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Middle East protests – live updates

Latest from the Middle East as governments brace for a day of protest in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere 8.54am – Egypt: There is a sense of deja vu watching al-Jazeera this morning as Egyptians gather once again in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The key question is how the army will react to today’s protests – and whether they mark the moment when the goals of the demonstrators and those of the army begin to part company. This morning the Muslim Brotherhood, the formerly banned Islamist group, urged Egyptians to protect the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak from those who wanted to “kidnap it and its accomplishments”. Mohamed Badie, the leader of the group, which this week said it would form a political party, sought to reassure Egyptians about his organisation’s influence. He said the Brotherhood would not seek the presidency or a parliamentary majority in free and fair elections promised by the military council ruling the country. “[The Brotherhood] has no appetite for the presidency, or a majority or temporal positions,” he said. 8.39am: Good morning. Governments around the Middle East are bracing themselves for protests and violence today as the unrest in the region continues to spread. Bahrain In Bahrain this morning many thousands of mourners called for the downfall of the monarchy as they began burying the dead after an assault on protesters at Manama’s Pearl roundabout on Thursday night which left five dead. Today’s calls for the king to go were seen as an escalation of demonstrators’ demands; the uprising began with calls for a weakening of the Sunni monarchy’s hold on top government posts and measures to address discrimination against the Shia majority. Two funerals have taken place, with one more to go this morning – after which protesters plan to march to Pearl roundabout, something that may cause a confrontation with police and security forces. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/18/bahrain-mourners-call-downnfall-monarchy Libya In Libya, soldiers were deployed on to the streets of Benghazi, after thousands took to the streets overnight to protest about security forces killing an estimated 24 demonstrators. The city was quiet this morning, but a witness reported shooting last night and the BBC said 10 people had been killed. Funerals are expected today that could act as a catalyst for further protests. Pro-government supporters were also out on the streets this morning. Crucially, there was little sign of anti-government protest in Tripoli, the capital. Ian Black has more on yesterday’s protests here. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/17/libya-day-of-rage-unrest Egypt Thousands of Egyptians gathered for prayers this morning and a planned victory march through Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the site of the protests that led to the fall of the president, Hosni Mubarak, a week ago today. The demonstrations will also act as a warning to the army – which took power after Mubarak stepped down – that protesters want to take a more active role in the country’s transition to democracy. Yemen New protests are also expected today in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital. Yesterday saw a sixth day of clashes between pro-democracy protesters and government loyalists in the country. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2011/feb/17/yemen-protests-in-pictures Iraq About 1,000 protesters in Basra, the southern Iraqi city, are demonstrating to demand better services from the government, jobs and improved pensions. They warned that today’s protest would be peaceful, but others in the future might not be. At least five people have been killed at protests throughout the country this week. Our correspondents throughout the region and Middle East experts and reporters in London will be keeping you updated throughout the day. Arab and Middle East protests Middle East Egypt Bahrain Yemen Libya Iraq Algeria Paul Owen Mark Tran Owen Bowcott Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk

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Nets Champion Wisconsin Public Employees ‘Rising Up’ in ‘Mutiny’ Against ‘Extreme Cuts’

ABC on Thursday night championed a “mutiny in America” by public employees in Wisconsin whom NBC’s Brian Williams trumpeted for “rising up and saying no to some of the most extreme cuts in the nation.” ABC’s Diane Sawyer teased: “Tonight on World News , a mutiny in America. Public workers take to the streets as governors try to cut their pay and perks.” Sawyer framed coverage from the grievance of the unionized workers: Today, we saw America's money trouble meet a reality, a human reality, as teachers, nurses, tens of thousands of state workers took to the streets in this country protesting cuts by the governors, saying to these governors, a promise is a promise. One lawmaker looked out at the crowds gathered in the Wisconsin capital today said it's like Cairo moved to Madison. NBC’s Williams also offered a comparison to “citizen uprisings” overseas: “Tonight after watching citizen uprisings now across the globe for weeks, how about a big one here in the United States.” Though Governor Scott Walker is merely asking the coddled workers for a slight increase, from six to twelve percent , in the portion of the generous health coverage they must pay, ABC reporter Chris Bury painted it as a dire burden, citing how Walker is “demanding that public employees pay more for their pensions and health care, the equivalent of a seven percent pay cut,” adding that “what really upsets state workers is a budget that strips away nearly all of their union bargaining rights over health care, pensions, and work rules.” Williams introduced the NBC Nightly News story by putting the workers into a heroic stance: Tonight after watching citizen uprisings now across the globe for weeks, how about a big one here in the United States. In Wisconsin, where the state is broke and where the governor is proposing drastic cuts he says will save billions of dollars. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports tonight on the workers who are rising up and saying no to some of the most extreme cuts in the nation. From the Thursday, February 17 ABC World News , transcript provided by the MRC’s Brad Wilmouth who corrected the closed-captioning against the video: DIANE SAWYER: Good evening. Today, we saw America's money trouble meet a reality, a human reality, as teachers, nurses, tens of thousands of state workers took to the streets in this country protesting cuts by the governors, saying to these governors, a promise is a promise. One lawmaker looked out at the crowds gathered in the Wisconsin capital today said it's like Cairo moved to Madison. And Chris Bury was right in the middle of it all. Chris? CHRIS BURY: Good evening, Diane. For the third straight day, thousands of state workers and their supporters have swarmed the state capital, some even picketing legislators at their homes, upset at state budget cuts and what they see as an assault on their union rights. Today, the capitol rotunda was packed top to bottom, thousands of teachers, nurses, state employees of all kinds, mostly peaceful, a handful of arrests, workers claiming the governor is balancing the budget on their backs. Is there a lot of anger here in Wisconsin? UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Yes, we’re very upset. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: I think it’s frustration more than anger that he’s not listening to our voices. BURY: So many teachers are here that Madison's schools closed for the second straight day, the protesters raging at the governor’s plan to rein in a $3.6 billion budget deficit, demanding that public employees pay more for their pensions and health care, the equivalent of a seven percent pay cut. For an average worker making $48,000 a year, that's a $3,300 hit. Governor Scott Walker in office only six weeks told me he has no choice. Why is this so necessary? GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER (R-WI): Well, for us, we're broke just like nearly every state across the country. BURY: Just as Republicans prepared to pass the bill, key Democrats left the state to stall the vote. Capitol police were looking for them. MARK MILLER, WISCONSIN STATE SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADER: We hope that we’re in a place that's hard for them to find. BURY: What really upsets state workers is a budget that strips away nearly all of their union bargaining rights over health care, pensions, and work rules. Any wage increase beyond cost of living would require a state referendum. They blame the governor. Do you think he's trying to bust the union? UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Of course he’s going to. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1 By taking away our right to bargain as teachers I don’t think is solving the budget in any way. BURY: Are you trying to bust the union? WALKER: No. Bottom line, trying to balance the budget. BURY: The governor says if the law doesn't pass, 10,000 public employees will be laid off. Tonight, the Democrats are still AWOL, and the governor is threatening to call out the National Guard if essential state employees walk off the job. Diane? SAWYER: Well, Chris, as we can see behind you, no sign they're going home soon. Thank you. — Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.

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Libya’s deadly ‘day of rage’

Deadly attacks on peaceful protests – that is what eyewitnesses are reporting from all over Libya. The country’s “day of rage” has left at least 24 people dead, according to Human Rights Watch. Despite media restrictions in Libya – reports of protests and violence have emerged on the internet. Many amateur videos have also been uploaded, which cannot be independently verified. Al Jazeera’s Caroline Malone reports.

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The fate of former Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Judge Mark Ciavarella is in the hands of a jury tonight. After an initial media slip-up that occurred and was quickly “corrected” when he and a fellow judge were indicted two years ago (“Un-Name That Party” proof here ), Ciavarella's party affiliation ( Democrat , natch) has gone virtually unmentioned. One such non-party-identifying example (overall details to follow) this evening comes from the Associated Press's Michael Rubinkam. Those who are unaware of the outrages allegedly perpetrated by the these judges need to brace themselves: Jury continues deliberations in Pa. judge trial

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Chinese man finds knife in skull

A Chinese man, who had long been complaining of headaches, should now be feeling better, after doctors removed the blade of a dagger which had been lodged in his skull for four years. Al Jazeera ‘s Richard Martin reports.

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Yemen’s religious leaders speak out

Yemen’s religious leaders have called for the formation of a unity government, after an eighth day of protests there once again turned violent. Clashes have been taking place in several cities across the country. Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra reports from the capital, Sanaa.

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‘Significant’ cyber attack on Canada linked to China

The Canadian government has confirmed that its computer systems have fallen victim to what they call “significant” cyber attacks. Hackers using China-based servers reportedly broke into computer systems at key Canadian ministries last month. And now authorities say more protection measures are needed. Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab reports.

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Ann Coulter Tells Lawrence O’Donnell: ‘Sean Hannity Knows More Than You – You’re a Democrat’

Conservative author Ann Coulter returned to MSNBC Thursday to spar with admittedly socialist commentator Lawrence O'Donnell. At the end of a highly-entertaining segment dealing with Coulter's previously expressed support for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Ann marvelously told her host after he besmirched Fox News's Sean Hannity, “He knows more than you – you’re a Democrat” (video follows with transcript and absolutely no need for additional commentary): LAWRENCE O’DONNELL, HOST: You’ve said that you agreed that [New Jersey Governor Chris] Christie is soft on a few things. Now, you agree with [Sean] Hannity on that, and I guess you’re going to work on him on that. ANN COULTER: Yes. O’DONNELL: But you also made the point that Ronald Reagan was soft on a few things, too. COULTER: Yeah, he was. O’DONNELL: What was Reagan soft on other than raising taxes which he did a couple of times? COULTER: I’m not telling you. I’m not going to attack the blessed memory of Ronald Reagan. You know, I mean, when he was Governor, the one, his biggest regret of his life was that he signed an abortion law. Now, this was before Roe v. Wade, so give him a break. It wasn't a big issue. And he said that was the biggest mistake he ever made. O’DONNELL: He also raised taxes, which is something I don’t think Hannity knows. COULTER: Overall. O’DONNELL: Does Hannity know that Reagan raised taxes? COULTER: Hannity knows all. O’DONNELL: Oh, okay. COULTER: He knows more than you – you’re a Democrat.

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C-SPAN Caller: The Rich Don’t Get Rich Because of Government, They Get Rich Because of Themselves

Click here to view this media During a call-in session asking viewers what they think the federal government should cut from the budget, here is what a caller from Texas told C-SPAN Washington Journal host Steve Scully this Sunday. This is what happens to your brain after listening to too much right-wing radio and watching Fox. SCULLY: Next is John from San Antonio. Good morning. CALLER JOHN: Good morning. How we doing today? SCULLY: Fine thank you. CALLER JOHN: I missed a lot. I don’t think half the people calling in understand anything about government and how the rich get rich. The rich don’t get rich because of government. They get rich because of themselves and when they put a product on the line that the people buy. Government on the other hand, does not create wealth. They only create debt. Every time you hire one of these suckers, that’s one of me too. Every time you hire one somebody in the private sector’s got to pay a debt. Think about what we do for government. They are very, very rich and because of the private sector. They have a generous retirement pay. They have a generous health care pay and because of the private sector, not because of government. Government is like, like old Egypt, when they had the Pharaohs, and everybody else and the serfs had to go out in the field and give 90% of what they earned to government, just like we do in America here during the slave trade, during slavery time. Those guys are out in the field giving all of this stuff to the slave owner and that is exactly what we’re doing right now. We’ve got the ruling class, government, taking all of the riches of America unto themselves. And then got you believing the problem we have is the rich man who got up off his rear end and went to work and earned what he got today. I want to be rich one day and I darn sure don’t want government telling me when I can be rich and how long it’s going to take me to become rich as a result. Now in these budgets they’ve got, if they’re not cutting the costs, the labor costs of government, moving it down to the private sector area, then they’re blowing smoke and lying to us all. SCULLY: Okay. There are a lot of arguments you could make about how ridiculous and wrong every single thing this man had to say was, including being completely backwards when it comes to large corporations and people getting rich off of our tax dollars. But that aside, I wish someone would also ask this man to read or listen to this (the video is at the original post). Thom Hartmann: Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican : One of my favorites from Thom Hartman. His recital of John Gray’s Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican : “A Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican” Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised. All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo; His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor. Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some liberal didn’t think he should loose his home because of his temporary misfortune. Its noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time. Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republican’s would still be sitting in the dark) He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home. He turns on a radio talk show, the host’s keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn’t tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day) Joe agrees, “We don’t need those big government liberals ruining our lives; after all, I’m a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have”.

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News Bulletin – 0130GMT update

The main headlines on Al Jazeera English, featuring the latest news and reports from around the world.

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