Tunisian protests continue-Egyptian,Algerian,Yemeni, Syrian and Jordanian protests -Rebirth of Arab Activism

[ang]

Update Tunisia:-

REUTERS - At least two people were killed and 17 others were wounded in northern Tunisia on Saturday after police opened fire to quell protesters who threw fire bombs and stones at a police station, an interior ministry source said.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110205-...el-kef-tunisia

[CallingIn]

CallingIn = C. Flower

Cairo airport is crawling with troops and the east of the city likewise, guns pointing every which way.

Three deaths from sniper fire in Tahrir Square were reported last night. The army has withdrawn, for the time being, with just a few tanks blocking some of the side streets.

In the streets leading to the square, you could cut the tension with a knife. Then, coming down to Tahrir, it suddenly lifts as people converge through the side streets and checkpoints. All the checkpoints today are citizen checkpoints and I was searched by friendly girls and had my ID checked four times at different points before I made it in. The barricades at the square entrances are flimsy, with heaps of stones ready behind them.

Once you are in it's a different world: everything is shared, including food and blankets and everyone is friendly and helpful beyond imagination. Today, the square is packed with thousands of people and there's a festive atmosphere, some people recently bereaved of brothers or children just mixed in with the crowds who are singing, clapping and dancing, and showing photographs of the young men, and one young woman who have died.

The square has a raised plinth in the middle on which there is a 'tent city', so it's not possible to see it all from any one viewpoint. There are a few different points with mikes and platforms and constant meetings and prayers sessions being held. There are a good few men sprawled asleep on the ground after night watch duties.

People there today are of all ages and there are plenty of women, carrying hand written message signs and in groups, chanting and clapping. The signs that people hold up are scrutinised carefully and photos taken of them: mine included. I was drawn into sign-writing duties after a while and there is now a nice line in English translation of some of the favourite arabic slogans. Appreciation for signs is sometimes in the form of food supplies

I was welcomed and thanked for being there about a thousand times, many times 'from the heart', which a bit embarrassing, as it is themselves that have been doing it all. There are people in bandages and with very nasty wounds and broken limbs everywhere, from the assaults last Wednesday. Only one man asked why a foreigner should have any views about Mubarak. A couple of people asked me if I knew what the government was saying about foreign spies and was I worried. I asked them if they believed it and they said not at all. This is in contrast with outside the square, where there is a highly strung feeling of wariness and distrust.

It's very difficult to explain what 'no more fear' feels like, in a crowd that's been under a dictatorship for the last 30 years. I can tell you it's an awful lot better than the atmosphere we have now in Ireland.

[morticia]

Very informative, CallingIn, thanks...

[Dr. FIVE]

Twenty reasons why it's kicking off everywhere

[morticia]

Very interesting article

[Dr. FIVE]

Particularly like "Truth moves faster than lies,"

[PaddyJoe]

Cairo airport is crawling with troops and the east of the city likewise, guns pointing every which way.

Three deaths from sniper fire in Tahrir Square were reported last night. The army has withdrawn, for the time being, with just a few tanks blocking some of the side streets.

In the streets leading to the square, you could cut the tension with a knife. Then, coming down to Tahrir, it suddenly lifts as people converge through the side streets and checkpoints. All the checkpoints today are citizen checkpoints and I was searched by friendly girls and had my ID checked four times at different points before I made it in. The barricades at the square entrances are flimsy, with heaps of stones ready behind them.

Once you are in it's a different world: everything is shared, including food and blankets and everyone is friendly and helpful beyond imagination. Today, the square is packed with thousands of people and there's a festive atmosphere, some people recently bereaved of brothers or children just mixed in with the crowds who are singing, clapping and dancing, and showing photographs of the young men, and one young woman who have died.

The square has a raised plinth in the middle on which there is a 'tent city', so it's not possible to see it all from any one viewpoint. There are a few different points with mikes and platforms and constant meetings and prayers sessions being held. There are a good few men sprawled asleep on the ground after night watch duties.

People there today are of all ages and there are plenty of women, carrying hand written message signs and in groups, chanting and clapping. The signs that people hold up are scrutinised carefully and photos taken of them: mine included. I was drawn into sign-writing duties after a while and there is now a nice line in English translation of some of the favourite arabic slogans. Appreciation for signs is sometimes in the form of food supplies

I was welcomed and thanked for being there about a thousand times, many times 'from the heart', which a bit embarrassing, as it is themselves that have been doing it all. There are people in bandages and with very nasty wounds and broken limbs everywhere, from the assaults last Wednesday. Only one man asked why a foreigner should have any views about Mubarak. A couple of people asked me if I knew what the government was saying about foreign spies and was I worried. I asked them if they believed it and they said not at all. This is in contrast with outside the square, where there is a highly strung feeling of wariness and distrust.

It's very difficult to explain what 'no more fear' feels like, in a crowd that's been under a dictatorship for the last 30 years. I can tell you it's an awful lot better than the atmosphere we have now in Ireland.

Thanks for the update. Good to hear from somebody live on the ground

[wickedfairy]

thank you CallingIn and good luck to you all there. We watched on AlJaz on Wednesday night what was going on in the Square, very upsetting footage and great concern for the safety of all there. The world in watching and knows the truth, be assured of that. Inshallah.

[wickedfairy]

great foto here, muberak out written in several languages.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramyraoof/5422799193/

[C. Flower]

Twenty reasons why it's kicking off everywhere

That is a very interesting article and I agree that a frustrated middle class of young graduates with no life prospects is radicalising. Also that communications are far more globalised and faster moving.

What he touches on but misses is that the working class is still the critical class partly for the reason he gives - the working class have nothing to lose and nowhere to retreat to. Its the working class - along with youths and students - in the main that's sleeping overnight inTahrir Square and defending it physically, as its become the symbolic and practical terrain of an attempting revolution. The working class - and that includes salaried workers codded into thinking they are not - not only has nothing to lose, but also makes, produces and runs everything. They really don't need the kleptocracy, which is completely parasitic.

13.This leads to a loss of fear among the young radicals of any movement: they can pick and choose; there is no confrontation they can't retreat from. They can "have a day off" from protesting, occupying: whereas twith he old working-class based movements, their place in the ranks of battle was determined and they couldn't retreat once things started. You couldn't "have a day off" from the miners' strike if you lived in a pit village

[C. Flower]

thank you CallingIn and good luck to you all there. We watched on AlJaz on Wednesday night what was going on in the Square, very upsetting footage and great concern for the safety of all there. The world in watching and knows the truth, be assured of that. Inshallah.

Thanks wickedfairy - apologies for posting as a sock/CallingIn, but I was just getting into the swing of things here step by step.

All going good out here so far.

[Rich]

CallingIn = C. Flower

Cairo airport is crawling with troops and the east of the city likewise, guns pointing every which way.

Three deaths from sniper fire in Tahrir Square were reported last night. The army has withdrawn, for the time being, with just a few tanks blocking some of the side streets.

In the streets leading to the square, you could cut the tension with a knife. Then, coming down to Tahrir, it suddenly lifts as people converge through the side streets and checkpoints. All the checkpoints today are citizen checkpoints and I was searched by friendly girls and had my ID checked four times at different points before I made it in. The barricades at the square entrances are flimsy, with heaps of stones ready behind them.

Once you are in it's a different world: everything is shared, including food and blankets and everyone is friendly and helpful beyond imagination. Today, the square is packed with thousands of people and there's a festive atmosphere, some people recently bereaved of brothers or children just mixed in with the crowds who are singing, clapping and dancing, and showing photographs of the young men, and one young woman who have died.

The square has a raised plinth in the middle on which there is a 'tent city', so it's not possible to see it all from any one viewpoint. There are a few different points with mikes and platforms and constant meetings and prayers sessions being held. There are a good few men sprawled asleep on the ground after night watch duties.

People there today are of all ages and there are plenty of women, carrying hand written message signs and in groups, chanting and clapping. The signs that people hold up are scrutinised carefully and photos taken of them: mine included. I was drawn into sign-writing duties after a while and there is now a nice line in English translation of some of the favourite arabic slogans. Appreciation for signs is sometimes in the form of food supplies

I was welcomed and thanked for being there about a thousand times, many times 'from the heart', which a bit embarrassing, as it is themselves that have been doing it all. There are people in bandages and with very nasty wounds and broken limbs everywhere, from the assaults last Wednesday. Only one man asked why a foreigner should have any views about Mubarak. A couple of people asked me if I knew what the government was saying about foreign spies and was I worried. I asked them if they believed it and they said not at all. This is in contrast with outside the square, where there is a highly strung feeling of wariness and distrust.

It's very difficult to explain what 'no more fear' feels like, in a crowd that's been under a dictatorship for the last 30 years. I can tell you it's an awful lot better than the atmosphere we have now in Ireland.

Cactus, you bloody nut case. Fair play to you I am blown away. I thought you were brave for running a political website - hanging on Tahir Square - awesome.

[C. Flower]

I'm as happy as larry here, Rich. Not much worse than the front of the DaIl over the last few months and the weather is a hell of a lot better.

I asked a few posts back if anyone had seen anything about US troop movements. Dark Politrics have published this fairly comprehensive run down on US contingency moves towards a military invervention (intention denied). The most recent report from Business Insider dated 5th January looks like serious intent.

Connecticut’s newspaper The Day noted on January 24th:

Connecticut National Guard Detachment 2, Company I, 185th Aviation Regiment of Groton has mobilized and will deploy to the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, to support the Multinational Force and Observers.
The unit left Connecticut Jan. 15 for Fort Benning, Ga., for further training and validation. The unit operates C-23C Sherpa aircraft and has deployed three times in the last seven years in support of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The unit will provide an on-demand aviation asset to the Multinational Force and Observers commander to support its mission of supervising the security provisions of the Egypt/ Israel Peace Treaty.

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reported:

The Pentagon is moving U.S. warships and other military assets to make sure it is prepared in case evacuation of U.S. citizens from Egypt becomes necessary, officials said Friday. The Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship carrying 700 to 800 troops from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and the Ponce have arrived in the Red Sea, putting them off Egypt’s shores in case the situation worsens.
Pentagon officials emphasized that military intervention in Egypt was not being contemplated and that the warships were being moved only for contingency purposes in case evacuations became necessary.
In addition to the Marines, the Kearsarge normally carries around four dozen helicopters and harrier jets that would permit evacuations and other humanitarian operations, the officials said. More than 1,000 Marines from the Kearsarge were sent to Afghanistan last month on a temporary deployment, leaving roughly one-third still aboard, officials said.

The Kearsarge is an attack vessel.
As Wikipedia notes:

In carrying out her mission, Kearsarge not only transports and lands ashore troops, but also tanks, trucks, artillery, and the complete logistic support needed to supply an assault.
The assault support system aboard ship coordinates horizontal and vertical movement of troops, cargo and vehicles. Monorail trains, moving at speeds up to 600 ft/min (3 m/s), transport cargo and supplies from storage and staging areas throughout the ship to a 13,600 square feet (1,260 m2) well deck which opens to the sea through huge gates in the ship’s stern. There, the cargo, troops and vehicles are loaded aboard landing craft for transit to the beach. The air cushion landing craft can “fly” out of the dry well deck, or the well deck can be flooded so conventional landing craft can float out on their way to the beach.
Simultaneously, helicopters are brought from the hangar deck to the flight deck by two deck-edge elevators and loaded with supplies from three massive cargo elevators.

Kearsarge‘s armament suite includes the NATO RIM-7 Sea Sparrow point defense system for anti-aircraft support, RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles, 25 mm chain guns and the Phalanx close-in weapon system to counter threats from low-flying aircraft and close-in small craft. Missile decoy launchers augment the anti-ship missile defenses.

However, the Kearsarge has also been used in missions to evacuate people stranded in war zones.Wikipedia describes this unique dual capability:

Kearsarge is fully capable of amphibious assault, advance force and special purpose operations, as well as non-combatant evacuation and other humanitarian missions. Since her commissioning, she has performed these missions the world over, including evacuating non-combatants from Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 31 May 1997 and rescuing Air Force Captain Scott O’Grady from Serb-controlled territory in Bosnia on 8 June 1995. Additionally, Kearsarge is fully equipped with state of the art command and control (C&C) systems for flagship command duty, and her medical facilities are second in capability only to the Navy’s hospital ships, USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) and Mercy (T-AH-19). These facilities allowed Kearsarge to serve a dual role during the 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as a platform for bombing missions against Serb forces in Operation Allied Force, and as a treatment facility for Albanian refugees in Operation Shining Hope.

The Los Angeles Times continues:

In addition, the aircraft carrier Enterprise is in the eastern Mediterranean. The Pentagon originally announced that the carrier was heading through the Suez Canal for the Arabian Gulf, but the crisis in Egypt appears to have prompted a decision to keep it in the Mediterranean at least temporarily.

Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea (as well as the Red Sea):

The Enterprise is the longest naval vessel in the world, and is powered by eight nuclear reactors. The Enterprise does not appear to have any dual role for evacuations, but is simply an offensive aircraft carrier.
Therefore, I see no clear indication that the U.S. government has affirmatively decided to directly involve our military in Egypt. However, it is obvious that the government is at least planning for the possibility.

Update: Business Insider notes:

A “very senior” member of the US Marine corps is telling people “multiple platoons” are deploying to Egypt, a source tells us. There is a system within the US Marines that alerts the immediate families of high-ranking marines when their marine will soon be deployed to an emergency situation where they will not be able to talk to their spouses or families.
That alert just went out, says our source.
This senior Marine told our source that the Pentagon will deploy “multiple platoons” to Egypt over the next few days and that the official reason will be ‘to assist in the evacuation of US citizens.”
Our source was told that “the chances they were going over there went from 70% yesterday to 100% today.”

View the original article at Washingtons Blog

http://www.darkpolitricks.com/2011/0...ding-to-egypt/

[Ah Well]

Thanks wickedfairy - apologies for posting as a sock/CallingIn, but I was just getting into the swing of things here step by step.

All going good out here so far.

Now that's one hell of a surprise

Wow

Stay safe

[ang]

On an economic note:-

Egypt is seeking to raise as much as 15 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.6 billion) in a record sale of Treasury bills with bankers predicting yields will rise as foreign investors avoid the auction.

Local banks have enough funds to buy all the debt, central bank Deputy Governor Hisham Ramez said in an interview today on Bloomberg Television.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...t-to-rise.html