Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

29 Jan 2011 19:36

tags

World: Egypt protests turn deadly after police station attacks

  • 17 protesters killed while attempting to attack two police stations source
  • » What happened: The attacks, which happened in two separate police stations in towns within the Beni Suef Governorate south of Cairo, also led to dozens of other injuries. The attacks are part of a spate of widespread retaliation against police officers, who are hated because of their brutality – a major contrast between what’s happening with the military – with which no major spats have been reported.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2011 12:19

tags

World: Influential Muslim cleric: Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak must go

  • President Mubarak … I advise you to depart from Egypt … There is no other solution to this problem but for Mubarak to go.
  • Influential Arab cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi • Claiming that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is “blind, deaf and dumb” to criticisms about his leadership. Al-Qaradawi, a Sunni Muslim cleric who holds dual nationalities in Egypt and Qatar, says Mubarak should follow in the footsteps of Ben Ali in Tunisia: “There is no staying longer, Mubarak, I advise you (to learn) the lesson of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali,” he said. While he supports the protesters, he says that they “must come through peaceful means” that don’t attack state institutions. The cleric, by the way, is seen as controversial in much of the world for his sometimes-radical views, and while he’s famous in the Middle East, the U.S. and Britain refuse to grant him visas to enter their countries. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2011 11:44

tags

World: Two presidencies, two tactics: How Obama, Bush handled Egypt

  • 2005 In the wake of protester arrests, and emphasizing free elections, Condoleeza Rice angered Egyptian leaders with this statement: “For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East, and we achieved neither.”
  • 2009 Obama made his own speech in Cairo, emphasizing “the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed” and “confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice” while noting “there is no straight line to realize that promise.”  Mubarak’s folks were thrilled. source
  • » Ultimately, though: While these American statements resonated with the leadership, they didn’t really resonate with the people of the country, who are working from their own muse. And based on the current deck of cards, the U.S. may have trouble holding any influence at all due to their history with Egypt: “It’s not clear to me that the protesters will take seriously expressions of solidarity from a country that’s been backing autocratic regimes,” said the International Crisis Group’s Robert Malley, who suggests that American leaders will back themselves into a corner if they say anything, whether supportive of Mubarak or the protesters.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2011 11:05

tags

U.S., World: Dear Obama and co.: Egypt doesn’t need reform; it needs change

  • By nightfall, it seemed clear that only two events could end their revolution: a massive use of force by the Army or Mr. Mubarak’s yielding of power. The United States should be using all of its influence – including the more than $1 billion in aid it supplies annually to the Egyptian military – to ensure the latter outcome. Yet, as so often has happened during the Arab uprising of the past several weeks, the Obama administration on Friday appeared to be behind events.
  • An editorial by The Washington Post • Offering up their take on the situation in Egypt, and the Obama administration’s response. It’s worth noting, by the way, that there appears to be a point where the U.S. was far ahead of the game in Egypt – they helped a young dissident, who was helping to plot an uprising for 2011, all the way back in 2008. The U.S. Embassy in Cairo gave him the opportunity to go to the U.S. to attend a summit for activists. So clearly, this whole thing has been on American radars for a while. But, the problem is that the Obama administration appears to be arguing for a situation which doesn’t match the reality in Egypt. Reform isn’t the problem here. Mubarak could have reformed a long time ago. He’s been in office three decades, though. That’s too long for any world leader, no matter how beloved. Instead, this is something else entirely.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2011 10:39

tags

World: Egypt death toll estimates: Three sources, three different numbers

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2011 10:24

tags

World: Some Egypt details from the U.S. State Department’s scorecard

  • yes While not fully operational, U.S. intelligence notes that mobile phone service has been partially restored in the country. (Whew.)
  • yes Turkish Airlines confirms that it’s still operating in Egypt, but other flights (the Delta flight from JFK to Cairo) are no longer taking place.
  • no Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not allow any of his country’s officials to speak on the crisis in Egypt. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2011 10:09

tags

World: What do Egypt’s neighbors have to say about the protests?

  • saudis Saudi King Abdullah called Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak to say this: “No Arab and Muslim human being can bear that some infiltrators, in the name of freedom of expression, have infiltrated into the brotherly people of Egypt.” So, he’s totally on Mubarak’s side still.
  • palestinians Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called Mubarak and “affirmed his solidarity with Egypt and and his commitment to is its security and stability.” Thats’s not as direct as the Saudis, but still clearly favoring Mubarak. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

29 Jan 2011 09:52

tags

World: Egyptian military just letting protesters deface their tanks

  • Leave Hosni, you, your son and your corrupted party!
  • Graffiti left on a tank by protesters in Egypt • And a phrase that says it all, really. According to the NYT, protesters did this without any interference from soldiers. “This is the revolution of all the people,” said another tank. Why so chummy? Well, every male in Egypt has to serve in the military at some point, which appears to be taking some of the edge off between military and protesters. Interesting. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jan 2011 20:09

tags

Politics: The Guardian: Assessing the diplomatic damage in Egypt

  • The revolution threatens not only Hosni Mubarak’s regime but the strategy the US and Britain have constructed in the Middle East. The hesitancy with which President Mubarak reacted last night was matched only by the perceptible shift in the emphasis of the statements by the U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.
  • An editorial by The Guardian regarding Egypt • In an editorial about Egypt which we thinks relates well to a question we just answered on Tumblr not that long ago. The Guardian makes their point pretty well, we’d say: “Faced with the conflicting needs to keep an Arab partner of Israel afloat and to respond to demands for democratic reform, the U.S. would choose the first every time.” The Guardian makes three points: First, a regime change would possibly damage long-term diplomatic goals; second, if Mubarak has any chance of leaving office peacefully, he’s going to have to free Mohamed ElBaradei and other prisoners, and open up the Interwebs; and finally, this juggernaut may be too difficult to stop at this point. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jan 2011 18:58

tags

U.S., World: Posted without comment: Obama’s latest statements on Egypt

Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>