Egypt's Spring Revolution (2011-2013)

[Surferbeetle]

Traditionally most Europeans have not thought so.

Pete,

Appreciate it.

I am familiar with:

• The concept of Deutsches Leid-Kulture. (See the online magazine Perlentaucher for an example)

• German Gastarbeiter policies

Gastarbeiter (German pronunciation: [ˈɡastˌʔaɐ̯baɪtɐ] ( listen)) is German for "guest worker" (or "guest workers" – the plural is the same as the singular). It refers to migrant workers who had moved to Germany mainly in the 1960s and 70s, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker programme (Gastarbeiterprogramm)

• Frau Dr. Merkel's thoughts regarding the ineffectiveness/failure of multikulti efforts.

In October 2010 Merkel told a meeting of younger members of her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party at Potsdam that attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany had "utterly failed",[24] stating: "The concept that we are now living side by side and are happy about it does not work"[25] and that "we feel attached to the Christian concept of mankind, that is what defines us. Anyone who doesn't accept that is in the wrong place here."[26] She continued to say that immigrants should integrate and adopt Germany's culture and values. This has added to a growing debate within Germany[27] on the levels of immigration, its effect on Germany and the degree to which Muslim immigrants have integrated into German society.

• The controversy surrounding Herr Thilo Sarrazin's position regarding what it means to be European

Thilo Sarrazin (born 12 February 1945) is a former member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank (until 30 September 2010)[1][2] and a German politician (SPD). Sarrazin previously served as senator of finance for the State of Berlin from January 2002 until April 2009, when he was appointed to his position at Bundesbank. He has been subject to controversy for statements about German immigration policy and for claiming the Jewish people's positive contributions to society are partly due to genetics.[3][4] All this happened in relation to the publication of his book Deutschland schafft sich ab ("Germany Does Away With Itself" or "Germany Abolishes Itself").

• Geert Wilders impact upon political thought in the Netherlands

• Jean Marie Pen and his daughter Marine Le Pen's impact upon political thought in France

• Jorg Haider's impact upon political thought in Austria

• David Duke's impact upon political thought in the US

I also believe that it is important to allow for dialog (to include in the politcal realm) on these issues in order to insure that the topics are not driven underground. European and American leadership, or lack thereof, on these topics directly relates to the effects that an absence of dialog (primarily in the political realm) has had upon the middle east, in particular, Egypt.

P.S.

Herr Gerhard Schroder's thoughts on the EU and Turkey's place in it, as reported in an October 17th 2005 post on the German Bundesregierung's Website, are worthy of consideration:

In a statement made during a visit to Istanbul, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder indicated that the sole objective of accession talks with Turkey is its membership in the European Union, adding that having a strong Turkey in a strong European Union would constitute a significant gain and embody the meaning of the EU motto "United in diversity".

Speaking at an iftar dinner, a traditional meal served at the end of the day during Ramadan to break the fast, Schröder noted that "the initiation of accession talks is a major success for everyone concerned," adding that the objective of the talks, begun on October 3, is the attainment of Turkey's full membership in the European Union, and nothing other than that, evoking a strong round of applause from his audience. He said there is no longer anyone in the European Union who calls this into question and that this will not be done by the new German government either.

Commenting after a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Schröder said it is his assumption that the new German government will be interested in continuing to develop the excellent and very long-standing relations that exist between Germany and Turkey. He stressed that Germany is Turkey's most important trading partner and the fact that the 2.5 million people of Turkish origin who live in Germany represent a major task with regard to cultural integration, a task both countries want to be involved in. Prime Minister Erdogan thanked Germany and its Chancellor for the many years of strong support provided on the road leading up to accession talks. "Turkey never forgets friends who have supported it in difficult times", Erdogan said.

It is also important to note that Frau Dr. Merkel does not agree with this view (further discussed in a 29 Sept 2009 article in the Telegraph entitled: Angela Merkel win ends Turkey's EU hopes)

Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Free Democrats (FDP) are both hostile to the accession of the overwhelmingly Muslim country of 71 million.

The CDU is against the Turks joining for cultural reasons while the FDP leader, and probable new foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle has said the country's economy is too far below European standards to integrate comfortably with other members. With almost three million ethnic Turks living in Germany, many as citizens, Germany also fears there would be a flood of immigrants after Turkish accession.

It's my opinion that the effects of the turmoil in Egypt (keeping in mind that it's only 1638 kilometers from Cairo to Riyadh), have a strong potential to impact how the EU and the US (as well as Asia) conduct business in the ME by impacting our how our political and economic institutions are constructed and how they function...

Steve