EGypt

Official histories approved by the Mubarak government excluded large sections of Egyptian society, including women, working people, Coptic Christians and the poor, argues one historian [GALLO/GETTY]

6th February 2011
http://www.presstv.com/detail/163846.html

1)Out-of favor Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his son Gemal have stepped down from the positions they held in the ruling party as anti-government protests intensify.

Hosni Mubarak resigned as the head of National Democratic Party (NDP) along with the party's secretary general Safwat el-Sherif on Saturday, DPA reported. Moreover, Gemal stepped down from a position he held in the party.

Hossam Badrawi, a member of the Upper Chamber of the Egyptian Parliament, is expected to take over as secretary general, state media reported.

The developments come as millions of people gathered in Cairo's Liberation Square for the 12th straight day, calling on Mubarak to immediately step down.

Egyptian officials have delayed the reopening of the country's stock exchange as anti-government protests continue. Egypt's stock exchange was scheduled to reopen on Monday. However, the state-run MENA says no decision has been made as to when it will resume business.

In a separate development, unknown assailants blew up a pipeline, which carries natural gas to Israel and Jordan, in Egypt's El-Arish city. The blast, which occurred near a mining site, three kilometers from the El-Arish airport, reportedly struck the Jordanian branch. Flames from the explosion could be seen some 70 kilometers away. The Egyptian army closed the main source of gas supply following the explosion, halting supply to Israel as a precaution. Authorities have declared a high state of alert in the area. Egyptian authorities blamed foreign elements for the attack.

2)An Egyptian journalist has succumbed to the gunshot wounds he received while covering massive anti-government protests in Cairo.

The 36-year-old Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud died on Friday after being in a coma for four days, the state-run al-Ahram newspaper said on Saturday.

Mahmoud, who worked for the newspaper al-Taawun, an affiliate of the al-Ahram publishing house, was taking photographs of fighting between protesters and security forces from the balcony of his flat near Liberation Square when he was shot by sniper fire on January 28. His death is the first reported fatality of a reporter in the Egyptian revolution.

Journalists from Brazil, France, Poland, Russia, Britain, the United States, and other countries have recently been detained in Egypt.

A Swedish TV reporter is in critical condition at a Cairo hospital after being stabbed in the back during Thursday's protests.

On Friday, the Cairo offices of the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite network were burned along with the equipment inside.

Polish public broadcaster TVP withdrew its correspondents from Egypt on Friday over concerns for their safety.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday called on the Egyptian authorities to free all journalists and human rights activists arrested for coverage of the revolution in the country.

On Saturday, millions of people gathered in Cairo's Liberation Square, which has been a focal point for demonstrators, as well as in other cities for the twelfth consecutive day, chanting anti-government slogans.

The rallies were largely peaceful. However, sporadic gunfire and street battles between protesters and government forces were reported in Cairo.

Hundreds of thousands of people have expressed solidarity with the Egyptians at demonstrations around the world and have called on embattled President Hosni Mubarak to immediately relinquish power.

On Friday, millions gathered in Cairo for what they called the "Day of Departure" for the long-time ruler. The demonstration continued into the night, in defiance of a curfew.

According to the United Nations, about 300 people have been killed and thousands of others have been injured in clashes between security forces and protesters in Cairo and other Egyptian cities.

MP/AGB/HGL

Egypt's Top Gas Mogul Flees Cairo

 
by Chana Ya'ar

The top shareholder in the East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG) has fled Egypt, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Hussein Salem, a close confidant of President Hosni Mubarak and the controlling shareholder in EMG, which holds long-term sales contracts to supply natural gas to Israel, fled the capital over the weekend.

The company has a multi-billion dollar agreement the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC). Last month, a major agreement was also signed between EMG and Israel Corporation Ltd., Israel's largest holding company.

Salem was joined by dozens of other wealthy Egyptian and Arab business leaders who crowded aboard 19 private jets Saturday at Cairo Airport, an unnamed official told AP.

Most of the planes were headed for Dubai.

Salem owns 28 percent of EMG; he also heads a group of Egyptian investors who together with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation own 75 percent of the firm. Israeli businessman Yosef Maiman owns 20.6 percent of the company through the Ampal-American Israel Corporation. Merhav MNF Ltd. and Israeli institutional investors own the balance, according to the Globes business news service.

Gasoline Prices Rise in Israel
In a separate but related development, gas prices in Israel are again on the rise, with vehicle fuel prices going up at midnight Monday, the second such hike this month.

Prices on average will rise 1.7 percent over their current levels. A a liter of 95 octane at the self-service pump will cost NIS 7.26. Full-service gasoline will cost an additional 12 agurot.

Officials blamed the price hike on the recent rise in the price of oil, and the weakening of the dollar against the shekel in recent months. However, Israel also ended 2010 with a much smaller deficit than expected last year, due in great part to larger revenues from rising gasoline taxes.

Israel's Cabinet also approved a national plan on Sunday to develop technologies aimed at reducing the global use of oil in transportation and to strengthen industries in the field.

(IsraelNationalNews.com)

PHOTO FROM DE SPIEGEL NEWSPAPER





Egypt's Blood is on Obama's Hands     

By Mike Whitney

Feburary 03, 2011 "Information Clearing House" --  The United States and Israel were caught off-guard by the size and ferocity of the demonstrations in Egypt, but they have since regained their balance and caught up to events. The two allies have settled on a strategy to preserve the Mubarak dictatorship (in some form) and assure that US-Israel regional hegemony will not be challenged. Thus, the Obama administration will continue to offer lip-service to democracy and human rights, while coordinating efforts with Mubarak to maintain Washington's stranglehold on power in Cairo.  

  The first step in this process, is to quash the rebellion with force.

  Yesterday, after promising he would not use violence against the protesters, Mubarak deployed his goons to Tahrir Square where they attacked the the assembly with batons, rocks, and clubs. Men on horseback and camels charged into the crowd sending droves of protesters fleeing in panic.  Al Jazeera reported that hundreds of people were injured in the melee. It's clear that the so-called "Mubarak supporters" were not civilians at all, but members of the feared Egyptian security forces in disguise. The Obama administration is aware of the clashes but has refused to condemn the perpetrators.  Obama is now sticking to a script that was written by powerbrokers in Washington and Tel Aviv.

Obama's speech on Tuesday was aptly summarized by As'ad Abukhalil blogging on The Angry Arab website. Here's what he said: 

 "I just read the speech by Obama: it confirmed my suspicion, that basically Mubarak was permitted by the US to do with the Egyptian people as he would like.....Every drop of blood that is spilled in Egypt from this day onwards should be blamed on Obama because he has embraced this new strategy of letting Mubarak defy the popular will of the Egyptian people.  I don't trust the Egyptian army: the top brass is hand picked by the US/Israel and can be easily bought off by a combination of bribes, gadgets, and perks.  They could care less about the Egyptian people.  This is part of the ruling group of this tyrant. 

The speech by Obama was a not-so-coded language that let Mubarak do what he wish: the talk about transition means that he was basically told to stay in power, because Israel really freaked out at the prospect of Egypt without Mubarak. ... Make no mistake about it: this could be like the 1953 Operation Ajax in Iran.  The US is now arranging for a coup against the will of the Egyptian people..  It requires utmost vigilance and steadfastness and thus far those qualities have been abundant among the Egyptian people.  This move by Obama towards Egypt can be described as criminal because it will lead to blood on the streets.....

PRESS REPORTS FROM PRESS TV
http://www.presstv.com/detail/163469.html

4th February 2011 Mubarak said: "If I resign today, there will be chaos."

The embattled Egyptian president, who resides inside his heavily guarded palace in Cairo, also played down the outside pressure on him to immediately step down, saying that "I don't care what people say about me. Right now I care about my country." The 82-year-old president made the remarks as millions of Egyptian protesters started marching towards Tahrir Square on Thursday. The protests have become the symbol of the ongoing revolutionary movement in the North African country. The protesters are defying a curfew and sleep on the square ahead of a big demonstration they call the "Friday of Departure" to mark last week's bloody "Day of Wrath" protest.
The protesters have vowed to stand firm despite the deadly clashes that left several people dead and at least 1,500 others wounded in Cairo on Wednesday and the early hours of Thursday.
According to the United Nations, at least 300 people have so far been killed and thousands more injured during nationwide protests in troubled Egypt.


The US is reportedly negotiating with Egyptian officials over a proposal for embattled President Hosni Mubarak to cede power immediately.

..................Citing US administration officials and Arab diplomats,it is stated that any transitional government will have the backing of Egypt's armed forces chief of staff Sami Enan and Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.

The latest development comes as the US Senate approved a non-binding measure on Thursday, calling on Mubarak to quickly set up a caretaker government amid public outcry over his three-decade rule.

The resolution urged Mubarak to "immediately begin an orderly and peaceful transition to a democratic political system" by handing over power to a caretaker government "in coordination with leaders from Egypt's opposition, civil society, and military."

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The Arab Revolution

Mubarak's Hired Thugs

Rural Poor Paid to Attack Opposition Supporters

By Volkhard Windfuhr and Daniel Steinvorth in Cairo

In exchange for the equivalent of a few euros, poor seasonal workers have taken part in street fighting in Cairo on the side of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The thugs, who fight with iron bars, knives and clubs, have been recruited by privileged members of the regime, including party officials, security forces and rich business people with lucrative state contracts.

The bloody clashes in Cairo show that not all of Egypt's 80 million people want to see President Hosni Mubarak overthrown or a new start heralded by fresh elections. Many are fiercely loyal to the ruling system and are ready to fight for it -- with brutality. On Thursday afternoon, there were even reports on the Al Jazeera news channel that Mubarak supporters were storming the hotels of Cairo and hunting down journalists.

The confrontation between the opponents and supporters of the Mubarak regime first escalated on Wednesday, as both sides engaged in hours-long battles on Cairo's central Tahrir Square and the adjoining side streets. Mubarak loyalists stormed the crowd armed with knives, clubs and stones. Some even rode horses and camels, hitting the demonstrators on the head from above with iron bars.

In Cairo's working-class district, they organized a big demonstration, including a motorcade of cars and motorbikes. They shouted slogans such as "Mubarak, we kneel before you," and "Yes to the president of peace." Taking part were members of trade unions and associations, as well as employees of state-run companies, who were obviously told by their bosses to attend.

In the background, the movement is being controlled by businessmen with lucrative state contracts, public servants, security officers and party officials, all of whom are worried by the uncertainty of recent days. They are all determined to ensure that as little as possible changes, regardless of who follows Mubarak. They are the supporters and representatives of the ruling National Democratic Party, which has 3 million members, who fear that they could lose power in free elections. They are members of the nouveau riche, who have gained huge fortunes and influence, largely through corruption and criminality, and who currently enjoy immunity.

The Poor Are Easy Prey

These individuals have everything to lose -- and are now depending on those who have nothing left to lose. The privileged members of the regime don't want to get their hands dirty. Instead, they recruit their helpers from the rural and semi-rural regions, particularly from two provinces north of Cairo: Bahtim and Qalyub. The poor, who make up the majority of the population here, are easy prey. Many are distrustful of the demonstrators' motives and fear that the movement is secretly pursuing other aims.

In every province, there are party offices. There, people -- and especially seasonal workers -- are assembled and offered a tiny sum of money to take part in the bloody battle to keep Mubarak in power. There is not much work on the land at this time of year. Terribly poor and illiterate, they set off to do their employers' bidding for a paltry sum equivalent to around €10-€15 ($14-$20). They are cheap, they are desperate, and they don't ask questions. Thousands have taken part, though it is difficult to estimate the exact figure. According to eyewitnesses, around 4,000 people took part in the counter-demonstrations in Cairo and Alexandria on Wednesday.

Mubarak loyalists have resorted to perfidious measures to sabotage the protests by the opponents of the regime and to put on a show for international observers. Thousands of prisons, including detention centers in the desert, were opened in recent days. At total of 14,000 inmates, including murderers and other serious criminals, were suddenly set free. They were released on the understanding that they would cause as much chaos as possible -- effectively a license to plunder, murder and commit arson.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 of the inmates are thought to have now reached Cairo, while a few hundred have turned themselves in voluntarily. Many want to flee across Sinai to the Gaza Strip in the hope that the radical Islamist group Hamas, which is in government there, will take them in. Hamas has so far not taken a position on the events in Egypt. However, it is assumed that they are not exactly sympathetic to Mubarak because he has supported the Israeli-imposed blockade of the Gaza Strip. Hamas is also considered an ally of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group officially banned in Egypt.

The opposition wants to demonstrate once again against the elderly Egyptian president on Friday. The planned march will converge on Cairo. And the members of the pro-Mubarak camp will also presumably be out in force -- with bloody consequences.

Annett Meiritz contributed to this report.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,743537,00.html

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.........The Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights urged the dismissal of Minister of Interior Mahmoud Wagdy and leaders of the police who issued and implemented decisions to open fire on the demonstrators, the Egyptian opposition Muslim Brotherhood said on its website.

The government of President Hosni Mubarak has reportedly issued the security forces shoot-to-kill orders in an attempt to suppress countrywide protests, which entered their 10th day on Thursday.

More than 300 people have died since the beginning of the protests.
Pro-government vigilantes have recently joined the crackdown in the capital of Cairo, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 1,500 others.

The rights body also called for legal action against the minister and the law enforcement's top brass. (Photo: Mubarak supporters, many had police ID cards)

Observers without Borders also denounced the Thursday the use of live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas against the protesters in the capital's Tahrir Square.

It also rapped the excessive use of force against protestors in the Suez Canal in the northeast, which caused many deaths among the demonstrators.

“The lighting of reflective lights and shooting of hundreds of tear gas [canisters] and water pumps during the freezing cold weather, simply contradicts the most basic humanitarian norms,” it said.

HN/AKM

4th February 2011

Egypt's crackdown on journalists and human rights activists covering the revolutionary uprising in the country has prompted sharp rebukes from across the world.

Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon on Thursday urged the Egyptian military to spare no efforts in ensuring security and safety for foreign journalists in Egypt and condemned the government of President Hosni Mubarak for exercising force in suppressing public protests, the Associate Press reported.

Cannon turned the spotlight on the detention of two Canadian journalists working in Cairo for the Globe and Mail newspaper, as well as others from CBC, Radio-Canada, CTV and TVA news channels.

"We are particularly concerned at reports of arrests of journalists. All detained journalists should be immediately released and their media equipment returned,” the Canadian foreign minister stated.

He further noted that Ottawa is "particularly disappointed and concerned that the protests that began with hope, order and enthusiasm are now fraught with violence, havoc and fear."

On Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon denounced the attacks on journalists and human rights activists as "outrageous and totally unacceptable," calling for an immediate cessation of violence by the Egyptian government.

On Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders Secretary General Jean-Francois Julliard hit out at pro-Mubarak mob and government vigilantes over "shocking" attacks in Cairo against foreign journalists.

"These attacks seem to have been acts of revenge against the international media for relaying the protests calling for President Hosni Mubarak's resigning," the head of the Paris-based media watchdog group said.

Meanwhile, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported on Thursday that one of the TV channel's reporter stationed in Cairo sustained serious "knife injuries" amid the turmoil in the country.

According to SVT, the reporter is now at a hospital in Cairo and is being operated on for knife injuries.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has condemned the attacks on journalists in Egypt, saying they were "completely unacceptable".

On Thursday, a Press TV correspondent in Cairo was also forced to flee a scene of chaos and violence as he feared being arrested by government forces.

HA/AGB

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  interview with Robert Fisk

Groton Guard detachment is heading to Egypt

Published 01/24/2011 12:00 AM Updated 01/24/2011
http://www.theday.com

Groton - Connecticut National Guard Detachment 2, Company I, 185th Aviation Regiment of Groton has mobilized and will deploy to the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, to support the Multinational Force and Observers.

The unit left Connecticut Jan. 15 for Fort Benning, Ga., for further training and validation. The unit operates C-23C Sherpa aircraft and has deployed three times in the last seven years in support of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The unit will provide an on-demand aviation asset to the Multinational Force and Observers commander to support its mission of supervising the security provisions of the Egypt/ Israel Peace Treaty.

Chief Warrant Officer Four James Smith of Ivoryton commands the aviation unit.

30.1.2011

Thousands of Egyptians continue to hold protests on Cairo streets in defiance of a nationwide curfew.

In a desperate attempt to restore order, an army officer was seen getting on top of an armoured vehicle to address a crowd of protesters.

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"Civilization can only revive when there shall come into being in a number of individuals a new tone of mind, independent of the prevalent one among the crowds, and in opposition to it -- a tone of mind which will gradually win influence over the collective one, and in the end determine its character. Only an ethical movement can rescue us from barbarism, and the ethical comes into existence only in individuals. - Albert Schweitzer

 

This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.-John Steinbeck

COMMENT FROM PAUL LEO FASO:

PAUL LEO FASO

The key to real change everywhere is the unleashing of the transportation patents which will make the mass production of the next generation of the automobile a reality. Fidel Castro is correct in his assessment of the ongoing conspiracy by America against the Arab world for its' oil and it is that tyranny of the status quo, that has allowed the internal combustion engine to power the automobile for over 100 years.

When the Chinese and the people of India require millions of new automobiles for their assent into the 21st century, do you think they will be driving V-8' s like our fathers did and burning gasoline at $4.00 a gallon?

They are already in gear with India's Tata"s Air Car, licensing the MDI technology and China will no doubt do as Toyota and invest in a Tesla type all electric automobile technology.

The unleashed patents will destroy OPEC and the collusion in oil price fixing. This will place a realistic income equation for the oil nations they can expect to gain in this century. Egypt is a conduit valve in the distribution of Arab stability, to the degree they understand the window is going to close for the OPEC cartel and they like the rest of the Arab nations should be prepared to adapt to the vast changes that will rock this world as the long repressed inventions pull this world out of this current malaise.

Mubarak could get hit with a beer truck crossing the street tomorrow and life will move on, he is inconsequential to Egypt.
As a nation, Egypt must become something more in the future than a valve in the flow of oil.

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