Rock the Casbah: Arab-World Revolutions

[Nami]

Right to the point and in a way everybody can understand

Spoiler:

[JERK DISEASE]

I apologize for the time gap between the updates, since I was out most of the day I couldn't update some stuff at their exact time.

You're our god right now, you can do no wrong.

[Cyan D. Funk]

Right to the point and in a way everybody can understand

Spoiler:

http://d3uwin5q170wpc.cloudfront.net...74452_460s.jpg

Everything makes sense when explained with Indiana Jones.

[Bobjr]

Everything makes sense when explained with Indiana Jones.

Unless it involves refrigerators and nuclear weapons.

[trappedolphin]

lol asm, I've been even more absent than you, so don't apologise. work should slow down in a couple of days' time and then I'll be back to watching this thing like a hawk and updating more regularly.

on an interesting note, I think Sandmonkey's blog is worth following. He recently made an interesting post here: http://www.sandmonkey.org/2011/02/06/the-way-forward/

It suggests what could be done to keep the protests effectively moving forward. He also has some thoughtful insights on the situation (he's Egyptian, was recently arrested and beaten up by police before being released due to mass commotion).

[luffyg2]

I hope the Egyptian dont give up and they Mubarak will get out fast... and I sure hope that this spread to other coutries with opressive regime

[asm00200]

-Aljazeera: About 2 millions yesterday in Altahrir square.

-It was raining yesterday in different cities, and looking at Altahrir square right now, it could rain today too.

-Not sure if I mentioned this, but they estimate Mubarak family's wealth to be between 40 and 70 billions.

-It's 10:14 am in Egypt right now.

[dasia]

Thanks for the crazy almost non stop dedication and constant updates you've been doing all week now.

This asm00200.Even when the thread kind of dies you & trappeddolphin keep it going I always check here before bbc lol thank you.

[trappedolphin]

Jon Leyne for the BBC in Cairo: Tahrir protesters showing no signs of being battle weary #Jan25

Tahrir Square is a prototype of what Egypt wants to be, go there and see Egypt in the future #Jan25 Egypt

Egyptian State TV: PM Ahmed Shafiq says Google executive Wael Ghonim will be released tomorrow Monday at 4pm. #Egypt #Waitandsee

The Cairo traffic demons are having a field day. Traffic diverted, city paralysed.

Prime minister insists arresting journalists is 'not allowed'...actions speak louder than words #egypt #jan25

Egypt demonstrators entertain to keep morale high. http://bit.ly/h6N4Yb #Tahrir #Egypt #Jan25

More arrests of activists: blogger Karim Amer and independent film maker Samir Eshra arrested

excerpt:

Hidden:

Tahrir Square, the scene of deadly battles with firebombs, rocks, horses and camels just last week, has taken on a carnival mood in the past few days as demonstrators try to establish an enduring presence, complete with food and entertainment, in their campaign to demand Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's ouster. Fruit vendor Ashraf Gaber, 30, asked people to express themselves in a few words, then wrote their thoughts on pieces of A4 paper he placed on a stack besides him.
Volunteers added it to a collage that spread out before Gaber in a a series of rows held down by rocks.
"We have to make the people happy!" Gaber shouted. "Express what is in your hearts!" he told the crowd.
"Oh Mubarak, you are a shoe!" read one—a particularly stinging insult in Arab culture.
"An Interior Ministry of Thugs!" read another.
Nearby, crowds of young men and women cheered and sung as Fadi Mikhael, 29, strummed an oud—or Arabic lute—to a Western beat.
"We won't be quiet! Raise your voice!" he sang on a stage, his voice amplified by four powerful speakers. The crowd clapped and repeated the chorus.

that's wonderful to hear.

Young protesters guarding the rooftops around Tahrir Square discuss their motivates, in this fascinating subtitled video, [click for link] translated through Dotsub. One man describes how the group take it in shifts to guard the roofs, he also talks about how the protesters gained courage from events in Tunisia.The man, who has a business degree, describes his frustration at not being able to find a job and his anger at the level of bribery in Egypt.
The video was made by al-Jazeera's industrious web producer Evan Hill. In a second interview, another activists claims that 90% of the protesters have university degrees.

===

Foreign reporters are being told they can't enter Tahrir Square without an Egyptian press card, Chris McGreal reports from Cairo.

It is not clear whether this is just bureaucratic, or whether it is a deliberate strategy to diminish the reporting from the square. Certainly the government is trying to marginalise what's going on in the square with the talks that are taking place and to suggest, over State TV, that the protesters are now out of step with what is happening in the rest of the country.
The army made an attempt to clear burnt out cars [on Tahrir Square]. What they have been trying to do, is persuade protesters to move the barricades. The protesters saw that as an attempt to neuter the protests. That attempt now seems to be on hold, because the protesters have made it quite clear they will resist it. The government is keen to avoid any physical confrontation while these talks are going on. The problem for the people in the square is to maintain relevance. One of the ways to remain relevant is to keep the numbers up, to keep the square closed down, and to say that their central demand that Hosni Mubarak has to go mustn't be abandoned by the opposition groups claiming to speak in their name.

[trappedolphin]

Protesters would rather sleep under tanks than be evicted from Tahrir square, al-Jazeera reports. This film captures the rock festival atmosphere in the square, that Peter Beaumont described yesterday.

More recent footage shows the tanks gradually closing in on the square, forcing the protesters into a smaller space.

[youtube]JQ0BwMOaC68[/youtube]

I love this.

===

Barack Obama has put further pressure on the Egyptian government to implement democratic reforms, but once he again stopped short of calling for President Hosni Mubarak to resign now."What I want is a representative government in Egypt and I have confidence that if Egypt moves in an orderly transition process, that we'll have a government in Egypt that we can work with together as a partner," he told Fox News.
Obama said: "Here's what we know - that Egypt is not going to go back to what it was... The Egyptian people want freedom, they want free and fair elections, they want a representative government, they want a responsible government. So what we have said is you have to start a transition now."
Here are some clips of the interview from AP.

Hidden:

[youtube]ybx4lASwNb4[/youtube]

Hidden:

An Egyptian anti-government protester prays next to an army tank in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images

===

Al-Jazeera has been showing live footage of the symbolic funeral held in Tahrir Square for Ahmad Mohamed Mahmoud, the first journalist killed in the unrest.

[asm00200]

-Journalists in Cairo protesting against the Chairman of the Press, accusing him of being "loyal to the regime".

-Youth committee: Anyone negotiating with the government is only representing himself.

-Sources to Aljazeera: Demonstrators in Altahrir square are demanding the army to clear more space for them to gather and protest against the government.

-Aljazeera: Crowds of demonstrators heading to Altahrir square in Cairo.

-Aljazeera: Some protestors in Cairo are complaining for not getting apartments they were promised in exchange of suppressing the demonstrators.

-Reuters: Egypt TV: Curfew has been shortened to be from 20:00 to 6:00

-Aljazeera (showing footage of prisoners escaping in front of the guards): Fleeing prisoners: The guards opened the cell doors to us and told us to spread corruption.

[trappedolphin]

The left wing Nasserist party has pulled out of the talks with vice-president Omar Sulieman, the website of the Egyptian paper Almasry Alyoum.It reports that the party, which won three seats in 2000 elections, issued a statement saying it won't take part in negotiations unless Mubarak resigns.

In his meeting with political parties o Suleiman rejected all talk of Mubarak's resignation before his term ends.
The party said that Suleiman's position jeopardizes the very idea of dialogue and disregards protestors' demands.
The Nasserist party, the statement went on, believes the January revolution has destroyed the legitimacy of Mubarak's regime and that the revolution genuinely represents all Egyptians.

. . .

[asm00200]

-Al Arabiya breaking: @Ghonim is on his way to Meydan Tahrir.

-Now Al Arabiya says that @Ghonim is "definitely" in Tahrir square.

-@AJELive: Wael Ghonim, a Google executive and political activist, arrested on 25 January by Egyptian authorities has been released.
========================

-No sign of Ghonim till now.

-Reuters: Former Egyptian Interior Minister Habib el-Adli appears before prosecutors http://reut.rs/h4EkUl

-NDP thugs are falling one after the other, the prosecution of Habib Al Adli is amongst the biggest achievements of this nobel revolution.

-Reuters: Former housing minister Ahmed el-Maghrabi appeared before prosecutors to face charges of wasting public money & seizing state land

-The @Guardian: Egypt's new cabinet announces 15% rise in salaries & pensions http://bit.ly/h0nQZd "attempt to appease protests"

-Germany suspends arms exports to Egypt http://reut.rs/gkEBYK

-Der Spiegel: Mubarak Planning 'Hospital Stay' in Germany as a possible exit http://bit.ly/fGW6iD

-British Prime Minister to Omar Suleiman: Egypt reforms must be "irreversible, urgent & real"

Hidden:

LONDON -- British Prime Minster David Cameron says he told Egypt's Vice President Omar Suleiman political reforms must be "irreversible, urgent and real."
Cameron said Monday he had urged the Egyptian government to "take bold and credible steps" to show protesters and the world that it is serious about a move toward democracy. The two spoke by phone on Monday.
He said Britain and the U.S. want to see opposition figures brought into the government and a date announced for Egypt to publish a roadmap to new elections.
Cameron said that Egypt could put future aid money from European nations in jeopardy if it does not make progress on ending torture, reforming the judiciary and scrapping 30-year old state of emergency laws.

-AP: Egypt protests cost $310M per day http://bit.ly/ieTsTB Cost to date $3.1 Billion

[Outerspec]

Right to the point and in a way everybody can understand

Spoiler:

http://d3uwin5q170wpc.cloudfront.net...74452_460s.jpg

This'll do for now.

[trappedolphin]

Iran's two leading opposition figures, Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karrubi, have reportedly called for a rally in support of the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings. Iran's Green movement was forced to call off protests against its own regime, which began in June 2009, in the face of brutal government repression, so one might imagine any planned fresh demonstration would not be welcomed by the Tehran government. But it's more complex than that, as the Iranian regime has actually praised the demonstrations in Egypt as an "Islamic awakening", despite the secular make-up of the protesters. Ya Libnan reports that Moussavi and Karrubi have written to Iran's interior minister asking permission for a rally on February 14.

[asm00200]

-RT @google Huge relief--Wael @Ghonim has been released. Our love to him and his family.

-Ghonim: Freedom is a bless that deserves fighting for it. #Jan25

[ChesCa]

But it's more complex than that, as the Iranian regime has actually praised the demonstrations in Egypt as an "Islamic awakening", despite the secular make-up of the protesters.

You hear that screaming and shooting? Those are the tea baggers and Fox News viewers declaring it the apocalypse.
Fuck you too president Ack-man-who-gives-a-fuck-what-your-name-is.

[ponx]

never realized that we have such a thread. well I will pray for ur success.

I know how u guys feel, we Indonesians had the same thing going on with Soeharto ruling. Although fortunately the time from which the revolution started to his dethroning wasnt as long as there in Egypt. But I now how it feels like to be afraid of leaving ur homes, and fearing for the safety of ur loved ones.

It'll be a rough time with the transition, and I hope ur people will choose their next leader wisely. Cause I have to admit, we Indonesians had it right at the start, but along the way those damn politicians took over again. And we ended up not the way we had imagined it.

[asm00200]

-Ahmad Nagib, one of the organisers of the protests in Tahrir Square told Al Jazeera: "We are not scared of being martyred, but we don't want to be shot at the back by state security."

Hidden:

We will continue to protest in Tahrir Squrae until he [Mubarak] steps down. It is safer for us to camp out here in the open, some of our friends that left the Square were kidnapped and tortured inside the museum by state security.

We are still resilient and we will carry on, real democracy can only be achieved by involving all of us in any talks, but any talks will happen after Mubarak leaves. Our voices have not been represented, and we call for the Egyptian state TV to be prosecuted for playing an instrumental part in inciting hatred towards us and encouraging the 'baltageya' thugs to attack us.

-Here are some pictures that speaks for themselves.

Hidden:

-Al Arabiya: Ahmed Zewail (1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) & El Baradei reject any dialogue with regime until Mubarak steps down.

-Bashir accepts Sudan vote to secede. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/af...264792774.html

======================

-Demonstrators are preparing for a mega demonstration on Tuesday, calling for Mubarak to step down.

-Wael Ghonim who was released today live on TV

Hidden:

-Wael @Ghonim to Dream TV: I tricked my employer so I can attend the protests in Egypt. I am not a traitor. I don't need anything from any1

-I am not a hero. I was only using the keyboard, the real heroes are the ones on the ground. Those I can't name.

-This is the season where people use the word traitor against each other. I wasn't abused, I was jailed, kidnapped

-I met some really intellectual people in jail, they actually thought that we were traitors, working for others

-If I was a traitor I would have stayed by the swimming pool in my house in the UAE

-What are called the "facebook youth" went out in their tens of thousands on January 25th, talk to them.

-This is the era where people who have good intentions are considered traitors.

-My wife was going to divorce me because I didn't spend time with her, and now they call me a traitor

-I spent all my time on computer working for my country. I wasn't optimistic on the 25th but now I can't believe it

-Thanks to everyone who tried to get me out of jail.

-It's Haram (sinful, not right) for my father to lose his sight in one eye and now is at risk of losing it in the other

-I kept thinking "are people thinking of me?" I was wondering if my family knew where I was, my wife, dad, mother.

-I am proud of what I did. This is not the time to settle scores. Although I have people I want to settle scores with myself.

-This is not the time to split the pie & enforce ideologies. The secret to the success of the facebook page was use of surveys

-I met with the Minister of Interior today. He sat like any other citizen. He spoke to me like an equal. I respected that

-The youth on the streets made Dr Hossam Badrawi (General Secretary of NDP) drive me to my house today

-They transfered me to state security, it's a kidnapping. On Thursday night, at 1am I was with a friend, a colleague from work

-I was taking a taxi, suddenly four people surrounded the car, I yelled "Help me, Help me" I was blindfolded then taken away

-I will say this as it is: nothing justifies kidnapping, you can arrest me by the law, I am not a drug dealer or terrorist

-Inside I met people who loved Egypt (State Security people) but their methods & mine are not the same

-I pay these guys salaries from my taxes, I have the right to ask the ministers where my money is going, this is our country

-I believe that if things get better those (good state security people he met) will serve Egypt well.

-Don't stand in our way, we are going to serve Egypt. I saw a film director get slapped, they told him "You will die here" Why?

-Now they want to have an agreement with me when they are in a position of weakness. I am not a hero, I am a normal person

-What happened to me was a crime but I still thank those who tried to got me out, I am an educated person, I have a family

-Badrawi told me we took all the bad people out from the NDP. I told him I don't want to see the logo of the NDP ever again

-The NDP is got this country to where it is. You can create a new party. It looks like I might be kidnapped again after this

-There were 300 fake registrations on my facebook page, all negative comments, about how we were allegedly being paid

-I was the admin of the page but others paid for it. We are dreamers (says it in English).

-There was no Muslim Brotherhood presence in organising these protests, it was all spontaneous, voluntary.

-Even when the Muslim Brotherhood decided to take part it was their choice to do so. This belongs to Egyptian youth

-Please everyone, enough rumours. Enough.

-I told the Interior Minister - I was upset - I told him I will go in the car with Hossam Badrawi but without an NDP logo

-I told them we don't want any NDP logo on the streets.

-I cried when I heard that there are people who died, officers and protesters, this is my country.

-I was chatting with Ahmad Maher of 6th of April Youth Movement about the Jan 25 protests but he didn't know who I was.

-My wife is an American, I can apply for US citizenship but I didn't, not even the lottery. Many people want to leave though.

-We have to restore dignity to all Egyptians. We have to end corruption. No more theft. Egyptians are good people.

-We are a beautiful people. Please everybody, this is not a time to settle scores, this is a time to build our country.

-I can't claim I know what happened when I was inside. I didn't know anything until one day before I left.

-The interrogators wanted to know if outsiders were involved. I convinced them this was a purely Egyptian movement.

-The treatment was very good, they knew I was a good Egyptian. I was blindfolded for 12 days, I didn't see their faces.

-They wanted details, information. "Are the people who planned this outsiders?" We didn't do anything wrong, this was an appeal

-I wrote an appeal to the president Egypt on Jan 25. I told the Minister of Interior we have two problems 1- We don't talk to each other, this must be solved, 2- There is no trust.

-I told the Interior Minister if I stripped naked & told people that I was beaten even without marks they would believe me.

-The Egyptian State TV channels didn't portray the truth, that is why people watch the private channels now

-There were several men in the room with me & the Minister of Interior. I asked him if I can speak about this he said as u wish

-Everyone asked me "How did you do this?" The Interior Minister told me he was only a minister for 8 days.

-I was told that people died, one day before I was released.

-Wael Ghonim's last words: I want to tell families who lost their sons this is not our fault. This is the fault of those clinging to power.

[ChesCa]

Human Rights Watch: 297 dead in uprising so far.