Kat's Egyptian Catches

By John and Kat

Kat, our indefatigable researcher, has not been idle over the last few days. She, the aggregators, Twitter, Facebook are generating enough hot links to feed a battalion of bloggers. As per usual, with little or no reflection, here is a sample for your Super Bowl Sunday reading.

?Mubarak clings to power as it is announced he's quitting as party leader... then hours later he's STAYING  
UK's Daily Mail, summary with good photos

?Egypt's Brotherhood enters crisis talks
BBC offers its typically high caliber reporting, including the disturbing remarks of Frank Wisner. (My take: If you want to see what a diplomatic wet finger to the wind looks like, study this.)

?Van which ploughed into Cairo protesters 'might belong to U.S. embassy,' admits State Department
A disturbing video of a van racing through a crowded street, running down pedestrians as it speeds along, has become a viral item. It has been tagged a "police van" but according to this report it was a vehicle rented by the US embassy, which throws a whole different spin on the story. The State Department says that van was stolen along with others.

?The Egyptian Uprising: Facts and Fiction
The Dissident Voice puts the Egyptian state propaganda machine under a microscope and finds a good many infections. I'm reminded of a tweet I just saw from the Netherlands "How did you know it's a lie?" "Coz it's so BIG!" Propaganda not working on youth; they're all that matters

?This Morning's post from Sandmonkey summarizes where political negotiation matters stand at the moment. He also proposes a practical way forward for those in Tahrir Square.

Now, regarding the way forward, so far we seem to have two options on the table : 1) For the Jan 25 protests to remain as is: anarchic yet goal-oriented; & 2) the Wisemen�s council , which is currently being promoted as the third option between the Government�s Stubbornness and the Protesters unyielding persistence . They are gaining traction amongst those who do need leaders to represent their views and negotiate with the government, and their proposal is worth considering. The problem with the Wisemen�s council as a third option is this: while it is respectable and contains prominent Egyptian leaders and businessmen, I am not sure what leverage they got on either side or if either side would accept it as a mediating force.

?Al Jazeera live is all talking heads as I write (giving me time to post a few links). Sunday is the beginning of the work week in Egypt, the Square is relatively calm, the Coptic Christians have had morning services, the banks are open again and money is reported back in the ATMs. Anyone who wants to keep a finger on the pulse of events in Egypt should bookmark this link and check it periodically for important developments.

?�Where Now?�: Options Discussed in Tahrir Square
Philip Weiss, whom we have linked in the past, interviews a Palestinian journalist in Cairo.

?Egyptian protesters unmoved by ruling party resignations
Karachi, Pakistan's Express Tribune carries a thumbnail description of the stalemate at the moment. Go here for a snapshot of the big picture.

?Rulers to hold talks with Muslim Brotherhood
ABC News, with update.
I noticed this toward the end:

The army arranged 10 tanks and armoured personnel carriers in a tight formation right in front of the Egyptian national museum adjacent to Tahrir Square.� It apparently planned to deploy deeper into the square to confine the protesters in one small area so that Tahrir could be re-opened to traffic.� But hundreds of protesters blocked them by lying on the ground all around the armoured vehicles, preparing to spend the night sleeping there despite the cold weather and persistent rain.

This Tweet from last night came too mind.

?As Tahrir Square Goes, So Goes the Middle East?
Very insightful short essay by Franklin Lamb in Foreign Policy Journal. His take on what's happening is a cold-blooded look at reality. Time permitting, read the whole essay. Otherwise, at least make mental notes of this...

What will ultimately determine which way the Middle East will move following Tahrir Square events is not the armed might of the regional super power or the weapons of the global superpower. Both Israel and the US can have a short term impact, but the former is shaking while the latter, equally impotent to subdue 83 million Egyptians and perhaps soon millions of Palestinians, Jordanians, Yemenis and others, is trying to stall any major regime change in favor of cosmetic adjustments to the current government. Even the Obama Administration�s current public choice, Omar Sulieman, is meeting with increasing resistance in Washington as details of his CV emerged including being a torture specialist and possibly a Mossad agent.

What both Israel and the US fear most is a determined and successful grassroots movement that will liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation. The Obama administration can be expected to continue to temporize events as best it can while calculating how to insert its choice of a compliant President in Mubarak�s palace. As one Congressional commented by email: �The last thing the White House or Israel want is an Egyptian Chavez, or even someone like Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Completely unacceptable would be anyone with even the hint of pro-Iranian or Hezbollah leanings. The State Department favors another strong man, with an essentially rubber stamp Parliament after �free elections� as long as there are no troublesome Algerian, Gaza, or Lebanon style election results. The US-Israel bottom line is that Egypt�s next government must be one that will guarantee that the 1979 Camp David Accords and Egypt�s willingness to continue accepting a total of more than three billions in US taxpayer dollars annually as bribe money to collaborate with Israel against Palestine.

History is filled with ironies. One of them is the coincidence that two of the fundamental causes of the unfolding Egyptian revolution happened within months of each other both 30 years ago � soon to be followed by the beginning of the current Mubarak dictatorship � the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the US-sponsored Camp David Accord. The Camp David giveaway and cave-in to colonialist Israel was never accepted by the Egyptian people, by the Islamic Republic, or by any but a small percentage of the people of the Middle East.

The hegemonic objectives of the 1979 Camp David have rolled across the region for three decades, being rejected and increasingly confronted by a growing culture of Resistance set in motion with the 1979 Imam Khomeini-led revolution. Both 1979 events fueled myriad other more immediate causes, including those noted above, and significantly inspired the current Egyptian eruptions, some of the paths of which are predictable while the results are unknown.

There are many other Tahrir Squares in the Middle East. One of which is Al Aksa square in Jerusalem, the eternal and indivisible capital of Palestine. It remains to be seen when or if Palestinians will revive Jerusalem as a modern day resistance place name and whether, like Tahrir Square, Jerusalem will rise up in support of increasing cries for Palestinian liberation as the inspiration and revolution of their neighbors in Tahrir Square spreads.

?Egypt tries to return to work, protests hit economy
Reuters overview.in a nutshell.

?Caught on camera: The moment unarmed Egyptian protester was gunned down in street by 'Mubarak's police'
Another link to Daily Mail. More photos, including a disturbing video from Alexandria which ends with a single unarmed protester getting killed in the street, shot down in cold blood. A note at You Tube said the incident likely happened Friday, January 28. 

?Uprising in Egypt: A Two-Hour Special on the Revolt Against the U.S.-Backed Mubarak Regime This Democracy Now special aired yesterday. No, I have not watched the whole two hours, but I feel confident that Amy Goodman's journalism holds to its customary excellence.

?Speaking of videos, Rachel Maddow is fed up with being polite. Yesterday she let Fox News have it like a pie in the face --  Rachel Maddow Preemptively Blames Fox News For The �Next Few Months� Of �Stupid Debate� On Egypt
This seven minutes won't do anything to convert unbelievers but it's a great shot in the arm for those of us who may need a little pick-me-up. I live among people who drink the koolade all the time and prying them away from the Fox narrative is like trying to teach astrophysics to toddlers.  (Come to think of it, toddlers are more teachable. It's not a question of capacity to learn, but an attitude toward uncomfortable new information that differs from what they already "know" to be true.)

?Via Twitter, a piece from Slate describing the more mundane features of revolutionary life in the modern era -- Revolutionary Logistics -- Where do the thousands of people gathered in Tahrir Square go to the bathroom?

?Interesting... Via Twitter -- Somebody was apparently liveblogging the Muslim Brotherhood press conference today

20 :43 MB called for the immediate investigation and trial of corrupt perpetrators responsible for the shooting of young people during protests New
20 :42 MB called for The formation of a committee comprised of members of the judiciary and selected political figures to examine any proposed constitutional amendments, within the first week of March. New
20 :42 MB called for Immediate Amendment to Articles (76), (77), (88) and any constitutional amendments required for peaceful transition of power. New
20 :41 MB called on VP Omar Suleiman: To end the state of emergency once situation stabilizes and before any upcoming elections New
20 :40 MB called on VP Omar Suleiman: To preserve the integrity of the demonstrators and to fully recognize their right to peaceful protest at any time New
20 :39 MB called on VP Omar Suleiman:To Recognize the people's movement, which began on 25 January as a sincere and national movement

These don't strike me a unrealistic aims or demands. Perhaps they said it, but I don't notice any demand that Mubarak leave first. 

[I am adding links to this list as the day continues. (You wouldn't believe how much Kat found.)