In the AmeriKan MSM at least....
"In presidential campaign in Egypt, hints of change" by Janine Zacharia, Washington Post | April 25, 2010
Mubarak must be close to dying.
CAIRO — “Change’’ is not a word often associated with Egypt. Ruled since 1981 by President Hosni Mubarak, this country of about 80 million turns more like an aircraft carrier than a Mini Cooper.
And yet, for the first time in nearly three decades, there is real uncertainty over whether Mubarak, now 81 and ailing, will seek reelection. With a presidential contest scheduled for 2011, it is possible he will promote his son Gamal as a candidate, but many are clamoring for an end to the ruling party’s monopolistic rule.
Perhaps most surprising is the degree to which young democracy activists, old-time liberals, Communists, workers’ rights activists, and the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood have all begun to rally around an unusual icon, Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in their quest to usher in a post-Mubarak Egypt....
Oh, wow!!!
Related: ElBaradei's Final Plea
Not only that, but it shows that PEOPLE EVERYWHERE are REJECTING INCUMBENTS!
May not mean anything, but IT IS A MESSAGE!!
It appears unlikely that ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace laureate in 2005, will mount an open challenge to Mubarak, or whomever the ruling party nominates. He has refused to join an existing party and says he will seek the presidency only if lawmakers approve overhauls.
Then what is this article all about? Filler?
How the coming months unfold in Egypt is of enormous importance to the United States, which relies on Egypt as a partner in regional matters and as a political leader. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush pushed Egypt to become less authoritarian, saying moderation was a key to eradicating terrorism. But later in his presidency, Bush eased up on that campaign.
Yeah, I remember, ha-ha-ha!
The ruling party defends the pace of change by saying that democracy is a learning process. Last month, aides publicized Mubarak’s surgery to remove his gallbladder and a tumor instead of shrouding it in secrecy as they did during an earlier absence. Party officials cite as evidence of progress the number of opposition newspapers and call-in shows that discuss the political situation more openly today.
I seriously think these guys get the life extension technology from the organ-running racket.
Still,
Sigh
there remains little freedom of expression and few basic political rights. Egypt is still ruled by a decades-old emergency law that the leadership says is needed to prevent terrorism, but that is also used to thwart the growth of political challengers.
Can't argue with that, can you, AmeriKa?
Among other things, the law prohibits gatherings of more than five people without a permit.
Can argue with that.
But
I'm no longer arguing; wish I had a nickel every time they used it.
ElBaradei’s international status and popularity have put Mubarak’s party in a more difficult position than during the 2005 presidential campaign.
Awwwwwww, like we are supposed to feel sorry for the tyrant!
Open up the crossings to Palestine if you want redemption, Hosni!
There have been attempts to discredit ElBaradei in the press, and some of his most strident student supporters have been jailed.
You can't even WHISPER PEACE and stay alive (figuratively and literally) politically, readers.
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Related: Mubarek's Dying Wish
Well, what do you know?
More recycled shit (basically) for filler in my "newspaper."
Yeah, nothing has changed in either case:
"Egypt, over protests, extends emergency law" by Associated Press | May 12, 2010
CAIRO — Egypt’s government yesterday extended the country’s controversial emergency law for another two years, saying it would limit its use, a promise dismissed by human rights activists who warned the law would continue to be used to suppress dissent.
Martial law.
In the U.S they let you dissent; government doesn't listen, but they let me type away here.
The emergency law, in place since the 1981 assassination of then-President Anwar Sadat by Islamic militants, gives police broad powers of arrest and allows indefinite detention without charge.
It is not like the US can say anything.
Democracy advocates and human rights groups have long said the law is used to silence critics and ensure the ruling party’s lock on power in this top Mideast ally of the United States, pointing to the arrest of bloggers, political activists, and others.
Like I said, here.... tap, tap, tap.
More than 100 opposition lawmakers and activists protested yesterday outside Parliament, demanding lawmakers reject any extension of the law. But Parliament, which is dominated by ruling party members, approved the government’s request that the law be kept in place until May 31, 2012, the state news agency reported.
Faced with criticism — including from Washington — the government yesterday depicted the new extension as an important change to the law. It comes ahead of parliamentary elections due later this year and presidential elections set for 2011.
We are sooooooo hypocritical!
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Moufid Shehab told reporters that the government is “for the first time’’ committing to limit its use to cases involving terrorism and the drug trade.
He acknowledged that in the past, the law had been applied “in a general fashion’’ to other types of cases. The admission was unusual, because the government has long insisted that the emergency law was used only in terrorism or drug cases.
Yeah, so just be happy with the poot, huh?
Talking an ally here fer crying out loud!
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