Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has told interrogators he didn't order security forces to open fire on protesters during the 18-day uprising that ousted him.
He also insists that no one would have listened to him had he ordered a stop to the violence.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/07/14/egypt-police-fired.html
Fans, food, prayers and protests - a day in the life of those holding a sit-in in Tahrir square.
Since a huge protest on July 8th in Tahrir, demonstrators have been holding a sit-in, vowing to remain until their demands are met. They have taken full ownership of the square with no government forces in sight. Food, cleanliness and security are in the hands of the protesters who are living in the square day and night. This is a day in the life of the Tahrir sit-in.
Filmed on Tuesday July 12/ Wednesday July 13. Filmed and produced by Simon Hanna.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContentMulti/16382/Multimedia.aspx
Egypt: New wave of strikes greets start of Ramadan
Posted on August 2, 2011
Thousands of Egyptian workers have been involved in strikes over the past week, greeting the start of Ramadan with protests and occupations over wages and conditions at work....
http://menasolidaritynetwork.com/2011/08/02/egypt-new-wave-of-strikes-gr...
Egypt: Strikes shut down rail network and workshops
Aug 18, 2011
Co-ordinated strikes by train drivers demanding a rise in their bonuses brought much of the Egyptian rail network to halt for seven hours on 17 August. Drivers staged sit-ins across the tracks at a number of stations including Alexandria, Tanta, Zagazig and Cairo’s mainline Ramsis Station.
Military police moved in to break up the sit-in by force late on 17 August, but strikers’ leaders said they would be back on strike again unless their demands were met. Railworkers are in a powerful position, with the end of Ramadan approaching, millions of extra passengers will be travelling for the Eid al-Fitr celebrations. Management offered concessions including raising bonuses by 50% and promised a restructuring of the bonus scheme.
Within hours of the suspension of the drivers’ strike, 3,000 workers in the Abu Za’abal rail engineering workshops had downed tools in a separate dispute over the delayed payment of their bonuses for July. Workers took control of the workshops, locking the doors and preventing anyone from going in or out.
The CIA's spokesman at The Washington Post, columnist David Ignatius, recently announced that the glorifying term "Arab Spring" is no longer being used by senior intelligence officials to describe democratic revolutions in the Middle East. It has been replaced by the more "neutral" term "Arab transition," which, as Ignatius put it, "conveys the essential truth that nobody can predict just where this upheaval is heading." Note that [b]what was until very recently celebrated in American media circles as a joyous, inspirational awakening of "democratic birth and freedom" has now been downgraded to an "upheaval" whose outcome may be odious and threatening.[/b]
That's not surprising. As I've written about several times, public opinion in those nations is so strongly opposed to the policies the U.S. has long demanded -- and is quite hostile (more so than ever) to the U.S. itself and especially Israel -- that allowing any form of democracy would necessarily be adverse to American and Israeli interests in that region (at least as those two nations have long perceived of their "interests"). [b]That's precisely why the U.S. worked so hard and expended so many resources for decades to ensure that brutal dictators ruled those nations and suppressed public opinion to the point of complete irrelevance[/b] (behavior which, predictably and understandably, exacerbated anti-American sentiments among the populace).
[url=http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/index.html]Salon[/url]
Cairo's Monitored Transition - by Manlio Dinucci
http://www.voltairenet.org/Cairo-s-monitored-transition
"The White House is promoting the bobo-revolution in Egypt...Carl Gershmann, President of the National Endowment for Democracy, stands with his back to the camera. The ceremony was followed by a round table featuring Aly Abuzaakuk and Radwan Ziadeh, two of the main organizers of the unrest in Libya and Syria..."
The people will have democracy in Egypt soon lickity split.
We know they are close, because Afghans are almost on the verge of booting out western meddlers 30 years later by comparison. And counting. Same with Libya where al-CIA'duh and NATO-backed rebels are lookin' good for a counterrevolution against Gadaffi and his anti-imperialists.
The people are in full control, and to criticize that notion would be to express anti-progressive, anti-leftist propaganda.
It should be any day now.
Egyptian Military Junta Deepens Ties to NATO-backed Libyan Opposition
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/sep2011/egyp-s09.shtml
"The close collaboration between the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the NTC is part of a US-led counterrevolutionary offensive in the region, aimging to disorient the working class uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia and to intensify imperialist exploitation of the region.
As a further measure to contain the revolutionary movement, on March 19 NATO forces officially launched a war to topple the Libyan government and install the NTC, a body consisting of ex-Gaddafi ministers, CIA agents and Islamists. The Western powers sought to falsely pose as allies of the mass movement against dictatorships in the Arab world, while installing an even more subservient, pro-imperialist regime than that of Col. Muammar al Gaddafi.."
Israeli Ambassador Leaves Egypt
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/198315.html
"The Israeli ambassaor to Egypt has flown out of Cairo, a few hours after demonstrators stormed the Israeli embassy. A protester tore down the Israeli flag at the embassy, to the cheers of thousands of demonstrators on the scene...
Obama in Tizzy Over Embassy Takeover
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/198317.html
Egypt on Alert, Israel Ambassador Withdraws (and vid)
http://rt.com/news/israeli-embassy-egypt-protesters-235/
"Protesters in Egypt continued their attacks on the Israeli embassy in Cairo after a night of violence which claimed at least three lives. Meanwhile, Egypt has put its security forces on a state of alert..."
yeah this is huge. What blows me away is how quickly they've scrambled to erase it. The Globe was hours late in covering it, then buried it way down the page; likewise the CBC. It's like it never happened. So much for the will of the Egyptian street; so much for their Arab Spring.
These are not pro western democracy demonstrators. Like the coverage of Bahrain and Yemen the corporate media and our state media only report selectively.
In Egypt the people are calling for the military to give up power. In Libya the western backed rebels are entering into deals with the Egyptian and Saudi militaries. I am afraid the Arab spring in Cairo has transferred the dictatorship to the military and the people are still a long way from taking power.
Egyptian Junta Declares State of Alert After Storming of Israeli Embassy
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/sep2011/egyp-s12.shtml
"The Egyptian junta is clearly seizing upon these events in its efforts to disorient and repress the rising struggles of the working class, to maintain its hold on power. In an interview with the satellite channel Al Arabiya, [Egyptian Minister of Information, Osama] Heikal claimed that the January uprising had been a genuine, peaceful revolt that sought to bring down and replace the old regime. The current events in Egypt aim to destroy the country and induce chaos..."
The people of Egypt have been had. I hope the streets will once again be taken over but with that many deaths and arrests the state terror seems to be working and the crowds are only in the thousands not the tens of thousands. As we have seen in Canada a few thousand protestors can be handled by riot police and mass arrests. I wonder if the RCMP has been doing "democracy" training in Cairo.
Heikal knows that this is a lie. The Egyptian Revolution was not peaceful, as more than 1,000 protesters have been killed by the military regime so far. The junta and the interim government are extensions of the Mubarak regime, defending the interests of the tiny and wealthy Egyptian ruling elite and its imperialist backers. The junta has arrested thousands of workers and youth, trying them in military courts and cracking down on protests and strikes.
Egypt: Teachers tell generals “meet our demands … or no school this year”
Up to 40,000 teachers from across Egypt demonstrated outside the parliament buildings on Saturday 10 September, calling for the resignation of the Minister of Education and pay increases. They came in huge delegations from practically every town and city in the country to take their message to the government. One banner summed up the militant mood: “A message to the military council and the government: the minister must resign and increase our pay … or no-one is going to school.”....
Egypt: Public Transport Authority garages on all out strike
Posted on September 21, 2011 by menasolidaritynetwork
Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions
Press Release – 21 September 2011
All out strike in Public Transport Authority Bus Garages
Security services attempt to abort the strike by arresting the leaders of the independent union...
Egypt: Universities paralysed by strikes
Posted on October 2, 2011 by menasolidaritynetwork
................
Egypt: Striking bus drivers blockade parliament as negotiations fail
Posted on October 2, 2011 by menasolidaritynetwork
Translated from a report in Al-Ishtaraki newspaper, 1 October 2011.
http://menasolidaritynetwork.com/2011/10/02/egypt-striking-bus-drivers-b...
Where are the D2P people when the Egyptians really need them. Come on all you interventionists start a petition and get NATO to protect the citizens of Egypt.
Sorry I forgot the military in Egypt is American trained so when they murder their citizens in the streets it is merely keeping the peace not human rights abuses.
19 Copts Killed in Egypt Violence
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/203707.html
"Body count at a hospital in the Egyptian capital in Cairo shows that 19 Coptic Christian protesters have died after clashing with military forces. The fatalities were caused on Sunday after the forces started firing live rounds at the protesters who were rallying against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), AFP reported."
Army and Police Massacre Protesters at Maspero (and vid)
http://www.arabawy.org/2011/10/09/army-and-police-massacre-protesters-at...
"The army and police committed a horrible massacre against peaceful protesters today in Maspero, Cairo. Army vehicles ran over protesters. Live ammunition was used. Extensive rounds of tear gas were fired, and showers of beatings from the military police, the central security forces and plainclothes thugs.
The Army also stormed Al-Hurra and 25 January TV stations, and took them off air. The Egyptian state run TV is inciting the public against the 'Coptic protesters' ande even called on the citizens to take to the streets to 'protect the army'. SCAF is trying to instigate a sectarian civil war..."
The 10 per cent of Egyptians who worship at Coptic churches are just victims of history...the common lot of folks who find themselves in areas of religious intolerance, the Middle East, the U.S.,Israel, medieval Europe, Europe in the early-middle 20th century, India, Africa...the list is endless...
It will all sort itself out over time. That will not be too reassuring for some folks, but that's the historical record of Godoisms, eh?
It will all sort itself out over time.
Wow what astounding insight. Why was that not good enough for Libya? Why did we not let them just sort it out over time? Where is Paul Do-War preaching the need to protect these innocent protestors. Hell they are even attacking school girls now and have shut down all non state media.
It will all sort itself out over time.
I'm waiting with bated breath for another answer from those who dismiss the religious underpinnings of events thereabouts, an explanation of the holier than thou serenity to be found in a policy of just waiting. I will not hold my breath in expectation of anything beyond the occasional "wow' from yourself NS. :)
Hezbollah Blames US for Egypt Violence
http://presstv.ir/detail/203819.html
Lebanon's resistance movement, Hezbollah, has accused the United States of involvement in the recent wave of violence in Egypt. Condemning sectarian clashes in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, Hezbollah said in a statement on Monday, that the clashes were part of an American project to divide the Middle East..."
oh surely not...?
I'm waiting with bated breath for another answer from those who dismiss the religious underpinnings of events thereabouts, an explanation of the holier than thou serenity to be found in a policy of just waiting. I will not hold my breath in expectation of anything beyond the occasional "wow' from yourself NS. :)
If you can do me a favour and pass the following along. Got an account from a friend in Egypt of the last couple of days - not giving the name:
From MF:
ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT PROTESTS EVER SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION , LIVE AMMUNITION USED BY PROTESTERS N FACED BY THE ARMY , PROTESTERS R BURNING CARS AND TANKS REPORTS ABOUT 3 DEAD BODIES N IT'S STILL ESCALATING !!!!
Two soldiers v been shot dead n 9 injured ...
Maspero ... Copts r carrying machine guns n attacking the army n the police !!!!! can u believe that !!!!
I think i gotta run to Maspero now , i v many friends going n i should join , someone needs to talk to these people ... the whole area is on fire now
At least ten dead n more than fifty injured n the protests r moving to Tahrir ... God save Egypt ... Prayers r extremely needed !
The hospital entrance is covered with blood ! 15 bodies in the morgue , 3 of them are already in the fridge ! ! the sound of the screams n the cries make a tyrant heart's shake
Hundreds heading to Tahrir to join the protests , chanting "Muslim n Christian one hand " but the question is , where the hell is the police forces ? who is benefiting from the confrontation between the people n their army ! isn't that the role of the police not the army !!!! what is the hidden evil plan !!!!
The protesters are throwing Molotov !!! WTF
A tremendous amount of tear gas in Tahrir , i am definitely gonna be blind this time !
From O: The death toll jumped to 19 EGYPTIAN SOULS and the hit and run war is between the army and the EGYPTIAN protesters !
From MF:
Feels like Mubarak is back ... State TV lies .. Violence against protesters ... And efforts to ignite sectarian clashes !!!! But Egyptians were more intelligent Muslims united with their fellow Christians n joined their protest n got killed together .. One blood .. One pain ... One country !
A curfew starting 2am till 7am covering all the down town Cairo .. And i m stuck there !
A big crowd of Muslims n Christians in front of the hospital waiting for their turn to donate blood ! God save Egypt
Many buildings and more than 6 cars in Ramses street r set on fire ! the street is extremely crowded ... an army general is trying to talk to protesters asking them to go back and the slogan is down with the military rule !
i m safe but my soul is bleeding ! what i saw yesterday is devastating ... someone is trying his best to break our unity n stab our revolution
From MF:
At 2pm we all gonna gather at the Abbasseya cathedral to attend the prayers and the funeral of our EGYPTIAN martyrs ! Mina was a friend n a great activist who led a protest on the 28th to Tahrir , and the dead soldiers were the ones who protected us n refused a direct order to shoot peaceful protesters ! Egypt is mourning her sons, the heart of our country is bleeding ... To all my Egyptian friends plz join us at the cathedral UNITE !!!
The western or our shameful state TV won't change their way or their tone no matter what , everyone has his own agenda n no one cares about the people ! the anger n the slogans n the protests were all about the military rule n their lazy de...cisions in applying the law NOTHING was about religion or muslims ! Muslims were part of the protest since it started in Shoubra backing Copts up in their demands till it reached the battle scene in Maspero ,then moved together to Tahrir ... The cathedral today was full of Muslims n the protest that moved after the funeral had a majority of muslims condemning the bloody day... The blood needed yesterday in the hospital was about 80 bags n what the muslims donated were a 1000 n were eager to donate more till the hospital management announced that they don't have enough fridges to keep all the extra blood .. yesterday night Muslims n Christians slept in the streets besides all the churches as human shields !! a Muslim movement in Shubra sent all their youth to protect the shops in the main Shoubra street which are all owned by Christians ! god bless all n save our Egypt
The pope Shnouda has asked all Copts after the funeral to fast for three days in the honor of the martyrs and asking for god's mercy ... All my Muslim friends and thousands others decided to join our Christian brothers n sisters and follow the pope's advice ... Together we fast , Together we mourn , Together we live n Together we will fight ....
Copts in front of the hospital stopped their chants when the Muslim prayer started in respect to the Azan and every one chanted YA RAB YA RAB all together ( O GOD O GOD ) and we all started crying... this scene deserves a bow n respect n shows the right image of the true Egyptians ... i wish anyone that recorded this sends it to the damn state TV and all the evil media
All my Muslim friends and thousands others decided to join our Christian brothers n sisters and follow the pope's advice ... Together we fast , Together we mourn , Together we live n Together we will fight ....
The true spirit of solidarity. The army seems to be trying to use religion to divide and conque but the people united will never be defeated.
Sandmonkey's account of the events of the last couple of days (he was talking politics and then this happened):
http://twitter.com/#!/Sandmonkey - Scaf=military leadership
Things are about to get very interesting. The next few hours will potentially change the shape of the egyptian electoral map forever.
And the fight between the Parties & #Scaf will begin... :D
@Fouda_ well, to give u a hint, its been a week since the parties signed the agreement ;)
Reports that the sinai bedouins just took over northern sinai all the way to ras sedr, overtook all checkpoints & shooting machine guns.
The source is a guy we know who lives there. Getting more confimations. Don't panic yet.
Getting confirmation from #Sinai activists now. If the report turned out to be panicked exxageration I'll kick my source's ass.
Ok, here is the story as it was relayed to me (so u can confirm): a bedouin in a bmw was stopped at a checkpoint before the sinai tunne
This is very possibly a smuggeling related situation, so its not a bedouin revolution as it was relayed to me at first.
In other news, the country really lacks candidates. The MB & the liberals are fighting over the same candidnates in se3eed.
A day totally wasted. Well, not totally, but there is a growing shitlist of people who are wasting my day.
Am shutting off my phone now. Information overload.
(Nadiaglory Nadia abou el-Magd says: we r on middle of shooting, clashes #copts shoubra march
accounts continue)
Feeling complete and utter disgust at what's happening to the copts protest at #Maspero. Welad weskha.
The #scaf wants this country secterian at any cost. Their hatred of christians is now irefutable.
At the battle of #maspero with @RamyYaacoub. Its war and my battery is almost out
Street battle between muslims vs. Muslims & copts. #maspero yfrog.com/g0xlvuj
Molotov being thrown, clashes, can't tell anyone apart. #maspero
The army started the battle, then withdrew and is leaving muslims & christians fighting. #maspero
==
Sandmonkey continued (thugs=agents provocateurs):
Ok, so here is what happened. I was supposed to meet @hebaelkayal , who had a charger for my dying phone.
I get a phonecall from @ramyyacoub , alerting me that @sarahngb was attacked at the #maspero protests, & that he is heading there.
We head out in a cab, the driver was telling us how the evil copts were killling the army, fought with him & walked on foot towards #maspero
Found people injured, the smell of teargas, everyone telling us to stay away, called @ramyyaacoub, who told us he's at 6 october side.
No cab would take us, walked all the way to 6 october bridge, passed by a man yelling "this revolution must be completed, damn the army"
We arrive at #maspero, leave @sarahngb with @forsoothsayer , head down to find @ramyyaacoub. pandemonium ensued.fights everywhere
Saw thugs with the army picking out old people and dragging them to be arrested. couldnt tell who is with who. #maspero
Found @ramyyaacoub videotaping, he & others took videos of all the killing that took place. Gun shots were echoing around us. #maspero
We went towards abdelmenein riad, where all the clashes were taking place, egyptians vs egyptians, no one could tell who was who #maspero
One group was chanting" people &army one hand" while others screaming "muslims &christians one hand" while molotoving each other. #maspero
Then, in a very weird moment, both sides started chanting "one hand", stopped fighting, joined each other into one big marsh. #maspero
Then the army started marshing walking up the bridge, slamming sticks to their shields, but people wouldn't leave started walking towards em
army soldiers stopped, looked hesitant, people started marshing at them from both sides, they started backing down immediately.#maspero
People started going back & forth in clashes, small skrimishes, but everything was calm more or less, so we head back.
All the while i was being informed, i kept hearing what people were hearing feom the stateowned media, how evil copst killed poor soldiers
Dear #maspero employees, how do you sleep at night? How do you lie about death of your fellow egyptians like this u scumbags?
Dear reporters, please head to the coptic hospital NOW. Dead & injured everywhere.
(nohamorgan Noha Morgan by Sandmonkey
Blood needed at Coptic Hospital, Address: 157 Ramsis Street #Egypt #Copts #Maspiro)
If anyone believes what state tv said: that the christians attacked the army or burned shit, then u r gullible beyond equal.
Today in a nutshell: team " people &army 1 hand" vs. "Muslims & christians 1 hand". Choose ur side. #maspero
Curfew from 2 am till 7 am is announced. Tell ur friends.
At the coptic hospital, there are people gatherd and remains of a put out fire outside.
The coptic hospital, right now http://yfrog.com/odvrorj
Our Media is claiming that #hillaryclinton made a statement offering to send US troops to #Egypt 2 protect churches. They r lying. #maspero
Got a call from @sandralouka , who is at the #coptichospital. There are crowds of victim family members surrounding it.
They want the medical reports s that they can bury their dead, not one out yet. 8 families are demanding an autopsy of how they died..
The #Coptichospital is refusing to dissect the bodies, & want to referr the bodies to the notoriously corrupt Zainhom Morgue. #maspero
@shimaagamal This is not about winning grounds. This is right & wrong, period. The christians got killed on the hands of the armed forces
@shimaagamal No armed forces should shoot or kill it's own people, especially a group known for peaceful protesting.
@shimaagamal They drove over people with armored vehicles, splattering them. How is this even acceptable?
@shimaagamal It's easy to prove. Gun shots, autopsies, eye witnesses, even if some got violent, Killing people is the last resort.
The videos we took last night of the clashes in #maspero , now on wired.com for the whole world to see. wired.com/video/latest-v...
Dear #SCAF , we are all waiting the military trial of whomever gave the orders to attack the christians yesterday.
I should be the first to say it, don't say the army killed Christians. Say the army killed Egyptians. No more subgroups. #maspero
Prayers r extremely needed !
That's about the last thing that is needed...in Egypt or anywhere else.
Egyptian Revolutionary Socialists Statement on the Massacre of Copts at Maspero
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=26308
"The Revolutionary Socialists send sincere condolences to the families of the peaceful demonstrators who were murdered by the bullets of the Central Security Forces and crushed by the military's armoured cars after they came on the night of 9 October to defend the right of Coptic Christians to freedom and equality.
The police repression of the demonstrations is an extension of Mubarak's policies, just as it is a continuation of the policies of oppression of the Copts which goes hand in hand with a policy of divide and rule between Christian and Muslim working people, while the bosses and the military from both sides enjoy the fruits of their hard labour.
And at the same time as these events, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has announced new decisions which will assist the followers of the old regime in their takeover of parliament, in order to tighten their grip once again.
The goal of the counter-revolution led by the Supreme Council at this moment is to distract the masses in preparation for striking a blow at the revolution. The military's crime is an expression of their fear, and the fear of their internal and external allies, of developments in our continuing revolution.
Glory to the Martyrs of Bloody Sunday
Shame on the Military and the Reactionaries
Breaking news:
[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15795972]Tens of thousands of Egyptians are holding a rally in Cairo to protest against Egypt's military rulers[/url]
Songs of Spring
http://rt.com/news/spring-arab-protest-music-723/
"...and so while the music plays on, the hopes are fading that the revolutions would bring real change..."
Yesterday, the authorities killed two demonstrators and injured hundreds. Today, the struggle continues. No word yet from Obama on supporting the protests:
[url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/11/2011112082333907688.htm... rages for control of Tahrir Square[/url]
And my favourite quote:
Although the military have not made a formal statement in response to the protests, Major General Mohsen el-Fangari, a member of the military council, said protesters' calls for change ahead of the election were a threat to the state.
"What is the point of being in Tahrir?" he said, speaking by phone to a private TV channel. "What is the point of this strike, of the million marches? Aren't there legal channels to pursue demands in a way that won't impact Egypt ... internationally? The aim of what is going on is to shake the backbone of the state, which is the armed forces."
I wish victory to the Egyptian people in breaking the back of their oppressors!
Yesterday, the authorities killed two demonstrators and injured hundreds. Today, the struggle continues. No word yet from Obama on supporting the protests:
[url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/11/2011112082333907688.htm... rages for control of Tahrir Square[/url]
And my favourite quote:
Although the military have not made a formal statement in response to the protests, Major General Mohsen el-Fangari, a member of the military council, said protesters' calls for change ahead of the election were a threat to the state.
"What is the point of being in Tahrir?" he said, speaking by phone to a private TV channel. "What is the point of this strike, of the million marches? Aren't there legal channels to pursue demands in a way that won't impact Egypt ... internationally? The aim of what is going on is to shake the backbone of the state, which is the armed forces."
I wish victory to the Egyptian people in breaking the back of their oppressors!
Didn't you get the memo the people have already won in Egypt. Ask obama or Harper they will tell you all about the great democratic changes the Generals are benevolently bringing to their people. I hope you aren't suggesting that somehow outside influences are at play in the glorious and pure Arab Spring.
#Tahrir: Camel Battle No 2 'Live Blogging'
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/11/i-think-you-probably-have...
"...There are unconfirmed news that El Baradei is heading for Tahrir Square and that he will form a national unity government..."
Army Against Genuine Change in Egypt (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/211194.html
"The clashes come just over a week before parliamentary elections.."
Death toll rising - 13 reported dead now.
And I just had a glance at my [url=http://rabble.ca/babble/international-news-and-politics/egyptian-revolut... #2 above[/url], from Feb. 14:
So the new military rulers, in record time, have sworn allegiance to the U.S. and Israel (through their gratuitous promise to "respect treaties"); moved against the demonstrators in Tahrir Square; and banned strikes.
If this is the road to democracy, I wish the travellers bon voyage.
Why couldn't I have been wrong this time, like so many other times...
Arab Spring: Out with the Old, In with the Old? (and vid)
http://rt.com/news/arab-spring-no-change-793/
"In general the system is going to remain the same..."
Egyptian Military Junta Carries Out Deadly Crackdown on Protesters
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/nov2011/lead-n21.shtml
"...The Junta is preparing massive violence to drown the Egyptian revolution in blood. In doing so it has the full backing of Washington.."
Egypt: Appeal for International Solidarity Mobilisation
A call for international solidarity with protests in Egypt
[Updated 21 November, 5pm with protests in Ireland, UK and Sweden, Canada, Germany, Austria - details of London demonstration on Saturday 26 November]
Hundreds of thousands of protesters are braving tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon and live ammunition in demonstrations against the ruling military council in Egypt. By late on 20 November there were an estimated 100,000 in Tahrir Square according to eyewitness accounts and thousands protesting in every major city in Egypt. Their demands are clear: the downfall of Marshal Tantawi and Mubarak’s generals. As of Monday around 25 people at least had been killed and 1000 injured.....
[url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/nov/21/egyptian-ca... cabinet resigns[/url]
The Egyptian cabinet has tendered its resignation to the country's ruling military council. There is confusion as to whether the Supreme Council of Armed Forces has accepted. Follow live coverage here.
Watch for Canada to offer assistance to the military junta in Egypt; we can send them some of our judges to order the demonstrators to leave Tahrir Square.
3 students from US arrested during Cairo protests
An Egyptian official said the students were arrested on the roof of a university building where they were throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters near Tahrir Square. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no authorization to speak to the media.
The three were studying at the American University in Cairo, and university spokeswoman Morgan Roth said they had been held by Egyptian authorities since their arrest but she did not know whether they had been formally charged. She said it wasn't unusual for American students to get "caught up" in Egyptian politics.
She said it wasn't unusual for American students to get "caught up" in Egyptian politics.
I don't think it's so unusual. These U.S.-backed military dictatorships are typically more fearful of U.S. News reporters and American citizens
stirring shit in their countries than most other foreign nationals participating in protests since at least 9/11/73 in Santiago de Chile. Brutal dictatorships understand full well that more people read the NYTimes, WSJ, Washington Post etc than most international newspapers. Same goes for CNN, Fox etc. It's not something the right wants broadcasting around the world. The Pinochet dictatorship, for example, would typically send death squads after U.S. citizens and reporters who were there and reporting on what the fascists were doing during nation-wide news media blackouts that lasted years during the 1970s. They were rounding up and murdering socialists, union leaders and social activists in general.
American tourists in general are said to be beligerant and forceful when visiting other countries. It's a POV Americans may have inherited from British imperialism: Their way is the right way. And apparently U.S. kids feel it's their duty and obligation to object to something they feel isn't right in another country. Those American kids in Cairo should be safe now that the whole world knows that they are there and alive and well. It's my guess they are out of danger now. Or at least, we hope so.
National Salvation Protests Gain Momentum, Mobilising Hundreds of Thousands Across Egypt
http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContent/1/64/27263/Egypt/Politics-/Nat...
"...After three days of deadly police attacks on protesters in Tahrir, hundreds of thousands, descended onto the streets to rid themselves of the ruling military and install a 'national salvation' government.."
Currently we are witnesses [to] the brutal repression against the Tahrir square democracy movement. So far several dozen activists have been killed and thousands wounded. Why [does] the ruling military council [lash] out so heavy-handedly right before the start of the parliamentary elections?A few days back the new eruption started when a group of victims of Mubarak’s tyranny and their relatives staged a protest against the impunity of the former torturers. The significance of their demand is underlined by the fact that many activists have been sentenced to prison terms by military councils while the trial against Mubarak is being steadily delayed. The police intervened with utmost brutality. Instead of chasing out the protesters their call for solidarity was well received. Tens of thousands came to their rescue engaging in battles with the police. Within a few days millions are back to the streets unifying around the central demand: [i]down with the military council – a civil transition government to be formed immediately[/i].
This pivotal conflict is, however, intertwined with a second one. For the time being the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) had maintained a changing but nevertheless comprehensive alliance with the military trying to hold in check the popular movement and its revolutionary core. Their rationale: The forthcoming elections will bring them closer to power, de facto cutting out the revolutionaries. The parliament already by now has been conceived [as] without major competences - without the prerogative of forming a ministerial cabinet. To top this, the military council announced the postponement of the presidential elections and foretold a “supra-constitutional declaration” perpetuating their supreme powers in the name of a secular state.
[Syntax and spelling enhanced - M.S.]
[url=http://www.antiimperialista.org/node/7161]Anti-imperialist Camp[/url]
Storm Watch: Arab Spring
http://rt.com/news/arab-spring-western-help-025/
'Arab Springs' are not as spontaneous as the Western mainstream media would have us believe..."
Photo from the Tahir square, November 22nd, This article was orginally published by Mosireen, a collective of Egyptian activists
Tahrir square reoccupied as Eygpt fights to defend the revolution
We are in the midst of a decisive battle in the face of a potentially terminal crackdown. Over the past 72 hours the army has launched a ceaseless assault on revolutionaries in Tahrir Square and squares across Egypt. Over 2000 of us have been injured. More than 30 of us have been murdered. Just in Cairo alone. In the last 48 hours....
http://takethesquare.net/2011/11/23/tahrir-square-reoccupied-as-eygpt-fi...
[url=http://www.antiimperialista.org/node/7163]Egyptian army targets activists' eyes with plastic bullets[/url]
The dentist Ahmed Harara, the blogger and activist Malek Mustapha and the photographer Ahmed Abdel Fattah of the Egyptian daily al-masry al-youm [b]all lost their eyes due to deliberate shooting from close distances with what we call khartouche ammunition, a projectile with between 13 and 16 small bullets of different sizes, made of either hardened plastic or metal. Fired at close distances it can be lethal and if targeted at eyes, the eyes are destroyed.[/b]Ahmed Harara is a close friend of mine. [b]He lost his right eye during the first revolution on 28 January 2011 and 4 days ago he lost his left eye.[/b] He will be forever blind but he went back into Tahrir square, right after his operation in the hospital.
In the TV program [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbp_KEnVwqQ][video][/url] you will see the young officer who fired the bullet and you will hear the voice of a shooting officer [b]proudly reporting to his superior that he managed to get another eye...it was a premeditated campaign... targeting the eyes of the activists.[/b]
Paul Feldman: Arab Spring leads to Winter Revolution
quote:
But there was too much at stake for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) to allow that to happen. They are part of the Egyptian ruling class in the most literal sense, owning large chunks of the economy.
As much as one-third of Egypt’s economy is under military control through a host of government-owned service and manufacturing companies, at least 14 of them under the auspices of the Military Production Ministry. El Nasr Co. for Services and Maintenance, for instance, has 7,750 employees in such sectors as child care, car repair, and hotel administration.
In a secret cable dated September 2008 signed by US Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey, the embassy in Cairo told Washington that the Egyptian military was “becoming a “quasi-commercial” enterprise itself.
Other military companies produce small arms, tank shells, and explosives — as well as exercise equipment and fire engines. These companies add up to “a very large, unaccountable, non-transparent Military Inc.,” says Robert Springborg, author of Mubarak’s Egypt: Fragmentation of the Political Order....
That would explain the particularly nasty gases emanating from the "tear gas" canisters being used the last couple of days.
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Excerpts from two letters to the Globe and Mail editor Thursday:
"...I note that when Canadians occupy a square in Toronto that is anarchy, and when Egyptians occupy a square in Cairo that is democracy.
"...Insincere congratulations for thinking that the social and economic outrages that have inspired the occupy movement are merely a nuisance. Letting the populace go back to sleep will delay a reackoning; it will not solve the problems, which are decidedly not a matter of hippie impudence."
That would explain the particularly nasty gases emanating from the "tear gas" canisters being used the last couple of days. --------------
Seems that you might have jumped to a premature conclusion. Most reporst say the majority of canisters have Made in USA on them. The Empire is Striking Back.
At the foot of Mohamed Mahmoud Street, just a few feet from the resounding crowds in Tahrir Square, a group of people gathered around a man holding four canisters above his head.
"Tear gas! Rubber bullets! Nerve gas!" he cried out, displaying the spent metal canisters.
"Where are they from, America?" people asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes, America," the man replied furiously. The crowd murmured with unsurprised disdain. Like many gas canisters in Tahrir, one of his was marked with blue letters that read "Made in USA" and bore the name of the company that produced it: Combined Tactical Systems, in Jamestown, PA.
For days, similar scenes have played out across Tahrir. Tear gas has become a persistent companion in the square, a troublesome cousin who crashes on the couch and fails to leave. Wafting in from the clashes up the street -- except in a few rare instances where it has been fired directly onto the square -- the gas lingers in the air, causing, from afar, noses to run and a sour taste in the mouth.
But the added indignation of an American connection -- on the street, protesters insist it is more like collusion -- is a potent blow.
"You know where this is from," another man, standing next to a field clinic across the street, said with a glare Wednesday, as he held up a thick metal canister shaped like a short bottle of spray paint.
"This is from America. America sent it to bomb Egypt."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/23/egypt-tahrir-square-tear-gas_n_...
The teargas used by interior ministry troops in Cairo's Tahrir Square is supplied by a US company. Demonstrators say cartridges retrieved from the scene are branded with the name and address of Combined Systems Inc (CSI).
The firm is located in Jamestown, Pennsylvania. It specialises in supplying what it calls "crowd control devices" to armies and "homeland security agencies" around the world. It also manufactures lethal military equipment.
Protesters say the CS gas seems more powerful than that used by Egyptian police during the country's last popular uprising in February. "It's stronger, it burns your face, it makes you feel like your whole body is seizing up," one witness said. He added: "It doesn't seem to be combated by Coke or vinegar."
Experts told the Guardian the gas was likely to be standard CS gas, but the effects could be exacerbated by physical exertion.
As well as the effects of the teargas, protesters have suffered grave injuries to their heads and faces from rubber bullets.
A doctor treating him described both the symptoms and the gases used.
"We have been attacked with four different kinds of gas bombs," said Dr Ahmad Sa'ad. "I have never seen these ones before because the patients come in with convulsions. I've never seen patients like that before. You can see it yourself. You can be 100 metres away from the gas bombs [and it will still affect you]."
Similar reactions were reported earlier this year in Yemen where demonstrators also suffered convulsions after being hit with old stocks of CN gas held by the regime.
Another concern, raised by the group Campaign Against Arms Trade, is over the age of some of the CS gas that has been used by Egyptian security forces. Gas canisters more than five years old can become more toxic, and some canisters that have been used in the last few days are up to a decade old.
Describing the effects of gas, activist Ahmed Salah said he was still coughing blood 15 hours after being exposed to it. "I was wearing a gas mask. My eyes and mouth were covered as was my skin. As soon as the gas came people around me fell on to the ground in convulsions. I felt very weak and dizzy. I couldn't focus and I started coughing. Coughing up blood.
"People have seen three different kinds of canisters. Most are marked CS but some have seen canisters marked with the letters CR and there is a third canister that has no markings at all."
According to Salah, gas also appeared to have been pumped into the square on Tuesday evening.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/23/egyptian-military-teargas-ta...
