Egypt Update: “Eat less.” – David Goldman Re-Blog

Peanut Gallery: Egypt has a huge food shortage problem – it imports about half its food and is rapidly running out of money.

breadline in Egypt
TO HAVE IT IS TO LIVE: The Government sent shockwaves across the nation when a Cabinet minister disclosed a plan to offer every Egyptian just three loaves of the baladi (round) bread every day at the state-subsidised price.

A state that can’t feed its people is a failed state, and that’s why the Egyptian state is at the brink of collapse, as Egypt’s defense minister warned last week.

The Islamists didn’t cause the problem… it’s been coming on for years (as David Goldman has documented). But now they own it because they’re in charge.  And it’s not going away any time in the forseeable future.

Goldman’s latest article brings us up to date. It’s a sad state of affairs for the 40+ million Egyptians living on less than $2 a day.
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“Eat Less, Egypt’s Government Tells Its People” by David P. Goldman

“Even Islamists have to eat,” I wrote under the headline “Food and Failed Arab States” in February 2011. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood government takes a different view, the Washington Post reported yesterday. The trouble, the government says, is that Egyptians are eating too much. In a separate report, the government proposed to cut back its bread subsidy to three hand-sized loaves of pita bread per person per day, about 400 calories’ worth. A state that can’t feed its people is a failed state, and that’s why the Egyptian state is at the brink of collapse, as Egypt’s defense minister warned last week.

According to the Post report, the government is telling Egyptians (almost half of whom live on less than $2 a day) to eat less. You can’t make this sort of thing up. Egypt lost another $1.4 billion in foreign exchange reserves in January, and probably is flat broke after figuring in arrears to oil and food suppliers, and it imports half its food, so something had to give. In response, Egypt’s Islamist government is emulating North Korea’s approach to food shortages: Continue reading “Egypt Update: “Eat less.” – David Goldman Re-Blog” →

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From an email I recently received

Many of you are making probable thinking about the March for Life commemorating the 40th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade and yet in the midst of that, as I notified you last week, there have been some serious developments regarding the so called “Reproductive Health Act.” it is important from now on that we refer to this as the “Unlimited Abortion Act”, because

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Morning Reading: Luke 8:19-21 ESV – family ties

Reading: Luke 8:19-21 ESV

family of godThen his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Thank you for including me among your family members. Help me to “hear and do” what you want for me… today and forever. Amen.

Hymn: “We Are God’s People” – Bryan Jeffery Leech (1976)

“Dhimmitude” – a word you should understand

Peanut Gallery: As events unfold in the Middle East, “dhimmitude” is a word you should understand- it directly affects Christians living in Islamic countries and explains why they are so often mistreated (see earlier post “Muslim Persecution of Christians”). islam for dhimmis

“dhimmitude […] represents a behavior dictated by fear (terrorism), pacifism when aggressed, rather than resistance, servility because of cowardice and vulnerability. […] By their peaceful surrender to the Islamic army, they obtained the security for their life, belongings and religion, but they had to accept a condition of inferiority, spoliation (plundering) and humiliation. As they were forbidden to possess weapons and give testimony against a Muslim, they were put in a position of vulnerability and humility.”[9] (Wikipedia)

To put it simply, non-muslims (dhimmis) living in Islamic countries are second-class citizens with little, or no, protection under Sharia law. They are essentially at the mercy of the enforcing religious authority.

If you read the entire Wikipedia article you will find that my characterization of “dhimmitude” and “dhimmis” is disputed by some scholars as “past history” and could be described as Islamophobic.  But disputed or not, there is growing evidence that Western observers of Islamic countries have turned a blind eye to the current wide-spread reality of “dhimmitude,” particularly in rural, or lawless, areas that are outside normal Western scrutiny. (I refer you again to “Muslim Persecuton of Christians.”)

This current post, however, was prompted by an article by Andrew G. Bostom posted on pjmedia.com, “Muhammad Morsi’s Islamic Jew-Hatred, Bernard Lewis’ Islamic Negationism” – asking the question: “Why do the media’s Middle East pundits ignore the Jew-hatred intrinsic to Islamic doctrine?”

The answer lies in the willful denial of the historic realities (past and present) of “dhimmitude.” Jew-hatred (and Christian persecution) are intrinsic to Muhammad Morsi’s Sharia inspired worldview. But it simply doesn’t fit the Western pundits’ “Arab Spring” narrative.

Continue reading ““Dhimmitude” – a word you should understand” →