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Rallies supporting the Egyptian uprising are spreading, including this one in Australia today. (photo: Takver via Flickr)
This won’t be a big sweeping post about events unfolding in Egypt; it’ll be just enough to help you catch up this morning.
Rumors began after 1:00 a.m. EST that Hosni Mubarak had already fled to Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai Peninsula; rumors followed shortly thereafter that the Egyptian Army had moved into Sharm el-Sheikh as well. Such a move without the express consent of Israel would be a breach of the Camp David accords.
Al Jazeera Arabic’s license has been annulled and their coverage of events blocked by Nile TV satellite.
Egypt’s outgoing information minister had earlier “ordered the closure of all activities by Al Jazeera in the Arab republic of Egypt, and the annulment of its licenses, as well as withdrawing the press cards of all its employees,” the official MENA news agency said.
Al Jazeera’s Dan Nolan indicates they will continue to provide coverage anyhow as their Cairo bureau packs up. It remains to be seen how the White House will respond to this additional suppression of speech.
As you can see from the photo inset, rallies are popping up all over in support of the people’s uprising in Egypt. Sizable rallies happened in the U.S. yesterday, including one in front of the White House, this one about 14 hours ago in Boston and this one about 18 hours ago in San Francisco.
More immediate ominous signs of things to come:
Preparations are being made by the U.S. and Turkey as well as other middle eastern countries to evacuate their citizens in Egypt to other locations in Europe.
Reports are popping up across Twitter that fighter jets are now flying over Tahir Square in Cairo.
We’ll have more coverage throughout the day.
Oh, forgot to add this bit of goodness: Seems the Guardian-UK must not have an editor watching traffic of articles publishing over the weekend, given this piece which published yesterday promoting Cairo as a vacation destination. We hear it’s warm there this time of year.
136 Comments
Good Morning, Rayne
It doesn’t have to be “sweeping”, but, maybe a little weeping is understandable. Thanks for the latest info.
Jet fighters? Like there’s not enough chaos and anger already. Somehow I don’t think the Egyptian citizens in the street will go home just because of the fighters. We’re all watching, and as you said, holding our breath.
“given this piece which published yesterday promoting Cairo as a vacation destination.”
Hey, it’s not every day one gets to be part of revolution while on vacation. Now, where’d I put my sign making stuff?
I do not think this will end well. I hope I am wrong but you have to know Israel is hysterical and Mubarak is calling in all his chips from the US.
But what an inspiration these young men in the streets are. It does give hope in the arc of history.
Who gives a rat’s ass what Israel thinks?
You have to wonder what the people in the Iranian embassy are thinking.
A very interesting comment posted by Sybille at Siun’s thread:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/jan/30/egypt-protests-live-updates#block-31
At least 20,000 protesters in Tahrir square now, it’s absolutlely packed. Two fighter jets have been flying overhead for the last 10 minutes – people are cheering the flyovers.
They’re chanting “we will not leave until he leaves” and “long live the crescent together with the cross.” There are judges, independent journalists, the Muslim Brotherhood, the National Association for Change, April 6th movement – all standing together and leading the chants.
***
Muslims and Christians standing together. Wow! It’s amazing to me how sometimes it takes a crisis for people to outgrow old prejudices. Opportunities abound.
It would be interesting to know what the guards are doing at the crossings into Gaza.
Rayne, is it possible to put up a post from the front page rather than from MyFDL? Nested comments are really tough to follow when there are frequent updates. Not trying to pick on anyone here, just thought I would ask…
great thanks for all the great reporting.. far superior to our corporate media. i feel bad for those watching out MSM, they are missing the revolution
I’m interested in hearing your theory as to why the police split. Something to do with the cabinet being fired?
AJELive AJELive
#Egypt army has just told the crowd gathering at Tahrir Square that military will not go against the people #Jan25 #aljazeera
3 minutes ago
Sorry, phred, using MyFDL for this catch-all because it allows the post to hang around longer. Posts on front page at FDL drop off more quickly.
Amazing. I can’t help but think that this is a domino…that like the domino theory of democracy…we are facing a crucial time in the “global market”. We are deciding all over this earth what kind of “market” it is going to be. It feels like all of us…in it together…need to cheer for people willing to risk their lives for a better government. Only this is happening not in China (the student in Tienneman square) but in countries where it’s possible. That’s where it has to happen. When elections aren’t trusted, when laws aren’t being followed, we are only a few steps away from having to wrestle the power back. We should always look for non violent means first but the whole point of democracy is to keep “those means” in our hands. If we have lost them…we need to band together and act as the majority we are.
Al Jazeera reporting that Israel is offering Mubarak asylum, after Saudi Arabia refused. Would confirm the Sharm el Sheikh rumor.
SD, to reply to your question above, the US cares what Israel thinks. I think as long as the US waffles, Mubarak will assume he has free rein. That could prove to be very dangerous for everyone.
Maybe we are witnessing the fall of a government like when the Soviet Union fell apart. But maybe we are witnessing the prelude to a severe military crackdown like Hungary back in, what was it, 1956? We don’t know yet…
Thanks Rayne. I didn’t figure it would hurt to ask : )
The security forces have used force and intimidation for decades. Now that the people are no longer afraid of them they’ve run away. I remember seeing a few young men disarm a policeman with what appeared to be a shotgun and running him off.
Well I’m not SouthernDragon but my own theory is simple. Purely self preservation. The police in Egypt have never been popular and a lot of that anger is being vented right now.
If that’s true, it’s good news. We’re still getting word on what’s happening. Thanks.
This is fascinating – how to help Egyptians communicate;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/29/how-to-help-egypt-get-online_n_815880.html#s232601&title=Anonymous
Talks about Tor – anonymous blogging – so i went to their website and saw that govt and journalists and whistleblowers use Tor. Does anyone here use it?
Booyah!!!! If the troops on the ground disobey orders to disperse the crowds, etc it’s all over but the shouting.
I certainly don’t. However our government has for 60 years been compliant in pursuing policies in the ME at their pleasure. Serious question. Would Israel and American Jewry be passive if we support the revolution?
We all abhor the tactics of AQ and violence of any kind when taken up in resolving conflicts. But we are and paying the price of our support of Israel against the interests of segment of the Arab world. IMO we stand to see more whatever direction our policy takes.
Just another example of how the experts can only think that tomorrow will be exactly like yesterday, just more so. When there is a true break, it is unpredictable and unforseen by the insiders, and the people who believe in their expertise are left ginning up conspiracy theories to explain why it all happened differently.
If that’s true, it’s all over for Mubarak.
SD & Margaret
Thanks. There are so many questions in my head. Who’s going to lead the country once Mubarak finds asylum? With all the parallels between the corruption there and here, how will the citizens react when the discover “democracy” is not always the answer? Probably a lot of the same questions other people have.
Thankfully the US govt is powerless here and they know it. If Israel gives asylum to Mubarak the people of Egypt will condemn Israel and if Jordon can’t keep its people from copying Egypt Israel will have zero nations in the Middle East on it’s side, regardless of how much pressure the US puts on Egypt or Jordon.
The “experts” speak only to the status quo.
Tell Hysterical Pat Buchanan that he was terrified the Muslim Brotherhood was going to take over. Nobody on the show except the new girl would listen that there are other parties in Egypt besides Mubarak and the Brotherhood.
I wonder if the Muslim Brotherhood inspired the name Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the X-Men Comic?
re: mubarak shutting down AJ bureau–remember that US essentially did the same thing in Baghdad by dropping a couple of bombs on the AJ office.
Everything that Obama has done so far is aimed at salvaging Mubarak’s regime. Wouldn’t count on anything US does from here out to be particularly constructive or helpful.
They could be fleeing the country I don’t think an of them want to face trial for torture.
Sorry any of them not an of them
Yes, Tor allows anonymous access to the internet and is key in the unofficial reporting for places where people are under threat. You can help by setting up an exit node (connections to the outside) to service the overwhelming need from the world for free access, but there are some risks. This is not something you want to go into without some study, but it is desperately needed.
Check out:
http://www.torproject.org/
and I highly recommend:
https://blog.torproject.org/blog/tips-running-exit-node-minimal-harassment
to get started
Can’t verify the source, but there are claims that the govt. is behind the looting.
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/eyewitnesses-say-state-sponsoring-vandalism
I don’t use Tor but I asked the tech guys at my university (I’m retired now) and some of them use it and other similar things. IIRC it is anonymous web use, not just blogging but makes sites you visit anonymous too.
..and they are everyone’s neighbor..
Juan Cole’s site is back up. I didn’t try many times yesterday, but it was down for awhile in the morning and some people here suspected “foul play” (Internet variety) by the Egyptian government. I skimmed back through his posts from later yesterday and there was no mention, so I’m guessing a tech glitch.
Without a doubt. As one protester said, he’s no longer the Pres.
Yep. That’s old news though.
Mubarak goes to Israel well he is a hated Arab dictator every Arab ruled by a Arab dictator in their own countries will look funny at their own leaders remember hate of Israel has been pushed by all these governments in part to keep their own people accepting of their misery.
The Arab people will now realize that they have been played Israel is not the enemy. Israel works with their leaders to play them.
I expect more riots in other arab countries if this rumor is true. I do not know what the WH is thinking bringing Mubarak to Israel this is horrible PR with domino theory consequences.
AJ seems not to be listening I think they still maybe mad about Bagdad and know that Bush’s Middle East legacy gets trashed by this.
Robert Fisk, who writes for the Independent/UK, is in Egypt, and I think he does a really excellent job of describing what is going on. His latest column, “Egypt: Death Throes of a Dictatorship,” puts you right on the streets, IMO.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/30-1
Two things about Israel: You’re spot on and they probably will do exactly the worst thing they can possibly do, which is to offer Mubarak asylum. They learned well at the knee of the United States. Waving their dick in defiance is always preferable to doing the right, or even the smart thing.
Had a great rally in NYC yesterday near the UN. Some pictures here: http://judgejuryexhibitioner.blogspot.com/2011/01/egyptian-democracy-solidarity-rally-at.html
I agree that the nesting of responses is a hassle and am therefore reposting my response to SD– slightly modified.
I certainly don’t (give a rat’s ass what Israel thinks.). However our government has for 60 years been compliant in pursuing policies in the ME at their pleasure.
Serious questions. Would Israel and American Jewry be passive if we support the revolution? How wold they respond?
We all abhor the tactics of AQ and violence of any kind when taken up in resolving conflicts, and I don’t defend those who do.. But we are and will be paying the price of our support of Israel against the interests of segments of the Arab world. IMO we stand to see more violence whatever direction our policy takes.
Since when has Israel cared what the White House thinks? Our Middle East policy has been dictated to us from Israel for decades now.
demi,
Was it you that said yesterday that the U.S. paid for the Egyptian air fleet to the tune of 10 million dollars and provides regular maintenance on this fleet?
I am sorry if I got it wrong, but I was really p!$$ed about that when our govt is thinking of cuts to make to our poor and disadvantaged, and lets not forget the elderly and veterans.
Not surprisingly CNN keeps pushing the line about prisoners being freed with no context or mention of the fact that thousands of prisoners are political. Think about it, why would you want to free a bunch of thieves, murderers and rapists to roam your neighborhood?, but than again CNN does’nt think.
It ain’t over until Suleman and the rest of the cronies are removed. He’s scarier than Mubarak.
in Suez. (BBC World Service, five minutes ago.)
A pattern is emerging in the cities of Egypt today:-
The regular police have withdrawn;
The jails have been emptied, apparently by the authorities;
‘Looters’ and ‘criminals’ have been rioting while carrying
government IDs.
In response, residents and shopkeeper have set up check points
and defense groups in consultation with the Egyptian Army.
Cell phones and the Internet are still cut off.
No transcript yet
Live: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/audioconsole/?stream=…
Exactly. bugga f’ing bugga 24/7/365
The Mclaughlin show is Cognitive Dissonance central they claim that Tunisia and Egypt were Inspired by the attempted CIA backed revolution in Iran so of course Bush gets the credit.
They mention only briefly no jobs like Lefty concerns are an afterthought they can’t think about.
Then they rant about the Muslim Brotherhood and ignore the idea of other parties and the majority of the protesters being young and not in the Brotherhood.
Of course no mention of Bush getting the credit for that. Although Bush and every American President by supporting Mubarak and giving him weapons helped oppress Egypt and that oppression caused this to happen.
Crowd in Tahrir Square chanting that Egypt is a client of Israel. Via AJE.
Been traveling, so it’s been a bit hard to keep up.
Yes; we were calling it Freedom Domino Theory on a thread yesterday. There’s a photo of a woman holding a sign to that effect that was up on the Guradian coverage yesterday.
Maybe it’s mostly the unemployed police thugs that are the looters.
it was me
Us taxpayers give Mubarak some 1 point something billion(yes with a B) each year just for his military. No wonder they are slow to turn on him(Mubarak).
Old news? I just wrote it up. Huffpo was claiming all night in red font that it was looting, didn’t mention the false flag bits. Made it seem anarchical. Bullshit.
I thought it was the Government trying to create crime because the protesters were not rioting and giving an excuse for a crackdown. CNN gave me no context but yes Egypt has tons of political prisoners and now some of them get to go home Snoopy Dance!
Al-Jazeera accuses US of bombing its Kabul office
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2001/nov/17/warinafghanistan2001.afghanistan
CNN…jets…threat or football game…shows muscle…Oh stop it.
I think they heard the rumor Mubarak went to Israel too I think my theory of how this news will effect the other Arab States might soon be proved.
Huffpo is where the Fox/CNN rightwing crowd now goes. Anything that comes out of HuffPo now must be read with caution, if it is to be read at all.
Not CNN…Face the Nation…what am I blabbing about.
Yes not the prisoners mostly political who are released the police need money to flee the country and wait are they all going to Israel?
Iraq offers to evacuate its citizens living in Egypt for free.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/AP/Search/World/Default.aspx?id=1285202
turn off Chicken Noodle News ,with Lesley Blitzer paid AIPAC liar
However, the FreeWayBlogger signs actually are quite international, aren’t they?
all US corporate media are Liars…they even fired KO
But our poor and disadvantaged DESERVE to be they way they are because they haven’t followed the principles of Ayn Rand the way REAL Americans are supposed to.
CNN was bragging yesterday that while Egypt could cut off the internet such a thing would be impossible in America. We spy on our internet and if Bush can get the Net companies to let the government do that then pulling the plug is no big deal.
And CNN wonders why they are down in the ratings.
Any official confirmation that Mubarak’s wife and 2 sons are in London?
I don’t buy any of the news…I watch to be able to know what lies they are telling the people here. There was footage of the square and the jets..I’m not going to ignore the propaganda..I want to witness it so that I can tell others who don’t watch what they are saying.
I stopped watching CNN coverage yesterday when Wolf Blitzer tried to inject Al Qaeda into the conversation twice in a half hour. I don’t know if he kept that up after I turned it off but both of the people who he brought that up to seemed incredulous that he even mentioned them and of course told him that AQ was not in any way involved. I wish I had AJ as part of my basic cable.
Of course it will be free. The US taxpayers will get that bill.
I sent ‘em a nastygram yesterday saying how awful their coverage was and what a sorry excuse for a news organization they are. Won’t change anything but at least some low level staffer knows how I feel.
I read it from several sources yesterday. So, old news.
Precisely, the lawlessness the released create gives justification for a crackdown.
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/eyewitnesses-say-state-sponsoring-vandalism
And MSNBC has been doggedly keeping up their prison of the week weekend. US “news” media is about as lame as it gets.
Very good interview with ElBaradei…calling out US.
I think the only way you can get AJ in the U.S. is via internet. I’m not aware of any cable that carry it, but it’s been a long time since I’ve checked.
Is the army aware that at least some of the lawlessness is being instigated by the government?
You get Combat Duty recognition for keeping tabs on that for the rest of us.
good plan
Wolf is a hack who pushes his own anti Arab pro Israel bias. He thinks he knows the facts and the facts never change so why research a story first since he is convinced he already knows everything.
Normally we see this behavior in the McLaughlin Group and the other Righty News.
PBS is a liberal tv station the Right says but Mclaughlin and most of the group though Macaca would not hurt Allen when he ran for President, Pat Buchanan the defender of exiled Nazi immigrants sneaking into the United States is a regular but PBS is a Lefty Network. PBS gave Tucker a show.
Where was the interview. AJ just reported some highlights from it. It sounded good.
If it’s for saving lives instead of snuffing them, I’ll be glad to pick up the tab.
yes, “know thy enemy” It’s hard but I force myself to check in on Redstate, Powerline, etc once an awhile just to…. (maybe assure myself I’m keeping an open mind?)
Must-hear audio from two Guardian reporters in a make-shift hospital in Cairo. There is some live fire going on, although it’s not entirely clear to me who is firing – army or security forces? The eyewitness reporting is excellent:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/audio/2011/jan/30/egypt-middleeast
Yeah I haven’t watched the McLaughlin Group in a long time. Even Elanor Clift is a kool aid drinker and when they put Monica Crowley on, it was enough for me to flush them away.
If I had a choice I’d get AJ and give up Fox News in a heartbeat. I wonder how many African Americans, Gays, Hispanics, Women, Lefties etc would feel the same? America needs to have the choice of what cable channels they pay for we should not be forced to buy Fox News/Mein Kampf.
ElBaradei also said U.S. policy in Egypt was “losing credibility.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/30/us-egypt-usa-elbaradei-idUSTRE70T21M20110130
It was on Face the Nation..at least that’s the one I saw.
Quite likely to me you can have both the gov. releasing thugs for chaos and people freeing political prisoners, don’t have to be either/or.
Thanks.
Elanor is a paid to take a dive fake Liberal like Juan Williams she is a Surrendercrat. Monica is interesting though its interesting to see the GOP’s hire a blond no matter how stupid to say what the GOP talking points plan.
The Plan has been in action for over ten years but the GOP just can’t seem to use the blonds to expand past their own crazy base.
Also its interesting to see that young GOP minds of the future read talking points, they don’t deviate from the GOP line of their elders, there is no independence, no evidence of off topic rants, no ad libbing.
There is no future, no new ideas are being generated by their young.
The last I checked there were two cable outlets carrying Al Jazeera; one in Toledo OH and the other in Burlington, VT. (per PC World).
You’re so hip. Maybe more than others. Maybe people were doing other things? Slack, babe. Still love you. \
Know that we all have different takes/experiences on things. K?
From AJE. The opposition groups have announced that they’ve asked Elbaradei to head a transitional govt.
OMG Flattered to have been misidentified as you.
Ok then we can expect this to be over in a day or two?
Nooooooo, I don’t think so.
Wolf Blitzer is dumber than dirt. He’s only on CNN to be a shill for AIPAC. Did anyone catch the show when he was on Celebrity Jeopardy? Like I said, dumber than dirt.
http://gawker.com/5362580/wolf-blitzer-lost-on-jeopardy
Sounds like good news to me.
Hillary saying over and over, support the people…
Engel..army still in power. Not saying Mubarak in power. Looting is the current problem.
Engel..army clearly not having been order to attack protesters…conflict between army and Mubarak rumor. Not clear if there will be a military coup.
No she’s not. She’s shallow and uninformed and spews the worst kind of conservative doctrinaire bullshit. I find her about as interesting as bread mold and only a tenth as palatable.
Al Jazeera is now saying the crowds are calling for Mubarak to be hung (instead of just leaving as before) Now that’s how you bargain!
US trying to give Mubarak’s reign an end with “dignity”..talking point word. “smooth transition” etc.
That’s why he’s really stupid if he’s still in Egypt (which I doubt he is).
Mubarak should have left gracefully but since he has desperately tried to cling to power, he’s lost any chance to retire with dignity.
I’m pretty sure I just heard David Gregory ask Mitch McConnell, “So you’re okay with either Mubarek or the Muslim Brotherhood in power?”
Sick framing. And very damaging to the movement.
Absurd.
Funny seeing the flashes from cell phone cameras in Tahrir Square.
Dish network carries it, as part of Link tv
There’s no way either Gregory or Granny could have any effect on what’s happening in Egypt.
So who here thinks the US government is less broken than the one in Egypt?
When this is all over, they are gonna have one helluva partay…
crickets
The people’s minds are less broken in Egypt.
Well, next are Martin Indyk and Shoot-me-and-ship-my-body-to-Canada-please Tom Friedman. Arrrrgggghhhh!
They may not have an effect except framing the revolution as being driven by Islamists s profane.
i just bought a point and shoot Kodak camera,with HD VIDEO…the REVOL will be televised
crickets? I didn’t even hear crickets
Yep. Just about all of the US “news” media are doing the same. It’s always black and white for them isn’t it? Either our despot or an Islamic despot. Because they are brown people and entirely incapable of governing their own affairs.
I haven’t read all the comments, so perhaps this has been mentioned. Democracy Now! flew in their report Sharif Kouddous yesterday. His tweets are pretty exciting. Good on Democracy Now!. Pray he remains safe, though his tweets do not reflect that he seems or feels in danger in any way.
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2011/1/29/sharif_kouddous_reporting_live_from_cairo_egypt
and Muslims are all terrorist.
Sometimes I worry about us and the way we perceive things. Most of Egypt lives on less than two dollars a day. For all of the problems we are having, we aren’t nearly as bad off as they nor have we been suffering nearly as long. I have no doubt that someday a tipping point will come if we stay on this path. Maybe sooner or maybe later but comparing conditions in the United States to the conditions that most Egyptians have been living under is not a real good analogy.
Amon on Al Jazeera reporting that Muslim Brotherhood supports ElBaradei leading the oppostion to negotiate a new government with Mubarek.
Couple few links I just found:
http://warisacrime.org/content/audio-phonecall-protester-egypt-just-recorded
&
http://www.huliq.com/3257/egyptian-army-appears-taking-side-citizens-reports
&
Two looters caught with police ID cards. They were apparently secret police
http://www.talksy.com/89579/two-looters-caught-with-police-id-cards-they-were-apparently-secret-police
I didn’t compare the material conditions of the people, I wondered aloud about the relative brokenness of the two governments.
At the same time, it appears that the distribution of income in the USA is more unequal than it is in Egypt, as measured by the Gini score:
http://econproph.com/2011/01/29/income-inequality-worse-in-us-than-egypttunisia/
I largely agree about the relative brokeness of the governments. I wasn’t disputing that. I was pointing out that more or less comfortable people can’t be expected to start a revolution. It just doesn’t happen.
Sorry I wasn’t clear. :)
Siun is liveblogging upstairs
I’d like also to say that I’ve read this web site long enough to find your comments quite moving.
What amazes me is how quickly a government that has defied the will of its people be various forms of lying, corruption, and abuse of power can lose credibility so definitively.
I meant, “by” various forms of…
And no worries, Margaret. :) I think the question of economic motivation vs. political motivation is really interesting.
Regarding Sharm el-Sheikh rumors. There are reports Israel has allowed Egyptian military to move into the North Sinai versus the Camp David accords. This may have more to do with riots in the North Sinai and issues at the Gaza border than Mubarek moving around, but …