I Received My First View From Egypt

My first blog post was on September 11, 2009.  Since then, I have written 452 articles for this site.  I have had thousands of page views from dozens of countries.  Of course, the majority of my readers come from the United States and the United Kingdom.  I also have quite a few coming from Canada and Australia.  Last week, I had a viewer from Ghana.  Two weeks before that, Kenya.  I have always found it interesting to see who is reading what I have to say.

As you know, Friday was a momentous day for the people of Egypt.  They finally had a taste of freedom after 18 arduous days of protesting in the streets.  I spent much of the afternoon watching the celebrations unfold on CNN, or on my computer on Al Jazeera, with one of the most genuine, heartfelt smiles I've ever had in my life.

At about 4pm my time, or 1am Egypt time, I checked the viewer stats on my blog.  Someone from Egypt had just been reading one of my posts.  I can't tell which one for sure, but I was able to see that they reached my page via Google Egypt.  Based on the traffic sources, it looks as if they were looking for pictures or tweets regarding the protests from earlier in the week, since they now had internet service back up in the country.

I know in actuality it's nothing. But for me, it's a big deal.  I don't get a lot of readers.  Some days, I'm lucky if I get 100 in 24 hours.  So, I'm humbled when one of the 92 that read my blog yesterday is possibly someone that was in Tahrir Square just hours before.  I'm glad that I was available for that man or woman, and I hope they got the information they needed.  Congratulations on your liberation.

If by chance you read this, I would love to speak with you.  Write me.  Leave a comment.  It comes to my personal email inbox before it gets posted.

Thanks for stopping by.

"Egypt Is Free!" "Egypt Is Free!"

For years, I have heard the saying, "The revolution will be televised", but I never thought I would actually see it.  In recent years, especially in the Middle East, a peaceful revolution often equates to a bloodbath.  It leads to an "open season" being called upon those in the streets, which, more often than not, are students.  People are arrested and tortured.  Some simply disappear, never to be seen again.

When Hosni Mubarak announced Thursday night that he was not leaving office, it appeared that Egypt would be  a repeat of what we have seen before.  The crowd of nearly a million, which had previously been peaceful, had become angry.  They had reached their limit.  There was talk of storming the offices of the state run television station and the presidential palace.  People in the Mubarak regime would pay with their lives.

That, fortunately, did not happen.  As the sun rose over Cairo, thousands remained in the streets and in Tahrir Square.  Tens of thousands more arrived at local mosques for Friday afternoon prayers.

So began the 18th day of protests in Tahrir Square.  Hundreds of thousands of people gathered together determined to obtain their freedom by any means necessary.  Up to this point, protests had been peaceful.  After Mubarak's refusal to leave office last night, it was increasing growing clear that the atmosphere was changing.  Senior military officials threatened to remove their uniforms and join the protesters last night.  Many soldiers on the street had already joined the protests.  With the exception of a couple of close allies within the government, Mubarak had no friends or protection from what was facing him on the other side of the Ministry walls.

Then at 3:19pm Cairo time, it is reported that Mubarak has left Cairo with his family for Sharm el-Sheikh.  Approximately an hour later, the government reports that soon an "urgent and important" statement would be released by the Egyptian presidency.  At 6:29pm, Vice President Suleiman makes the following statement on state run television.  It lasts only 30 seconds.  It's a paragraph long, and is so short, many Egyptians didn't hear it the first time it was spoken.  It changes the course of Middle Eastern history.

Within seconds, the nation of Egypt exploded into a frenzy of joy.  Tahrir Square became Liberation Square, and it became the nucleus for a party that lasted well into the middle of the night:

There are fireworks tonight over the skies of Cairo.  At the moment, it is currently a little after 3 in the morning there, and people are still dancing in the streets.  February 11, 2011, is their Independence Day.  Tonight, they are celebrating.  They are holding their loved ones, and remembering the 300 that gave their lives so that 80 million of their Egyptian brothers and sisters could have freedom.

The founders of the website 1000memories.com have set up a site called Egypt Remembers.  It is a very touching memorial of the 300 martyrs that were killed during the fight for democracy.  The site is trying to gather as much information about the victims as possible, including pictures, cause of death, occupation, and family information as it comes in.  It is heartbreaking to see how many of these people were just kids.  15, 16, and 17 years old.  Many were shot coming out of their mosque.  Some were shot or beaten on their way home from protests.  They deserve a look out of respect.

Egypt's future is uncertain.  At this point, we can be nothing but optimistic.  Today was a historic day for the people of Egypt, for the Middle East, and for the people of the world.  I feel privileged that I was alive to see such a monumental day in history.  Congratulations Egypt.  The people of the world are celebrating with you. 

The Women Of Egypt

Since protests started January 25th, women have played an important role in Egyptian demonstrations.  Many have played the role of spokesperson.  Some have become protest organizers.  Some have even emerged as leaders.  There have been a couple of days since the start of the protests where demonstrations have relied solely in the hands of the women of Cairo, as the men of the city had spent the previous night in the streets protecting the city.  This post is dedicated to them.

I Have Seen Death...And It's Pretty Friggin' Creepy

I was never told the story of Hanzel and Gretel or Sleeping Beauty (because of the "witchcraft"), but as a child, I learned, in detail, the prophecies of the bible book of Revelation.  They were my childhood versions of scary nursery rhymes.  For a kid, some of the verses had some pretty scary shit.  There were lions that breathed fire and had snakes for tails.  What really scared me though, were the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The Horsemen are spoken of in the sixth chapter of the book of Revelation.  They each ride on a different colored horse, white, black, red and pale or green (depending on which bible version you're reading).  Each Horseman/horse is symbolic.  I could go on for an hour about their symbolism, but to make a long story short, we're going to focus on the pale horse and it's rider.

Revelation 6:7-8 reads:

"When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hell was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth."

The rider of the pale horse was the harbinger of death.  As a kid, the pale rider scared the living shit out of me.  I had nightmares about him. What does this have to do with Super Bowl Sunday 2011?  A video was shot and distributed by Euronews of the protests in Egypt.  It has made it's way around the blogs online, and onto CNN and MSNBC.  It shows a green, ghost like figure, resembling a man riding a horse riding through a crowd of protesters and then over their heads, before disappearing into the air.  The "figure" appears at the center of the frame and moves from left to right at about the 1:18 mark of the video:



As an atheist, not only do I no longer believe in the prophecies in Revelation, but I believe there is a logical and scientific explanation for the image in the video.  I must admit however, when seeing it for the first time, a cold chill ran up my spine.  The memories of the stories came back.  They were memories that I would rather have left forgotten.

Display Of Brotherhood In Egyptian Protests

I had to share this picture I saw on Al Jazeera's blog this morning.  It shows protesters in Tahrir Square on Thursday afternoon.  While Muslim protesters were completing their daily prayers, Christian protesters held hands, forming a ring around their Muslim brethren, to protect them from counter protesters while vulnerable.  The image gave me chills.  It showed beyond a doubt that these people were not violent, but peaceful and united, regardless of religious background.  Truly heartwarming.

Today In Insensitive Advertising

Shoe designer Kenneth Cole sent the following tweet yesterday morning:

Within minutes, the advertising and blogging community were in an uproar.   Not only did it make Kenneth Cole look like a douche, but it made the American people look like they were either mocking the protests in Egypt, or that they didn't care about them in the first place.

Later this afternoon, Mr. Cole took to his Facebook page to apologize for his earlier tweet:

I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.

Kenneth Cole, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer

The damage had already been done.  Oh, and by the way, he doesn't "dedicate his life to raising awareness about serious social issues".  He designs shoes.  At last count, he had twelve pages of comments below his apology.  About 97% of them included the words "asshole, bastard, idiot or douche".  Instead of apologizing on Facebook, he should be apologizing directly to the Egyptian people on Al Jazeera.  Just my opinion.

An Urgent Message For Hosni Mubarak

In related news, it is believed that the majority of the violence perpetrated against journalists was done by police forces disguised as pro-Mubarak protesters.  Anti-Mubarak protesters have set up entry checkpoints into Tahrir Square today and are requiring identification for entry into the Square.  State issued ID displays the persons occupation in Egypt, making it impossible for undercover police officers to infiltrate protests on such short notice.  Journalists are being welcomed in the protests today with open arms.

Powerful Video Of The Egyptian Protests

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable." - John F. Kennedy

Monumental Day Of Protests In Cairo

The world watched with anticipation.  Many with doubt.  Organizers promised one million protesters this morning in Tahrir Square.  Yesterday, Egyptians started their pilgrimage to the capital.  The government shut down the train service and all forms of public transportation.  That didn't stop them.  They continued walking and finding alternate means of getting to Cairo.  This was the result:



Al Jazeera initially estimated the crowd at two million people.  They have since revised it to unknown but "well over one million".

This is what a TRUE DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION looks like:

Stupid Is As Stupid Broadcasts

The following image was broadcast today on Fox News:

Something's not right.  Isn't that supposed to be Iraq, not Egypt?  Isn't Egypt supposed to be that big country over on the other side of Saudi Arabia, across the water over there?  

And you wonder why a study came out in December saying that Fox News viewers were the most "misinformed"(stupid) than viewers of any other news channel.  If you sell stupid as the truth, people believe stupid, thereby creating stupid people.

Message From Egyptian Activist Via Twitter

On Saturday 29th January 2011, @marcinhosavant said:

URGENT MESSAGE FROM ACTIVIST IN EGYPT. PLEASE REPOST IF YOU CAN! "To all the people of world"

Alicia Ali Marsden

To all the people of world

The people in Egypt are under governmental siege. Mubarak regime is banning Facebook, Twitter, and all other popular internet sites Now, the internet are completely blocked in Egypt. Tomorrow the government will block the 3 mobile phone network will be completely blocked.

And there is news that even the phone landlines will be cut tomorrow, to prevent any news agency from following what will happen.

Suez city is already under siege now. The government cut the water supply and electricity, people, including, children and elderly are suffering there now. The patients in hospitals cannot get urgent medical care. The injured protesters are lying in the streets and the riot police are preventing people from helping them. The families of the killed protesters cannot get the bodies of their sons to bury them. This picture is the same in north Saini (El-Sheikh zoyad city) and in western Egypt (Al-salom). The riot police is cracking down on protesters in Ismailia, Alexandria, Fayoum, Shbin Elkoum, and Cairo, the capital, in many neighborhoods across the city.

The government is preparing to crackdown on the protesters in all Egyptian cities. They are using tear gas bombs, rubber and plastic pullets, chemicals like dilutes mustard gas against protesters. Several protesters today have been killed when the armored vehicles of the riot police hit them. Officials in plain clothes carrying blades and knives used to intimidate protesters. Thugs deployed by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior are roaming the streets of Cairo, setting fire on car-wheels as means of black propaganda to demonize protesters and justify police beatings and state torture

All this has been taken place over the past three days during the peaceful demonstrations in Cairo and other cities. Now, with the suspicious silence of the local media and the lack of coverage from the international media, Mubarak and his gang are blocking all the channels that can tell the world about what is happening.

People who call for their freedom need your support and help. Will you give them a hand?

The activists are flooding the net (youtube and other sites) with thousands of pictures and videos showing the riot police firing on armless people. The police started to use ammunition against protesters. 15-year old girl has been injured and another 25 year old man has been shot in the mouth. While nothing of these has appeared in the media, there is more to happen tomorrow. Will you keep silent? Will you keep your mouth shut while seeing all these cruelty and inhumane actions?

We don’t ask for much, just broadcast what is happening

Written by: Mariam Hussien

Shame On You, Saturday Night Live

Speaking of last night's SNL, during Weekend Update, Fred Armisen came on to do a three minute spot dressed as Hosni Mubarak to discuss the lack of internet and the protesting in the streets:



To make light of the situation going on in Egypt, to trivialize it the way that they did, was tasteless and uncalled for.  As of Saturday morning, the people of Egypt were without a link to the outside world.  As of this morning, the world has practically no visual link to them.  The army currently has "shoot to kill" orders tonight when it comes to the protesters on the streets.

There are some things you don't joke about.  Some things are off limits.  I don't remember Saturday Night Live doing a skit on the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in '89, or the genocide in Darfur, or the hurricane and following humanitarian crisis in Haiti.  Why should this be any different?

Bloodshed Expected Tonight In Cairo

As I reported this morning, Mubarak's plan to send the army into Cairo Saturday backfired.  For the most part, soldiers sided with the protesters, protecting them from the local police.  The government is incensed.  Rumors started circulating around 1pm local time in Egypt that the authorization was given to the Egyptian army to "shoot to kill" starting tonight.

This information is coming from Shadi Hamid, a fellow at the Brookings Institute.  He has been receiving calls from multiple contacts inside Egypt (protesters, journalists, organizers) since the protests began on January 25th.  As the day continued, the news became even more frightening.  According to his Twitter account, not only had the above information been confirmed, but a memo had been discovered that the order is to go into effect at midnight.

Based upon the actions seen by the majority of the troops on the ground so far, it's unlikely that they will suddenly start shooting protesters.  The threat at the moment appears to be from the air.  For hours now, military jets and helicopters have been flying over Tahrir Square, the focal point of the protests, at low altitudes, trying to scare the protesters.

Al Jazeera was kicked out of the county today.  Video is scarce.  How many more lives will have to be lost before someone steps in? A senior member of the opposition is saying that "tonight is the night", and that "there will be major bloodshed".  It won't be the blood of the army or government officials, but of hundreds, or perhaps thousands of people seeking freedom.

Updated News On Egyptian Protests

It's now 8:30am, Sunday morning in Cairo, and thousands of people are already out in the streets for another day of protesting.  The last 36 hours have been nothing short of newsworthy.

Early morning Saturday, Cairo was on fire.  Looters were roaming the city.  It has been reported that the National Museum has had multiple mummies decapitated and that there is a possibility that Tutankahmun's tomb has been damaged.

Eyewitnesses and journalists on the ground claim that the majority of the looters are, in fact, plain clothes Egyptian police disguised as protesters so that the blame will be placed on them.  There was a curfew in place Friday night from dusk till dawn that was not being followed by anyone.  Thousands of people were still in the streets.  There were no police in the city.  Egyptian state television was showing pictures of a burning, but a peaceful Cairo.  Al Jazeera showed it's journalistic integrity Friday night by essentially calling "bullshit".  They showed a split screen image.  On the right was the state television feed.  On the left was the Al Jazeera feed:  what really was happening.  From the New York Times:

"At one point, the screen was split. On one side was live video of a police van that had been set on fire by protesters defying a curfew, with the sounds of gunfire and explosions. On the other side was the scene being broadcast by state television: a quiet tableau of the night sky in downtown Cairo, with the message that a curfew had been imposed.

Al Jazeera’s news anchors often drew attention to the limits of their reporting, noting that they did not know what was happening in some parts of the country because phone lines had been cut. At one point, a correspondent warned that Egyptian security forces were poised to attack the building where the channel’s reporters were working. Anchors told viewers to switch to another satellite channel, and told them how to do it, in case its transmission was interrupted."

Saturday morning comes, and Mubarak sends out the military to deal with the protesters.  His plan backfires. The video below shows a group of protesters coming in contact with a squad of police.  The police start to fire shotguns into the crowd.  Three armored military vehicles come in from behind the protesters.  Instead of blocking the protesters in, they form a barrier between them and the police.  The video below that shows another armored vehicle acting as a barrier against the tear gas canisters being launched by the police.  In the second video, the protesters are even seen riding and dancing on the military property.





At 1:30am, local time Cairo, a reporter managed to Tweet out a message saying that approximately 6000 prisoners had escaped a local prison.  Sky News later confirmed that is wasn't just an escape at one location, but at multiple jails and prisons around Cairo.  The atmosphere is pure chaos.

The sun is up on Egypt again.  Today, the women are leading the protests.  The men of the family have been standing guard overnight to protect their homes from looters and local police.  It is up to Egypt's mothers, sisters, and daughters to continue their fight for democracy.  At this point, it appears to be just a matter of time.

From Rachel Maddow's Facebook Page

Wow...

Incredible Pics Coming Out Of Egypt

In an unprecedented move, shortly after midnight Pacific time, the Egyptian government terminated all internet service, all text messaging, and all Blackberry service nationwide.  Call me naive, but I didn't know that it was even technologically possible to do something like that.  Since then, the vast majority of video coming out of the country has been from news outlets like Al Jazeera and CNN.  Pictures have been scarce.  The ones coming out have been moving and emotional.  Take a look.

Some protests have been violent, but reports are saying that many have been peaceful, and that the military have been siding with the protesters in many locales.

Taken today during a protest in Cairo. (Courtesy Reuters)

Also taken today during an anti-government protest in Cairo. (photographer unknown, via MSNBC)

Protesters praying in Alexandria, Egypt. (Getty Images)  According to witnesses, following the prayers, riot police surrendered to protesters and were given food and water.  No violence broke out.  No one was harmed.  The scene was different in another neighborhood in Cairo where police were photographed attacking a group of peaceful protesters praying on a bridge:

Currently, there are protesters calling for democracy in Tunisa, Egypt and Yemen.  As a fellow blogger said:  "May Allah help Egypt, North Africa, and the Middle East".

'Amin

Gripping Image Of Egyptian Protests

Uploaded by an anonymous photographer, the image was uploaded onto the Enduring America blog at approximately 7:05pm GMT on January 25th.  Some of the videos coming out of the country on Youtube in the last two days have been extremely graphic.  My thoughts go out to these people that want nothing more than a voice.