First there's Egypt aid, then there is no aid, then there is. O_O

I was going to post some stuff about the latest developments in Egypt, but now weird stuff is coming down the pike about U.S. aid to Egypt being suspended, which CNN first reported...then officialdom (in the form of NSC spokesperson Caitlin Hayden) denied it...via Twitter, @robsatloff says an official said it's not true...and now CBS is reporting that it's suspended, followed closely by the Guardian.

Don't really know what to tell y'all at this time except that it's confusing, at best.  People interested in Egypt, #arabspring, Libya et al, just watch this space for updates.  It's bound to get sorted out eventually.  I think.  Maybe. Ummm...

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Well, it's Wednesday now and not even NHK World wants to report on this aspect today.  Still keeping my eyeballs and my earballs peeled for anything definite.

NHK World *did* mention the effect on ASEAN that the absence of Obama had, especially with regard to the disputes in the south China Sea--Congress, having crippled the power of the presidency to assure much of anything, has also crippled U.S. power in the Pacific region.  As it is with the unreliability in economics, Congress has become unreliable in giving Pacific allies assurances of anything predictable and now U.S. currency as a global benchmark has come into question, not only for the ASEAN trade group but in the Eurozone and, quite frankly, everywhere else on this planet.

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Here it is, late Wednesday, and not even the New York Times is clear on whether the yea or nay is definite. It refers only to PLANNED cuts. USA Today reports that the administration WILL cut but not eliminate aid to Egypt.  WaPo says that the admin is expected to announce cuts. So...go figure.  Senator Patrick Leahy had THIS to say about that.  And the Beeb is more definite.

All I can do is reiterate what I've said before--in Egypt, there are no clean hands. None. But while the Egyptian military have been decried by the deposed party, it's the 3-ish million people who turned out in record-breaking number that gave the military its perceived mandate.  Whereas the Muslim Brotherhood has turned brutal, so has the military, but it's noticeable that Egyptians still don't want military rule even as it looks to Turkey as a role model.  The surgical approach that the administration is employing is actually a prudent one, under the circumstances.  And regarding what I said before, and now, Ahram Online illustrates the point rather well, IMHO.

FINALLY! Reuters with some specifics!  And how accurate should the scalpel be for the surgery?  A Brookings Institute Fellow suggests this:

Now it's late Wednesday, and now Brookings weighs in.
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