Newswire from Egypt

[Sentinel]

Please post breaking news from the Egyptian revolution in this thread. Also feel free to continue any discussions from the Protests in Egypt -thread, which was closed as per board policy for having too many replies.

[Rusty Shackleford]

quick thing, can we have "protests in egypt" restickied so we have a history of this readily available? i think this is the first time a revolution has been monitored like this.

[ckaihatsu]

News » International

CAIRO, February 6, 2011

Muslim Brotherhood joins political mainstream in Egypt
Atul Aneja

AP



Muslim brotherhood leader Saad el-Katatni, centre, gestures as other leaders Essam el-Erian, left, and Mohamed Morsi look on during a press conference in Cairo on Sunday. Banner reads " Press conference for Muslim Brotherhood" in Arabic.


After being shunned for decades, the Muslim Brotherhood appears set to acquire official legitimacy in Egypt with its representatives on Sunday holding talks with the government on defining the ground rules for a political transition, which has become necessary in the wake of a pro-democracy revolt.

Ahead of talks with Vice-President Omar Suleiman, who has emerged as the face of the Mubarak government in its interaction with the opposition, the Muslim Brotherhood signalled that Sunday's talks could be exploratory. “We decided to take part in a round of negotiations in order to test the officials' seriousness about people's demands and their readiness to respond,” the group's Supreme Guide, Mohamed Badie, said in a statement.

Nevertheless, the invitation for talks and its acceptance appear part of a larger regional shift in policy towards the organisation, which has well-organised branches in many countries in West Asia, including oil-rich Gulf countries. On Thursday, Jordan's King Abdullah also held talks with Muslim Brotherhood representatives — a step the Jordanian Hashemite monarch has avoided for nearly a decade.

In Cairo, in the talks with Mr. Suleiman, Muslim Brotherhood representatives joined others from secular opposition parties, as well as independent legal experts and a business tycoon Naguib Sawiris. The dialogue apparently ended on a positive note, with the Egyptian government claiming that both sides had agreed to identify specific steps to be adopted to enable detailed talks to commence.

A statement after the talks signalled that at least formally, President Hosni Mubarak would not leave, despite his departure from office being a core unifying demand among the pro-democracy demonstrators. Muslim Brotherhood representative Abdel Monem Aboul Fotouh, instead of focusing on the President's exit, said Mr. Mubarak must issue decrees “to change Articles 76, 77, dissolve parliament, release all political detainees, end emergency status.”

“Until then, the youth will remain on the streets and at the same time discussions will continue,” he said. Mr. Fotouh was referring to constitutional provisions that allow Mr. Mubarak's party to manipulate polls to choose a President, who could then run for unlimited terms.

While a convoluted dialogue appears to have begun, at the Tahrir (Liberation) Square, plans were afoot to mount a new cycle of protests to maintain pressure on the government.

Keywords: Egypt uprising, Mubarak government, Omar Suleiman-Muslim Brotherhood talks

[ckaihatsu]

REVOLUTION: Egyptian Federation for Independent Unions Founded


In every country of the World -- but most importantly in North Africa
and the Middle East right now -- workers must take this important step
of setting up independent, grassroots trade unions -- which in effect
overthrow the power of the present and longtime capitalist-/state-
controlled "trade union" apparatus. These decadent organizations
everywhere essentially work *only* for the capitalists now -- and
function fundamentally as workplace police for their corporate
masters. They must in fact be the first part of the capitalist
machinery of control to be smashed by the self-action of an
independent working-class -- and here, egyptian workers are attempting
this vital task.

And so should we all. Immediately.


Long Live the World Socialist Revolution.
All Power to the Workers' and Farmers' Councils and Communes.


-- grok.







----- Forwarded message

Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2011
Subject: Forward Far and Wide: Egyptian Federation for Independent Unions Founded





Egyptian Federation for Independent Unions

Constitutional Body Creation


Egypt is going through historical moments. Its people is courageously
struggling to defend the right to live a decent life. the right to
dignity, freedom and social justice. to decent opportunities and just
pay. to a democratic society for all, offering every single citizen a
share in its wealth and GNP. a society that does not allow few to buy
private jets whereas the rest of the population cannot even afford
public transportation. a society that refuses to pay the top of the
pyramid salaries higher thousand of time than minimum wage.

A society that allows its people to breathe freely. to freely speak,
interact and express itself. a society that allows all people
categories and classes to defend their interests and negotiate freely.
a society that does not oppress its people, inhibits its ambitions and
natural tendencies to develop workers capacities and improve their
life conditions.

Workers and people struggled for decades and participated, especially
since 4 years, in unprecedented recurrent protest actions to defend
their legal rights. They succeeded in their endeavor despite the lack
of independent union organization, stolen piece by piece for decades.
They succeeded in attracting larges social sectors, and mobilizing
greater sympathy among the Egyptian society, workers and union
movements.

Workers defended their right to work to face unemployment specter -
that devours youth - and demanded to set a new fair minimum wage that
guarantees decent living for all workers. They fought courageously to
defend their democratic right to organize and create independent union
organizations.

Labor struggles paved the way to today's people revolution. That is
why Egypt workers and employees totally refuse that the "governmental"
general federation represents them and speaks in their name, because
it often denied their rights and claims and even issued the famous
statement on January 27 claiming to oppose every single protest action
during this period.

Therefore, independent unions and committees [RETA, Retired Workers
Union, Health professionals Union, Teachers Independent Union] along
with workers independent groups in industries declare the creation of
Egyptian Federation for Independent Unions and its constitutional body
on Sunday the 30th of January 2011 and emphasizes on the following:


1.. Egypt citizens right to work - and binding the government to
"unemployment compensation".

2.. Define a minimum wage no less than 1200 LE, with a yearly raise
proportionate to inflation; guarantee workers rights to bonuses and
benefits according to work value, especially work compensation for
those facing work hazards. Moreover, maximum wage should never exceed
minimum wage by more than ten times.

3.. The right for all Egyptian citizens to fair social security
including the right to health care, housing, education "ensuring free
education and syllabus development to cope with science and technology
evolution", the right for all retired to decent pensions and benefits.

4.. Workers and employees right to organize, to create their own
bylaws, to remove all legal restrictions regarding this right.

5.. Free all detainees imprisoned after January 25th.


Egypt Federation for Independent Unions Constitutional Body invites
all Egypt workers to create civil committees in order to defend their
workplace, workers and citizens during these critical times and to
organize protest actions and strikes in the workplaces, except for
vital sectors workplaces, to realize Egypt people claims.



Egyptian Federation for Independent Unions

The "Constitutional Body"

30/01/201

----- End forwarded message -----






--
The Financiers & Banksters have looted untold trillions of our future earnings.
Their bureaucratic police & military goons are here to make us all pay for it.
Forever.
Well FORGET THAT. Let's get it *ALL* back from them -- and more.

**Socialist revolution NOW!!**

Build the North America-wide General Strike.
TODO el poder a los consejos y las comunas.
TOUT le pouvoir aux conseils et communes.
ALL power to the councils and communes.

And beware the 'bait & switch' fraud: "Social Justice" is NOT *Socialism*...

[Sentinel]

quick thing, can we have "protests in egypt" restickied so we have a history of this readily available? i think this is the first time a revolution has been monitored like this.

Sure, done and done.

[freepalestine]

Youth coalition rejects talks with embattled regime


Heba Afify



[FONT=Verdana,Arial][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]February 6, 2011[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Leaders of numerous youth organizations, calling themselves the Coalition of the Angry Youth Uprising, announced at a press conference today that they would not negotiate with the Mubarak regime until their demands for the president's ouster were met.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]The group, which includes the 6 April protest movement, Young People for Justice and Freedom and the Muslim Brotherhood's youth wing, insist that the activists who met with newly-appointed Vice-President Omar Suleiman on Sunday did not represent them or those now in Tahrir Square.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]"The people who negotiated with Suleiman only represent themselves. All the youths organizations are united in their position--no negotiations until Mubarak’s departure," says 6 April leader Ahmed Maher.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Yasser al-Hawary, a Young People for Justice and Freedom member who attended the meeting with Suleiman, says he was only representing himself at the meeting--not the organization. He says that activists holding talks with the vice-president are not negotiating, but merely conveying their list of demands.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Al-Hawary says Suleiman had agreed at Sunday's meeting--in the presence of leading brotherhood member Saad al-Katatney and "Wise Men" committee member Naguib Sawiris, along with other public figures--to ensure the safety of the protesters in Tahrir Square and to stop the security crackdown on, and media campaigns against, the protesters.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Activist Shady al-Ghazaly Harb says that the agreement reached by those opposition representatives who met with Suleiman failed to meet demonstrators' minimum demands.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Activists, meanwhile, maintain that no one has the right to convince those now in Tahrir to leave--except through the realization of their demand for Mubarak's resignation. "The millions in the square don’t belong to anyone. If any organization withdrew from the streets right now, it would be their loss," says one activist.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Maher says unknown people are appearing on television to speak on behalf of the youth organizations, while the regime has made it impossible for the media to reach actual members of these organizations by confiscating phones and detaining activists.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Along with Mubarak's ouster, activists' primary demands are the abolition of Egypt's longstanding Emergency Law and the dissolution of parliament.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]"Someone who is responsible for killing 300 people and hurting another 3500 can’t stay in power," says activist Zyad al-Eleimy. "There are now 4000 families who have a personal vendetta against the regime. Mubarak must leave to preserve national stability."[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Young people are also calling for the formation of a "National Salvation Front" and the formation of a judicial committee to investigate last week’s security crisis, which led to the death and injury of thousands of protesters. They also demand that the army protect protesters in Tahrir Square from attacks by pro-regime thugs.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Maher blamed the regime for attempting to distort the image of the revolution through media campaigns and by applying economic pressure in an effort to turn the public against the uprising.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]"The people must know that we're doing this for their sake. They should not think badly of us and--most importantly--they should not think badly of our martyrs," he says.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Maher insists that, if Mubarak refuses to step down, the Tahrir Square protests would continue, and young people would take further escalatory measures.[/FONT]







[FONT=Verdana,Arial]:: Article nr. 74669 sent on 06-feb-2011 20:02 ECT[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana,Arial][FONT=Verdana,Arial]www.uruknet.info?p=74669[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Link: www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/youth-coalition-rejects-talks-embattled-regime</I>[/FONT]
[/FONT]







------------------------------------------------------------------


















Who is the Real Opposition in Egypt?

by Shamus Cooke




[FONT=Verdana,Arial]February 6, 2011[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]The revolution in Egypt erupted like all revolutions do, from the bottom up. It was unemployment and high food prices that propelled working and poor people into action. Now, the media reports that the "opposition" in Egypt is a group of well-to-do folks who have very little in common with the poor of Egypt.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]This top down takeover of the revolution is being engineered with the support of the U.S. and European nations, the same "allies" of the dictatorship that lasted three decades. If this elite group of Egyptians manages to gain power, they'll soon find themselves confronted with the real opposition of Egypt, the overwhelming majority of working and poor people.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]Who are these upper-crust oppositionists? Middle East journalist Robert Fisk explains:[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular][the oppositionists] include Amr Moussa, the secretary general of the Arab League, ... the Nobel prize-winner Ahmed Zuwail, an Egyptian-American who has advised President Barack Obama; Mohamed Selim Al-Awa, a professor and author of Islamic studies, ... and the president of the Wafd party [a tiny political party], Said al-Badawi...Other nominees for the committee...are Nagib Suez, a prominent [super-wealthy] Cairo businessman... Nabil al-Arabi, an Egyptian UN delegate; and even the heart surgeon Magdi Yacoub, who now lives in Cairo. (February 4, 2011). [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]What is the task of this committee? Al-Jazeera explains:[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]The committee — which was formed last night... proposed that vice president Omar Suleiman [the head of the brutal secret police] preside over a transitional government, and that he pledge to dissolve parliament (whose lower house was elected just last year) and call early elections. (February 4, 2011). [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]Are these oppositionists so naive to believe that a "pledge" from a venomous snake like Suleiman is worth anything? Is this a man that any respectable person should be negotiating with? [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]And herein lies the problem. There can be no smooth "peaceful transition," as Obama and other politicians would like to see, unless nothing in Egypt changes. This is because the ruling political power in the country, the National Democratic Party (NDP), has extremely deep ties to the rich and powerful in Egypt, backed up by both senior military officials and the U.S. government foreign aid program, which enriches various sections of the NDP. The New York Times explains:[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]Since the revolt, the military has surged to the forefront, emerging as the pivotal player in politics it long sought to manage behind the scenes. The beneficiary of nearly $40 billion in American aid during Mr. Mubarak’s rule, its interests span the gamut of economic life — from the military industry to businesses like road and housing construction, consumer goods and resort management. Even leading opposition leaders, like Mohamed ElBaradei, have acknowledged that the military will have a key role in a transition.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]To summarize, U.S. aid to Egypt has been the lifeblood of the dictatorship and the ruling party associated with it, while leading opposition figures have no interests in confronting these powerful interests, only removing their current figurehead. The opposition figures that plan to negotiate with the NDP must know that any agreed to middle ground will be unacceptable to the majority of Egyptians, since the NDP will work to maintain their own privileges and wealth.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]If the ruling party stays intact, then so will the ruling security apparatus, which will eventually steer the wheel of history backwards again. The party of the dictatorship must be crushed and dismembered, so that real democracy can have room to grow. The official "opposition" has no interest in doing this, because they have no interest in real change.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]What would real change look like? It would require a drastic departure from the free-market policies that have been implemented for years, including privatizations of state run industries, lowering taxes for the rich and corporations, eliminating regulations, subsidies, and tariffs, etc. These policies were required by the IMF and World Bank, U.S.-led institutions that created in Egypt what exists in the U.S. — an incredible gap between rich and poor.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]None of Egypt's "respectable" opposition are mentioning these policies, because many benefit from them.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]If an anti-Mubarak, pro-free-market opposition gains power, they will collide immediately with the majority of working and poor Egyptians, who want a change in the above policies that brought about their misery.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]The only opposition group that is expressing the economic demands of the people seems to be the newly-formed Egyptian Federation for Independent Unions, which broke away from the government dominated unions to demand that a "... a minimum wage no less than 1200 LE, with a yearly raise proportionate to inflation; guarantee workers rights to bonuses and benefits according to work value, especially work compensation for those facing work hazards."[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]and: [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]The right for all Egyptian citizens to fair social security including the right to health care, housing, education 'ensuring free education and syllabus development to cope with science and technology evolution,’ the right for all retired to decent pensions and benefits.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]It is demands like these that will decide Egypt's future the day after Mubarak is gone. This will require a complete transformation of Egypt's political system, including its economic policies that are intimately connected to the billions of U.S. foreign aid. It will also require that Egypt's poor and working class develop a clear vision of what they want in order to avoid being led astray by enemies acting as friends.[/FONT]

Shamus Cooke is a social service worker, trade unionist, and writer for Workers Action (www.workerscompass.org) He can be reached at [email protected]





[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]:: Article nr. 74664 sent on 06-feb-2011 18:41 ECT[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana,Arial][FONT=Verdana,Arial]www.uruknet.info?p=74664[/FONT]
[/FONT]

[freepalestine]

Statement of the Revolutionary Socialists Egypt

Richard Seymour


[FONT=Verdana,Arial][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Lenin's Tomb, February 6, 2011 [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]The iron heel of US imperialism is coming down hard on Egypt. The army command which America funds, trains and instructs is now mobilising rapidly to consolidate a dictatorship under the leadership of Omar Suleiman. US warships are making their way to Egypt. This is not, military commanders insist, to prepare for military intervention. I would assume they are being truthful. An open invasion is neither necessary nor useful for the regime. The warships would be for contingency, and to remind people who the boss is. The main way in which the counter-revolution is being organised is through the efforts by the military to create a fait accompli, a far more sophisticated operation than Mubarak's crude use of armed gangs on horseback. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Since no one wants the torturer Suleiman, the question now, as this statement from the Revolutionary Socialists Egypt argues, is whether the soldiers can be broken from their bosses.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial][FONT=arial]Statement of the Revolutionary Socialists Egypt:[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial]

[FONT=arial]Glory to the martyrs! Victory to the revolution![/FONT]

[FONT=arial]What is happening today is the largest popular revolution in the history of our country and of the entire Arab world. The sacrifice of our martyrs has built our revolution and we have broken through all the barriers of fear. We will not back down until the criminal 'leaders’ and their criminal system is destroyed.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial]Call to Egyptian workers. Statement from the Revolutionary Socialists, Egypt:[/FONT]

[FONT=arial]The demonstrations and protests have played a key role in igniting and continuing our revolution. Now we need the workers. They can seal the fate of the regime. Not only by participating in the demonstrations, but by organising a general strike in all the vital industries and large corporations.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial]The regime can afford to wait out the sit-ins and demonstrations for days and weeks, but it cannot last beyond a few hours if workers use strikes as a weapon. Strike on the railways, on public transport, the airports and large industrial companies! Egyptian Workers! On behalf of the rebellious youth, and on behalf of the blood of our martyrs, join the ranks of the revolution, use your power and victory will be ours![/FONT]

[FONT=arial]Form revolutionary councils urgently.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial]This revolution has surpassed our greatest expectations. Nobody expected to see these numbers. Nobody expected that Egyptians would be this brave in the face of the police. Nobody can say that we did not force the dictator to retreat. Nobody can say that a transformation did not happen in Middan el Tahrir.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial]What we need right now is to push for the socio-economic demands as part of our demands, so that the person sitting in his home knows that we fighting for their right. We need to organize ourselves into popular committees which elects its higher councils democratically, and from below. These councils must form a higher council which includes delegates of all the tendencies. We must elect a higher council of people who represent us, and in whom we trust. We call for the formation of popular councils in Middan Tahrir, and in all the cities of Egypt.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial]Statement of the Revolutionary Socialists, Egypt, on the role of the army:[/FONT]

[FONT=arial]Everyone asks: Is the Army with the people or against them?[/FONT]
[FONT=arial]The army is not a single block. The interests of soldiers and junior officers are the same as the interests of the masses. But the senior officers are Mubarak’s men, chosen carefully to protect his regime of corruption, wealth and tyranny. It is an integral part of the system.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial]This army is no longer the people’s army. This army is not the one which defeated the Zionist enemy in October 73. This army is closely associated with America and Israel. Its role is to protect Israel, not the people. Yes we want to win the soldiers of the revolution. But we must not be fooled by slogans that 'the army is on our side’. The army will either suppress the demonstrations directly, or by restructuring the police to play this role.[/FONT]

[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]:: Article nr. 74662 sent on 06-feb-2011 17:46 ECT[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana,Arial][FONT=Verdana,Arial]www.uruknet.info?p=74662</I>[/FONT]

[/FONT]

[freepalestine]

Video: Police in Egypt Kills Civilian, Alexandrai, Tue25thJan

mafotoh



[FONT=Verdana,Arial]February 6, 2011[/FONT]

+ YouTube Video

[video currently is being flagged..]


[FONT=Verdana,Arial]This is why no one will leave Tahrir Square, this is a video from Alexandria, Egypt...Tue25thJan[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Most probably, the kid was angry because his friend was shot, so he walked to the police, he showed them he had no weapons on him..but they still shot him when he was just about to leave.[/FONT]






[FONT=Verdana,Arial]:: Article nr. 74661 sent on 06-feb-2011 17:38 ECT[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana,Arial][FONT=Verdana,Arial]www.uruknet.info?p=74661</I>[/FONT]
[/FONT]

[PhoenixAsh]

I have been away for the last two days with little possibility to follow the news indepth....or at all.

What is the latest sitrep? As far ad i heard the army tried to clear the square this morning?!

[Palestine]

Wael Ghonim the one who was behind all this, the admin of the Khalid Said page, which was the pioneer to launch the protests, will be freed today, after he was away since 28 January.
The protesters are demanding to go to the presidential palace on Thursday so we have to wait and see.

[ckaihatsu]

REVOLUTION: White House Warns Egypt Against Revoking Pacts With Israel, U.S.


Repudiating all treaties with the lawless, criminal "zionist" state of
Israel -- and siding 1000% with the Palestinians against them -- is
EXACTLY what any future egyptian government must do, if it actually
serves the interests of the laboring masses of Misr -- and beyond.
That the yanqui imperialists 'draw a line in the sand' on this so
clearly, merely demonstrates that they and their stooges -- most
definitely including the intellectual whores of the capitalist
mass-propaganda media -- are the irreconcilable class enemy of all
workers of every country on the Planet: and most immediately a mortal
threat to the egyptian working-class and their Revolution.

Down with Mubarak and his entire regime IMMEDIATELY.
A ONE STATE solution to the issue of a divided Palestine.


Long Live the World Socialist Revolution.
All Power to the Workers' and Farmers' Councils and Communes.

-- grok.







http://news.xinhuanet.com/english201...c_13722042.htm


Xinhua News Agency
February 8, 2011


U.S. warns Egypt against revoking previous treaties


Washington: White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Monday warned any
future Egyptian government against revoking previous treaties,
including the country's crucial peace treaty with Israel.

Gibbs told reporters that the United States expects any future
Egyptian government "would uphold particularly the treaties and the
obligations that the government of Egypt, and ultimately the people of
Egypt, have entered into."

His remarks came as the United States and Israel are extremely
concerned that a radical religious force, such as the Muslim
Brotherhood, would come into power in future Egypt, which could
threaten the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

The treaty, signed in 1979 by then Egyptian president Anwar El Sadat
and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, ended the state of war
between the two countries and is essential to Israel's security.

Gibbs said the United States is against the anti-American rhetoric by
the Muslim Brotherhood, which he said "goes very counter to the
regional peace and stability."

"You have responsibilities if you become part of the government to
adhere to the agreements that government has laid out, to adhere to
the rule of law and to the constitution and to adhere to nonviolence,"
he added.








--
The Financiers & Banksters have looted untold trillions of our future earnings.
Their bureaucratic police & military goons are here to make us all pay for it.
Forever.
Well FORGET THAT. Let's get it *ALL* back from them -- and more.

**Socialist revolution NOW!!**

Build the North America-wide General Strike.
TODO el poder a los consejos y las comunas.
TOUT le pouvoir aux conseils et communes.
ALL power to the councils and communes.

And beware the 'bait & switch' fraud: "Social Justice" is NOT *Socialism*...

[Palestine]

Aljazeera: Thousands of protesters surround the Parliament.

And in other development, the man behind the revolution was freed yesterday after being kidnapped for 12 days, and was held captive by state security.

[Palestine]

Aljazeera: protesters are also surrounding the interior ministry.

[Ligeia]

AlJazeera: Mubarak could go to Germany to undergo a "full medical check-up", German publication Der Spiegel reports.
Rumours that Mubarak may arrive in Germany for a medical sojourn are "much more concrete than was believed until now". He previously received medical treatment in Germany at least twice.


In the German news they are talking about this "speculation" all the time, so I guess it might be true.


The governemnt is also forming a "transition plan" like it was ordered by European and United States' governments to do...an organised transfer of power.

[Sasha]

2.24pm: Jack Shenker has a new update from an "exhilarating" Tahrir Square.
There is more energy and optimism in Tahrir today than almost anything I've seen before - an aimless wander through the packed crowds is a dizzying, exhilarating experience, revealing a hundreds of little micro-dramas playing out all over the square.

It's so difficult to convey the atmosphere of this place through words or images; Tahrir may have dropped down the international media agenda somewhat in recent days, but honestly if you go down there and just stare around you - at the picnicking families, the raucous flag-wavers, the volunteer tea suppliers, the cheery human security cordons, the slumbering bodies curled up in the metal treads of the army's tanks, the pro-change graffiti that adorns every placard, every tent, every wall space in vision - it's impossible not to feel as moved as we all did in the very first days of this ongoing revolution.
As the streets appear safer and security more guaranteed, the numbers of those joining queues to enter Tahrir is growing, not falling - dozens told me today they were here for the first time. Politicking at the top may give the impression that the uprising has lost momentum, but clearly for many in Egypt it's only just getting started.

2.20pm: There's new mobile phone footage of a demonstration outside the People Assembly. It was streamed to the video sharing site Bambuser four minutes ago by the blogger RamyRaoof.

2.08pm:Journalists at the pro-government newspaper Rosalyusif are staging a protest against their editor, according to reports.

Blogger and activist Daliaziada tweets:

Wow! Another protest inside pro-government Rosalyusif newspaper against the editor. Viva #Egypt. Viva the #revolution. #Mubarak

Blogger estr4ng3d:

Roz Elyoussef staff protesting inside their campus, chanting against their chief editor

2.05pm: Journalist Ashraf Khalil paraphrases a line from Jaws to describe the scale of today's protests.
Just back from Tahrir. If numbers keep growing like this, these guys are going to need a bigger square #egypt

[Sasha]

3.01pm: A whole range of workers seem to be walking out of their jobs in solidarity with the protesters. We've already mentioned Cairo University staff and journalists but Ahram online reports that over 6,000 Suez Canal Company workers from the cities of Suez, Port Said, and Ismailia began an open-ended sit in today over poor wages and working conditions . And thousands of Telecom Egypt staff at various branches are protesting and threatening a sit-in if their demands are not met. They want a 10% pay rise and the managing director to be sacked.

2.53pm: More on the anger from journalists at media censorship. Al Masry Al Youm reports:
More than 500 of Egyptian media professionals issued a statement denouncing state-run media coverage of the youth-led uprising staged since 25 January calling for Mubarak's resignation.
Talk show presenter Ibrahim Eissa, press syndicate member Abeer Saady, novelist Ezzat al-Qamhawi, as well as notable artists, were among those who signed the statement.
"We renounce what has been done by print, visual and audio media of falsifying truth, lying and tarnishing the image of the people who seek freedom and progress for this country," noted the statement. It called for stopping what it labeled as "lies" and referring those responsible for urgent trial.

[PhoenixAsh]

Well...at least things are moving a bit foreward and the protestors are leaving the square more and more to protest at govenrment institutions.

That is somewhat of a step foreward.

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

From Lenin's Tomb:

Monday, February 07, 2011

Why did the Egyptian intifada become a revolution?

This title is not a rhetorical question, not one of those devices where I set up a problem to which I already know the answer. It's not the usual trickery, in other words. I literally am not in a position to know. But perhaps the best way to get to the answer is to phrase the question properly in the first place. Asa Winstanley has an interesting article on New Left Project on the contours of the Egyptian uprising, which he argues has already acquired the dimensions of a genuine social revolution. He writes:

Despite many obstacles, there are reasons for optimism. Every time events seem to be slowing down, and the pundits predict a loss of momentum, Egyptians prove them all wrong and the revolution escalates. Indeed, for so many people, their lives literally depend on it.

The revolt is showing many early signs of popular social revolution, reminiscent of the wave of factory occupations, strikes and mass-uprisings that took place in Latin America in the late 1990s and 2000s. Youth, women, children and the working classes are leading this revolution. New independent trade unions have sprung up and there have been multiple calls for a general strike.

Given the mysterious New Year’s Eve bombing of a Coptic church in Alexandria, the extent to which the revolution has been consistently anti-sectarian is heartening. There have been widespread reports of Christian Egyptians protecting praying Muslims, frequent use of the cross-and-crescent symbol and even participation of Coptic religious leaders (despite the fact that the church hierarchy, like the Muslim clerics of al-Azhar, has long been co-opted by the regime). On Sunday there was a Coptic mass in Liberation Square, protected by Muslims, and joint Christian-Muslim prayers for the martyrs of the revolution.

The level of spontaneous self-organisation is striking and highly impressive. Charles Levinson of the Wall Street Journal describes a scene in Liberation Square:

“Hundreds of young men guarded the square’s perimeter. Some frisked new arrivals and checked identification… By Thursday afternoon, several dozen protesters were wearing badges made of masking tape that specified their role in their hastily assembled administration. Doctors with medical coats wore pieces of tape bearing their names and specialities.”

Democracy Now! senior producer (and Egyptian-American) Sharif Abdel Kouddous has been reporting from Cairo (his work has been essential, as has that of the Electronic Intifada’s Matthew Cassel). Abdel Kouddous described how protesters in Liberation Square began to clean up for themselves: “not only are they gathering the trash, but they are actually separating plastic, doing recycling”.

What can explain this level of self-organisation? Why have the people been able to withstand wave after wave of repression, beating back an enemy with immensely superior resources? It, say some, lacked leadership and organisation. Indeed, the factions which have made up Egypt's mainstream opposition were largely late to the revolution and have been racing to catch up. For all the scaremongering about the Muslim Brothers, they have rarely been interested in power, much less an Islamic state, and they have been on the most conservative, slow-moving end of the protests since they began. Mohammed El Baradei, for all that he was feted on Al Jazeera, has no clear base in this struggle. As for techno-fixes, fuggedaboutit. The Egyptian state shut down the internet and the mobile 'phone networks, and it still didn't stop the revolution. Malcolm Gladwell is right, in this sense. The social media which is championed by those revolving door apparatchiks moving between the State Department and silicon valley (eg) is not organisation itself, but merely a means to it and, as it turns out, a dispensable means. Yet the logistics of revolution have been handled with aplomb. People who were assumed by journalists to be passive, certainly never capable of such a monumental task as revolution, have proven to be the most advanced and adept social organisers on the planet. They have disproved, in mere weeks, the filthy aristocratic prejudice, still undergirding ruling class thought today, that ordinary working class people cannot govern themselves.

Of course, the premise that this revolution arose ex nihilo, with no leadership and no prior history of struggle, may precisely be one of the assumptions inhibiting a proper understanding. Some of the most militant areas in this revolution have been zones of intense class struggle in the last few years - Mahalla, Alexandria and Suez, for example. And out of these struggles, leadership has emerged sufficient to plan days of action well in advance, consult on and elaborate very detailed and intelligent tactics, and disseminate invaluable information. The truth is, this didn't come out of nowhere. Well before the Tunisian revolt, Hossam was predicting that something was about to go up in Egypt. But the question remains. Why didn't this intifada surge, break against the rocks of state repression, and fall back in disarray and defeat? What made the difference between, say, Iran and Egypt? Ordinarily, one would expect there to be a point where people struggling against a regime that is willing to murder people in their dozens, or hundreds, and injure thousands more, start to melt away. The core of committed activists who keep things running when everything falls to pieces go into hiding, or are captured, locked up and tortured. But no - this time people said: "we can't go home after all this, if we do leave the streets, they'll come after us individually, raid our homes in the middle of the night, and take us away to secret jails." And so the question, again, is - why?

Several more articles and links here:

http://www.leninology.blogspot.com/

[Ligeia]

Al Jazeera: Catherine Ashton , the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy spoke about how the Egyptian people should have democracy, and that it is a process that they should decide.

The critical thing that we want to do is make sure that the Egyptian people are able to have democracy. Democracy is not a moment in time, it’s a process that you have build for. It’s for the Egyptian people to have to work out who takes them forward with that transition. What we’ve urged is that it’s quick and that it moves forward meaningfully. The institutions, the way in which you develop society so that it is able to have democracy, to have human rights, to ensure that you’ve got in place everything you need, that takes a little bit of time, but a lot of support. What we’re clear about is we’ll be offering that support to ensure it will happen.

I wonder what they mean by "support"?

[ckaihatsu]

The critical thing that we want to do is make sure that the Egyptian people are able to have democracy. Democracy is not a moment in time, it’s a process that you have build for. It’s for the Egyptian people to have to work out who takes them forward with that transition. What we’ve urged is that it’s quick and that it moves forward meaningfully. The institutions, the way in which you develop society so that it is able to have democracy, to have human rights, to ensure that you’ve got in place everything you need, that takes a little bit of time, but a lot of support. What we’re clear about is we’ll be offering that support to ensure it will happen.

This is all liberal blather laced with vague abstract terms that beg interpretation.

The *critical* thing would be to address the *critical* issues of the day -- when will Mubarak be gone, withdrawal of the army, etc. If people aren't discussing concrete *policy* then what *are* they discussing -- ?!

Here's a visual aid for all of this:


Consciousness, A Material Definition

http://postimage.org/image/35t4i1jc4/