Internet down, police counterterror unit out in Egypt

[belimom]

Here are two pictures of Mubarak supporters... Seems like now the clashes in the street are also between Mubarak supporters and anti-Mubarak folks:


More here: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/02/pro-and-anti-government-protesters-clash-in-egypt/

.

 

[sherbetjello]

belimom, you are too sweet. I don't have an online blog but do try and blog everyday using Osciroi.

There is just so must to say, I have no idea where to start (and, I would probably just complicate things more).

 

[belimom]

I thought this was a good visual - a screenshot from http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/02/04/ac.egypt.land.king.cnn:

 

[essies]

I found this report from a news agency (english speaking) from Iran and it looks like this is just the tip of the iceberg! Everyone needs to pray no matter what your faith is as this will affect the world-not just the Middle East-this is HUGE!! JMHO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zSXkciRV6g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aov8vqf3diU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJu2BPhAsH4
"Thousands of Iranians have demonstrated in the capital Tehran to show sympathy with protesters in Egypt and Tunisia.

The Iranians took to the streets after Friday prayers. They chanted slogans against Israel, the US, and Egypt's embattled president Hosni Mubarak. The demonstrators also set on fire pictures of Mubarak and US president Barack Obama, as well as American and Israeli flags. They also denounced decades of foreign meddling in the regional affairs. They said they wanted to show their rejection of Israeli and the US backed dictatorships"YouTube - PressTVGlobalNews's Channel

 

[Melly53]

I fear for the citizens of Egypt that may be crushed by Mubarak in his quest to maintain control. Quoted from the link above:

"Wednesday's events suggest the regime aims to put an end to the unrest to let Mubarak shape the transition as he chooses over the next months."

I believe that the people of Egypt do not want Mubarak to have a hand in shaping their future government for fear that it will just be more of the same under which they have lived for the last 30 years. I firmly believe that Mubarak is directly responsible for the violence that has broken out among the protesters. I also believe that he is making a huge mistake by having his supposed supporters attack members of the national media.

Personally I do not think that Egypt will become another Iran because the citizens, in a fair and honest election, will not elect anyone that wants to put them under strict Islamic rule. If you look at the pictures from the protests in Egypt you will note that very few women wear head scarfs or abayas, and the few who do are mostly older women. Women in Egypt are also allowed to attend school and seek higher education at their universities which is another thing that would never be allowed under strict Islamic rule. JMO

 

[belimom]

I fear for the citizens of Egypt that may be crushed by Mubarak in his quest to maintain control. Quoted from the link above:

"Wednesday's events suggest the regime aims to put an end to the unrest to let Mubarak shape the transition as he chooses over the next months."

I believe that the people of Egypt do not want Mubarak to have a hand in shaping their future government for fear that it will just be more of the same under which they have lived for the last 30 years. I firmly believe that Mubarak is directly responsible for the violence that has broken out among the protesters. I also believe that he is making a huge mistake by having his supposed supporters attack members of the national media.

Personally I do not think that Egypt will become another Iran because the citizens, in a fair and honest election, will not elect anyone that wants to put them under strict Islamic rule. If you look at the pictures from the protests in Egypt you will note that very few women wear head scarfs or abayas, and the few who do are mostly older women. Women in Egypt are also allowed to attend school and seek higher education at their universities which is another thing that would never be allowed under strict Islamic rule. JMO

bbm

Melly, you bring up some interesting points. But I disagree about the scarves. When we lived there, many of the women - young and old - covered their heads, and the number is increasing. We went to a wedding and started a conversation with a couple who had travelled from Switzerland to the wedding. They had not been to Egypt in over 20 years. One thing they commented on was that the number of women covering their heads was way more than they remembered from their previous visit.

I worked with young women who wore Western-style clothing but still covered their heads.

Here's a recent article in the NYTimes about it:

bbm

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/world/middleeast/11iht-letter.html

The revival of orthodox religious discourse in the past three decades led many Muslim women, whether through conviction or convenience, to take on the veil. In this traditional and patriarchal society, where the image of the woman is connected to such concepts as family honor, national pride and social values, the spread of the veil became the most visible manifestation of a swelling religious identification.

But now that the vast majority of women in Egypt are in fact veiled, it is no longer a mark of distinction, or even piety. It is not unusual to see a young veiled woman in tight jeans and a catchy top strutting provocatively down the street holding her boyfriend’s hand.

 

[Melly53]

According to some scholars of the Middle East an Iranian-style theocratic regime in turbulent Egypt is very unlikely. Here is a link to a CNN article on this.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/04/egypt.protests.iran.parallel/index.html?hpt=Sbin

 

[songline]

I found this report from a news agency (english speaking) from Iran and it looks like this is just the tip of the iceberg! Everyone needs to pray no matter what your faith is as this will affect the world-not just the Middle East-this is HUGE!! JMHO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zSXkciRV6g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aov8vqf3diU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJu2BPhAsH4
"Thousands of Iranians have demonstrated in the capital Tehran to show sympathy with protesters in Egypt and Tunisia.

The Iranians took to the streets after Friday prayers. They chanted slogans against Israel, the US, and Egypt's embattled president Hosni Mubarak. The demonstrators also set on fire pictures of Mubarak and US president Barack Obama, as well as American and Israeli flags. They also denounced decades of foreign meddling in the regional affairs. They said they wanted to show their rejection of Israeli and the US backed dictatorships"YouTube - PressTVGlobalNews's Channel

BEWARE OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD they are dangerous and covert.

 

[songline]

bbm

Melly, you bring up some interesting points. But I disagree about the scarves. When we lived there, many of the women - young and old - covered their heads, and the number is increasing. We went to a wedding and started a conversation with a couple who had travelled from Switzerland to the wedding. They had not been to Egypt in over 20 years. One thing they commented on was that the number of women covering their heads was way more than they remembered from their previous visit.

I worked with young women who wore Western-style clothing but still covered their heads.

Here's a recent article in the NYTimes about it:

In response to your post.BBM

Women in the Cairo Street Scenes: a Troubling Photo Essay
VERY good article and scroll down the pictures tell the story too:http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/142158

 

[mankato64]

Ladies and Gentlemen-

The s*&# is finally hitting the fan...thank you Jesus

www.english.aljazeera.net

www.huffingtonpost.com

www.bbc.co

 

[Kat]

The protests, in their 17th day, gained momentum today as protesters and labor unions across the country went on strike today, adding more fuel to the revolutionary fire.

Factory workers, textile workers, laborers on the Suez Canal, all stopped working. On Tahrir Square, doctors and bus drivers joined the protests today, in a sign of solidarity. The transport strike brought traffic in a city famous for its congestion, to a standstill.

http://abcnews.go.com/International...otesters-demands-met/story?id=12883555&page=2


I haven't had a chance to follow this for the past week. My 15 yr old daughter asked me this morning the status on this revolution.

Many thanks to Mankato for the links! It helped so much to get me updated.

As an aside:

I spoke with my teens about this earlier. I told them specifically that to effect change one must take a stand.

This is a bit off topic but relevant in a way~

A few weeks ago I was channel surfing and happened to pause on the Joy Behar show. She was grumbling about how the youth of today didn't have the get up and gumption of the youth of the 60's. That the youth of the 60's would stage walkouts and hold sitins to show their dissent.

Well IMHO Ms. Behar is showing her age and she certainly is out of touch with what is really going on in the world.

The youth of today are utilizing the internet to effect change and to unite. Thereby creating an action of dissent that is much more massive and can't be ignored. This being just one instance where it was used to facilitate a change. Another would be the how it was used to address FARC in Columbia.

This generation will not be held back and I have the deepest respect for them. I am still praying that democracy is brought forth from this revolution.

All JMHO.

 

[essies]

http://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish
Streaming from Egypt live!

 

[essies]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn4KL3SL0gA

 

[legalmania]

They are reporting on CNN that Mubarak is stepping down. This needs to happen soon, businesses are going bankrupt, the tourist industry is stopped. People are going hungry. It's past 10:00 p.m. in Egypt and they are waiting for Mubarak to speak. The tides have changed they are warning the pro Mubarak protesters to stay away or they could get hurt.

Look at this crowd, wow.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/10/egypt.protests/index.html

 

[legalmania]

Mubarak now says he will not step down. This is not going to be good.

 

[wfgodot]

The Guardian is opining it may be a matter of nuance - Mubarak may transfer power but maintain his title - technically, then, he would not have "stepped down."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/feb/10/egypt-hosni-mubarak-resignation-rumours

8.08pm GMT: If tonight's announcement sees Egypt swapping Mubarak for vice president Omar Suleiman at the head of government, many in Tahrir Square and elsewhere will not be happy:

 

[essies]

Here we go!!! The programming that has been showing on State TV is over (according to link below) and they are apparently preparing for Mubarak's address. Hopefully Mubarak will step down because the people at Liberation Square are already celebrating his departure and this could turn ugly very quickly!
http://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish

ETA-It's 10:30 pm in Cairo and Mubarak is about 30 minutes late to address the people! HHHmmm....

 

[gitana1]

Not stepping down

 

[gitana1]

I could tell the moment he stated he was addressing them as his children, as a father to his kids. Now he's saying he will ensure that those who harmed protestors will be prosecuted by him. Not stepping down.

 

[gitana1]

I think he's repeating what he said before and will not run again but he's not stepping down.