All Atwitter Over Egypt's Totalitarianism

James Karl Buck is a bad, bad blogger. After all, he took photos of anti-government protests in Egypt. For his sins, he was tossed in jail.

He was released after putting up a one-word post via the Twitter network: Arrested! That rallied friends to his rescue, and now that the totalitarian government of Egypt has released him, he's using Twitter to try to free his translator, Mohammed Maree, who's lost somewhere in the Egyptian gulag.

His crime? Standing next to a guy who was taking pictures of a demonstration against the government. CNN picks up the story:

Buck was released, and his translator was moved to another police station. Now, attorneys say Maree still hasn't been charged and remains in prison.

Back in the United States, Buck has taken it upon himself to further capitalize on the power of his Twitter network, which is now more than 570 followers strong, to help free his translator and friend.

Fueled by the gnawing guilt of leaving Maree behind, Buck set out to enlist all of the help he could in hopes of sparking a movement for his release.

He began setting up a virtual online command post to demand Maree's release. He used everything from Twitter updates, blog posts on his own Web site to an electronic petition signed by more than 900 people.

It's working, maybe. As a result of his Twittering, Buck got CNN engaged, and CNN has grilled the Egyptian consul in San Francisco, who's made inquiries back home. Buck has also gotten human rights groups and attorneys interested -- all through his Twitter network. Do a Google search on his name name, and you'll find that Twitter has launched Buck into the www's upper atmosphere, with 240,000 hits.

That sort of stuff separates Maree from the other political prisoners Egypt (one of the good Islamic nation, mind you), a country that holds legions of citizens without trial in prisons that make Guantanamo look like Club Med.

Buck just might succeed in his efforts to free Maree. After all, he's bringing a Marine-like intensity to his effort. CNN quotes him on what motivates his efforts to free a guy he barely knew:

"It's absolutely an unconditional moral imperative. You just don't leave your men behind."

Maree is still in jail, and human rights advocates who have seen him say he's been tortured and moved from prison to prison. That could be human rights propaganda, or it could very likely be true.

What's true for sure is that totalitarian despots are facing a new world, one that exposes their crimes and excesses faster and more broadly than ever before. Unlike the Bladerunner and Matrix futures, where technology chains us, we live in a present where it's being used as a powerful force for freedom.

Accepting Help, Palestinian Style

Of course, the Arab world benefits from Palestine's misery because they can blame it all on Israel. But often enough, news comes out of Palestine that reveals that the Arab world also dislikes Palestine for no other reason than that they're a people who are so easy to dislike.

Here's the latest from the Egypt/Palestine border, where chaos has prevailed ever since Hamas blew up a section of the border fence. (Apparently it's OK for Egyptians to put up fences to keep out Palestinians, but not for Israelis to do the same ....)

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Egyptian riot police and armored vehicles restricted Gaza motorists to a small border area of Egypt on Saturday, in the second attempt in two days to restore control over the chaotic frontier breached by Hamas militants.

At least 38 members of the Egyptian security forces have been hospitalized, some in critical condition, because of cross-border confrontations, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said. The minister complained of "provocations" at the border, a thinly veiled reprimand of Hamas, and said that while Egypt is ready to ease the suffering of Gazans, this should not endanger Egyptian lives.

Biting the hands that feed them truly has become an art in Palestine.

This is just the sort of nation we can expect when rule is given to terrorists and education is nothing more than indoctrination into hatred and victimization. It will take a generation or more to flush this out of Palestine if the process started tomorrow -- but it's not going to start any time soon.

If, then, Palestine becomes a state, it's going to become a very nasty state -- making me wonder why "solution" is always added to the phrase "two-state solution."