Police appear to have withdrawn from many parts of the Egyptian capital and it is the people who now own the streets. Locals armed with sticks and knives are setting up their own neighbourhood security groups to protect their homes and property. Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland reports from Nasr City in Cairo.
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Looters have managed to break into the Egyptian museum in Cairo during violent protests and Several priceless and ancient artefacts were damaged. Officials say nothing was stolen, but the images of empty cabinets suggest otherwise. Troops have now secured the museum and authorities at sites across the country have taken precautions to secure antiquities. Al Jazeera’s Will Jordan reports.
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Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, has for the first time during his three decades in power appointed a vice-president. The move came after days of violent protests in which tens of thousands have called for Mubarak’s resignation. But the appointment has done little to quell the unrest. The man now second-in-command is Omar Sulemein, the country’s former spy chief, who has been working closely with Mubarak during most of his reign. The 75-year-old has been mediating in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and won the respect of both Washington and Israel. Al Jazeera’s Hoda Hamid portrays the military veteran whose nomination is seen is an attempt by Mubarak to retain international support.
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Click here to view this media Bill Maher had another great New Rules segment tonight with his comparison between the economic models embraced by the NFL and MLB and those of the Democratic and Republican parties. You can say this doesn’t necessarily apply to a lot of conserva-Dems, and I’m sure Bill would agree, but the analogy between liberal and conservative economic ideologies is spot on. MAHER: So it’s no surprise that some 100 million Americans will watch the Super Bowl next week. That’s forty million more than go to church on Christmas. Suck on that Jesus! It’s also 85 million more than watched the last game of the World Series and in that is an economic lesson for America, because football is built on an economic model of fairness and opportunity. And baseball is built on a model with the rich always winning and the poor usually have no chance. The World Series is like the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills; you have to be a rich bitch just to play. Where as the Superbowl is like Tila Tequilla, anyone can get in. Or to put it another way, football is more like the Democratic philosophy. Democrats don’t want to eliminate capitalism or competition, but they would like it if some kids didn’t have to go to a crummy school in a rotten neighborhood, while others get to go to a great school, and their dad gets them into Harvard. Because when that happens, achieving the American dream is easy for some and just a fantasy for others. That’s why the NFL literally shares the wealth. TV is their biggest source of revenue and they put it all in a big Commie pot and split if thirty two ways. Because they don’t want anyone to fall too far behind. That’s why the team that wins the Superbowl in the next draft, picks last, or what the Republicans would call “punishing success.” Baseball… baseball on the other hand is exactly like the Republicans. And I don’t just mean it’s incredibly boring. I mean their economic theory is every man for himself. The small market Pittsburgh Steelers go to the Superbowl more than anybody. But the Pittsburgh Pirates? Levi Johnston has sperm that will not grow up and live long enough to see the Pirates in a World Series. Their payroll is forty million. The Yankees is two hundred and six million. The Pirates have about as much chance of getting to the playoffs as a poor black teenager from Newark has of becoming the CEO of Halliburton. That’s why people stop going to Pirate games in May. Because if you’re not in the game, you become indifferent to the fate of the game and maybe even get bitter. That’s what’s happening to the middle class in America. It’s also how Marie Antoinette lost her head. So you kind of have to laugh that the same angry white males who hate Obama because he’s “redistributing wealth” just love football; a sport that succeeds because it does just that.
Continue reading …New David Brock Funding PAC To Compete With Conservative Special Interest Groups
January 30, 2011 No Comment
enlarge Interesting news from the Plumline’s Greg Sargent last yesterday about a major shift for Media Matters’ David Brock: It looks like David Brock is getting more serious about building a powerful apparatus on the left to go head-to-head with the flood of outside money conservative groups are planning to pump into the 2012 elections. I’m told that Brock has made some major staff shifts within his Media Matters empire in preparation for 2012, shifting key staff over to a new third-party spending vehicle he’s created to spend big money on campaigns this cycle, which is called American Bridge. Brock will move Media Matters’ top communications director, Chris Harris, over to American Bridge, and he’s installing a new president and CEO at Media Matters, Matthew Butler. That will allow Brock to focus more energy on building out the new effort and enlisting major donors to finance it. Also: In another indication that Brock is shifting his empire harder into politics, he has enlisted one of the key architects of MoveOn’s growth over the last few years — operative Ilyse Hogue — to oversee a new Media Matters operation dedicated specifically to taking action against right wing media. Brock outlined these and other staff shifts in a memo for staff this afternoon. Brock is a major Beltway player, and if his effort gains traction, it could have a real impact on the 2012 campaigns, helping to offset the lopsided advantage conservative groups are expected to enjoy. It’s also a sign that Washington’s power liberal types are getting serious about figuring out how to navigate the new, post-Citizens United landscape, which has clearly put them at a disadvantage.
Continue reading …It is in the interest of autocratic Arab nations to note the mood in Egypt and effect change Days of rage in Egypt signify the end of days for Hosni Mubarak’s repressive and bankrupt regime. For 30 years, the president has held his country down through fear, secret police, emergency laws, American cash subsidies and a lamentable absence of vision and imagination. His crude, Gaullist message: without me, chaos. Now the chaos has come anyway. And Mubarak must go. Five days of rage on the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and dozens of other cities have transformed the way Egypt sees itself. For years, they said it was impossible. The regime was too powerful, the masses too apathetic, the security apparatus too ubiquitous. Like eastern Europeans trapped in the Soviet Union’s cold, pre-1991 embrace, they struggled in the dark, without help, without hope. Movements for change, such as Kefaya (Enough!), were brutally suppressed. Courageous dissidents such as Ayman Nour were harassed, beaten and imprisoned. Yet all the time, pressure for reform was rising. Every day, higher prices, economic stagnation, poverty and unemployment, political stasis, official corruption and a stifled, censored public space became less and less tolerable. Every day, impatience with the regime’s insulting insouciance bred more enemies. Hatred seeped like poison through the veins of the people. Until, at last, in five days of rage, as if as one, they cried: “Enough!” And now, Mubarak must go. Fittingly, Egypt’s youth led the way against the old order, using not guns or bombs but the arsenal of 21st-century information technology: social media, mobiles, texts and emails. The Paris mob of Bastille notoriety became, through peaceful evolution, the flash mob of Tahrir Square. They espoused no leaders. They wrote no plans. In fast-moving, separate but interconnected street offensives, they out-thought, outfoxed and outran the police. With the once omnipotent security forces looking beatable, Egyptians of all backgrounds rose to join the fight: students, trade unionists, women, rights activists, Islamists and, crucially, the great workers’ army of Egypt’s employed and unemployed. Here, truly, was people power in all its magnificent might. Here was democracy in the raw. Here was the legitimacy of an Egypt freed of its old fears and suddenly alive to its changing destiny. In five days of rage, they seized control of their country’s future. And so, inevitably, Mubarak must go. It is clear that Mubarak does not share this view and that the army, for now, is backing him. The 82-year-old’s television appearance on Friday night only underscored how little he understands the causes of the tumult. Like Tunisia’s recently deposed president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Mubarak chided the demonstrators, insisted stability was all and shifted the blame to others, sacking his cabinet and promising another. He gave no assurances about this autumn’s elections, made no mention of his intentions or those of his purported heir, Gamal, though his selection yesterday of his old henchman Omar Suleiman as vice president hinted at a new succession strategy, and offered no vision of reform. He made plain he would not go. This impasse is not acceptable, this deadlock cannot be sustained. It is damaging to the region, to Egypt’s western friends and, most of all, to Egypt itself. All concerned now have an urgent duty to think afresh. For unreformed Arab regimes that look to Egypt for leadership, the message is clear. Several, following Tunisia’s example, have been rattled by attempted uprisings. In Jordan, in Yemen, in Algeria, a common theme emerges: demands for inclusive, open, honest governance and for economic opportunity and social freedom. These demands may only be addressed by a root-and-branch reconstruction of governance. As a string of UN reports in the past decade has illustrated, the Arab world is being left behind by other regions, whether the benchmark be literacy, educational achievement, private enterprise, healthcare or women’s rights. These trends, if allowed to continue unchecked, promise only more days of rage, more instability and more grief. A good start would be the renunciation by Arab leaders of objectionable dynastic succession plans that, in Libya, Syria and elsewhere, have seen favoured sons follow, or be selected to follow, their fathers into power. In Egypt, Gamal Mubarak must state publicly he will not seek the presidency once his father has gone. For western countries, particularly the US, the paymaster of the Mubarak regime, a radical new approach is also now required. In recent days, Barack Obama has increased the pressure on Mubarak. But he has not, as yet, withdrawn his personal support. That should change. Obama, David Cameron and EU leaders must tell Mubarak that his time is up, that the appointment of an interim government of national unity, the release of political prisoners, the suspension of emergency laws and free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections is the only way forward they will support. Other autocratic Arab regimes must hear the same message. The west’s postwar dance with Middle Eastern tyranny is ending. That it would end in tears and teargas is wholly unsurprising. But end it must. The regimes must reform from within, with help from without. There is no sane or safe alternative. For sure, it is a fraught proposition. But what great reform moment is not? In place of Mubarak and men of his ilk, western leaders fear the rise of militant Islam, the ascendancy of groups such as Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, and a general loss of influence and stability in a Middle East made free for democracy. As Palestine fractures under the weight of revelations about secret negotiations with Israel, as shaky Lebanon faces a new Hezbollah-led government, and as Iran crows over what it hopes will be the domino collapse of the “apostate” regimes, the US takes fright at a world unravelling beyond its control. Courage and vision are required in Washington as well as Cairo. The US, Britain and other western governments that have wrongly valued stability above freedom should take inspiration from the brave people of Egypt. They have shown the way. In five days of rage, they overcame their fears, broke with the old ways and made a glorious, chaotic yet purposeful lunge for a future full of hope for all. They made a reality of democracy. Now they must make their choice freely. So, first, Mubarak must go. Egypt Protest guardian.co.uk
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‘The youth are motivated to keep going, and the old political leaders have been left behind’ HAGGAG HAMD Agricultural supplies company employee and kung fu coach, 28 I was beaten yesterday by security; you can see where they broke my rib. But I don’t care – just look around you. The energy of the Egyptians is amazing. We’re saying no to unemployment, no to police brutality, no to poverty. We saw how scared Mubarak and his regime was; they’re being forced to listen to the people. Now the army is with us too, I’m sure of it. The job isn’t completed yet but we’re not losing any momentum. These protests will continue day after day until every bit of the regime falls. The psychological barrier between us and our president has been broken by teargas; the government created this uprising, and now they will face the consequences. MARIAM HAZEM HASSAN Student, 27 It’s the young who should be leading the nation; it’s our ideas that will shape the future. I go to an international school, and am part of a well-educated generation that was told that if we worked hard we would be able to influence things when we were older. But before today that never really seemed possible, all the doors were closed. Then we saw Tunisia, and now everything’s different: the youth have started this movement in Egypt, the youth are motivated to keep going, and the old political leaders have been left behind. I saw Mubarak’s speech; he’s trying to make us scared, fearful of the chaos. But actually they’re scared of us. People are still furious, and they want Mubarak to leave. I think that fury is going to culminate in something big in the next few days unless he does. AFAF MAMDOH Commerce student at Cairo University, 22 I watched [Mubarak's] speech and it was basically him saying screw you to the people. Well, guess what, we’re saying screw you to him too. We won’t stop sitting here until Mubarak gets on a plane. I’m going to have all of this week’s chants ringing in my ears for ever – down, down Hosni Mubarak – it’s not just enough for him to leave, we want him arrested by Interpol. It’s exhausting to sit through a whole night while gas and rubber bullets and live ammunition rain towards you. But it was also exhilarating, because this is a revolution without individual leaders; the Egyptian people are leading it. This is nothing to do with ElBaradei or the Muslim Brotherhood or any of the other political parties; they are absent. We are all just Egyptians, and we are standing together. MARWAN DJEDAOUNI Retired manager for Texas Instruments, 74 At my age I couldn’t go out but of course I support what is going on. I stayed inside and watched it on the BBC. Things have gone backwards in this country in the last 30 years. The current regime are thieves. You know it has just got much, much worse because there is so much more greed. We are all so sick of what is happening. Part of the problem is that people talk about opposition politicians but there are no opposition politicians in Egypt any more. I remember in the 1950s we had no political rights. Now we have rights but they are not worth anything. But if you ask me the question “Has something changed with the protests?”, then I have to answer, “No!” I cannot be an optimist in a country where out of 85 million only 8.5 million are doing well. MOHAMED EL-GAZZAR Works in marketing for a telecoms company, 37 I respect Hosni Mubarak; he’s our leader and he carries our nation’s history with him. But it’s clear there’s no future for him, and I only hope now that he leaves peacefully. We’ve had 30 years of emptiness and stagnation from one man, and now the demand for change is unstoppable. I didn’t come out on to the streets yesterday because it was a mess . But today feels different. The new regime will ensure our voices are heard. We mustn’t forget the role of the US and the UK in all of this. The hypocrisy of [President] Obama was amazing; your western capitals have supported this regime from the very beginning – now suddenly everybody is concerned for our rights and economic security. Where were they before? ATEF SEIF EL-DIN Electrical engineer, 47 I’ve never had any love for Mubarak or his system before, but my mind – like everyone else’s – has always been sealed from the possibility of change. And honestly, when I began chanting for my rights and the government security forces fired teargas at me, that seal was broken for ever. I’m here picking up the debris from Tahrir Square today because it is my duty. We’ve taken control of our streets from the police and whereas they threw bombs around, the people want to prove they can look after it better. This is our country; we’re not thieves, not looters, we’re just taking back what is ours from the forces of corruption. Trying to keep the square clean is a symbol of that. Interviews by Peter Beaumont and Jack Shenker Egypt Middle East Protest Peter Beaumont Jack Shenker guardian.co.uk
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The outcome of the wave of protests that has shaken Egypt remains unclear and discernible political leadership is yet to emerge What’s happening in Egypt and how serious is it? Since Tuesday student and opposition groups have been staging protests across Egypt inspired by the uprising that toppled the former president of Tunisia, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, a fortnight ago. On Friday, such was the intensity of the protests that President Hosni Mubarak, in power for 30 years, sacked his cabinet and made vague promises of reform. But, as the fifth day of protests showed yesterday, the gesture did nothing to placate the crowds. Like all Arab countries, Egypt has a large youth population which has grown angry about unemployment, poverty, rising food prices and an autocratic leadership seen as corrupt and stagnated. Who are the opposition? Almost everyone. In an unprecedented display of unity among disparate wings of Egyptian society, middle-class students and internet-savvy young people are protesting alongside older, hardened activists and those from less privileged backgrounds. In terms of official political opposition, however, the picture is less clear. The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest – and banned – opposition group, has kept a low profile and chosen not to fully endorse the protests. Former UN nuclear chief and Nobel peace prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei is viewed by many as the strongest opposition candidate for this year’s presidential elections. He returned to Egypt on Thursday and called for Mubarak to stand down – only to be placed under house arrest. Is there a danger of an Islamist takeover? At the moment, the Muslim Brotherhood is playing catch-up with a young, leaderless protest movement. But chaos always opens opportunities and years of oppression by the government has angered and frustrated ordinary people. The brotherhood has enormous support among the poor, encouraged by the network of charities it runs. Observers have been debating the sincerity of the brotherhood’s apparent moves towards real political reform, and point to its inability to directly challenge Mubarak’s government. What are the implications for the Middle East? Egypt is the most populous Arab nation and, as the first to sign a peace treaty with Israel, a major Middle Eastern player. A change in regime could have a big impact on the fragile peace process. But the biggest fear is of a domino effect, similar to what happened in eastern Europe in 1989, when a successful uprising encourages other “people power” movements, leaving Arab autocrats nervous and oil prices in flux. And for the west? As reflected in the mild comments from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on Friday, western politicians need to achieve the right balance between backing the people’s legitimate demands and protecting their own interests. It is not good for western powers to lend their support to autocratic regimes. But it is in no one’s interest to have a political vacuum in countries where extremism and violence can flourish and where much of the world’s oil reserves are managed. Egypt Middle East Israel Middle East peace talks guardian.co.uk
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‘Mubarak must fall’ – all across Cairo the protesters’ message is the same
January 30, 2011 No CommentSacrificing government ministers is not enough: for the people to be satisfied, the president must be deposed As evening fell across central Cairo’s Tahrir Square, a black cloud of smoke welled in the distance from close to the interior ministry. The sound of shots rang out. First one. Then bursts. Then more shots: live rounds, rubber baton rounds, and gas. If it was intended to frighten the crowds who had milled around the square all day, it seemed by early evening to have failed. “I’ve just been hit. They’re shooting live ammunition at us. I can see blood on the floor,” said veteran Egyptian activist Ahmed Salah, who had been hit by pellets and spoke to the Observer on the phone. But he remained undaunted: “If we persist, then Hosni Mubarak will surely leave.” Yesterday, just as it has been for the past five days, Tahrir Square was the new centre of the surging revolution that has seized the Arab world. Far from being cowed or placated, the thousands of protesters were instead determined to hold their ground. Determined – as they have been for days – to insist on the removal of Mubarak, Egypt’s president for three decades. In Cairo it was scrawled across walls and written over statues: “Mubarak must fall.” As Egypt erupted in a fifth day of dissent and popular anger, the square nursed its wounds of revolution – as did the people, bandaged and bruised, who turned up to fill it again. Streets were littered with debris, glass, rocks and shotgun casings. Charred fire engines and two army scout cars, torched on Friday night, were towed away with the help of the crowd. And throughout the day, a vast pall of smoke hung in the sky over the capital: set alight the night before, the headquarters of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party were still blazing despite the efforts of firemen. For the protesters, Mubarak’s address to the nation in the early hours, in which he announced that he was firing his entire government but not himself, meant little. Indeed, for many, it merely rubbed salt into their wounds. “All he said was empty promises and lies. He appointed a new government of thieves, one thief goes and one thief comes to loot the country,” said Mahmoud Mohammed Imam, a 26-year-old taxi driver. “This is the revolution of the people who are hungry, this is the revolution of the people who have no money against those with a lot of money.” Mubarak’s broadcast was almost surreal in its lack of awareness of the crisis that is engulfing Egypt’s creaking 30-year leadership: a crisis that, while it has many points of tension, is held together by a single issue – the desire of so many to depose him. It was an address filled with vague promises of social reform, an attempt to cling to power by disposing of everyone below him. And, for many of the people who have suffered under his regime, it only confirmed the nature of the man: a self-interested and ruthless authoritarian concerned only with his survival. Bizarrely, perhaps, given what the moment called for, he defended his hated security forces and accused demonstrators – who come from every walk of Egyptian life – of plotting to destabilise the country and undermine the legitimacy of his regime. “Mubarak’s announcement did not reflect the will of the Egyptian people,” said an incredulous Hossam Hareedy, an activist. “We want to get rid of a tyrant. Firing the cabinet was not what we had in mind. What we want is for Mubarak to be cut down. But not just him. We want the corrupt members of his government to go, as well as members of parliament who we did not vote for,” he added, referring to last November’s elections which were widely viewed as rigged. In the state of flux that has suddenly seized Egypt, however, no one knows what the final outcome will be. People are unsure about where the police and army stand. And while protesters such as Kamal Maurice, a recent graduate of the American University in Cairo, believe that Mubarak must go, they are not sure how it will happen. “I think the military will push him out, otherwise the people will just keep going – every day until he goes,” he said. “Because the Egyptian people have proved themselves to be brave.” Mubarak, incidentally, was not the only world leader to be the focus of rage. “We want to send a message to Obama,” Maurice said, venting his fury after the US president’s restrained comments on Friday. “We’ve seen CNN and the BBC. Our message is that he has to stop kissing Mubarak’s arse. America has to understand that Egypt is against him. America should be so too.” In this violent limbo strange scenes were being played out. One army captain, holding a single daffodil given to him by the crowd, joined the demonstrators, who hoisted him on their shoulders while chanting slogans against Mubarak. The officer had ripped up a picture of the president. “We don’t want him! We will go after him!” demonstrators shouted. They decried looting and vandalism, saying: “Those who love Egypt should not sabotage Egypt!” Near Ramses Street another army officer stood atop a tank with a loudspeaker to tell the crowd that they had to secure the city and stop the looters – not fight with them. And, as volunteers picked up rubbish, handed out water or sat in small groups, the protesters vowed not to leave until the regime does the same. “Do you know what this means to us,” shouted Karim Kamal, who teaches political science at university. “Do you have any understanding of what this means for us? I’m not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, I’m an ordinary Egyptian and if we have the will to keep up the pressure Mubarak will go, but it will depend on our defiance and the numbers who come out.” For many, the role of the army was seen as a crucial indicator of the way things are going. “The army has traditionally been a neutral force here in Egypt,” said Kamal. “It is the police and the central security forces that the people hate. They are the ones who have oppressed us. We are trying to bring the army on to our side against Mubarak.” How successful that exercise has been remained open to question yesterday as police fired on demonstrators and the army stood back. Another pressing question is one alluded to by Ahmed Salah: quite who is leading this revolution and what direction it is going in? “The greatest thing about our uprising is that it is truly an uprising of the people,” explained Salah. “The formal opposition parties and Muslim Brotherhood are nowhere to be seen. We have proved there is another way that is not Mubarak or Islamists. There is another option.” Caught out by the pace of events, opposition figures such as Mohamed ElBaradei and the Muslim Brotherhood have so far been sidelined – a fact that even Egypt’s biggest, and banned, opposition party seems keenly aware of. Anaf Alqaffaf, a senior Muslim Brotherhood member in Cairo, tried to define the organisation’s position. “We are participating with our people. We are calling all Egyptians to join us. To join us in Cairo. But we are participating as citizens of Egypt – in political activity, in assisting neighbourhoods that have been afflicted by violence – but not formally as members of the Brotherhood,” he said. He added that senior leaders within the movement were still waiting to see how things played out. Reflecting a widespread view, he added: “Egypt is moving very fast, from variable to variable. All the political movements have complex decision to make. The speed of events overrides quick decisions. But when Mubarak leaves, of course, we have a key role to play in Egyptian politics.” Last night, as dark fell on Tahrir Square, Egypt was an unanswered question. A place of violent uncertainty where the only sure thing was that the discontent was not going away soon. Meanwhile, spurred on by protests in the Arab world’s most populous country – and by the revolution seen in Tunisia a fortnight ago – protesters in the Yemeni capital clashed with security forces during demonstrations calling for the resignation of long-time President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Witnesses reported that at least nine protesters were set upon by police with batons as they attempted to march to the Egyptian embassy. “We will stand next to our Egyptian brothers. Your problem is our problem as well,” the protesters chanted. They urged Saleh: “Leave while there is still a chance.” Egypt Middle East Protest Peter Beaumont Jack Shenker guardian.co.uk
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