Protesters in Tahrir Square break into song
We are all one hand, and we have one demand: Leave! leave!
Down down Husni Mubarak! Down down Husni Mubarak!
The people want to overthrow the regime! The people want to overthrow the regime!
He should leave! We’re not leaving!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahCwBBndlVY&feature=player_embedded#
and other news from the Egyptian revolution:
and lead picture
Christians Protecting Muslims During Friday Prayers
http://yfrog.com/h24n34j
Protests/Attacks & Arrests/Eyewitness Account
Images from Egypt’s protests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBAGF7d53lg
‘I will not leave’
Ahmed, a pro-democracy protester in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, speaks to Al Jazeera about the injuries that he has recieved while demonstrating, and who he wants to see in government.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li2E7SCNmgk
A tense calm grips Egypt
After 11 days of unrest – some days violent, others jubilant – Egyptian protesters are determined to stay the course.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112420435766522.html
Egypt protesters hold their ground
With protests demanding end to Mubarak’s rule entering the 12th day, people in Tahrir Square prepared to wait him out.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/02/20112541240504912.html
Egypt protesters consolidate gains
Pro-democracy protesters remain in Cairo’s Tahrir Square after pitched battle with Mubarak supporters.
http://english.aljazeera.net//indepth/spotlight/anger-in-egypt/2011/02/201125422278848.html
Google Exec Who Went Missing In Egypt Now A Spokesman For Opposition Group (GOOG)
A Google executive who has gone missing in Egypt has been “symbolically” named the spokesman for an opposition group, in an attempt to free him from being held by Egyptian authorities, CBS News reports. Wael Ghonim, Google’s head of marketing for the middle east, flew into Egypt last week to participate in the demonstrations against the government. At some point he went missing, and one of his last tweets ominously read, “we are all ready to die.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/02/04/businessinsider-missing-google-exec-egypt-2011-2.DTL#ixzz1D3AEdtJe
Egypt Protests: Mubarak Security Forces Drive Through Crowd, Hit Protesters (VIDEO)
A pack of Egyptian protesters were terrified when a vehicle, believed to be part of President Hosni Mubarak’s security team, drove through the crowd at a shocking speed. A shocking new video has made its way onto YouTube showing the purported incident in Cairo. Unseen protesters are heard shouting, “Yasqot Yasqot, Hosni Mubarak!” (or “Down down, Hosni Mubarak!”) Users have since been hotly debating the clip’s legitimacy. One user writes: “Are they too clueless to realize that they’re being filmed, or do they just not care what the people think of them?”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/04/egypt-protests-mubarak-se_n_818425.html
Egypt’s ‘day of departure’ protests – in pictures
Anti-Mubarak protesters have gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and elsewhere in Egypt on the ‘day of departure’, a reference to demands that the Egyptian president step down immediately
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2011/feb/04/egypt-protest?CMP=twt_gu
Egypt holds ‘Day of Departure’
Hundreds of thousands flood Tahrir Square for largely peaceful ‘Day of Departure’ protest against President Mubarak.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201124201329162409.html
2011, بالصور: مظاهرات جمعة الرحيل في طنطا “Departure Friday” protests in Tanta
http://sareerqalm.blogspot.com/2011/02/friday-protests-in-tanta.html
Mass protests in city of Alexandria
Tens of thousands of people are protesting against President Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112414420594592.html
Report: 50,000 protest in Egyptian Rafah
Al-Jazeera network reports tens of thousands join nationwide protests against Egyptian President Mubarak near Gaza border. EU leaders issue statement saying ‘transition process must start now’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4023992,00.html
Video Report on the Battle For Tahrir: An Inside Look at How Pro-Democracy Activists Reclaimed Tahrir Square After Attacks by Mubarak Forces
On Thursday, pro-democracy activists ventured back to Tahrir Square, to reclaim the downtown Cairo public space, which had become a battleground in the effort to oust President Hosni Mubarak. Democracy Now! producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Hany Massoud walked through the streets, talking with Cairo residents—many who were injured from the attacks the day before—and witnesses the efforts to cleaning up the trash and rock-filled square while also organizing a system of grassroots resistance and community care programs to defend the square from pro-Mubarak forces who threatened to return.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/4/video_report_on_the_battle_for
Day of Departure: Massive Demonstrations Across Egypt Aim to Oust Mubarak. Sharif Abdel Kouddous Reports Live from Cairo
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian pro-democracy protesters have returned to Cairo’s Tahrir Square in defiance of violent attacks from supporters of President Hosni Mubarak in the last two days. The New York Times reports the Obama administration has opened talks with Egyptian officials on Mubarak’s immediate resignation. The proposal under discussion would see Vice President Omar Suleiman lead a transitional government before elections later this year; however, Suleiman remains deeply unpopular in Egypt. Pro-democracy organizers have labeled today the “Day of Departure,” a final push for Mubarak’s immediate resignation. The demonstrations immediately swelled at the end of Friday prayers. We speak to Democracy Now! senior producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous, who reports live from Tahrir Square.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/4/day_of_departure_massive_demonstrations_across
Asmaa Mahfouz: The girl who kicked Egypt’s hornet’s nest!, Helena Cobban
A friend sent me this vlog, which was recorded on January 18 by Asmaa Mahfouz, a young Egyptian woman who describes on it how earlier in the month she had responded to the self-immolations then taking place in Egypt by deciding to go down to Tahrir Square and undertake a regular public vigil there “For dignity! Against hunger!” … And she invited her friends to join her. And the first time “We were only three people– along with three armored cars full of police, and the baltagiyeh thugs were also there… ” But they carried on doing their vigils regularly, and in this video, she’s asking people to join her there on January 25, and…. the rest is history.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/004147.html
Egyptian Riot Grrls: Finding the Feminine Face of Fury
by Beenish Ahmed Much has been aflutter on twitter about the very visible presence of women among the protests that have taken Egypt by storm over the last few weeks, but images of them have remained sparse amid the digital slideshows strung together by major media outlets, portraying mainly dense crowds of the manly.
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/02/04/egyptian-riot-grrls-finding-the-feminine-face-of-fury/
Ahmed Moor: There is a sense in Tahrir now that democracy is coming– and medics and journalists are granted respect
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/ahmed-moor-in-tahrir-optimism-triumph-a-sense-that-democracy-is-coming-and-medics-and-journalists-are-granted-respect.html
Stronger sense of Egyptian identity emerges among protesters
Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters flooded Egypt’s Tahrir Square today to press for the departure of President Mubarak. ‘I’m here for Egypt,’ said one middle-aged man.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/jsx4fySIwy8/Stronger-sense-of-Egyptian-identity-emerges-among-protesters
Egypt protests are peaceful; throngs insist that Mubarak leave
‘We are not leaving. You are leaving,’ demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square yell. Top government officials appear to be positioning themselves for a transition of power. Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators rallied peacefully in the center of Egypt’s capital Friday, demanding their president step down after days of protest and violence that have shaken the Arab world.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/1yXR1UG5NuQ/la-fg-egypt-protests-20110205,0,5969696.story
Medea Benjamin: Mubarak Mobs and Street Vendors: Welcome to Egypt
I was in the middle of buying some mints from a street vendor on Cairo’s Talat Harb Street when the rocks started flying. He gave me one pack of mints, and all hell broke loose. “Run, run,” people yelled at me.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/medea-benjamin/mubarak-mobs-and-street-v_b_818979.html
Defying violence, Egyptian protesters find unity – and pride – at peaceful mass rally
Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters flooded Egypt’s Tahrir Square today to press for the departure of President Mubarak. ‘I’m here for Egypt,’ said one middle-aged man.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/cgmTcyrVMYQ/Defying-violence-Egyptian-protesters-find-unity-and-pride-at-peaceful-mass-rally
Robert Fisk: Exhausted, scared and trapped, protesters put forward plan for future
Caged yesterday inside a new army cordon of riot-visored troops and coils of barbed wire – the very protection which Washington had demanded for the protesters of Tahrir Square – the tens of thousands of young Egyptians demanding Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow have taken the first concrete political steps to create a new nation to replace the corrupt government which has ruled them for 30 years.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-exhausted-scared-and-trapped-protesters-put-forward-plan-for-future-2205079.html
‘Thanks to the young people … we are free’
A town near Cairo, Kerdasa, revels in a newfound freedom from the hated police, though witnesses say five people were killed in the protests. Residents take responsibility for their own security. Even the elders of this small Egyptian city in the shadow of the great pyramids of Giza could not remember weekly prayers like this one.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/BclQj5gcwz4/la-fg-egypt-village-20110205,0,6349062.story
Egypt Protests Grow Larger As Pressure On Mubarak Mounts
CAIRO — Protesters demanding President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster packed Cairo’s central square by the tens of thousands Friday, waving Egyptian flags, singing the national anthem and cheering, appearing undaunted and determined after their camp withstood two days of street battles with regime supporters trying to dislodge them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/04/egypt-protests-mubarak_n_818599.html
#Jan25 Egypt Revolution مشهد رائع لميدان التحرير في جمعة الرحيل
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Ji9m4t89w&feature=player_embedded
#Jan25 Singing for the Revolution الغناء للثورة
http://www.arabawy.org/2011/02/05/revolt-15/
Tahrir protesters consolidate their gains
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB5PeWyfrcs&feature=player_embedded
“Bravest girl in Egypt” translated into English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwIY6ivf70A
Day of Departure
Protesters shout slogans and sing the national anthem during a demonstration in Egypt’s capital.
http://www.time.com/time/today-in-pictures
Revolution
http://www.flickr.com/photos/solilos/sets/72157625840802619/
Jasmina Metwaly and Philip Rizk, “Cairo Intifada” (Video)
“This is an American shell, an American shell. Mubarak is a collaborator funded by foreigners. Mubarak is a spy. We don’t want’ him. Enough. The people are suffocating. The people are hungry.”
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/mr040211.html
Media Repression and Intimidation
Egypt must release detained activists and journalists
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch call on the authorities to reveal the whereabouts of over 30 people arrested during a raid on law center in Cairo. The Egyptian authorities should immediately reveal the whereabouts of Egyptian and international human rights activists, lawyers and journalists arrested during a raid on the Hisham Mubarak Law Center in Cairo on the afternoon of February 3, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/egypt-must-release-detained-activists-and-journalists-2011-02-04
Egypt Protests: Egyptian Journalist Ahmed Mahmoud Dies Of Gunshot Wounds; First Reported Journalist Death In Uprising
CAIRO — An Egyptian reporter who was shot during clashes a week ago died of his wounds Friday, his employer said, in the first reported death of a journalist in the chaos surrounding Egypt’s anti-government protests. Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud, 36, was taking photographs of fighting between protesters and security forces from the balcony of his home when he was shot Jan. 28, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram said on its website.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/04/egyptian-journalist-dies-ahmed-mahmoud_n_818988.html
Eliminate the Witnesses: Committee to Protect Journalists Criticizes Mubarak’s Policy of Attacking and Silencing Journalists in Egypt
The Mubarak regime’s violent crackdown has included deliberate targeting of journalists covering the protests across Egypt. News outlets including Al Jazeera, CBS News, ABC News, Fox News, CNN, BBC, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Australian Broadcasting, Danish TV2 News and Swiss television have reported assaults, intimidation or arrests of their workers. We speak to Frank Smyth with the Committee to Protect Journalists, who reports there has been a record of 100 attacks on journalists, 30 detentions, 26 assaults, and eight cases of media equipment seized. “This is worst case of the most blatant violence against the press I have seen in my 24 years reporting and my 10 years at CPJ,” Smyth says. “Clearly the Mubarak regime is responsible. They are implementing a policy to eliminate witnesses to what is occurring. It seems that the Mubarak regime is attempting to literally unplug Egypt from the world.”
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/4/eliminate_the_witnesses_committee_to_protect
`You Will Be Lynched,’ Says Egyptian Policeman: First Person
Having a policeman say he wanted to kill me wasn’t my most frightening moment yesterday in Cairo. That came when police and civilians smashed our car windows — with the five of us inside it — jumped up and down on the roof, spat on us, pulled my hair, beat my friends and dragged us into a police van.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-04/-you-will-be-lynched-egyptian-policeman-tells-reporters-first-person.html
Al Jazeera’s Cairo office burned down by pro-Mubarak ‘thugs’
Al Jazeera’s office in Cairo was stormed by a “gang of thugs” and set on fire along with all the equipment inside it, the Arab news network said Friday. “It appears to be the latest attempt by the Egyptian regime or its supporters to hinder Al Jazeera’s coverage of events in the country,” the news network said in a statement.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/aljazeeras-cairo-office-torched-violence-journalists-escalates/
Mubarak thugs force Anderson Cooper into hiding
CNN reporter Anderson Cooper admitted Thursday he was “a little bit scared” for his safety after being repeatedly attacked by supporters of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Cooper and his crew were violently attacked by pro-Mubarak forces Wednesday as they tried to make their way through the streets of Cairo
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/anderson-cooper-a-bit-scared-attacks-egypt/
2 Detained Reporters Saw Secret Police’s Methods Firsthand
WE had been detained by Egyptian authorities, handed over to the country’s dreaded Mukhabarat, the secret police, and interrogated. They left us all night in a cold room, on hard orange plastic stools, under fluorescent lights.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/weekinreview/06held.html?_r=1&src=tptw
Amid crackdown, al-Jazeera endures
BAGHDAD – Though few foreign news organizations have escaped the onslaught of attacks against journalists in Cairo by supporters of Egypt’s regime, none has faced quite so many challenges as the pan-Arab al-Jazeera satellite network.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=351a78ac9d61e9f672e17c321f3723e4
Developments
Failed assassination attempt on Egyptian VP leaves two dead, FoxNews alleges
An alleged attempt on the life of the newly named vice president of Egypt left two of his bodyguards dead the day after his appointment, a recent report said. “It’s so organized that it’s been classified an assassination attempt,” Fox News reported Friday.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/failed-assassination-attempt-egyptian-vp-leaves-dead-foxnews-reports/
WITNESS-Egypt police keep firm grip in Cairo’s slums
* Police, unidentified armed men, patrol Cairo slums
* Authorities deny intimidation
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/witness-egypt-police-keep-firm-grip-in-cairos-slums
Egypt’s army: On the sidelines
What is the army’s role in Egypt’s crisis and for how long will it stand aside?
http://english.aljazeera.net//programmes/insidestory/2011/02/201124172222208929.html
Obama urges Mubarak to ‘listen’
US president says Egyptian leader should hear concerns of protesters and focus on creating legitimate transition.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/americas/2011/02/20112421336274453.html
Is the White House using Congress to send tough messages to Mubarak?
Congress is out ahead of the administration in calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down and for the United States to cut off military aid to his regime. But while some believe the White House is using Congress to send Mubarak tough messages they don’t want to — or can’t — send themselves, it appears that Congress is reacting to events independently from the administration.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/04/is_the_white_house_using_congress_to_send_tough_messages_to_mubarak
Egypt’s Mubarak Likely to Retain Vast Wealth
Mubarak Family May Have as Much as $70 Billion Stashed Away, Experts Estimate. President Hosni Mubarak’s power may have visibly crumbled before the world on Jan. 25 when protesters took to the streets of Cairo, but his personal wealth will likely be intact when he leaves office as pledged at the end of the year, or sooner if the crowds have their way.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/egypt-mubarak-family-accumulated-wealth-days-military/story?id=12821073
Egypt’s ex-fin min Boutros-Ghali quits IMF panel
* Boutros-Ghali resigns with immediate effect
* Resignation follows replacement as Egyptian finance min
* Helped modernize IMF in time of financial crisis (Adds quotes, background)
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/egypts-ex-fin-min-boutros-ghali-quits-imf-panel
(OFFICIAL)-ElBaradei says sees himself as change agent
(Corrects headline, first, third and fourth paragraph after newspaper amends interview text to omit quote from ElBaradei saying that he will not take part in presidential elections) VIENNA, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Egyptian opposition activist Mohamed ElBaradei could run for president in future elections if asked by the people, an Austrian newspaper reported on Friday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/egypts-elbaradei-says-wont-run-for-president-paper
In Egypt, a former Mubarak loyalist emerges as presidential possibility
CAIRO – The charismatic chief of the Arab League on Friday joined the throngs of protesters in downtown Cairo who have been clamoring for President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation and hinted that he would consider running for the post.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=2dcc9ea359a5678490fea209e5c5ef52
Egypt demonstrations costing $310 million per day: report
CAIRO: Egypt’s economy has lost at least $3.1 billion as a result of the political crisis in the country, investment bank Credit Agricole said in a report released Friday, as tens of thousands of protesters massed in Downtown Cairo demanding the president’s ouster.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=124550
Solidarity with the Egyptian People
Palestinians demonstrate in from the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eqyOSWfZ0k&feature=player_embedded
Sheikh Jarrah protesters in solidarity with Egyptian protesters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mWyY1cpL8U&feature=youtu.be&a
‘Mubarak must go,’ protesters in New York City chant
Mubarak must go, protesters in New York City chantNEW YORK – Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of New York’s famed Times Square and downtown Chicago Friday, calling for the immediate departure of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Protesters chanted “Mubarak must go” while waving Egyptian flags and holding placards that read “End US aid to the Mubarak regime” and “Egyptians united will never be defeated.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/mubarak-go-protesters-york-city/
Not Your Prisoner (Arabian Knightz feat Shadia Mansour, Fredwreck) EGYPTS REVOLUTION SONG
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=schIdC3LdLk&feature=youtu.be
Gaza feeds hungry Egyptian troops in role reversal
Underground tunnels generally used to smuggle goods into Gaza are moving traffic in the opposite direction in the wake of the popular uprising in Egypt.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/gaza-feeds-hungry-egyptian-troops-in-role-reversal-1.341316?localLinksEnabled=false
Protesters in Europe demand “Mubarak must go”
LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Protesters in London and Paris rallied on Friday in support of hundreds of thousands of Egyptian demonstrators demanding an immediate end to President Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade rule. On the 11th day of unprecedented mass protests in Egypt, 200,000 people rallied in Cairo on Friday following demonstrations and bloody clashes with Mubarak supporters.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/protesters-in-europe-demand-mubarak-must-go
Lebanese show solidarity with Egyptian uprising
BEIRUT: Over 1,000 protesters ascended on the Egyptian Embassy Friday for the seventh consecutive day of protests in solidarity with the Egyptian people. Masked youths appeared in the crowd shortly before 5 p.m., when they began throwing sticks at riot police, but scenes failed to descend into large-scale rioting after protest organizers took a firm stance against the violence.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=124590
Lebanese leaders voice support for Egyptian protesters’ demands
BEIRUT: Leading politicians voiced their support Friday for the Egyptian people’s demands to oust embattled President Hosni Mubarak and called for keeping demonstrations peaceful and democratic, whether at the Egyptian Embassy in Beirut or in Cairo’s Tahrir square.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=124591
Guilt and grief at Sydney Egyptian rally
Hundreds of demonstrators have staged an emotion-charged rally in Sydney demanding that beleaguered Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stand down., In a passionate outpouring of guilt, anger and grief, about 200 people, mainly members of the Egyptian community, braved soaring temperatures in the city on Saturday., Waving flags and protest banners, they listened intently to rousing speeches in Martin Place, occasionally breaking out in chants of “Down, down Mubarak” and “Free, free Egypt”.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/guilt-and-grief-at-sydney-egyptian-rally-20110205-1ahio.html
WorldWide Tahrir
http://worldwidetahrir.wordpress.com/
Tunisian cyber activists take on Egyptian cause
Social media played in organising the uprising in Tunisia, and now, activists there are focusing their technical skills on helping anti-government protesters in Egypt. Tunisian hackers say they will attack website belonging to the Egyptian government in solidarity with the pro-democracy activists protesting there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCVBXuO3HrE&feature=player_embedded
Amid mass protests, ‘Anonymous’ topples Egyptian gov’t websites
Tunisian members of an online group of hacktivists known as “Anonymous” received attention Friday when Al Jazeera English profiled their efforts to attack Egyptian government Web sites. “Anonymous” first attacked Tunisian government websites after the country blocked access to secrets outlet WikiLeaks.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/tunisian-members-anonymous-target-egyptian-government/
Best Protest Signs From Around The World
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-best-egypt-protest-signs-from-around-the-world
Victor Jara Manifiesto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en8yqVxuT-U
Friends of the Dictator
Berlusconi calls Mubarak ‘wise man’
Italian president praises Egyptian counterpart, calls for ‘transition toward a more democratic system’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4023982,00.html
PA envoy in Egypt refuses to help stranded Palestinians in Cairo airport
Dozens of Palestinian citizens stranded in Cairo airport have accused the PA ambassador in Cairo of ignoring their appeals to help them return back to the Gaza Strip by air.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%
Israel’s government raises alarm at events in Egypt
Jerusalem Post editor warns Israel’s ‘concrete strategic assumptions liquefied almost overnight’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/israel-government-egypt-jerusalem-post
Israelis Discover a New Love for Mubarak
JERUSALEM – Around the world, peoples revel in anticipation of the fall of a regime that has denied its citizens their basic rights. But most Israelis are haunted by nightmare scenarios of ‘the day after’, as if their country’s stability was anchored in the continuity of the rule of Hosni Mubarak – not in peace.
http://original.antiwar.com/klochendler/2011/02/04/israelis-discover-a-new-love-for-mubarak/
Chris Matthews Rips Obama’s Handling of Egypt Crisis: ‘I Feel Ashamed As an American’
MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews appeared on Morning Joe, Friday, to slam President Obama’s handling of the escalating crisis in Egypt, saying it made him ” ashamed as an American .” Matthews, who famously declared Obama gave him a “thrill” up his leg, excoriated what he perceived to be the President’s disloyalty to Egypt’s leader, Hosni Mubarak. The Hardball host berated, ” And Barack Obama, as much I support him in many ways, there is a transitional quality to the guy that is chilling.” He added, “I believe in relationships…You treat your friends a certain way. You’re loyal to them.” Matthews has previously lauded the authoritarian Mubarak.. Pointing out Mubarak’s stand against Hezbollah and other extremist elements in the region, the anchor on January 31 wondered, “How can you say he’ll easily be replaced? This guy’s the George Washington of peace over there.” [See video below.] Deriding immediate calls for Mubarak to step down, Matthews lamented, “Character and planning…I feel shame about this. I feel ashamed as an American, the way we’re doing this. I know he has to change. I know we’re for democracy, but the way we’ve handled it is not the way a friend handles a matter.” Matthews even attacked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s performance: “I watched Secretary Clinton today. I don’t get anything. I don’t see anything other than two and two are four. I keep waiting for five. Show me you’ve done your jobs over there.” A transcript of his answer to Joe Scarborough’s question, which aired at 8:22am EST, follows: JOE SCARBOROUGH: Chris, a statement yesterday from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, real concern among Arab states, if this is how we treat our ally of 30 years and I know it’s tough to bring these facts up to people who want to call for his immediate lynching, but if we treat an ally of 30 years this way, demanding that he leaves quote “now,” Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, are other allies in the region start questioning America’s character [sic]?
http://newsbreakingonline.com/news/chris-matthews-rips-obamas-handling-of-egypt-crisis-i-feel-ashamed-as-an-american.html
As`ad Abukhalil’s Commentary
The clerics of the dictator
The Mufti of Al-Azhar–the religious institution that has only produced misogyny, repression, intolerance, fanaticism, and obscurantism–called Mubarak and expressed support for dictatorship. What do you expect from a bunch of unlearned clerics who produce fatwas for a fee?
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/clerics-of-dictator.html
American officials don’t disguise their preference for a military dicatorship
“U.S. officials in Washington noted with approval the positive response by the demonstrators to an appearance in the square by Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, the Egyptian defense minister. Ostensibly there to talk with the troops, Tantawi stopped to chat with a group of protesters.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/american-officials-dont-disguise-their.html
Look how some foreign correspondents don’t do their homework
“The Obama administration hopes that respected figures whom one administration official referred to as Egypt’s “wise men””. No, dude. It is not the official who named them the “wise men”. That is how they refer to themselves–rather immodestly.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/look-how-some-foreign-correspondents.html
The head of Mubarak’s secret police as the Obama’s choice for democratic Egypt
“But, the officials said, Suleiman was increasingly aware that his own credibility was diminishing the longer he remained tethered to Mubarak, as was the likelihood that he could serve as an acceptable alternative.” This betrays how protective the US administration is of the image of Sulayman. But Sulayman, with five heart attacks on his resume, can’t be a long term choice for the US.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/head-of-mubaraks-secret-police-as.html
The Muslim Brotherhood
Now, I don’t believe that it is up to the White Man to tell Arabs and Muslims who should lead them. And it is not up to past and present colonial powers to issue certificates of legitimacy to leaders of Arabs and Muslims. Frankly my dear, as Clark Gable said in Gone with the Winds, we don’t give a damn. And, we have seen your choices of preferable Middle East leaders and–to put it politely–they are despicable: those puppets, kings and presidents in our region. But I don’t trust the Muslim Brotherhood and its variations, one bit. It is up to the Egyptian people to decide, but I won’t rust that lousy organization given its opportunistic history. It was a too of US/Saudi Arabia during the Arab cold war, and sided consistently with the Zionist camp. It is the organization that welcomed the advent of the Sadat regime. Not to mention its archaic views on women and minorities. I don’t even trust them on Palestine: they have been allies of the friends of Israel throughout the region. And they are now pretending to have found a new courage: they con’t come close to the Egyptian and Tunisian secular protesters. In Lebanon, the branch of the Muslim Brotherhood there (Al-Jama`ah Al-Islamiyyah) marched in support of the the Egyptian Uprising. This organization has been bought off in full by Hariri family and is part of an alliance that was aligned solidly with Mubarak. Who are you fooling. And the most cowardly branch of the brotherhood in Jordan, heaped praise on King `Abdullah of Jordan, simply because he agreed to shake their hands. And they there demonstrate against Mubarak, and yet it would be much more impressive if they demonstrate against their own tyrant. The Muslim Brotherhood deserves another century: maybe ten centuries ago, or even earlier.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/muslim-brotherhood.html
Dictatorship for Beginners
By the Egyptian cartoonist, Bahjat.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/dictatorship-for-beginners.html
Former Minister of Trade: real reforms in Egypt
So the Mubarak government today wants to fight corruption. They issued a ban against travel by the former Minister of Trade. Only the guy is already in Dubai. Upon hearing the news, Hillary praised reform in the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty–sorry, I meant Egypt.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/former-minister-of-trade-real-reforms.html
An important trend
There is a trend that can be discerned in Arab political culture–especially since the uprising in Tunisia. There is an increasing resort to Arab national identity and Arabism. This is true even by Islamists. We may be witnessing a grassroots resurgence of Arab identities in the region. I listened today to a speech by Tunisian Islamist, Rashid Ghannushi, and it was striking how much he made references to Arabism and Arab identity.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/important-trend.html
Egyptian prisoners who broke out of jail
Some of those who were arrested spoke to Egyptian Mubarak state tv. It is hilarious TV. One prisoner said that he really did not want to leave the prison but saw that everyone was leaving, so he just went along with them. Another one said: he really did not break out of prison, but that he briefly left to say hi to his his friends and relatives. He was asked why he was apprehended with weapons, he said: these are tense time, u know.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/egyptian-prisoners-who-broke-out-of.html
The Jordanian royal schmuck is now a man of the people
“He has been paying surprise visits in recent days to poor areas and villages and ordering assistance to the families he has encountered.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/jordanian-royal-schmuck-is-now-man-of.html
Angry Arab correspondent on Bahrain
R. sent me this: ”Apparently, in anticipation of Feb 14 (a national holiday in bahrain – there is no mention of the movement), the Bahraini King just announced that he will be injecting the national budget with 100 million bahraini dinars with money going mostly to the poor for subsidies etc (see copy and pasted newspaper articles below). What he doesn’t get is that money for the poor isn’t really the issue. The Feb 14 movement is changing its tone – they have removed the silly clause about banning alcohol and changed it to decreasing prostitution, alcohol etc. (unfortunately I can’t access facebook right now at work to check for the exact arabic phrase). The english facebook page doesn’t contain the clause at all which is interesting. The setting up of the english facebook page is important by the way – not only for the west – but for (unfortunately) those bahrainis who are more comfortable writing in english. I am getting a much more positive vibe from this movement from the people I know and it seems like the secular opposition youth will be participating after all! The big question mark is on the “private school kids” as well call them. I talked to a friend a few days ago and she was really angry saying that she supported their demands but was against the way and if we continue using these messages us shia will be hated everywhere. She was referring to a really stupid poster that had a little paragraph on how Al Khalifa will all go to hell and their are the epitomy of what haram means. continued.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/angry-arab-correspondent-on-bahrain.html
Analysis/Op-ed
Turkish model for Egypt?
Egypt’s transition toward a post-Hosni Mubarak era, as incremental and painful as it might be, has sparked interest in the “Turkish model” of democracy-craft, i.e. the art of conducting democratic affairs, which in Turkey involves the military playing a stabilizing role during the transition process while Islamist parties moderate through political participation. Can Turkey’s experience be repeated in Egypt?
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkish-model-for-egypt-2011-02-03
Egypt’s military-industrial complex | Pratap Chatterjee
With US-made tear gas canisters fired on protesters in Cairo, Washington’s role in arming Egypt is under the spotlight. In early January 2010, Bob Livingston, a former chairman of the appropriations committee in the US House of Representatives, flew to Cairo accompanied by William Miner, one of his staff. The two men were granted meetings with US Ambassador Margaret Scobey, as well as Major General FC “Pink” Williams, the defence attaché and director of the US Office of Military Cooperation in Egypt. Livingston and Miner were lobbyists employed by the government of Egypt, helping them to open doors to senior officers in the US government. Records of their meetings, required under law, were recently published by the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington, DC watchdog group.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/04/egypt-arms-trade
At the core
Egypt’s military lies at the heart of the country’s state apparatus.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12368711
Egypt’s military holds the key but continues to play the sphinx
CAIRO: The wait-and-see stance of the Egyptian military is raising many questions, but underlining one fact: its role will be decisive regardless of how the ongoing turmoil will end. Political analysts are scrambling to decipher its sphinx-like conduct. Is it complicit in police brutality? Prudent in the face of a fluid situation? Split at the top of its command structure? Just biding its time?
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=124566
Does the Obama administration have any sway over Egypt’s military?
Top Obama administration officials pressed the Egyptian military on Thursday to intervene on behalf of the activists, journalists, and protesters being attacked by groups of thugs supporting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, as concerns grew in Washington about the military’s role and agenda. Vice President Joseph Biden placed responsibility for restoring calm in the streets of Cairo squarely in the hands of Vice President Omar Suleiman, who is also chief of the country’s intelligence apparatus, when the two leaders spoke over the phone on Thursday afternoon.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/04/does_the_obama_administration_have_any_sway_over_egypt_s_military
Egypt Officials Seek to Nudge Mubarak Out
Egypt’s new vice president and other military leaders were discussing steps to limit President Hosni Mubarak’s decision-making authority, officials said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/world/middleeast/05egypt.html
Stephen Soldz, “The Torture Career of Egypt’s New Vice President”
Katherine Hawkins, an expert on the US’s rendition to torture program, in an email, has sent some critical texts where Suleiman pops up. Thus, Jane Mayer, in The Dark Side, pointed to Suleiman’s role in the rendition program: “Each rendition was authorized at the very top levels of both governments. . . . The long-serving chief of the Egyptian central intelligence agency, Omar Suleiman, negotiated directly with top Agency officials. [Former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt] Walker described the Egyptian counterpart, Suleiman, as ‘very bright, very realistic,’ adding that he was cognizant that there was a downside to ‘some of the negative things that the Egyptians engaged in, of torture and so on. But he was not squeamish, by the way'” (pp. 113). . . . However, Suleiman wasn’t just the go-to bureaucrat for when the Americans wanted to arrange a little torture. This “urbane and sophisticated man” apparently enjoyed a little rough stuff himself. . . . “To loosen Habib’s tongue, Suleiman ordered a guard to murder a gruesomely shackled Turkistan prisoner in front of Habib — and he did, with a vicious karate kick.”
http://bit.ly/eI1AYZ
It’s not radical Islam that worries the US – it’s independence | Noam Chomsky
The nature of any regime it backs in the Arab world is secondary to control. Subjects are ignored until they break their chains ‘The Arab world is on fire,” al-Jazeera reported last week, 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.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/04/radical-islam-united-states-independence
Discontented Within Egypt Face Power of Old Elites, ANTHONY SHADID
The rebellion pits those disenfranchised by Egypt’s government against the military and security apparatus and a fabulously wealthy clique.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e402efbf91d3576f46cf16746011b422
Obama administration contemplates legal nightmare in Egypt after Mubarak, Josh Rogin
As the Obama administration works to encourage the Egyptian government and opposition groups to sit down together and chart a path forward, they are grappling with problem of what to do about a legal system in Egypt that is inherently unfair but that remains the law of the land. The Obama administration’s message is that the path forward in Egypt must be negotiated between all of the stakeholders in Egypt rather than imposed from abroad. However, the administration also has concrete ideals and standards its wants to see included in that process and officials are involved in discussing those details with the Egyptian government.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/04/obama_administration_contemplates_legal_nightmare_in_egypt_after_mubarak
Impromptu: The Cairo Commune
They fought tooth and nail Wednesday night and defended al-Tahrir Square after a long day during which the last Pharao played his last card by unleashing his hired dogs to attack unarmed protesters who shook the earth in Egypt under his throne. When darkness fell, those heroes persevered despite a rain of rocks, Molotov cocktails and sniper bullets. They barricaded themselves and sealed the entrances to al-Tahrir. Their real barricades, however, were their hearts and spirit and those supporting them. Hundreds were wounded and some lost their lives. Their spirits were hovering over al-Tahrir, waiting and looking down at their comrades who were determined to defend the popular revolution and its legitimate demands.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/539/impromptu_the-cairo-commune
Mistaken notions about the Egyptian uprising
One of the most devious claims doing the rounds in the media is that the crisis in Egypt is about food; this is only partly true. There is another side to the picture. Egypt’s abject poverty and pervasive hunger did not spring out of a vacuum. It came about from the plunder and squandering of the country’s national wealth and its franchise to foreign interests. In addition, there are other major causes of this unprecedented popular uprising which have to do with the sense of national humiliation and indignity to which the people of Egypt have been subjected by a western-backed dictatorship masquerading as democracy.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/resources/commentary-and-analysis/2024-mistaken-notions-about-the-egyptian-uprising
Looking to Egypt, Again
I grew up hearing about Egypt. The Egypt of those stories, woven inextricably into the memories of my father and his brothers and sisters, was always one of strength, inspiration, beauty and steadfastness. It was the Egypt of Nasser and Um Kulthoum, of Arab Nationalism and of the Bandung Conference. It was the Egypt of solidarity with Palestine. As a child in Beirut, that place seemed as close as the catch in my father’s voice when he would talk about hearing Nasser on the radio. As I grew older, I noticed the bitterness that always laced those stories, the slight shake of my aunt’s head at the end of a sentence, the drop in of my uncle’s shoulders as he described the year he was 30, 1967. I always envied them these memories. I wanted to live in a time of magic, possibility, and pride. A time far away from civil wars, foreign invasions, Arab dictators, the slow aging of refugee camps, and the refashioning of Arab capitals into crude and expensive museums of what they once were. By the time I was 20, my envy had turned into something harder as I could clearly hear the defeat in their stories, their naiveté as to the machinations of politics, and the growing abyss between their memories and their, and my, realities.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/541/looking-to-egypt-again
Day of departure: What’s next for Egypt?, Stephen M. Walt
Egyptians have returned to the streets for what anti-government forces have dubbed a “day of departure.” The early reports I’ve seen are heartening: the demonstrations are peaceful, more and more members of the elite appear to be embracing change, and key institutions like the army continue to behave with restraint and to enjoy respect from the crowds. If it holds up, this augurs well for a transition that avoids most of the worst-case scenarios.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/04/day_of_departure
Egypt – The Peoples’ Voices
Arguably never has a momentous event, its triumphs and blood soaked tragedies, been so instantly transmitted across the globe, panicking governments, bent on quelling it, inspiring millions with similar aspirations to Egypt’s populus, into “can do” and unstinting support mode, with, literally, a vengeance. The first act of Egypt’s regime was to put an end to this extraordinary avalanche of people to people’s freedom of information – and pull the plug. It failed. The internet generation is a young people’s domain. Like wildfire, instructions instantly flew around the net, informing those with contacts in Egypt, the prefixes which would circumvent the cut off. “Anonymous”, a “hacktivist” group, promptly brought down systems still working in Egypt – those of government offices.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/02/egypt-the-peoples-voices/
Egyptians seek light at end of tunnel
Hundreds of thousands of defiant Egyptians marched peacefully in Cairo and other Egyptian cities Friday to demand an end to Hosni Mubarak’s rule while varying scenarios were being put forward for the first time in the 11-day-old wave of protests.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=124593
Magda Abu-Fadil: Media Coverage of Egyptian Events Draws Fire, Praise
A sign carried by a demonstrator in Cairo’s Tahrir Square read: “Egyptian media don’t see, don’t hear, they just talk.” It was right on the mark.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/magda-abufadil/media-coverage-of-egyptia_b_818618.html
How Can Egypt Get From Tahrir Square to Democracy? Lessons from Poland in 1989
“To Husni Mubarak: leave already. Arabs around the world are trying to sleep,” read a tweet. “Leave already, my hand hurts,” read a sign held up by a man on Cairo’s streets. From Tahrir Square, we hear that protesters are facing a new pressure possibly more strong than the pro-Mubarak thugs set lose on them in recent days. Family members, neighbors and merchants in the Tahrir area are pleading with them to go home already and let life get “back to normal.” The White House has heard the message that Mubarak must go, and must go now. But what next?
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/542/how-can-egypt-get-from-tahrir-square-to-democracy-lessons-from-poland-in-1989
We Are All Egypt!, Susan Abulhawa
Rightly proud of their history, Egyptians like to announce, especially to other Arabs, that Egypt is the world’s mother. The Arabic version is far more tender and poetic ‘Misr Um el Dounia’! Light-hearted banter will often ensue between Egyptian and non-Egyptian friends when that statement is brought into the conversation.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16620
We Are All Egyptians Now, Dennis Rahkonen
The powerfully inspirational uprising of impassioned, freedom-seeking masses in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, Port Said and other Egyptian locales has captured the world’s imagination, and hearts, to a historically unprecedented degree. Is there a decent, fair-minded person on this planet who doesn’t extend immense solidarity toward those brave souls standing their ground in Tahrir Square and elsewhere, in the face of the most cruelly brutal violence that dictator Hosni Mubarak’s mercenary thugs can sadistically muster?
http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/02/we-are-all-egyptians-now/
How the Egyptian revolt will recast the Middle East
Three scenarios for the way the uprising might end and what it all means for the US, Israel, and Iran.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/5p6Cu1SdFnM/How-the-Egyptian-revolt-will-recast-the-Middle-East
Mubarak, save Egypt and leave
Although hundreds of thousands of protesters reportedly filed Cairo’s Tahrir (Liberation) Square for Friday’s so-called “Day of Departure,” President Hosni Mubarak still refuses to depart. Mubarak is under intense pressure at home, and numerous foreign nations also say they are pushing him to go – and yet he continues to procrastinate.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=17&article_id=124569
Egypt’s Revolt: How Democracy Can Work In The Middle East
Whatever happens in the next few days will not change the central narrative of Egypt’s revolution. Historians will note that Jan. 25 marked the start of the end of Mubarak’s 30-year reign. And now we’ll test the theory that politicians and scholars have long debated. Will a more democratic Egypt become a radical Islamic state? Can democracy work in the Arab world?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/04/egypt-revolt-fareed-zakaria_n_818849.html
In Cairo, trudging to the work of revolution
Anti-Mubarak Egyptians pour in to Tahrir Square determined to do their own small part — forever, they say, if necessary. Emad Mohammed’s morning commute these days is a five-mile trudge through the streets at dawn.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/Md4EFg0Gn_8/la-fg-egypt-protests-color-20110205,0,1523490.story
Obama Pressed to Pressurise Egypt’s Military, Jim Lobe, February 05, 2011
On the eve of massive planned protests dubbed “Day of Departure” in Egypt, continuing attacks by pro-government conspirators on anti-government protestors and roundups of human rights activists and foreign journalists are contributing to pressures on the administration of President Barack Obama to take a tougher line, including withholding military aid, toward the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
http://original.antiwar.com/lobe/2011/02/04/obama-pressed-to-pressurise-egypts-military/
Egypt’s Fate Lies in a Square, Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, February 05, 2011
CAIRO – Demonstrators who turned up in Cairo’s Tahrir Square Friday in even larger numbers than on earlier days are from all walks of life: old men wearing traditional galibiyas, young people in jeans and T-shirts, and women of all ages wearing Islamic head scarves. The protesters, whose numbers across the nation are now estimated at more than one million and growing, shout variations of one slogan: “The people want the fall of the regime!”
http://original.antiwar.com/morrow-omrani/2011/02/04/egypts-fate-lies-in-a-square/
Ripple Effects of Tunisia and Egypt
Amid Egypt-inspired unrest, Iraqi prime minister cuts salary in half
Baghdad (CNN) — Amid growing unrest about poor public services and water shortages, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Friday agreed to cut his salary in half. Protesters around Iraq have said recent popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia inspired their weeklong demonstrations for improvements in government services and their quality of life.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/02/04/iraq.maliki.protesters/
Egypt sends shockwaves across Middle East
The upheaval in Egypt has had repercussions across the entire Middle East, and created concern in Israel about the stability of the region.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12371871
Egyptian turmoil complicates Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
The uprising in Egypt threatens to further derail the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, with the United States and other key actors distracted and no one sure whether President Hosni Mubarak’s successor will maintain Egypt’s mediating role, diplomats and analysts said.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=186ac0a35b27d8f19c6b7fbb61d13bdc
Rallies for reform held in Jordan
Hundreds of protesters demand reform in Amman while a “day of rage” planned for Damascus fails to get underway.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/02/201124141624836763.html
France rocked by news of aid to Tunisia and Egypt
France trained Egyptian police officers in crowd control and sent tear gas to Tunis. And its foreign minister vacationed in Tunisia after the uprising, using the jet of a man linked to the ousted president. As French officials continue to grapple with the fallout of their African foreign policy, they have been rocked by new disclosures about aid to security forces in Tunisia and Egypt, and calls for the foreign minister’s resignation over her holiday in Tunisia during the uprising there.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/t8BLI7f2h2U/la-fg-france-scandal-20110205,0,3337828.story
