Monday Bloody Monday

Yesterday was the anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Ireland. A day when the Irish were peacefully protesting in Northern Ireland and were met by a massacre, courtesy of British troops on January 30, 1972. The deaths in Derry were originally blamed on the 13 dead and 17 or more wounded protesters, but finally this past year, justice has been served and they were all proven innocent. Even a father and son were killed together, while he was crawling to the aid of his son. "And in the end, 1972 was to prove Northern Ireland’s bloodiest year by far with nearly 500 people killed," said Prime Minister David Cameron. The IRA officially disarmed in September 2005. Growing up Irish in NJ in the '50s, I remember my foster father giving the milk man extra money every week, and the whispers about how we were helping the Republicans in Ireland. And I didn't quite understand how we Democrats would want to help the Republican Army.

I was thinking about that yesterday as I watched a revolution in real time in Egypt on CNN. I wonder what will happen when they stage a "million man march" tomorrow. Will the soldiers fire at their own people? I worry for Israel, such a small spit of land in the region. Have we learned yet that we cannot export our Democracy to a culture that is not ready, and may not even want to receive it. And, the British. We managed to throw them out of our colonies, but the shadow of that empire still lingers. Gertrude Bell tried to draw lines in the sand for Arab tribesmen, and look where that got her! "Queen of the Desert" was our book club pick a couple of years back , and now coincidentally, we are reading "Cleopatra" by Stacy Schiff. Alexandria is a shining city by the sea, a seat for great thinkers in math and science and the young goddess/queen “...knew how to build a fleet, suppress an insurrection, control a currency, and alleviate a famine.” Her beauty and personality became the myth that surpassed her vast intellect. A strong and powerful woman, even the ancients didn't know what to do with her. If you are looking for a good read about Egypt, try the Cairo Trilogy by Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz. You will not be disappointed.

On a lighter note, - what a difference a couple of decades make. While visiting my MIL I gave her the link and the ability to search for my blog on Google. The key here is to add to the name "MPJ." This stands for Momma Pajamma, my nickname from the Bride. Well my MIL still somehow cannot find it, although if you're reading this now dear MIL, I will retract my statement later. And my sister in NY, bless her heart, who is still without a cell phone but using her Apple laptop like a pro, finally called her broker (which I advised her to do) so she could follow her portfolio online! I'm sure he's a little scared right now. And not only is my son blogging, but his girlfriend is too! I am so proud. Catch her at:
http://manicpixiedreamgirls.tumblr.com/

What a powerful community the internet has created. Tunisia fell by texting and Facebook helped to fuel the protesters in Cairo. I feel as if we are living at the cusp of a great time, where history unfolds immediately, in our global hand-held devices. I once asked my Mother if she went out on the street to celebrate the end of WWII. She laughed, as she did at many of my young, inane questions, and said that news traveled slowly in her day. They didn't even hear about it for a couple of days....radio was kinda new back then. Today, we get the news before the evening news has a chance to analyze it. I'm glad not to be in the news biz anymore;
"You say you want a revolution......"