Egyptians Reject the Tyrannical Status Quo

While Tahrir Square in Cairo remains the focus for pro-democracy protest, strikes to protest the Egyptian dictatorial regime are rolling across the fertile Nile Delta – even musicians are on strike.

Revolutionary rapper Lowkey comments:

“These democracy activists, as we speak that are in Liberation Square, are having their pictures taken by the State Security and State Television and by media all over the world and those activists are being targeted. They are being targeted with the full support of the United States. What the United States is trying to do at this stage is maintain the status quo, but change the face. They want a more acceptable face to the exact same status quo and the people are rejecting that status quo.”

While the US puts more stopgap suggestions to the Mubarak/Suleiman regime, Wael Ghonim expresses the wishes of the protesters. Move over, Malcolm Gladwell, here’s Wael Ghonim on the Egyptian Internet Revolution 2.0.

Egypt Links

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Wael Ghonim: Negotiation days with Mubarak are over
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Musicians’ Union protest
US sets parameters for Egypt

Suleiman was quoted on Sunday as suggesting Egypt was not ready for democracy and a government statement said the emergency law would be lifted “according to the security conditions” — a phrase giving the authorities wide latitude.

As Egyptians staged one of their biggest anti-Mubarak protests yet, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs described Suleiman’s comments about democracy as “unhelpful.”

Mubarak, under pressure from more than two weeks of unprecedented demonstrations, has said he will not seek re-election in September but has refused to resign.

After Biden spoke to Suleiman by telephone on Tuesday, the White House issued a statement listing four steps the United States wants Egypt to take:

1. “Restraining the Ministry of Interior’s conduct by immediately ending the arrests, harassment, beating, and detention of journalists, and political and civil society activists, and by allowing freedom of assembly and expression;

2. “immediately rescinding the emergency law;

3. “broadening participation in the national dialogue to include a wide range of opposition members; and,

4. “inviting the opposition as a partner in jointly developing a roadmap and timetable for transition.”

#Jan25 Telecommunication workers on strike
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“The President emphasized the importance of taking immediate steps toward an orderly transition that is meaningful, lasting, legitimate, and responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people.

“The President also reaffirmed the long-term commitment of the United States to peace and security in the region.”

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is under siege after days of raging street protest is known to be close to King Abdullah, who has condemned efforts by what he said were “intruders” to interfere with Egypt’s stability.

‘We Focused Too Much on the Rulers’ – patronising EU racism about the arab revolt in Egypt
Richard Cohen: Egyptian democracy will be “a nightmare” – US racism against the arab revolt
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Sheridan, faithful shill for Israel, lies and drums up fear of the MB in Murdoch gutter press
WikiLeaks: Suleiman told Israel he would ‘cleanse’ Sinai of arms runners to Gaza
The Revolt in Egypt is Coming Home – John Pilger
Hamas says Egypt ex-minister tied to church attack
The minister had tried to blame the bombing on a Palestinian group associated with AQ
Egyptian military & regime systematic discrimination against Copts
Prosecution investigates Interior Minister’s alleged involvement in church attack
Egypt says military intervention on table
J Street says it invited boycott advocate to its conference so as to pillory her

Palestine / Israel Links

The Palestine Papers, or How Everything You Thought You Knew about the Peace Process Was Wrong
Al Arakib villagers beaten and gassed as they protest the 16th demolition of their homes
Well Gideon, the poor people of Egypt may be ignorant in your view, but they are not stupid, nor ignorant of the scam that is pulled on them by their regime at the behest of imperialism.
AICafe 11.2: Practical Advocacy, BDS Actions in Europe
Israel bombs medical aid warehouse in Gaza EXCLUSIVE PICTURES
Education in East Jerusalem: A Prohibited Democratic Right
Center: Woman detained en route to brother’s cell
UK physician to TAU: Discipline pro-boycott academics
U.S. reaffirms commitment to Israel’s security
Center: Expired food at Israel prison
Temporary ban on Palestinians entering Egypt
Students protest Israeli diplomat Khaldi in Edinburgh
The glib ambassador – The Israeli envoy in Britain is wrong to condemn student protests
Israeli war criminal Barak whines about Egyptian democracy protests to Obama
Will Egypt Protests Boost Israel’s Budding Energy Market?
‘Army of Shadows’ Hillel Cohen
Wikileaks: The economic reasons behind the siege on Gaza
Personal data decision set to boost EU-Israel trade

Wikileaks Links

2011-02-09 Wikileaks responds to one of the Wikileaks tell all books

Other Links

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Torturing Democracy
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Ultraracism == Ultrazionism

Palestine / Israel Links

Louis Theroux’s “Ultra-Zionists”: A chance to see what we’re up against

Bottom line – it’s a great watch, maybe even important. Particularly for viewers abroad. Because these nutters, who are a handful of extremists, are calling the shots in the West Bank today. And they can do whatever they want because government after government in Israel allows them to. And guess who allows those Israeli governments to do that? American president after American president.

This whole thing is worth watching, if only to get to the last minute of it. It’s when Louis interviews for the final time Daniel Luria, of the right wing movement Ateret Cohanim, which settles Jews in East Jerusalem. “There’s Jewish life in united Jerusalem”, he says to Louis as he looks him in the eye, “and there’s nothing – nothing – that you or the world can do about it. Nothing”.

That’s it in a nutshell. But if I may slightly correct Luria’s observation: the world has never tried to do anything about it to begin with. They’re enablers.

Hopefully, some viewers abroad will finally take responsibility and try to change that.

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11 Palestinians wounded by Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip

Gaza, Feb. 9 (BNA) Eleven Palestinians were wounded in Israeli fighter jets attacks, the F 16 attacked several targets in Gaza Strip earlier today.
According to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) nine citizens including two women and four children were taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital after the missile attack on a workshop in north-east of Gaza. The bombing caused severe damage on a carpentry store leading it to burst into fire, as well as a pharmaceutical storehouse that belonged to the Health Ministry. The fighter jets targeted several other locations of Gaza, including a farming land east of Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, fishermen and west of Khan Younis. MYZ/E M.

Friends of Israel should thank Ronald Reagan
U.K. urges Israel to tone down ‘belligerent’ rhetoric amid Mideast uprisings – Hague refers to the fake peace process? what a joke.
BDS promises a just peace, unlike current US strategy
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Egypt Links

Why Egypt will never be an Islamic state
Lazarus the Computer Riseth (with photos)!
Omar Suleiman, “Egypt’s Torturer-in-Chief,” Tied to False Iraq WMD Tortured “Intel”
Hasty’ reforms will lead to chaos: Egypt
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Egyptians remain stalwart in defiance
Allies Press U.S. to Go Slow on Egypt
Egypt VP: Protests must end soon
Obama’s man in Cairo
Why Egypt will never be an Islamic state
U.S. lawmakers now back Egypt aid

Influential U.S. lawmakers have eased their threats to cut aid to Egypt, reflecting a growing consensus in Washington for preserving U.S. leverage with Egypt’s powerful military amid the country’s civil upheaval.

The shift comes as Obama administration officials, the Pentagon and powerful pro-Israel groups in Washington urge continued aid to Egypt, about $1.5 billion a year, mostly in military assistance.

Although protesters in Cairo are demanding that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resign immediately, the Obama administration is urging a more gradual reform process, headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman, that would allow Mubarak to remain in office for now.

U.S. officials believe the military should play a crucial role in that process and deserves continued support. Pro-Israel groups fear that a loss of aid could jeopardize Israel’s security.

Just last week, a chorus of lawmakers backed protesters’ demands for Mubarak’s resignation, and some called for an aid freeze to force changes.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had earlier said “all options are on the table,” including aid cuts. But in an interview Tuesday, he said that now “is just not the right time to threaten that.”

McCain said he was concerned that a reduction in aid might affect Egypt’s willingness to cooperate with Israel.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees foreign aid, declared last week that he would not vote for aid to Egypt, adding that he knew no lawmaker who would.

This week, however, Leahy appeared to soften his position, saying through a spokesman that he would oppose any new aid “until the situation is resolved.”

White House officials said earlier in the crisis that they would review the aid if the Mubarak government didn’t move promptly toward political reform. But within a few days, officials clarified that they weren’t considering cuts to aid.

Administration officials are trying to preserve their relationship with the military, which they see as vital for carrying out political reforms.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates praised the Egyptian military Tuesday for its restraint and emphasized the need for the Egyptian government to move at a “steady pace” to enact promised reforms.

The Arab Nationalist Reawakening in Egypt and Beyond
Live blog Feb 9 – Egypt protests

Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s vice president, tells ABC news that Egypt currently lacks the necessary “culture of democracy” for the changes demanded by protesters.

The White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has called his comments “particularly unhelpful”.

Suleiman also blamed the protests for paralysing the Egyptian economy. “The big presence in Tahrir Square and some of the satellite stations which insult Egypt … make citizens hesitant to go to work,” he said.

Suleiman added: “We cannot bear this situation for a long time and we must end this crisis as soon as possible”.

The western companies propping up Mubarak’s Egypt regime
The Egyptian revolution establishes a new social contract and values by Nawal El Saadawi –

“This is such a gala for all of us, for all of us, the festival of freedom, dignity, justice, creativity and rebellion.” “A young man named Ahmed Galal said, “We are a popular revolt that establishes a new social contract, not just demands, and our slogan of this revolution is ‘equality of freedom of social justice.’ The people who made this revolution are the ones who should put the rules for the new governance, choose the transitional government, select a National Committee to change the constitution, the committee of wise men of the revolution, so as not to allow opportunists (the owners of wealth and power) to impose on us committees of wise men who did not participate with us in this revolt.”

Robert Fisk: Week 3, day 16, and with every passing hour, the regime digs in deeper
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Wael Ghonim – a new face of Egypt’s revolution
The Muslim Brotherhood uncovered
Anzalone: The Muslim Brotherhood Myth
Egypt: New accreditation rules; military obstructs media
The Egyptian Army: also known as the surrenderers
WikiLeaks: Israel’s secret hotline to the man tipped to replace Mubarak

Mr Suleiman, who is widely tipped to take over from Hosni Mubarak as president, was named as Israel’s preferred candidate for the job after discussions with American officials in 2008.

As a key figure working for Middle East peace, he once suggested that Israeli troops would be “welcome” to invade Egypt to stop weapons being smuggled to Hamas terrorists in neighbouring Gaza.

What will become of Israel if Mubarak falls? – Israeli hasbara
Israel and the Palestine Papers: An Exercise in Etymology

The Palestine papers are groundbreaking documents in more than one way. They show that Palestinian negotiators approached the negotiations with a set of serious propositions. But they not only demonstrate that Israel in fact has a partner for peace talks—they also present Israel with a choice. Indeed, Israel can either reclaim its democratic values and drop the transfer plan, or it can drop the pretenses and assert its position as the regional peace refuser.

A Friendship of Values, Not Convenience – hasbara drivel

Wikileaks Links

US air force backtracks over WikiLeaks ban

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The Empire Dithers

Whilst the US will strive to ensure that a government friendly to imperialism and neocolonial interests will continue in Egypt, P. J. Crowley defined the stance of the US early after the beginning of the mass demonstrations in Tahrir Square and elsewhere in Egypt.

Crowley… on the 26/1:

‘We are monitoring the situation in Egypt closely. The United States supports the fundamental right of expression and assembly for all people. All parties should exercise restraint, and we call on the Egyptian authorities to handle these protests peacefully.

As Secretary Clinton said in Doha, people across the Middle East – like people everywhere – are seeking a chance to contribute and to have a role in the decisions that will shape their lives. We want to see reform occur, in Egypt and elsewhere, to create greater political, social, and economic opportunity consistent with people’s aspirations. The United States is a partner of Egypt and the Egyptian people in this process, which we believe should unfold in a peaceful atmosphere.

We have raised with governments in the region the need for reforms and greater openness and participation in order to respond to their people’s aspirations – and we will continue to do so.’

Initially the Israel FM said “We are closely monitoring the events, but we do not interfere in the internal affairs of a neighboring state.”

While in Haaretz:

‘Israel expects the Egyptian government to weather the protests roiling the country and to remain in power, an Israeli Cabinet minister said Thursday, providing Israel’s first official assessment of the crisis affecting its powerful southern neighbor.’

‘Eli Shaked, a former Israeli ambassador to Cairo, said it is in Israel’s interest for Mubarak’s regime to survive since the alternatives, ranging from an Islamic government to the secular opposition, would be far less friendly to the Jewish state.

“I am very much afraid that that they wouldn’t be as committed to peace with Israel, and that would be bad for Egypt, bad for Israel and bad for the U.S. and the West in general,” he said.’

Once Nutanyahoo determined a racist angle would be most powerful, off he went. (I really loathe quoting Judith Miller at Foxnews, but still)

‘Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Mubarak by phone early in the crisis, the Israeli press reported, assuring him of Israel’s continuing support. Netanyahu, breaking almost a week of silence about the mass protests and riots sweeping Egypt, on Monday warned Islamic extremists could well fill a political vacuum and threaten the peace between the two nations.

And we now have a divergence appearing in the US ranks, with ex-CIA special US envoy Wisner spouting a more Israel friendly line, to the annoyance of Crowley:

‘Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak must stay in power for the time being to steer changes needed for political transition, U.S. President Barack Obama’s special envoy for Egypt said on Saturday.

“We need to get a national consensus around the pre-conditions for the next step forward. The president must stay in office to steer those changes,” Frank Wisner told the Munich Security Conference.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Wisner “didn’t coordinate” his comments with the administration, and he was not in officially representing the U.S. following his trip to Cairo ‘

Obama yesterday:

‘He said the United States can’t force anything on Mr. Mubarak, but said that “what we can do is we can say, the time is now for you to start making change in that country.”’

Is the US is having a bet each way? Certainly, they are certainly dithering.

If the US cut off military aid, would the army immediately side with the people whom they should be defending and not the regime?

It’s extremely dangerous imho for dissenters if either Mubarak or Suleiman or another of the NDP camp continue to lead until elections are held, as these strongmen thenwould have ample opportunity to crack down further. There would also be more potential for the forthcoming elections to remain sham or be delayed and for opposition parties to be repressed and banned once more. All for in the name of ‘stability and security’, of course.

Emboldened by concessions from the regime and admant upon Mubarak’s departure, the protestors remain in Tahrir Square for the week of resistance. Obama is realistic about the Muslim Brotherhood though does not demand Mubarak leave immediately. Hillary Clinton channels Crowley’s earlier statements about Wisner:

The US President yesterday described the Muslim Brotherhood as well organised with strains of anti-US ideology, but dismissed the group as just one faction. “They don’t have majority support in Egypt,” Mr Obama said.

Optimistic about Egypt’s future after days of turmoil, the President said he was confident the US could work with the country’s next government after elections. “What I want is a representative government in Egypt,” he told Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly. “I have confidence that if Egypt moves in an orderly transition process, we will have a government in Egypt that we can work with together as a partner.”

He stopped short of saying Mr Mubarak should quit immediately, as protesters demand, but insisted transition start now.

“Egypt is not going to go back to what it was,” he said. “The Egyptian people want freedom. They want free and fair elections. They want a representative government. They want a responsive government.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rushed to distance the administration from comments by former US envoy to Egypt Frank Wisner, who delivered a message on Mr Obama’s behalf urging Mr Mubarak to step aside only a week ago.

Mr Wisner created confusion when he said Mr Mubarak’s leadership remained “utterly critical” during the transition and that he should remain in office until September. Mrs Clinton said Mr Wisner “does not speak for the American government. He does not reflect our policies, and we have been very clear from the beginning we wanted an orderly transition.”

From Israel, continued snorts of approbation bellow from the politeratti with Dore Gold comparing the US thrust to their reactions during the overthrow of the Shah.

“Massive demonstrations were being held in the streets of Tehran, calling for the ouster of the shah, who had been America’s key ally in the Persian Gulf.

“The White House did not know quite what to do: back the shah or seek his replacement,” he wrote, warning the Obama administration not to “repeat the errors” it made by failing to back an ally facing protests, in the name of democracy.

Related links

Obama envoy Wisner works for Egypt military, business lobbyists
Egypt: Tahrir Square’s Mini Utopia
Egypt’s new cabinet meets as protests continue
Report: German intelligence agents arrested in Cairo
The World Turned Upside Down
The Egyptian mirror
US special envoy to Egypt recalled due to ties with Mubarak regime

Palestine / Israel Links

WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD BOYCOTT?
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Oracles of the New

Zizek in the Guardian:

The hypocrisy of western liberals is breathtaking: they publicly supported democracy, and now, when the people revolt against the tyrants on behalf of secular freedom and justice, not on behalf of religion, they are all deeply concerned. Why concern, why not joy that freedom is given a chance? Today, more than ever, Mao Zedong’s old motto is pertinent: “There is great chaos under heaven – the situation is excellent.”

Where, then, should Mubarak go? Here, the answer is also clear: to the Hague. If there is a leader who deserves to sit there, it is him.

Egypt Links

Mubarak is still here, but there’s been a revolution in our minds, say protesters
#Jan25 The injured in Tahrir won’t leave
U.S. Trying to Balance Israel’s Needs in the Face of Egyptian Reform – Implausible Undeniability
2 Detained Reporters Saw Secret Police’s Methods
Israel isn’t the center of the Mideast, or of the world

Wise Men are Billionaires?

The ever-perceptive A’sad Abukhalil dispels any doubts about the so-called ‘wise-man committee’ selected supposedly by the ‘youth’ in Tahrir Square, Cairo:

So a self-appointed committee, called the “Wise Men Committee” has been issuing opinions and commands and is trying to mediate between the people of Egypt and the regime of Mubarak. Their first idea was to donate Egypt to the head of Mubarak’s secret police, `Umar Sulayman. The Egyptian billionaire, Najib Sawiris, is a member of the committee and that troubles me greatly. What would have Marx thought about an initiative of a billionaire at a time of revolutionary change. Sawiris, of course, has been close to Jamal Mubarak and is an opportunist who shifts and flip flops, even on Palestine. I trust him like George Habash trusted Yasir `Arafat. `Amr Musa is another well-known opportunist: a servant of Mubarak has just saw the light because Sha`ban `Abd-Ar-Rahim likes him. But the protesters are impressive: when one member of the Committee (Abu Al-Majd) tried to talk today in Tahrir Square, he was shouted down and interrupted and sent home.

The ‘youth manifesto’ is here (for the English version in .pdf format, go here)

At Al Quds newspaper in the UK, there’s a story which I’ve google-translated and which indicates that the wise-men committee was submitted by Cairo, whilst the Youth manifesto says the youth did the selection. One has to wonder, therefore, who in fact prepared the Youth manifesto.

‘Cairo presented a so-called Committee of Wise Men in Egypt, a set of proposals for the youth of the demonstrators to be the center of the dialogue between them and the Egyptian government.

According to press sources, on Friday evening said that when Dr. Ahmed Kamal Abul Magd, a member of the Committee, the dumping of the proposals on the demonstrators in Tahrir Square boycotted and rejected a large number of them to listen to these proposals, which forced him and most of the members of the Committee of Wise Men to return to the headquarters of the League of Arab States, near Tahrir Square amid bitter divisions between supporters of the proposals and Ravdiha for different reasons.

The statement of the wise men to ensure a wide range of points to calm the demonstrators, most important of which are assigned to Alsidamr Solomon Vice President managing the transition.

Among the statement included also be a place for young people and clear in the national dialogue and to be “institutionalized dialogue” is selected any of its functions and objectives and the participants in a clear and specific.

The statement should also be developed in political reforms and not to limit the dialogue to the traditional parties are provided sufficient guarantees for a peaceful transition of power, with an estimate of the role played by the military at this point.

Taking Committee confirmed that it sought to “complete agreement between the parties regarding the solution,” and expressed hope that the resulting proposal to reach a solution “in the coming hours”, the Commission invited the young protesters to choose the leadership of their representative and drew in contrast to the “Muslim Brotherhood” pledge Under this proposal, failure to submit a candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections.

Includes a committee of elders of both the thinker Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd and the world, Ahmed Zewail, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and businessman Naguib Sawiris, the Secretary General of the League of Arab States Amr Moussa, head of the Central Auditing Agency Malt and the President of the Islamic Front Party Democratic Osama Ghazali Harb, and Dr. Amr Hamzawy, Munir Fakhri Abdel the light and the media Mahmoud Saad. ‘

At Enduring America, we are told:

’1610 GMT: Al Arabiya reports that the 10-man wise men committee has gotten positive feedback from President Mubarak about handing over power to VP Omar Suleiman. No one else has confirmed this’

Jack Shenker at the Guardian has uncovered another list of demands which sounds to me more like the real deal:

The Guardian has learned that delegates from these mini-gatherings then come together to discuss the prevailing mood, before potential demands are read out over the square’s makeshift speaker system. The adoption of each proposal is based on the proportion of cheers or boos it receives from the crowd at large.

Delegates have arrived in Tahrir from other parts of the country that have declared themselves liberated from Mubarak’s rule, including the major cities of Alexandria and Suez, and are also providing input into the decisions.

“When the government shut down the web, politics moved on to the street, and that’s where it has stayed,” said one youth involved in the process. “It’s impossible to construct a perfect decision-making mechanism in such a fast-moving environment, but this is as democratic as we can possibly be.”

“Genuine opposition politics in this country has always relied on people taking the initiative, and that’s what we’re seeing here – on a truly astounding level,” said Ahdaf Soueif, an Egyptian author who has been closely monitoring the spontaneous political activity on the ground. “There is more transparency and equality here in Tahrir than anything we’ve ever seen under the Mubarak regime; anyone and everyone can have their say, and that makes the demands that come out of the process even more powerful.”

The document that has emerged from Tahrir details calls for the election of a founding council of 40 public intellectuals and constitutional experts, who will draw up a new constitution over the coming months under the supervision of the transitional government, then put it to the Egyptian people in a referendum. Following the passage of the new constitution, fresh elections would be held at a local and national level.

Such a scenario would go far further than the piecemeal constitutional reform offered by the present government, and would preclude any delay in Mubarak’s departure or any transitional governing role for existing members of country’s ruling elite.

The demands, which have been endorsed by the so-called “300” – the loose coalition of online activists who were behind last month’s call for the “day of rage” on 25 January, the event that sparked the current uprising – are also more radical than those put forward earlier this week by a group of senior judges, diplomats and businessmen in the Egyptian daily newspaper Al Shorouk. The latter group’s statement endorsed the idea of Suleiman as a transitional president, an outcome firmly rejected by the majority of those camped out in Tahrir.

Other demands to have come out the square include the end of the country’s Emergency Law, the dismantling of the state security apparatus, and the trial of key regime leaders, including Mubarak.

“The regime is trying to demonise protesters as agents of foreign powers, fomenters of chaos, and so on,” says Hossam el-Hamalawy, a journalist and blogger. “But go down to Tahrir, sit on a corner, and within a few minutes you’ll be in the middle of a spontaneous political discussion – the energy of people’s ideas is inspiring. It’s down there that the legitimate voice of the protesters and our revolution can be heard.”

More from the Houston Chronicle:

A self-declared group of Egypt’s elite — called the “group of wise men” — has circulated ideas to try to break that deadlock. Among them is a proposal that Mubarak “deputize” his Vice President Omar Suleiman with his powers and, for the time being at least, step down in everything but name.

The “wise men,” who are separate from the protesters on the ground, have met twice in recent days with Suleiman and the prime minister, said Amr el-Shobaki, a member of the group. Their proposals also call for the dissolving of the parliament monopolized by the ruling party and the end of emergency laws that give security forces near-unlimited powers.

Late Friday, a delegation from the protesters themselves meet with Shafiq to discuss ways out of the impasse, said Abdel-Rahman Youssef, a youth activist who participated in the meeting.

Youssef told The Associated Press on Saturday that the meeting was not a start of negotiations. “It was a message to see how to resolve the crisis. The message is that they must recognize the legitimacy of the revolution and that president must leave one way or the other, either real or political departure,” he said.

The protesters are looking into the proposal floated by the “wise men,” said Youssef, who is part of the youth movement connected to Nobel Peace laureate and prominent reform advocate Mohamed ElBaradei.

“It could be a way out of the crisis,” Youssef said. “But the problem is in the president…he is not getting it that he has become a burden on everybody, psychologically, civicly and militarily.”


Protesters, however, are wary of a trap. They fear that without the pressure of protesters in the streets demanding democracy, the regime will carry out only superficial reforms while keeping its grip on power. So they are reluctant to end the demonstrations without the concrete victory of Mubarak’s ouster and assurances on what happens next.

el-Shobaki, of “the wise men,” said Suleiman did not respond to their proposal that Mubarak deputize him.

“The stumbling point ,” el-Shobaki said.

The “wise men” are comprised of about a dozen prominent public figures and jurists, including former Cabinet minister and lawyer Ahmed Kamal Aboul-Magd, businessman Naguib Sawiris and political scientist academics like el-Shobaki. “We don’t represent the youth on the ground. We keep in touch with them,” said el-Shobaki.

The protest organizers themselves are a mix. The majority are young secular leftists and liberals, who launched the wave of protests though an Internet campaign, but the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood also has built a prominent role. They have succeeded in drawing a startlingly broad cross-section of the public, including the urban poor, lower middle class and young upper class.

Protest organizers have formed a committee that will carry out any future negotiations with the government over reforms. The committee includes ElBaradei, the Muslim Brotherhood and representatives of the youth factions.

Mousa appears as a possible candidate for presidency in the Washington Post.

Pampering the ziocolony isn’t the only interest the US has apropos Egypt.

According to the State Department, U.S. military aid to Egypt totals over $1.3 billion annually [5] in a stream of funding known as Foreign Military Financing.

U.S. officials have long argued that the funding promotes strong ties between the two countries’ militaries, which in turn has all sorts of benefits. For example, U.S. Navy warships get “expedited processing” through the Suez Canal.

Here’s a 2009 U.S. embassy cable recently released by WikiLeaks that makes essentially the same point [6]:

President Mubarak and military leaders view our military assistance program as the cornerstone of our mil-mil relationship and consider the USD 1.3 billion in annual FMF as “untouchable compensation” for making and maintaining peace with Israel. The tangible benefits to our mil-mil relationship are clear: Egypt remains at peace with Israel, and the U.S. military enjoys priority access to the Suez Canal and Egyptian airspace.

The military funding also enables Egypt to purchase U.S.-manufactured military goods and services, a 2006 report [7] from the Government Accountability Office explained [PDF]. The report criticized both the State Department and the Defense Department for failing to measure how the funding actually contributes to U.S. goals.

Movement in the NDP:

From @SultanAlQassemi

BREAKING Al Arabiya: President Mubarak has resigned as head of the ruling NDP party

Al Arabiya now speaking to corrupt NDP tycoon Ibrahim Kamel (who was pushing for Gamal to be president) “This is a natural development”

To clarify to all: Mubarak is still a member of the NDP, as a technicality he must remain a member, however he is no longer head of the NDP.

Breaking Al Arabiya: Gamal Mubarak, Safwat El Sarif, Mufeed Shehab & Zakaria Azmi no longer members of the NDP (this is what I see onscreen)

Breaking Al Arabiya: The new leadership of the NDP party are: Hossam Badrawi, Mohamed Ragab, Mohammed Abdallah & Magid Sharbini

“Gamal Mubarak resigns from Egypt ruling party in gesture to protesters” http://bit.ly/i2DTb0 Gamal is no longer …a member of the NDP party

RT @weddady: RT @bbclysedoucet student protestor Tahrir Sq:we want 2 get rid of cancer but they’re giving us aspirins -reaction NDP resignations #jan25

RT @5thEstate: Arabiya retracts report #Mubarak resigned as heading of ruling NDP (Rtrs) #jan25 #oops

CIA weasel! RT @5thEstate: U.S. crisis envoy to #Egypt, Frank Wisner, says #Mubarak must stay in power to steer changes (Rtrs) #jan25

‘”We need to get a national consensus around the pre-conditions for the next step forward. The president must stay in office to steer those changes,” Frank Wisner told the Munich Security Conference.’

Yet in the NYTimes:

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking to a security conference in Munich, said it was important to support Mr. Suleiman, a pillar of the Egyptian establishment and Mr. Mubarak’s longtime confidante, as he seeks to defuse street protests. Mr. Suleiman has promised repeatedly to reach out to opposition groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, but there were few indications that any genuine dialogue with opposition leaders had begun.

Ms. Clinton’s message, echoed by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, was a notable shift in tone from the past week, when President Obama, faced with violent clashes in Cairo, demanded that Mr. Mubarak make swift, bold changes. The change appears to reflect worries that rapid change in Egypt could destabilize the country and the region.

“That takes some time,” Mrs. Clinton said. “There are certain things that have to be done in order to prepare.”

But Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel laureate who has been chosen to negotiate on behalf of the protesters and other opposition groups, said the American-backed transition plan was a nonstarter. “I do not think it’s adequate,” he said in an interview. “I’m not talking about myself. It’s not adequate for the people.

“Mubarak needs to go,” he said. “It has become an emotional issue. They need to see his back, there’s no question about it.”

From @exiledsurfer:

The 7 Demands of the Tahrir protesters: 1. Resignation of the president 2. End of the emergency state. 3. Dissolution of The People’s Assembly and Shora Council. 4. Formation of a national transitional government 5. An elected Parliament that will ammend the Constitution to allow for presidential elections. 6. Immediate prosecution for those responsible for deaths of the revolution’s martyrs. 7. Immediate prosecution of the corrupters & those who robbed the country of its wealth. (via @ioerror, @suzeeinthecity, @kyrah) #tahrir #jan25 #egypt #cairo #suez #alexandria #feb1 #departurefriday

I’ll update this post with any new info.

Related Links

Egypt Talks Start on Sidelining Mubarak With Protest in Day 12
EGYPT: Missing Google executive Wael Ghonim named symbolic spokesman of opposition group

Egypt Links

Blast at gas terminal in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula – disgruntled Bedouins? –

Egypt has potential natural gas reserves of 62 trillion cubic feet (1.7 trillion cubic meters), the 18th largest in the world.

Egypt began providing Israel with natural gas in February 2008 under a deal by which it will sell Israel 60 billion cubic feet (1.7 billion cubic meters) a year for a period of 15 years.

The deal raised controversy at home, with some in the Egyptian opposition saying the gas was being sold at below-market rates. Others resent Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, and say Egypt shouldn’t supply energy to Israel.

“The deal (to sell gas) was a blow to the pride of Egyptians and a betrayal,” former diplomat Ibrahim Yousri told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Yousri led a high court challenge to try halt Egypt’s sale of gas to Israel. Although the high court ruled in his favor in February 2010, the ruling was widely ignored by the government.

RT @SultanAlQassemi: Al Arabiya: North Sinai explosion didn’t target the pipeline itself but the gas filtering station that supplies Jordan #
RT @REUTERSFLASH: #Egypt gas pipeline blast struck Jordanian branch, authorities blame “foreign elements” – Security source #
@deanproctor Sinai gas pieline blast cuts gas supplies to Israel. Weren’t they telling Mubarek to shoot the protestors? Karma unconfirmed. #Tahrir #Jan25 # – Gas tycoons who are trying to get the increased excise tax blocked in the Knesset will be rejoicing at the sinai attack
RT @Dream23fb: Ayman on AJE confirms unknown group set off blast at gas pipeline in Arish in the North Sinai #Egypt #
The new Egypt-Israel Gas deal: What we need to know
Egypt-Israel gas deal: WHO is behind it? The names, the relationships, the clientelism…
Tunisian cyber activists take on Egypt
Picture of fire from bombed gas pipeline to Israel in Arish
Ikhwanweb: Egypt’s Revolution is a People’s revolution and has no Islamic agenda
‘Mubarak, Mubarak, What Have You Done?’
Turkish minister says unrest in Egypt no longer an internal matter
Marching to Tahrir Square: ‘Welcome to liberated territory’
Obama Faults Spy Agencies’ Performance in Gauging Mideast Unrest, Officials Say – blame the intel, right.
Error-Prone NYT Reporter Lectures Al Jazeera English on Accuracy
The Arab freedom epic “Now, we witness the third and most significant Arab historical development, which is the spontaneous drive by millions of ordinary Arabs to finally assert their humanity, demand their rights, and take command of their national condition and destiny.”
Police attack Cairo tweeter, destroy car
Israel fears Egypt becoming ‘radical Islamic theocracy’ – hasbara alert
Thank God some reporters don’t idolise Petraeus
Douchowitless froths
Egypt’s moment
Killed in Egypt
U.S. expects Egypt to keep peace with Israel regardless of who is in power
A Media Guide To The Egypt Uprising
When there is free election in Egypt, do you think any political party in Egypt, even the one that would be funded by the Mosssad, would dare say in its platform: and if elected, we promise to keep the Israeli flag flying in Cairo?
If Obama and Hillary were around for the Titanic disaster, they would have advised that the ship was not sinking: that it merely needed the passengers and captain to engage in meaningful dialogue.
Detained in Cairo
Don’t be nervous ‘If Egyptian now demonstrate in solidarity with the Palestinians now, for example, no security forces would prevent them from leaving the Al-Azhar or the Cairo University. It is a different country even if the head of the secret police, `Umar Sulayman (the candidate of reform and democracy according to Obama and Clinton), takes over in a transitional period.’
James Zogby on Egypt: Can He Sink Any Lower?
Clinton warns of “perfect storm” in Middle East
Mubarak TV
The US ‘The time when the US could have exploited the Egyptian uprising to feign identification with the people is long gone. The US clumsily–from its own imperialist standpoint–put itself squarely on the side of the enemies of the people of Egypt. Now this will have long term repercussions.’
Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Settling In for the Long Game
Egypt Arrests 4 Facebook Activists [Updated]
Treatment for malignant narcissism imminent? Egyptian VP, top military leaders planning ‘graceful exit’ for Mubarak
Cairo’s biggest protest yet demands Mubarak’s immediate departure
At hand, an Arab awakening
The State of Egyptian Antiquities- 4 February 2011
Shut Up Khamnenei , Shut Up Fox News And Cherchez Le Regime In The gas pipeline
Crisis in Egypt Tests U.S. Ties With Israel – American zionists whining
Blair: We want to engage with whoever will rule Egypt
Egypt protests: Hillary Clinton signals US backing for Omar Suleiman
In the hands of the secret police
The Egyptian people, on many levels, have pulled away the curtain, revealing American hypocrisy and the hard-core interests of the American ruling elite.’
The Angry Arab not fond of the MB
Blast in Egypt church near Gaza border – witnesses – false flag?
It’s not radical Islam that worries the US – it’s independence – Chomsky
3Arabawy Photos

Palestine / Israel Links

Israelis rally for Egypt; others express racist ideas about Arabs
Israel’s government raises alarm at events in Egypt
Netanyahu commits to promoting Arab construction in East Jerusalem – hasbara
Family of Amr Qawasme, murdered in his bed, seeks accountability
Going back to Herzl – The Zionist Plan for the Middle East
Bil’in protest in solidarity with Egypt attacked by Israeli troops
Settlers kill 2 Palestinian teens, soldiers attack funeral
Out with the collaborators: in with honest unity

Other Links

Jordan’s King changed his prime minister, and the US hails that as reform
Debating the Link Between Food Prices and Revolutions
US: Conspiracy charges filed against Muslim students
David Cameron tells Muslim Britain: stop tolerating extremists – the Pauline Hanson of Britain
After Egypt, Saudi activists start Facebook campaign for change in conservative kingdom

Extra Tweets

RT @mosaaberizing: “Twitter”, “Facebook” and “Aljazeera” written in large letters on walls of Tahrir. #Media #Tahrir #