Leaders-lovehate

From Julius Caesar Act 1.1, we are presented with different opinions on Caesar. We can say the same thing about any well-known person today, or in history -- politicians, musicians, religious leaders, actors, sports stars, business leaders, writers, educators... e.g. Hosni Mubarak, Tiger Woods, Steve Jobs, Amy Chua, Lindsey Lohan

Take current events in Egypt. Love Mubarak, hate Mubarak? Think of reasons people may have different views of the same person. What might influence their opinions?

Fill in the chart as given in this example:

Political Leader: **RICHARD NIXON**
 * Opinion || Reasons || Who might hold such an opinion ||
 * Abuser of power || Broke laws, lied || Liberal citizen ||
 * Great diplomat || established good relations with foreign leaders || Conservative senator ||

Remember, as a class we are building knowledge. So someone needs to get the ball rolling, others need to jump in to extend on what has been presented or start another thread...

**HOSNI MUBARAK **
Also, Mubarak managed to survive at least six assassination attempts. || Political analysts ||
 * **Opinion** || **Reasons** || **Who might hold such an opinion** ||
 * Biased Leader || Favoring big business and privatization as opposed to workers' rights || Unemployed citizen ||
 * Corrputed Dictator || He failed to realize that his country could not be ruled liked it had been ruled since 1981 - in a perpetual state of emergency, with referendums on the extension of power and elections held under a corrupt constitution. || Demonstrators ||
 * Incompetent Leader || He did not manage to bring economic benefits to the Egyptians, nor did he manage to bring progress and change to the country. || Egyptians, especially the lower income group ||
 * Managed to remain in power for so long not because of ability, but rather his luck. || In his early years of presidency, it was a period of domestic stability and economic development in Egypt, so his fellow countrymen accepted his monopolisation of power and did not see the need for democracy.
 * Ally || Especially so in the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations || US government ||
 * Corrupted Dictator || Just to add on to the above point, he was also constantly suspected to have resorted to underhand means so as to win the re-elections 5 times consecutively. This includes suspected actions of buying votes, and also political moves like the accusation he made on the Muslim Brotherhood of helping violent Islamic groups, thereby sentencing some of his competitors to jail and his conviction of Nour, a candidate for A-ghad party on basis of fraud, sentencing him to 5 years of hard labour. || Egyptian organisation of Human Rights; his competitors. Political analysts. ||
 * Ineffecient Leader || Lack of commitment to democracy || Nation Leaders (example American leader George Bush) ||
 * Great ruler that cares about country's welfare || Received Jawaharlal Nehru Award (an international award presented by the Government of India.). Given to people "for their outstanding contribution to the promotion of international understanding, goodwill and friendship among people of the world". || Naive citizens ||
 * Dishonest politician || Reports have shown that Mubarak's party used government vehicles to take public employees to vote for him. Votes were bought for Mubarak in poor suburbs and rural areas. It was also reported that thousands of illegal votes were allowed for Mubarak from citizens who were not registered to vote. || Member of opposing party (e.g. El-Ghad Party ("Tomorrow Party"))  ||

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Study these political cartoons. What do you think is the cartoonist's message? Do they present different viewpoints?
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Political cartoon: Daryl Cagey (31/01/11) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Political cartoon: Arend Van Dam (01/02/11) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">These two cartoons highlights the complex relationship between USA and Egypt, and they address the issues of democracy and stability.
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What values and interests should guide USA's involvement in Egypt?
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How do you think USA should have responded to the crisis in Egypt?
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">On the issues of democracy and stability, do you think democratic changes will bring with it greater security and stability for Egypt?

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Other cartoons: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Political cartoon: Eric Allie <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Political cartoon: Riber Hansson

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How to analyse political cartoons:

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Timeline: protests in Egypt

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">English language news from the Middle East: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">English Al Jazeera <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Al-Masry Al-Youm

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Bringing it closer to home:

 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Singapore is seen to practice limited democracy. How far are you willing to sacrifice security and stability for full democracy? **