Suez Canal Pipeline Attacked
Posted: February 5, 2011 Filed under: Egypt, Foreign Affairs, Israel, Jordan, U.S. Economy, U.S. Politics | Tags: Egypt, israel, Jordan, sabatage, Suez Canal 29 CommentsUnknown attackers have blown up a pipeline that runs through El-Arish area of Egypt’s north Sinai area and supplies gas to Jordan and Israel, according to Egypt’s state television.
[….]
The explosive material was placed inside or adjacent to the control station of the gas supply line. There were no immediate reports of any casualties as a result of the blast.
“Saboteurs took advantage of the security situation and blew up the gas pipeline,” a state television correspondent reported, saying there was a big explosion.
State TV quoted an official as saying that the “situation is very dangerous and explosions were continuing from one spot to another” along the pipeline.
Forbes reports that Egypt has been forced to cut off gas supplies to Israel and Jordan.
There were conflicting reports out of Egypt as to the cause of the explosion, with the state-run Middle East News Agency saying the work was done by “subversive elements.” Oil Minister Samah Fahmy reportedly said it could take up to two weeks to repair the damage.
The pipeline is the third most strategically important piece of energy infrastructure in Egypt after the Suez Canal and the Sumed Pipeline. But it is the most important one to Israel, delivering 40% of Israeli natural gas supplies. The Israeli government said this afternoon that it did not expect any interruption of electricity supplies as the country has gas in storage and can also switch to other fuels like oil and diesel. Israel started receiving gas from the pipeline in 2008.
Assuming for a moment that this was not an accident, it represents a serious escalation of the crisis in Egypt.
Jitters about the impact of the unrest on the economy of both Egypt and the region were not eased yesterday when an explosion ripped through a gas terminal in Egypt’s northern Sinai Peninsula, setting off a massive fire that was contained by shutting off the flow of gas to neighbouring Jordan and Israel. Supplies are expected to be hit for at least a week. While Israel has other sources of power, and Jordan is believed to have substantial reserves, the sense that Egypt’s fragility can reach beyond its borders will add to the anxieties.
Traders are worried that the unrest might spread to oil-producing countries in the region and even affect shipments through the Suez Canal. Egypt is not a major oil producer, but it controls the canal and a nearby pipeline. Together these carry about two million barrels of oil a day from the Middle East to customers in Europe and the United States. Several large Egyptian refineries near the canal have been the site of recent protests.
We can use this as a live blog to discuss the situation in Egypt. I’ll continue to add updates if I learn any more about the cause of the pipeline blast.
Saturday: a time for prayers
Posted: February 5, 2011 Filed under: Egypt, Hillary Clinton: Her Campaign for All of Us, morning reads | Tags: 2011: days of revolt, Binayak and Ilina Sen, Cinematherapy, feminism, Gayatri, gender politics, HCR lawsuits, Indonesia, Mental health, Mideast, Women and Girls 66 Comments
Click Image to go to Al Jazeera Live Blog on Egypt for Feb. 5th
Photo: A wounded antigovernment protester joined fellow demonstraters for Friday prayer at Tahrir square in Cairo. Tens of thousands of Egyptians gathered for sweeping “Day of Departure” demonstrations to try to force President Hosni Mubarak to quit. (Mohammed Abed/AFP-Getty)
Good morning, news junkies!
So the story this week is still Egypt, and I thought I’d start off with a first-person account that Bloomberg ran yesterday from reporter Maram Mazen:
A policeman looked me in the eye and said: “You will be lynched today,” running his finger across his neck.
But, that wasn’t Mazen’s most frightening moment on Thursday in Cairo. Click over to find out what it was.
Next up, a youtube of the protesters in Tahrir square breaking into song yesterday, led by a guitarist off-camera, amidst cries for Mubarak’s immediate exit during Friday’s ‘Day of Departure’ demonstrations. It’s almost at a 100,000 views already. Please go give it another. It’s just plain enjoyable music too. Rough translation of what they’re singing, from the comments:
Let’s make Mubarak hear our voices. We all, one hand, requested one thing, leave leave leave … Down Down Hosni Mubarak, Down Down Hosni Mubarak … The people want to dismantle the regime …. He is to go, we are not going … He is to go, we won’t leave … We all, one hand, ask one thing, leave leave.
Click Image to see more pictures of the day for Feb. 4th from the NYT Lens
Photo: Iranian women participated in Friday prayer outside Tehran University (Behrouz Mehri/AFP-Getty)
Here’s the latest word from Secretary Clinton on Egypt, speaking at a Munich security conference this Saturday — Hillary characterizes the unrest that the Mideast is facing as a “perfect storm of powerful trends” and says:
This is what has driven demonstrators into the streets of Tunis, Cairo, and cities throughout the region. The status quo is simply not sustainable.
Al Jazeera English also reports that she said there must be clear progress toward “open, transparent, fair and accountable systems” across the region not to risk even greater instability.
While we’re on the Middle East, did you hear? Rand Paul wants to end “welfare to Israel.” Hey, don’t shoot, I’m just relaying the news here. And, before anyone on the other side of that issue goes goo goo over Paul following in his father’s isolationist footsteps, remember the libertarian catch that it comes with–Paul is also calling for dramatic education cuts.
There’s an interesting blog piece on Egypt, Obama, and Indonesia at the New Statesman that I’m still thinking on, but I thought I’d put it out there for Saturday reading. I have to say, I have yet to see any indication that Obama has much of a plan when it comes to Egypt. The deer-in-the-headlights look coming from this White House has been hard to miss.
This next item didn’t seem to generate much buzz, but I thought I’d put it in here and get your reactions… a Mississippi federal judge threw out a challenge to HCR on Thursday.
Here’s a story I’d been meaning to cover last week but didn’t get to, and there’s an update on it this weekend too. You may or may not know but Indian human rights activist Dr. Binayak Sen is facing life imprisonment. Here is the report Democracy Now’s Anjali Kamat filed from Chhattisgarh in advance of the global day of protest calling for Binayak’s release last Sunday. And, here is the update on Binayak’s wife, Ilina Sen, who has been under a witchhunt by the Maharasthra Police. An FIR against her has been reportedly thrown out:
Illina was named as an accused for her alleged failure to inform the police of the participation of foreign delegates at a conference of the Indian Association for Woman Studies ( IAWS) in Wardha.
Illina, who had termed the FIR an vindictive act of the state, told Mail Today on Thursday that she was unaware of the development. ” But if it is happening, it is a welcome step,” she said.
” The home ministry has intervened in the matter… Illina’s name will be dropped from the FIR,” a government source said.
Looks like a bit of good news we can hang our hats on as the rest of the world spins out of control. Speaking of women’s studies…
This Saturday in Women’s and Children’s Health headlines
BYU School of Family Life researchers Sarah Coyne and Laura Padilla-Walker find that teen girls who play video games with their parents are less depressed (Truthdig), as part of the Flourishing Families project that began in 2007. Here’s the pdf to the actual study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health this month for anyone who is interested. According to Coyne, et al. (2011), for girls there is a link between playing age-appropriate games with parents and lowered internalizing (anxiety/depression) and aggression. There is no correlation for boys, and further studies are still needed to determine causality and long term effects for girls. Two years ago, the larger study that this research is a part of found a link between frequent gaming and relationship difficulties. This summer the project led to research that found having a sister may counter depression. Let’s hear it for sisterhood! Which brings me to…
Cinematherapy…in Feminist Perspective
Click poster to go to missprepresentation.org
A great op-ed last week on Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s documentary Missrepresentation, by Ashley Chappo in The Cavalier Daily — “Showgirls.” Here’s a teaser of Chappo’s piece:
As the American activist Marian Wright Edelman once said, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” Our national misconceptions about the value of women have contributed to the fact that the United States currently ranks 90th world-wide when it comes to women’s representation in politics. This year, Newsom’s documentary is a must-see because it challenges all Americans to reconsider their values and confront institutions that perpetuated inferior images of female capability.
Another film featured last month at the Sundance festival that you might want to take a look at is Lynn Hershmann’s !Women Art Revolution. Also, if you have a chance, check out: “Global Girls Go Sundance.”
This last one is really a review of a review of a book, but I’m sticking it here because it goes with feminist reads. Historiann: “Rebecca Traister on Stephanie Coontz’s A Strange Stirring.”
This day in history (February 5)
1871: Mary Sewall Garnder, pioneer of public health nursing, was born.
(If you click on Mary’s name, the link will take you to more women’s history trivia for February 5th.)
Closing thought
With all the upheaval going on in the world these days, I thought I’d share the Gayatri mantra before I go… I grew up on it, and though I’m agnostic and don’t believe in a “creator god,” this one stuck for me, perhaps because Gayatri is a girl goddess and the prayer is about asking her to dispel the darkness of ignorance. I like this translation:
Om Bhur Bhuva Swaha
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi
Dhiyo Yo Nah PrachodayatMother who subsists as all three Kalas, in all three Lokas, and all three Gunas, I pray to you to illuminate my intellect and dispel my ignorance, just as the splendorous sunlight dispels all darkness. I pray to you to make my intellect serene and bright.
And, to make this roundup even more cross-cultural…
La fin and merci beaucoup if you made it to the end. Let’s hear what you’re reading this Saturday in the comments.
[originally posted at Let Them Listen; crossposted at Taylor Marsh and Liberal Rapture]
Live Blog: Evening in Egypt, ‘Day of Departure’ going strong as Mubarak stays put
Posted: February 4, 2011 Filed under: Breaking News, Egypt | Tags: 2011: days of revolt 16 Comments
Click Image to go to Al Jazeera Live Blog on Egypt for Feb. 4th
This post will update–you know the drill.
Scroll to the bottom for AJE Live feed, embedded in this post for your convenience, and for quick links to other live feeds.
More live blogging: AJ Live Blog | Enduring America “Egypt and Beyond” Live Blog | NYT Lede’s latest on Egypt | Ahram Online minute-by-minute account of “Departure Friday”
In reverse chronological order, so the latest update is first:
First time reporters will be able to ask Obama questions about Egypt.
On standby on the Obama press conference feed. Will update this if/when CNN or AJE cut back to it…
Ok, he’s back answering qs… repeating “orderly transition” talking point.
Oh goodness, now the president is praising Mubarak, calling him “proud and a patriot.”
2:20 ish pm CST: Obama speaks
First he’s doing remarks on Bilateral with Canada. Then he’ll address Egypt.
Obama on Egypt: “We oppose violence as a response to the crisis.” Attacks on human rights activists, on reporters, on peaceful protesters are unacceptable. Encouraged by restraint shown today. Transition needs to begin now. Details need to be worked out by Egyptians–we understand that they’re working on it now. Entire world is watching. Egypt in “tumult and transformation.” Confident Egyptian people can shape the future they deserve.
2 pm CST: Awaiting remarks from President Obama.
What will he NOT say next?
1:40 CST/9:40 pm Cairo
Pro-democracy activist Wael Abbas on the phone with AJE, reporting that the atmosphere around the protests is “crazy” and that he, like others, have been arrested for all sorts of weird reasons. He says he was arrested three times.
1 pm-ish CST: Robert Gibbs is blathering away.
I’ll let you know if he says anything that’s not the usual evasion tactics.
My verdict as AJE cuts away: Nope, he didn’t say anything of interest. The takeaway quote was Gibbs saying “I doubt if there’s anyone in Cairo looking for my definition of ‘freedom of speech.'” Yawn.
MSNBC.com: ElBaradei denies Austrian interview (that he won’t run for president)
From msnbc.com’s M. Alex Johnson: “Update 1:21 p.m. ET: Reuters reports that ElBaradei has told Al Jazeera that he might, in fact, run for president ‘if the Egyptian people want me.’ Addressing the Standard report below, ElBaradei said by telephone that ‘this is not true,’ Reuters says.”
Here’s the Der Standard report, translated by google.
Ahram Online: Minister of Industry Rashid Mohamed Rashid banned from leaving Egypt
Full text: “Public Prosecuter ordered Friday the freezing of the bank accounts of former Minister of Industry, Rashid Mohamed Rashid, and banned him from leaaving the country.
Yesterday, similar actions were taken on former NDP Organization Secretary Ahmed Ezz, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, former Housing Minister Ahmed al-Maghraby and former Minister of Tourism Zuhair Garrana.”
Robert Fisk: ‘Mubarak will go tomorrow,’ they cried as rocks and firebombs flew
From the link: “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.”
“Why Israel fears a free Egypt”
That’s the title of Middle East analyst and negotiator Aaron David Miller’s op-ed in today’s Washington Post: “The irony is that the challenges a new Egypt will pose to America and Israel won’t come from the worst-case scenarios imagined by frantic policymakers and intelligence analysts – an extremist Muslim takeover, an abrogation of peace treaties, the closing of the Suez Canal – but from the very values of participatory government and free speech that free societies so cherish. In a more open Egypt, diverse voices reflecting Islamist currents and secular nationalists will be louder. And by definition, these voices will be more critical of America and Israel.”
Alternet/Reuters — “Egypt finance minister says unrest losses huge“:
- Says 1 million tourists have left country
- Says government to honour T-bill and bond commitments
- Says food prices to be controlled after crisis
“Resilience of the crowd”
More than 8 hours after the protests began, AJE reports energy still strong.
8pm Cairo/noon CST
RT @Egyptocracy: Woman in niqab standing in Tahrir today holding a sign: #Egypt is for all Egyptians, Muslims and Christians
(reflecting the same spirit I heard earlier today–during Friday prayers someone said today’s protests were not about ideology or religion but about removing the Mubarak regime.)
A little levity
RT @BorowitzReport: World Cannot Believe Mubarak Hasn’t Fucking Left Yet: http://bit.ly/i0J1Bz
NYT: “Egyptian Government Figures Join Protesters”
The Gray Lady reports the following faces among the crowd:
- secretary general of the Arab League and former foreign minister Amr Moussa, who seemingly tried to align himself with the protesters but was drowned out by the crowd’s roars of approval.
- Defense minister and deputy prime minister Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi was the first member of the ruling government elite to enter the square — “he seemed to be concerned mostly with reviewing the troops and did not seek to speak to the crowd, though he did chat with some protesters.”
- Public spokesman for Al Azhar, Mohamed Rafah Tahtawy, informed reporters that he is quitting his position: “I am participating in the protests and I have issued statements that support the revolutionists as far as they go.”
“More women” reportedly at Alexandria
10:30 am CST/6:30 pm Alexandria: According to one AJE correspondent, women have a pronounced presence at Alexandria in comparison to some of the other protests.
“Death or Freedom”
10 am CST/6 pm Cairo: Crowds not thinning from earlier in the day, surprising Al Jazeera English anchors and correspondents. Reporter live at Tahrir says the protesters are saying “death or freedom” — he also observes that the “only indication that the protesters will accept anything is if President Mubarak steps down.”
Al Jazeera English LIVE feed:
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Quick Links: Democracy Now: Egypt | Al Jazeera English TV | AJE Live on Youtube | AJE Facebook Live Stream | Al Arabiya | Bambuser | BBC Live | CNN Live | Euronews Live | France24 Live | Manar TV Live Lebanon | MSNBC Live | Press TV Iran Live | Live Tweets: Blogs of War | Twitter #Egypt | YouTube Egypt | YouTube – Citizentube | for more links, see TVNewsRadio
BREAKING: Egypt’s ‘Day of Departure’ for Hosni Mubarak (Live blog)
Posted: February 4, 2011 Filed under: Breaking News, Egypt | Tags: 2011: days of revolt, Egypt's 'Day of Departure', Hosni Mubarak, mona eltahawy, Rumi 46 CommentsThis post will update periodically with breaking tweets, links, and news overnight. Scroll down to the end for Al Jazeera Live feed (embedded within this post for your convenience).
Click Image to go to Al Jazeera Live Blog on Egypt for Feb. 4th
BBC News: Egypt set for ‘Day of Departure’
4 February 2011 Last updated at 00:24 ET
Protesters in the Egyptian capital Cairo are preparing to stage a “Day of Departure” for President Hosni Mubarak.
Photo above: Anti-government protesters in Egypt are staging another mass rally billed as a “day of departure”, as their efforts to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak continue for an 11th day. (AFP)
Al Jazeera Live Blog on Egypt for Feb 4
Latest Updates on Day 11 of Egypt Protests from NYT’s The Lede.
February 3rd: pro-Mubarak and anti-Mubarak clash in Tahrir square (Ed Ou for the NYT via NYT Lens Pictures of the Day, click image for more)
Yesterday Mona Eltahawy tweeted: “My heart, my sould, my memories, what most excites me about Egypt, is there at Tahrir. Only thing keeping me optimistic re Egypt is youth” and “am torn between staying here NYC and continuing my media uprising to amplify Egypt voices and returning to Cairo for revolution.”
Mona’s tweets reminded of the title of a Rumi poem. From the Coleman Barks translation:
In Baghdad, Dreaming of Cairo: In Cairo, Dreaming of Baghdad — by Rumi
excerpt: It may be the satisfaction I need
depends on my going away, so that when I’ve gone
and come back, I’ll find it at home
My thoughts and prayers go out to the Egyptian people and to all the Egyptians and Arabs watching the revolution from outside the region. Our hearts break with yours as we watch the aftermath of the ugly state crackdown that has taken place over the last two days.
Special Note: Mona Eltahawy will be on Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO, Friday, 10 pm EST).
Click for HQ version. The protesters have been crowding into Cairo's Tahrir Square - the epicentre of the demonstrations. (AFP)
UPDATES
(in reverse chronological order so the latest is first)
Largely Peaceful, with reports of small incidents
around 7:30 am CST (2:30 in the afternoon in Cairo): Another report that people keep coming in and “the protests are gaining momentum.” I’m hearing mostly peaceful stuff on the AJE feed, but there have been some reports here and there of small confrontations.
Reporter who said that she’s hearing about the upward momentum also says that she hears high profile Egyptians are getting together and trying to plan and structure the voice and face of the movement, but there is no one name or face for a leader of the movement. She says she’s hearing ElBaradei (and another name I didn’t catch) are not acceptable to the protesters.
Egyptians gathered to enter Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday morning. (Hannibal Hanschke/European Pressphoto Agency)
A mood of defiance
7 am CST: Still peaceful.
NYT headline — “Egyptians Defy Crackdown With New Mass Protests.”
Note, at 7:08 am CST– Al Jazeera reporter saying there is a developing situation at the October 6th bridge with a small group of Pro-Mubarak supporters yelling “Where is Al Jazeera now? We’re the real people of Egypt” or something to that effect. Concentration of tanks and riot gear at bridge appears to have been in place in preparation for something like this.
Chants of “peacefully, peacefully”
6 am CST: AJE correspondent says one of the chants that the Day of Departure protesters are saying is “peacefully, peacefully.” Another correspondent checking in to report that the scene is a “mirror image” of the peaceful protests from Tuesday. She also says there are no signs of any of the pro-Mubarak thugs, the streets are quiet, as has been reported by multiple correspondents during the past several hours. Switch to another reporter who says there is a bit of tension outside of the barriers but there is largely a return to the celebratory mood of the protest before the bloodshed on Wednesday and Thursday.
The concerns that things would get violent after Friday prayers have *so far* not been born out. Here is hoping things continue this way.
Yet another reporter describing the crowd as “rejuvenated.”
Interview with al-Ghad party’s Ayman Nour: more than 1 million people. Still concerns about police-instigated violence. Says “president must be removed from political scene.”
“Day of Departure” protesters want Mubarak to leave but do NOT want Suleiman either
around 5 to 5:30 am CST and onward: AJE anchor estimates that there are a million people at Tahrir. Someone at the scene describes a poster from the protests with American presidents (if I heard correctly, from Carter to Obama) on one side and Hosni Mubarak on the other. Protesters want Hosni Mubarak to leave but are chanting against Omar Suleiman as his replacement as well. AJE anchor says reports are coming in that there are *upwards* of one million people in attendance. Correspondent now saying that safety in numbers is the strategy — there is a feeling that perhaps letting the numbers dwindle in the middle of the week made it easier for the crackdown/massacre over the earlier 48 hours. Another correspondent reports “an atmosphere of euphoria,” with people erupting into cheers (I think when news plays on a screen there)…he’s also having the camera feed zoom in to the main entry point (bridge) and pointing out the makeshift barrier that has been made.
Midday prayers over; the “Day of Departure” protests begin
around 4:30 am CST and onward: The protesters are chanting very loudly, among other things, “he must leave, he must leave” and “invalid, invalid” in reference to Hosni Mubarak. I believe someone in the square reporting via phone on AJE just referred to the sound of the chanting there as “deafening.”
The Egyptian National Anthem is now being chanted–more like roared. Wow. This is incredible to watch/listen to via feed, I can only imagine what it’s like to experience this in person in Tahrir square.
Cutaway to Alexandria–the scene there is very much like the scene at Tahrir, with a chanting, roaring crowd. The AJE anchor says things appear to be getting a bit more unruly than the peaceful sense there was in the morning.
“The calm before the storm”
Click for HQ version... Friday prayers were held at the square and speeches and chanting have followed. (AFP)
Screengrab from my AJE feed at 2-4-2011, 3:59 am CST (Midday in Egypt)
Midday in Egypt/4:20 am CST: for the past 20 minutes or so, AJE has been characterizing this as the calm before the storm and there is great concern that abuses will be carried out later in the day. Midday prayers are about to take place. I’ve added a screengrab that I took at the top of the hour. Mablue2 has also embedded some pictures in the Sky Dancing comments: see here.
Some good news if true — seems army is intervening on behalf of the people:
tweeted at about 3 am CST: RT @Anony_Ops: REPORT: army has taken over 6th Oct bridge & issued a warning they’ll shoot if thugs come back. Finally! #Jan25 #Egypt (via @Warchadi)
CNN’s reporting is along similar lines: “Troops in riot gear patrol Cairo as demonstrators plan mass protests…Demonstrators have built a barbed-wire barricade and stacked piles of rocks throughout Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where a large number of protesters had already gathered Friday morning to demand President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation. Military forces surrounded the square, and anti-government protesters manned their own security checkpoints, which included numerous blockades. ‘We’ve been here for more than 10 days, and change is coming,’ a group of protesters chanted inside the square.”
Earlier
AJELive, around 2:10 am CST: “Our producer:All calm in #tahrir after a calm night.MOST hoping today will be a re-run of tues peaceful demos.”
http://twitpic.com/3wbnmn: Image grab of Tahrir on AJA, timestamped Feb 4, 2011 at 7:36 am GMT
Recommended Reading and Links
“Mubarak’s day of departure?“: Brian Whitaker’s latest take at his personal al-bab blog, with observations on the constitutionality of Suleiman taking over and on the attacks on journalists
Robert Fisk, via Democracy Now: “Obama Administration Has Been Gutless and Cowardly in Dealing with the Mubarak Regime”
Killed in Egypt: a user list on google updating with the names, ages, and other info of lives lost in the protests.
From mablue2 —Washington’s hopes for the ‘day of departure’(Mark Mardell’s BBC blog) : “At a prayer breakfast today President Obama said, ‘The presidency has a funny way of making a person feel the need to pray. Abe Lincoln said, I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.’
Mr Mubarak’s defiance may have Mr Obama on his knees in prayer, but certainly not in submission. The White House is preparing, in great detail, for a world after Hosni Mubarak.”
Also from mablue2 — The art of counter-revolution (Arabist.net): “I have not been to Tahrir since the mob attacks on the protesters began. But what I’m seeing and hearing is amazing. People have braved gunfire and molotov cocktails. They have set up makeshift barricades and organized hospitals. Lifelong activists who once dismissed Egyptian youth as flighty and apathetic are coming away from Tahrir with their jaws agape at the persistance and ingenuity of this new generation.
But, when you wander the square or watch the protests on Jazeera, it’s easy to forget that there are still millions of Egyptians who haven’t been among the protesters, who distrust Arab satellite stations, and who derive their political narrative from state TV. Maybe they live in the countryside, and know their local NDP deputy (or NDP ‘independent’) well, and have a well-connected family patriarch to vouch for them before the police.”
Forced confessions and Torture
Bostonboomer heard on Rachel Maddow yesterday that the Egyptian government is airing forced confessions on state tv. She and I both have tried to look for any links on this but haven’t been able to find any yet. We’ll keep looking for information on this, but in the meantime, Bostonboomer did find these articles on the routine use of torture on ordinary Egyptian citizens:
Wael Abbas Documented Abuses on the Web, Now Says He’s on the Run (ABC News)
Egypt violence exposes secret tools of state repression (BBC News)
US embassy cables: Police brutality in Egypt (The Guardian)
A journalist’s account
another from mablue2, Personal account: Attacked by thugs in the streets of Cairo: “As the Cairo mob turns against journalists, Yonathan Kellerman, 32, a Montreal photographer and documentary writer now living in Paris, details how he found himself under attack by thugs.”
For Live Tweets: Blogs of War
For Al Jazeera English LIVE feed:
Vodpod videos no longer available.
If the feed above doesn’t work for you or crashes your browser: AJE Live on Youtube
Here is a link I noticed on twitter to a bunch of internet feeds from various news outlets — TVNewsRadio — Egypt: Watch Live Streaming. A partial list from the link:
Egypt Live Streaming Online: Al Jazeera TV | Al Arabiya | Bambuser | BBC Live | CNN Live | Euronews Live | France24 Live | Manar TV Live Lebanon | MSNBC Live | Press TV Iran Live
Social Media: Twitter #Egypt | YouTube Egypt | YouTube – Citizentube
BREAKING: US Negotiating Resignation of Mubarak
Posted: February 3, 2011 Filed under: Breaking News, Diplomacy Nightmares, Egypt, Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, John Birch Society in Charge, Middle East, right wing hate grouups, Surreality, Team Obama, the internet, U.S. Politics, Violence against women | Tags: Egypt, Egyptian State attacks on Journalists, Hosni Mubarak, human rights violations, right wing propaganda, violence 29 CommentsLatest: White House, Egypt Discuss Plan for Mubarak’s Exit
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately, turning over power to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military, administration officials and Arab diplomats said Thursday.
President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, WH Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, and State Department spokesman PJ Crowly all took time on TV today to express American concern for use of overt use of violence, suppression, and intimidation of reporters, legitimate protest, and human rights groups. Reporters have been beaten and ‘disappeared’. Green Vans belonging to the State Police were caught speeding up, then running over protesters on their way to the Square. (WARNING: Video below shows this.)There is increasing evidence that the pro-Mubarak protesters are themselves state police and paid thugs.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Thursday that the violence was carried out by “elements close to the government or ruling party.”
“I don’t think we have a sense of how far up the chain it went,” he noted.
There are no images coming out of journalists in Egypt. Nile TV–the government propaganda channel–has been 
blaming foreign forces for the protests which is leading to attacks on nonEgyptians all over Egypt. Nile TV journalist Shahira Amin has quit. She’s joined the protesters.
There are increasing calls from the International Community to the Government of Egypt for restraint. Here’s a link to an article from, of all places, China.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd on Thursday condemned the violence, saying attacks on peaceful demonstrators are unacceptable and must stop.
“We call upon the government of Egypt to take steps to ensure that its citizens are free to demonstrate safely,” Rudd said in a statement.
“The disturbing events in Tahrir Square underline the urgent need for a negotiated and peaceful solution to this political crisis.”
UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who was on a visit to Britain, Wednesday urged all sides to show restraint during the unprecedented nine-day-old movement.
“I am deeply concerned by the continuing violence in Egypt. I once again urge restraint to all the sides,” Ban said after a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Ban also said that any attack on peaceful demonstrators in Egypt was unacceptable and that he strongly condemns it.
In Athens, Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas called on Egyptians to exercise restraint.
Egyptian protesters continue to pour onto the streets. Friday protests are being characterized as a “final” Friday indicating the hope that Friday will be the day Mubarak will quit.
One man, a 30-year-old lawyer named Tareq Hussein Ali, whose sweatshirt was so bloodied it looked like a red-brown bib, ventured his analysis. “Egypt will never be as it used to be,” he said.
…
“Last night showed that the government is at the last of their options,” Ali said Thursday afternoon, sitting on a grass patch in the middle of Tahrir – which means “liberation” – where dozens of protesters were resting under anti-government banners.
Tahrir on Thursday resembled a bustling open-air triage center. With businesses locked up long ago, young women in head scarves served water to demonstrators from inside a Hardee’s while weary-looking men sporting bandages dozed on the doorsteps of travel agencies, too many to count.
At every entrance to the square, protesters had set up security cordons backed up by neatly arranged lines of stones, in case of another attack. As in previous days, the Egyptian army presence was thin, just a few dozen soldiers looking on, and no uniformed police were in sight.
In a back alley, volunteers set up an emergency medical clinic, where doctors in dirtied white coats re-dressed wounds from the previous night. Hussein Dawood, a physician, said that more than 3,000 people had been injured, a figure that far exceeded the government’s count.
“We want the whole world to know that the Egyptian president organized an operation against his own people,” Ali said, “as if he was in a war.”
When Ali left his Cairo home Jan. 25 to join the first day of the protests, he told his parents: “I will come home victorious, or you will receive my dead body.” Late Wednesday night, after nearly 10 hours of running battles in and around the square, he was on the front lines near the museum alongside scores of young male demonstrators.
After days of watching the coverage I think I can safely say that there are very few people left standing that support Mubarak with the exception of Fox News, Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich and others representing the extremely right wing element in the US. It’s pretty obvious that instead of looking for communists under the bed that we are now to look for stylized, extremist ‘Islamists’. In fact, we’re now seeing some weirdish melting of Islam, Shari’a, socialism, leftists and communism. How desperately deluded to you have to be to push that one?
“Any honest assessment on 9/11 this year, ten years after the attack, I think will have to conclude that we’re slowly losing the war,” Gingrich said. “We’re losing the war because there are madrassahs around the planet teaching hatred. We’re losing the war because the network of terrorists is bigger, not smaller.”
Gingrich pointed to the unrest in Egypt as posing a potential new threat to American security.
“There’s a real possibility in a few weeks, if we’re unfortunate, that Egypt will join Iran, and join Lebanon, and join Gaza, and join the things that are happening that are extraordinarily dangerous to us,” Gingrich said.
The right wing buzz word of the day is “Muslim Brotherhood” which is now seen to have tentacles that reach–according to professional wacko Glenn Beck–to some unknown place in US Democratic Circles. Here is an example from right wing extremist Frank Gaffney on Sean Hannity, professional bully.
The Muslim Brotherhood is often a target of right-wing pundits like anti-sharia crusader Frank Gaffney, who last month claimed the group had infiltrated CPAC. And as the single largest organized opposition group in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has emerged as a target for the right as the protests continue.
On Hannity last night, Gaffney argued that “the Obama Administration’s policies are being viewed through, and actually articulated and implemented through influence operations that the Muslim Brotherhood itself is running in our own country.”
“You cannot possibly get your strategy right, you cannot execute it effectively if you don’t know that the enemy is actually giving you advice on how to proceed,” he said.
I mentioned this earlier, but I’m personally having to de-friend people on Facebook from people perpetuating this obvious right wing paranoia and hatred. I’m not sure how any one could be following the coverage these last days and not realize that Mubarak’s behavior is unacceptable and that these are legitimate calls for democratic change from widespread and mainstream elements in Egypt. I have to admit that most of these people have also been serious Sarah Palin apologists also. We had removed blogs links from these people earlier this month for some of that behavior. I’ve had to completely remove contact with them after the posting of some really hateful right wing posts to FaceBook.
There are legitimate concerns about the treatment of women by all fundamentalist religions. However, it is becoming increasingly clear to most of us that these groups have jumped the shark and are motivated by ignorance and bigotry. The complaints and shout outs I have seen recently for the Beck idea that some “caliphate” takeover is happening is clearly rooted in racism and extremist views of Islam. Many of these are aimed not only at Egyptians but the President of the United States. This does not reflect well for the values traditionally held by this country. I personally find it deeply disturbing and frightening that these people are supporting a military dictatorship that is disappearing and brutalizing US journalists (more than 70), human rights activists, diplomats, and–as BB pointed out today–US academics.
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