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01 Feb 2011 21:42

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Politics: Obama on Mubarak: Barack is still speaking in code about Egypt

  • An orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.
  • President Obama • Speaking tonight about Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s plan to not run for re-election this year, a decision that his administration pushed – to the point where a diplomat reportedly came to visit Mubarak in Egypt. Obama also had this to say about the country’s forthcoming election process: “Furthermore, the process must include a broad spectrum of Egyptian voices and opposition parties. It should lead to elections that are free and fair. And it should result in a government that’s not only grounded in democratic principles but is also responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people.” A little clearer than he has been recently regarding Egypt, but our boy’s still speaking in code a little. Criticize the guy if you mean to criticize him! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Feb 2011 11:03

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Politics: Top military dude Adm. Mike Mullen: Great work, Egyptian military

  • So far, the Egyptian military have handled themselves exceptionally well. You can see that just from the pictures that have been displayed, in terms of how they have been accepted by their people.
  • Adm. Mike Mullen • Giving the kind of unguarded praise towards something in Egypt that we haven’t really seen lately from the Obama administration. But here’s some praise for the Egyptian military from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, via a podcast. Don’t hide it in code, Obama administration. Say what you mean. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Feb 2011 10:56

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World: Posted without comment: Video of today’s Egyptian protests

  • (via al-Jazeera English’s YouTube channel)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Feb 2011 08:30

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World: Egyptian protester talks as if their job is done here (almost)

  • We have done the difficult part. We have taken over the street. Now it’s up to the intellectuals and politicians to come together and provide us with alternatives.
  • Egyptian protester Walid Abdel-Muttaleb • Talking like he knows what’s up. Reuters is reporting crowds of over 200,000 in Cairo alone for today’s protests, which, even if it isn’t a million, is still pretty freaking huge. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2011 21:09

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U.S., World: By the numbers: al-Jazeera English’s huge leap in online traffic

  • 4M number of online views al-Jazeera English says it has gotten since Friday
  • 1.6M number of views the network has gotten from the United States alone
  • 2,500% the increase in the site’s online traffic since Friday (a big deal) source
  • » Why they aren’t on cable: As our buddy ProducerMatthew figured out last night, they’re fighting in a very competitive space. And now he has a little backup from the New York Times. In statements acquired by the paper, many cable companies said similar things. It’s like applying for a federal job and getting a form rejection letter apparently, except with Comcast.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2011 20:31

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Tech, World: Speak2Tweet: Google makes Egypt’s sucky day less sucky

  • lame Egypt has shut down Noor, the last ISP standing in the country, leaving the country completely, utterly offline. Great work.
  • lame Egypt also plans to shut down the country’s mobile phone systems ahead of the planned “March of Millions” tomorrow. Very lame.
  • brilliant Google just bought a startup, SayNow, which made @Speak2Tweet, a Twitter account to get Egyptians’ voices on Twitter – via phone. source
  • » And if anyone needs it: If you dial the phone numbers +16504194196, +390662207294 or +97316199855, you can leave a message for the people of Twitter, who are totally with you, even if some topic related to Justin Bieber is trending. Check out @Speak2Tweet for more.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2011 11:07

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World: For some reason, tourism in Egypt continues unabated

  • companies Much like the United States and other nations, corporations with interests in Europe have stopped production and have begun airlifting employees out of Egypt.
  • tourism Despite all the drama in Egypt at the moment, 30,000 tourists from the U.K. are still in the country and two major travel firms are still bringing people there. source
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31 Jan 2011 10:51

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World: Analyst: The military holds the cards for Egypt’s future

  • Although preparations I believe are being made by the top brass for a – in quotes – ‘respectable stepping down’ or ‘stepping aside’ of Mr. Mubarak, the military are aware that… this is a time for change. But I think they are also trying to protect themselves, and want to be very much part of the transition process.
  • Chatham House Middle East and North Africa specialist Maha Azzam • Discussing the military’s role in the Egyptian protests. While Hosni Mubarak holds onto power, it’s a very tenuous hold and one that could completely fall apart in the days to come, and the country’s powerful military is in a position best-suited to ensure the kind of leader that they want. Azzam also notes that while the lower rungs of the military appear to support the protesters, it’s not that way throughout the power structure. “In the upper echelons of the military,” he says, “we’re seeing continued support for the regime.” source
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31 Jan 2011 10:20

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World: The U.S. starts evacuating American citizens out of Egypt

  • 2,400 Americans on the waiting list (so far) source
  • » Only around 219 have left so far: With 52,000 Americans situated in Egypt at the moment, getting them all out, or even a good portion, might be quite the ordeal. And it’s not a cheap one for the evacuees, either. The U.S. is having the evacuees sign a clause promising to pay the government back for the trip elsewhere. The “elsewhere” varies – one flight headed to Cyprus while another headed to Athens.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 23:05

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Politics: Max Headroom: TweetDeck an unofficial “Meet the Press” panelist

  • The TweetDeck in the room: For their Egypt roundtable today, Meet the Press decided to take a cue from the CNN playbook and stick social media on a giant TV screen within plain sight. Surprisingly, Chuck Todd, Harold Ford and company weren’t completely distracted by this and had something pretty intelligent to say about Egypt. David Gregory’s intro was a weeeeeeeee bit forced, though. Next time, leave the innovative gimmicks to Jake Tapper … oh wait, he doesn’t have a show anymore. 🙁 Carry on.
  • Egypt: An excuse to drill in the gulf Look, it’s understandable that you feel that oil drilling should be allowed in the Gulf Coast, Rep. Jeff Landry of Louisiana. It was the first thing we thought of, too. But, you know, think this can wait a week? Maybe two? This is so close to the edge of the crisis that it seems a little insensitive.
  • Behind the scenes of al-Jazeera Commotion. Guy futzing with non-working cell phone. Hard work to ensure that al-Jazeera doesn’t go off the air in Egypt. What might surprise is that even they sound surprised at how strong the protests in Egypt were – and Ayman Gaballah, the guy talking, says they had word that this might go down!
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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