Egypt Protest Live Blog

Sunday February 6
All times posted are Japanese Standard Time





















I'm sure you've wondered how the Egyptian government managed to shutoff the internet. Well hears your answer: Narus company owned by American defense contractor Boeing.

Narus is the global leader in real-time traffic intelligence for the protection and management of large IP networks.

Narus is the only software company that provides security, intercept and traffic management solutions within a single, flexible system. With Narus, service providers, governments and large enterprises around the world can immediately detect, analyze, mitigate and target any unwanted, unwarranted or malicious traffic. Narus solutions provide its customers with complete, real-time insight into all of their IP traffic from the network to the applications, enabling customers to take the most appropriate actions quickly.

Narus’ system protects and manages the largest IP networks in the U. S. and around the world, some of which include: KT (Korea), KDDI (Japan), Raytheon, Telecom Egypt, Reliance (India), Cable and Wireless, Saudi Telecom, U.S. Cellular, Pakistan Telecom Authority and many more

Their technology allows the government to track your internet use no matter the platform involved and it can be done in real time.

As we speak, Egypt is struggling with a near-total Internet and communications shut-off, and not just Egyptians are grappling with the implications. Can the flow of social media information to an entire country simply be cut? Apparently, yes. And that’s not just an Egyptian concern.
It’s very much an American concern, in that a US-based company seems to be the maker of the Internet off-switch. As Tim Karr of Free Press notes, the US company Narus was founded in 1997 by Israeli security experts. Based in Sunnyvale California, Narus has devised what business fans call a “social media sleuth.”

Saturday February 5

22:30 From the Guardian

Ahdaf Soueif has just sent in an email about military police dragging people out of a legal aid centre in Cairo.

A good friend just saw eight to 12 people being dragged out of No 1 Souq el-Tawfikiyyah St and bundled into a bus while a military police vehicle waited nearby. The people were being beaten and [people in] the street had been told they were "Iranian and Hamas agents come to destabilise Egypt".

Rush Limbaugh is a conservative American radio presenter who is known for making comments which many find offensive. On Thursday February 3 he did it yet again concerning the detention of two New York Times reporters covering the protests in Egypt.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is being breathlessly reported that the Egyptian army -- Snerdley, have you heard this? The Egyptian army is rounding up foreign journalists. I mean, even two New YorkTimes reporters were detained. Now, this is supposed to make us feel what, exactly? How we supposed to feel? Are we supposed to feel outrage over it? I don't feel any outrage over it. Are we supposed to feel anger? I don't feel any anger over this. Do we feel happy? Well -- uh -- do we feel kind of going like, "neh-neh-neh-neh"? I'm sure that your emotions are running the gamut when you hear that two New York Times reporters have been detained along with other journalists in Egypt. Remember now, we're supporting the people who are doing this.

In a later segment once hearing that a Fox News crew had been beaten so severely they were admitted to hospital his attitude seem to change.

Also, according to Mediaite, Fox News' Greg Palkot and crew have been severely beaten and are now hospitalized in Cairo. Now we were kidding before about The New York Times, of course. This kind of stuff is terrible. We wouldn't wish this kind of thing even on reporters. But it's -- it's serious. And you know, Anderson Cooper got beat upside the head 10 times when he was there. Still feeling it -- still feel sorry about -- reporters all think that the protestors ought to welcome them, they're on the same side.

What follows are reactions from various journalists

John Burns, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for The New York Times based in London, covered the Iraq War from 2003 to 2007.

After reviewing the comments made by Limbaugh, Burns stated in an e-mail that his remarks, "inevitably play into a wider climate of disdain for the media that has been building in some quarters in the United States for some years now, and that is something to worry about, whether your politics are of the left, the right, or the centre.

"The fact that the Fox News crew were among those attacked in Cairo suggests powerfully that thuggery against the media is a universal threat, just as encouraging hostility for the press at home ultimately threatens the very basis of press freedom, for all."

Dion Nissenbaum, a Kabul correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers who was himself detained by Palestinian forces in The Gaza Strip in 2005, also questioned Limbaugh's motives.

09:21 Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud, 36, was taking photographs of fighting between protesters and security forces from the balcony of his home when he was shot Jan. 28, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram said on its website.

Mahmoud worked for Al-Taawun, a newspaper put out by the Al-Ahram publishing house. He lived near central Tahrir Square, the focal point of protest rallies as well as clashes this week between large crowds of supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak



09:09 Egptian police have arrested Al Jazeera Cairo Bureau Chief and a journalist
Al Ahram newspaper reports the first death of a journalist

09:00

The Economist's print edition has posted its coverage of events in Egypt, although it's already slightly out of date because of the demands of print deadlines:

As Egypt's powerful state regroups its forces and continues to capitalise on fears of insecurity, Mr Mubarak's men may have their way. Still, even within his army, which has so far remained loyal to the president, many may believe that only Mr Mubarak's departure can calm Egypt's streets. The president could possibly announce an early retirement on health grounds. But if there is one quality Mr Mubarak has shown during his three decades of rule, it is stubbornness.

Whatever the outcome, it is already clear that Egyptian society as a whole has evolved. Despite the ugly clashes of recent days, the change has mostly been peaceful. Egyptians have graphically demonstrated that they will no longer accept the old rules. They are moving, in the words of Fahmi Huweidi, a popular columnist sympathetic to the Muslim Brothers, from pharaohism to democracy.

11.24pm: More details on the destruction of al-Jazeera's office in Cairo today. The channel said in a statement:

"The Al Jazeera Network has reported that its office in Cairo has been stormed by gangs of thugs. The office has been burned along with the equipment inside it. It appears to be the latest attempt by the Egyptian regime or its supporters to hinder Al Jazeera's coverage of events in the country."

11.10pm GMT: The New York Times has just posted an account by its two journalists and their driver who were arrested and handed over to the notorious Mukhabarat secret police. It's a chilling glimpse of what many Egyptians have been through:

We had been detained by Egyptian authorities, handed over to the country's dreaded Mukhabarat, the secret police, and interrogated. They left us all night in a cold room, on hard orange plastic stools, under fluorescent lights.

But our discomfort paled in comparison to the dull whacks and the screams of pain by Egyptian people that broke the stillness of the night. In one instance, between the cries of suffering, an officer said in Arabic, "You are talking to journalists? You are talking badly about your country?"

Friday February 4
0:57 Egyptian Ministry of Health estimates that 5,000 people have been injured since the protests began last week

23:10 Don't laugh to hard but Egyptian State Television is reporting that nothing is happening that the country is a peaceful happy place with no demonstrations

22:16 Al Jazeera is reporting that about 400 pro Mubarak supporters have gathered on and below the Sixth of October bridge

21:32 Al Jazeera reporter in Alexandria believes there are a million people demonstrating and that there have been no clashes and the protest has remained very peaceful.

21:30 Please remember that those in the square represent all walks of Egyptian life

21:25 The Al Jazeera reporter is talking about how the Egyptian people really aren't as divided as the government would have you believe that they see all those no matter how different as Egyptians. That if they must suffer they will all suffer together.

21:19 One week ago the anti government protesters were battling the police and security services today with hundreds of thousands now in Tahrir Square the atmosphere is completely opposite. It's like a celebration. They know what state television and the government have tried to paint those in opposition as being controlled by foreign forces and that they are violent criminals. Yet, they have tried to hold peaceful demonstrations because they know that aggression will achieve nothing or bring the changes they want.

White House, Egypt Discusses Plan for Mubarak’s Exit

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately, turning over power to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military, administration officials and Arab diplomats said Thursday.
Even though Mr. Mubarak has balked, so far, at leaving now, officials from both governments are continuing talks about a plan in which, Mr. Suleiman, backed by Sami Enan, chief of the Egyptian armed forces, and Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, the Defense Minister, would immediately begin a process of constitutional reform.

0:45

LisaDCNN Lisa Desjardins
#EGYPT JOURNALISTS: CNN hears Wash. Post, NY Times, Canada's Globe & Mail reporters arrested; mobs clashed w/ CNN IBN, NPR, Time.

0:05 The curfew is in effect which as usual since the protests began it is being ignored

0:00 Heavy gun fire continues. Please remember that these types of weapons are only used by the military

Thursday February 3



23:51 There is now heavy gun fire that sounds like a Bushmaster

The anti government protesters have advanced to the Hilton hotel in the last hour establishing a new front line. With the army firing warning shots letting the protesters know that there is a line in the sand as to how far they can advance. The pro Mubarak protesters have disappeared.

23:45 From The New York Times

CAIRO — Many journalists covering the protests in Egypt were detained and attacked on Thursday, and human rights groups were also a target, in what appeared to be an escalating effort to block reports on the violence.

The Egyptian security forces were rounding up workers for human rights groups as well as foreign journalists, witnesses in Cairo said. Security police raided the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, where many nongovernmental organizations operate. They ordered people there to lie on the floor and disabled their mobile phones. Two people were being interrogated. The state news agency Thursday has asked foreign press to evacuate all the hotels near Tahrir Square.

23:27 The former Interior Minister is being questioned about why the the police were withdrawn for 2 days. His right to travel has been denied and his assets have been frozen

23:00 Yesterday Vodafone Egypt sent a message via their mobile phone network in support of the Egyptian government. Today Vodafone issued a statement saying they were forced to send that message. Somehow I just don't believe that. The new Prime Minister just gave a news conference in which he stated that the government would investigate the deaths i Tahrir Square those watching in the square just jeered. Foreign journalists say there has been increased attacks upon the them by the police.

13:10 Petrol bombs are now being thrown

12:51 Four people are now reported to have been killed

12:48 Hilary Clinton has seriously condemned the violence is just a little late after 30 years of U.S. support

12:18 ambience's can be heard approaching Tahrir Square

12:08 AFP reports that 2 people have been killed by the gun fire

12:07 Sustained gun fire can now be heard

11:59 Can hear heavy machine gun fire

11:57 Reports that the anti government protesters have regained control of the Sixth of October bridge

11:52 The military has withdrawn from the square

11:43 There are reports that seven people have been injured by the gun fire

11:41 Witness says that there are many women and children are trapped in the square

11:37 gun fire can clearly be heard

11:35 Reports Mubarak supporters have opened fire on the anti government protesters


Wednesday February 2 This Live As It Is Happening

With todays actions it's obvious the President Hosni Mubarak will do anything to stay in power to prove to the world that he he is the only one who keep Egypt stable


The UN estimates that 500 people have been injured just today
A building maybe on fire in the middle of Tahrir square

AJ is broadcasting pictures of those people throwing missiles down onto the crowd below

Dan Nolan is reporting that its difficult to tell how wide spread the conflict is with most of the clashes taking place in front of the Cairo museum

Anti government forces have regrouped and charged towards the pro government supporters

Pro government forces came to a hotel looking for Al Jazeera's reporters but were chased away by security

Protesters are showing ID's from the police which they have seized from the pro government side

Al Jazeera reporters say that the police are supporting the pro government protesters

Anderson Cooper of CNN has been injured in the the chaos

As anti government protesters tried to flee they were met by pro government forces

So the armies saying that they were there to protect the protesters is a complete joke

The army has pulled back its tanks and have now allowed the pro Mubarak protesters into the square

The riders were pulled off the horses and were beaten

The same situation is taking place in Suez

The riders charged right at the protesters running right though the anti government supporters hitting a wall of people at full speed. A cameraman was trampled by the charge

Pro government protesters have entered the square on horses and camels with weapons

Two tanks are now trying to clam the two sides down

No serious injuries so far

An army has moved a tank between the two groups but nothing is happening

An Egyptian reporter estimates that there are 10,000 pro supporters trying to enter the square

The main face off is taking place just outside the Cairo Museum

The police are said to be supporting the pro government forces

The Al Jazeera reporter says there is no refugee for those caught up in the mayhem

The clashes have expanded beyond the square and into the side streets

There are police on hand but they are doing nothing

There is no security and the army is doing nothing to stop the violence

There is complete mayhem people have been trampled while the reporter has been punched and hit with stones. She is hiding under a car

The pictures are showing large plums of smoke but it's un known wee the the smoke is coming from

An eye witness says the pro Mubarak forces have knives and guns

People have been wounded as pro Mubarak are using various weapons against the protesters.

Al Jazeera is showing live pictures: Clashes have broken out between pro and anti government demonstrators have broken in Tahrir Square


Hey Hosni



08:50 Obama's speech Paraphrasing I Have been in close contact with the Egypt and allies in the Middle East and would like to congratulate the military for their role in maintaining peace. This a moment of change for Egypt and that only the people of Egypt can make this change. Any future government should embrace democratic processes and the inclusion of all groups within Egypt giving them a voice in the future of Egypt The change must begin now.


07:44 Al Jazeera is reporting clashes between pro and anti Mubarak demonstrators as well as shots being fired in ALexandria

23:55 From the Guardian

I can't believe that nobody on the Guardian's CiF has yet pointed out how ElBaradei is clearly an Anglo-American stooge.

ElBaradei has been parachuted in to insure that whoever emerges as leader after Mubarak, if he falls, will remain a sock puppet of the US and Britain, and part of their wider strategy to promote a democratic revolution in the region.

Remember Bush and Blair's strategy to spread democracy in the region? Now we have this people's movement for change - headed by El Baradei???

This is a Bush-Blair dream come true.

Down with Mubarak - but also OUT with El Baradei!

Brian Whitaker responded:

ElBaradei isn't obviously an American stooge. He made himself very unpopular with the US by standing up to them over the imagined Iraqi WMD.

He started getting involved in Egyptian politics last year after retiring from the IAEA, so I think it's also a bit unfair to suggest he was parachuted in.

Reports: That hospitals in Alexandria have been over whelmed with wounded after violent clashes with the police. Hospitals estimated that more than 100 people have been killed since the demonstrations began on January 25

22:13 The press is estimating that there are almost 2 million people in and around Tahrir Square
The military police have placed razer wire around the presidents residence

21:41 Jordanian Cabinet has resigned amid protests in the country

21:35 The French Foreign Minister says the Bloodshed must stop

21:28

Both Reuters and AP conservatively estimate the numbers involved as "more than 200,000". They can't be watching al-Jazeera.

21:10 Opposition Demands: Mubarak step down
Rewrite of Constitution
Re--Election of former members of Parliament

20:50 The Muslim Brotherhood says it will not negotiate with Mubarak or his government
Army has arrested thugs and saboteurs trying to infiltrate the demonstration
There are more than a million people in the square


19:29 The UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, says she has unconfirmed reports that up to 300 people may have died in the unrest in Egypt, Reuters reports.

19:21 Mr Erdogan adds that any problems should be resolved through the ballot box, Reuters reports.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Hosni Mubarak "should listen to the demands of the people."

19:10 More than one hundred thousand people are now in the square
The Observer's foreign affairs editor, Peter Beaumont is in Tahrir Square. He sent these Twitter updates in the last few minutes:

Huge crowd in square. Hearing mobile phone net might come down again shortly

Searched 12 times by army and volunteers coming into square. Army leaflets ask for no violence

Soldiers frisking everyone going into tahrir sq but v dif feeling to friday, laid back not tense and no police

Egyptian army sent out txt message last night saying with egypt against thugs and thieves

Steady stream of people heading to Tahrir square. Scores of tanks on road to airport

17:17 Opposition wants Mubarak to transfer his powers to the Vice President


09:27

Google has devised an easy way to get tweets out of Egypt, even when the Internet's down.

Monday afternoon the Internet giant introduced a speak-to-tweet service that allows callers to tweet by calling one of three numbers and leaving a voicemail. The project is a collaboration between Google, Twitter and SayNow, which Google acquired just last week, according to the Google blog.

The three numbers to call are +16504194196 or +390662207294 or +97316199855.

The service instantly tweets what's said in the voicemail, and adds the hashtag #egypt. There's no internet connection necessary, and people can listen to the messages by dialing the same numbers or visiting twitter.com/speak2tweet.

09:14 All public transport has been shutdown
Egyptian State TV. is telling people not to believe anything the Arab satellite news channels are broadcasting as they are lying to you

23;18 What Next? Zaineb Al-Assam, head of Middle East and North Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis, gave this assessment to Reuters.

The most likely scenario in the next seven days will be an escalation in protests, with a million strong protest planned for tomorrow. If Mubarak appears to be staying then protests will continue after then, also initiated by a lack of basic foodstuffs such as flour.

In the event of Mubarak's resignation, the Muslim Brotherhood (see picture below) are well organised and would do well in any open electoral process. While the more moderate political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood will contain the more extreme elements in the group, they are close to Hamas and so increased war risks with Israel and increased terrorism risks in Israel (if border control lapses) are very likely.

22:53 An Al Jazeera reporter escaped from being arrested thanks to a British journalist and is now in hiding. She also reports that the army is erecting concrete barriers around Tahrir Square

Monday January 31
22:38 Six AL Jazeera journalists have been released but the camera equipment remains in the hands of the security services

22:35 Police and the army have withdrawn from Tahrir Square according to Al Jazeera reporter

Meet The Old Bosses Pretending To Be The New Bisses

22:05 from The Guardian

Mubarak's new cabinet has been sworn in, according to Egyptian state TV. He has retained his long-serving defence minister, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and his foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Most significant is the appointment (reported earlier, 11.48am) of retired police general Mahmoud Wagdi as interior minister to replace Habib el-Adly, who is widely despised by protesters for the brutality shown by security forces.

21:31 Camera equipment confiscated and six Al Jazeera journalists arrested in Cairo

18:21 Police are back on the streets of Cairo and the army is blocking access to Liberation square

17:15

Today, in an effort to restore a semblance of normality, the police will be back on the streets – reportedly with instructions not to confront the protesters. They had been withdrawn over the weekend, apparently to facilitate looting by the regime's thugs and provide the excuse for a crackdown. That move was thwarted by the public, who organised their own unofficial policing.

One of the most striking things about the uprising so far has been the resourcefulness of the protesters and their determination. At the same time though, on the other side, we have President Mubarak – equally implacable and determined to stay put.

17:11 Two of Al Jazeera's producers have managed to find a reliable internet connection out of Cairo, where they're keeping us updated with tweets.

"Back up with internet this morning in Cairo. Heavy smog over the city, don't know if fires have anything to do with it. Army blocked off Tahrir Square with barbed wire & restricting access. Tank on busy 6th of October bridge leaves one lane open," one writes.

The other tweets:

"Tahrir Square closed this morning, barbed wire wrapped around the area; army officer told me it'll be shut all day/night. Banks closed too, more tanks on the street, police also being redeployed. Egyptian gov't trying to reassert itself."

Al Jazeera English Blacked Out Across Most Of U.S.

From The Huffington Post

- Canadian television viewers looking for the most thorough and in-depth coverage of the uprising in Egypt have the option of tuning into Al Jazeera English, whose on-the-ground coverage of the turmoil is unmatched by any other outlet. American viewers, meanwhile, have little choice but to wait until one of the U.S. cable-company-approved networks broadcasts footage from AJE, which the company makes publicly available. What they can't do is watch the network directly.

Other than in a handful of pockets across the U.S. - including Ohio, Vermont and Washington, D.C. - cable carriers do not give viewers the choice of watching Al Jazeera. That corporate censorship comes as American diplomats harshly criticize the Egyptian government for blocking Internet communication inside the country and as Egypt attempts to block Al Jazeera from broadcasting.
The result of the Al Jazeera English blackout in the United States has been a surge in traffic to the media outlet's website, where footage can be seen streaming live. The last 24 hours hav

e seen a two-and-a-half thousand percent increase in web traffic, Tony Burman, head of North American strategies for Al Jazeera English, told HuffPost. Sixty percent of that traffic, he said, has come from the United States.

The objections from the cable companies have come for both political and commercial reasons, said Burman, the former editor-in-chief of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "In 2006, pre-Obama, the experience was a challenging one. Essentially this was a period when a lot of negative stereotypes were associated with Al Jazeera. The effort was a difficult one," he said, citing the Bush administration's public hostility to the network.

"There was reluctance from these companies to embark in a direction that would perhaps be opposed by the Bush administration. I think that's changed. I think if anything the Obama administration has indicated to Al Jazeera that it sees us as part of the solution, not part of the problem," Burman said.

Six In The Morning

The U.S. Loves Those Middle East Dictators


More Egyptian protesters demand that White House condemn Mubarak
In a dusty alleyway in downtown Cairo, Gamal Mohammed Manshawi held out a dirty plastic bag Saturday afternoon. Inside were smashed gas canisters and the casings of rubber bullets that he said Egyptian police had fired at anti-government demonstrators.
"You see," the 50-year-old lawyer said, displaying the items. On the bottom of each were the words "Made in the USA."

"They are attacking us with American weapons," he yelled as men gathered around him.

In the streets of Cairo, many protesters are now openly denouncing the United States for supporting President Hosni Mubarak, saying the price has been their freedom.

The Hate That Is Glenn Beck
Leftwing academic speaks out amid hate campaign led by Fox News host Glenn Beck
Frances Fox Piven defies death threats after taunts by anchorman Glenn Beck
Frances Fox Piven is not going into hiding. Not yet.

The 78-year-old leftwing academic is the latest hate figure for Fox News host Glenn Beck and his legion of fans. While she has decided to shrug off the inevitable death threats that have followed, she is well aware of the problem. "I don't know if I am scared, but I am worried," she told the Observer as she sat in a bar on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

"At the start I thought it was funny, but now I know that is dangerous... their paranoia works better when they can imagine a devil. Now that devil is me."

I'll Name The Top Spy Vice President Oh Yea

Our writer joins protesters atop a Cairo tank as the army shows signs of backing the people against Mubarak's regime
Robert Fisk: Egypt: Death throes of a dictatorship
The Egyptian tanks, the delirious protesters sitting atop them, the flags, the 40,000 protesters weeping and crying and cheering in Freedom Square and praying around them, the Muslim Brotherhood official sitting amid the tank passengers. Should this be compared to the liberation of Bucharest? Climbing on to an American-made battle tank myself, I could only remember those wonderful films of the liberation of Paris. A few hundred metres away, Hosni Mubarak's black-uniformed security police were still firing at demonstrators near the interior ministry. It was a wild, historical victory celebration, Mubarak's own tanks freeing his capital from his own dictatorship.

This Is How I Roll
Hou Yifan, the 16-year-old chess prodigy, tells Peter Foster about training, travelling - and Oliver Twist.
World's youngest ever women's chess champion: 'I'm just a normal teenager'
There is nothing in the slightest bit ordinary about the achievements of Hou Yifan, the Chinese chess prodigy who stunned the world just before Christmas by becoming the youngest ever women's world chess champion at the age of just 16.
And yet, in appearance at least, it is a quintessentially ordinary Chinese teenager that shuffles in through the door at the Chinese Chess Association in Beijing, feet clad in Nike trainers, colourful scarf draped around her neck and a trendy purple beret holding back neatly bobbed hair.

Diamonds Are Very Good for Him


Mugabe being helped by diamond industry

The Kimberley Process s (KP) industry watchdog moved earlier this month to legalise sales from the Chiadzwa fields in eastern Zimbabwe, which are controlled by the military and have been described by Zimbabwean finance minister Tendai Biti as "the biggest find of alluvial diamonds in the history of mankind".

Diamond sales from Chiadzwa could dwarf the impact of European and American sanctions and set the stage for Mugabe (86) to strengthen his military, rebuild his power base and even stage elections this year.

Diamond sales from Chiadzwa could dwarf the impact of European and American sanctions and set the stage for Mugabe (86) to strengthen his military, rebuild his power base and even stage elections this year.

No Outrage Here So Don't Ask
But the Palestine papers published by Al Jazeera have further dented Abbas's already low credibility, calling into question his ability to negotiate a lasting peace deal.
Why Palestine papers didn't spark outrage against Abbas's government
Ramallah, West Bank
With the winds of anti-government sentiment spreading across the Middle East, Al Jazeera's leak of the Palestine papers this week threatened to undermine the increasingly weak Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.
The news channel's exposé of far-reaching Palestinian peace concessions to Israel on Jerusalem, refugees, and borders failed to spark outward public outrage, spurring relief among President Abbas' aides. But the muted response of everyone from shopkeepers and businessmen in the West Bank belies a deeper erosion of support for Mr. Abbas, who has staked his career on negotiating peace with Israel.

Hosni Mubarak Another General Who Became A Dictator

On the day Anwar Sadat was assassinated Americas National Public Radio program All Things Considered aired a special edition on October 7, 1981 Hosni Mubarak was a former Egyptian Air Force General chosen by Sadat to be his Vice President

Egyptian bloggers brave police intimidation

This A Live Blog

Update Sunday January 30
21:16 Al Jazeera has confirmed that Egyptian Security Services came to their Cairo office and told them to stop destroying Egypt and told them to unplug the camera and cease broadcasting

20:50 The Guardian reports that Al Jazeera's Cairo office has been shut] down by the Mubarak regime. It's license's revoked early this morning:

"The information minister ordered ... suspension of operations of al-Jazeera, cancelling of its licences and withdrawing accreditation to all its staff as of today," a statement said.

20:42 Hospitals are urging people to donate blood, according to the latest email update from Human Rights Watch's emergencies director, Peter Bouckaert, in Alexandria. He has also been told of that prison break out.

Hospitals in Alexandria and Cairo are requesting that people come in and donate blood.

The Cairo-Alexandria desert road is blocked because of a prison outbreak at Wadi el-Natroun- several thousand prisoners released. The army is deployed. Residents of local villages say the prison had 8,000 inmates.

The old Cairo-Alexandria "agricultural road" is open and traffic is running smoothly. People in Menoufeyya say criminals stopping cars at night demanding money. But day travel is safe.

Mosques are being transformed into sickrooms for protesters with bullet wounds, according to this report from Jack Shenker and Peter Beaumont.

They write:

This place of worship is little more than a partially-roofed narrow passage between two tall buildings; now it has been transformed into a makeshift hospital, with blood soaking through the prayer mats. The muezzin's microphone – normally used to send out the call to prayer – pressed into use by a thick-set, bearded imam who is shouting out instructions to the medics. Occasionally, he prays.

20:36 Al Jazeera is no longer naming its correspondents in Egypt as state run TV. is reporting that its offices have been closed.
A fire truck tried to enter liberation square but was blocked by the protesters. It tried to proceed but was finally order out of the square by the army

Update Saturday January 29
23:46 Looters are reportedly on the rampage in a number of upper-class neighbourhoods in Cairo. Residents are calling the offices of media organisations asking for help, amid what appears to be a security vacuum. Some have formed committees in an effort to protect their homes and buildings.

23:41 At Least 3 People have been killed trying to storm the Interior Ministry

23:26 The Guardian
More details on the protest in Tahrir Square from AP. The news agency reports that the demonstration began peacefully with few police seen in the crowds.

"But then police opened fire on some people in the crowd near the Interior Ministry and a number of them were wounded by gunshots. It was not clear whether they used rubber bullets or live ammunition.

One army captain joined the demonstrators, who hoisted him on their shoulders while chanting slogans against Mubarak. The officer ripped a picture of the president.

"We don't want him! We will go after him!" demonstrators shouted. They decried looting and sabotage, saying: "Those who love Egypt should not sabotage Egypt!"

23:19 Clashes outside the interior ministry are continuing. As protesters try to break in, police are attempting to drive them back with rubber bullets and tear gas.

23:00 The Curfew has begun

22:50 Al Jazeera Reports of cars being destroyed and
About 1,000 people have tried to Storm the Interior Ministry

22:45 Reports of Heavy Gunfire has been heard at the Printing House of Central Bank in Cairo and at Tura Prison in Southern Cairo

22:41 Residents of Suez are parading the bodies of those killed in Friday's demonstrations through the streets of the city, chanting slogans against President Mubarak and asking him to quit, says BBC Arabic's Moawad Goudah. Residents have also formed local councils in Suez and in al-Mahallah, north of Cairo, to protect the commercial centres, banks and offices from looting.

22:38 Reuters says the Egyptian army has released a statement saying that anyone violating the curfew will be in danger. It is also reporting that an Islamic cleric has gone on state television to warn Muslims that shedding blood is prohibited by religious law.

22:20 The Washington Post has called on Obama to break ties with Mubarak. The editorial calls on the White House to use its considerable influence over the Egyptian president to bring about a peaceful transition of power.

Rather than calling on an intransigent ruler to implement 'reforms', the administration should be attempting to prepare for the peaceful implementation of the opposition platform. It should be reaching out to Mr ElBaradei - who Friday night was reported to be under house arrest - and other mainstream opposition leaders. And it should be telling the Egyptian army, with no qualification, that the violent suppression of the uprising will rupture its relationship with the United States.

22:12 From The BBC

1307 The state-owned Nile News TV is carrying non-stop coverage of the protests, BBC Monitoring reports. The channel is repeatedly airing a video package entitled: "Stay safe Egypt", showing Egyptians of all ages and walks of life with the national anthem playing in the background.
1259 Political activist Gigi Ibrahim in Cairo sums up the mood of protesters for the BBC's Newshour: "People are willing to die for this and they have. They have. The 30 years of repression are pushing people to the extreme."

22:00 When the Curfew comes in 50 minutes The next question is what will the authorities do if the demonstrators fail to disperse
21:21 There is no police presence on the streets of Cairo just the military which has done nothing to stop the demonstrations

20:53 Unconfirmed Reports of Live Ammunition being used in Alexandria against protesters
20:30 A Curfew has been announced to start at 4PM local time which is to effect the whole of the nation.
Live pictures show thousands moving towards Independence Square

19:52: The Chinese government has blocked internet searches for Egypt

18:07 Al Jazeera is broadcasting pictures of protesters gathering in Cairo
People are also protesting in Alexandria


17:34 Tanks are patrolling the streets of Cairo
Protesters are gathering at Independence Square

17:17 Reuters is reporting shots fired by police in Central Cairo
Al Jazeera is reporting 23 bodies taken to the morgue in Alexandria with bullet wounds

Latest Updates are Now At The Top

Mubarak has asked his government to resign but he'll remain as president which the average person is unwilling to accept

There are unconfirmed reports of clashes between the military and the police

Hillary Clinton deeply concerned about the situation in Egypt tis after offering platitudes towards the government saying that Egypt is a strong ally of the U.S. and that there is no reason for concern involving the protests. This after 31 years of unwavering support



Its hard to say how many have been killed or Injured

The Sound of Gun Fire continues

The Police seem to have fallen back in Cairo

Heavy Gun Fire Is Being Reported near the Ministry of Information

Protests continue in Cairo

It Looks as though the NDP building is on FiRE

Five tanks have entered Suez in an attempt to regain control of Suez

The power of the People have Over whelmed the Police

Police riot van has been set alight with protesters trying to dump it into the Nile river

Mubarak will address the country shortly

Protesters are trying to dump police vehicle into to the Nile

The curfew has come into place but protests continue

There is a fire burning nearing the NDP headquarters

President Mubarak has ordered the Egyptian army onto the streets to reinforce the riot police in Cairo

The Al Jazeera camera has been moved so the live pictures now only shows cars crossing the biridge

Riot Police are on the way to Al Jazeera's office in Cairo

Because of government crack down 88% of the population have been cut-off from the internet

Large numbers of Riot Police Vans on Sixth of October bridge in advance of curfew which takes effect in 20 minutes

Police station in Alexandria is on fire as well as dozens of police trucks

Suez: One person has been confirmed killed

State Security has entered the building housing Al Jazeera as well as other international media

Protesters are lining up for evening prayers

What happens after that is unknown

Fighting is taking place just outside of AL Jazeera's offices in Cairo
State television has announced a curfew from 6PM local time to 7Am local time. The curfew will take effect in 30 minutes time

Tear Gas being fired at protesters outside of the Hilton hotel

From The BBC

1517: Dima Khatib in Suez tweets: "Police shooting rubber coated steel bullets into the crowd according to eye witnesses #Egypt #Jan25."
1513: 'Muna' (not her real name, she wants to remain anonymous) writes: I am close to the 6th October bridge, where hundreds of protesters have been clashing with police for the past couple of hours. I have closed my windows completely and my family and I are stuck inside. I am worried for people on both sides as I look out - both the police and the protesters. I am also worried for my friends who are out protesting on the streets. I can't communicate with them because all mobiles are down. Thank God our land-line still works but we are not sure for how long.

If the army intervenes it will change the dynamic of the protests depending on which side the army backs

Two police stations have been set alight and one protester has been killed in Suez

Reports: Live pictures show people swarming around army armored vehicle which is respected by the people and celebrating

Illegitimate is being chanted by protesters

Eye Witnesses and Al Jazeera report body being carried through the streets in Alexandria

One of the questions being asked is; Where is the army?

Pictures show a white van taking someone from the six of October bridge who has been injured

Protesters are not deterred by riot police from looking at live pictures

People are not looking for compromise they are looking for regime change

Confirmed: Protesters have taken control of main square of Suez: Police have given up on controlling the protests

At least two French journalists have been arrested, according to AP.

The daily newspaper Le Figaro says its reporter Adrien Jaulmes was arrested in Cairo and it has had no contact with him since he was detained.

The photo agency Sipa Press said one of its photographers, Albert Facelly, was also arrested in Cairo today. The agency said it had no details on the circumstances of his arrest and no contact with him yet.

Protests in Alexandria are taking place in 10 different locations

Looking at street level pictures of people attacking an armored police vehicle as well as people ministering to those that have been injured
People from all walks of life are taking part in the protests including women and children

Protesters have broken through barriers protecting tourists hotels in Cairo and are being attacked by riot police with tear gas

Riot Squad trucks have been set on fire in Alexandria. Al Jazeera is reporting that police are been helped by protesters in Alexandria saying we are all Egyptians

Peter Bouckaert, from Human Rights Watch, in Alexandria:

The police have now given up fighting the protesters. The police and protesters are now talking, with protesters bringing water and vinegar (for teargas) to the police. Afternoon prayer has just been called and hundreds are praying in front of the mosque in east Alexandria.

Live pictures show riot police trying to retake the bridge but being driven back by protesters

Protesters in Suez have set those detained by police free after storming the jail

Senior NDP leader Mustafa al-Fiqi is saying that what's happening is unprecedented in the history of Egypt. Says that changes need to take place to quell the uprising. Doesn't believe that the government will fall

Main opposition leader has been admitted to hospital after being hit in the head with a rock and is in intensive care

Live pictures of protesters are praying on October 6th birdge
Al Jazeera reporting huge fire in Alexandria but unsure what is on fire.

In Suez 3 police armored vehicles have been set alight It appears that protesters have control of the main parts of Suez

UNCONFIRMED: That female protester was killed by tear gas canister in Cairo

BBC Arabic is reporting that protesters in Ismailia have taken over the local headquarters of Mubarak's National Democratic Party.

The latest take on the clashes from the Associated Press:

A soaking wet ElBaradei was trapped inside a mosque while hundreds of riot police laid siege to it, firing tear gas in the streets around so no one could leave. The tear gas canisters set several cars ablaze outside the mosque and several people fainted and suffered burns. Large groups of protesters, in the thousands, were gathered at at least six venues in Cairo, a city of about 18 million people, and many of them were on the move marching toward major squares and across Nile bridges.

They are demanding Mubarak's ouster and venting their rage at years of government neglect of rampant poverty, unemployment and rising food prices. There were smaller protests in Assiut south of Cairo and al-Arish in the Sinai peninsula. Regional television stations were reporting clashes between thousands of demonstrators and police in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and Minya south of Cairo.

Protests have begun in Egypt after Friday prayers: Police have gone after protesters in Alexandria just after emerging from Friday prayers using batons and tear gas.
As for Cairo it is so far quite. The internet has been completely closed down as there are only four companies that control the service.

Reports: Rubber Coated Steel Bullets being used against protesters in Cairo

Al Jazeera is now reporting that dissident Mohamed ElBaradei has been detained by the police
Al Jazeera is showing live pictures of protesters on the Sixth of October bridge. Reports of BBC Reporter injured by police no further details.
Protesters are engaging police with stones in Alexandria: Al Jazeera reporter says that is has become complete pandemonium with protesters trying to disperse police.
4 French journalists are reported to have been injured by police along with an Al Jazeera journalist who is to have been badly injured
P.J. Crowley State Department spokenmen has expressed "Concern"
over Egyptian protests
Mohamed ElBaradei, one of Hosni Mubarak's fiercest critics and a former UN weapons inspector, has been arrested after appearing on the streets in Cairo. Before he was detained ElBaradei claimed that Mubarak's regime was on its "last legs".
Egyptians are blaming the U.S. for the current state of Egypt for supporting Mubarak
Police in Suez tried to use a fire engine to run over protesters which was attacked
CNN reports that its cameras have been smashed
Al Jazeera's Arabic channel has been disconnected
Reports of 40,000 people protesting North of Cairo

Dan Nolan of Al Jazeera Is Reporting that Internet and Mobile Phone Services Have Been Disrupted Across Egypt


Their ranks are young and their voices continue to be heard despite threats

Their voices may not be the ones heard on the streets of Egypt, but what they're saying is coming through loud and clear over the Internet, via websites, blogs and social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter.
Egypt's bloggers are young, as much of the nation is, with the median age being 24. Noha Atef, 26, started blogging about five years ago, spurred by reports she read about Egyptian women who were being tortured in police stations.
She hasn't experienced such ugliness first-hand, but she and her family are threatened and harassed, she said in a recent interview with The Friday Bulletin.

"Police never beat me, but more than one time summoned me. I was advised by them to stop blogging, while my family were threatened of my disappearance, rape and 'punishment' if they didn’t stop me," she told the publication.

Italian Government Supports Repression In Egypt
Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said the situation in Egypt was completely different from that in Tunisia, where a wave of street protests toppled the president earlier this month.

The minister claimed there were civil liberties in Egypt and the regime should be encouraged to expand them, Reuters reported. He warned that if the government fell it could provoke chaos throughout the region.

"The situation in Egypt is different. There are civil liberties. It is not a copy of the European model but we are not colonisers of any country, we must not impose our model."

"The stability of Egypt is fundamental for the entire Mediterranean. The biggest mistake would be to think of a change of leadership without having a solution, a proposal, a proper development of the situation. This certainly would lead to chaos.

"We must help the Egyptian leadership to gradually expand the enjoyment of civil liberties, the authorisation of peaceful demonstrations at the same time as guaranteeing stability."

Six In The Morning

They're Number1 In Guns And The NRA Likes It That Way Number2? Yemen


Amid gun lobby criticism, assault weapons reporting rule delayed

The White House, facing fierce criticism from the gun lobby, has delayed approval of a proposed rule that federal law enforcement officials say could help them stanch the flow of U.S. assault rifles and other high-powered weapons to Mexico’s drug cartels.
The proposed rule, announced by Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms acting director Kenneth Melson on Dec. 20, would require U.S. firearms dealers in four southwest border states to report multiple sales of long guns, such as semi-automatic assault rifles which are frequently purchased by so-called “straw buyers” for the cartels. Melson had said he expected the proposed “emergency rule” would receive approval in early January 2011.

Putting Its Best Gun Forward
Just three weeks after the Arizona massacre, its trigger-happy neighbouring state has made a Browning semi-automatic pistol its official symbol
Welcome to Utah – please shoot carefully
It's hardly the most sensitive timing, given recent events in neighbouring Arizona, but politicians in the God-fearing, gun-loving State of Utah are set to pass landmark legislation that will make an automatic pistol their official "state firearm".

The Browning M1911, which was invented exactly 100 years ago in Ogden, just north of Salt Lake City, will become the 25th "state symbol", joining such items as a tree, a folk dance, and a cooking pot (the Dutch oven) on the list of things supposed to reflect the best of the history, geography and culture of Utah.

They Aren't Going Backwards

Himalayan glaciers are actually advancing rather than retreating, claims the first major study since a controversial UN report said they would be melted within quarter of a century.
Himalayan glaciers not melting because of climate change, report finds
Researchers have discovered that contrary to popular belief half of the ice flows in the Karakoram range of the mountains are actually growing rather than shrinking.
The discovery adds a new twist to the row over whether global warming is causing the world's highest mountain range to lose its ice cover.
It further challenges claims made in a 2007 report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that the glaciers would be gone by 2035.

Tunisia's Most Wanted

Tunisia issues warrant for Ben Ali's arrest
TUNISIA HAS issued international arrest warrants for deposed president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family over alleged theft and currency offences, the minister for justice said yesterday.

Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said Tunis had asked Interpol to detain Mr Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia earlier this month after weeks of street protests.

Former first lady Leila Trabelsi, whose family members had extensive business interests in Tunisia and are believed to have amassed considerable wealth, are also to be pursued.

He Just Robbed The Bank

West Africa's Central Bank – perhaps its most important institution – may also be its least transparent. But in the midst of Ivory Coast's conflict, a tradition of secrecy may be an early casualty.
As Gbabgo seizes Central Bank assets in Ivory Coast, a look at the arcane institution
Dakar, Senegal
When an infrastructure-strapped backwater such as, say, Guinea-Bissau looks to borrow the tens of billions of West Africa CFA francs it needs to tar rural roads and string power lines, its functionaries fly here, to La Banque Central des États de l’Afrique d’Ouest: the central bank for eight West African nations (Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Togo, Benin, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Niger). It's where government debt is sold in the form of treasury bills to whatever arcane financiers harbor a niche interest in owning a chunk of Africa's debt.

Idiot Takes Charge Of Investigating Barrack Obama
He's Also A Car Thief
With Issa Leading, Oversight Panel Eagerly Begins Its Work
WASHINGTON — If Representative Darrell E. Issa, Republican of California, gets his wish, he will have only two years to serve as a chief tormenter of the Obama administration. So he was understandably eager to get started on Wednesday with his first hearing as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
In jumping into the complex issue of bank bailouts, the committee provided an object lesson in the flexibility of words, showing that statements on complex matters like how to resolve a financial crisis can often be open to competing interpretations.

Egyptian Protests

ahramonline

Downtown Cairo looked like a war zone Wednesday.

Police in both plain clothes and formal security uniforms were present by the thousands. Riot police were seen sleeping on, and manning, the 6 October and 15 May bridges - the main ones connecting main streets of the city -- since last night. Hundreds of people gathered in several streets downtown chanting "People want the government down", "Copts and Muslims don't want this system", and, "Bread, freedom, human integrity." They were chased and beaten fiercely, many of them also dragged off by force - by thugs and state security agents.

"They beat people and shoot them as if we are in Gaza," cried one protester, Soha, a woman in her twenties. "They even beat women."

bencnn
Twitter Feed

Jack Shenker, the Guardian's reporter in Cairo, was beaten and arrested alongside protesters in the capital last night. He made this remarkable recording while locked in the back of a security forces truck next to dozens of protesters. Listen to the audio

At one o'clock in the morning, after a day covering the protests across the Egyptian capital, I found myself in Abdel Munim Riyad square, a downtown traffic junction close to Tahrir, Cairo's central plaza, which had been occupied by demonstrators for several hours. Egyptian security forces had just launched an attack on Tahrir and thousands of people were now pouring in my direction, teargas heavy in the air. A few hundred rallied in front of me on Al Galaa Street; spying an empty police truck in the road, several people began to smash it up, eventually tipping it over and setting it on fire.

From the Guardian

1.53am: It's approaching 4am in Suez and becoming increasingly difficult to ascertain exactly what is going on in the city. Some reports are suggesting the military has a presence in the city, but others deny it.

Fires have reportedly been started at the Police Headquarters in the city – earlier I posted a video purporting to show the blaze being put out – and at a chemical factory, and there are reports of restrictions to telephone and internet services, although some networks, including Vodafone, appear to now be working.

We're unable to confirm some of the reports coming from Suez, and it looks as if it will take daylight to reveal what is actually happening in the city. This blog is closing now, but we'll have more on tonight's events tomorrow morning – check back for updates.

Hope all in Egypt are safe and well.

A confusing picture coming out of Suez. Reports that the police headquarters and a chemical factory having been set on fire, with some suggesting the army has moved into the city to quell protesters, however some tweets disputing this:

@theydontneedme_ The army is not any where near the action in #suez like some say. #jan25

@mShady Vodafone mobile network is back in #Suez #Jan25 #25Jan

However @theydontneedme has tweeted saying she has been at home for an hour, so things could have changed. @mShady's tweet – alerted to me by @Oxenstierna_IRL, monitoring events from Scotland – is backed up by others from Egypt saying Vodafone was the only network to remain working throughout the telephone block.

The We are all Khaled Said opposition protest group is updating its Facebook page constantly. Here's its latest post on Suez.

Urgent News: Suez is completely cut off. Police has been evacuated. Protesters there are very angry. The army is being brought in according to reports. Some sad speculations say that a massive crackdown will take place in Suez on protesters which could end up with a REAL Massacre. Suez now is Egypt's Sidi Bouzid.

Alarming reports are coming in from Suez, where protests continued today. Three protesters were killed in the city yesterday.

Reports say all landlines, mobile phone networks and web access has been cut off.

This picture purportedly shows Al Arbeen Police Headquarters on fire in the city, while hundreds of people are tweeting concerns on Twitter.

This video apparently shows efforts to put out the blaze:

From Reuters

Police fought with thousands of Egyptians who defied a government ban on Wednesday to protest against President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-old rule, firing rubber bullets and tear gas and dragging away demonstrators.

In central Cairo, demonstrators burned tires and hurled stones at police. In Suez, protesters torched a government building as protests intensified in other parts of the country.

Two people died in Cairo as protests unfolded but security officials contradicted each other on the circumstances. One told reporters a protester and a policeman were killed in clashes. But another official later said they died in a traffic accident.

From Twitter real time updates

anjakovacs RT @EthanZ: Friday looks likely to be a key day for the Egypt protests, as activists are trying to mobilize huge demonstrations. #jan25
less than 20 seconds ago via TweetDeck
jspencerbr RT @bencnn: To watch Thursday: 1. More protests 2. Security fatigue 3. Cairo stock exchange (crashing) 4. Suez 5. Will Mubarak speak? #Jan25 #Egypt
half a minute ago via web
conscious4now Protests in Egypt and unrest in Middle East – as it happens http://bit.ly/ihObtX #globalprotest
half a minute ago via web
EstelleDarlings RT @weirdblkgirl: @EstelleDarlings Protests in Egypt, Tunisia, smh *

Random Japan

BY THE NUMBERS　
For the first time since recordkeeping began in 1968, the number of Japanese reaching the legal age of 20 last year represented less than 1 percent of the total population.

At the same time, Japan’s net population decreased by 123,000—the first decline of more than 100,000 people in the postwar era.

It was reported that membership of Japan’s top three SNS sites—Gree, DeNA and Mixi—jumped 40 percent during the past year, to 65 million.

Japanese courts gave the death sentence to 14 people in 2010, the first time in 11 years the number dropped below 20.

It was reported that approximately 300 wild rabbits are living on Okuno Island in the Seto Inland Sea, the site of a former chemical weapons facility.

Stats
11,360
Number of “atrocious” crimes, including murder, robbery and rape, committed in Japan in 2005, according to the National Police Agency

6,989
Number of such crimes committed from January-November 2010

4,863
Traffic accidents in 2010, according to the National Police Agency

10
Consecutive years the number of traffic accidents has declined

OFFICIAL BUSINESS
Surprising absolutely no one, the DPJ has indicated that it will retool its election manifesto and “scale back” popular programs like the “monthly child allowance and the elimination of expressway tolls.”

It was reported that Kota Matsuda of Your Party was the richest of the 121 legislators who won a seat in the July upper house elections. Matsuda, the founder of the Tully’s Coffee Japan chain, claims ¥486 million in assets.

Television stations around the country decided to extend the deadline for eliminating their analog broadcasts until late July. Which begs the questions: what’s analog TV?

The media flurry surrounding the successful Hayabusa mission wasn’t enough to save JAXAi, the Japan Space Agency’s information center, which shut its doors last month due to budget cuts.

Teaching

Doesn't Involve Groping

Even Though "It's Not Me"

I'll Take Your Money Just The Same

Prosecute Don't Prosecute

We'll Do What They Said

'K-pop' girl idols striking gold in Japan
Savvy Net blitz fueling success throughout Asia
By MAY MASANGKAY
Kyodo News
Thanks to the Internet and an already established fascination with South Korea's boy bands, young Japanese girls and women are shifting in droves to the latest pop idol sensation — the country's girl groups.
Rio Nagasaki, a 15-year-old junior high school student, is among a growing number of fans smitten by South Korean pop music — "K-pop" — performed by artists in her own age group.

"I learned about Kara a year ago before their debut via the Net," she said, referring to the five-member ensemble that is so far the most visible K-pop girl group in Japan.

Only 20% of English conversation teachers give classes in English

Saturday 22nd January　
Only 20% of English oral communication teachers at Japanese public high schools were giving classes in English in 2010, far short of the ‘‘100%’’ target three years from now, a governmental survey showed Friday.

The ratio was also low among teachers for cross-cultural understanding classes included in English language courses, with only 35% of them found to be using English, the survey by the education ministry suggested.

As Japan will introduce new high school education guidelines starting in the academic year beginning April 2013 that basically require all teachers to use English in teaching English classes, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry said it intends to instruct schools to raise the percentages to realize a smooth transition.

Six In The Morning

Next They'll Be Charging You For The Oxygen You Breathe


Airlines' path for profits: Fly less, charge more
After a decade of multibillion-dollar losses, U.S. airlines appear to be on course to prosper for years to come for a simple reason: They are flying less.
By grounding planes and eliminating flights, airlines have cut costs and pushed fares higher. As the global economy rebounds, travel demand is rising and planes are as full as they've been in years.
Profit margins at big airlines are the highest in at least a decade, according to the government. The eight largest U.S. airlines are forecast to earn more than $5 billion this year and $5.6 billion in 2012.U.S. airlines are in the midst of reporting fourth-quarter results that should cap the industry's first moneymaking year since 2007.
"The industry is in the best position — certainly in a decade — to post profitability," says Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly. "The industry is much better prepared today than it was a decade ago."

Morality In The Stock Market? Talk About Living In Wonderland!

Sarkozy lays out plans for 'moral' reforms of global money markets

Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France and "president of the world" until November, yesterday laid out plans to impose "moral" rules on global financial and commodity markets.

At a press conference devoted mostly to his 2011 presidency of the G8 and G20 groups of developed and emerging economies, Mr Sarkozy proposed sweeping ideas for a new world financial order in which global speculation would be subjected to new forms of global regulation. He acknowledged that many of his ideas had already been shot down by other countries and by the self-appointed guardians of "free" global markets in "the Anglo-Saxon press".

Who Should Lead Kosovo? That Mafia Guy

Western powers backing Kosovo's government considered its prime minister one of the country's "biggest fish" in organised crime, according to leaked Nato military cables
Leaked Nato cables allege Kosovo PM was 'biggest fish' in organised crime
The documents, produced by Nato's peace-keeping force in Kosovo, also described Xhavit Haliti, a senior ruling politician and a close ally of Hashim Thaci, as having links to the Albanian mafia.
The Guardian, which reported the leaks, quoted a Kosovo government spokesman as dismissing the allegations.
"These are allegations that have circulated for over a decade... They are based on hearsay and intentional false Serbian intelligence," the spokesman said.

Use Your Authority To Enrich Yourself

30 Brazilian soldiers suspended amid looting allegations
BRAZIL’S ARMY has suspended 30 soldiers accused of looting in a Rio de Janeiro slum they occupied last November after chasing out the drug traffickers who previously controlled it.

The move follows dozens of complaints of abuses committed by police officers against local residents, complicating the government’s attempts to return to state control large swathes of Brazil’s second city which for decades have been run by heavily armed drug gangs.

More serious accusations were denounced to the United Nations by local human rights groups who documented cases of illegal entry, extortion, intimidation, illegal detention and threats of torture and death by police officers against shanty town or favela residents.

No More Hot Chocolate With Marshmallows For You

Ouattara calls for cocoa export ban amid lingering crisis
COTE D’IVOIRE’S internationally recognised leader, Alassane Ouattara, has called for a one-month ban on cocoa exports in a move that could cut off one of the last sources of funding to incumbent leader, Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to cede power.
The statement from Ouattara’s camp comes at the height of Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa export season, though it is unclear whether the ban will be heeded by cocoa growers or how it will be enforced.

“The government informs all the economic operators of the immediate halt to all coffee and cocoa exports,” Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted the statement as saying late Sunday, adding that anyone who did not follow the order would be “subject to national and international sanctions.”
While the United Nations, U.S., France and the African Union have endorsed Ouattara’s presidency, he is attempting to run the country from a hotel being protected by UN peacekeepers.

The Video Showed Them Torturing A Man. They Were Convicted Of Insubordination

Indonesian military trial outrages activists who charge torture
Jakarta, Indonesia
An Indonesian military court today handed down light sentences to three soldiers for their role in the torture of two farmers from Papua, sparking an outcry from human rights activists who slammed the verdict as weak.
The accused were caught on a cell phone video, posted on YouTube last October, torturing two farmers who were believed to have information on a secret weapons cache belonging to a group of separatists known as the Free Papua Movement.

But because the military Criminal Code does not recognize torture as a punishable crime, despite Indonesia having ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture in 1999, the men were found guilty of "not following orders."

Sultan Amir Tarar, a.k.a. Colonel Imam Has Died

Who is Sultan Amir Tarar and why is his death important? Sultan Amir Tarar is a former Colonel in Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) similar to America's CIA and the person most responsible for the creation of the Taliban and the training of Mullah Omar the leader of the Taliban. Over time Colonel Tarar and the ISI have been accused of continued support of the Taliban even though Pakistan is supposedly an ally in the War on Terror. Given those circumstances is it any wonder why Pakistan's army hasn't done anything to root out the Taliban from North Waziristan.

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan — A retired Pakistani intelligence agent regarded as an architect behind the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan died after being held hostage by militants for 10 months, though officials in northwestern Pakistan said they had yet to determine whether his captors killed him or he died of natural causes.

Sultan Amir Tarar, known throughout Pakistan as Colonel Imam, was kidnapped by militants last spring along with another former Pakistani spy, Khalid Khawaja, and a British television journalist. The hostage-takers killed Khawaja in April and later released the journalist.

NBC: U.S. can't link accused Army private to Assange

Military also denies allegations that Bradley Manning is being mistreated

U.S. military officials tell NBC News that investigators have been unable to make any direct connection between a jailed army private suspected with leaking secret documents and Julian Assange, founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.
The officials say that while investigators have determined that Manning had allegedly unlawfully downloaded tens of thousands of documents onto his own computer and passed them to an unauthorized person, there is apparently no evidence he passed the files directly to Assange, or had any direct contact with the controversial WikiLeaks figure.

They are unable to connect the two. How amazed are you by that? Not much I'm sure.

Officials: No torture of Manning

On Monday, U.S. military officials also strongly denied allegations that Manning, being held in connection with the WikiLeaks' release of classified documents, has been "tortured" and held in "solitary confinement" without due process.
The officials told NBC News, however, that a U.S. Marine commander did violate procedure when he placed Manning on "suicide watch" last week.
Military officials said Brig Commander James Averhart did not have the authority to place Manning on suicide watch for two days last week, and that only medical personnel are allowed to make that call.

Six In The Morning

The American Tax Payer Screwed Once Again


Mortgage Giants Leave Legal Bills to the Taxpayers
Since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies and their former top executives in civil lawsuits accusing them of fraud. The cost was a closely guarded secret until last week, when the companies and their regulator produced an accounting at the request of Congress.
The bulk of those expenditures — $132 million — went to defend Fannie Mae and its officials in various securities suits and government investigations into accounting irregularities that occurred years before the subprime lending crisis erupted. The legal payments show no sign of abating.

Don't Believe Their Lying Eyes Or Yours Either
Palestinian negotiators have angrily dismissed accounts as lies, fabrications and half truths
Reaction to the leaked Palestine papers
As Palestinian negotiators named in the secret accounts of negotiations with Israel angrily dismissed them as lies, fabrications and half truths, there was an equally hostile backlash over their offer to let the Jewish state keep its settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and other concessions.

The two leading Palestinian negotiators named in the documents, Saeb Erekat and Ahmed Qureia, reacted furiously to the leaks. Erekat called them a "bunch of lies". Qureia claimed that "many parts of the documents were fabricated, as part of the incitement against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian leadership".

China Is Taking The Out Of The World

The world knows that the Chinese economic boom has led to a huge increase in carbon emissions.
The Choking of China - and the World
The world iswatching China’s economic surge with understandable awe – while politely and passively ignoring the country’s ecological disintegration.


When the journalist Jonathan Watts was a child, he was told, like so many of us: “If everyone in China jumps at exactly the same time, it will shake the earth off its axis and kill us all.” Three decades later, he stood in the grey sickly smog of Beijing, wheezing and hacking uncontrollably after a short run, and thought – the Chinese jump has begun. He had travelled 100,000 miles criss-crossing China, from the rooftop of Tibet to the deserts of Inner Mongolia and everywhere, he discovered that the Chinese state was embarked on a massive program of environmental destruction.

More Unhappiness In Thailand

Protesting Thai Red Shirts call for release of leaders
About 30,000 anti-government Red Shirts rallied in Thailand’s capital yesterday in another show of strength that heralds a rocky run-up to an election due this year.

It was the second big rally this month by the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) and serves as a reminder of the polarisation that has plagued southeast Asia’s second-largest economy for the past five years.

The mostly rural and urban working-class Red Shirts marched from the upmarket shopping district they effectively closed for much of April and May last year to Democracy Monument in the city’s old quarter.

The protests last year were halted by a military crackdown. In all, 91 people were killed and many UDD leaders remain in detention – one of the reasons for the latest protests.

Talk About Broadcasting For The Wrong Side

Tunisia arrests TV channel owner for "treason"
“The owner of Hannibal TV (Larbi Nasra), who is a relative of the former president’s wife, is using the channel to abort the youth’s revolution, spread confusion, incite strife and broadcast false information,” a statement citing an authorised source said.

“The aim is to create a constitutional vacuum, ruin stability and take the country into a vortex of violence that will bring back the dictatorship of the former president.” Veteran strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown this month in a popular uprising over poverty, corruption and political repression that stunned Arab and Western governments who had longed backed Ben Ali as a bulwark against Islamists.

Seeking To Divide They Now Want Unity

Suddenly the statesman, Hezbollah's Nasrallah calls for Lebanon unity government
Beirut
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant Shiite group, Hezbollah, called on Sunday for the creation of a national unity government to usher Lebanon out of a political crisis that threatens to deteriorate into sectarian violence.
“We [in the opposition] will request that the [new prime minister], yet to be named, forms a cabinet in which everyone participates,” Mr. Nasrallah said in a live televised address. “We are not calling for a cabinet that excludes any party in Lebanon.”

Nasrallah admitted in his address that his Hezbollah-led opposition bloc deliberately toppled Lebanon's government two weeks ago with a massive pullout in order to stall pending international indictments of Hezbollah leaders for the 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. And his comments come on the eve of a parliamentary vote that could result in the formation of a new government dominated by Hezbollah and its political allies.

It's So Funny That Nobody Is Laughing

(Host Stephen) Fry thought it "bizarre" that Yamaguchi, pictured on a large screen between two mushroom clouds, was able to travel by train so soon after the disaster, prompting panellists to poke fun at Britain's public transport.
Fry said: "Well, this man is either the unluckiest or the luckiest, depending on which way you look at it."

Panellist Alan Davies speculated that the bomb landed on Yamaguchi and "bounced off", adding: "He never got the train again, I tell you."

Fellow panellist Rob Brydon quipped: "Is the glass half empty, is it half full? Either way it's radioactive. So don't drink it!"

They speaking about Tsutomu Yamaguchi who was survived both atomic bomb attacks on Japan in August 1945

A resident of Nagasaki, Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on business for his employer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries when the city was bombed at 8:15am on August 6, 1945. The following day he returned to Nagasaki and, despite his wounds, returned to work on August 9, the day of the second atomic bombing. In 1957 he was recognized as a hibakusha (explosion-affected person) of the Nagasaki bombing, but it was not until March 24, 2009 that the government of Japan officially recognised his presence in Hiroshima three days

U.S. Military Police Prevent Bradley Manning From Having Visitors

Torture was always seen as method used by authoritarian governments to assert control and intimidate its citizens and those who opposed the regime. Recent history has changed that with the revelations that the U.S. military and the C.I.A. had been torturing prisoners captured during President Bush’s war on terror. Memos written by lawyers working for the U.S. Department of Justice created the legal framework authorizing what they euphemistically called “enhanced interrogation protocols.” The use of physical torture on prisoners captured during Bush’s War on Terror: Including water boarding, hanging prisoners from ceilings by their arms and beatings. Torture isn’t just physical it is also physiological: Sleep depravation, solitary confinement, removable of all clothing, fake executions and using dogs as a means of intimidation.
People say elections have consequences and so they do allowing for leaders of different political ideologies to govern yet something’s sadly remain the same.

Bradley Manning is accused of leaking classified U.S. State Department and Department of Defense documents to Wikileaks, which covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan along with several hundred thousand diplomatic cables dating back to 2008. Manning a PFC was an intelligence annalist in Iraq until last May when he was arrested and taken to Kuwait where he was held for a month until his transfer to the U.S. Marine Corp base at Quantico Virginia where he has been held in solidarity confinement for the last 8 months even though he has never been convicted of any crime.
Amnesty International Issues Letter Concerning The Treatment of Bradley Manning

We understand that PFC Manning’s restrictive conditions of confinement are due to his classification as
a maximum custody detainee. This classification also means that – unlike medium security detainees
–- he is shackled at the hands and legs during approved social and family visits, despite all such visits
at the facility being non-contact. He is also shackled during attorney visits at the facility. We further
understand that PFC Manning, as a maximum custody detainee, is denied the opportunity for a work
assignment which would allow him to be out of his cell for most of the day. The United Nations (UN)
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR), which are internationally recognized
guiding principles, provide inter alia that “Untried prisoners shall always be offered opportunity to
work” should they wish to undertake such activity (SMR Section C, rule 89).

Jane Hamsher of the American blog Firedog Lake and his friend David House attempted to visit Bradley Manning but were prevented from doing so by the military police.

I don’t think any of this had anything to do with me, or frankly the 42,000 petition signatures. The only thing I did was provide housing and transportation to David House, because he’s just out of college and Glenn Greenwald told him he could stay with me when he comes to visit Manning.

Everyone but David has stopped coming to see Bradley, and it takes a lot of courage to do what David is doing. It’s a very intimidating situation. So I try to support him by giving him a place to stay and driving him to the base when he comes to town. That’s really my only involvement.

There is no doubt in my mind that the primary objective of everything that happened today was to keep Bradley Manning from having the company of his only remaining visitor. The MPs told us they were ordered to do this, the brass showed up to make sure that they did, and they held us until 2:50 by repeatedly asking for information they already had whenever we asked to leave.