Thousands March in Egyptian Capital Calling for President’s Ouster

[Magda Hassan]

I am assuming that the Egyptian government and military have some sort of connection perhaps through the US :unclesam: (or Israeli ! hock system. They need to access the Swiss bank accounts after all. Oh, and communicate with each other.

Egypt's Net on Life Support

By Earl Zmijewski on January 31, 2011 12:05 PM | 6 Comments | No TrackBacks

As of approximately 20:46 UTC, four hours after this blog was first published, Noor started disappearing from the Internet. They are completely unavailable at present as shown below
As we observed last week, Egypt took the unprecedented step of withdrawing from the Internet. The government didn't simply block Twitter and Facebook (an increasingly common tactic of regimes under fire), but rather they apparently ordered most major Egyptian providers to cease service via their international providers, effectively removing Egyptian IP space from the global Internet and cutting off essentially all access to the outside world via this medium. The only way out now would be via traditional phone calls, assuming they left that system up, or via satellite. We thought the Internet ban would be temporary, but much to our surprise, the situation has not changed. One of the few Egyptian providers reachable today, four days after the start of the crisis, is The Noor Group. In this blog, we'll take a quick look at them and some of the businesses they serve.

Follow the Money
Noor provides Internet service for a number of Egyptian and international concerns. To name just a few, we see I-score, the Egyptian Credit Bureau; and NTG, the National Technology Group providing IT processing to the aviation, banking and financial sectors. The American University in Cairo also gets Internet connectivity via Noor, as does the Egyptian Exchange. As of this writing, these sites and many others hosted in Egypt are reachable, although access can be very slow.

Perhaps surprisingly, the MCDR (which handles the settlement of equities, corporate and government debt) cannot be reached at present, despite having Noor transit. But the situation is much too volatile to read anything into this.
The Noor Group

Internet routers listen to announcements of IP address blocks, known as prefixes, originating from Autonomous Systems (ASes). By acting on these announcements, Internet routing can function without any centeralized authority. ASes are typically associated with major businesses, Internet providers, or government agencies and are free to buy Internet transit from anyone they like and route their traffic in any way they choose. Unless, of course, as in Egypt's case, the government intrudes. In terms of ASes and prefixes, we can map out the Noor Group's connectivity, both to its customers and its providers, as it stands today. The following diagram gives some of the details.

Things are not always as they seem
Remember that the Internet does not respect geography and so interpreting what you see can be very tricky. For example, you might think that the site for The Suzanne Mubarak Science Exploration Center would be hosted in Egypt. The associated IP address belongs to the prefix 213.247.0.0/20, which is registered at AfriNIC to this center and with a physical Cairo street address. But in fact, from our vantage point, the web site is hosted in London. The site also has an online poll that asks "Do you think the regime's response to the protesters' demands are satisfactory?"
What's next?
We'll continue to monitor Egypt's connectivity, and we'll report again when there is any substantive change. We really hope this situation does not continue and look forward to welcoming Egypt back to the 'net. Trying to ban the Internet in this century is a bit like trying to ban the wheel in centuries past. With each hour that passes, the uncertainty grows over the ultimate economic impact on Egypt's people of this unprecedented Internet blackout.
Update: (21:00 UTC Monday)
As of approximately 20:46 UTC, Noor is no longer reachable from outside of Egypt.

http://www.renesys.com/blog/2011/01/egyp...port.shtml

[Pamela McElwain-Brown]

This is all very strange. When Hillary spoke on CNN yesterday she did not seem her usual animated self. Something is off. Is it simply that our govt has been caught off guard, or something more?

In addition to a social network connection to the situation in Egypt, it seems there is also a Wikileaks aspect, in that cables that Bradley Manning leaked to them discussed Egypt and were read there. Assange was on 60 Minutes last night, and while the interview was undoubtedly taped earlier, there was a sense that he believes the free press that he is demonstrating is capable of creating upheaval.

Now Egypt has gone dark in terms of the net and cel phones, with the anticipated march in a few hours. Pres. Carter has been brave enough to state that Mubarak needs to resign. Could that be next?

[Jeffrey Orling]

He's a goner and the US has egg on its face per usual. They want another puppet in the worst way. Democracy and unfettered free market trans national capitalism mix like oil and water. When we talk "democracy" and "freedom" we mean freedom of markets for capitalists... and democracy means you get to serve on your buddy's board and vote him enormous compensation package.

[Magda Hassan]

Yes, Jeffrey. There is precious little democracy in the US as it is. They're trying to line up the VP but I doubt he will be any more acceptable. The people want an Argentine solution, just as in Tunisia, they all must go.

[Keith Millea]

This is all very strange. When Hillary spoke on CNN yesterday she did not seem her usual animated self. Something is off. Is it simply that our govt has been caught off guard, or something more?

I wouldn't be myself either if I had to stand before the world and talk bullshit.

Yes,Queen Hillary stands naked again. hock: And it ain't pretty.....

[Magda Hassan]

What's Behind the Tumult in Egypt?

by Dr. K R Bolton

February 1, 2011




It seems that mobs of youth marching through the streets, fists clenched, chanting banal slogans and using "democracy" as a buzz-word, is sufficient to send Western liberaldom into spasms delight, despite it all by now being a very well-worn formula in the process of globalization. There seems to be a lack of explanation as to why those who feign opposition to globalization and American world hegemony get so enthused about phenomena that serve both of these.
Tahrir Square, Cairo (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Overthrowing a regime because it is not "democratic" in the Western parliamentary sense seems a poor result when the outcome is yet another brick in the foundation of what is often called the "new world order." It is somewhat akin to the universal ecstasy that took place when the evil Afrikaners were overthrown and a regime was established behind the façade of "human rights" and "democracy," when the only real achievement has been to privatise and globalize the economy; as in Kosovo also, and a bunch of states of the former Soviet bloc that have undergone the same process of "color revolutions" that are taking place now in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world.
Perhaps something good will come of the unrest, and the new regimes will offer some sound Arabic ideals beyond Western-inspired clichés about "democracy," of the type offered by Nasser's "Arab socialism." However, given the way such bourgeois revolutions have usually worked out elsewhere, there is not yet sufficient reason to be optimistic.
As I have tried to point out in my recent article on Tunisia for Foreign Policy Journal,[1] the present tumult over the Arab world is following precisely the same revolutionary formula as that which resulted in the dismantling of the Soviet bloc, and via "color revolutions" the installation of "open societies" (sic); that is to say, "open" to the ravages of global capitalism and subordination to US foreign policy, all in the cherished name of "democracy" of course. Excuse me if I am not grateful to George Soros, NED, et al for dismantling the Soviet edifice in the name of "democracy."
As for the situation unfolding in Egypt, a few salient features are already apparent. The Los Angeles Times has carried an illuminating interview with Ahmed Maher, the "leader of the youth movement that has shaken the Egyptian Government by rallying thousands of protesters into the streets this week."
The first paragraph for the L. A. Times article is itself telling, as we are informed that there is a "youth movement," which implies something more than a "spontaneous protest" (sic) in the way in which such "color revolutions" are always depicted.
Maher heads the April 6th Youth Movement. The L. A. Times states that (as with the other "color revolutions,") techno-savvy youth are the ones playing the lead role, using gadgetry that is not so easy for regimes to control. These young Egyptians, states the Times, are not beholden to any particular religion or ideology. They are not part of the "traditional opposition voices." This (and other "color revolutions") has indeed been a revolt generated by what Maher calls "a generational gap in Egypt…. Young activists are fired up, and they have no allegiances to anything but change." Maher states: "My inspiration comes from experiences, not personalities. I admire the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the [Serbs] who overthrew Slobodan Milosevic."[2]
April 6th Youth Movement
Maher's organization, based on cyber networking, was founded on April 6, 2007 when a General Strike was called in support of mill workers in Mahalla.[3]
Several days ago Wikileaks exposed a document from the US Embassy in Cairo to Washington, which details the American support for the April 6 movement and other activists. The document was published by The Telegraph, as follows:
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 002572 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA, R, S/P
AND H NSC FOR PASCUAL AND KUTCHA-HELBLING E.O. 12958: DECL:
12/30/2028 TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, EG SUBJECT: APRIL 6 ACTIVIST ON HIS
U.S. VISIT AND REGIME CHANGE IN EGYPT REF: A. CAIRO 2462 B.
CAIRO 2454 C. CAIRO 2431 Classified By: ECPO A/Mincouns
Catherine Hill-Herndon for reason 1.4 (d ). 1. © Summary and
comment: On December 23, April 6 activist xxxxxxxxxxxx expressed
satisfaction with his participation in the December 3-5 \"Alliance of
Youth Movements Summit,\" and with his subsequent meetings with USG
officials, on Capitol Hill, and with think tanks. He described how
State Security (SSIS) detained him at the Cairo airport upon his
return and confiscated his notes for his summit presentation calling
for democratic change in Egypt, and his schedule for his Congressional
meetings. xxxxxxxxxxxx contended that the GOE will never undertake
significant reform, and therefore, Egyptians need to replace the
current regime with a parliamentary democracy. He alleged that
several opposition parties and movements have accepted an unwritten
plan for democratic transition by 2011; we are doubtful of this claim.
xxxxxxxxxxxx said that although SSIS recently released two April 6
activists, it also arrested three additional group members. We have
pressed the MFA for the release of these April 6 activists. April 6′s
stated goal of replacing the current regime with a parliamentary
democracy prior to the 2011 presidential elections is highly
unrealistic, and is not supported by the mainstream opposition. End
summary and comment. - Satisfaction with
the Summit - 2. © xxxxxxxxxxxx expressed
satisfaction with the December 3-5 \"Alliance of Youth Movements
Summit\" in New York, noting that he was able to meet activists from
other countries and outline his movement's goals for democratic change
in Egypt. He told us that the other activists at the summit were very
supportive, and that some even offered to hold public demonstrations
in support of Egyptian democracy in their countries, with xxxxxxxxxxxx
as an invited guest. xxxxxxxxxxxx said he discussed with the other
activists how April 6 members could more effectively evade harassment
and surveillance from SSIS with technical upgrades, such as
consistently alternating computer \"simcards.\" However, xxxxxxxxxxxx
lamented to us that because most April 6 members do not own computers,
this tactic would be impossible to implement. xxxxxxxxxxxx was
appreciative of the successful efforts by the Department and the
summit organizers to protect his identity at the summit, and told us
that his name was never mentioned publicly. - A
Cold Welcome Home - 3. (S) xxxxxxxxxxxx told us
that SSIS detained and searched him at the Cairo Airport on December
18 upon his return from the U.S. According to xxxxxxxxxxxx, SSIS
found and confiscated two documents in his luggage: notes for his
presentation at the summit that described April 6′s demands for
democratic transition in Egypt, and a schedule of his Capitol Hill
meetings. xxxxxxxxxxxx described how the SSIS officer told him that
State Security is compiling a file on him, and that the officer's
superiors instructed him to file a report on xxxxxxxxxxxx most recent
activities. -
Washington Meetings and April 6 Ideas for Regime Change
- 4. ©
xxxxxxxxxxxx described his Washington appointments as positive, saying
that on the Hill he met with xxxxxxxxxxxx, a variety of House staff
members, including from the offices of xxxxxxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxxx),
and with two Senate staffers. xxxxxxxxxxxx also noted that he met
with several think tank members. xxxxxxxxxxxx said that xxxxxxxxxxxx's
office invited him to speak at a late January Congressional hearing on
House Resolution 1303 regarding religious and political freedom in
Egypt. xxxxxxxxxxxx told us he is interested in attending, but
conceded he is unsure whether he will have the funds to make the trip.
He indicated to us that he has not been focusing on his work as a
\"fixer\" for journalists, due to his preoccupation with his U.S.
trip. 5. © xxxxxxxxxxxx described how he tried to convince his
Washington interlocutors that the USG should pressure the GOE to
implement significant reforms by threatening to reveal CAIRO 00002572
002 OF 002 information about GOE officials' alleged \"illegal\"
off-shore bank accounts. He hoped that the U.S. and the international
community would freeze these bank accounts, like the accounts of
Zimbabwean President Mugabe's confidantes. xxxxxxxxxxxx said he wants
to convince the USG that Mubarak is worse than Mugabe and that the GOE
will never accept democratic reform. xxxxxxxxxxxx asserted that
Mubarak derives his legitimacy from U.S. support, and therefore
charged the U.S. with \"being responsible\" for Mubarak's \"crimes.\"
He accused NGOs working on political and economic reform of living in
a \"fantasy world,\" and not recognizing that Mubarak \"the head of
the snake\" must step aside to enable democracy to take root. 6.
© xxxxxxxxxxxx claimed that several opposition forces including
the Wafd, Nasserite, Karama and Tagammu parties, and the Muslim
Brotherhood, Kifaya, and Revolutionary Socialist movements have
agreed to support an unwritten plan for a transition to a
parliamentary democracy, involving a weakened presidency and an
empowered prime minister and parliament, before the scheduled 2011
presidential elections (ref C). According to xxxxxxxxxxxx, the
opposition is interested in receiving support from the army and the
police for a transitional government prior to the 2011 elections.
xxxxxxxxxxxx asserted that this plan is so sensitive it cannot be
written down. (Comment: We have no information to corroborate that
these parties and movements have agreed to the unrealistic plan
xxxxxxxxxxxx has outlined. Per ref C, xxxxxxxxxxxx previously told us
that this plan was publicly available on the internet. End comment.)
7. © xxxxxxxxxxxx said that the GOE has recently been cracking down
on the April 6 movement by arresting its members. xxxxxxxxxxxx noted
that although SSIS had released xxxxxxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxxx \"in the
past few days,\" it had arrested three other members. (Note: On
December 14, we pressed the MFA for the release of xxxxxxxxxxxx and
xxxxxxxxxxxx, and on December 28 we asked the MFA for the GOE to
release the additional three activists. End note.) xxxxxxxxxxxx
conceded that April 6 has no feasible plans for future activities.
The group would like to call for another strike on April 6, 2009, but
realizes this would be \"impossible\" due to SSIS interference,
xxxxxxxxxxxx said. He lamented that the GOE has driven the group's
leadership underground, and that one of its leaders, xxxxxxxxxxxx, has
been in hiding for the past week. 8. © Comment: xxxxxxxxxxxx
offered no roadmap of concrete steps toward April 6′s highly
unrealistic goal of replacing the current regime with a parliamentary
democracy prior to the 2011 presidential elections. Most opposition
parties and independent NGOs work toward achieving tangible,
incremental reform within the current political context, even if they
may be pessimistic about their chances of success. xxxxxxxxxxxx
wholesale rejection of such an approach places him outside this
mainstream of opposition politicians and activists.
SCOBEY02008-12-307386PGOV,PHUM,KDEM,EGAPRIL 6 ACTIVIST ON HIS U.S.
VISIT AND REGIME CHANGE IN EGYPT [4]
Of course, this US backing for such revolutionary upheaval does not accord with America's cultivated image as a defender of reactionary regimes. This is the image maintained by both mainstream and alternative media, one such example, stating that: "Egyptian officials know that because their country is an official friend of the US', Cairo's undemocratic behavior always gets a pass in Washington…."[5]
However, the public image of the USA is far different from the reality, and the USA has embarked on a world revolutionary mission since the time of Woodrow Wilson. The US Establishment, far from being the epitome of conservatism, has been up to its neck in subversive activities throughout the world, which were often misidentified by conservative commentators as "Soviet" plots. The "color revolutions" are a continuation of a process that has been going on since Woodrow Wilson expounded his revolutionary manifesto for remaking the world in America's image: The Fourteen Points.
US Secretary of State Clinton has been less than helpful to America's supposedly great friend President Mubarak, whom the media tells us the "West" is propping up, when she stated:
We're trying to promote an orderly transition and change that will respond to the legitimate grievances of the Egyptian people, which the protests are all about.
We are urging the Mubarak government, which is still in power, we are urging the military, which is a very respected institution in Egypt, to do what is necessary to facilitate that kind of orderly transition.[6]
This is a blatant call for Mubarak to go, and an openly stated declaration that the USA is aiming to secure "regime change" through revolution. Why should it be up to the Secretary of State of a corrupt, failed and bankrupt state to dictate what political course another state should take?
The Hand of Soros Again
The above-cited UNFree Media ridicules allegations that George Soros, the currency speculator and patron of the world "color" revolution is a factor in the current turmoil, dismissing such claims as "conspiracy theory." Yet the same article quickly goes on to state that a new monthly opposition magazine Wasla, which is widely distributed to strategic quarters such as the military and academia and has an electronic edition read throughout the Arab world:
[A]ims to link Arab bloggers with politicians and it was in fact launched at the initiative of a women's group backed by Soros. Wasla or "The Link" is being touted as a first for the Arab world, with plans for articles by bloggers as a way of giving them a wider readership. It is published by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and financially supported by the Open Society Institute created by Soros, said ANHRI director Gamal Eid. "We want to challenge our audience, and open its eyes to the changes society is experiencing, particularly through youths and blogs in which they appear," he said.[7]
It might be recalled that Soros' Open Society Institute funded the primary opposition voice in Tunisia, Radio Kalima.[8]
The Soros network has been working extensively in Egypt. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights has the aura of a Soros front about it, and at the least works in tandem with the Open Society Justice Initiative,[9] and is an "OSI grantee."[10]
In December 2010, the Open Society Institute advised:
The Open Society Foundations will consider projects from domestic and international NGOs or civil society groups active in Egypt. Coalitions of NGOs are also encouraged to apply. …[11]
National Endowment for Democracy
As one would expect, NED, the Congressionally-funded neo-Trotskyite Establishment Bolsheviks that work in tandem with Soros to ferment America's version of "world revolution," have been very active in Egypt, as they have in Tunisia.[12] NED's 2009 report for grants to Egypt includes, but is not limited to:
American Center for International Labor Solidarity $318,75.
Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies (AITAS)
$48,900. The description of the purposes for this grant again, as in Tunisia, points to NED's activities in funding and training revolutionary cadres in precisely the techniques that are being used in the current strife:
To strengthen youth understanding of the Egyptian parliament and enhance regional activists' use of new technologies as accountability tools. AITAS will conduct a series of workshops for 300 university students to raise their awareness of parliament's functions and engage them in monitoring parliamentary committees. AITAS will also host 8 month-long internships for youth activists from the Middle East and North Africa to share its experiences using web-based technologies in monitoring efforts.
Arab Foundation for Supporting Civil Society (AFSCS)
$25,000. "…AFSCS will conduct four training workshops for a total of 100 journalists and representatives of civil society institutions on monitoring violations against civil society organizations, and extend its outreach on these efforts through a web site and newsletter focused on civil society issues."
Arab Society for Human Rights (ASHR) $22,600. ASHR undertook a workshop for 80 journalists.
Bridge Center for Dialogue and Development (BTRD)
$25,000.
To promote youth expression and engagement in community issues through new media. BTRD will train youth between the ages of 16 and 26 in the use of new and traditional media tools to report on issues facing their communities. BRTD will also create a website for human rights videos and new media campaigns in Egypt. The website will host trainees' completed projects and provide a blog-like forum for them to engage in an ongoing dialogue on their projects.
Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) $187,569
To engage civil society organizations to participate in the democratic process by strengthening their capacity to advocate for free market legislative reform, and to build consensus on needed changes to the Egyptian legal environment to remove impediments to competition in a free market.
Again, the above is telling. NED's global propagation of the virtues of "free market' economics is more likely to indicate the real purpose behind these "color revolutions" than the touted slogans about democracy.
Egyptian Union of Liberal Youth (EULY) $33,300
To expand the use of new media among youth activists for the promotion of democratic ideas and values. EULY will train 60 youth activists to use filmmaking for the dissemination of democratic ideas and values. The Union will lead a total of four two-month long training workshops in Cairo to build the political knowledge and technical filmmaking skills of participating youth involved in NGOs. Each participating NGO will then produce and distribute a short film about its organization's mission or about an issue for which they are advocating.
Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies (ICDS) $65,000 "To disseminate information on civil society and democratization in the Arab world and promote democratic ideas and values…"
Lawyers Union for Democratic and Legal Studies (LUDLS) $20,000 "To support freedom of association by strengthening young activists' ability to express and organize themselves peacefully within the bounds of the law…"
Our Hands for Comprehensive Development $19,200 "To engage Minya youth in civic activism and encourage youth-led initiatives and volunteerism…"
Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) $45,300 "To explore the feasibility of establishing a Cairo-based policy center to support Egyptian civic organizations' and activists' ability to advocate for policy reforms."
Youth Forum$19,000
To expand and maintain a network of youth activists on Egyptian university campuses and to encourage the participation of university students in student union elections and civic activities on campus. Youth Forum will conduct a civic and political awareness training program for 150 university students in the Gharbeya, Suez, Minya, and Assiut governorates.[13]
Given the nature of the funding by NED, of its focus on "youth activists" and their training into cadres, and the use of new technologies, the portrayal of the Egyptian riots as "spontaneous" seems implausible. They have been, like others around world, well panned, for years in advance, waiting for a catalyst.
ElBaradei : Leader-in-Waiting
One of the common aspects of the "color revolutions " in whatever part of the world they "spontaneously erupt" (sic), is that there always seems to be an internationally-respected figure waiting in the wings, ready to assume leadership; and it also seemingly always happens that by coincidence, this respectable leader has been associated with George Soros. Mohamed ElBaradei fits the role. ElBaradei, as is now widely recalled, achieved his eminence on the world stage as a Nobel Laureate and as Director General of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency.
In February 2010 ElBaradei helped form a non-party movement, the National Association for Change. ElBaradei is on the Executive Committee of the International Crisis Group, yet another globalist think tank promoting the "new world order" behind the facade of "peace and justice," or of the "open society," as Soros terms it. ICG was founded in 1994 by Mark Brown, former Vice President of the World Bank. Soros is a committee member, along with such luminaries of peace and goodwill as Samuel Berger, former US National Security Adviser; Wesley Clark, former NATO Commander, Europe; and sundry eminences from business, academe, politics and diplomacy of the type that generally comprise such organizations.[14]
"Senior advisers" of the ICG include the omnipresent Zbigniew Brzezinski, former US National Security Adviser, and founding director of David Rockefeller's Trilateral Commission, an individual up to his neck in seemingly every globalist cause and think tank going, and a de facto foreign policy adviser for Pres. Obama; and Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, former Secretary General of NATO.[15] Financial backers of the ICG include the Ford Foundation and Open Society Institute.
The tumult in North Africa could conceivably backfire on the globalists terribly and create a quagmire of the Iraq variety. At the moment however, the indicators seem to be that the "spontaneous" regional tumult has been carefully planned and funded for a long time, and that the "revolutionary" potential of the bourgeois "youth activists" is about as phony as that of their 1960s American forebears in the "New Left," who were created sand sponsored by the same types of plutocrat and for similar reasons.
Notes
[1] K R Bolton, "Tunisian Revolt: Another Soros/NED Jack-Up?," Foreign Policy Journal, January 18, 2011, http//:http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011...-up/all/1/
[2] "Young Egyptians Fight for Change. Twitter Generation Seeks its Freedom," The Dominion Post, Wellington, New Zealand, January 29, 2011, A21.
[3] "Shahab 6 April Youth Movement," http://shabab6april.wordpress.com/shabab...n-english/
[4] "Egypt Protests: Secret US Document Exposes Support for Protesters," The Telegraph, London, January 28, 2011, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...sters.html
[5] "Citizen bloggers white-anting' the Mubarak regime," UNFree Media, unfreemedia.org, http://www.unfreemedia.com/mideast/2010/...egime.html
[6] "Egypt Crisis: Mubarak under pressure from West as lawlessness takes hold," The Telegraph, London, January 30, 2011, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...-hold.html
[7] "Citizen bloggers white-anting' the Mubarak regime," op. cit.
[8] K R Bolton, "Tunisian Revolt: Another Soros/NED Jack-Up?," Foreign Policy Journal, op. cit.
[9] EIPR, http://www.eipr.org/
[10] "Challenges to Religious Freedom in Egypt," OSI, August 13, 2009, http://www.soros.org/initiatives/mena/ne...n_20090813
[11] OSI, December 14, 2010, http://www.soros.org/initiatives/mena/ne...d-20101214
[12] K R Bolton, "Tunisian Revolt," op. cit.
[13] "Egypt," National Endowment for Democracy, http://www.ned.org/where-we-work/middle-...rica/egypt
[14] "Crisis Group Board of Trustees," http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/about/board.aspx
[15] "Crisis Group Senior Advisers,' http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/about/boar...isers.aspx
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011...ypt/all/1/

[Ed Jewett]

Monday, January 31, 2011

January 31 2011: The long forsaken sands of Egypt


Good coverage from http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/

####

Continued good coverage from the perspective of open source insurgency...

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/

####

See also http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/

• Q & A ON EGYPT REVOLT
  
• EGYPT - THE NEW IRAQ?
  
• WHO CONTROLS THE EGYPTIAN MILITARY? HISTORY OF MAN...
  
• US BACKS EGYPTIAN COUP
  
• WHAT THE USA REALLY THINKS ABOUT EGYPT
  
• CIA, MOSSAD & SOROS VERSUS MUBARAK
  

###

Sunday, January 30, 2011

The World is Watching - Egypt and Beyond




For the last couple of days the Al Jazeera live stream and Livestation have been overloaded with traffic and at least from my end virtually impossible to watch. I found this morning that the Dailymotion Al Jazerera feed is working fine so that may be an option if you're having problems.




I don't know the words to use but the Egyptian protests are exciting to put it mildly. The question remains will this be a revolution where the will of the masses prevail or end up as just a continuation of the U.S. and Israel's desire to divide the middle east and northern Africa into more easily manageable parts.

My feelings on this are best summed up from an anonymous comment at aangirfan:

"We should be skeptical. There might be two revolutions here. One merely a consolidation of power, and the second genuine. People around the world want to throw off their corrupt governments. I know I do. Our government no longer pretends to operate Constitutionally or uphold the law for all. Yet politics around the world keep providing these fake change moments - like our last election. It let's off just enough steam to appease, or confuse, the people so that no real change comes about."

One important thing to remember is that no matter how the U.S. administration, the CIA and other intelligence services are working to influence the ultimate outcome in Egypt, they are not omnipotent. They have money and power and allies but they are only human. The outcome of their agenda is in doubt. The people can have the power if they can just learn how to use it and see through the lies they are being fed. It requires taking chances.

Hillary Clinton seems to now be the mouthpiece of U.S. policy but has been speaking out of both sides of her mouth. Democracy is an Orwellian term when it comes from her globalist zio puppet tongue. As much as she tries to hide it, she is worried that the house of glass is going to break.

Hats off to the real Egyptians. Americans may one day take this page in history and learn from it.

Also see: Twelfth Bough ... Les Visible ... Facts Not Fairies ... Greg Bacon ... American Everyman ... WRH ... and others on the blog roll for viewpoints on what is happening. It is interesting times indeed.

Posted by kenny's sideshow at 2:00 PM 11 comments

[Magda Hassan]

This is all very strange. When Hillary spoke on CNN yesterday she did not seem her usual animated self. Something is off. Is it simply that our govt has been caught off guard, or something more?

I wouldn't be myself either if I had to stand before the world and talk bullshit.

Yes,Queen Hillary stands naked again. hock: And it ain't pretty.....

https://deeppoliticsforum.com/forums/sho...-and-Learn.

[Ed Jewett]

US Ammunition tells its own story

Posted on 31. Jan, 2011 by Raja Mujtaba in Hot Topics
[Translate]
American ammunition is available in abundance if the targets are the Muslims and their lands; be it Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen, Gaza, Tunisia and now Egypt.

By Yvonne Ridley
As people across Egypt continued resisting and rising against the brutal dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak it is quite clear they will not stop until he goes.
Quite clear to everyone, that is, apart from the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who is so out of touch with what is happening on the ground you have to wonder who on earth is advising her.
She appears to have no idea of the burning resentment and hatred held towards America among the ordinary men and women of Egypt. More than 100 have paid the blood price, so far, for standing up to the US backed tyrant Mubarak and two thousand others are injured.
It has been lost on no one that the empty shell casings from live ammunition and gas cannisters, which litter Tahrir Square and other streets across Egypt, were provided by the United States of America.
The "Made in the USA" empty shell casings tell their own story not just of the innocents they have killed, but of their origins and of America's deadly legacy of unwelcome foreign interference in the region.
The Egyptian people have been fed propaganda for 30 years, their evening news on State TV is sanitized and censored and many have been afraid to speak out freely under the US backed dictatorship of Mubarak.
But do not for one minute think the Egyptian people are stupid sadly the US has once again completely misread and underestimated an entire population.
These demonstrations are as much a protest against US meddling in their affairs as they are against the Mubarak regime.
Despite all of this Clinton showed not one ounce of compassion or humility when she made her latest blundering speech.
With the sensitivity of a bull in a china shop, she called for an orderly transition but only after heaping praise on the Mubarak government which has "made and kept peace with Israel avoiding violence, turmoil and death in the region."
She told ABC News: "Democracy, human rights and economic reform are in the best interests of the Egyptian people." These are the same people her own government ignored as they continued to fund and back Mubarak with billions of US tax payers dollars over the decades.
The BBC's North America editor Mark Mardell says Clinton's comments are a sign that the Obama administration is edging towards accepting, if not openly endorsing, an end to Mubarak's rule. The truth is Mark, the Egyptian people do not want any more US interference they do not want any more American weapons being used against them. America has no interest in the people of Egypt. Its only concern is for the man-made pariah state next door Israel.
Clinton has been so out of step since this whole turmoil began to erupt. Both she and Obama remained completely silent for four whole weeks as scores of Tunisians died in that uprising and it was only when their man, Zine El Abedine Ben Ali took flight that they condemned his brutality.
When Egypt threatened to kick off Clinton said assuredly that the country was "stable." That was a week ago and as she is beginning to learn, a week is a long time in politics. She says she wants democracy but what sort of democracy Hillary? The sort that sees another tyrant take power? Or are you really going to let the people decide?
And by the way, the people are beginning to rise and resist right across the Maghreb, throughout the Middle East and Asia. US Foreign Policy has turned America in to the most hated country in the world and if Washington really told their own people the truth,. I know the millions upon millions of decent US citizens would be horrified by what is being done in their name.
But the truth is the American people are kept well away from the truth and are among the most least informed people in the world today.
Few Americans have any idea that this and the previous Bush administrations do not want democracy in the region. In fact they have collectively punished the people of Gaza for exercising their democratic right by voting for a Hamas-dominated government.
This has not been lost on the Egyptian people Hillary who, by the way, have a great love for Palestine, a place in their heart for Gaza and an even deeper hatred and mistrust for the brutal Zionist State, which really does threaten peace and stability in the region.
As I write this F16 fighter jets and attack helicopters, made in America, are flying overhead to try and intimidate the Egyptian people. Too late there isn't an army in the world that can beat this peoples' army. Their fear has gone.
You ill-informed advisers won't tell you this Hillary, but I hate to see an empowered female make such a prat of herself, so here's a piece of advice. The time has come when you really must step back and take a vow of silence. Every time you open your mouth you are looking and sounding even more stupid than the female presenter on Egyptian State TV who assures us all is at peace with the world and the streets of Egypt are empty and calm.
Yvonne Ridley is the European President of the International Muslim Women's Union who came to fame when she ventured into Afghanistan after 9/11 and was captured by Taliban. Later released and then she studied Islam and became a Muslim. She is an activist, present everywhere against tyranny, injustice and oppression.
She is a regular contributor to Opinion Maker.

[Ed Jewett]

Israel urges world to curb criticism of Egypt's Mubarak

Jerusalem seeks to convince its allies that it is in the West's interest to maintain the stability of the Egyptian regime.

By Barak Ravid

Israel called on the United States and a number of European countries over the weekend to curb their criticism of President Hosni Mubarak to preserve stability in the region.
Jerusalem seeks to convince its allies that it is in the West's interest to maintain the stability of the Egyptian regime. The diplomatic measures came after statements in Western capitals implying that the United States and European Union supported Mubarak's ouster.
Mubarak, left, and Suleiman, center, seen on Egyptian state TV.
Photo by: AP Israeli officials are keeping a low profile on the events in Egypt, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even ordering cabinet members to avoid commenting publicly on the issue.
Senior Israeli officials, however, said that on Saturday night the Foreign Ministry issued a directive to around a dozen key embassies in the United States, Canada, China, Russia and several European countries. The ambassadors were told to stress to their host countries the importance of Egypt's stability. In a special cable, they were told to get this word out as soon as possible.
EU foreign ministers are to discuss the situation in Egypt at a special session today in Brussels, after which they are expected to issue a statement echoing those issued in recent days by U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Obama called on Mubarak to take "concrete steps" toward democratic reforms and to refrain from violence against peaceful protesters, sentiments echoed in a statement Saturday night by the leaders of Britain, France and Germany.
"The Americans and the Europeans are being pulled along by public opinion and aren't considering their genuine interests," one senior Israeli official said. "Even if they are critical of Mubarak they have to make their friends feel that they're not alone. Jordan and Saudi Arabia see the reactions in the West, how everyone is abandoning Mubarak, and this will have very serious implications."
Netanyahu announced at Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting that the security cabinet will convene Monday to discuss the situation in Egypt.
"The peace between Israel and Egypt has lasted for more than three decades and our objective is to ensure that these relations will continue to exist," Netanyahu told his ministers. "We are closely monitoring events in Egypt and the region and are making efforts to preserve its security and stability."
The Foreign Ministry has called on Israelis currently in Egypt to consider returning home and for those planning to visit the country to reconsider. It is telling Israelis who have decided to remain in Egypt to obey government directives.

More on this topic

• Assad: Syria in better position than Egypt since it has no ties with Israel
  
• Obama: Future Egypt gov't must respect the will of the people
  
• Mubarak tells new PM to cut prices, blames rioting on Islamists
  

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/new...k-1.340238