what is happening in Toronto and Pamela Geller illustrates what’s happening in New York.
Here’s a photo of Taliban Jack:

Just waiting for our prime minister (see post immediately below by Robert) or the US president:

‘State multiculturalism’ has failed – Cameron [with video]

Earlier opinion:
1) The days of doing deals with Muslim extremists are over

As minds are concentrated on matters abroad, the Prime Minister is about to deliver a few home truths, says Charles Moore...
This afternoon [Feb. 5], in Munich, David Cameron will tell some of these home truths. As I mentioned in this column a couple of weeks ago, the Prime Minister has become exasperated by the way much of the permanent bureaucracy, in its attempt to counter violent extremism, ends up appeasing it [how about this, Mr President?].
Coming at the subject from his Big Society, “we’re all in this together” perspective, Mr Cameron finds the opposite – a sectarian world in which Muslims are encouraged by extremist leaders to identify themselves in as aggressive and separate a way as possible. They are taught to aerate their grievances in order to get political power and public money. He does not deny that some grievances exist, but he rejects the idea that they cause, let alone justify, terrorism. He will point out that it is often Muslim professionals born here, and prospering in middle-class freedom, who are most radicalised. He is horrified that young men educated at some of our best universities pick up noxious ideas from some student Islamic societies. He is caustic about the double standard which defends such ideas in the name of academic freedom: this would never happen if they were the vapourings of white racists.
The true boldness of Mr Cameron’s message lies in his view that non-violent extremism is an entry-chamber for terrorism itself. He blames Islamist doctrine – the political ideology advocated by the Muslim Brotherhood under the cloak, or rather the veil, of religion – as the bad thought from which bad actions naturally spring. It fills the dangerous vacuum created by multi-culturalism…

2) David Cameron takes on the ideology of Islamist extremism

Today’s [Feb. 4] detailed revelations in the Telegraph from the Wikileaks hoard reveal the depth of concern on both sides of the Atlantic at the way Britain has become a forcing house for the ideology of Islamist extremism. MI6 told the Americans it was worried about the “unique” terrorist threat posed by our “home grown” extremists. The US in turn poured thousands of dollars into funding its own secret counter radicalisation campaign…

I wonder how much detailed coverage Mr Cameron or these WikiLeaks will get in the Canadian media.
Update: This however is what one of the Globe and Mail’s leading reporters/columnists/deep thinkers/whatevers thinks:

Who’s afraid of the Muslim Brotherhood?

Maybe Mr Cameron, that silly young man (text of his speech here)–Dauntless Doug Saunders of course knows better. He doubtless would have thought that Mao’s ChiComs were really just “agrarian reformers” (scroll down a bit)?

There’s a peculiar story out of Winnipeg about a dozen Muslim families who have recently arrived in our country and absolutely don’t want their children enrolled in music classes or the boys & girls in the same phys-ed classes together.
This is a perfect opportunity for a Jason Kenney moment, when someone, be they in the local Muslim community or the school board, looks these parents squarely in the eyes and politely but firmly says, “You are in Canada now, not your homeland. A big part of your responsibility as a newcomer to our nation is to allow your children to become somewhat integrated into the society where they are now privileged to be. Failure to do this is disrespectful to every Canadian around you.”
Will that happen? No, I doubt it. Expect a “Human Rights” grievance to be filed against Winnipeg’s Louis Riel School Division within a few months and CBC News to do an in-depth “analysis” of why it’s racist & bigoted to not respect the cultural sensitivities of these families.

With a totalitarian party to vote for: Anti-Mubarak Protesters Scream for “Jihad” While Attacking other Egyptians
h/t

Update. This is worth reading.

“… and criminalize anyone who say it is.”

I don’t plan on blogging the Egyptian riots at present (due mostly to a lack of free time to cover it properly) but you can pick up the Al Jazeera English live stream here. Plus, lots of headlines at Drudge.
“Here’s what a “Presidential Internet Switch” looks like in the wild, my friends.”

What could possibly go wrong?

At least 35 people are feared dead and many more injured.
h/t ‘TheRedSuit’
Report from DEBKAfile
Realtime Updates Here
Update #1:
Pamela Geller has much more (graphic images warning). h/t Marc in Calgary
Update #2:
Here’s the top rated comment on this tragedy at CBC News:

This is what passes for intelligent thought amongst some Canadians. 🙁

I wonder what Queen Elizabeth’s father would think of this?
Beyond the fact that he’d of course be deemed a racist for daring to even raise the issue!

When George W. Bush left office we were assured by everyone on the Left that the Dawn of a New Day was near. We were promised that a conciliatory approach to international relations carried out by intelligent people (ie. not Republicans) was sure to resolve every diplomatic problem in the world.
Now, 2 years later, how has that worked out? Not very darn well it appears. The problem, of course, is that Barack Obama followed closely to what the Leftist ideologues were urging him to do. This course of action failed. Miserably. He refused to show any real sign of support for the brave, freedom loving citizens in Iran. Now many of them are dead or imprisoned.
More recently, he abandoned the democracy loving citizens in Lebanon and the government there fell, in no small part to the forces of Hezbollah, a proxy of the thugocracy in Iran. No one is sure what will happen next but there are great fears that things will be bleak. One thing all* Lebanese are in agreement about is that Barack Obama and America have abandoned them.
Fouad Ajami has a comprehensive new article about all of this. Definitely well worth a read.

Earlier today Roy Green held a round table discussion on his radio show about Muslims & Islam in North America. The four guests were:

• Dr. Zuhdi Jasser – American Islamic Forum for Democracy
• Tarek Fatah – Canadian Muslim Congress
• Naseem Mahdi – Amadiyyah Movement in Islam (U.S.)
• Ahmed Rehab – CAIR Chicago

You can listen to the entire segment here.
It seems very clear to me that there is great division within the Muslim community in North America and this discussion exemplified that. I’ve heard Zuhdi Jasser countless times on both Roy Green and Dennis Miller’s programs. I think he’s a rock solid conservative and is trying to reform Muslims in America, not altogether different than Bill Cosby has tried to do within the African American community. Tarek Fatah, though he seemed off his rocker (read “beyond illogical”) about Sarah Palin this past week, was nevertheless very much echoing what Jasser was saying in this discussion.
I’m not very familiar with Naseem Mahdi but Ahmed Rehab sounded like a nasty piece of work, which is par for the course with any past interviews I’ve seen with CAIR representatives. Here’s some background info on Rehab and here’s an interview he had with Laura Ingraham about 6 months ago. He excels at first insulting anyone he disagrees with rather than discussing the topic at hand. In other words, he’s just a typical Leftist.
Anyhow, please do listen to the segment and share your thoughts!

Tens of thousands…

… marched in Pakistan’s largest city on Sunday to oppose any change to national blasphemy laws and to praise a man charged with murdering a provincial governor who had campaigned against the divisive legislation.
The rally of up to 50,000 people in downtown Karachi was one of the largest demonstrations of support for the laws, which make insulting Islam a capital offense. It was organized before the governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, was shot dead on Tuesday in Islamabad by a bodyguard who told a court he considered Taseer a blasphemer.
Muslim groups have praised the bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri, and have used Taseer’s death to warn others not to speak out against the much-derided laws.