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Egypt unveils plans to build new capital east of Cairo

bbc.com

31–40 of 57 posts

Re: Egypt unveils plans to build new capital east of Cairo

#31
post #10

Well, this is why Burma did the exact same thing (anybody who casts their memories back a few years might see how this relates to Egypt): >Naypyitaw, then, is the ultimate insurance against regime change, a masterpiece of urban planning designed to defeat any putative ‘colour revolution’ – not by tanks and water cannons, but by geometry and cartography. 320 kilometres to the south, Rangoon, with five million people,…

In Egypt case, the new capital looks to be too close to Cairo to give this sort of protection. Brazil changed the capital for that purpose too, and made it masterfully: Brazil had two previous capitals, the first is in Salvador, the capital was there for foreign military reasons: The city is a natural fortress, to attack Salvador by sea you need to navigate inside a bay that has cannons on both sides of the entrance,…

The most important institution to control in any coup is the media. I would be surprised if Brazil's big TV stations were all based in Brasilia.

In any event, I really hope (and believe) that Brazil is not on the brink of a coup or civil war. It would be insane to throw away the progress that has been made in recent decades. There should be a way to sort out the Petrobras corruption scandal without resorting to violence.

Re: Egypt unveils plans to build new capital east of Cairo

#33

Well, this is why Burma did the exact same thing (anybody who casts their memories back a few years might see how this relates to Egypt): >Naypyitaw, then, is the ultimate insurance against regime change, a masterpiece of urban planning designed to defeat any putative ‘colour revolution’ – not by tanks and water cannons, but by geometry and cartography. 320 kilometres to the south, Rangoon, with five million people,…

Louis XIV moved the palace from Paris to Versailles for the very same reason.

And that just worked out brilliantly, and the Ancien Régime ruled peacefully for the next hundred years.

Oh wait...

Re: Egypt unveils plans to build new capital east of Cairo

#34

Well, this is why Burma did the exact same thing (anybody who casts their memories back a few years might see how this relates to Egypt): >Naypyitaw, then, is the ultimate insurance against regime change, a masterpiece of urban planning designed to defeat any putative ‘colour revolution’ – not by tanks and water cannons, but by geometry and cartography. 320 kilometres to the south, Rangoon, with five million people,…

Louis XIV moved the palace from Paris to Versailles for the very same reason.

[deleted]

Re: Egypt unveils plans to build new capital east of Cairo

#35
post #32

Is there an example of a successful government-planned city anywhere? Best I can think of is Canberra.

Washington DC would be the obvious example, but it's organic growth is more of the reason for its success as opposed to governmental action.

Re: Egypt unveils plans to build new capital east of Cairo

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Louis XIV moved the palace from Paris to Versailles for the very same reason.

And that just worked out brilliantly, and the Ancien Régime ruled peacefully for the next hundred years. Oh wait...

107 years, the court moved there in 1682, and the revolution only happened in 1789.

Re: Egypt unveils plans to build new capital east of Cairo

#37

Well, this is why Burma did the exact same thing (anybody who casts their memories back a few years might see how this relates to Egypt): >Naypyitaw, then, is the ultimate insurance against regime change, a masterpiece of urban planning designed to defeat any putative ‘colour revolution’ – not by tanks and water cannons, but by geometry and cartography. 320 kilometres to the south, Rangoon, with five million people,…

Another historical example is Ravenna! The capital of Western Roman Empire in Milan was not secure from barbarians, so they moved it to Ravenna, a little city hidden among the swamps. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravenna#Ancient_era

Re: Egypt unveils plans to build new capital east of Cairo

#38
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very bad optics. Surviving revolutions requires a show of strengths, and retreating to a military base is very much a sign of weakness.

Also as in Brazil case, the government consider that the biggest threat is the military itself (to the point it created recently another quasi-military organization completely separated from the military, it left the main military bases VERY FAR from the capital, and built those new "quasi-military" bases near the capital).

But what stops the quasi-military from staging a coup? The military?

Re: Egypt unveils plans to build new capital east of Cairo

#39
I visited Egypt eight years ago, and the the thing that struck me about modern Egyptian construction is that there was rebar sticking out of the top of everything. From adobe shacks on the edges of fields to the five-star hotels, everything looked like it had been built with the expectation of adding one more floor on later.

Our tour guide told us that this was for tax reasons -- "unfinished" structures are taxed at a lower rate. A brief search online finds more evidence for this explanation (https://vagabondvirginia.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/foto-fact-...). If that really is the reason, I can't imagine why the government doesn't shut down the loophole that is both being exploited so blatantly and also uglifying the modern construction in the country. Here's to hoping that they fix the regulatory issue before the practice is applied in their new capitol!

Re: Egypt unveils plans to build new capital east of Cairo

#40
post #15
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely if there was a revolution, the other parts of the territory could simply ignore Brasília?

Yeah, this is the part of the argument I don't understand... why do you need to control the government buildings? Just declare new ones. It's the guns that you need to control to own a country.

You need to arrest the old government and hold control of government buildings, because this will sway bureaucracy (both civil, police and army) on your side.

If you are interested in details, you should read "Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook" by Edward Luttwak.

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