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REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS
Egypt demonstrations, update
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 11:48 AM
NIKI2
Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...
Quote:Thousands expressing support for President Hosni Mubarak, some on horses and camels, push their way through side streets into Tahrir Square to attack anti-government protesters. State television broadcasts an order for all to clear the square. Thousands of supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak attacked anti-government forces in Cairo's main square Wednesday, some charging in on camels and horses in a dramatic escalation of violence that prompted an official order to clear the area. After days of raucous but peaceful demonstrations that had resembled a giant block party, pro-Mubarak forces pushed their way into the square from side streets, wielding clubs and horse whips against cordons of protesters. The crowd of anti-government demonstrators, sparse compared to their numbers in previous days, hurled stones and chunks of concrete. The conflict continued into the evening, with government supporters pelting Tahrir Square with Molotov cocktails from nearby rooftops. Health Minister Ahmed Sameh Farid said one person was killed and about 600 were hurt in the confrontation. State television broadcast an order late in the day for all protesters to leave the square because of "provocative elements throwing firebombs." It did not specify who gave the order, or a deadline for compliance. Heavy gunfire broke out after 10 p.m. while the opposing factions traded Molotov cocktails from one rooftop to another, setting small fires that continued to burn but did not spread. Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency who has become the symbolic head of the opposition to Mubarak, said in an interview with the Al Jazeera satellite television channel that he feared the confrontation could lead to a bloodbath.
Quote:The push into the square by pro-Mubarak forces appeared highly organized, concentrated on a few key access routes to the plaza. The anti-Mubarak protesters have accused the Egyptian leader's allies of paying people to rally in his support — and to use force to intimidate anti-government demonstrators.
Quote:Wednesday morning, before the fighting, the Egyptian military had called for a halt to demonstrations and urged protesters to go home. The announcement on state television was widely seen as a signal that the military had not abandoned Mubarak, who late Tuesday night announced he would not run for reelection in the fall. Opposition leaders immediately rejected Mubarak's announcement as a ploy to hold onto power. "You are the ones capable of returning normal life to Egypt," military spokesman Ismail Etman said on state television. "Your message has arrived, your demands have become known." "The armed forces call on the protesters to go home for the sake of bringing back stability," came another statement on state television. Many of the anti-Mubarak forces were unaware of the military's request to disband — and said they would disregard it in any event.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 11:58 AM
Quote:Egyptian security forces have been caught trying to loot priceless artifacts from the museum in Cairo and commit other acts of violence "in an attempt to stoke fear of instability," a rights group claimed Tuesday. Police identification cards were also found on other looters around Cairo and Egypt. Bouckaert implied that police forces may have been responsible for the escape of thousands of prisoners, describing it as "unexplainable." Over the past few days, Egyptians all around the country reported to Human Rights Watch that police were responsible for much the looting. "The locals say the only people with weapons are police who've taken off their uniforms and are responsible for most of the looting and crime," Human Rights Watch deputy director for Middle East and North Africa Division Joe Stork wrote from Suez Sunday. "Mubarak's mantra to his own people was that he was the guarantor of the nation's stability," Bouckaert said. "It would make sense that he would want to send the message that without him, there is no safety." "Over the past three days, state television has been reporting alarmist news about violence and criminals among the demonstrations in an attempt to discredit the democratic movement," the Post noted. As up to a million Egyptians marched Tuesday, ordinary citizens set up checkpoints to keep undercover police from bringing in weapons and perpetrating violence. "We want to show the world that we can take care of our country, and we are doing it without the government or police," Khalid Toufik, a 40-year-old dentist, told The New York Times.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 12:09 PM
CANTTAKESKY
Quote:Originally posted by Niki2: Whatcha think?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 1:34 PM
WHOZIT
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 3:02 PM
KWICKO
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)
Quote:Originally posted by whozit: I'm sure MSNBC will find a way to blame Sarah Palin.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 4:22 PM
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 4:56 PM
BYTEMITE
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 5:14 PM
THEHAPPYTRADER
Quote:Originally posted by canttakesky: I blame Sarah Bush Obama Olberman Beck. Spelled backwards, BOOBS. ------- Everything I say is just my opinion, not fact.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 5:33 PM
Quote:"If I wasn't pregnant, I would've just stayed home." Marwa Rakha told the Huffington Post by phone, explaining her attendance of the protests in Egypt while seven months pregnant. "I went out because of my baby. I owe this to him." Rakha, an adjunct professor at the American University in Cairo, is one of many women who has participated in the recent protests in Egypt. In these demonstrations, which have already led to Mubarak agreeing not to run for re-election, women have taken an active role: promoting them, leading crowds, and providing aid to harmed protesters.
Quote: The Atlantic's Garance Franke-Ruta characterizes Egypt as "a country in which men and women are barely tolerated holding hands in public in the most liberal precincts of comparatively Christian Alexandria, and where public displays of affections are frowned upon and likely to be met with cutting glances and vicious neighborhood gossip elsewhere." But in the recent wave of protests in Egypt, women have been important contributors and have been accepted by their male counterparts. ABC News reported earlier that unlike past Egyptian protests, these protests were largely free of sexual harassment. "Egyptian state TV was spreading rumors that in the protests girls were being sexually harassed," said Rakha. "That's a complete lie. In those protests, I've witnessed Egyptians that I didn't think still existed. They're very supportive of one another. If a girl fell, they would just pick her up, help her, no sexual harassment of any sort." Rakha said she went to the protests alone. "I just took my cell phone and went," she said. "I met people and we just began talking, regardless of our religion, regardless of our gender, regardless of our age, regardless of our social class, regardless of anything, we were Egyptians out there who were very angry at lies we've been fed for the last 30 years." Anna Day, a 22-year-old American M.A. student who is studying conflict resolution, who is writing freelance on the Palestinians and lives in Israel-Palestine, traveled down to Egypt from Israel to attend and document the protests. Day told The Huffington Post by phone she stood out amongst the crowd. "Everyone wanted to talk to me because I was like the only white person there and I have blonde hair so I looked ridiculous," she said. Having previously lived in Cairo, she "didn't expect many women to be at these protests," and she was surprised by the involvement of women in the protests. "Women were leading the chants and men were responding which I didn't expect to see in Cairo," she said. Women's role in the protests wasn't limited to their activity on the street, they were also involved in the online campaigns that led up to the protests. The New York Times reported on Asmaa Mahfouz who used social media to help spread the message of the protests.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 6:58 PM
FREMDFIRMA
Quote:Originally posted by Niki2: Over the past few days, Egyptians all around the country reported to Human Rights Watch that police were responsible for much the looting.
Thursday, February 3, 2011 3:22 AM
Quote:Originally posted by TheHappyTrader: And speaking of boobies, a few excerpts from huffington post's
Thursday, February 3, 2011 3:59 AM
DREAMTROVE
Thursday, February 3, 2011 8:24 AM
Quote:Originally posted by canttakesky: Quote:Originally posted by TheHappyTrader: And speaking of boobies, a few excerpts from huffington post'sVery cool. Very shiny! Thanks for the links. PS. Re the boobs, is that why you're happy? ------- Everything I say is just my opinion, not fact.
Thursday, February 3, 2011 8:27 AM
Thursday, February 3, 2011 8:50 AM
Thursday, February 3, 2011 11:18 AM
Thursday, February 3, 2011 11:47 AM
Thursday, February 3, 2011 12:05 PM
Thursday, February 3, 2011 12:32 PM
Thursday, February 3, 2011 12:43 PM
Thursday, February 3, 2011 12:56 PM
Saturday, February 5, 2011 5:37 AM
Quote:Originally posted by canttakesky: I blame Sarah Bush Obama Olberman Beck. Spelled backwards, BOOBS.
Saturday, February 5, 2011 5:46 AM
Saturday, February 5, 2011 7:06 AM
Saturday, February 5, 2011 7:08 AM
Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: And of course, we *could* be debating how Mubarak has managed to amass a personal fortune estimated at more than SEVENTY BILLION DOLLARS on his Presidential salary in a country where the average per-capita income is just over $2,000 per year, and where 40% of the people live on less than $2 a day.
Saturday, February 5, 2011 7:37 AM
Quote:Originally posted by canttakesky: Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: And of course, we *could* be debating how Mubarak has managed to amass a personal fortune estimated at more than SEVENTY BILLION DOLLARS on his Presidential salary in a country where the average per-capita income is just over $2,000 per year, and where 40% of the people live on less than $2 a day. Well, we've been paying him close to 2 billion a year since 1979. Let's see, 2 x 30 = 60. The rest from investment returns. Imagine what 60 billion could have done at home, in terms of schools, health care, infrastructure. Maybe they coulda fixed that levee in New Orleans before Katrina. Or built the twin tower memorial already. Or God forbid, simply let Americans keep more of their own money. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/hosni-mubarak-family-fortune ------- Everything I say is just my opinion, not fact.
Saturday, February 5, 2011 10:03 AM
Quote:KWICKO: neutered
Saturday, February 5, 2011 1:40 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: ... that money was *supposed to be* military and humanitarian aid FOR THE NATION OF EGYPT.
Quote:He was referring directly to Israel.
Sunday, February 6, 2011 12:19 AM
KANEMAN
Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: Quote:Originally posted by whozit: I'm sure MSNBC will find a way to blame Sarah Palin. And you'll find a way to blame Obama. Or Olbermann. This Space For Rent!
Sunday, February 6, 2011 12:26 AM
Quote:Originally posted by Kwicko: Quote:Originally posted by canttakesky: I blame Sarah Bush Obama Olberman Beck. Spelled backwards, BOOBS. I'm not in favor of blaming the bad things in the world on boobs. I like boobs! "Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill
Sunday, February 6, 2011 4:27 AM
Sunday, February 6, 2011 8:35 AM
PIRATENEWS
John Lee, conspiracy therapist at Hollywood award-winner History Channel-mocked SNL-spoofed PirateNew.org wooHOO!!!!!!
Sunday, February 6, 2011 12:10 PM
Monday, February 7, 2011 4:40 AM
Quote:Egyptian Christians form a human shield around Muslims in prayer.
Monday, February 7, 2011 6:40 AM
Quote:Originally posted by dreamtrove: It also goes the other way, which is perhaps how this whole thing started.
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