"Sweeping change by Egypt’s military; Parliament dissolved amid quiet worries" by Anthony Shadid, New York Times / February 14, 2011
CAIRO — The Egyptian military consolidated its control yesterday over what it has called a democratic transition from nearly three decades of President Hosni Mubarak’s authoritarian rule, dissolving the country’s feeble Parliament, suspending the constitution, and calling for elections in six months in sweeping steps that echoed protesters’ demands.
The statement by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, read on television, effectively put Egypt under direct military authority, thrusting the country into territory uncharted since republican Egypt was founded in 1952.
Though enjoying popular support, the military must now cope with the formidable task of negotiating a postrevolutionary landscape still basking in the glow of Mubarak’s fall but beset by demands to ease Egyptians’ many hardships.
Since seizing power from Mubarak on Friday, the military has struck a reassuring note, responding in words and actions to the platform articulated by hundreds of thousands in Tahrir Square.
There is your first clue.
As I recall it the guy resigned. The military didn't seize s***. Reminds me of the never-ending distortion regarding Hamas and Gaza that keeps getting repeated by the Zionist press.
Now there are those who will say they forced him out, blah, blah, blah; however, that is not the same as running him out of the place or putting him on a plane at gunpoint (unless that happened and we are not being told).
The unspoken conclusion at the bottom of it all from the elite, mind-manipulating, agenda-pushing press is IF YOU SERVE the PEOPLE you have somehow SEIZED POWER! It really is an ENLIGHTENING INSIGHT into the WAY the POWER STRUCTURE THINKS!
But beyond more protests, there is almost no check on the sweep of military rule....
And that "check" has done just fine so far.
While opposition leaders welcomed the moves, some have quietly raised worries about the future role of an institution that has been a pillar of the status quo in Egypt, playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in preserving its vast business interests and political capital.
“Over the next six months, I am afraid the army will brainwash the people to think that the military is the best option,’’ said Dina Aboul Seoud, a 35-year-old protester, still in the square yesterday. “Now, I am afraid of what is going to happen next.’’
Yesterday brought scenes that juxtaposed a more familiar capital with a country forever changed by Mubarak’s fall. Hundreds of policemen, belonging to one of the most loathed institutions in Egypt, rallied in downtown Cairo to demand better pay and treatment. A short walk away, traffic returned to Tahrir Square, a symbol of the revolution, navigating through lingering protesters and festive and jubilant sightseers.
In a burst of civic duty, youthful volunteers swept streets, painted fences and curbs, washed away graffiti that read “Down with Mubarak,’’ and planted bushes in a square many want to turn into a memorial for one of the most stunning uprisings in Arab history....
Though hundreds, perhaps more, vowed to stay until more reforms were enacted, tents were dismantled, banners taken down, and trucks piled with blankets that kept protesters warm over the 18 days of demonstrations that began Jan. 25, the date organizers have given to their revolution....
Egypt’s defense minister, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, would represent the country at home and abroad. Protesters — and some classified US diplomatic cables — have dismissed Tantawi as a “poodle’’ of Mubarak’s.
Oh, WIKILEAKS DOESN'T LIKE HIM, huh?
Then he has one thing going for him: Israel doesn't like him (but note that leak was not much publicized, not even now).
But some senior US officers said he is a shrewd operator who played a significant role in managing Mubarak’s nonviolent ouster....
Other than Tantawi and Sami Anan, the army chief of staff, the military’s council remains opaque, with many in Egypt unable to identity anyone else on it. Omar Suleiman, the former vice president and once one of the most powerful men in Egypt, has not appeared since Friday....
With the police yet to return to the streets in force, the military has deployed across the city, seeking to manage protests that sprung up across Cairo yesterday. At banks, insurance companies, and even the Academy of Scientific Research, scores gathered to demand better pay, in a sign of the difficulties the military will face in meeting the expectations that have exponentially risen with the success of the uprising.
Translation: It is a TRUE PEOPLE'S REVOLT!
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And look what else we are losing, AmeriKan:
"Egypt’s spies are key US partners" by Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post / February 14, 2011
WASHINGTON — For decades, Egypt’s government has been a crucial partner for US intelligence agencies, sharing information on extremist groups such as Al Qaeda and working hand-in-glove on counterterrorism operations. Now the future of that cooperation is in question.
Yeah, weren't some of the 9/11 patsies Egyptian?
With the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, a staunch American ally, the contours of the US-Egyptian relationship may well be redrawn. Analysts say a more democratic Egyptian government will have to be responsive to a public that may oppose such special ties with Washington.
Moreover, the Muslim Brotherhood is likely to gain influence if free and fair elections are held, analysts say. The Islamist group has renounced violence but is openly hostile to Israel and may call for more independence from US policies....
I'm really tired of Israel's concerns dominating my newspaper, and it is their boorish behavior that has brought about such hostility.
Some US officials and analysts say they are not overly worried, noting the continued strong role of the Egyptian military and the fact that the United States gives Egypt more than $1.3 billion a year in military aid....
These are the same guys that missed the revolution, right?
Egypt’s intelligence cooperation is extensive. Its security services have numerous sources in places where the US government doesn’t, like Gaza and Sudan, according to analysts.
And the Egyptians have built up a trove of information on Al Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups in the Middle East. The Egyptian General Intelligence Service, or EGIS, “has the reputation of being one of the best-informed intelligence agencies on Islamist fundamentalism and its international dimensions,’’ according to Jane’s intelligence information service....
So they know it all traces back to the western intelligence services that created, funds, and directs them?
In addition to passing on intelligence, Egypt’s security services have worked closely on operations with their US counterparts, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The cooperation went public with the revelations that U.S. officials secretly “rendered’’ terrorism suspects to countries such as Egypt for interrogation. Human rights groups have denounced the practice because of the notorious torture record of those nations’ security services.
Yeah, but it was OKAY and is RARELY MENTIONED when it is OUR GUYS!
Yeah, we gonna lose out on a place to send innocent people to be tortured.
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Related: Optimism over Egypt-Israel pact
Honestly, I get tired of my "newspaper" being a Jewish concern.
"Egypt’s military pleads for calm; Labor unrest replaces joy of leader’s ouster Talks underway with protesters" by Craig Whitlock, Washington Post / February 15, 2011
CAIRO — Egypt’s new military rulers tried to contain growing labor unrest yesterday and to reach out to youthful revolutionaries, as the formidable task of governing the politically unstable and impoverished country became apparent.
Does that look like a friend to the stability-loving empire?
Police officers, ambulance drivers, bankers, journalists, and archeologists marched through the streets of Cairo in separate protests.
Why don't they just say almost everyone?
Emboldened by a sudden burst of freedom that has flowered since President Hosni Mubarak’s departure on Friday, the demonstrators demanded higher wages and other benefits.
And it's like potato chips: once you start eating them it's hard to stop.
“This is our ideal chance to make our voices heard,’’ said Ahmed Mahmoud, a manager at a state-owned bank. “You would never see these kind of protests before, not when we had a dictator.’’
The Supreme Military Council, which took power after Mubarak’s resignation, responded with a communique in which it urged Egyptians to go back to work, saying the stoppages were harming the country’s security and economy. The council imposed martial law on Sunday, and officials hinted that they would ban strikes if things did not improve....
Isn't that what the last guy did?
Meanwhile, rumors continued to swirl about the fate of Mubarak, who departed Cairo on Friday on a plane with his wife but has not been seen since....
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Also see: Globe Editorial On Egypt, Obama played hand well, if not always steadily
Egypt’s military making quick moves toward democracy
Did they?
"Egyptian activists call for more transparency from military rulers" by Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press / February 17, 2011
CAIRO — Egypt’s new military rulers came under criticism yesterday from a leading democracy advocate as well as from youth and women’s groups for what they say is a failure to make decisions openly and include a larger segment of society.
Five days after ousting Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising, Egyptians continued protests and strikes over a host of grievances from paltry wages to toxic waste dumping. They defied the second warning in three days from the ruling Armed Forces Supreme Council to halt all labor unrest at a time when the economy is staggering....
Mubarak’s departure set off a chain reaction of revolt around the Middle East, with antigovernment demonstrations reported yesterday in Libya, Bahrain, Jordan, and Yemen.
Democracy advocate and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei called on the council to include civilians in a transitional presidential council to be entrusted with setting the course toward democracy.
The former head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency said in a statement that there is an absence of transparency in the way the military rulers are running the country’s affairs or making decisions that would affect the transitional period and the future of democracy in Egypt.
Meet the new boss?
“The short transitional period . . . threatens to throw the country back in the arms of the forces of the old regime,’’ he said. “To prolong the transitional period without popular participation threatens to throw it back in the arms of dictatorship.’’
I imagine that would make Israel happy.
ElBaradei’s warning comes after the military rulers announced a new committee of legal specialists that would work to amend articles in the constitution to allow free elections later this year.
Critics voiced concern about the choice of those on the panel, saying the criteria for their selection was unclear.
More than 60 women’s and community groups condemned the panel, saying it is an all-male group that “excludes half of society.’’
“This casts doubt on the future of democratic transformation in Egypt after the revolution, and raises questions about . . . whether the revolution was seeking to free the whole society or only certain segments,’’ they said.
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"Workers at Suez Canal go on strike; Join labor protests in Egypt for better wages, conditions" by Anthony Shadid, New York Times / February 18, 2011
CAIRO — Hundreds of workers went on strike yesterday along the Suez Canal, one of the world’s strategic waterways, joining others across Egypt pressing demands for better wages and conditions. The protests have sent the economy reeling and defied the military’s attempt to restore a veneer of the ordinary after President Hosni Mubarak’s fall last week.
The labor unrest this week at textile mills, pharmaceutical plants, chemical industries, the Cairo airport, the transportation sector, and banks has emerged as one of the most powerful dynamics in a country navigating the military-led transition that followed an 18-day popular uprising and the end of Mubarak’s three decades of rule.
Banks reopened last week but amid a wave of protests over salaries and management abuses promptly shut again this week. The opening of schools was delayed another week, and a date has yet to be set for opening the stock market, which some fear may plummet over the economic reverberations and anxiety about the political transition.
The military has repeatedly urged workers to end their strikes, to no avail....
For days the military leadership has sought to steer a country in the throes of a political transition that could remake Egypt more dramatically than at any time since the overthrown monarchy win 1952....
Egypt’s revolution was, in some ways, remarkable for the consensus over its demands, primarily the end to Mubarak’s authoritarian rule, with disparate ideologies subsumed in the narrative of a popular uprising. But....
I'm sorry, there is NO BUT ABOUT IT!!
The striking workers at the Suez Canal Authority said their protests in the three major canal cities — Suez, Port Said, and Ismailiya — would not interfere with the operations of the canal, which links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. One of the world’s busiest waterways, the canal serves as one of Egypt’s primary sources of revenue and a major transit route for global shipping and oil.
And if it shuts down USrael is going to invade the place.
Other strikes were reported at textile plants in the coastal city of Damietta and a pharmaceutical factory in Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city. Taken together they number in the tens of thousands of workers in one of Egypt’s most pronounced episodes of labor unrest.
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"Huge victory celebration in Cairo marked by calls for further change; Military issues strongest call for end to labor strike" by Ben Hubbard, Associated Press / February 19, 2011
CAIRO — Egyptians thronged again to Tahrir Square yesterday, one week after the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, in a sun-splashed victory celebration of dancing, singing, and flag-waving — but also serious resolve to pressure the country’s military rulers to implement changes.
The military allowed — even encouraged — the celebrations. But it gave its strongest warning yet against a wave of labor strikes that erupted in parallel with the massive antigovernment protests and have hit Egypt’s economy hard over the past week. In a statement, the military said it would no longer allow “illegal’’ demonstrations that stop production.
The crowd in downtown Cairo’s Tahrir Square appeared to spiral well beyond the quarter-million that massed for the biggest of the anti-Mubarak protests. The rally was called to press demands on the military to take greater action to remove regime figures who still hold considerable power.
But for many, it was as much a nationalist festival of what has been accomplished as a rally to demand more.
I'm happy for the Egyptian people.
Under brilliant sunshine, giant Egyptian flags were unfurled, and people sought the shade beneath the black, white, and red fabric. Parents painted their children’s faces with the national colors. Vendors hawked T-shirts praising the “Jan. 25 revolution,’’ a reference to the date protests began in the square.
Protest leaders told the gathering that rallies must go on until the military rulers meet their demands....
Meanwhile, Switzerland has frozen tens of millions of francs belonging to leading figures in Egypt’s former regime, officials said yesterday.
The government last week said only that it froze “any possible assets’’ in the country belonging to Mubarak, his wife, their two sons, and their wives, Mubarak’s brother-in-law, and five senior politicians belonging to the ousted leader’s NDP party.
At the time the government insisted there was no confirmation such assets actually existed, even though they have been widely reported.
They are going to let the Mubaraks steal the money?
Related: Egypt seeks to freeze Mubarak family’s foreign assets
Late yesterday, the Foreign Ministry specified that “several dozens of millions of francs belonging to persons mentioned in last Friday’s government order have been blocked.’’ It had no further comment.
In Egypt, protest organizers have called for weekly protests every Friday, and their ability to keep them going will be a major test of how much they can influence the army.
Prominent cleric Sheik Youssef el-Qaradawi, who is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, led the crowd in prayers, proclaiming, “The revolution is not over, until we have a new Egypt.’’
Qaradawi’s appearance in Cairo’s main square marked a dramatic return for the influential cleric, who has mostly lived abroad for decades after being jailed for his antigovernment stances. During the protests, he used his weekly television show on Al Jazeera to urge Egyptians to join. In the square yesterday, he hailed the young protest activists — from a range of ideologies — saying, “They knew that the revolution would win in the end.’’
And RANGE of RELIGIONS, too!!
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So what tools can the empire apply to Egypt's new leaders?
"UN leader garners reelection support as he gets tough with Egypt" by Bill Varner, Bloomberg News / February 20, 2011
UNITED NATIONS — The United States pushed for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s election in 2006 after clashing with his predecessor, Kofi Annan, who said the 2003 invasion of Iraq was illegal.
Yeah, the truth hurts.
Ban’s mandate was to improve the world body’s management following reports of waste and fraud in the purchase of supplies for peacekeeping missions and evidence that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was allowed to skim $13 billion from a UN-administered “oil-for-food’’ aid program.
U.S. knew all about it but let it pass because oil was destined for allies.
Btw, WALL STREET skimmed a HELL OF A LOT MORE than THAT!!
Five years later, Ban says the United Nations is a more efficient and accountable organization. His top aides say his leadership has saved the lives of millions of people in Haiti, Myanmar, Sudan, and other countries in crisis.
This self-promoting propaganda posing as news sucks.
Envoys such as Portugal’s ambassador Jose Morales Cabral say Ban has won the respect of the diplomatic community through a combination of discretion and a work ethic that has him routinely calling world leaders from his residence in Manhattan by 6 a.m.
Ban won’t discuss the details of such calls. “There are some issues that need to be handled more privately,’’ he said.
Ban’s deputies, including Assistant Secretary-General Robert Orr, a former US official, say these below-the-radar methods have been effective.
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"In Egypt, women voice hope for boost in status; Tahrir Square cooperation is seen as pivotal" by Kathy Lally, Washington Post / February 21, 2011
Egyptian women gathered Friday in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. During the demonstrations, men and women stood side by side. (Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images)
CAIRO — Women think as differently as they dress here, but they have emerged from the barricades agreeing on one thing: This is their moment in history, and they cannot afford to lose it.
During 18 days of demonstrating for freedom and democracy, Egyptian men and women walked into Tahrir Square separate and unequal, divided by gender as they passed through checkpoints. Men were scrutinized by men, and women were searched by other women. There were several lines of men for every one for the fewer numbers of women.
But beyond the checkpoints, distinctions vanished and they stood side by side, defying the police, challenging the government, one and the same before the thugs throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. Women died next to men and did not falter, steadfast for freedom and democracy.
Now, as they leave the square behind them, they want to use the strength they revealed to address longstanding inequities, to make sure women have the equality in day-to-day life that they earned in Tahrir Square.
CAIRO — Women think as differently as they dress here, but they have emerged from the barricades agreeing on one thing: This is their moment in history, and they cannot afford to lose it.
During 18 days of demonstrating for freedom and democracy, Egyptian men and women walked into Tahrir Square separate and unequal, divided by gender as they passed through checkpoints. Men were scrutinized by men, and women were searched by other women. There were several lines of men for every one for the fewer numbers of women.
But beyond the checkpoints, distinctions vanished and they stood side by side, defying the police, challenging the government, one and the same before the thugs throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. Women died next to men and did not falter, steadfast for freedom and democracy.
Now, as they leave the square behind them, they want to use the strength they revealed to address longstanding inequities, to make sure women have the equality in day-to-day life that they earned in Tahrir Square.
“It was amazing to see men and women together when we took to the streets,’’ said Marwa Faroak, a political activist. “A lot of people were saying Tahrir Square was the future of Egypt, men and women equal, fighting for freedom. And now we have to translate this into action and change.’’
Soha Abdelaty, deputy director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said Egyptians are building a new country, and women must be at the forefront so they can be effective advocates for their interests. She is optimistic but not yet ready to predict that women will indeed achieve more rights.
“There’s a long way to go,’’ she said.
Women are better off in Egypt than some parts of the Arab world. There are no religious police enforcing dress codes as in Iran, or prohibitions against driving as in Saudi Arabia.
But Egyptian women are greatly underrepresented in public life and inferior to men before the law. They hold Cabinet posts but no judgeships. They are members of Parliament but have few seats. They occupy many professions but not all.
Divorces are difficult to obtain and favor men, as do property rights. Women are encouraged to marry and have children early. The legal age of marriage was only recently raised from 16 to 18.
And, every day as they walk down the street, they are reminded of their low status. Egyptian women are sexually harassed to an astonishing degree; no law forbids behavior such as groping and ogling.
Yup, Egypt is definitely an enemy when the women card is played by the agenda-pushing, war-promoting media!
In a 2008 survey, the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights in Cairo found that 83 percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign women had been harassed at some point.
Though the American television reporter Lara Logan was beaten and sexually assaulted as pro-Mubarak forces whipped up anti-American and antijournalist frenzy in Tahrir Square, that attack was the brutal exception during the protests.
Related: Lara Logan WAS NOT Raped (Learn to Read)
I wish the AmeriKan media would learn how to report facts.
Egyptian women who were in the square said they were treated with a tolerance they hardly expected. Woman after woman marveled at that....
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"3 Mubarak allies keep posts in Egypt" by Associated Press / February 23, 2011
CAIRO —The decision to keep Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and Justice Minister Mamdouh Marie — three former Mubarak loyalists — in their posts drew criticism from youth activists who helped launch the uprising on Jan. 25.
Mohammed Abbas, a member of the Egypt Youth Coalition, described the changes as “patchwork.’’ He called for swift, comprehensive changes. He said the youth groups hope to draw one million to a rally on Friday in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the center of the uprising, and will urge them to stay overnight.
“We have to keep the pressure until all our demands are met,’’ Abbas said.
The new Cabinet includes independents and members of opposition parties for the first time in decades, pushing out the longtime ministers of oil, social justice, and labor.
And why the cut?
The new cabinet also included two Coptic Christians, including an ex-lawmaker.
Related: Cryptic Attack on Coptic Church
It's why I am no longer buying the Zionist line of Christian-Muslim conflict.
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Also see: Ailing EgyptAir offers to lease jets
