• US welcomes release of online activist Wael Ghonim • Protesters are calling for further mass protests today • Human Rights Watch says at least 297 killed in protests ترجم هذه الصفحة إلى العربية 8.41am: Blogger and activist Omar Robert Hamilton says there is a sense of “semi permanence” about the protest camp in Tahrir Square. A revolutionary, organic, engaged, democaratic space has emerged in Tahrir Square. Numbers swell and fall throughout the day, people come and go, but intense and sophisticated political engagement remains a fixture. From debates about the relative merits of parliamentary vs presidential systems, to proposals about consititutional reforms, to suggested programmes of poltical transition, there is only one thing on everyone’s mind. Some debates are held around the numerous microphones, with crowds cheering or booing the speaker’s proposals. Some are held in small circles on the ground that attract passers by eager to listen or voice an opinion, all are open to everyone to participate. And as the square takes on a feeling of semi-permanence, representatives from all the other protest movements in Egypt have arrived. Young men and women from Alexandria and Suez, from Mansoura and all across the country are settling down in Tahrir to contribute towards the building of a new democracy. In Alexandria, a chant doing the rounds is The Mandate is with Tahrir. The question on everyone’s lips is how will a unified mandate emerge? Right now, no one knows for sure. But we do know two things. That whatever happens, for the first time in decades, there is a space in Egypt that is home to total freedom of thought and expression and political creativity. And that whatever mandate – or mandates – present themselves from the square, if they are not completely satisfying to the protestors, they won’t be going anywhere. A new society has taken root in Tahrir, and it wont be driven out until the people have won their freedom. 8.21am: Wael Ghonim release could help relaunch the revolution , argues Issandr El Amrani on his Arabist blog. This cathartic moment may be the spark that was needed to revive Egypt’s revolutionary fervor. The regime had, to some extent successfully, driven a wedge between the protestors and the majority of Egyptians who have spent the last two weeks terrified about the lack of security and hurting because the economy has come to a halt. It also spread insidious, xenophobic propaganda about how the people in Tahrir were foreigners, paid by the US to protest, agents of Israel and Iran (those two fight a lot but will always get together against Egypt, obviously), or simply that their behavior is “not Egyptian.” I thought that the next step for the people in Tahrir would have been to retake the initiative by suggesting its own roadmap for transition, or focusing on the many deaths and reports of the use of snipers that are coming out. After two weeks, the world’s media is getting tired of this story and there needed to be a relaunch. Who better than a marketing executive from Google to do that?… Today’s day of rage should be big, and with these few minutes of television the people in Tahrir may finally have a leader. 7.54am: Today’s planned rally will be a key test of whether the protesters can maintain momentum, Chris McGreal reports from the Cairo streets above the sound of car horns. It is the first one since the government tried to get Egypt back to normality. It is another million man march as they like to call them. What is likely to bring people out is that the government is trying to pretend that the protests in Tahrir Square are no longer relevant and that the process has moved on to political negotiations. I don’t think there is a danger of it [the protests] running out of momentum. It is more a danger of it being out manoeuvred and being strung out. They are trying to sit them out. That’s partly why today’s demonstrate will be a test of whether they do still have the momentum. The traffic is evidence that Cairo is returning to normal to some degree. But despite the government’s attempts to suggest that the demonstrations are isolated and minor now, there are a lot of people in this city who feel it hasn’t returned to normal. 7.48am: As we reported in Monday’s live blog, Human Rights Watch estimates at least 297 have died in the protests. In a new emailed statement it breaks down the figures and says it fears the actual figure is likely to be much higher. Human Rights Watch puts the death toll as at least 297 killed since January 28 – 232 in Cairo, 52 in Alexandria and 13 in Suez – and we believe it is an essential part of the picture of police violence against protesters in Egypt over the past two weeks. In order to get as accurate a count of the casualties as possible, Human Rights Watch visited three hospitals in Cairo, two in Alexandria and one in Suez. A colleague from a partner organization visited a further two hospitals in Cairo. We also believe that hospital officials were instructed to downplay the overall number of deaths. The actual number of deaths will likely be significantly higher than 297, because our count is only based on key hospitals in three cities. We have only included numbers of dead that we were able to verify ourselves. 7.26am: The US has welcomed the release of the online activist and Google executive and Egypt Wael Ghonim. State department spokesman PJ Crowley tweeted: ving been released in #Egypt earlier today, it is good to see @Ghonim back on line . In an emotional TV interview Ghonim said: I am not a hero. I only used the keyboard, the real heroes are the ones on the ground. Those I can’t name. Inside I met people who loved Egypt but their methods and mine are not the same. I pay these guys’ salaries from my taxes, I have the right to ask the ministers where my money is going, this is our country. I believe that if things get better those [who he met in prison] will serve Egypt well. Don’t stand in our way, we are going to serve Egypt. The website Alive in Egypt has provided English subtitles to Ghonim’s TV interview. Al-Jazeera his this report on his release. Tuesdays and Fridays have been the days for big demonstrations in Egypt and another mass protest is planned for today . But there are questions about whether the protesters can maintain momentum. Tens of thousands of protesters are expected in Tahrir Square today, but the hard core of those who refuse to leave has dwindled to around 1,000 . “Can Egypt’s revolution stay the distance?” asks the Independent’s Donald Macintyre in Cairo. The increasing signs of normality in parts of Cairo yesterday belied a continuing stalemate between the two sides in the fortnight-old conflict. Even as the regime tried to suggest that it was back to business at usual, the protesters who remain in Tahrir Square angrily argued otherwise. There may have been fewer of them than the day before, but they showed no sign of backing down, with the vocal rejection of the regime’s insinuations of growing agreement on constitutional reform only the most obvious sign of their determination to carry on. The protesters are deterred from ending the struggle in Tahrir Square by a real fear of arrest, victimisation and revenge by the authorities if they give up… Whether protesters will take to the streets today in the kinds of numbers that they did at the end of last week remains in doubt. The Guardian’s Ian Black explores the constitutional options for reform . One initiative calls on Mubarak to devolve to Suleiman the responsibilities of managing the transitional period, dissolving the Shura (consultative upper) council and People’s Assembly (lower house) and form a committee of legal experts and independent judges to prepare constitutional amendments. But some experts warn that Mubarak’s immediate departure could make it harder to carry out changes. “If he resigns, the situation will be dangerous because we will have a constitutional vacuum, which means that we will have no chance to amend the constitution,” Ibrahim Darwish, a constitutional lawyer at Cairo University, told al-Masry al-Yom newspaper. Egypt Hosni Mubarak Protest Middle East Matthew Weaver guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
In Cairo’s Tahrir [Liberation] Square, there’s a growing sense of camaraderie, as demonstrators continue to rally until Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak steps down. As the unrest enters its third week, protesters are forging close bonds, and exploring new ways of making their voices heard. Al Jazeera’s Sherine Tadros reports from Cairo.
Continue reading …
As the winds of change blew across the Arab world, the US, the power that has long dominated the region, has been particularly absent. With all its allies crumbling one after another, what will the US do to maintain its influence in the region? And what can be expected of Israel, the country’s closest ally in the region? Will the spread of democracy lead to a peaceful end to decades of autocratic rule in the Middle East or will the fear of Islamist extremism galvinise Washington’s resolve to reinforce Pax Americana?
Continue reading …
The Chechen separatist leader Doku Umarov has claimed responsibility for last month’s bombing at Moscow’s main airport that killed 36 people. Al Jazeera’s Neave Barker reports from Moscow.
Continue reading …Time Helps Declare Michelle Obama One of the Most Fashionable First Ladies in History
February 8, 2011 No Comment
Time magazine knows it can't be all serious, so in addition to its cover story on Egypt this week, they have a gushy piece on Michelle Obama's fashions, written by Kate Betts , author of the new book Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style.
Continue reading …Genre: Mick Jagger & Merry Clayton Title: Gimme Shelter I’m headed to Kenya tomorrow to climb Kilimanjaro and will be out of internet range for a couple of weeks. My friends will be holding it down for me here at the LNMC. I figured I would leave y’all with one that has been blowing my mind lately. Here’s the isolated vocal track from ‘Gimme Shelter’, featuring Merry Clayton on vocals. Every time I listen to it I get shivers down my spine. See y’all in a few…
Continue reading …
A fire swept through several warehouses in Brazil’s capital Rio de Janeiro, destroying costumes and floats meant for the city’s world-famous carnival in March. Some warehouses lost ninety per cent of their stock, with overall damages estimated at more than $5m. Many feel it will be an impossible task trying to restore an entire year’s worth of work in just a single month. Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo reports from Sao Paulo.
Continue reading …
Keith Olbermann is rumored to be announcing Tuesday that he is joining Al Gore's struggling network Current TV. The New York Times reported moments ago: One of the people with knowledge of the plans said Mr. Olbermann would have an equity stake in Current TV. The people insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized by their employers to comment in advance of the official announcement. On Monday a public relations agency hired by Mr. Olbermann scheduled a Tuesday morning conference call for an announcement about his next job. “He and his new partners will make an exciting announcement regarding the next chapter in his remarkable career,” the agency wrote in an e-mail. Current TV has set up a presentation with advertisers for Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan to announce its future plans. The channel may be betting on Mr. Olbermann to put it on the cable map. The low-rated five-year-old channel needs the help. Targeting young people, it originally subsisted on YouTube-style submissions and video journalists. More recently it started producing and acquiring traditional television series, like repeats of “This American Life.” NewsBusters readers may recall that Current has not been doing very well, and went through a large restructuring in November 2009 which included cutting more than 20 percent of its 380 total employees. This followed another layoff of 60 workers the prior year. Talk about working your way down the ladder of success. Odder still, the company that just finalized its purchase of NBC Universal, Comcast, owns a 10 percent equity stake in Current. If Olbermann's departure from MSNBC had anything to do with concerns the new owners weren't going to let him get away with the nonsense he's infamous for, it seems that he may have jumped out of the fire and into the frying pan. As for the possibility of Olbermann teaming up with Gore, it makes sense in so many ways, as it would bring together two of America's foremost purveyors of liberal propaganda. Almost a match made in left-wing heaven. The good news is that if this turns out to be the case, Americans will likely see far less of the former “Countdown” host as Current TV is only available in roughly 60 million homes typically in the digital tier which requires a separate receiver. Makes it almost a metaphysical certitude his ratings will be even worse. As such, let's hope this is indeed Olbermann's big move.
Continue reading …Journalists Talk About ‘Fundamental Transformation’ Of Egyptian Politics
February 8, 2011 No Comment
In one of the better pieces I’ve see n, Christiane Amanpour leads a really interesting discussion on This Week with journalists who cover the Middle East, talking about the dangers of democracy in a movement with no clear leadership. The BBC’s John Simpson expressed concern that the Muslim Brotherhood could rise to power in that vacuum, just as they did in Iran after their revolution. He also said most people understood the U.S. was more interested in stability in the region than democracy: Veteran Egyptian journalist Nadia abou el-Magd said it comes down to the protesters. “They that made revolution and they are in the position to impose their conditions,” said el-Magd, who works for the newspaper Al-Ahram and The Associated Press. “They don’t see that … anybody else is in a position to impose their conditions on them.” Egyptian journalist Lamia Radi said the protestors “will try to stay as long as they can,” but, she warned, there is “mounting pressure from the people who want to be back to business [and] … the sympathy is waning a little bit, especially among the people. “But, of course, no one wants to give up. They know they have done something unprecedented in this area, in this region, especially in Egypt where you have been under a dictatorship for maybe 7,000 years now,” said Radi, who works for the newswire Agence France Presse and the newspaper Al-Shorouk. She explained that one of the main impediments for protestors to succeed is that they are not unified. “They don’t have one main leader to talk to. They don’t have one head, they have several heads,” she said. “And I think they have to unify their voice.” The BBC’s John Simpson picked up on the idea that economic trends loom large in determining how this crisis will end. “The estimate is that it’s costing this country $300 million every single day. I just think it’s not going to be possible to keep the pressure up sufficient to force Mr. Mubarak to do what the crowds want him to do — what many people in this country want him to do,” Simpson said. Mubarak has “played that stubbornness card, which often seems to work in these revolutionary situations. He’s not moving. He’s an old man. He’s got the pride and the stubbornness of an old man.” Anthony Shadid, the Pulitzer prize-winning journalist from The New York Times, said that the biggest difficulty the protestors face is turning their demands into “real political capital” and seeing just how much that capital is worth. “We’re talking about the changes in the constitution, perhaps the abolition of the ruling party, dissolution of parliament. There’s some really far-reaching demands,” he said. And “that’s the challenge facing the opposition. How far does this revolution actually go?” David Muir, who has been covering the story for ABC News alongside Amanpour, put the question of how the crisis plays out in stark relief: “It’s a question of who is going to blink here. The people in the crowd believe that they have been victorious, that they’re not going to give up. But how do you stay? We’re now 12, 13 days into this. We see them carrying the bags of food in. And the question is, how much longer can this last?” Regardless of how the dénouement of this monumental story plays out, Simpson told the group that this crisis would not be lost to history. “Whoever takes over, whatever government is formed, they won’t be able to forget what’s happened here. That will always be something they’ll be careful to avoid happening again.” Shadid, who has covered the Middle East from Baghdad to Beirut, emphasized just how monumental the protests in Egypt have been. “What we’ve seen in the past 12 days is probably one of the most remarkable popular uprisings in the history of the modern Arab world,” he said. “And what it’s done, I think, in some ways I think you could also make the argument that the revolution has already happened. For the first time in, I think, a generation, Egyptians have proved that they’re not going to live by the rules of a government that has basically said they can’t govern themselves. I think this is a fundamental transformation of politics here.”
Continue reading …
Click here to view this media [H/t commenter Mugsy ] It was pretty hard this weekend to find anything but warm, gushing encomiums to Ronald Reagan on his 100th birthday anywhere on the teevee — particularly at Fox, where the fawning coverage doubled as an opportunity to bash President Obama . The one exception was this brief report from ABC News’ Jake Tapper. While far from complete, it at least covers some of the more significant differences between the real president that Ronald Reagan was and the fake myths about him that have become enmeshed in right-wing conventional wisdom since — and thus embedded as truth for mainstream media. But really, this only points to the larger truth about this whole weekend’s worth of praise for Reagan, which included a special halftime program at the Super Bowl, fergawdsake. As Charles Pierce adroitly observes : By way of historical comparison, the centennial of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s birth took place in 1982. The halftime entertainment at that year’s Super Bowl — the telecast not yet having been blown up to 96.5 hours — consisted of Up With People singing a medley of Motown hits. Somewhere between those two events is something that says a great deal about this nation, not much of it encouraging. Maybe the NFLPA should change its acronym to PATCO and eliminate all confusion. Much as Reagan himself was during his presidency, his image is now functionally just a stand-in for conservative-movement ideology. Whatever conservatives need him to be now, that’s what the Reagan Myth stands for — even though, as Jon Perr points out, today’s Tea Partiers would call Reagan a RINO. And that’s why, as Will Bunch explores at length in his great book, Tear Down This Myth , there has evolved in fact a cottage industry around the mythologization of Ronald Reagan — naming airports and boulevards and buildings after him, constantly burnishing his achievements, constantly celebrating various Reagan anniversaries, including slightly odd ones like his 100th birthday. This industry exists not to much to celebrate Reagan the actual president, but to embed conservative mythology in the nation’s political landscape — even after its disastrous consequences are made manifest: There has always been a place for mythology in American democracy – the hulking granite edifices of the Capitol Mall in Washington are a powerful testament to that – but this nation has arguably never seen the kind of bold, crudely calculated and ideologically driven legend-manufacturing as has taken place with Ronald Reagan. It is a myth machine that has been spectacularly successful, launched in the mid-1990s when the conservative brand was at low ebb.The docudrama version of the Gipper’s life story, successfully sold to the American public, helped to keep united and refuel a right-wing movement that consolidated power while citing Reaganism – as separate and apart from the flesh-and-blood Reagan – for misguided policies from lowering taxes in the time of war in Iraq to maintaining that unpopular conflict in a time of increasing bloodshed and questionable gains. As Bunch recently observed , in recalling the way the so-called liberal media attended to Reagan’s funeral on bended knee: The death of Reagan some six-and-a-half years ago, and the remarkable tenor – not to mention the depth — of the news coverage, especially on cable TV news channels, marked something of a turning point. It showed the extent to which a vast content-hungry media world – much more extensive than when Reagan was president in the 1980s, when their main concern was the half-hour evening network newscast — was eager to swallow the manufactured myths about Ronald Reagan, and thus honor what the unnamed TV executive told Hoagland, that “today history is what we say it is.” Any chance for an honest portrayal of Reagan and his presidency – the dangerous overreach of the Iran-contra scandal, the growing embrace of deficit spending (both in Washington and for credit-card-laden consumers), or even the positive idea that his greatest contribution to history was a heartfelt desire to rid the world of nuclear weapons (an idea out of step with modern conservative thinking) – has been tossed down the memory hole for the last decade. What the American people have been news-fed instead has been an ideology loosely based on Reagan, called Reaganism – a notion that has led to the Tea Party’s hatred of anything involving government and the bogus ideas that taxes can only be cut or that diplomacy with America’s rivals is for wimps. With each passing election, more and more of the electorate is too young to have remembered or experienced the real Ronald Reagan, yet are searching for an idealized president based on these right-wing perpetrated fallacies. Many of the worst aspects of the George W. Bush presidency – more tax cuts for the rich, soaring deficits, and “axis of evil” bluster – were rooted in this legend of a man who wasn’t there. My own recollection of Reagan was that he destroyed the Republican Party for moderate Republicans such as I was at the time, especially by empowering the Religious Right. It drove people like me out of the GOP, and we’ve never looked back.
Continue reading …