Here are the latest tweets:
and other news from Egypt, inlcuding the Protests/Attacks & Arrests Against Protesters & Eyewitness Account
The Dead
https://spreadsheets.google.com/lv?authkey=CLT_xkU&hl=en&key=to1CuqGTONV4Bu6ywvxID1Q&toomany=true&pli=1#gid=0
‘We know that Netanyahu cannot sleep now’
Protesters tell ‘The Jerusalem Post’ they don’t feel Egypt is completely free of Israeli occupation, “Camp David made us a slave.”
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=206357
Meet Asmaa Mahfouz and the vlog that Helped Spark the Revolution
This vlog was recorded on January 18th by Asmaa Mahfouz, the girl who helped start it all. She had shared it on her Facebook, and it had gone viral. It was so powerful and so popular, that it drove Egyptians by the thousands into Tahrir Square, and drove the Egyptian government to block Facebook . I’ll shut up now and let Asma talk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgjIgMdsEuk&feature=player_embedded
Egyptian journalist joins protestors
(Video) While Mubarak supporters attack foreign reporters, Nile TV broadcaster says doesn’t want to be part of ‘state propaganda regime’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4023867,00.html
Protests continue in Cairo
Uneasy calm prevails in Egyptian capital’s Tahrir Square as US reportedly considers proposal for Mubarak to go quickly.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201123234315445405.html
Egypt police ‘arrest 7 youth protest leaders’
CAIRO (AFP) — Egyptian police on Thursday arrested seven youth leaders of the protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square shortly after they visited leading dissident Mohamed ElBaradei, their families said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356889
Video shows police van running over protesters
A number of protesters in Egypt published some recorded videos for a police van chasing and running over some demonstrators, dating back to last Friday, when police forces clashed violently with protesters in Tahrir Square in central Cairo.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/02/03/136175.html
Interview: protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square push back Mubarak thugs
Matthew Cassel, photojournalist and an editor with The Electronic Intifada, is currently in Cairo and has been documenting the unfolding of the Egyptian revolution. He spoke with Nora Barrows-Friedman today about the unflagging steadfastness of the protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11777.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Hossam el-Hamalawy, “Egypt: Defending the Revolution”
“No trusting the army for their security anymore, protesters started putting up barricades around Tahrir Square and started forming security committees to protect their occupation from attacks by Mubarak’s thugs.” — Hossam el-Hamalawy “Tahrir is regaining its strength. It’s getting lively again after yesterday’s brutal assault.” — Sharif Kouddous
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/hamalawy030211.html
The battle for Tahrir Square
Al Jazeera’s online producer recounts a night of violence in central Cairo.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201123175837480777.html
Pro-Mubarak thugs charge in on horses and a camel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWvel6Z7qlU&feature=player_embedded#
Egypt Protests: Anti-Mubarak Protestors Attacked By Pro-Government Loyalists For Second Day
Tahrir Square resembled a war zone early Thursday as supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak attacked anti-Mubarak protesters in the second day of violent clashes in downtown Cairo. Protesters have since shifted out of Tahrir Square onto open ground near the Nile River, but Mubarak loyalists will reportedly face their greatest opposition on Friday, the main prayer day of the Muslim week. Anti-government organizers are said to be calling for a redoubling of efforts to force the beleaguered Egyptian leader to step down.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/egypt-protests-antimubara_2_n_818105.html
A Battle for Democracy: Sharif Abdel Kouddous Reports on How Anti-Government Protesters Are Resisting the Mubarak’s Regime Crackdown
Egyptians vowing to oust President Hosni Mubarak continue to occupy the streets in Cairo today as pro-democracy crowds stand up to violent Mubarak forces. Reporting from a rooftop, Democracy Now! senior producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous describes the scene on the 6th October Bridge, where he reports pro-democracy activists are standing their ground on the “frontline of the struggle” for democracy. [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/3/a_battle_for_democracy_sharif_abdel
Eyewitnesses to a Massacre: Reports from Inside Tahrir Square as Pro-Mubarak Forces Open Fire on Protesters
Just before dawn in Cairo today pro-government forces opened fire at Tahrir Square, the site of anti-Mubarak protests for the past 10 days. Minutes after the attack began, Democracy Now! spoke with Egyptian protesters Mona El Seif and Selma Tarzi inside Tahrir Square. [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/3/eyewitnesses_to_a_massacre_reports_from
Journalists and Human Rights Activists Arrested and Beaten in Cairo Crackdown
Human rights activist Hossam Bahgat reports the military has raided the offices of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center in downtown Cairo, which has been the headquarters for the legal effort to protect the pro-democracy demonstrators. He also says the military has locked down Tahrir Square, turning people away at checkpoints from entering. “The biggest alarm today is that there seems to be a series attempts by the army itself, for the first time, of going after foreign journalists and going after human rights organizations, both Egyptian and foreign,” Bahgat says. “With the lack of access to Tahrir Square, we fear that the worst is about to happen and that there is something that the army does not want anyone from the outside world to witness.” [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/3/journalists_and_human_rights_activists_arrested
California Professor Beaten by Pro-Mubarak Forces Minutes After Interview on Democracy Now!
On Wednesday, University of California-Davis Professor Noha Radwan joined Democracy Now! for an interview from a studio in downtown Cairo. Just after finishing the interview, she was attacked in the streets. “I got attacked by the mob and beaten half to death by the Mubarak thugs, who were happy to snatch my necklaces off my neck and to rip my shirt open,” Radwan said. We speak to her again today by telephone, asking her to describe what happened. [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/3/california_professor_beaten_by_pro_mubarak
Amy Goodman, “‘They Want to Abort This Revolution, But We Will Win’: Interview with Nawal El Saadawi”
But what I would like to tell you: the U.S. government, with Israel and Saudi Arabia and some other powers outside the country and inside the country, they want to abort this revolution. And they are creating rumors that, you know, Egypt is going to be ruined, to be robbed, and they are also preventing — we don’t have bread now, and the shops are using this to raise the price. So they are trying to frighten us. They have two strategies: to frighten the people, so we say, “Oh, we need security, we need Mubarak,” because people are living in fear. When I go to the streets, there is no fear, you know, but when I stay at home and listen to the media, I feel, “What’s going to happen?” But when I go to the streets, to Midan Tahrir, and see the people, the young people, the old people, the men, I feel secure, and I believe that the revolution succeeded. So, they are trying to abort the power outside and inside. But we will win. . . . Women and girls are beside boys in the streets. They are — and we are — calling for justice, freedom and equality, and real democracy and a new constitution, no discrimination between men and women, no discrimination between Muslims and Christians, to change the system, to change the people who are governing us, the system and the people, and to have a real democracy. That’s what women are saying and what men are saying.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/saadawi040211a.html
Robert Fisk: Obama Administration Has Been Gutless and Cowardly in Dealing with the Mubarak Regime
The renowned Middle East journalist speaks from Cairo on the historic uprising and how President Obama has lost an opportunity to back a democratic movement in the Middle East.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/3/robert_fisk_obama_administration_has_been
“The True Face of Hosni Mubarak” Is Now Being Televised Across the World: Democracy Now! Reports Live From Downtown Cairo
Violent clashes continue in Egypt. The most recent reports out of Cairo show that seven demonstrators have been killed and more than thousand injured. Many of the pro-Mubarak agitators have been shown to be undercover security forces. In Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the uprising, thousands of Egyptians remain peaceful and defiant. We get a live report from Democracy Now! senior producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous who is on a rooftop near the 6th October Bridge and from Mona El Seif, an activist who has remained in Tahrir Square since yesterday.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/3/the_true_face_of_hosni_mubarak
Doha Al Zohairy, “Women Protesting in Tahrir Square”
Protests sweeping Egypt have done more than raise hopes of democratic change. Egypt’s women are hoping this might mark the start of a new era for them as well. Women have been on the frontlines of the demonstrations, braving tear gas and gunfire, to call for the unseating of President Hosni Mubarak. They helped with organization of security at the protests, and they say their presence earned them unaccustomed respect of Egyptian men.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/zohairy030211.html
Lauren Ashburn: The Real Tiger Mom: Egpyt’s Amal Sharaf
In the middle of Cairo’s Tahir Square, 36 year-old single mother Amal Sharaf brings her daughter to her tiny office where she and about ten others work tirelessly to overthrow Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. “I think we can do it,” Sharaf meekly tells NBC’s Richard Engle. Armed with six cell phones, she places hundreds of calls a day encouraging Egyptians nationwide to come to the capital city. Her daughter has been seen sitting by her mother’s side in a pink scarf and plaid sneakers playing games on a microcomputer as history unfolds around her.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-ashburn/the-real-tiger-mom-egpyts_b_818463.html
Tahrir Square battleground: ‘These people tried to slaughter us last night’
Anti-Mubarak protesters in Cairo fight to hold square littered with bricks and burnt-out vehicles after night of bloodshed They were barely visible at first, a glimmer of tan clothing among the ranks of pro-Mubarak fighters lined on a low overpass above the entrance to Tahrir Square. It was from here that rocks, petrol bombs and bullets had been raining down on the anti-regime opposition defending their barricades below. At 9am first one, then a second, and then dozens of Egyptian soldiers – the same military forces who had stood back and watched as last night’s bloodshed unfolded – finally appeared at this key strategic flashpoint and began driving back those on the bridge. Before them lay a no-man’s land littered with broken bricks and burnt-out vehicles that spoke of the extraordinary violence that had played out in the darkness. It was the beginning of a day of to-and-fro street clashes in the densely populated neighbourhoods surrounding the square, as anti-Mubarak protesters fought close-quarter battles to hold Tahrir and, in a hail of warning shots and automatic gunfire, the army sporadically attempted to establish buffer zones. A night of fighting that left more than 1,000 injured and several dead from gunshot wounds .
http://newsbreakingonline.com/news/tahrir-square-battleground-these-people-tried-to-slaughter-us-last-night.html
Egypt doctors attend anti-Mubarak protesters
Street warfare has changed them. When they came they were idealistic. Now, they’re battle-hardened. ‘I don’t care if they arrest us,’ says laser surgeon Hisham Ibrahim. ‘Freedom will not come easy.’ The two doctors say they joined the protests against President Hosni Mubarak to improve living conditions for themselves and for less fortunate Egyptians, some of whom they are now treating in makeshift clinics at Tahrir Square.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/RK5ytFuG6AI/la-fg-egypt-anti-mubarak-20110204,0,4486362.story
Egypt protesters voice grievances, aspirations
CAIRO (IRIN) – Large-scale protests across Egypt since 25 January have led to deaths and injuries, food and petrol shortages and transport chaos. IRIN interviewed some of the demonstrators demanding regime change in Cairo about their daily lives.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11775.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Robert Fisk: ‘Mubarak will go tomorrow,’ they cried as rocks and firebombs flew
From the House on the Corner, you could watch the arrogance and folly yesterday of those Egyptians who would rid themselves of their “President”. It was painful – it always is when the “good guys” play into the hands of their enemies – but the young pro-democracy demonstrators on the Tahrir Square barricades carefully organised their Cairo battle, brought up their lorryloads of rocks in advance, telephoned for reinforcements and then drove the young men of Hosni Mubarak back from the flyovers behind the Egyptian Museum. Maybe it was the anticipation that the old man will go at last today. Maybe it was revenge for the fire-bombing and sniper attacks of the previous night. But as far as the “heroes” of Egypt are concerned, it was not their finest hour.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-mubarak-will-go-tomorrow-they-cried-as-rocks-and-firebombs-flew-2203896.html
‘We are very much in the early stages of our revolution’, Parvez Sharma
At an estimated nineteen million people, Cairo does remain a very small town. Every single time I have been there I have been struck by the small cliques of people who hang out at the same parties, go out to the same restaurants and bars, visit the same art exhibitions and gossip endlessly about each other. There is an interesting kind of tribalism. For example, many of the expat journalists reporting on the Middle East (till a few days ago Cairo as opposed to Beirut was considered the safest place to report from about the region) like to drink copiously at the Odeon Palace rooftop bar off Talaat Harb street pretty much a stone’s throw from the Ground Zero of the Egyptian revolution at Tahrir Square.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/we-are-very-much-in-the-early-stages-of-our-revolution.html
Video
“Husni has gone mad! Husni has gone mad! Condoleezza, Condoleezza. Get him a Visa.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U94PCrdHG4w&feature=player_embedded#
Egypt Revolution – ثورة الغضب.mov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS0hXUp69uM
Gunfire heard in Tahrir Square
The clashes continue across Egypt and reports of gunfire continue to pierce the sky in the capital Cairo. The army has moved in to keep both sides apart, reportedly pushing pro- Hosni Mubarak supporters further away from the square. Ahmed Shafiq, Egypt’s new prime minister, speaking on state television says there will be an investigation in the fighting on Wednesday and the ongoing violence. Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RbI7VbxxVo&feature=youtube_gdata
Clashes continue in Cairo as army bids to curb violence on streets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUxXPrhiDks&feature=youtube_gdata
Tahrir Square 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldL2Pamqsuw&feature=youtube_gdata
Tahrir Square 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjQp-OmXRIE&feature=youtube_gdata
Pro Mubarak Hoodlums
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vtuTBMOvZ8&feature=youtube_gdata
More video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LivDkyLZu64&feature=youtube_gdata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N-BeWlvhsw&feature=youtube_gdata
Pictures
Egyptian protesters’ makeshift helmets – in pictures
Demonstrators in Cairo calling for Hosni Mubarak’s removal are resorting to bottles, boxes, bits of foam and anything else they can find to protect themselves from rocks and other objects thrown by regime supporters
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2011/feb/03/egypt-protesters-head-protection-helmets?CMP=twt_gu
Tahrir Square 3 pm on Friday
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/2/4/tahrir-at-3pm.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Cairo, prayers at dusk in the shadow of the army, bloodied but unbowed. Amazing image I think.
http://twitpic.com/3vzr28
USA why do you support dictators?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/solilos/5413371441/in/set-72157625840802619/
#Jan25 Injured
http://www.arabawy.org/2011/02/03/jan25-injured-%D8%AC%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AD/
#Jan25 Mubarak, you can choose: go out or go out!
http://www.arabawy.org/2011/02/03/jan25-mubarak-you-can-choose-go-out-or-go-out/
#Jan25 Victory or Martyrdom
http://www.arabawy.org/2011/02/03/victory_graffiti/
#Jan25 The fall of the killer
http://www.arabawy.org/2011/02/03/mubarak_killer/
#Jan25 Long live the revolution.. Down with Mubarak
http://www.arabawy.org/2011/02/03/tank_graffiti/
http://www.arabawy.org/2011/02/03/tahrir-6/
#Jan25 Barricades
http://www.arabawy.org/2011/02/04/barricades-4/
Developments
Egypt’s defense minister and army leaders inspect Cairo’s revolt-hit Tahrir square: TV
CAIRO, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) — Egypt’s Defense Minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi and commanders of the Egyptian army inspected on Friday Cairo’s downtown Tahrir Square as thousands of Egyptians are flocking to the square to stage anti-President Hosni Mubarak protests, state Nile News TV reported.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-02/04/c_13719200.htm
Mubarak says he ‘wants to go’
Egyptian president tells ABC News he is “fed up” but fearful about the consequences were he to resign immediately.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201123195113546565.html
Suleiman: Mubarak is our father
Vice-president says those calling for president Mubarak to leave are not part of Egypt’s culture.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/02/2011231756869465.html
Egypt’s VP uses state TV to blame unrest on ‘foreign agendas’
Egypt’s new Vice President Omar Suleiman took to state TV Thursday night to make a play for Mubarak to hang on until presidential elections in September.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/1oLUYyloTSE/Egypt-s-VP-uses-state-TV-to-blame-unrest-on-foreign-agendas
Egypt’s vice president offers concessions as street battles spill out of Cairo square
Fighting spreads out of Tahrir Square as the army tries to separate factions. Anti-government protesters set Friday as a deadline for President Hosni Mubarak to step down. Foreign journalists face intimidation by suspected pro-Mubarak forces. As volleys of gunfire echoed through the heart of Egypt’s capital, senior government officials on Thursday offered a flurry of political concessions, seeking to placate protesters on the eve of a potentially explosive new confrontation between supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/4nkCwQ8rjLc/la-fg-egypt-unrest-20110204,0,3864462.story
Egypt bans ex-ministers from travel
Three former ministers and a prominent businessman also have their bank accounts frozen.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/02/201123142759661467.html
Brotherhood says no plans for Egypt presidential bid
CAIRO, Feb 4 (Reuters) – The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s biggest opposition group, has no ambitions to run for the Egyptian presidency, a leading member of the Islamist movement told Al Jazeera television on Friday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/brotherhood-says-no-plans-for-egypt-presidential-bid
Senate urges transfer of power in Egypt
WASHINGTON — The US Senate late Thursday unanimously approved a symbolic resolution urging Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to create a caretaker government but stopping short of urging him to step down. Shocked and angered by television images of Mubarak supporters charging anti-government demonstrators, lawmakers called for quick, “concrete” steps towards transforming the staunch US ally into a representative democracy.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/senate-transfer-power-egypt/
Senator Patrick Leahy: Egypt Will Lose Aid If Mubarak Does Not Step Down (VIDEO)
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, the body that oversees American foreign aid, warned Egypt on Wednesday that unless President Mubarak steps down and the violence stops, Egypt will lose its financial assistance from the United States. In an interview on MSNBC, Leahy told Cenk Uygur:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/patrick-leahy-egypt_n_818020.html
U.S. Lawmakers Call for Halting Egypt Aid to Push Mubarak Aside
Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) — Some senior members of the U.S. Congress are calling for a halt in foreign aid to Egypt as a way to hasten President Hosni Mubarak’s exit from power amid continuing protests against his three-decade rule. Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the panel that controls foreign aid, said he’s prepared to stop all U.S. financial assistance to Egypt — which topped $1.5 billion last year — unless Mubarak steps aside immediately and allows a transitional government to take over.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-03/u-s-lawmakers-call-for-halting-egypt-aid-to-push-mubarak-aside.html
US presses Egypt on violence, warns on Friday protest
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Egypt could see larger protests and serious confrontation on Friday, the State Department said as U.S. diplomats pressed Egypt’s government to help stop a wave of violence against journalists. “I don’t think these are random events,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told a news briefing on Thursday after journalists reportedly came under attack as they sought to cover protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#drafts/12ded224ef190d0d
Mubarak Regime Paid Beltway Insiders Millions To Court The Powerful
According to Foreign Lobbying Influence Tracker, 1,783 contacts were made between various lobbying firms representing the Arab Republic of Egypt and U.S. government officials since 2007.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/mubarak-regime-paid-washington-lobbyists-millions/story?id=12811865
Amnesty International: Unfounded Fears of Egyptian Democracy
By Geoffrey Mock, the Egypt country specialist and chair of the Middle East County Specialists for Amnesty International USA. Warnings that democracy will turn Egypt into a dangerous theocracy has been heard for a long time, but with the Egyptian people strongly intent on winning back their rights, those concerns seem this week to be everywhere. Nowhere is this fear of Egyptian democracy is being heard loudest than here in the U.S. media. This concern isn’t limited to the American right: In today’s Washington Post, liberal columnist Richard Cohen expresses his fears that Islamist influence in a democratic Egypt would endanger Israel.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amnesty-international/unfounded-fears-of-egypti_b_818029.html
Egypt’s Police Widely Despised, Viewed As ‘Corrupt And Abusive’
While the relationship between Egypt’s people and the country’s military has been mostly positive, popular sentiment toward the state-run police has been overwhelmingly negative. Eric Trager of Foreign Affairs explains, “The police, after all, have been the most frequent point of contact between the people and the regime, and they are famously corrupt and abusive. Operating under the Ministry of the Interior, the police include the Central Security Forces, who beat protesters all last week and blanketed Cairo in a cloud of tear gas on Friday; and State Security, which is responsible for monitoring and disrupting all political opposition activity through a vast system of informants. Meanwhile, to handle the messiest of anti-dissident jobs, the police frequently hire balpagiya — literally, gangsters, who are paid by the police to mete out punishment without dirtying the government’s hands.” Trager describes the police as “[President] Mubarak’s first line of defense against his domestic opponents.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/egypt-police-corrupt_n_818088.html
Muslim Brotherhood to Israeli TV: referendum to decide peace treaty
If the “revolution” to oust Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak succeeds, Egypt will hold a referendum to decide the fate of its 1979 peace treaty with Israel, Israel’s Channel 10 television quoted a Muslim Brotherhood official as warning Thursday. “Israel has nothing to fear but its own crimes,” Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Assam el-Erian told the channel. But he also gave reassurances that the Brotherhood was a “non- violent” and not an extremist organization, dpa reported. Israel is following the unrest in Egypt closely and with concern, fearing it could jeopardize its 31-year-old peace with the regional super power to its southern border. Israeli officials have warned of a scenario in which Muslim extremists who might decide to discontinue the peace with Israel could assume power in Egypt.
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1823253.html
Egypt Citizens Protect National Libraries As Violence Escalates
Earlier this week, Bibliotheca Alexandrina director Ismail Serageldin wrote a short letter explaining that Egyptian youth were protecting the libraries as demonstrations swept through Cairo. He has posted photos and videos of the brave library protectors holding hands int front of the library.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/egypt-library-protect_n_818048.html
Egypt woes ‘costing $310m a day’
Egypt’s uprising is costing the country at least $310m a day as factories close and tourists avoid the country, Credit Agricole says.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/business-12365191
Egypt Internet Clampdown Cost $90 Million, OECD Estimates
PARIS — A top Western think tank says Egypt’s unprecedented clampdown on Internet and cell phone networks during the anti-government protests likely cost it about $90 million. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says the blocked services account for roughly 3-4 percent of economic output, resulting in a loss of $18 million per day for the Egyptian economy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/egypt-internet-clampdown-_n_818059.html
Media Repression and Intimidation
We’ve compiled a list of all the journalist who have been in some way threatened, attacked or detained while reporting in Egypt. When you put it all into one list, it is a rather large number in such a short period of time. (UPDATED – send us more stories if you get them)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/egypt-abc-news-christiane-amanpour-exclusive-interview-president/story?id=12833673
Al-Jazeera says its Cairo offices attacked
DOHA (AFP) – Al-Jazeera, the pan-Arab satellite television channel banned since last weekend from operating in Egypt, said Friday its offices in Cairo have been attacked. “Unknown persons came into the Al-Jazeera bureau in Cairo and destroyed equipment inside,” the Doha-based channel said in a statement, without giving details. Last Sunday, the Egyptian information ministry ordered Al-Jazeera — which has given saturation coverage to the ongoing protests in Cairo — to halt operating in Egypt, and stripped its staff of their credentials.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356985
Lara Logan Detained By Egyptian Police
CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan has been detained, along with her crew, by Egyptian police, TIME reported Thursday afternoon. Logan, who has been in Egypt since Monday, had been reporting from Alexandria but was detained outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo, according to TIME. Wednesday, Logan filed a foreboding report about the Mubarak government “throttling” foreign press.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/lara-logan-detained-egypt_n_818278.html
Egypt Journalists Roundup Continues As Violence Escalates
CAIRO – Protesters and government supporters fought in a second day of rock-throwing battles at a central Cairo square while more lawlessness spread around the city. New looting and arson erupted, and gangs of thugs supporting President Hosni Mubarak attacked reporters, foreigners and rights workers while the army rounded up foreign journalists.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/egypt-journalists-roundup_n_818381.html
Journalists attacked, detained in Egypt protests
* U.S. condemns ‘concerted’ intimidation of press
* UK says Harassment, Internet interference ‘unacceptable’
* Press watchdog says Egypt ‘eliminating witnesses’ (Updates with U.S., British criticism, reporters detained)
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/journalists-attacked-detained-in-egypt-protests
Mubarak supporters storm hotels in Cairo-TV
CAIRO, Feb 3 (Reuters) – President Hosni Mubarak’s supporters stormed hotels in Cairo on Thursday, chasing foreign journalists, Al Arabiya TV said.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/mubarak-supporters-storm-hotels-in-cairo-tv
Call to free Al Jazeera journalists
Three Al Jazeera journalists have been detained by Egyptian security forces and another is reported missing.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201123165214813586.html
White House: Egypt must stop targeting journalists
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Feb 3 (Reuters) – White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Thursday the Egyptian government must not target journalists covering anti-government protests, and reiterated that the time for political transition was now. “Any journalist that has been detained should be released immediately,” Gibbs told reporters traveling with the president, adding that acts to intimidate the media were “completely and totally unacceptable.”
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/white-house-egypt-must-stop-targeting-journalists
Foreign journalists targeted in Egypt rage: An inside look
The friendly Cairo that Monitor correspondent Kristen Chick is accustomed to has been transformed into a hostile environment in which journalists are targets of suspicion, abuse, and detention.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/MVw7IEyzOq4/Foreign-journalists-targeted-in-Egypt-rage-An-inside-look
Vodafone’s Egypt texts may do them lasting damage | Charles Arthur
Vodafone may have been forced to send out pro-Mubarak texts, but operating in oppressive countries is always risky for a brand. Vodafone has admitted sending out pro-Mubarak text messages to users of its mobile service in Egypt – although as the company says, in a mea exculpa, it was obliged to by the government.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/03/vodafone-egypt-text-messages
Solidarity with the Egyptian People
Anti-Mubarak Demos Try to Storm Egyptian Embassy in Beirut
03/02/2011 More than 100 demonstrators briefly clashed with police outside the Egyptian embassy in Beirut on Thursday after they tried to break through the security cordon around the diplomatic mission, a security official said. “Police intervened to push back the demonstrators after they tried to break through the barbed wire in order to enter the embassy,” the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. He added that no one was arrested or injured during the clashes that lasted about 20 minutes. The demonstration outside the embassy was organized by leftist activists, many of whom carried portraits of the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian flags or Communist Party flags. Anti-riot police were seen using batons and rifle butts to disperse the protesters after they managed to remove the barbed wire around the embassy or jump over it late afternoon. Army reinforcements were brought in and the barbed wire was put back in place after the clashes. Similar demonstrations against the regime of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have taken place in Beirut in recent days
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=172133&language=en
Hundreds in Gaza rally in solidarity with Egypt
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip rallied Thursday in solidarity with the uprising in Egypt. Marchers carried banners reading “People want the regime out” and “Down with Hosni Mubarak”. A student group distributed a statement calling on the UN to take action against the regime.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356866
Arab intellectuals in Egypt
Of course, I am not talking about Mubarak’s orphans: those Arab writers in Hariri and Saudi media who have been praising the wisdom of Mubarak for years. But among the statement that got my attention is one from Gulf intellectuals in solidarity with Tunisian and Egyptian people. Salutations comrades.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/arab-intellectuals-in-egypt.html
Excitement in Arab air
I have not seen probably in my lifetime seen all the Arabs around the world rallying around the same event like I am seeing now. It is hard to describe. You need to see Arabs on Facebook and twitter (or twittar in Egyptian dialect) to appreciate.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/excitement-in-arab-air.html
Fidel Castro: Hosni Mubarak’s ‘Fate Is Sealed’
Fidel Castro has joined the ranks of world leaders to comment on Egypt’s deadly anti-government violence, going so far as to suggest that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is finished.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/fidel-castro-hosni-mubara_n_818413.html
Mohamed Gaber and Carlos Latuff, “Support the Revolution in Egypt” (Cartoon)
Mohamed Gaber is a graphic designer and photographer in Cairo, Egypt. Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/gl030211.html
In Support of the Dictator
Palestine’s Egypt ambassador defends response
CAIRO (Ma’an) — The Palestinian ambassador to Cairo said Thursday the embassy was following up with all Palestinians stranded in Egypt, after his response came under criticism. Barakat Al-Farra denounced the “media campaign” on Hamas websites about the embassy’s response to the crisis. Palestinians stranded at the airport or Rafah crossing are receiving all possible assistance, Al-Farra said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356833
The Black List: Egyptian Celebrties for Mubarak
Sure before January 25, 2011, there were almost no one who dares to criticize the Egyptian dictator Hosny Mubarak, now a lot more speak out against him and a lot more speaking for change. I have complied a list of brown nose celebrities who are still sucking up to the president and have forgotten the lives that have been lost. Those celebrities need to remember one thing, it’s the love of the people who made them celebrities not the regime. It’s the people who form their fan base, not the politicians. Maybe the people are wrong to celebrate such celebrities becasue they celebrities seem not to appreciate that and instead place bigger value on people in power more than common people who are your power.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2011/02/the-black-list-egyptian-celebrties-for-mubarak.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kabobfest%2FGrillMe+%28KABOBfest%29
Ros-Lehtinen to call Obama team to testify on Egypt
“The U.S. should learn from past mistakes and support a process which only includes candidates who meet basic standards for leaders of responsible nations: Candidates who have publicly renounced terrorism, uphold the rule of law, recognize Egypt’s international commitments including its nonproliferation obligations and its peace agreement with the Jewish State of Israel, and who ensure security and peace with its neighbors,” she said in a statement.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/03/ros_lehtinen_to_call_obama_team_to_testify_on_egypt
As’ad Abukhalil’s Commentary
What is happening in `Arish
What is happening in the city of `Arish in Egypt is most noteworthy. There, the uprising is more radical and violent. The headquarters of the State Security Apparatus was evacuated due to public rage and it was then destroyed by RPG attacks. You know the significance of that? Let me summarize: Zionists of the world: freak out big time, NOW.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-is-happening-in-arish.html
Don’t be nervous
Some people I know are expressing worries regarding the US and Israeli attempt to abort the Egyptian uprising. Don’t worry. Even if they, temporarily, set up an extension regime, the political culture of Egypt has been altered. The ability of the regime to impose discipline, “order”, submission, has been undermined. If Egyptian now demonstrate in solidarity with the Palestinians now, for example, no security forces would prevent them from leaving the Al-Azhar or the Cairo University. It is a different country even if the head of the secret police, `Umar Sulayman (the candidate of reform and democracy according to Obama and Clinton), takes over in a transitional period.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/dont-be-nervous.html
The US
The time when the US could have exploited the Egyptian uprising to feign identification with the people is long gone. The US clumsily–from its own imperialist standpoint–put itself squarely on the side of the enemies of the people of Egypt. Now this will have long term repercussions.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/us.html
Nasser on poor people: mocking religious thought
Here is a clip by Nasser that has been avidly circulated. In it Nasser says: ”The poor have paradise. OK. So those poor people have no share on earth, but only in paradise? They want a small share on earth, and in return they can give you a share in heaven.” Watch it.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/nasser-on-poor-people-mocking-religious.html
Nasser versus Mubarak
New TV of Lebanon yesterday contrasted Husni Mubarak with Jamal `Abd-an-Nasir. Mubarak’s wealth is now estimated at more than $40 billion. When Nasser died, he had less than 4,000 Egyptian Pounds in his bank account. But comparing Nasser to Mubarak is like comparing Nelson Mandela to `Adil Imam.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/nasser-versus-mubarak.html
Israeli dirty hands in Egypt: important (I rarely say this but this is)
“Netanyahu did not omit an assurance — that sounded more like a heavy hint — that Israeli had put unspecified “security arrangements” in place: “A peace agreement does not guarantee the existence of peace, so in order to protect it and ourselves, in cases in which the agreement disappears or is violated due to a regime change on the other side, we protect it with security arrangements on the ground,” he said.
He gave no further details about these “security assurances” – and was apparently not even asked.” (thanks Yasmine)
PS This should be circulated among Egyptians.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/israeli-dirty-hands-in-egypt-important.html
Yusuf Al-Qardawi
He gave a strong Friday sermon today in which he denounced the clerics who work for the authorities and the police.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/yusuf-al-qardawi.html
The bombing of the church in Alexandria
This will be known soon. It is most likely that the State Security Apparatus was behind the criminal bombing of the Coptic church in Alexandria. It is now clear that Mubarak’s favorite card is to scare people into submission.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/bombing-of-church-in-alexandria.html
From Dictatorship to Madness, Khaled Saghiyyah
They tried to turn off the lights, yesterday, in Tahrir Square. Some things ought to be done in the dark. Blood should be spilled, unseen. Silence has to prevail and go unheard. It’s not the first time that the Egyptian regime feeds on the blood of its people. It’s not the first time where violence is carried out against the Egyptians. The difference is that when the regime becomes naked, its violence becomes naked. Just as we moved from unfair electoral laws to electoral fraud and from economic exploitation to organized looting, we are moving from police uniform to thugs, horses, camels, sticks, knives and Molotov cocktails. Whenever the President looks at himself in the mirror and finds he is increasingly transformed into a stuffed mummy, he will further resort to violence. The arrows of his violence will not be pointed at the demonstrators only, but also at the Egyptian history as a whole. And repeated attempts to burn and loot the museum attest to this. The president does not bear an existence for Egypt without him; he does not bear a history of Egypt that does not glorify him. That appeared to be Hosni Mubarak’s main obsession, in his speech two nights ago. Perhaps the most dangerous game starts when an individual talks himself into confronting history. Mubarak moved from a dictatorship era to one of madness. Someone has to stop him, to step forward and implement the Zine El Abidine Ben Ali scenario, for example. To enter the president’s office and tell him: the game is over, this is your ticket to Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, we can enjoy watching the spokespeople of the U.S. administration sweating profusely whenever they come out to speak to journalists, using all kinds of contradictory and cautious expressions. But the situation turned comical recently. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called to hold those responsible fully accountable for the violence. America’s silence might have been more useful.Tunisian and Egyptian peoples reminded us that democracy is achieved by the uprising of the people. The Egyptian demonstrators know how to stop Mubarak’s madness. After all, they are still holding out in the Tahrir Square and other squares. And their voices began to fill up the Arab world, “from the swamps of the East to a new East”.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/from-dictatorship-to-madness.html
To understand what is happening in Egypt
You need to read about Operation Ajax in Iran in 1953.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/to-understand-what-is-happening-in.html
The cunning ambiguous diplomatic language of the administration
Notice the tortured language of the administration. They talk and talk and invent new phrases and keep referring to “transition” of power but all that is to avoid asking him to step down. They really really love…the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty–I mean, Mubarak.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/cunning-ambiguous-diplomatic-language.html
To readers around the world, and to people in Egypt
Mubarak armed goons have kidnapped Aljazeera’s producer, Mysa khalaf al-tawil (daughter of dear friend, Kamal). Mysa just arrived in Cairo two days ago to help in the coverage for the channel. I urge all of you if you can help to obtain her release or to provide information that could help in locating her. Please spread the message and inform me if you learn anything. Add this to the list of crimes for the Mubarak regime. It is personal now.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/to-readers-around-world-and-to-people.html
This is what I like about the coverage
Many in the Western media AND Western government act horrified regarding scenes of criminality and terrorism by the Mubarak regime. Where have you been for 30 years. To their credit, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have for 30 years been producing reports after reports about the deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt. Attacks on journalists? That is a feature of the Mubarak regime. Where have you all been when the most courageous journalist in the Arab, by my standard, `Abdul-Halim Qandil–freak out, Zionists, he despises Israel as much as I do and prepare to hear about him a lot in the new Egypt–was kidnapped and beaten and left naked on the road to Al-Haram? No one reported that story.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/this-is-what-i-like-about-coverage.html
Jihad Amn-Ad-Dawlah (the Security of the State Apparatus)
This is the most terroristic of all the state security agencies in Egypt, and it is believed that it sent out the goons yesterday (which were funded by the wealthy businessmen cronies of Jamal Mubarak–Karl Marx would have loved that more than a footnote to the story how the wealthy billionaires are now funding the terror of the regime: read the Communist Manifesto again. This apparatus of oppression has been working closely with CIA, FBI, Mossad and all other Western agencies. It has been at the corner stone of “counter-terrorism” plans and plot, and it is the one that always seems to discover Al-Qa`idah plots. Yesterday, they trained a woman (who were later exposed as a Mubarak journalist) to appear on TV disguised and to claim that she was trained to sabotage Egypt by Mossad, Hizbullah and she railed against Jews. Do you notice that the blatant anti-Semitism of the Mubarak regime has not been getting any attention in the Western Zionist media because they have been so pleased with Mubarak’s role in Gaza? Hell, if Mubarak dons a Hitler mustache (as he is portrayed in many portraits in Tahrir Square) and if he puts the Swastika on his shirt, the Zionists would still be cheering him.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/jihad-amn-ad-dawlah-security-of-state.html
Attacks on Al-Arabiyyah reporters
You may wonder about the attacks today and yesterday on Al-Arabiyyah reporters in Egypt. That should not be surprising: 1) while the station of King Fahd’s brother-in-law has been very pro-Mubarak and sympathetic to the goons, yesterday the scenes were too clear and blatant to try to spin them so the reporters had to report on the criminal elements of the regime and their crimes; 2) the attacks by Mubarak armed goons against reporters seem to indiscriminate and target all journalists who are perceived as enemies.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/attacks-on-al-arabiyyah-reporters.html
Usamah Al-Baz
You don’t hear about this foreign policy adviser of Mubarak: an opportunist who was Nasserist with Nasser, Sadatist with Sadat, and Mubarakist with Mubarak. He was in the 1960s an informer on Arab students in the US reporting to Nasser mukhabrat apparatus. He later was a key foreign policy adviser. I was with Sadiq Jalal Al-`Adhm at CSIS in DC and we ran into him, and I grilled him about the Mubarak regime (I remember that Al-`Adhm was so offended with how I grilled him and said publicly that I should go easy on him, which does not surprise me given the liberal transformation of this ex Leftist). I brought up the terror visited by the regime on dissidents and to my surprise, Al-Baz said that he has not been agreeing with the oppressive methods of the regime. I asked him why he does not go public, and he did not answer.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/usamah-al-baz.html
Revolt in Syria
You can’t support the uprising in Egypt and not support all revolts throughout the Arab world. There is not one single regime that is worth defending anywhere in the region. And even on Arab-Israeli issues, I find the stance of Syria to be reprehensible: mere empty rhetoric and the regime begs Israel for peace negotiations. So here is a link to the call for revolt in Syria and the Syrian brothers and sisters deserve your full support.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/revolt-in-syria.html
Robert Springborg on Egypt
“The president and the military, have, in sum, outsmarted the opposition and, for that matter, the Obama administration. They skillfully retained the acceptability and even popularity of the Army, while instilling widespread fear and anxiety in the population and an accompanying longing for a return to normalcy. When it became clear last week that the Ministry of Interior’s crowd-control forces were adding to rather than containing the popular upsurge, they were suddenly and mysteriously removed from the street. Simultaneously, by releasing a symbolic few prisoners from jail; by having plainclothes Ministry of Interior thugs engage in some vandalism and looting (probably including that in the Egyptian National Museum); and by extensively portraying on government television an alleged widespread breakdown of law and order, the regime cleverly elicited the population’s desire for security. While some of that desire was filled by vigilante action, it remained clear that the military was looked to as the real protector of personal security and the nation as a whole. Army units in the streets were under clear orders to show their sympathy with the people.” Now Bob knows a lot about Mubarak’s Egypt and was an early writer about the military-security apparatus of the regime (and he speaks Arabic with an Egyptian accent) but it seems to me that his piece here is way too categorical in declaring the victory of the regime. The process that has been ignited in Egypt is and will be out of tight control, by either sides, and the momentum will be determined by many factors so the ability of any one side to dictate events is lessened. Remember that it took Nasser 2 years to take control of Egyptian regime after the Revolution. This is a process and no one can predict the outcome at this point. I should also say that he is wrong about the public attitudes toward the Army. I urge Bob to watch Aljazeera and even Al-Arabiyyah to detect a change in the public tone toward the Egyptian Army.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/robert-springborg-on-egypt.html
FLASH: The US-arranged coup may have already taken place
I am learning from sources in Cairo that the Egyptian Army is now in full control of the regime and that Mubarak is now under their control. They are waiting for the right moment to decide on when to dispose of him. This explains why the US is now satisfied with “reform process.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/flash-us-arranged-coup-may-have-already.html
Fath and Mubarak
Ayman sent me this: “I have many friends from Fateh-in the glorious state of Ramallah-(normal people, not leaders) and most of them are not happy about Egyptian revolution, they have brainwashed their own brains that it is the Mosad and Muslims Brotherhood (I don’t know how they can fit together) whom are behind what is going on in Egypt, you can check their official forum (biggest Fateh community on the internet) and read some of the funny posts and comments there: There is also a message that is been circulated in pro-Fateh websites to call for Karama Revolution (inspired by the Egyptian revolution which is Mosad-Muslims Brotherhood plot!) on 11-2-2011 in Gaza to revolt and overthrow the “regime” there!!!… It is sad to see such political stupidity among what is supposed to be one of the biggest Palestinian factions……Wish you good health, and I hope we’ll see Hosni soon in the Air (as I think even Saudi Arabia won’t accept him this time – there are many Egyptians working there, it is dangerous for him).”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/fath-and-mubarak.html
Arabs and Muslims are vile
From the Independent: ”It would be wonderful to think that what replaces Mubarak will be better. But here’s the thing about Middle Eastern regimes: they’re all vile. The ones that are “friendly” are vile and the ones that hate us are vile. Revolutions in the region have a habit of going horribly wrong, and this may well have something to do with the fact that Islam and democracy appear to find it difficult to co-exist for long.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/arabs-and-muslims-are-vile.html
Mubarak propaganda in the Washington Post
Look at this trash piece of propaganda in the Washington Post. The writer decided that Mubarak is popular with the Egyptian people. The writer wants us to believe that the millions who demonstrated were in fact computer-generated and were not real people. But wait: she is marshaling evidence here: “Taymour A. Hasseb, a consultant with the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram, said Mubarak does not get the credit he deserves for the good things he has brought to Egypt, including greater freedom of expression than exists in many Middle Eastern countries, such as Syria and Saudi Arabia. ”Egypt is better now than it was when he came to office,” Hasseb said.” She/he decided to visit a major propaganda outlet for Mubarak regime and see for herself whether Mubarak is loved by his people. This is like asking Beria if Stalin was popular in Russia.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/mubarak-propaganda-in-washington-post.html
This nomination is for you, O Israel, from the Hashemites puppet
“On February 3, the Saudi-owned London-based Al-Hayat daily carried in its paper edition the following report by its correspondent in Amman Nabil Ghishan: “Jordanian Prime Minister-designate Marouf al-Bakhit has started to conduct his consultations in order to form a new government… In this respect, parliamentary sources were quoted by Al-Hayat as saying: “The parliamentary climate was very pessimistic vis-a-vis the nomination of Al-Bakhit to the prime minister’s post because of his previous history when he was prime minister. Many deputies are afraid that Al-Bakhit might dissolve the current parliament, while in the past, his government had falsified the elections (in 2007) and was involved in many corruption files such as the Dead Sea Casino…” “As for the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Doctor Hammam al-Sa’id, he assured that the popular protests will be carried out until real political reforms are conducted, noting that this necessitated the issuance of a new electoral law… In this respect, politburo member in the Jordanian Communist Party, Faraj al-Tomeizi, was quoted by Al-Hayat as saying: “The opposition parties have two different opinions in regard to the next step that should be adopted on the ground. On one hand, some people support the continuation of the protests while on the other, some parties consider that it would be better to postpone the protests. The opposition parties are still in contact and I expect them to adopt a common position in light of the ongoing dialogue taking place between all the opposition forces.” “It is important to note that Washington had welcomed the nomination of Al-Bakhit yesterday… However, many Jordanian parties opposed this new nomination.“
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/this-nomination-is-for-you-o-israel.html
Analysis/Op-ed
Mubarak digs in against reform, as he always has
As protests build, the U.S. faces the difficult task of supporting reform while maintaining ties with an ally who has long blamed the U.S. for the theocracy in Iran and the chaos in Iraq. Embattled yet unbending, President Hosni Mubarak is sending a message that he remains deeply suspicious of reform efforts in Egypt and resistant to the calls from Washington and his own populace for him to step aside.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/PREfJP1b1eo/la-fg-egypt-obama-20110204,0,1154433.story
“The Arab World Is on Fire”, Noam Chomsky, Op-Ed
“The Arab world is on fire,” al-Jazeera reported on Jan. 27, while throughout the region, Western allies “are quickly losing their influence.” The shock wave was set in motion by the dramatic uprising in Tunisia that drove out a Western-backed dictator, with reverberations especially in Egypt, where demonstrators overwhelmed a dictator’s brutal police. Observers compared the events to the toppling of Russian domains in 1989, but there are important differences.
http://www.truth-out.org/the-arab-world-is-fire67410
Egypt’s fate is in the hands of its secretive army | Oliver Miles
The 1952 ‘revolution’ was really a military takeover – and the well-respected army remains key to the country’s future. The resolution of the conflict in Egypt between a popular uprising and an entrenched president currently depends on decisions and actions to be taken by the army. What does that mean? It is not a question to which British history and political tradition provide much of an answer, even if the Duke of Wellington was not a bad prime minister.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/03/egypt-army-crisis-protests
Is there a coup brewing in Egypt’s Army
Col. Kemp said the suggested schism within the ranks was reminiscent of the conditions which allowed one of Mubarak’s presidential predecessors, Gamal Abdel Nasser, to stage a military coup and overthrow the government in the 1952 revolution.
http://www.channel4.com/news/is-there-a-coup-brewing-in-egypts-army
Anger at injustice drives Egypt’s Tahrir activists
* Thousands bracing for battle with Mubarak supporters
* Fears grow of decisive showdown in Tahrir Square
* Square an arena for amateur and professional politicians
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/anger-at-injustice-drives-egypts-tahrir-activists
Omar Ashour Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozpbaLamuPg&feature=youtube_gdata
White House, Egypt Discuss Plan for Mubarak’s Exit
President Hosni Mubarak has balked at leaving, but talks are continuing with Egyptian officials about a plan in which Vice President Omar Suleiman would begin a process of reform, officials said.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=62a76050c3c605cf1b06523dbded6b19
Jim Wallis: Call on Obama: Tell Mubarak to Leave Now
By all journalistic reports, it was the Egyptian government of President Hosni Mubarak that sent thousands of armed thugs into Tahrir Square and the streets of Cairo yesterday to bring violence to what had been a peaceful and nonviolent protest for democracy. Some think many of those who were attacking the protesters were police in plain clothes. Others are believed to have been hired and bused in to foment violence with machetes, clubs, and razors — some riding in on horses and camels into the peaceful crowds.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-wallis/call-on-obama-tell-mubara_b_818491.html
Critics question billions in aid funneled back to US contractors / Farah Stockman
WASHINGTON — United States taxpayers have funneled more than $60 billion of aid into Egypt since President Hosni Mubarak came to power in 1981, but more than half of the money has been spent supplying weapons to the country’s military, an arrangement that critics say has benefited American military contractors more than ordinary Egyptians … But in 1979 Egyptian president Anwar Sadat changed course and signed a peace accord brokered by President Jimmy Carter, whose administration wrote letters to both countries promising strategic military assistance.Congress soon authorized major aid packages to both countries, using an informal formula — not enshrined in the peace treaty — that gave Egypt $2 for every $3 that Israel received. Israel quickly became the largest recipient of US aid, and Egypt the second-largest — rankings that were only recently overtaken by wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and last year, the disaster in Haiti.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2011/02/03/critics_question_billions_in_aid_funneled_back_to_us_contractors/
Meedan: Protests and Myths
In unison we called, “The people want to overthrow this government.” While this simple chant has not yet brought down the Mubarak regime, it has served to dismantle the myths that have long held sway over the Egyptian political landscape.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meedan/protests-and-myths_b_817962.html
Egypt protests: An endgame seems to approaching, but whose?
Egypt demonstrators calling for the immediate ouster of Hosni Mubarak held their ground in Tahrir Square today ahead of calls for more mass protests tomorrow.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/paMCV41jljc/Egypt-protests-An-endgame-seems-to-approaching-but-whose
Egypt has become our ballad – a testimony before the world, crying out that we live, Roqayah Chamseddine
As of late, watching US-based media awkwardly follow the uprising in Egypt has become nothing more than a maddening task; I have learned more in respect to the apathy of Washington than the alleged “chaos” in Egypt. I have watched a slew of pseudo-analysts and pundits bumble through names, political characters and the roles they play in the region; I cringe as Hamas, Hezb’Allah, Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood are now forced to share one cohesive identity, in spite of blatant disassociation.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/egypt-has-become-our-ballad-a-testimony-before-the-world-crying-out-that-we-live.html
The pharaoh strikes back, Stephen M. Walt
The last day or two demonstrates that Mubarak has no intention of going down without a fight. At the same time, Egypt’s Prime Minister has expressed regret for the loss of life and is pledging an orderly transition. Where does this leave us?
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/03/the_pharaoh_strikes_back
Egyptian Protests Grounded in Decades of Struggle; Portend Regional Transformation, Max Ajl
Egypt is throbbing with resistance. Cairo is cloven between the forces of revolution and those of counterrevolution. Hundreds of thousands of people – on Tuesday, February 1, well over a million – have been streaming each day into Tahrir Square, the largest plaza in the Arab world, located in the heart of downtown Cairo. Army tanks line the streets, helicopters and F16s buzz overhead, and pro-Mubarak demonstrators, many of them hired thugs, bloodied thousands of protesters yesterday in Tahrir and elsewhere. Yet the people keep pushing for Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak’s unconditional ouster, and not just in Cairo. Alexandria has been convulsed, while Suez, a small city abutting the Suez Canal, has been riven with some of the fiercest street battles between the police and protesters, while workers there have gone on strike, demanding that Mubarak step down from his palace in Heliopolis.
http://www.truth-out.org/egyptian-protests-grounded-decades-struggle-portend-regional-transformation67425
Johann Hari: We All Helped Suppress the Egyptians — With Our Taxes. So How Do We Change?
Very few Westerners would praise a murderer and sell him weapons. Very few Westerners would beat up a poor person in order to get cheaper petrol. But our governments do this abroad all the time.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/we-all-helped-suppress-th_b_818497.html
Samir Amin, “Movements in Egypt: The US Realigns”
The movement is that of urban youth, particularly holders of diplomas with no jobs, and supported by segments of the educated middle classes and democrats. The new regime could perhaps make some concessions — enlarge the recruitment in the state apparatus, for example — but hardly more. Of course things could change if the working-class and peasants’ movement moves in. But this does not seem to be on the agenda. As long as the economic system is managed in accordance with the rules of the ‘globalisation game’, none of the problems which resulted in the protest movement can really be solved.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/amin030211.html
Obama Treats Egypt like a Banana Republic, Ali Younes
President Barak Obama calls on President Mubarak to immediately arrange for transfer of power, and that a transition of power must begin ‘now’ not only sounds hypocritical but also disingenuous. Not to defend President Mubarak or his regime, but Obama and many in his administration, in bossing and pushing Mubarak around like a little boy shows the true face of a U.S administration when it deals with its Arab allies.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16615
Obama Fails in Egypt, Jim Miles
The situation in Egypt remains highly unsettled and the eventual outcome is still an unknown, but two things are clear: first that Obama is a failure, in spite of all his record of fine sounding rhetoric; and secondly, the empire struggles on, with as good a chance of winning this round with the Tahrir Square democracy protestors.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16613
End US Aid to Egypt, Stop the gravy train, Justin Raimondo
As Egypt slips into chaos, Egyptian “President” Hosni Mubarak tells American journalist Christiane Amanpour that if he leaves the country will … slip into chaos. On Wednesday, the paid thugs of the regime went out onto the streets and showed what they are made of and what they stand for: they besieged the anti-Mubarak protesters in Tahrir Square with Molotov cocktails, knives, and high-powered rifles. The protesters won the ensuing battle, but at a heavy price: 13 killed and more than 600 wounded. The protesters have called for a massive demonstration on Friday, the deadline for Mubarak to leave, and the two sides are already squaring off for the battle to come.
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2011/02/03/end-us-aid-to-egypt/
Egypt’s pain has been Al Jazeera’s gain
1 Feb ….While CNN, BBC, and other networks scrambled to mobilize crews to the scene, Al Jazeera English rose above the fray and provided live, around-the-clock coverage. Americans took notice and the Qatar based network, largely despised and often misunderstood in the country, soared in visibility … During ABC’s “This Week” veteran journalist Sam Donaldson personally thanked an Al Jazeera reporter for his work … Unlike CNN, which was an easily accessible network to an average cable viewer, Al Jazeera English has very little reach into American homes. Of the top 50 TV markets in the country, only the Washington D.C. area has full access to the channel. So far none of the larger carriers like DirecTV or Comcast has commented on the likelihood of adding Al Jazeera English to their lineup … The Huffington Post reported that traffic to Al Jazeera English’s website, where they were streaming content live, surged by 2500 percent this past week—more than half of it coming from the US.
http://www.neontommy.com/news/2011/02/al-jazeeras-egypt-coverage-provides-their-cnn-moment
‘The Palestine Cables’: Al Jazeera is viewed in White House for Egypt coverage, but U.S. complained about its 08-09 Gaza coverage, Alex Kane
The Al Jazeera news network is not well liked by many governments. It has the bravest, most consistent and unyielding reports from the front lines of Middle East turmoil, as the uprising in Egypt has shown. Al Jazeera journalists have been among the victims of the Mubarak regime’s brutal crackdown on the media today in Egypt, events that the U.S. State Department have expressed concern about.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/the-palestine-cables-al-jazeera-is-viewed-in-white-house-for-egypt-coverage-but-u-s-complained-about-its-08-09-gaza-coverage.html
Everything Is Illuminated
Everything is exposed. Every crack is showing. Protesters throughout Egypt have put their bodies on the line day after day, their vulnerable, breakable bodies, and with their bodies, they have forced, each day, a bit more of the story to become exposed.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/533/everything-is-illuminated
Egyptian Intifada is the “Old Arab Dream”
by Mohammed Rabah Suliman – WordPress “…the youthful generation in Gaza watched closely the demonstrations which constituted an empowering source of inspiration, stirring their sentiments and mobilizing their efforts which terminated in their taking to the streets in solidarity with their Egyptian neighbors. They closely followed the happenings attempting to absorb every minute event so as to carry it through the years when they will be able to communicate to their sons one of the most inspirational and largest events in the history of the Arab world and feeling proud they have lived such a day.”
http://msuliman.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/egyptian-intifada-is-the-%e2%80%9cold-arab-dream%e2%80%9d/#more-694
How Big Business Ruled Egypt
An exposé an AlJazeera on how the Egyptian business elite ruled the country provides some horrifying details about this incestuous relationship that concentrated the nation’s wealth in the hands of the privileged few, virtually destroyed the living standard of the middle class and the poor, and robbed the resources of the country for the benefit of western corporations. A list of who’s who in the Ahmed Natheef cabinet that was just fired by Mubarak gives you the impression that ministerial positions were being occupied by individuals with specific, narrow agenda of securing favorable environments for their own and family businesses. Mind you Egyptian constitution explicitly forbids public servants from remaining invested in private enterprise or having other jobs or conflict of interest.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2011/02/how-big-business-ruled-egypt.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kabobfest%2FGrillMe+%28KABOBfest%29
Mubarak’s Last Gambit: Manufacturing Chaos, Ahmed Amr – Cairo
There is a joke making the rounds in Egypt that Hosni Mubarak threatened to demonstrate in front of parliament and self-emulate himself if the Egyptian people refuse to step down and join the deposed Tunisian leader in Exile. The octogenarian dictator is simply delusional if thinks he can hold onto power. By my estimates, he’ll be gone in a week or two – hopefully sooner. But before he gives up his throne, he means to dole out a severe dose of punishment to the 80 million ‘ingrates’ who have delegitimized his corruption infested regime.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16616
Encouraging the Outcome through Silence
On Tuesday February 1st, the 82-year old Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt with a hammer-swinging fist since 1981, announced that he would not run in September’s presidential election. He also pledged to “die on Egyptian soil,” sending the message that he would be retiring in Egypt, not into exile. The demonstrators rejected his belated concession. The protesters’ demands have not wavered since the beginning of the uprising. They want an end to Mubarak’s tenure and have signaled that military generals are no longer welcome as governors of Egypt. These demands could not be plainer. They want the military to return to its barracks — a place they have not been exclusively since 1952 – and this time for good.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/534/encouraging-the-outcome-through-silence
Joel Beinin, “Was the Red Flag Flying There? Marxist Politics and the Arab-Israeli Conflict in Eqypt and Israel 1948-1965”
Gramsci clearly believed that only the working class could form the core of the counterhegemonic bloc. And precisely this was impossible in Egypt and Israel. The Marxists pursued only part of the Gramscian strategy: they were attentive to the need to operate within the context of their national culture, but they could not construct a counterhegemonic bloc around themselves. This was not because of a moral failure, but because the political economy, social structure, and international orientation of Egypt and Israel set very severe limits on the potential and efficacy of this kind of political action. The task of elaborating a counterhegemonic discourse was abandoned. No political issue illustrates this more clearly than the stand of the Marxists toward the Palestinian/Arab-Israeli conflict.
http://bit.ly/fSnpiG
The Egyptian Uprising in the American Media, JOSHUA FAROUK GEORGY
It has been one week since the Egyptian revolt began, and the mainstream American media has wheeled out many of their standard, self-appointed “experts” to illuminate matters. They attempt to solve the riddle of what could possibly have driven the thoughtless throngs into the proverbial “Arab streets,” while providing their set of contrived scenarios about how things might develop. Even as our “experts” set about to demystify what they themselves have mystified, they are quick to turn to what really matters – the effects these events will have on the United States and our allies. There really are two fields of discussion here. The first deals with a fantastical world of wild imagery, a world where monsters wait in the shadows with plans to lead a retreat from civilization (or worse?), and where heedless masses may unknowingly (or knowingly?) stampede into their arms. This is an encrypted world that must be decoded with the help of experts trained to make sense of the senseless. And the second field is a very rational one – American interests in the region.
http://www.counterpunch.com/georgy02032011.html
Fallout in the Arab World
Algeria opposition bent on protest despite govt move
* Organisers say not swayed by government concessions
* President promised to allow greater democratic freedoms
* Govt wants to keep out wave of protest in Arab states
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/algeria-opposition-bent-on-protest-despite-govt-move
Yemen protests: 20,000 call for President Saleh to go
More than 20,000 anti-government protesters gathered in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, for a “day of rage” against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12353479
Jordan’s King Meets With Muslim Brotherhood
King Abdullah II, facing public discontent, met with the group for the first time in years.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=5c963952944aff16de480985bb2c5474
Iraqis seize on Egyptian unrest in protests (AP)
AP – Iraqis are seizing on Egypt’s unrest to protest what they call corruption in their own security forces, rampant unemployment and scant electricity and water supply.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110204/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_egypt_protests
What Egypt’s unrest could mean for Hamas (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor – As Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s grip on power slipped this week, Israelis and Palestinians are sizing up what a change in government in Cairo may mean for the Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20110203/wl_csm/360820
Fayyad: Failure of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks fueled Egypt unrest
The Palestinian Prime Minister, speaking in Paris with his French counterpart, said that failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict increases desperation throughout the region.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/fayyad-failure-of-israeli-palestinian-peace-talks-fueled-egypt-unrest-1.341091?localLinksEnabled=false
Egypt unrest spurs Palestinian Authority to pledge elections
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said it would refuse to take part in the elections unless a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation agreement is reached.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/egypt-unrest-spurs-palestinian-authority-to-pledge-elections-1.341129?localLinksEnabled=false
Bahrain Youth Movement
The comrades of Bahrain want me to spread the word.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/bahrain-youth-movement.html
