Peter Lemkin Wrote:

David Guyatt Wrote:THis is, obviously, why greedy, viscous people always end up in power the world over.

Political power is a constantly paying multi-armed bandit machine.

I'd be hard put spending one billion - even if I spent most of it on charity. 70 Billion!...and those are likely 'liquid' assets....

Quote:Egypt crisis: US 'negotiates Mubarak exit strategy'

The US is negotiating with Egyptian officials for Hosni Mubarak, the president, to resign now and hand power to an interim government, according to reports.

By Philip Sherwell, New York 8:27AM GMT 04 Feb 2011
The proposal from the Obama administration would see the new government led by Mr Mubarak's newly-appointed deputy Omar Suleiman and would be backed by the Egyptian military, the New York Times has claimed.
Under the plans, the interim government reportedly would be encouraged to invite opposition leaders from a raft of groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to enter talks about reforming Egypt's electoral system ahead of presidential elections in September.
The disclosure of the plan, one of several options under discussion between Washington and high-level Egyptian officials, is clearly intended to increase the pressure on Mr Mubarak to step aside. It is also unclear whether Mr Suleiman or the Egyptian military would abandon the country's president.
After struggling initially to keep pace with developments on the ground in Egypt, the administration of President Barack Obama is now firming up a "Mubarak-must-go-now posture" in private conversations with Egyptian officials, according to US media reports.
But for all parties, events in Cairo on Friday, when anti-Mubarak demonstrators have called for a "day of departure" march on the presidential palace, are likely to prove crucial.

Magda Hassan Wrote:Hackers Shut Down Government Sites

By RAVI SOMAIYA

Published: February 2, 2011

The online group Anonymous said Wednesday that it had paralyzed the Egyptian government's Web sites in support of the antigovernment protests.





Anonymous, a loosely defined group of hackers from all over the world, gathered about 500 supporters in online forums and used software tools to bring down the sites of the Ministry of Information and President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party, said Gregg Housh, a member of the group who disavows any illegal activity himself. The sites were unavailable Wednesday afternoon. The attacks, Mr. Housh said, are part of a wider campaign that Anonymous has mounted in support of the antigovernment protests that have roiled the Arab world. Last month, the group shut down the Web sites of the Tunisian government and stock exchange in support of the uprising that forced the country's dictator, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, to flee.
Mr. Housh said that the group had used its technical knowledge to help protesters in Egypt defy a government shutdown of the Internet that began last week. "We want freedom," he said of the group's motivation. "It's as simple as that. We're sick of oppressive governments encroaching on people."
Anonymous also mounted strikes late last year, characterized by some of its supporters as a "cyberwar," against companies like MasterCard, Visa and PayPal that had refused to process donations to the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks.
The F.B.I. said last week that it had executed 40 search warrants "throughout the United States" in connection with that campaign. The strikes by Anonymous, known as "distributed denial of service" attacks, could lead to criminal charges that carry 10-year prison sentences, the F.B.I. said. Arrests have been made and equipment seized in Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and France, according to British and American officials. They declined to provide further details.
Barrett Brown, who is helping to organize a legal defense for those who might be prosecuted, said further raids were expected.
Mr. Housh said "these arrests aren't going to have any effect."
Just hours after the raids, he said, about 600 people, including many who had been arrested and then released, were back online and coordinating efforts in Egypt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/world/middleeast/03hackers.html?_r=1

Magda Hassan Wrote:Hackers Shut Down Government Sites

By RAVI SOMAIYA

Published: February 2, 2011

The online group Anonymous said Wednesday that it had paralyzed the Egyptian government's Web sites in support of the antigovernment protests.





Anonymous, a loosely defined group of hackers from all over the world, gathered about 500 supporters in online forums and used software tools to bring down the sites of the Ministry of Information and President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party, said Gregg Housh, a member of the group who disavows any illegal activity himself. The sites were unavailable Wednesday afternoon. The attacks, Mr. Housh said, are part of a wider campaign that Anonymous has mounted in support of the antigovernment protests that have roiled the Arab world. Last month, the group shut down the Web sites of the Tunisian government and stock exchange in support of the uprising that forced the country's dictator, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, to flee.
Mr. Housh said that the group had used its technical knowledge to help protesters in Egypt defy a government shutdown of the Internet that began last week. "We want freedom," he said of the group's motivation. "It's as simple as that. We're sick of oppressive governments encroaching on people."
Anonymous also mounted strikes late last year, characterized by some of its supporters as a "cyberwar," against companies like MasterCard, Visa and PayPal that had refused to process donations to the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks.
The F.B.I. said last week that it had executed 40 search warrants "throughout the United States" in connection with that campaign. The strikes by Anonymous, known as "distributed denial of service" attacks, could lead to criminal charges that carry 10-year prison sentences, the F.B.I. said. Arrests have been made and equipment seized in Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and France, according to British and American officials. They declined to provide further details.
Barrett Brown, who is helping to organize a legal defense for those who might be prosecuted, said further raids were expected.
Mr. Housh said "these arrests aren't going to have any effect."
Just hours after the raids, he said, about 600 people, including many who had been arrested and then released, were back online and coordinating efforts in Egypt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/world/middleeast/03hackers.html?_r=1

Magda Hassan Wrote:I've lost the link but will try to find it. The Deputy Director of the Egyptian State TV quit saying it was a propaganda machine iirc.
Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfXimfZ6LcU
(CNN) Former Nile TV reporter Shahira Amin quits her job, claiming she was pressured to air only pro-Mubarak rallies.