Egyptian President Under House Arrest As the US Backs Away from Morsi, Coup Over

Well that was quick.

Politico's piece is titled "Military Ousts Morsi in Egypt", but the original (or former) title can still be seen at the browser bar.

It was "US eases away from Egyptian President Morsi". Exactly.

From Politico (7/3/2013):

Military ousts Morsi in Egypt

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was forced out of office Wednesday by the Egyptian military and opposition leaders, just a couple of hours after the Obama Administration voiced its first public doubts about Morsi's handling of the massive street protests that spread across the country in recent days.

...Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Government also panned Morsi's speech, saying the address fell short of detailing the reforms the Egyptian leader needed to promise to quell widespread dissatisfaction with his rule.

State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. "felt there was an absence of significant, specific steps" in Morsi's Tuesday night speech. "Unfortunately, that was not a part of what he talked about in his speech.....There's more that he needs to do," she added during a daily briefing for reporters.

The comments expressed a greater degree of U.S. dissatisfaction with Morsi than previously acknowledged by U.S. officials. However, Psaki insisted that the criticism did not reflect a U.S. decision to back the opposition or the military.

"We haven’t taken sides and don’t plan to take sides," Psaki said. She acknowledged that she had no criticism to offer of the Egyptian military, despite a warning from military leaders that they would step in if Morsi's government and protesters did not come to an accomodation.

Psaki declined to outline specific steps the U.S. would like Morsi to take, beyond avoiding violence. However, she disputed claims by many protesters that U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson had sided with the government over the opposition.

In a speech two weeks ago, Patterson said she and the U.S. were "deeply skeptical" that protests would bring about positive change in Egypt. But Psaki said the full text of the ambassador's remarks showed she was not expressing a preference for the government. "We continue to support the right of all people to peaceably assemble and express themselves," Psaki said.

Sure. Tell that to the protesters. "Why don't you read the full text of what she said? You're taking things out of context and that's not right!"

Either she or Politico conveniently omits that the protesters' anger was more toward President Obama himself.

If the US now endorses any candidate, that person will likely become the next target of the public anger.

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(UPDATE) It is just hilarious to read many tweets and snippets of TV programs in Japan about this "coup" in Egypt. They seem to think it is all done by the US government, to make democratically elected president look bad. It's only handful of citizens protested against the president, and that was at the prompting of the US.

The biggest demonstration in history, as per BBC, is a "handful" according to some Japanese. One of my followers reprimanded me for not feeling sorry for this dictatorial president of Egypt, by sending me a clip of a TV show, in which a gaunt-looking woman said it's all because of the US, only a handful of demonstrators, the president did nothing wrong, etc., etc. I was told that person was an expert on Egypt, because she was born in Egypt. Right.

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(UPDATED) Egyptian Army Says It Will Defend Egypt and Its People "Against Any Terrorist, Radical or Fool"

(UPDATE)

Al Jazeera, one hour ago: Egypt's Health Ministry says 22 dead and at least 200 injured in Cairo from violence that erupted following President Morsi's speech.

3:42 AM LOCAL TIME: THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN TAHRIR WITH A HUGE FIGHT AND AUTOMATIC GUNFIRE REPORTED AT CAIRO UNIVERSITY. 16 DEAD 200 INJURED (From Zero Hedge)

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A Terrorist, radial or fool or Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Mursi, I suppose.

From Reuters (7/2/2013; emphasis is mine):

Egypt army says ready to die in "final hours"

(Reuters) - Egypt's high command said on Wednesday the army was ready to die to defend Egypt's people against terrorists and fools, in a response to Islamist President Mohamed Mursi that was headlined "The Final Hours".

The post on the official Facebook page of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), headed by armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said: "We swear to God that we will sacrifice even our blood for Egypt and its people, to defend them against any terrorist, radical or fool."

Issued three hours after Mursi appeared on television to reject an ultimatum from Sisi that he share power with his opponents or face a military solution by 10:00 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), a military source said the statement made clear that the armed forces would not abandon their demands.

A huge crowd in Tahrir Square in Cairo, also from Reuters. It looks even bigger than the ones I used to see in January, February of 2011, if that's possible.

WTI crude oil (August contract) blasts past $100, and Brent is now above $105, according to Bloomberg.

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Dictatorial Egypt: 4 Killed, 350 Injured in Crash in Cairo Between Opponents and Supporters of President Morsi

"No to dictatorship," Morsi's opponents chanted, while their rivals chanted: "Defending Morsi is defending Islam."

As if Islam is Egypt.

From Al Jazeera (12/6/2012):

At least four people have been killed in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, as supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi clashed near the presidential palace, the health ministry says.

Fighting continued into the early morning on Thursday with fires burning in the streets where the opposing sides threw stones and petrol bombs at each other.

"No to dictatorship," Morsi's opponents chanted, while their rivals chanted: "Defending Morsi is defending Islam."

Riot police were sent in to break up the violence on Wednesday, in which about 350 people were injured.

The opposition is demanding Morsi rescind a decree giving him nearly unrestricted powers and shelve a disputed draft constitution that the assembly passed hurriedly last week.

Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Cairo, said hundreds of protesters remained in the streets before dawn on Thursday, but that most of Morsi's opponents had retreated.

A small group of opposition activists had been camped outside the palace since Tuesday night, when tens of thousands rallied against the presidential decree.

Supporters of Morsi marched to the palace on Wednesday and tore down the opposition's tents. Witnesses said they threw stones and used clubs to attack demonstrators.

Thirty-two people were arrested on Wednesday, according to a statement from the interior ministry.

Protests spread to other cities, and offices of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood in Ismailia and Suez were torched.

Both sides blamed the other for starting the clashes: Opposition leaders said Morsi was responsible for the bloodshed, while senior Brotherhood officials accused the opposition of "inciting violence".

(Full article at the link)

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For joyous and victorious Egypt in February 2011, the links seem still valid from my page: http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/p/al-jazeera-egypt-live-blog.html

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OT: Ex-President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak "Clinically Dead"

From Reuters a few minutes ago (6/19/2012):

(Reuters) - Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for 30 years until overthrown by a revolution in the "Arab Spring" last year, was declared clinically dead by his doctors on Tuesday, the state news agency MENA said in a report confirmed by a hospital source.

Mubarak was 84 and had been sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.

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Paging US Secretary of State Who Was Snubbed by #Egypt, Paging.... Paging...

As Japan faces potential nuclear Armageddon, we know the Prez of the US is going to Rio with his family. And where is the Secretary of State, in this time of international crisis?

She goes to Egypt and Tunisia of course.

Good for you Egyptians to snub her. Tunisians, do the same, and send her packing. (Not that she's any use here in the US...)

Mediaite.com reports (3/15/2011):

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Cairo this morning, but she won’t be meeting with a coalition of six youth groups that emerged from Egypt’s revolution last month. In a blunt snub, members of the January 25 Revolution Youth Coalition said “based on (Clinton’s) negative position from the beginning of the revolution and the position of the US administration in the Middle East, we reject this invitation.”

ABC News reports a Clinton spokesperson had no immediate reaction to the snub, but a State Department official told the network a meeting had been planned for Tuesday, and Clinton still plans to meet with “members of civil society and transitional government officials” as she urges “Egyptians to continue on the path toward democracy.”

The snub comes after comments Clinton made as recently as 2009, when she said in an interview with Al Arabiya “I really consider President and Mrs. Mubarak to be friends of my family. So I hope to see him often here in Egypt and in the United States.” Those words–and a perception in Cairo that Clinton was slow to embrace the protest movement–have not endeared her to members of the youth group coalition.

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Asia's "End Game": China

If #Saudi Arabia is the "end game" in uprising in north Africa and Middle East, the "end game" in Asia will be #China.

Aside from the phony "Jasmine" revolution, which does look to be one of those Soros/US government-funded "color revolutions", the Communist regime in China seems to be feeling the heat. Not from their own citizens (not yet, anyway) but from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, now Saudi Arabia, where the ruled have finally said "enough is enough". In Asia, pockets of protests have started to appear in Communist Vietnam and North Korea, and South Koreans are busy withdrawing their money from their banks.

So, what do they do? Preemptive strike: Placate the populace quickly before they start to get funny ideas in spite of the government banning #Egypt from Twitter.

From Al Jazeera (3/5/2011):

China's government has vowed to clamp down on inflation and urgently raise incomes, as Wen Jiabao, the country's premier, devoted most of his country's equivalent of the US 'State of the Union' speech to addressing citizens' economic concerns.

Addressing the opening of the National People's Congress on Saturday, Jiabao said that the country's working class and rural residents would receive more assistance from the government, in a move aimed at sharing the benefits of rapid economic growth across more sectors of society.

Living standards are rising in China, but there have been complaints about accompanying rises in prices, as well as a lack of equitability in the benefits of national economic growth.

"We must make improving the people's lives a pivot linking reform, development and stability ... and make sure people are content with their lives and jobs, society is tranquil and orderly and the country enjoys long-term peace and stability," Wen told the legislature's nearly 3,000 members.

It is very true that the Chinese are more "economic"-minded than other races; as long as they have money and are well-fed, they couldn't care less about political issues.

Now, however, thanks to Ben "Bernank" of the US Federal Reserve and also to the long-standing Chinese policy of pegging (officially or not, tightly or loosely, it is "pegged") the currency to US dollar to keep their exported (junky) goods competitive, the money people have is worth less and less each day. The food prices have gone so much in a short time that the Chinese government has decided to reduce weight of foods in their CPI.

So what tool that's still left? State propaganda:

Chinese media, meanwhile, warned citizens against attempting to emulate popular protest movements in the Middle East and North Africa, warning that any threats to Communist Party-led stability could bring "disaster".

"Everyone knows that stability is a blessing and chaos is a calamity," said the Beijing Daily newspaper, which is the mouthpiece of the Communist Party administration for China's capital.

Yeah. Try to tell that to Tunisians and Egyptians and Libyans. The mouthpiece sounds like Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, actually.

Everybody knows that dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight is fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

(Leonard Cohen "Everybody Knows")

And against that "fixed" fight people in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and other Middle East countries have risen. Can the Chinese government succeed in keep fixing the fight?

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Egyptians Back in #Tahrir Square, Oprah Cancels Show

Hilarity of the day, saw it @ Zero Hedge:

And in absolutely hypocritical and hilarious news (cause they are so true), following today's re-escalation in Egyptian violence, Oprah, who was previously scheduled to have a show in Cairo's Tahrir Square, has promptly pulled out, citing "the flu."

Oprah Winfrey is not coming to Egypt’s Tahrir Square, despite an announcement from Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism saying the celebrity had accepted an invitation “without hesitation.”

According to a post on Oprah’s Twitter account Friday evening, the star has been in bed with the flu since the Oscars earlier this week. “Hearing reports that I’m taking show to Cairo. NOT TRUE. Have no plans to do so,” she tweeted.

The Ministry of Tourism invited Oprah and other celebrities to Tahrir Square as part of a campaign to bring tourists back to Egypt following the January 25 Revolution, which managed to oust Egypt’s 30-year dictator in just eighteen days.

The prospect of Oprah’s appearance in Tahrir Square has been met with mixed reactions by Egyptians. Some argue that any publicity is good publicity, and believe Oprah’s appearance will help draw tourists back to Egypt. Others are disdainful of the idea, asking, “Where was Oprah during the revolution?”

Please, c'mon Egyptians, don't waste your precious Egyptian Pounds on this woman. Do you know how much the Australian government had to shell out to invite Oprah to do her show (with rapidly dwindling viewership) there?

$3.3 million. That is 19.47 million Egyptian Pounds.

I think you have much better and much needed use of this money instead of wasting on Oprah.

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What Is a "Jasmine Revolution" That Chinese Are Talking About?

I suggest they ditch that name unless they are indeed funded by George Soros...

Chinese "pro-democracy" groups are calling for another protests on Sunday in 23 cities in China, reportedly inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and now Libya.

And they keep mentioning a "Jasmine Revolution".

Huh? What the hell is that?

It turns out that the Tunisian Revolution is referred by some people in the media as the "Jasmine Revolution", just like other color-coded so-called revolutions in places like Georgia, Ukraine funded and coordinated by the foundations of George Soros and the US government, in which "protesters" show up on the streets with mass-produced flags, T-shirts, and slogans all designed nicely and prepared long before the demonstrations.

I'd never heard the name until I heard about protests in China about a week ago, and I've been following Tunisian, Egyptian, and now Libyan uprising since January.

I don't think George Soros' foundations were behind the Tunisian uprising, nor the Egyptian uprising, the Libyan uprising, the Yemeni uprising, the Bahraini uprising, the Vietnamese protests, the North Korean protests. (They may be behind the Wisconsin public union workers, though.)

Note to Chinese protesters: Mention that strange name to Tunisians, and they wouldn't know what you're talking about. If you want to rise up against the regime, ditch the cute nickname that hardly anyone in the wider world would recognize, and just do it, just like Tunisians and Egyptians did, and Libyans are doing.

The Tunisian Revolution is called in Tunisia "the Sidi Bouzid Revolt".

The Egyptian Revolution is widely called "the 25 January Revolution".

In Libya, when they successfully drive out the Gaddafis and their minions, it will likely be called "the 17 February Revolution". Or "#Feb17#Libya Revolution" - giving homage to the power of Twitter.

No Soros, no color.

Unless, of course, this Chinese "uprising" is indeed being funded and supported by Soros and the US government. If not, the protest organizers would be wise to stop using the word "Jasmine".

(Oh wait, maybe it is indeed funded by Soros and/or the US government.. The US ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, was spotted in the demonstration in Beijing last week. Huffington Post has the video of him outside McDonald's in Beijing.)

(It also fits wonderfully with the Obama admin, where branding and image are everything. Well, I still remember seeing the faces of people in China, almost in ecstasy, as they celebrated the election of Barack Obama as the president of the United States...)

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The Mouse That Roared in #Libya, #Egypt, #Tunisia, and ...

from Imgur.com gallery. #Gaddafi's of the world, your days are numbered.

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Army Uses Force (Batons and Tasers) Against Protesters in Cairo, #Egypt (Just like Police in US)

Back in Egypt, demonstrators are back in #Tahrir Square, demanding purging of Mubarak loyalists from the government and reminding the new "interim" rulers that they are there to serve the people.

The army officers who moved into the square hid their faces behind the black masks, according to a protester who was in the square. He also says there is no more unity between the people and the army.

Not a good sign, but not the end of the world either. It's all learning experience for both sides, particularly for the people.

On the other hand, maybe I should extend my welcome to the Egyptians: Welcome to the same reality as in the US, where peaceful protesters and ordinary citizens of all ages minding their own business can get beaten up, tasered, or attacked by a high-tech sonic weapon by the police and the national guard. And that's become more of a routine, business as usual for the police in the US in the past 10 years, and acceleratingly so in the past 2 under Obama.

From Al Jazeera (2/26/2011):

The Egyptian army has used force to disperse activists gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to demand the removal of Hosni Mubarak loyalists from the interim cabinet.

Egyptian soldiers fired in the air and used batons in the early hours of Saturday to disperse the crowd, the Reuters news agency reported.

Demonstrators had also gathered in front of the parliament building in Cairo, where police beat protesters and used tasers to suppress the crowds, an Al Jazeera producer in the capital reported.

The people had gathered to celebrate two weeks since the removal of Mubarak from power and remind the country's new rulers of their promise to guard against a "counter-revolution" of the people's power.

Activists urged the military, who had promised there would be "no return to the past" of the Mubarak era, to overhaul the cabinet.

But after midnight, protesters said the military fired in the air, shut off lamp posts and moved in on protesters to force them to leave the square.

"Military police used batons and tasers to hit the protesters," Ahmed Bahgat, one of the protesters, told the Reuters news agency by telephone. "The military is once again using force. But the protesters have not responded."

Protesters left the main centre but many had gathered in surrounding streets, another protester, Mohamed Emad, said.

Witnesses said they saw several protesters fall to the ground but it was not clear if they were wounded or how seriously.

"I am one of thousands of people who stood their ground after the army started dispersing the protesters, shooting live bullets into the air to scare them," Ashraf Omar, a protester, said.

Black masks

The army officers who moved in on protesters in Tahrir, donned black masks to cover their faces to avoid being identified by protesters, Omar said.

Military buses were parked in the square to take in protesters that were caught, Mohamed Aswany, one protester who had decided to stage a sit-in, told Reuters by telephone.

Protesters were heard yelling and shouting as they were chased down side streets to Tahrir.

"It is a cat-and-mouse chase between the army and the people," Omar said. "There is no more unity between the people and the army."

"They were using tasers and sticks to beat us without any control. I thought things would change. I wanted to give the government a chance but there is no hope with this regime," Omar said.

"There is no use.

"I am back on the street. I either live with dignity or I die here."

Protesters say they want the resignation of the government of Ahmed Shafiq, the immediate release of political prisoners and the issuing of a general amnesty.

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US Allies in North Africa and Middle East Continue to Kill Their Citizens Who Dare Protest Against Them

While Wisconsin's public union workers, supported and aided by the White House and National Democratic Party (and of course, unions), protest to retain their "rights" to taxpayers' money, the unarmed anti-government protesters in "modern and moderate" Bahrain are being killed by the army under the order from the "modern and moderate" sovereign, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Tanks, firearms, tear gas - supplied by the US and the UK.

The unarmed protesters in Libya are being killed by the security forces under the order from the strongman Muammar al-Gaddafi. Gaddafi's security forces just killed 15 people who were attending the funeral of protesters who were killed by the same security forces during the past week.

Ditto for Yemen, whose ruler, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, has been the good boy for the US and its allies for a very long time (32 years), longer than Mubarak (30 years). Al Jazeera reports, quoting Reuters, that for the first time, anti-government protesters started fighting back with firearms.

The Western leaders are calling for "restraint" from their favorite (maybe not so with Gaddafi, but he's been getting along quite well these few years), moderate rulers in these countries, just like they did in Tunisia and Egypt.

Restraint? What does that mean? Kill less?

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Will There Be A Battle Between Takers and Makers? (Nah, Not in the US...)

Will Grigg said it last year, and he said it last night in a radio program. There are two kinds of people: "Takers" and "Makers".

More and more, it is becoming clearer. It is almost surreal in the 21st century, but the world seems indeed becoming a two-class society: "Takers" who take away money, wealth from others through taxes so that they get paid for their work; and "Makers" who pay those taxes to local, state, federal, governments so that "Takers" get paid for their work and get well taken care of once they retire.

In the case of the US, "Takers" extend all the way from the occupants of the White House, Congress, courts, to federal, state, local government workers, police, firefighters, public school administrators and teachers, public librarians, and private contractors, big and small, who get a chunk of business from the "government" - federal, state, local.

(So, of course Nancy Pelosi strongly support Wisconsin public union workers. She and they are in the same boat, "Takers". After all, Ms. Pelosi has never worked a day in the private sector.)

Never mind if "Takers" may have their jobs guaranteed (in case of Wisconsin public union teachers) in this unprecedentedly severe job market , and on average "Takers" earn much more than "Makers" who have to support them.

Faces of "Takers": Wisconsin public union workers protesting against the WI governor's plan to limit their union's collective bargaining power, to have them pay more for their health care premiums, and have them contribute to their own pensions. These public union workers are protesting, claiming the governor's move will hurt kids. (How can she open her mouth that big without dislocating her jaw?)



Faces of "Takers": The Egyptian counterpart of Wisconsin public union teachers - well-fed, well-clad police demonstrating to demand better pay, while claiming it was not their fault if they beat up and killed anti-Mubarak protesters because they weren't given the proper training. They also claim they are the friends of the anti-Mubarak protesters. The photo is from February 14 Al Jazeera Live Blog. I believe they were later routed out by the protesters.



Faces of "Makers": Egyptians who drove Mubarak out of office, and who return to the streets to push the Army, another class of "Takers", for real reforms. The photo is from Al Jazeera Live Egypt Blog.



Faces of "Makers": Americans who still have jobs in the private sector, who pay taxes to local, state, and federal governments so that the public employees get their jobs, salaries, benefits, and pensions and health care for life, and who have finally decided enough is enough and risen up against "Takers"....

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Dissent Is Not Allowed In the Presence of Queen Hillary

As Ray McGovern found out.

From Karen Kwiatkowski at LRC Blog, "Hillary Clinton versus Ray McGovern":

I suspect Ray is winning the war, but for the “crime” of standing up and silently turning his back on the Mistress of State as she was publicly lying about some thing or another, the 71-year-old retired CIA analyst and past briefer of US Presidents was violently taken to jail, and badly hurt by “security” at George Washington University in DC. As I read about what happened to the courageous and principled Ray McGovern, I was thinking of Gene Sharp’s words: “If people are not afraid of the dictatorship, that dictatorship is in big trouble.”

Here's the video of the incident. Hillary, by the way, was speaking about the importance of free speech in her typical monotony. Are we in 1984 or what?

At this point, people in Egypt may have more freedom of speech than us in the US.

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Bahrain's Police "Aimed to Kill" the Peaceful Protesters in Manama

6 people are dead so far, including a young girl.

The police attacked the protesters - men, women, children - gathered on Pearl Roundabout in Manama, who were sleeping in their makeshift tents. Just like in Egypt, with the US-made and US-supplied live ammunition and vehicles.

Here's the link to Al Jazeera's Bahrain Blog.

The protests, started out as mostly a Shia demonstration to demand more equal treatment under the monarchy, have quickly swelled to include people of all religious beliefs. After the brutal attack by the king's police under the king's order, they probably don't quite care any more to preserve the monarchy.

The police attacked these people (photo from Al Jazeera Bahrain Blog):

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DEBKA: Mubarak Moved a Large Part of Assets from Europe to Saudi Arabia On Feb 12-13

With a grain of salt, from DEBKAfile (2/14/2011):

Hosni Mubarak and his family have moved a large part of their assets – guesstimated at between $20 and $70 billion - from European banks to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Republics against personal guarantees from King Abdullah and Sheik Al Nahyan to block access to outside parties.This is reported by Gulf and West European sources. Tunisian ex-ruler Zein Al Abdain Ben Ali received the same guarantee when he fled his country and received asylum in the oil kingdom.

A Swiss financial source commented: "If he had any real money in Zurich, it may be gone by now."

According to debkafile's sources, the transfers took place on Feb. 12-13. Although a weekend when European banks are closed, high-ranking officials in Riyadh had their managers hauled out of home to execute Mubarak's transfer orders without delay.

The ousted Egyptian ruler was on the phone to Saudi King Abdullah Friday, Feb. 11, immediately after his vice president Omar Suleiman went on state television to announce his resignation and handover of rule to the army. Mubarak called it a military putsch conducted under pressure from Washington. He denied he had resigned or passed any powers to the army. "I had no idea Omar Suleiman was about to read out that statement. I would never have signed it or allowed it to be published," said Mubarak.

The Saudi king voiced understanding for the ex-president's plight and said the Riyadh government was under orders to meet any requests for assistance received from him.....

In another, earlier article, DEBKA says that Saudi Arabia has initiated a dialog with Iran, and that the Saudi king is extremely upset with Obama over the US handling of the situation in Egypt. The article cites unnamed sources who told DEBKA that the king was so upset talking to Obama on the phone on February 10 that he suffered a heart attack.

As I said at the top, with a grain of salt.

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Bahrain's Protests Escalate as Army Attacks Demonstrators

Unlike in Egypt, the Bahraini army has no problem running over the protesters, who are Shias under the Sunni royal family rule. Shias comprise 66% of the population of this island kingdom, according to unofficial estimates. Bahrain is also the home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet.

From Zero Hedge (2/15/2011):

The small country of Bahrain has promptly been displaced in the docket of revolutionary news, by recent developments in Iran. Yet the peace on the Saudi island neighbor is deteriorating as demonstrations escalate. According to ABNA.ir, "Tens of Bahraini Army jeeps surrounded the main square and attacked the protesters. Thousands of Anti-Government protesters filled a main square in the Bahrain capital due to discriminations posed by the government. Security forces at first appeared to hold back as the crowds poured into Pearl Square in Manama. After a while, in an extreme violent action the army released more than 50 war vehicles to the square, which resulted in shameless and violent attacks against the righteous freedom seekers. The dramatic move Tuesday comes just hours after a third protester died in clashes with police in the strategic Island Kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet." So while we wait for Al Jazeera or anyone else for that matter to start covering the protests in Manama (which could be a while: the world has suddenly developed revolution burn out), below we present a photographic update from the island nation.

Zero Hedge has the photos of the demonstrations from ABNA.ir.

But Tyler is wrong. Al Jazeera, who must be really "revolution-weary", has Bahrain covered. They have a video clip of the protests. Women in Islamic garbs are out there, raising their fists and waving signs, but unlike in Egypt they are not mixed with men-folk.

From Al Jazeera:

Anti-government protesters are continuing to occupy a square in Bahrain's capital, Manama, after two days of violent clashes left at least two demonstrators dead.

The protesters, seeking political reforms and better human rights in the kingdom, are refusing to disperse, despite a rare apology from the king over the deaths in police firing.

An Al Jazeera correspondent in Bahrain, who cannot be named for his own safety, said that thousands of protesters were occupying a major landmark on Wednesday morning.

"They are well organised and say that they will make Manama's Pearl Roundabout Bahrain's version of Egypt's Tahrir Square."

Our correspondent said that some of the protesters were planning a march from the roundabout, while others planned to remain and keep it occupied.

Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa made a rare television appearance on Tuesday in which he expressed his condolences for "the deaths of two of our dear sons" and said a committee would investigate the killings.

"We will ask legislators to look into this issue and suggest needed laws to resolve it," he said, adding that peaceful protests were legal.

... Al Jazeera's correspondent said that police took a very heavy-handed approach towards the protesters.

"Police fired on the protesters this morning, but they showed very strong resistance," our correspondent said.

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Mubarak's Son Gamal Prompted Father to Change the Last Speech

from the one given by the military ("he will resign") to the defiant one that he would stay until September. The defiant speech was thus delivered on Thursday (2/10) last week, which brought an even greater number of people on the streets in Egypt in protest on Friday (2/11).

Al Arabiya reports (2/13/2011):

A heated argument broke out between Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, the two sons of the former Egyptian president, inside the presidential palace last Thursday during the recording of their father's last speech to the nation, Egypt's government owned al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Sunday.

Hosni Mubarak reportedly was supposed to announce his resignation in a speech that the military sent to him on Thursday but his son Gamal and senior officials in his entourage pressed him to deliver a different speech in which he insisted on staying in power until September.

During the recording of the speech Gamal and Alaa engaged in a heated argument that almost developed into a fight. According to the report, Alaa accused Gamal of dragging the country into corruption by helping his friends in the business industry climb the echelons of political power.

"Instead of working to help your father be honored at the end of his life, you helped damage his image this way," Alaa reportedly told his brother Gamal, who was the head of the ruling party's policies committee.

The argument was so loud that almost everyone in the palace heard them, the newspaper reported, adding that some senior government officials interfered to calm them down.
........

Al Arabiya also reports that Hosni Mubarak fell into a full coma on Saturday night at his seaside resort villa.

Some sort of justice, I suppose. ("How convenient" are the words that come to mind, putting on a tinfoil hat.)

Perhaps he could join Ariel Sharon in Israel.

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Peggy Noonan on Egyptian Revolution

The first I've read so far among American analysts and columnists, who seems to be able to see without the clouded lens of "radical Islam", "Israel", "stability in Middle East", "war on terror", "military coup", and who seems to be sincerely congratulating Egyptians for what they've achieved so far and wishing them well for tackling the challenge that awaits them.

From Wall Street Journal (Peggy Noonan, 2/12/2011):

A Young Nation Triumphs as an Old Ruler Falls
No vulnerable dictatorship will survive this era.

.........

The revolution in part was a struggle between the ambivalent and the impassioned. Those who backed Mr. Mubarak for reasons of stability or personal gain knew they were supporting a system that was corrupt and oppressive. Their support made them complicit, morally compromised. They didn't want to be targeted. They weren't going to do interviews making the case for a dictator; they weren't going to take to the streets holding signs.

Those who opposed Mr. Mubarak had no ambivalence. They were happy to make their case. They were fighting for a dream of the future; they were fighting for superior principles. In modern revolution, passion trumps ambivalence.

Although I don't agree 100% with her characterization that this was the revolution led by and dominated by the young (I've seen enough visual evidence to the contrary - that it has been an all-age, all social-class, all-religion affair), I wholeheartedly agree with her assertion that this has been about "Egypt for Egypt"; it's not about the US (or the West) "losing" or "retaining" or "controlling" Egypt:

.........

Finally, it was Egypt's story, Egypt's drama, Egypt's decision about Egypt's future. What happens now will have implications for America, but the revolution was not about America, which appears to have been hard for some Americans to grasp. "America's invasion of Iraq prompted Egypt's freedom movement." That's one way to look at it, an odd way. "Did Obama Lose Egypt?" It was not his to lose. Egypt prompted Egypt's freedom movement. We are not the center of everything, the reason for everything.

And her last paragraph:

It is hard to know, if you're not Egyptian, what to make of this. Not only will the world be watching to see what Egypt becomes, what future its people will choose, but Egypt itself will be watching, and discovering what and who it is. A Hollywood director once said that a great Western is defined by this dynamic: "The villain has arrived while the hero is evolving." Egypt itself is evolving. May its people be heroes and do great things.

May they be heroes and do great things, just as they have been and they have done in the past 22 days.

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Crashes Reported in Iran Between Protesters and Security Forces, With US Secretary of State Egging the Protesters On

The protests in Egypt have largely failed to become "hot", although the Mubarak regime tried their best to make them that way. And there has been no "radical Islam" taking over the country.

So, TPTB (the powers that be) must create a "hot" "revolution" somehow. Why, you ask?

Why not? Just for fun, maybe? As a diversion from the mess (like insolvent states in the US)? Or Israel needs an enemy, perhaps.

From Al Jazeera [emphasis is mine]:

There are reports in social media sites and non-state Iranian news sites of clashes between protesters and security forces in Tehran, the Iranian capital.

Thousands of demonstrators were marching on Monday on Enghelab and Azadi streets [which connect and create a straight path through the city centre], with a heavy presence in Enghelab Square and Vali-Asr Street, according to these reports.

Several clashes have been reported on Twitter, the micro-blogging site, with claims of some demonstrators being teargassed and others beaten and arrested.

Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari, in Tehran, confirmed reports that security forces used tear gas, pepper spray and batons against the protesters.

She said up to 10,000 security forces had been deployed to prevent protesters from gathering at Azadi Square, where the marches, originating from various points in Tehran, were expected to converge.

...As night fell in Iran, the BBC reported that city lights were being turned off and that security forces were attacking protesters in the dark.

...Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, hailed the "courage" of the protesters, and pressed Tehran to follow Egypt's example and "open up" its political system.

Our correspondent in Tehran said that as far as Iran's leaders are concerned, Monday's protests "are not a reflection of what people actually want."

They believe these are small groups of individuals who have ulterior motives, they are a threat to national security and therefore the security forces are necessary to prevent them from becoming a threat inside the country," said Jabbari.

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Telegraph: Hosni Mubarak Used Last 18 Days in Power to Secure His Fortune

Ha! Of course he did, and now we know the wishy-washy response of the Western leaders, most notably from the US, over the past 18 days was to give Mubarak long enough time to hide as much wealth as possible. A just reward, I suppose, for having been a good boy for 30 years for the West and their allies in Middle East.

From UK's Telegraph:

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak used last 18 days in power to secure his fortune (2/12/2011)

Hosni Mubarak used the 18 days it took for protesters to topple him to shift his vast wealth into untraceable accounts overseas, Western intelligence sources have said.

The former Egyptian president is accused of amassing a fortune of more than £3 billion - although some suggest it could be as much as £40 billion - during his 30 years in power. It is claimed his wealth was tied up in foreign banks, investments, bullion and properties in London, New York, Paris and Beverly Hills.

In the knowledge his downfall was imminent, Mr Mubarak is understood to have attempted to place his assets out of reach of potential investigators.

On Friday night Swiss authorities announced they were freezing any assets Mubarak and his family may hold in the country's banks while pressure was growing for the UK to do the same. Mr Mubarak has strong connections to London and it is thought many millions of pounds are stashed in the UK.

But a senior Western intelligence source claimed that Mubarak had begun moving his fortune in recent weeks.

"We're aware of some urgent conversations within the Mubarak family about how to save these assets," said the source, "And we think their financial advisers have moved some of the money around. If he had real money in Zurich, it may be gone by now."

Ah. I just wonder who those astute financial advisers are.

I also wonder if there's any gold left in the central bank of Egypt. (Remember the wife of the Tunisian government, who grabbed 1.5 tonnes of gold from the central bank and ran?)

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