Egypt Pipeline Explosion Cuts Gas Supply To Israel Excerpts:
An explosion today on the Arab Gas Pipeline forced Egypt to shut off natural gas supplies to Israel and Jordan. There were conflicting reports out of Egypt as to the cause of the explosion, with the state-run Middle East News Agency saying the work was done by “subversive elements.” Oil Minister Samah Fahmy reportedly said it could take up to two weeks to repair the damage.
The pipeline is the third most strategically important piece of energy infrastructure in Egypt after the Suez Canal and the Sumed Pipeline. But it is the most important one to Israel, delivering 40% of Israeli natural gas supplies. The Israeli government said this afternoon that it did not expect any interruption of electricity supplies as the country has gas in storage and can also switch to other fuels like oil and diesel. Israel started receiving gas from the pipeline in 2008.
Assuming for a moment that this was not an accident, it represents a serious escalation of the crisis in Egypt.
As to the nature of the explosion, MSNBC plays up the terrorism angle, while Investors Business Daily plays it down. For clarity's sake, the fire/explosion happened at a facility that ultimately connects with pipelines heading both to Jordan and Israel. Reports are still conflicted as to whether the physical pipeline to Jordan was damaged, but Israel's pipeline was not.
This situation, while inconvenient for the Israelis(due to their rather large energy reserves), is devastating to the Jordanians, as they have no reserves, and import most of their energy solely from Egypt. Cause? To be determined, although my suspicious mind questions the perfect timing of this "accidental explosion." Which brings us to the focal question in this event's aftermath: Was this terrorism or something else?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
This Week In Crazyass UFO Sightings..
What's that behind the ISS? The weirdness begins at :50 seconds, subsides, picks up again at 12:20, but the main event starts after 22:35. You tell me what that is..
I found the video at above top secret.
So that's one, and then we have some related sightings, which are, evidently, direct messages from God for believers in the two most spiritual places on the planet, Jerusalem and Salt Lake City. Big stink about the whole thing thread here, and some mainstream coverage here.
Couple that with the freaktastic and oh-so-biblical ghost horse of the apocalypse in Tahrihr Square, and you've got yourself a busy paranormal news week! Things is gettin' strange, y'all..
I found the video at above top secret.
So that's one, and then we have some related sightings, which are, evidently, direct messages from God for believers in the two most spiritual places on the planet, Jerusalem and Salt Lake City. Big stink about the whole thing thread here, and some mainstream coverage here.
Couple that with the freaktastic and oh-so-biblical ghost horse of the apocalypse in Tahrihr Square, and you've got yourself a busy paranormal news week! Things is gettin' strange, y'all..
Egypt: Telecoms Are Tattling..
Vodafone: Egypt forced us to send text messages Excerpts:
Egyptian authorities forced Vodafone to broadcast pro-government text messages during the protests that have rocked the country, the U.K.-based mobile company said Thursday.
Micro-blogging site Twitter has been buzzing with screen grabs from Vodafone's Egyptian customers showing text messages sent over the course of the demonstrations against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-old regime.
A text message received Sunday by an Associated Press reporter in Egypt appealed to the country's "honest and loyal men to confront the traitors and criminals and protect our people and honor." Another urged Egyptians to attend a pro-Mubarak rally in Cairo on Wednesday. The first was marked as coming from "Vodafone." The other was signed: "Egypt Lovers."
And:
The company also said its competitors — including Egypt's Mobinil and the United Arab Emirates' Etisalat — were doing the same. Etisalat, known formally as Emirates Telecommunications Corp., declined comment.
Vodafone said the texts had been sent "since the start of the protests," which kicked off more than a week ago. Vodafone did not immediately return an e-mail asking why the company waited nearly 10 days to complain publicly. Its statement was released only after repeated inquiries by the AP.
The U.S. is dancing as fast as it can, at the moment, and it seems clear that Mubarak will either go quickly, or hunker down and go violently. Everything about Egypt is politically grey: Mubarak is an American ally, but a non-democratic authoritarian. The protesters might be pro-democratic or (booga booga) Muslim Brotherhood, so we aren't sure who to root for: The dictator, or the potential terrorists?
This isn't too much of an exaggeration, is it, considering America's complete loss of nuanced thought.. It will be interesting, if not maddening, I'm sure, to see how both the situation evolves, and how American and Western discourse evolves in their reaction to said events.
At this point in time, every day feels a little more fluid than the last.
Egyptian authorities forced Vodafone to broadcast pro-government text messages during the protests that have rocked the country, the U.K.-based mobile company said Thursday.
Micro-blogging site Twitter has been buzzing with screen grabs from Vodafone's Egyptian customers showing text messages sent over the course of the demonstrations against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-old regime.
A text message received Sunday by an Associated Press reporter in Egypt appealed to the country's "honest and loyal men to confront the traitors and criminals and protect our people and honor." Another urged Egyptians to attend a pro-Mubarak rally in Cairo on Wednesday. The first was marked as coming from "Vodafone." The other was signed: "Egypt Lovers."
And:
The company also said its competitors — including Egypt's Mobinil and the United Arab Emirates' Etisalat — were doing the same. Etisalat, known formally as Emirates Telecommunications Corp., declined comment.
Vodafone said the texts had been sent "since the start of the protests," which kicked off more than a week ago. Vodafone did not immediately return an e-mail asking why the company waited nearly 10 days to complain publicly. Its statement was released only after repeated inquiries by the AP.
The U.S. is dancing as fast as it can, at the moment, and it seems clear that Mubarak will either go quickly, or hunker down and go violently. Everything about Egypt is politically grey: Mubarak is an American ally, but a non-democratic authoritarian. The protesters might be pro-democratic or (booga booga) Muslim Brotherhood, so we aren't sure who to root for: The dictator, or the potential terrorists?
This isn't too much of an exaggeration, is it, considering America's complete loss of nuanced thought.. It will be interesting, if not maddening, I'm sure, to see how both the situation evolves, and how American and Western discourse evolves in their reaction to said events.
At this point in time, every day feels a little more fluid than the last.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
They Were Dying En Masse, Then They Weren't
It's strange the mass animal die-offs gained visibility New Year's Eve and stopped three weeks later. Natural News tracks the timeline from December 13th to January 11th, but essentially dropped to zero visibility after 10, 000 cattle died and the government's "admission" to poisoning birds in South Dakota. But that's one event, and doesn't factor in the autopsy of the birds in Beebe, or the variety of other animal death events. The high weirdness here is the die offs have stopped, or at least stopped being written about. That's Bing. This is the google search page. Both subjects: mass animal deaths January 20 to February 4. Or did they just stop?
Also losing visibility was anything related to electromagnetic disturbances or any mention of a pole shift, in the MSM, but not on the 'net, of course.
Again; Maybe they're related, and when one stopped, so did the other.
Maybe. At the moment, anything seems possible.
Also losing visibility was anything related to electromagnetic disturbances or any mention of a pole shift, in the MSM, but not on the 'net, of course.
Again; Maybe they're related, and when one stopped, so did the other.
Maybe. At the moment, anything seems possible.
Mubarak Behaved Exactly True To Form..
State-sponsored thuggery, anyone? Violent clashes as Egypt rebels. Excerpts:
Supporters of President Hosni Mubarak opened fire on protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Thursday, killing four people and wounding 13, witnesses and television said.
It was the biggest spike in violence since protesters angered by oppression and hardship launched an unprecedented challenge to Mubarak’s 30-year-rule 10 days ago. Many accused the government of backing the pro-Mubarak supporters. (CNN reporters and Senior US Officials (see below) are saying as much, so "many" is probably an understatement..)
..
Al Arabiya television quoted a doctor at the scene as saying four people had been killed and 13 were wounded in the overnight violence in Tahrir Square which began around 4 am (0200 GMT) on Thursday, and which was shown live on television.
..with many saying they would not call off their protests until the 82-year-old president quit, Mubarak backers, throwing petrol bombs, wielding sticks and charging on camels and horses, attacked protesters in Tahrir Square on Wednesday.
As terrifying and horrible as this was to experience, the protesters knew it was coming. After all, they're dealing with supporters of a brutal, authoritarian regime, familiar and comfortable with threats, intimidation, torture, and killing. How else would Mubarak's supporters react?
..
Anti-Mubarak demonstrators said the attackers were police in plainclothes. The Interior Ministry denied the accusation, and the government rejected international calls to end violence and begin the transfer of power.
..
In pointed comments, a senior US official said on Wednesday it was clear that “somebody loyal to Mubarak has unleashed these guys to try to intimidate the protesters”.
So the vandalism and looting at the museum might, MIGHT not have been anti-Mubarak protesters? This is again, true to form. Mubarak's supporters share much of their leader's mental inflexibility when dealing with dissent and opposition: Beat their asses back into submission by any means possible. This process is going to get ugly, but this is also a numbers game(not to be flip towards the protesters).
Mubarak had to massively rig the last election in order to win. Much more people oppose than support him. The more violent and outrageous Mubarak's supporters behave, the more horrified their neutral(as of yet) countrymen and women become. This violence will ultimately tip the populace against sustaining the regime, simply because the people won't voluntarily expose their neck to Mubarak's boot. When faced with two futures, ultimately the Egyptians will choose a chance(as no future is written in stone) at a free-er, more peaceful future, as opposed to the choice of returning to the repressive past, and now, the vividly violent present and future.
Hosni Mubarak will see to it they do.
Supporters of President Hosni Mubarak opened fire on protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Thursday, killing four people and wounding 13, witnesses and television said.
It was the biggest spike in violence since protesters angered by oppression and hardship launched an unprecedented challenge to Mubarak’s 30-year-rule 10 days ago. Many accused the government of backing the pro-Mubarak supporters. (CNN reporters and Senior US Officials (see below) are saying as much, so "many" is probably an understatement..)
..
Al Arabiya television quoted a doctor at the scene as saying four people had been killed and 13 were wounded in the overnight violence in Tahrir Square which began around 4 am (0200 GMT) on Thursday, and which was shown live on television.
..with many saying they would not call off their protests until the 82-year-old president quit, Mubarak backers, throwing petrol bombs, wielding sticks and charging on camels and horses, attacked protesters in Tahrir Square on Wednesday.
As terrifying and horrible as this was to experience, the protesters knew it was coming. After all, they're dealing with supporters of a brutal, authoritarian regime, familiar and comfortable with threats, intimidation, torture, and killing. How else would Mubarak's supporters react?
..
Anti-Mubarak demonstrators said the attackers were police in plainclothes. The Interior Ministry denied the accusation, and the government rejected international calls to end violence and begin the transfer of power.
..
In pointed comments, a senior US official said on Wednesday it was clear that “somebody loyal to Mubarak has unleashed these guys to try to intimidate the protesters”.
So the vandalism and looting at the museum might, MIGHT not have been anti-Mubarak protesters? This is again, true to form. Mubarak's supporters share much of their leader's mental inflexibility when dealing with dissent and opposition: Beat their asses back into submission by any means possible. This process is going to get ugly, but this is also a numbers game(not to be flip towards the protesters).
Mubarak had to massively rig the last election in order to win. Much more people oppose than support him. The more violent and outrageous Mubarak's supporters behave, the more horrified their neutral(as of yet) countrymen and women become. This violence will ultimately tip the populace against sustaining the regime, simply because the people won't voluntarily expose their neck to Mubarak's boot. When faced with two futures, ultimately the Egyptians will choose a chance(as no future is written in stone) at a free-er, more peaceful future, as opposed to the choice of returning to the repressive past, and now, the vividly violent present and future.
Hosni Mubarak will see to it they do.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
When I Said "Don't Give Her Sugar; She'll Start Flying Around," I Wasn't Being Facetious..
Alien Child Flying In Russia? Strange [Video] This could easily be a hoax. Or not. It might be exactly as it looks and plays out. Or not.
There's some movement at the bottom center of the screen right before the girl drops. In the first filtered view, it looks like a body moving and pulling. I vote hoax, but I want to be wrong. I'm ready for a world where we're all flying.
There's some movement at the bottom center of the screen right before the girl drops. In the first filtered view, it looks like a body moving and pulling. I vote hoax, but I want to be wrong. I'm ready for a world where we're all flying.
Egypt: Are They Saying "Boo!," Or "Boo-urns?"
Boo-urns, of course. Longer, different reaction video here. Mubarak says he'll leave at the end of his term Excerpts:
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak bent to a week of deadly anti-government unrest, announcing in a nationwide speech that he would not seek re-election this year but that he intended to stay in power "for the remaining months" of his fifth term.
Mubarak's late-night address, hours after more than 200,000 protesters had streamed into Cairo's central Tahrir Square, marked a dramatic bid to maneuver through a nationwide revolt, growing international pressure and an economy that has slid into turmoil.
The decision may ease a bit of the fury against him,(It won't. Me)but it is not likely to stop the widespread calls for him to step aside immediately. A wave of anger swept the square just after the speech. Protesters who remained there shouted: "Leave! Leave!"
Humor nugget amongst the seriousness..
"We don't want money or wealth; just respect us as human beings," said Khalid Abdul Rahman, 25, who earns a meager living offering private English lessons. "We have just one word: Get out. Get out."
Two thoughts regarding the mentality of the people involved..
Stated within the parameters of a relationship analogy, The People have reached the "Just get out" phase of this very public national break up. Possibly, had Mubarak reacted differently at the very beginning, this path might have been a little more pleasant.. Maybe. Just like the ending of a dysfunctional and/or abusive relationship, the repressed anger of humiliations and hurting from long ago manifest with a shocking, unexpected ferocity.
The People aren't quite there yet, but "Just get out" is close. "I don't fuckin' care anymore, just get out.." And after 30 years, they're mad. Even if Mubarak scores some military hat trick causing them to turn on the protesters and temporarily puts them down, it's now just a matter of time. These people are unified, and they're all saying "Just get out," and they're not falling for "You'll die without me, baby" anymore(or "If you leave; I'll kill you." at the abusive end of such an analogy.).. (Example video here. Note; Mubarak is Ike, and Egypt is Tina..)
Also, Hosni Mubarak is an old man. For the last 30 years of his life, in his own personal universe and the nation of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak has enjoyed absolute power. Hosni Mubarak called all the shots. Hosni Mubarak had no serious organized opposition. Hosni Mubarak probably became complacent, thinking his situation would never change. Over the last 30 years, Hosni Mubarak has become extremely mentally inflexible.
Hosni Mubarak has done well establishing the Egyptian status quo. These protests have thrown him, as his stasis is disturbed. This uprising is his first widespread domestic conflict.
Hosni Mubarak has never had to think: 1. Out of the box. 2. Like a poor person. 3. Of poor people at all. He simply has no understanding as to how to respond! So he'll cling to his absolute-ness until it's too late.
The inertia has changed. The People are finding their voice and footing, while Hosni Mubarak is losing his. Barring a massive, brutal reaction, the regime of Hosni Mubarak is on life support, at best. And here comes day nine..
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak bent to a week of deadly anti-government unrest, announcing in a nationwide speech that he would not seek re-election this year but that he intended to stay in power "for the remaining months" of his fifth term.
Mubarak's late-night address, hours after more than 200,000 protesters had streamed into Cairo's central Tahrir Square, marked a dramatic bid to maneuver through a nationwide revolt, growing international pressure and an economy that has slid into turmoil.
The decision may ease a bit of the fury against him,(It won't. Me)but it is not likely to stop the widespread calls for him to step aside immediately. A wave of anger swept the square just after the speech. Protesters who remained there shouted: "Leave! Leave!"
Humor nugget amongst the seriousness..
"We don't want money or wealth; just respect us as human beings," said Khalid Abdul Rahman, 25, who earns a meager living offering private English lessons. "We have just one word: Get out. Get out."
Two thoughts regarding the mentality of the people involved..
Stated within the parameters of a relationship analogy, The People have reached the "Just get out" phase of this very public national break up. Possibly, had Mubarak reacted differently at the very beginning, this path might have been a little more pleasant.. Maybe. Just like the ending of a dysfunctional and/or abusive relationship, the repressed anger of humiliations and hurting from long ago manifest with a shocking, unexpected ferocity.
The People aren't quite there yet, but "Just get out" is close. "I don't fuckin' care anymore, just get out.." And after 30 years, they're mad. Even if Mubarak scores some military hat trick causing them to turn on the protesters and temporarily puts them down, it's now just a matter of time. These people are unified, and they're all saying "Just get out," and they're not falling for "You'll die without me, baby" anymore(or "If you leave; I'll kill you." at the abusive end of such an analogy.).. (Example video here. Note; Mubarak is Ike, and Egypt is Tina..)
Also, Hosni Mubarak is an old man. For the last 30 years of his life, in his own personal universe and the nation of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak has enjoyed absolute power. Hosni Mubarak called all the shots. Hosni Mubarak had no serious organized opposition. Hosni Mubarak probably became complacent, thinking his situation would never change. Over the last 30 years, Hosni Mubarak has become extremely mentally inflexible.
Hosni Mubarak has done well establishing the Egyptian status quo. These protests have thrown him, as his stasis is disturbed. This uprising is his first widespread domestic conflict.
Hosni Mubarak has never had to think: 1. Out of the box. 2. Like a poor person. 3. Of poor people at all. He simply has no understanding as to how to respond! So he'll cling to his absolute-ness until it's too late.
The inertia has changed. The People are finding their voice and footing, while Hosni Mubarak is losing his. Barring a massive, brutal reaction, the regime of Hosni Mubarak is on life support, at best. And here comes day nine..
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
This Situation In Queensland Is About To Get Way Worse..
AUSTRALIA: YASI! CYCLONE:CAT/5 KILLER STORM! WATCHOUT!! This is a CNN Ireport, so it's not technical, but she's right: It's coming..
Mass evacuations are underway in Queensland in anticipation of what forecasters expect will be the largest cyclone ever to hit the continent. Yasi has intensified rapidly and currently has winds gusting up to 295 kilometers per hour (183 mph). It is expected to maintain that intensity-equivalent to a Category Five hurricane until landfall in northeastern Queensland (early morning Feb. 2 in the United States).
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-034
Strong cyclone bears down on north Australia coast Excerpts:
Tens of thousands of Australians stocked up on food and hunkered in sturdy shelters Wednesday as a monster cyclone approached the northeast coast with furious winds, rains and surging seas on a scale unseen there in generations.
Gusts up to 186 mph (300 kph) were expected when Cyclone Yasi strikes the coast late Wednesday after whipping across Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The storm front is more than 310 miles (500 kilometers) wide and Yasi is so strong, it could reach far inland before it significantly loses power.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said the last cyclone of such strength to cross Queensland was in 1918.
..
Forecasters said up to three feet (one meter) of rain could fall on some coastal communities.
And the one upside..
Building codes that have been strengthened since Cyclone Tracy devastated the city of Darwin in 1974 have left the region generally well-prepared.
Mass evacuations are underway in Queensland in anticipation of what forecasters expect will be the largest cyclone ever to hit the continent. Yasi has intensified rapidly and currently has winds gusting up to 295 kilometers per hour (183 mph). It is expected to maintain that intensity-equivalent to a Category Five hurricane until landfall in northeastern Queensland (early morning Feb. 2 in the United States).
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-034
Strong cyclone bears down on north Australia coast Excerpts:
Tens of thousands of Australians stocked up on food and hunkered in sturdy shelters Wednesday as a monster cyclone approached the northeast coast with furious winds, rains and surging seas on a scale unseen there in generations.
Gusts up to 186 mph (300 kph) were expected when Cyclone Yasi strikes the coast late Wednesday after whipping across Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The storm front is more than 310 miles (500 kilometers) wide and Yasi is so strong, it could reach far inland before it significantly loses power.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said the last cyclone of such strength to cross Queensland was in 1918.
..
Forecasters said up to three feet (one meter) of rain could fall on some coastal communities.
And the one upside..
Building codes that have been strengthened since Cyclone Tracy devastated the city of Darwin in 1974 have left the region generally well-prepared.
Landfall is within the day. News video here.. To the people in Yasi's path: I hope for safe passage for them, from now, until the aftermath of whatever Yasi brings..
Egypt: Meanwhile, Not In Cairo..
Egypt: Unrest Spreads to Sinai Excerpts:
A Bedouin youth casually spreads out a piece of cloth before a police headquarters in Sheikh Zwayyed town in Sinai, the vast desert area to the east of Cairo across the Suez. "I will leave when Mubarak leaves," he says.
He joins hundreds of others. They have broken through into the police station already, and are now camping there to demand a change in government. Most youth are Bedouin, originally a nomadic tribe in the desert, who’ve been fighting for their rights for years. Over the last few days they feel they’re winning.
The police are rapidly leaving their posts, but some still appear in uniform. One uniformed policeman stands quietly to a side. He is in danger, he seems no danger to others at all. What would he do if attacked? "Just take my uniform off and join the protest," he tells IPS. "Or maybe just go over to the Palestinian side."
..
New groups have taken charge, and it’s hard to say who these are. Several check-posts have been set up all the way between Cairo and Sinai. "Who are you," says a man at one of these checkpoints. This IPS correspondent offers him his Palestinian passport. He glances at it, upside down, and pockets it. After some time he gives it back.
State security in plain clothes, riot police, secret police, the army, Bedouin youth, protesters who had come from Cairo to spread the word – no one seems to know who the people at these check-points are.
And:
The area appears to have drawn many powerful and armed groups that have converged to free their associates and relatives from the prisons. They look determined to succeed. Some of the men carry heavy weapons.
The groups mingle freely with local Bedouin youth. The deprivation across this area is greater than Cairo has ever known. And the anger seems greater too.
With the anger, Bedouin youth now present a face of triumph. "It is a revolution," one says simply.
This (national) event is still in escalation. The media has concentrated on Cairo and Alexandria, leaving outlying areas out of their coverage, unfactored into the national sentiment. This conflict has developed and bloomed in less than ten days, with no sign of conclusion. Of course, that could change abruptly, but events could continue to play out for weeks, possibly months. Cairo is the visual, but smaller but no less fervent protests are happening elsewhere, too..
The March has already started. Whatever happens, tonight will look much different than last night..
A Bedouin youth casually spreads out a piece of cloth before a police headquarters in Sheikh Zwayyed town in Sinai, the vast desert area to the east of Cairo across the Suez. "I will leave when Mubarak leaves," he says.
He joins hundreds of others. They have broken through into the police station already, and are now camping there to demand a change in government. Most youth are Bedouin, originally a nomadic tribe in the desert, who’ve been fighting for their rights for years. Over the last few days they feel they’re winning.
The police are rapidly leaving their posts, but some still appear in uniform. One uniformed policeman stands quietly to a side. He is in danger, he seems no danger to others at all. What would he do if attacked? "Just take my uniform off and join the protest," he tells IPS. "Or maybe just go over to the Palestinian side."
..
New groups have taken charge, and it’s hard to say who these are. Several check-posts have been set up all the way between Cairo and Sinai. "Who are you," says a man at one of these checkpoints. This IPS correspondent offers him his Palestinian passport. He glances at it, upside down, and pockets it. After some time he gives it back.
State security in plain clothes, riot police, secret police, the army, Bedouin youth, protesters who had come from Cairo to spread the word – no one seems to know who the people at these check-points are.
And:
The area appears to have drawn many powerful and armed groups that have converged to free their associates and relatives from the prisons. They look determined to succeed. Some of the men carry heavy weapons.
The groups mingle freely with local Bedouin youth. The deprivation across this area is greater than Cairo has ever known. And the anger seems greater too.
With the anger, Bedouin youth now present a face of triumph. "It is a revolution," one says simply.
This (national) event is still in escalation. The media has concentrated on Cairo and Alexandria, leaving outlying areas out of their coverage, unfactored into the national sentiment. This conflict has developed and bloomed in less than ten days, with no sign of conclusion. Of course, that could change abruptly, but events could continue to play out for weeks, possibly months. Cairo is the visual, but smaller but no less fervent protests are happening elsewhere, too..
The March has already started. Whatever happens, tonight will look much different than last night..
Monday, January 31, 2011
Egypt: Is The Worm Indeed Turning?
Egypt set for mass protest as army rules out force Good news. Will that promise hold? Excerpts:
Egypt's army gave a powerful boost to the country's opposition last night by announcing that it would not use force to silence "legitimate" demands for democratic reforms in the Arab world's largest nation.
On the eve of a million-strong protest planned for today and amid multiplying signs that the US is moving steadily closer to ditching its long-standing ally, Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, now has few options left.
..
The military's statement, reported by the state-run Mena news agency, said: "The presence of the army in the streets is for your sake and to ensure your safety and wellbeing. The armed forces will not resort to use of force against our great people." It referred to the "legitimate demands of honourable citizens".
It was not clear whether the pledge not to use force was intended to draw the sting from protests or signal a weakening of support for the president, who relies heavily on the armed forces as the guarantor of the regime and its stability.
..
Obama met Middle East experts yesterday as his administration tried to find a path to a post-Mubarak era that continues to serve its interests, including ensuring that Egypt maintains its 30-year peace treaty with Israel. US hopes are solidifying around the reformist Mohamed ElBaradei, despite his difficult relationship with the US after he undermined Washington's claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when he was head of the IAEA, and his criticism of Obama's failure to ask Mubarak to resign.
It's got to be eating the West's(and Israel's) lunch that, despite their earlier hesitations into denunciations, this uprising is still happening.
Tony Blair, envoy for the Middle East Quartet, stopped short of calling for Mubarak to step down: "Change will happen," he said. "You can't put the genie back in the bottle now." William Hague, the foreign secretary, said after meeting EU colleagues: "We are setting down what should happen [in Egypt] in terms of values, process and institutions, but not trying to dictate precise timetable of elections."
Analysts believe that a likely outcome of the crisis is that Mubarak will eventually be persuaded to stand down by his closest advisers, including the army top brass and Suleiman. The US has close links to the Egyptian military.
Google(!) and Twitter(ugh--!!)come down on the side of the people!
Egyptians gather for mass march to oust Mubarak Here's the most interesting portion, as it seems to represent a policy/momentum/perceptual shift:
The military, which has run Egypt since it toppled the monarchy in 1952, will be the key player in deciding who replaces him and some expect it to retain significant power while introducing enough reforms to defuse the protests.
"At this point Suleiman represents the army, not Mubarak,"said Fawaz Gerges at the London School of Economics.
Not all the army, though. Maybe the factions tied to Mubarak, but not all the Military. The Army is made up of poor Egyptians--the people. The new Vice President, Omar Suleiman, likes discipline. You think these people don't know that?
Our beloved Revolutionary Sweethearts: The Bangles
Egypt's army gave a powerful boost to the country's opposition last night by announcing that it would not use force to silence "legitimate" demands for democratic reforms in the Arab world's largest nation.
On the eve of a million-strong protest planned for today and amid multiplying signs that the US is moving steadily closer to ditching its long-standing ally, Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, now has few options left.
..
The military's statement, reported by the state-run Mena news agency, said: "The presence of the army in the streets is for your sake and to ensure your safety and wellbeing. The armed forces will not resort to use of force against our great people." It referred to the "legitimate demands of honourable citizens".
It was not clear whether the pledge not to use force was intended to draw the sting from protests or signal a weakening of support for the president, who relies heavily on the armed forces as the guarantor of the regime and its stability.
..
Obama met Middle East experts yesterday as his administration tried to find a path to a post-Mubarak era that continues to serve its interests, including ensuring that Egypt maintains its 30-year peace treaty with Israel. US hopes are solidifying around the reformist Mohamed ElBaradei, despite his difficult relationship with the US after he undermined Washington's claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when he was head of the IAEA, and his criticism of Obama's failure to ask Mubarak to resign.
It's got to be eating the West's(and Israel's) lunch that, despite their earlier hesitations into denunciations, this uprising is still happening.
Tony Blair, envoy for the Middle East Quartet, stopped short of calling for Mubarak to step down: "Change will happen," he said. "You can't put the genie back in the bottle now." William Hague, the foreign secretary, said after meeting EU colleagues: "We are setting down what should happen [in Egypt] in terms of values, process and institutions, but not trying to dictate precise timetable of elections."
Analysts believe that a likely outcome of the crisis is that Mubarak will eventually be persuaded to stand down by his closest advisers, including the army top brass and Suleiman. The US has close links to the Egyptian military.
Google(!) and Twitter(ugh--!!)come down on the side of the people!
Egyptians gather for mass march to oust Mubarak Here's the most interesting portion, as it seems to represent a policy/momentum/perceptual shift:
The military, which has run Egypt since it toppled the monarchy in 1952, will be the key player in deciding who replaces him and some expect it to retain significant power while introducing enough reforms to defuse the protests.
"At this point Suleiman represents the army, not Mubarak,"said Fawaz Gerges at the London School of Economics.
Not all the army, though. Maybe the factions tied to Mubarak, but not all the Military. The Army is made up of poor Egyptians--the people. The new Vice President, Omar Suleiman, likes discipline. You think these people don't know that?
Our beloved Revolutionary Sweethearts: The Bangles
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Egyptian Police Redeploying
Big and bad news. Excerpts:
Egypt’s internal security forces are reportedly redeploying across the country Jan. 30 after abandoning the streets the previous day in a demonstration, showing what chaos would ensue should they be undermined by the military. As the protests show early signs of dwindling, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, who have negotiated a stay in power so far, are likely betting that the protesters, who thus far have been unable to coalesce into a unified group, will clear the streets under pressure. However, serious potential for clashes remain, especially considering hostilities between the army and the police and between the police and protesters. The coming hours will thus tell whether Mubarak’s bet on the opposition was a wise one.
And:
The decision to redeploy the internal security forces follows a major confrontation that has played out behind the scenes between the Interior Ministry and the military. The animosity between Egypt’s police and soldiers was amplified Jan. 28 when demonstrators overwhelmed the CSF and plainclothes police and the army stepped in to attempt to restore order.
Fearing that he and his forces were being sidelined, al-Adly was rumored to have ordered the police forces to stay home and leave it to the army to deal with the crisis. Meanwhile, multiple STRATFOR sources reported that many of the plainclothes policemen were involved in a number of the jailbreaks, robberies of major banks, and the spread of attacks and break-ins into high-class neighborhoods that occurred Jan. 29. In addition to allowing the police to blow off steam, the implicit message that the Interior Ministry was sending to the army through these actions was that the cost of undermining the internal security forces was a complete breakdown of law and order in the country that would in turn break the regime.
And:
Within the next few hours, police and military officials are expected to redeploy in large numbers across major cities, with the CSF taking the first line of defense. Tensions are still running high between the internal security forces and the military, which could lead to serious clashes between the army and police on the streets. The size and scope of the protests appear to be dwindling into the low thousands, though there is still potential for the demonstrations to swell again after protesters rest themselves and wake up to the same government they have been trying to remove. Moreover, as the events of Jan. 28 and 29 illustrated, protesters are far more likely to clash with the CSF than with the military.
Two powerful and concise posts from the amazing Xymphora regarding the crisis: The one sentence post "Looting," and the perfectly laid out, this-is-most-likely-Mubarak's-plan "Schemes of the Pharaoh." Here's a taste..
You withdraw the police, and use the undercover police to loot and pillage ("2 looters were just caught in Muharram Beyh neighborhood of Alexandria who had police ID cards and were members of undercover plainclothes force."), empty prisons, and play up the dangers on local television, thus frightening the middle classes. You even attack strong symbols of the country in looting the Egyptian Museum ('a high-ranking member of the ruling National Democratic Party was involved in the attack on the museum'). The message is that the strong hand of the 'father' is needed to preserve order. As bad as things are, they could be worse.
Mubarak's regime still has home court advantage. Will the people continue on, or will Mubarak's strategies wear them down, and ultimately prevail? Do the people need to agree about anything else, at the moment, other than the removal of Mubarak, his administration, and his spheres of influence?
Egypt’s internal security forces are reportedly redeploying across the country Jan. 30 after abandoning the streets the previous day in a demonstration, showing what chaos would ensue should they be undermined by the military. As the protests show early signs of dwindling, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, who have negotiated a stay in power so far, are likely betting that the protesters, who thus far have been unable to coalesce into a unified group, will clear the streets under pressure. However, serious potential for clashes remain, especially considering hostilities between the army and the police and between the police and protesters. The coming hours will thus tell whether Mubarak’s bet on the opposition was a wise one.
And:
The decision to redeploy the internal security forces follows a major confrontation that has played out behind the scenes between the Interior Ministry and the military. The animosity between Egypt’s police and soldiers was amplified Jan. 28 when demonstrators overwhelmed the CSF and plainclothes police and the army stepped in to attempt to restore order.
Fearing that he and his forces were being sidelined, al-Adly was rumored to have ordered the police forces to stay home and leave it to the army to deal with the crisis. Meanwhile, multiple STRATFOR sources reported that many of the plainclothes policemen were involved in a number of the jailbreaks, robberies of major banks, and the spread of attacks and break-ins into high-class neighborhoods that occurred Jan. 29. In addition to allowing the police to blow off steam, the implicit message that the Interior Ministry was sending to the army through these actions was that the cost of undermining the internal security forces was a complete breakdown of law and order in the country that would in turn break the regime.
And:
Within the next few hours, police and military officials are expected to redeploy in large numbers across major cities, with the CSF taking the first line of defense. Tensions are still running high between the internal security forces and the military, which could lead to serious clashes between the army and police on the streets. The size and scope of the protests appear to be dwindling into the low thousands, though there is still potential for the demonstrations to swell again after protesters rest themselves and wake up to the same government they have been trying to remove. Moreover, as the events of Jan. 28 and 29 illustrated, protesters are far more likely to clash with the CSF than with the military.
Two powerful and concise posts from the amazing Xymphora regarding the crisis: The one sentence post "Looting," and the perfectly laid out, this-is-most-likely-Mubarak's-plan "Schemes of the Pharaoh." Here's a taste..
You withdraw the police, and use the undercover police to loot and pillage ("2 looters were just caught in Muharram Beyh neighborhood of Alexandria who had police ID cards and were members of undercover plainclothes force."), empty prisons, and play up the dangers on local television, thus frightening the middle classes. You even attack strong symbols of the country in looting the Egyptian Museum ('a high-ranking member of the ruling National Democratic Party was involved in the attack on the museum'). The message is that the strong hand of the 'father' is needed to preserve order. As bad as things are, they could be worse.
Mubarak's regime still has home court advantage. Will the people continue on, or will Mubarak's strategies wear them down, and ultimately prevail? Do the people need to agree about anything else, at the moment, other than the removal of Mubarak, his administration, and his spheres of influence?
The Tipping Point Has Passed: Sweeping Change is at Hand
From Activist Post Excerpts:
When so many diverse forces converge and conflict, a tipping point of global awareness to the human condition is reached. The momentum must spill over into a time of sweeping change.
..
Our age is one of extremes: one can see this in our entertainment, our politics, our solutions to the spectrum of problems we face . . . and even our physical climate. This would indicate that it is a time for choosing sides -- anathema as it is for those who are inclusive by nature. It is a challenging time for those of us who would like to see all sides of every issue, liberally interpreting the dialogue in a collective mantra for the human race. Such a being is branded with any one of the scarlet letters assigned to the prevailing political parties of our modern world. For those of us who would like to preserve a once-great nation, a political dogma, a religious instruction, or a fixed set of guiding principles, we find ourselves on a runaway train of manipulated change, environmental change, and technological change. From either left-right spectrum, the stage upon which we have been told we can act is a moving one. So, from where exactly can we act our part?
And:
We are in this struggle due to the profound nature of our ability to discern the stimuli of our environment. We are not animals, and we are not (yet) robots. Some of us are; others wish to be; most are not even close. No other being, so far as we can tell, has been able to harness their abilities and flaws to produce such world-encompassing results. Perhaps this is what is worth saving, and why our destructive capacities haven't yet overwhelmed us. Perhaps this is why global "elites" who feel that their breeding and master planning are the symphony of humankind haven't yet hit the correct note. Amid the vast attempts at government-run oppression, there has never been a more empowering time for the individual. Across the globe, the average person has far more access to information and creative technology than at any time in human history. This is a genie that cannot be put back into the bottle, save a physically catastrophic event that forces humanity back into the dark ages. The human intellect is expanding and evolving in a way that is rendering divide-and-conquer strategies much less effective.
And:
Free humanity finds itself at center stage between the left-right forces of radicalism, as it seeks to find a point of stability and growth. It is further proof that the essence of what humanity is has expanded its importance. So, choose your bible; choose your party; or choose none of it. One way or another massive change is coming. Where do you wish to stand?
The key to the Age of Aquarius is discernment. Information is literally flowing all around us, and it is up to us to use all of our critical facilities to determine our own truths. So many easily-made mistakes just ahead, and such a narrowing path to Awakening. It is becoming clear that at this axis point in "time," our collective consciousness could just as easily explode as our physical bodies could.
We will all have to choose..
Evolve or Devolve?
Nirvana, or Gehenna?
Star Trek, or Mad Max?
There is no guarantee.
What.. Will happen.. Next?
When so many diverse forces converge and conflict, a tipping point of global awareness to the human condition is reached. The momentum must spill over into a time of sweeping change.
..
Our age is one of extremes: one can see this in our entertainment, our politics, our solutions to the spectrum of problems we face . . . and even our physical climate. This would indicate that it is a time for choosing sides -- anathema as it is for those who are inclusive by nature. It is a challenging time for those of us who would like to see all sides of every issue, liberally interpreting the dialogue in a collective mantra for the human race. Such a being is branded with any one of the scarlet letters assigned to the prevailing political parties of our modern world. For those of us who would like to preserve a once-great nation, a political dogma, a religious instruction, or a fixed set of guiding principles, we find ourselves on a runaway train of manipulated change, environmental change, and technological change. From either left-right spectrum, the stage upon which we have been told we can act is a moving one. So, from where exactly can we act our part?
And:
We are in this struggle due to the profound nature of our ability to discern the stimuli of our environment. We are not animals, and we are not (yet) robots. Some of us are; others wish to be; most are not even close. No other being, so far as we can tell, has been able to harness their abilities and flaws to produce such world-encompassing results. Perhaps this is what is worth saving, and why our destructive capacities haven't yet overwhelmed us. Perhaps this is why global "elites" who feel that their breeding and master planning are the symphony of humankind haven't yet hit the correct note. Amid the vast attempts at government-run oppression, there has never been a more empowering time for the individual. Across the globe, the average person has far more access to information and creative technology than at any time in human history. This is a genie that cannot be put back into the bottle, save a physically catastrophic event that forces humanity back into the dark ages. The human intellect is expanding and evolving in a way that is rendering divide-and-conquer strategies much less effective.
And:
Free humanity finds itself at center stage between the left-right forces of radicalism, as it seeks to find a point of stability and growth. It is further proof that the essence of what humanity is has expanded its importance. So, choose your bible; choose your party; or choose none of it. One way or another massive change is coming. Where do you wish to stand?
The key to the Age of Aquarius is discernment. Information is literally flowing all around us, and it is up to us to use all of our critical facilities to determine our own truths. So many easily-made mistakes just ahead, and such a narrowing path to Awakening. It is becoming clear that at this axis point in "time," our collective consciousness could just as easily explode as our physical bodies could.
We will all have to choose..
Evolve or Devolve?
Nirvana, or Gehenna?
Star Trek, or Mad Max?
There is no guarantee.
What.. Will happen.. Next?
Saturday, January 29, 2011
This Week In "Other Protests Than Egypt"
Thousands of Albanian protest despite warnings Summary: A peaceful response to a violent reaction. Excerpts:
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the Albanian capital Tirana Friday for a silent protest closely monitored by police, a week after another demonstration turned deadly. The opposition went ahead with the protest in defiance of international appeals and police warnings, insisting it would be a peaceful gathering to honor the three people killed last week.
The demonstrators headed by the leadership of the opposition socialists and the families of the victims started their march on the government buildings, passing by the spot where the people were shot, placing flowers at the scene in silence.
Organizers said there were 200,000 protesters but AFP journalists put the number at several tens of thousands. Police would give no figure.
And:
Last Friday, tens of thousands of people turned out for a protest rally organized by Rama, calling on the government to resign over allegations of corruption and electoral fraud.
The subsequent clashes between demonstrators and the security forces left three people dead and a fourth critically wounded.
This is the longest ever political crisis in Albania, which began after the opposition disputed the results from the June 2009 parliamentary election.
Not big enough to be close to critical, tensions in Jordan, nonetheless, could flare up from growing discontent with Prime Minister Samir Rifai. Excerpts:
Thousands of people in Jordan have taken to the streets in protests, demanding the country's prime minister step down, and the government curb rising prices, inflation and unemployment.
In the third consecutive Friday of protests, about 3,500 opposition activists from Jordan's main Islamist opposition group, trade unions and leftist organisations gathered in the capital, waving colourful banners reading: "Send the corrupt guys to court".
The crowd denounced Samir Rifai's, the prime minister, and his unpopular policies.
Many shouted: "Rifai go away, prices are on fire and so are the Jordanians.''
Tame, for the moment.. We'll see, won't we? Any finally, the most desperate and volatile of the three, Yemen.. But.. Maybe the Yemeni government has learned a little something from the events of previous weeks. Calls for talks with opposition, warns of conflict Yemen ruling party urges dialogue to halt protests Excerpts:
Yemen's ruling party has called for dialogue with the opposition, the country's state news agency said late on Friday, in a bid to end anti-government protests fuelled by popular unrest across the Arab World.
Thousands of Yemenis have taken to the streets of the capital Sanaa in recent days demanding a change of government, inspired by the overthrow two weeks ago of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Al Ben Ali and spillover to Egypt.
"We ... call for the halting of media propaganda and urge all political parties to work together to make the dialogue a success and arrange for upcoming elections," a committee of the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) party was quoted as saying on the website of the Saba state news agency.
And:
Saleh, a key ally of the United States in a war against a resurgent al-Qaeda wing in Yemen, has ruled the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state for over 30 years.
Yemen is trying to quell a secessionist rebellion in its south and cement a truce with northern Shiite rebels.
Security measures at the demonstrations appeared relaxed, but were tight around the interior ministry and the central bank.
The political heat in the Mid East continues to intensify, growing hotter and faster in some areas over others, but growing nonetheless. Day Five in Egypt is already underway. It's gonna get hotter 'fore it cools..
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the Albanian capital Tirana Friday for a silent protest closely monitored by police, a week after another demonstration turned deadly. The opposition went ahead with the protest in defiance of international appeals and police warnings, insisting it would be a peaceful gathering to honor the three people killed last week.
The demonstrators headed by the leadership of the opposition socialists and the families of the victims started their march on the government buildings, passing by the spot where the people were shot, placing flowers at the scene in silence.
Organizers said there were 200,000 protesters but AFP journalists put the number at several tens of thousands. Police would give no figure.
And:
Last Friday, tens of thousands of people turned out for a protest rally organized by Rama, calling on the government to resign over allegations of corruption and electoral fraud.
The subsequent clashes between demonstrators and the security forces left three people dead and a fourth critically wounded.
This is the longest ever political crisis in Albania, which began after the opposition disputed the results from the June 2009 parliamentary election.
Not big enough to be close to critical, tensions in Jordan, nonetheless, could flare up from growing discontent with Prime Minister Samir Rifai. Excerpts:
Thousands of people in Jordan have taken to the streets in protests, demanding the country's prime minister step down, and the government curb rising prices, inflation and unemployment.
In the third consecutive Friday of protests, about 3,500 opposition activists from Jordan's main Islamist opposition group, trade unions and leftist organisations gathered in the capital, waving colourful banners reading: "Send the corrupt guys to court".
The crowd denounced Samir Rifai's, the prime minister, and his unpopular policies.
Many shouted: "Rifai go away, prices are on fire and so are the Jordanians.''
Tame, for the moment.. We'll see, won't we? Any finally, the most desperate and volatile of the three, Yemen.. But.. Maybe the Yemeni government has learned a little something from the events of previous weeks. Calls for talks with opposition, warns of conflict Yemen ruling party urges dialogue to halt protests Excerpts:
Yemen's ruling party has called for dialogue with the opposition, the country's state news agency said late on Friday, in a bid to end anti-government protests fuelled by popular unrest across the Arab World.
Thousands of Yemenis have taken to the streets of the capital Sanaa in recent days demanding a change of government, inspired by the overthrow two weeks ago of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Al Ben Ali and spillover to Egypt.
"We ... call for the halting of media propaganda and urge all political parties to work together to make the dialogue a success and arrange for upcoming elections," a committee of the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) party was quoted as saying on the website of the Saba state news agency.
And:
Saleh, a key ally of the United States in a war against a resurgent al-Qaeda wing in Yemen, has ruled the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state for over 30 years.
Yemen is trying to quell a secessionist rebellion in its south and cement a truce with northern Shiite rebels.
Security measures at the demonstrations appeared relaxed, but were tight around the interior ministry and the central bank.
The political heat in the Mid East continues to intensify, growing hotter and faster in some areas over others, but growing nonetheless. Day Five in Egypt is already underway. It's gonna get hotter 'fore it cools..
Storm On Saturn Has Grown Into A Monster!
From Universe Today: Just before the holidays, UT reported about about the Growing Storm On Saturn and showed us the Cassini images. Now more than a month has passed and the white scar of the raging atmosphere has escalated to an incredible size… Nearly 10 Earths wide!
Friday, January 28, 2011
WikiLeaks: Hot Egyptian Nights, Volume One..
First, to set the stage, lets flash back to late November(Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010).. WikiLeaks Fallout: Undermining Egypt as Mideast Mediator Excerpts:
The flood of classified U.S. diplomatic cables released on Sunday by WikiLeaks threatens to further undermine Egypt's already questionable role as a neutral mediator between Palestinian factions, embarrass the U.S. in one of its most important Middle Eastern allies and expose the authoritarian regime of President Hosni Mubarak to more criticism in the aftermath of a parliamentary election this past weekend that was marred by widespread accounts of fraud and abuse.
For Cairo, the country's current preoccupation with an election that fell on the same day as the WikiLeaks disclosure may serve to distract the public for the time being. Egyptian newspapers on Monday devoted some attention to the leaks, but focused on revelations regarding their neighbors and other countries — not Egypt. Meanwhile a Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to comment on the documents' impact — indicating that he was not up to speed on the details and was currently in Libya. But inevitably, analysts say, details of Egypt's hard-line stance on Hamas, as well as its close cooperation with Israel, will provide fresh fodder for Egypt's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, which suffered serious losses in the weekend's poll.
One of Brotherhood's strongest talking points against Mubarak's deeply unpopular regime has been its allegedly close relationship with Israel — a neighbor still widely vilified by the Egyptian public. Thanks to the diplomatic cables, Egypt may now have to account for fresh details regarding its cooperation with the Jewish state, as well as its role as a regional peace broker. "I think the most important thing is the link between these documents that explain everything and the crackdown on democracy and the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood," says Essam al-Erian, a member of the Brotherhood's politburo. "If there was a democracy in Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood became more powerful, this would threaten this good relationship between Egypt and the Israelis."
..
What may be more worrying to the Egyptian government,however, is a blow to the state's credibility as a regional peace broker. For years, Mubarak's regime has presented itself as the only diplomatic actor capable of resolving the 2007 split between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah that left Hamas in control of Gaza and Fatah in control of the West Bank. Palestinians deem reconciliation critical to the success of any peace deal with Israel, but many accuse Egypt of being a biased mediator and therefore unfit for the job. The disclosed documents appear to leave little doubt as to where Egypt stands.
"Mubarak hates Hamas and considers them the same as Egypt's own Muslim Brotherhood, which he sees as his own most dangerous political threat," Scobey said in the February 2009 cable. Another cable detailing a meeting between Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and General David Petraeus, of the U.S. Central Command, in the same year revealed Suleiman was pessimistic about prospects of reaching a deal. "I consider myself a patient man, but I am losing patience," Suleiman told Petraeus. He said Egypt was committed to undermining Hamas and building popular support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West.
And from December 9th.. US ambassador tells Hillary Clinton that president will win rigged election next year, his 30th in power
Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's long-serving president, is likely to seek re-election next year and will "inevitably" win a poll that will not be free and fair, the US ambassador to Cairo, Margaret Scobey, predicted in a secret cable to Hillary Clinton last year.
..
Scobey's candid view, in a cable dated May 2009, is that Mubarak, 82, who heads the Arab world's most populous and influential nation, is most likely to die in office rather than step down voluntarily or be replaced in a plausible democratic vote. "The next presidential elections are scheduled for 2011 and if Mubarak is still alive it is likely he will run again and, inevitably, win," Scobey writes.
So.. The United States knew, yet said nothing. I'm sure they've known for a very long time. That's probably common knowledge in Egypt. That knowledge might be one of the reasons the Egyptian people don't trust us.. Maybe? Maybe? Continuing on..
WikiLeaks Exposes New Egypt Docs Amid Protests. Will Anyone There See Them?
As Egyptian police fire tear gas canisters and rubber bullets at protesters in Cairo, WikiLeaks has been firing back with a stream of new State Department cables that reveal human rights abuses and political arrests in the country. But it shouldn’t expect those document dumps to fuel the mass movement there: As of Wednesday evening, Egypt’s government had shut off all four of its major Internet service providers, (ISPs) essentially instituting a nationwide digital blackout. (But the ones in November and December.. They probably got out there, right?)
..
The blackout means there’s little chance of anyone in Egypt seeing a new round of WikiLeaks’ secret State Department cables that the secret-spilling group has released and linked to on its Twitter feed, apparently specially timed to highlight the injustices of the Egyptian regime and America’s ties to it. Those cables reveal that “police brutality continues to be a pervasive, daily occurrence,” with police often hanging criminal suspects from their arms for days at a time, and that bloggers and journalists live in fear of arrest. One cable admits that under Mubarak’s rule, which has long received military and financial support from the U.S., “torture and police brutality in Egypt are endemic and widespread. The police use brutal methods mostly against common criminals to extract confessions, but also against demonstrators, certain political prisoners and unfortunate bystanders.”
Remember this fall when Secretary Clinton was flying all over the world, "apologizing"? Maybe they had an idea as to the political impact these cables might have on specific countries, Egypt included. These statements make more sense now, doesn't they?" Excerpts:
“This disclosure is not just an attack on America's foreign policy interests,” said Clinton. “It is an attack on the international community: the alliances and partnerships, the conversations and negotiations that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity.”
“It puts people's lives in danger, threatens our national security and undermines our efforts to work with other countries to solve shared problems,” she told reporters at the State Department.
Clinton would not comment on the specific contents of the cables but said the administration “deeply regrets” any embarrassment caused by their disclosure. Many of them contain candid and often unflattering assessments of foreign leaders, both friends and foes.
Speculation has already started as to who gets credit for starting the Egyptian revolution; Bush or Obama. Fuck the actual Egyptians. They only did all the work and shed all the blood.. But if I were to guess, I'd say Julian Assange had more motivational influence on Egypt than either one of our last two Presidents. He's the only one to tell the people of Egypt the truth.
The flood of classified U.S. diplomatic cables released on Sunday by WikiLeaks threatens to further undermine Egypt's already questionable role as a neutral mediator between Palestinian factions, embarrass the U.S. in one of its most important Middle Eastern allies and expose the authoritarian regime of President Hosni Mubarak to more criticism in the aftermath of a parliamentary election this past weekend that was marred by widespread accounts of fraud and abuse.
For Cairo, the country's current preoccupation with an election that fell on the same day as the WikiLeaks disclosure may serve to distract the public for the time being. Egyptian newspapers on Monday devoted some attention to the leaks, but focused on revelations regarding their neighbors and other countries — not Egypt. Meanwhile a Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to comment on the documents' impact — indicating that he was not up to speed on the details and was currently in Libya. But inevitably, analysts say, details of Egypt's hard-line stance on Hamas, as well as its close cooperation with Israel, will provide fresh fodder for Egypt's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, which suffered serious losses in the weekend's poll.
One of Brotherhood's strongest talking points against Mubarak's deeply unpopular regime has been its allegedly close relationship with Israel — a neighbor still widely vilified by the Egyptian public. Thanks to the diplomatic cables, Egypt may now have to account for fresh details regarding its cooperation with the Jewish state, as well as its role as a regional peace broker. "I think the most important thing is the link between these documents that explain everything and the crackdown on democracy and the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood," says Essam al-Erian, a member of the Brotherhood's politburo. "If there was a democracy in Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood became more powerful, this would threaten this good relationship between Egypt and the Israelis."
..
What may be more worrying to the Egyptian government,however, is a blow to the state's credibility as a regional peace broker. For years, Mubarak's regime has presented itself as the only diplomatic actor capable of resolving the 2007 split between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah that left Hamas in control of Gaza and Fatah in control of the West Bank. Palestinians deem reconciliation critical to the success of any peace deal with Israel, but many accuse Egypt of being a biased mediator and therefore unfit for the job. The disclosed documents appear to leave little doubt as to where Egypt stands.
"Mubarak hates Hamas and considers them the same as Egypt's own Muslim Brotherhood, which he sees as his own most dangerous political threat," Scobey said in the February 2009 cable. Another cable detailing a meeting between Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and General David Petraeus, of the U.S. Central Command, in the same year revealed Suleiman was pessimistic about prospects of reaching a deal. "I consider myself a patient man, but I am losing patience," Suleiman told Petraeus. He said Egypt was committed to undermining Hamas and building popular support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West.
And from December 9th.. US ambassador tells Hillary Clinton that president will win rigged election next year, his 30th in power
Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's long-serving president, is likely to seek re-election next year and will "inevitably" win a poll that will not be free and fair, the US ambassador to Cairo, Margaret Scobey, predicted in a secret cable to Hillary Clinton last year.
..
Scobey's candid view, in a cable dated May 2009, is that Mubarak, 82, who heads the Arab world's most populous and influential nation, is most likely to die in office rather than step down voluntarily or be replaced in a plausible democratic vote. "The next presidential elections are scheduled for 2011 and if Mubarak is still alive it is likely he will run again and, inevitably, win," Scobey writes.
So.. The United States knew, yet said nothing. I'm sure they've known for a very long time. That's probably common knowledge in Egypt. That knowledge might be one of the reasons the Egyptian people don't trust us.. Maybe? Maybe? Continuing on..
WikiLeaks Exposes New Egypt Docs Amid Protests. Will Anyone There See Them?
As Egyptian police fire tear gas canisters and rubber bullets at protesters in Cairo, WikiLeaks has been firing back with a stream of new State Department cables that reveal human rights abuses and political arrests in the country. But it shouldn’t expect those document dumps to fuel the mass movement there: As of Wednesday evening, Egypt’s government had shut off all four of its major Internet service providers, (ISPs) essentially instituting a nationwide digital blackout. (But the ones in November and December.. They probably got out there, right?)
..
The blackout means there’s little chance of anyone in Egypt seeing a new round of WikiLeaks’ secret State Department cables that the secret-spilling group has released and linked to on its Twitter feed, apparently specially timed to highlight the injustices of the Egyptian regime and America’s ties to it. Those cables reveal that “police brutality continues to be a pervasive, daily occurrence,” with police often hanging criminal suspects from their arms for days at a time, and that bloggers and journalists live in fear of arrest. One cable admits that under Mubarak’s rule, which has long received military and financial support from the U.S., “torture and police brutality in Egypt are endemic and widespread. The police use brutal methods mostly against common criminals to extract confessions, but also against demonstrators, certain political prisoners and unfortunate bystanders.”
Remember this fall when Secretary Clinton was flying all over the world, "apologizing"? Maybe they had an idea as to the political impact these cables might have on specific countries, Egypt included. These statements make more sense now, doesn't they?" Excerpts:
“This disclosure is not just an attack on America's foreign policy interests,” said Clinton. “It is an attack on the international community: the alliances and partnerships, the conversations and negotiations that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity.”
“It puts people's lives in danger, threatens our national security and undermines our efforts to work with other countries to solve shared problems,” she told reporters at the State Department.
Clinton would not comment on the specific contents of the cables but said the administration “deeply regrets” any embarrassment caused by their disclosure. Many of them contain candid and often unflattering assessments of foreign leaders, both friends and foes.
Speculation has already started as to who gets credit for starting the Egyptian revolution; Bush or Obama. Fuck the actual Egyptians. They only did all the work and shed all the blood.. But if I were to guess, I'd say Julian Assange had more motivational influence on Egypt than either one of our last two Presidents. He's the only one to tell the people of Egypt the truth.
Pick Up That New File Marked: Global Revolution; Yemen And Hand It Here, Please..
Thousands in Yemen Protest Against the Government Excerpts:
Yemen, one of the Middle East’s most impoverished countries and a haven for Al Qaeda militants, became the latest Arab state to witness mass protests on Thursday, as thousands of Yemenis took to the streets in the capital and other regions to demand a change in government.
The scenes broadcast across the Arab world were reminiscent of demonstrations in Egypt this week and the month of protests that brought down the government in Tunisia. But as they climaxed by midday, the marches appeared to be carefully organized and mostly peaceful, though there were reports of arrests by security forces. Predictably, the protests were most aggressive in the restive south.
And:
While the marches were not marked by violence, the potential for strife in the country is difficult to overstate. It is beset by a rebellion in the north and a struggle for secession in the south. In recent years, the regional Al Qaeda affiliate has turned parts of the country, a rugged, often lawless swath of southwestern Arabian Peninsula, into a refuge beyond the state’s reach. Added to the mix is a remarkably high proportion of armed citizens.
..
He said a phrase often heard these days is that Yemen faces “tatasawmal” — the Somalization of a country that witnessed a civil war in the mid-1990s.
Part of Mr. Allaw’s worries sprung from the inability of the opposition to forge a unified message. Some are calling for secession, he said, while others are looking to oust the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, through popular protests. Yet others, he said, simply wanted Mr. Saleh to undertake a series of reforms before elections in April.
Khaled Alanesi, a colleague of Mr. Allaw’s at the human rights group in Sana, said: “The opposition is afraid of what would happen if the regime falls. Afraid of the militant groups, Al Qaeda, the tribes and all the arms here.”
And the reason Yemen's demonstrations might have the least effect..
The demonstrations on Thursday followed several days of smaller protests by students and opposition groups calling for the removal of President Ali Abdallah Saleh, a strongman who has ruled this fractured country for more than 30 years and is a key ally of the United States in the fight against the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda.
The next few days will bear watching throughout the entire region. Discontent transitions from simmer to boil. How quickly, and how far, will that discontent spread?
Yemen, one of the Middle East’s most impoverished countries and a haven for Al Qaeda militants, became the latest Arab state to witness mass protests on Thursday, as thousands of Yemenis took to the streets in the capital and other regions to demand a change in government.
The scenes broadcast across the Arab world were reminiscent of demonstrations in Egypt this week and the month of protests that brought down the government in Tunisia. But as they climaxed by midday, the marches appeared to be carefully organized and mostly peaceful, though there were reports of arrests by security forces. Predictably, the protests were most aggressive in the restive south.
And:
While the marches were not marked by violence, the potential for strife in the country is difficult to overstate. It is beset by a rebellion in the north and a struggle for secession in the south. In recent years, the regional Al Qaeda affiliate has turned parts of the country, a rugged, often lawless swath of southwestern Arabian Peninsula, into a refuge beyond the state’s reach. Added to the mix is a remarkably high proportion of armed citizens.
..
He said a phrase often heard these days is that Yemen faces “tatasawmal” — the Somalization of a country that witnessed a civil war in the mid-1990s.
Part of Mr. Allaw’s worries sprung from the inability of the opposition to forge a unified message. Some are calling for secession, he said, while others are looking to oust the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, through popular protests. Yet others, he said, simply wanted Mr. Saleh to undertake a series of reforms before elections in April.
Khaled Alanesi, a colleague of Mr. Allaw’s at the human rights group in Sana, said: “The opposition is afraid of what would happen if the regime falls. Afraid of the militant groups, Al Qaeda, the tribes and all the arms here.”
And the reason Yemen's demonstrations might have the least effect..
The demonstrations on Thursday followed several days of smaller protests by students and opposition groups calling for the removal of President Ali Abdallah Saleh, a strongman who has ruled this fractured country for more than 30 years and is a key ally of the United States in the fight against the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda.
The next few days will bear watching throughout the entire region. Discontent transitions from simmer to boil. How quickly, and how far, will that discontent spread?
Breakthrough promises $1.50 per gallon synthetic gasoline with no carbon emissions
Great news! Corporate lawmakers will have to work overtime to kill this one.. But they will try. Excerpts:
UK-based Cella Energy has developed a synthetic fuel that could lead to US$1.50 per gallon gasoline. Apart from promising a future transportation fuel with a stable price regardless of oil prices, the fuel is hydrogen based and produces no carbon emissions when burned. The technology is based on complex hydrides, and has been developed over a four year top secret program at the prestigious Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford. Early indications are that the fuel can be used in existing internal combustion engined vehicles without engine modification.
According to Stephen Voller CEO at Cella Energy, the technology was developed using advanced materials science, taking high energy materials and encapsulating them using a nanostructuring technique called coaxial electrospraying.
And:
Professor Bennington, Chief Scientific Officer at Cella Energy said, “our technology is based on materials called complex hydrides that contain hydrogen. When encapsulated using our unique patented process, they are safer to handle than regular gasoline.”
No carbon emissions, stable fuel prices, a worldwide economic/ political alteration of power, influence and dependence, and you don't have to modify your car! All possible from Science! Thank you, Science! Does this prove you don't really hate America?
Even with all the instability and major unknowns in our collective, immediate futures, advancements like this prove how exciting this time is in relation to what could be: Provided we don't kill ourselves first.
UK-based Cella Energy has developed a synthetic fuel that could lead to US$1.50 per gallon gasoline. Apart from promising a future transportation fuel with a stable price regardless of oil prices, the fuel is hydrogen based and produces no carbon emissions when burned. The technology is based on complex hydrides, and has been developed over a four year top secret program at the prestigious Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford. Early indications are that the fuel can be used in existing internal combustion engined vehicles without engine modification.
According to Stephen Voller CEO at Cella Energy, the technology was developed using advanced materials science, taking high energy materials and encapsulating them using a nanostructuring technique called coaxial electrospraying.
And:
Professor Bennington, Chief Scientific Officer at Cella Energy said, “our technology is based on materials called complex hydrides that contain hydrogen. When encapsulated using our unique patented process, they are safer to handle than regular gasoline.”
No carbon emissions, stable fuel prices, a worldwide economic/ political alteration of power, influence and dependence, and you don't have to modify your car! All possible from Science! Thank you, Science! Does this prove you don't really hate America?
Even with all the instability and major unknowns in our collective, immediate futures, advancements like this prove how exciting this time is in relation to what could be: Provided we don't kill ourselves first.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
If The World Wasn't Imploding, This Would Be Huge News..
Georgian President Lauds Moscow Terror Attack as ‘Payback’ for 2008 War Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili rockets to the top of the "Crazy and suicidal enough to fuck with Putin/ Medvedev" chart today. I guess the President outgrew his "Tie-eating" phase(The kooky starts at 1:01).. Look for escalation at the Russian/Georgian border shortly. First link excerpts:
While most of the world reacted with the predictable combination of shock and eagerness for more security measures in the wake of Monday’s suicide bombing in the Moscow Domodedovo Airport, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is openly cheering it.
According to Saakashvili, the bombing was “payback” for the brief Russo-Georgian War of 2008, and that he had recently told Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that he would face “payback for his country for supporting separatists.”
Wow. Saakashvili really enjoys starring in his own International/ Political version of Kenny Rogers Jackass.. From The Independent/ UK
Mr Saakashvili and the Russian leadership have exchanged regular insults since the 2008 war between the countries over the breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but his comments are likely to enrage Moscow, coming so soon after the blast at Domodedovo Airport that killed 35 people.
..
"I discussed this personally with Vladimir Putin a while ago. I said to him that the payback for his country for supporting separatists would be that violence would come back to hit them as well," Mr Saakashvili said. "Putin said, 'No, if anyone tries anything against us, we shall crush them like cockroaches,' while jabbing and twisting his thumb on the table in front him."
Before his interview with The Independent, the Georgian President made similar comments in a televised question-and-answer session. "Russia has a political mentality which is on the level of a reptile, like a crocodile ready to swallow you up," Mr Saakashvili said. There is a well-documented personal enmity between Mr Saakashvili and Mr Putin. The Georgian President once said that talking to Mr Putin was "like somebody standing with an axe at your head and saying: "Don't worry, everything's OK, close your eyes and relax.'"
And:
Yesterday, Mr Putin said preliminary investigations into Monday's blast suggested that the bomber did not come from Chechnya. It was unclear whether he meant he had no links to the North Caucasus, or was from a neighbouring republic such as Dagestan. He also ruled out negotiation with terrorist groups.
Saakashvili's almost gleeful remarks not only requires Putin to respond, but is, if not this close to an admission of Georgian involvement, or at least facillitation to the bombing. Or, maybe not.. And Putin just ruled out Chechnya. On purpose or not, President Saakashvili now has the complete attention of Vladimir Putin; again.
I wonder what flavor of tie goes with Provoked Russian Invasion, Winter, 2011?
While most of the world reacted with the predictable combination of shock and eagerness for more security measures in the wake of Monday’s suicide bombing in the Moscow Domodedovo Airport, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is openly cheering it.
According to Saakashvili, the bombing was “payback” for the brief Russo-Georgian War of 2008, and that he had recently told Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that he would face “payback for his country for supporting separatists.”
Wow. Saakashvili really enjoys starring in his own International/ Political version of Kenny Rogers Jackass.. From The Independent/ UK
Mr Saakashvili and the Russian leadership have exchanged regular insults since the 2008 war between the countries over the breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but his comments are likely to enrage Moscow, coming so soon after the blast at Domodedovo Airport that killed 35 people.
..
"I discussed this personally with Vladimir Putin a while ago. I said to him that the payback for his country for supporting separatists would be that violence would come back to hit them as well," Mr Saakashvili said. "Putin said, 'No, if anyone tries anything against us, we shall crush them like cockroaches,' while jabbing and twisting his thumb on the table in front him."
Before his interview with The Independent, the Georgian President made similar comments in a televised question-and-answer session. "Russia has a political mentality which is on the level of a reptile, like a crocodile ready to swallow you up," Mr Saakashvili said. There is a well-documented personal enmity between Mr Saakashvili and Mr Putin. The Georgian President once said that talking to Mr Putin was "like somebody standing with an axe at your head and saying: "Don't worry, everything's OK, close your eyes and relax.'"
And:
Yesterday, Mr Putin said preliminary investigations into Monday's blast suggested that the bomber did not come from Chechnya. It was unclear whether he meant he had no links to the North Caucasus, or was from a neighbouring republic such as Dagestan. He also ruled out negotiation with terrorist groups.
Saakashvili's almost gleeful remarks not only requires Putin to respond, but is, if not this close to an admission of Georgian involvement, or at least facillitation to the bombing. Or, maybe not.. And Putin just ruled out Chechnya. On purpose or not, President Saakashvili now has the complete attention of Vladimir Putin; again.
I wonder what flavor of tie goes with Provoked Russian Invasion, Winter, 2011?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
