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Egyptian Activists Demand Resignation of Mubarak
A member of the April 6 Youth Movement, Asmaa Mahfouz posted several YouTube videos, including one on January 18 that has been credited by many with having helped spark the protests in Egypt that began on January 25; for example, “Equal Rights Takes to the Barricades” by Mona El-Naggar in the New York Times. See video with English subtitles: The April 6 Youth Movement was set up largely to support workers in El-Mahalla, an industrial town, who held a series of strikes over the last several years (including [planed strike] on April 6, 2008). See from The Real News “Roots…
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Egypt: Threat of the Army, Resilience of the Protests
Philip Rizk is an independent blogger and filmmaker based in Cairo. He said today: “Although the Egyptian anti-government demonstrators welcomed the arrival of the military on Friday night the 29th, I have considered their presence a threat to the people’s demands from the start. I believe the military dispersed on the streets of Egypt in order to calm down a very fragile situation and then to gain the demonstrators’ trust in order eventually to act as the element of surprise when they partner with government security forces and turn on the demonstrators. So far the military has been biding its…
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Egypt: U.S. Government’s “Dynamic Hypocrisy”
Edward Peck served in Tunisia and Egypt, was chief of mission in Iraq and Mauritania, and deputy director of the Cabinet Task Force on Terrorism in the Reagan White House. He said today: “Asked why they don’t have Mubarak step down, the administration says that is not its role, it’s up to the Egyptian people, while tacitly admitting involvement in efforts to pull together acceptable elements to form a government. This will be seen by many as another example of U.S. Dynamic Hypocrisy. “All states act hypocritically, but the U.S. is the only hyper power, so does it globally. Another…
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Mubarak’s Base
Fawaz Gerges is director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics. He writes in a piece in today’s Independent: “The regime’s base is extremely shallow in comparison to the opposition, which represents an overwhelming majority of the population. The regime has alienated most of the rising social and political classes: centrists and democrats, leftists, nationalists, independent Islamists, and the Muslim Brotherhood. They’re left with about 10 percent of the country, the uppermost echelon of the population.”
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“Mubarak Will Hunt Us Down One by One”
Based in Cairo, Mekay reports for Inter Press Service and other outlets. He just wrote the Institute for Public Accuracy: “Just outside Tahrir Square right now. Pro-Mubarak ‘hired muscle’ is attacking journalists and stopping them from going into the square. These are the government types, possibly even police staff in plainclothes. They are confiscating all cameras. They set up road blocks around most entryways to the square. I sense they may be preparing for something tomorrow, Friday. Friday has been called by the anti-Mubarak movement ‘The Departure Friday’ i.e. a day in which Mubarak will decide to step down. Government…
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Egypt into Iran? — “A Self-Fulfilling Prophesy”
Ervand Abrahamian, who was born in Iran, is a distinguished professor of history at City University of New York. His books include A History of Modern Iran. He said today: “Those who warn that if the U.S. eases out Mubarak the outcome will be another Iran may unwittingly bring about a self-fulfilling prophecy. In Iran there could have been a bloodless transfer of power to the moderate opposition — [Ayatollah Mohammad] Shariatmadari, [Prime Minister Mehdi] Bazargan and the National Front — if the U.S. had not hung onto the Shah until it was too late. The massacre in September 1978…
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Following Mubarak and Obama Speeches, Government Thugs Attack Demonstration
Pro-regime forces in Cairo have attacked peaceful protesters and media personnel. Phone lines are intermittent; Egypt is 7 hours ahead of U.S. ET. Last night, following Mubarak and Obama’s speeches, As’ad AbuKhalil, wrote the piece “Obama to Mubarak: License to Murder the Egyptian People.” For updates on his blog, see: angryarab.blogspot.com. See Al Jazeera English video showing some of the attacks. AbuKhalil is a professor in the department of politics at California State University, Stanislaus. For additional online resources: accuracy.org/online-resources-on-egypt EMAD MEKAY Based in Cairo, Mekay reports for Inter Press Service and other outlets. He just wrote the Institute for…
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On Healthcare Insurance Ruling: How to Get to Universal Coverage Without a Mandate
Executive director of Health Justice, Clark Newhall is a doctor and a lawyer. He said today: “Just like the government cannot force you to buy a car from GM because there is not enough mass transit, so too Congress cannot force you to buy insurance from Wellpoint when there is not enough health care access.
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Will Wall Street Be Held Accountable for Fraud and “Greatest Redistribution of Wealth Upward?”
William Black recently wrote the piece “How can the Architects of the Crisis Investigate it?”
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* Chomsky * Threats to the Egyptian Uprising * U.S. Arms Egypt
Just back from the Mideast, Mounzer Sleiman directs Think Tanks Monitor and is founder of the Center for American and Arab Studies. He said today: “The Egyptian popular uprising begun on January 25 is being threatened on two fronts: The clique immediately around Mubarak through force and intimidation are trying to use the army and the air force (Mubarak himself came from the air force) to get the people off the streets and in effect end the uprising. They are also trying to reconstitute their security apparatus. “The other threat is from some self-imposed opportunistic leaders (like Mohamed ElBaradei) who…
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“With a tiny staff, it has managed to place on the air and in newspapers, points of view otherwise excluded from the national debate.”
Howard Zinn