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