Soldiers have been firing rounds from a heavy artillery gun into the air amid angry scenes in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. It happened moments after a Sky News reporting team was confronted by a group of protesters outside a hotel. A volley of shots was fired from an armoured army vehicle in the direction of the Mediterranean sea as a group of dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the building. Protests have been taking place in the city as part of nationwide demonstrations against the 30-year-rule of President Hosni Mubarak. The scenes have been largely peaceful in the past 24 hours, but tensions would appear to be mounting in Alexandria. Military vehicles began rolling into the "old town" overnight, where the demonstrations have centred.

Al Jazeera: Live Stream
PressTV: Dictators never learn lessons
Al Jazeera: Mubarak swears in new cabinet

Companies 'all too willing' to comply with FBI requests for personal information, EFF says. As the US prepares once again to extend the Patriot Act, a new report from a privacy watchdog indicates that the FBI's use of the law and other surveillance powers may have led to as many as 40,000 violations of the law by the bureau in the years since 9/11. According to documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, from 2001 to 2008 the FBI reported nearly 800 violations of surveillance law and the Constitution to the Intelligence Oversight Board, a civilian monitoring group that reports to the president. The EFF also determined that the FBI investigated some 7,000 potential violations of the law that occurred during surveillance operations. The group estimated that, based on the rate of reporting of violations, the FBI may have violated the law as many as 40,000 times during investigations since 9/11.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Sunday detailed a plan to release a deluge of secret documents should the whistleblower website be permanently shut down. In an exclusive interview with CBS News's "60 Minutes," Assange said his group had a "system whereby we distribute encrypted backups of things we have yet to publish."

"There are backups distributed amongst many, many people, 100,000 people, and all we need to do is give them an encrypted key and they will be able to continue on," he said. The WikiLeaks founder, who is currently under US criminal investigation over the leaking of hundreds of thousands of secret military reports and diplomatic cables, said the key would only be released as a last resort. "If a number of people were imprisoned or assassinated, then we would feel that we could not go on, and other people would have to take over our work, and we would release the keys," he said. In the same interview the 39-year-old Australian denied he was motivated by anti-Americanism or other political agendas, describing his group as "free press activists." "It's not about saving the whales. It's about giving people the information they need to support whaling or not support whaling," he said. "That is the raw ingredient that is needed to make a just and civil society. And without that you're just sailing in the dark."

He chuckled when asked about possible plans to release information on Bank of America, refusing to confirm or deny them. "We have all these banks squirming, thinking maybe it's them," he said. "When you see abusive organizations suffer the consequences as a result of their abuse, and you see victims elevated... that's a very pleasurable activity to be involved in." Assange claimed in an interview with Forbes magazine in late November that a "megaleak" by the website would target a major US bank early this year.

As US and EU leaders urge Egypt to reform in face of popular uprising, Israel voices support for Mubarak's government. Israel has called on the United States and Europe to curb their criticism of president Hosni Mubarak "in a bid to preserve stability in Egypt" and the wider Middle East, an Israeli newspaper reports. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Monday that the foreign ministry, in an urgent special cable, instructed its ambassadors to key countries, to "stress ... the importance of Egypt's stability". Increasingly, president Mubarak has been isolated by swift and at times harsh criticism from Western leaders who called for reform. It is unclear how angry Egyptians will interpret Israel's apparent support for their government.

The protests in Egypt have reportedly thrown the Israeli government into turmoil, with military officials holding lengthy strategy sessions, assessing possible scenarios of a post-Mubarak Egypt. Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, said on Sunday that his government is "anxiously monitoring" the political unrest in Egypt, his first comment on the crisis threatening a government that has been one of Israel's key allies for more than 30 years. Israeli officials have remained largely silent about the situation in Egypt, but have made clear that preserving the historic 1979 peace agreement with the biggest Arab nation is a paramount interest. The peace deal, cool but stable, turned Israel's most potent regional enemy into a crucial partner, provided security on one of its borders and allowed it to significantly reduce the size of its army and defence budget.

Haaretz: Israel urges world to curb criticism of Egypt's Mubarak
Green Left: West lines up against Arab democracy
CNN: Saudi king slams Egypt's uprising -King Abdullah referred to Egyptian protesters as "infiltrators."

The anger spilling into the streets of Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and other cities was focused like a laser beam on President Hosni Mubarak on Friday. As the protests move forward, however, the resentment is spreading beyond Mubarak and his immediate underlings, and toward the United States and Israel. It isn’t hard to see why. The United States has been backing the Mubarak regime to the tune of billions of dollars over the past three decades, and even with scores dead and the regime’s legitimacy in tatters, US officials are still demanding Mubarak remain in power, though maybe with some trivial reforms. And while Israel, for its part, is staying as officially quiet as is humanly possible about a massive revolt along its western border, beyond wondering how it snuck up on them, Obama Administration officials are continually citing Israel as the reason they are opposing regime change in Egypt. As the Obama Administration digs in more and more in supporting Mubarak, it seems that they are fueling more resentment against them and, consequently, are all the more afraid that the inevitable regime change will have negative consequences for US-Egypt relations.

Speaking today in a series of television interviews, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated that the Obama Administration does not seek and would not support the ouster of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak. Rather, she insisted that the US wanted Mubarak to listen to those opposition figures who have “legitimate grievances” and move towards a “managed change” and an “orderly transition” toward a somewhat more democratic society. Clinton even disavowed previous suggestions that the US might revoke its military aid to Egypt, what with the Mubarak regime using its security forces chiefly to kill dissidents, insisting that the US didn’t want to be seen as “backing away” from their long-time ally. A group of former officials, however, are urging the US to cancel the aid for the time being, insisting that they cannot possibly expect to be seen by the protesters as “neutral” when they are throwing $1.5 billion annually in support at the regime.

WSWS: WikiLeaks cable shows close US ties with new Egyptian vice president In an article in the New Yorker, Jane Mayer notes that Suleiman, “suave, sophisticated and fluent in English … has served for years as the main conduit between the United States and Egypt.” As the head of Egypt’s intelligence agency, Suleiman “was the CIA’s point man in Egypt for renditions—the covert program in which the CIA snatched suspects from around the world and returned them to Egypt and elsewhere for interrogation, often under brutal circumstances,” Mayer writes.

Montreal Gazette: U.S. 'losing credibility by the day' on Egypt: ElBaradei

Opposition movement calls for one "million people demonstration" on Tuesday in a bid to topple president Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian protesters have called for a massive demonstration on Tuesday in a bid to force out president Hosni Mubarak from power. The so-called April 6 Movement said it plans to have more than a million people on the streets of the capital Cairo, as anti-government sentiment reaches a fever pitch. Several hundred demonstrators remained camped out in Tahrir Square in central Cairo overnight, defying a curfew that has been extended by the army. One of Al Jazeera's correspondents said the military's attempts to block access to the square on Monday by closing roads was not working as more people were arriving in a steady stream. "Protesters say they'll stay in this square for as long as Mubarak stays in power," she said. Protesters seem unfazed by Mubarak's pledge to institute economic and political reforms. Our correspondent said people feel that such pledges "are too little, too late".

The Independent: Robert Fisk: Egypt: Death throes of a dictatorship
WSWS: International demonstrations in support of Egyptian uprising
WL Central: Million Egyptian Protest Planned as Resistance Continues

No one wants the Muslim Brotherhood to take over, no one wants violence – just elections and a new constitution. We do not owe this revolution to the Muslim Brotherhood, not to anybody. They say the Ikhwan is more organised – maybe. But this is the people on the street; this is not about any political party. Look, he says, more and more people are coming; Tahrir Square is getting more and more full.

I am sorry, the man tells me, but I hate your president. What is this speech he gives? Why can't he support us? He says we can have human rights but he gives us no political rights? To America, we are monkeys, monkeys, monkeys. We Egyptians don't deserve a constitution, don't deserve freedom, don't deserve democracy. We are in the streets every day since 25 January and you give us Omar Suleiman, an agent? We are out here demanding our rights and you give us the head of intelligence? We will not accept Suleiman. America puts the security of Israel above the people of Egypt. We are monkeys to America. They are saying we Egyptians don't deserve political rights, don't deserve freedom. It's over… the fact that the outside world continues to engage this guy Mubarak is ridiculous. It's over.

JustImage/Matthew Cassel: Egyptian Intifada - Imbaba

Facebook pages are calling for a Syrian Day of Rage on February 5, demanding an improvement in living standards, respect for human rights, freedom of speech for all Syrian citizens, and greater influence for Syrian youth. Bashar Assad has been the President of Syria since 2000, and before that his father held the post for three decades. Al Jazeera pointed out, Syria, as one of the primary thorns in the side of US influence in the region, is not Egypt or Tunisia. This president has his own facebook page, and his country has not been accused of being a puppet of the US.

Algeria, another northern African nation, has also been inspired by neighboring Tunisia and is seeing massive protests. More than 10,000 protesters marched against authorities in Algeria’s northeastern city of Bejaia on Saturday in the country’s largest rally yet. Demonstrators marched peacefully in the city, chanting slogans such as: "For a radical change of the regime!” RCD leader Said Sadi, whose group organized the rally, said, "The protest gathered more than 10,000 people." The police were out but the protesters dispersed peacefully. In Algeria, as in Egypt and Tunisia, residents are growing frustrated with rising costs and unemployment. Three-fourths of Algerians are under 30. Most of them do not have jobs or apartments, despite the fact that the state assets are full with money from oil and gas exports.

The one country landlocked between Tunisia and Egypt has so far been oddly silent. Not so much any more. Al Jazeera reports that the Libyan government has imposed a state of emergency for "fear of demonstrations and rallies" comparable to those in Tunisia and Egypt. And ranked 17 in the world for oil production (and 9th in proven reserves), this is one that crude HFT algos may want to keep an eye on.

The Brits, trying their darndest to outdo the American zios, have set up a ‘Monitor’ called CiF Watch ….. ‘watching’ the ‘Comment is Free’ section of the Guardian…. looking for anti-Semitism….. BUT actually creating it where it doesn’t exist. Case in point is the following report from their site ….. It’s reports such as these that makes DesertPeace MIGHTY PROUD of having Carlos Latuff as an Associate.

How low will they go? Guardian publishes cartoon by notorious anti-Semite, Carlos Latuff, by Adam Levick.

Today’s Guardian “Palestine Papers” update included the following illustration by one of the most prolific anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic cartoonists, Carlos Latuff – depicting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a sinister looking (gun wielding) Orthodox Jew. (The Guardian casually referred to Latuff as “a Brazilian based cartoonist.”)

As I noted previously (in a piece for the JCPA, as well as a guest post for Elder of Ziyon), Latuff is a Brazilian political “activist” and cartoonist with an impressively large portfolio of work – much of which openly express anti-Semitic themes. Some of his caricatures seem to suggest that Israel is a unique and immutable evil in the world. His work includes imagery frequently suggesting a moral equivalence between Israel and Nazi Germany – and he has explicitly acknowledged that this is indeed his political view.

Google: Carlos Latuff
Deviant Art: latuff2's deviantART gallery

South Sudan's long-awaited independence referendum produced an overwhelming turnout of 99 percent among voters in the south, one of the poorest and least developed regions on earth. Cheers and spontaneous dancing broke out as the first official announcement of results from South Sudan’s independence vote was made in the oil-rich region’s capital by members of commission that organized the referendum held earlier this month.

"The vote for separation was 99.57 percent," said Justice Chan Reec Madut, head of the southern bureau of the Referendum Commission, after reading the vote tallies for “unity” and “secession” for each of the south’s 10 states. Mr. Madut was referring to the results for the south, while Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, the head of the Commission, announced the results from polling in northern Sudan and in eight countries that held voting for South Sudan’s far-flung diaspora population.

Six of the ten southern states registered a 99.9 percent vote for separation, with the lowest vote in favor of secession came in at 95.5 percent in Western Bahr al-Ghazal state, which borders Darfur. The long-awaited referendum produced an overwhelming turnout of 99 percent among voters in the south, one of the poorest and least developed regions on earth.

A climber has told Sky News of his incredible escape after he survived plunging 1,000ft down a Scottish mountain.

Adam Potter had reached the summit of the Sgurr Choinnich Mor five miles east of Ben Nevis when he lost his footing. Mountain rescue had feared the 36-year-old from Glasgow might be dead but they found him standing up, reading a map. He suffered cuts and bruises and a minor chest injury but was remarkably unscathed given the tumble down the 3,589ft slope in Scotland.

Mr Potter told Sky: "We were about 3,000ft up, give or take a few. I couldn't really see the bottom at that point because there was a lot of cloud coming and going. "As I slipped, I gained speed very quickly. I tried to slow myself down as quickly as possible because I knew once I had got the speed it would be difficult to lose it. "I couldn't because I went over the cliff edge and gained lots of speed... I was trying to slow myself down with my feet, my hands, my walking pole. "Then I'd go over another cliff and it went on and on this way. "I spoke to the helicopter people this morning and they said three of those drops were over 100ft in height each so I was quite lucky." He added: "It wasn't until I was at the bottom... and looked up that I appreciated I'd come a long way."

The European Commission stands accused of reneging on copyright rules as it is reportedly discussing a private deal to allow companies to disconnect users from the Internet for suspected piracy. Since mid-2010, the European Commission's department for the internal market has been in talks with a select list of companies and organisations on intellectual property rights (IPR) and their enforcement in the EU. A leak claiming that the Commission is facilitating a stakeholder agreement – or memorandum of understanding - to reincarnate draconian copyright rules has worried MEPs, who today demanded an explanation from the EU executive. MEPs and advocacy groups say they are angry at the secretive nature of these talks, which, they argue, will enforce contested copyright rules that were long since thrown out by the European Parliament for infringing fundamental rights.

In a nutshell, the rules could require Internet service providers (ISPs) to monitor daily Internet activity of their customers and notify them and the IPR holders of alleged copyright infringements.

In what has to be the ultimate irony or simply bad timing [???], the United States is in the midst of revisiting the creation of an internet kill switch to defend against cyber warfare just as Egypt on Friday moved to block internet access to stem free speech. The legislation, which is being led by US Republican Senator Susan Collins, is ostensibly designed to create presidential powers to shut off the internet to "protect against" significant cyber crime threats to "national security". It is designed to create a mechanism where the US government can work with the private sector in the event of a ‘true cyber emergency.’

While Collins says the legislation is not designed to give any US president the same power that oppressive Middle East regimes such as that of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, the timing of the bill could not be worse. On Friday, Egypt instigated a crackdown on the internet and mobile phones to prevent images and reports emerging, particularly via email, Facebook and Twitter, and to prevent rallies taking place.

The Economic Collapse: The Internet Kill Switch – One Of The Favorite New Tools Of Tyrannical Governments All Over The Globe

8 Year old Saudi girls' thoughts on President Mubarak of Egypt and the current situation in Egypt

CAIRO -- The U.S. Embassy in Egypt on Sunday recommended that Americans leave the country as soon as possible, while other nations urged their nationals to avoid traveling to Cairo as days of protests descended into chaos, with looters roaming the streets and travelers stranded in the airport. The Sunday morning travel warning came as uncertainty mounted over how the demonstrations that have roiled the Arab world's most populous nation will play out. Those questions, coupled with the growing lawlessness, have panicked Egyptians and foreigners alike, with thousands flocking to the airport frantically trying to secure a dwindling number of available seats. Others hopped on private jets and made their escape.

Egypt was in the grip of increasing lawlessness on Sunday as gangs of armed men helped free thousands of prisoners and looters rampaged malls, banks and jewellery stores, even as many armymen doffed uniforms to join the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule that has claimed at least 150 lives in six days. An embattled Mubarak, 82, visited the military headquarters and held hectic parleys with top commanders, a day after he showed first signs of handing over power by naming intelligence chief and his close confidant Omar Suleiman as Vice President.

Qatar-based Al-Jazeera channel put the death toll at 150 and said that 4,000 people had been injured since the unprecedented mass protests against Mubarak's autocratic regime began on Tuesday, while some other reports said over 100 had been killed. For the first time, a large number of judges also joined the mass protests threatening to destabilise the world's most populous Arab State.

Recorded in Gaza on January 27, 2011, Ken O'Keefe pays tribute to the revolutionaries of Tunisia and Egypt and calls on all just minded people to give physical support for the revolution.

"Regardless of whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, or an Atheist, you will demand your goddamn rights, and you will have them one way or the other."

Network's licences cancelled and accreditation of staff in Cairo withdrawn by order of information minister. The Egyptian authorities are revoking the Al Jazeera Network's licence to broadcast from the country, and will be shutting down its bureau office in Cairo, state television has said. "The information minister [Anas al-Fikki] ordered ... suspension of operations of Al Jazeera, cancelling of its licences and withdrawing accreditation to all its staff as of today," a statement on the official Mena news agency said on Sunday. In a statement, Al Jazeera said it strongly denounces and condemns the closure of its bureau in Cairo by the Egyptian government. The network received notification from the Egyptian authorities on Sunday morning. "Al Jazeera has received widespread global acclaim for their coverage on the ground across the length and breadth of Egypt," the statement said. An Al Jazeera spokesman said that the company would continue its strong coverage regardless.

PressTV: Al-Jazeera slams Egypt censorship
Al Jazeera: Live Streams

A lot of anger has shifted to international influences in Egypt as protesters witness “made in USA” labels on the weapons used against them, says Press TV's correspondent. Jihan Hafiz told Press TV that in Egypt “the police used excessive force to disperse protesters” as over one hundred people have already lost their lives in the past days. The report comes as Egypt is bracing for a sixth day of protests against President Mubarak's rule. The protesters have dismissed Mubarak's appointment of a vice-president and prime minister, calling for Mubarak's ouster. More than 2,000 were also injured in clashes that have rocked Cairo, Suez, and Alexandria.

PressTV: Mubarak a tool in the hands of the West

From midnight tonight identity cards can no longer be used to prove identity or to travel in Europe. The cards have been scrapped by the government under the Identity Documents Act. Within days the National Identity Register - which was designed to hold the details of card holders - will be destroyed. Immigration minister Damian Green said: 'Laying ID cards to rest demonstrates the government's commitment to scale back the power of the state and restore civil liberties.

'It is about the people having trust in the government to know when it is necessary and appropriate for the state to hold and use personal data, and it is about the government placing their trust in the common-sense and responsible attitude of the people.'

Card holders will no longer be able to use the cards to prove their identity or as a travel document in Europe. The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) (new window) has written to all existing cardholders and informed international border agencies, travel operators and customers of the change in law. For more information about the decommissioning of the National Identity Scheme and for frequently asked questions, visit the IPS website (new window).

Every once in a while someone in the world comes along and reminds us what a true hero really looks like. A 35 year-old Gurkha soldier named Bishnu Shrestha was riding a train when he suddenly found himself in the middle of a massive robbery. 40 men armed with knives, swords and guns stormed the train and began robbing the passengers. Bishnu kept his peace while the gang snatched cell phones, jewelry and cash from other riders. But then, the thugs grabbed the 18 year-old girl sitting next to him and forcefully stripped her naked. Before the bandits could rape the poor girl in front of her helpless parents, Bishnu decided he had enough.

“The girl cried for help, saying ´You are a soldier, please save a sister´,” Shrestha recalled. “I prevented her from being raped, thinking of her as my own sister.”

Here's the part of the story that makes you cheer. He pulls out a kukri (i.e. a knife) and proceeds to kill 3 of them, injure 8 of them, and causes the rest to flee. During the battle, he suffered a severe knife injury to his left hand, from which he's now recovered.

"The danger to America and Israel is that the Egyptian revolution will destroy this false choice of secular dictator-or-crazy Islamists by showing that Arabs are smart articulate people who can handle real democracy if they get to make it themselves."

Thousands of people in Egypt who flooded streets in riots calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down were joined Saturday by relatives and supporters at protests in major American cities. "Mubarak will go. If not today, then tomorrow," Magdy Al-Abady, 39, of Chicago, said during a demonstration downtown in front of the Egyptian consulate's office. The genomics researcher, with an Egyptian flag draped over his shoulders, said his brother and parents were protesting in Egypt and he was speaking often with his brother. Protesters also gathered outside the United Nations complex in New York City, filled the street in front of the Egyptian embassy in Washington and marched through downtown San Francisco to show solidarity with the uprising. In Chicago, picketers marched and chanted, "Hey Mubarak you will see, all Egyptians will be free." They held signs that said "Victory to the Egyptian people" and "Freedom and Justice for all Egyptians."

Åbent Brev til den Danske Justitsminister Med forundring og harme har vi, Den Internationale Føderation af Modstandskæmpere (FIR) – forbundet af antifascister, som repræsenterer de overlevende kæmpere mod og forfulgte af naziregimet samt deres familier og nutidens antifascister med medlemsorganisationer i 25 europæiske lande og Israel – erfaret, at statsadvokaten i Kongeriget Danmark har rejst sigtelse mod Horserød Stutthof Foreningen med den absurde påstand, at den støtter terroristiske organisationer.

En agtet medlemsorganisation Horserød Stutthof Foreningen er en agtet medlemsorganisation af FIR. Foreningen er sammenslutningen af tidligere fanger fra Stutthof og deres familier. I årtier har Horserød Stutthof Foreningen understøttet arbejdet for at fastholde de historiske erindringer. Den går ind for, at de overlevendes politiske motto: »Tilintetgørelse af nazismen og dens rødder! Sikre skabelsen af en ny, en fredens og frihedens verden« bliver til virkelighed. FIR’s medlemsorganisationer går ind for en retfærdig verdensorden på grundlag af deklarationen om menneskerettigheder og de Forenede Nationers beslutninger og dermed imod social og militær undertrykkelse. Vore forbundsfæller er de nationale befrielsesbevægelser og sociale kræfter, der organiserer hjælp til mennesker, der er ofre for krig og undertrykkelse. Det er vores medlemsorganisationers egen politiske afgørelse, hvem de vil engagere sig for. Horserød Stutthof Foreningen har blandt andet engageret sig i humanitær hjælp i Gaza. Når sådanne uafhængighedsbevægelser, efter den amerikanske Bush-regerings antidemokratiske Patriots Act, over en kam dæmoniseres som »terroristiske«, er det en skandale. At det danske justitsvæsen mener at kunne forfølge en organisation af tidligere nazistisk forfulgte og deres familier på et sådant grundlag, er en uhyrlighed, som vi ikke kan acceptere.

Vi støtter Højtærede hr. justitsminister Barfoed, vi forventer, at De udnytter alle de muligheder, der er til Deres rådighed, for at forhindre en så skandaløs retssag. Vi vil give Dem vores støtte dertil, idet vi vil gøre ikke blot den danske offentlighed opmærksom på sagen og på vores protest mod det skete, men derudover også underrette vore medlemsorganisationer i andre europæiske lande og i Israel. Kongeriget Danmark er en vigtig del af det forenede Europa, og vi ønsker, at Europas politiske grundlag også i fremtiden bliver præget af respekten for de fælles erfaringer i kampen mod nazisme og besættelse, mod racisme og antisemitisme og for en demokratisk og fredelig udvikling. I den ånd ser vi frem til Deres svar.

Med højagtelse,
Dr. Ulrich Schneider, Generalsekretær for FIR
FIR er udnævnt som FN-fredsambassadør og har NGO-status ved UNESCO.
Dagbladet Arbejderen
29. Jan 2011

H/T: Patrick Mac Manus Copenhagen (Denmark)
UriasPosten: 1970: Horserød-Stutthof Foreningen – Modstand mod frihedskæmpere
Dagbladet Arbejderen: Frihedskamp er ikke terror
DR.dk: Foreninger tiltalt for terrorfinansiering

"Regardless of whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, or an Atheist, you will demand your goddamn rights, and you will have them one way or the other."

Al Jazeera: Live Streams

Egyptian, Tunisian and Yemeni protesters all say that inequality is one of the main reasons they're protesting. However, the U.S. actually has much greater inequality than in any of those countries. Specifically, the "Gini Coefficient" - the figure economists use to measure inequality - is higher in the U.S. Gini Coefficients are like golf - the lower the score, the better (i.e. the more equality). According to the CIA World Fact Book, the U.S. is ranked as the 42nd most unequal country in the world, with a Gini Coefficient of 45. In contrast: Tunisia is ranked the 62nd most unequal country, with a Gini Coefficient of 40.
Yemen is ranked 76th most unequal, with a Gini Coefficient of 37.7. And Egypt is ranked as the 90th most unequal country, with a Gini Coefficient of around 34.4. And inequality in the U.S. has soared in the last couple of years, since the Gini Coefficient was last calculated, so it is undoubtedly currently much higher. So why are Egyptians rioting, while the Americans are complacent?

China has blocked the word "Egypt'' from the country's wildly popular Twitter-like service, while coverage of the political turmoil has been tightly restricted in state media. China's ruling Communist Party is sensitive to any potential source of social unrest. A search for "Egypt'' on the Sina microblogging service brings up a message saying, "According to relevant laws, regulations and policies, the search results are not shown". The service has more than 50 million users. News on the Egypt protests has been limited to a few paragraphs and photos buried inside major news websites, but China Central Television had a report on its midday broadcast.

Via TPM's intriguing new "Egypt wire", this:

President Obama was reportedly briefed for 40 minutes on the situation in Egypt today. Here, a photo of his meeting with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon; Chief of Staff Bill Daley; Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes; Tony Blinken, National Security Advisor to the Vice President; National Security Council Chief of Staff Denis McDonough; John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; and Robert Cardillo, Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Intelligence Integration.

What is notable is the absence of anyone in the group who has any serious knowledge about either Egypt or the broader region. So thorough-going has been the witch-hunt that AIPAC and its attack dogs have conducted over the past 25 years against anyone with real Middle East expertise that the U.S. government now contains no-one at the higher (or even mid-career) levels of policymaking who has any in-depth understanding of the region or of the aspirations of its people.

The campaign against anyone with regional expertise-- the so-called "State Department Arabists"-- was launched in the public sphere by the dreadful know-nothing Robert Kaplan, in the 1980s. It got a strong foothold throughout the federal bureaucracy-- and far more broadly than in just the State department-- with the arrival of Pres. Clinton in 1993. Clinton, that is, who brought along as his key advisers on the affairs of the whole region the two long-time pro-Israel activists Dennis Ross and Martin Indyk! Then, of course, under GWB, we had Elliott Abrams and rest of the neocons running regional affairs for the government.

And what was happening inside the State Department during all those years? Only hacks like Jeffrey Feltman or Donald Blome-- the list is endless... -- who could prove their unswerving loyalty to the pro-Israel agenda got promoted or retained. Throughout those 16 years of the Clinton and GWB presidencies, a generation of career diplomats grew up whose main mantra was to do nothing that might question or even upset Israel. (There were, of course, those heroic few who questioned the prevailing, AIPAC-fueled "wisdom" on the advisability of invading Iraq in 2003, who resigned their posts at the time.)

So now, in the Oval Office, we have the blind leading the blind and the blind advising the blind. [H/T Xymphora]

In Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez hundreds of thousands of Egyptians defied a government-imposed curfew to continue their protests, which have grown to involve every section of the country. Many of the police have come over to the side of the people, and the military had to be sent in. The army was welcomed by the protesters. The headquarters of the ruling NDP party was burnt down in Cairo. The government headquarters was burnt down. Around Egypt more than twenty police stations were set afire. In some places police stations were seized by the people and armories were looted. Five people have been killed in Cairo; eleven were killed in Suez; 170 have been wounded in Suez and 1,030 in Cairo.

At least 100 Egyptian protesters have been killed during clashes with police as the explosion of anger at President Hosni Mubarak continues to rock the North African country. Medical sources stated on Saturday that over 100 people, including 23 protesters in the port city of Alexandria have lost their lives in streets fighting with police forces across Egypt since the outbreak of anti-government protests, while 13 people were killed and 75 others injured in the flash point city of Suez, along the strategic Suez Canal. According to medical sources, at least 1,030 protesters have been injured as mass protests remain unabated across the country for a fifth consecutive day.

TENS of thousands of demonstrators have started a silent protest in the Albanian capital Tirana, a week to the day after clashes during an opposition rally killed three. The demonstrators, headed by the leadership of the opposition Socialists and the families of the victims, started a march on the government buildings. People continued to pour into the downtown area near the government, bringing traffic in central Tirana to a standstill. Many protesters carried flowers. In the square in front of the government, a stage was set up, and opposition leader Edi Rama, the mayor of the capital, was expected to address the crowds later. Pictures of the three fatalities of the last rally were placed on stage, with the word "justice" written on them in Albanian and English. There was a huge police presence in the capital, with two cordons surrounding the government buildings and 30 elite officers guarding the entrance.

You can lease a river in Chhattisgarh for 22 years. At just Rupees. 1 per annum. While thousands go thirsty. THE SALE of Chhattisgarh’s rivers began in 1998 when the then MP government handed a 23.6 km stretch of Sheonath river in Durg to RWL, pleading shortage of funds for supplying water to industries. In a shocking story of “corruption and favouritism”, as an Assembly nominated committee discovered later, the Rs. 9 crore project was signed on 5 October 1998 between MPAKVN and RWL on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis. The plan was to build a barrage on the Sheonath to supply up to 30 million litres per day (mld) to the Borai Industrial Centre. Construction was completed in two years and operations began in January 2001.

An Israeli agent arrested in Iran over the assassination of Iranian nuclear physicist Massoud Ali-Mohammadi says Tel Aviv places high importance on the elimination of Iranian nuclear scientists. Majid Jamali Fashi, the self-confessed Israeli agent who carried out the assassination of Dr. Ali-Mohammadi, says he underwent extensive training in Israel before the operation. 26-year-old Jamali Fashi said in his confessions that an Israeli commander described to him how vital his undertaking was for Tel Aviv. The Israeli commander “spoke with me in private, praised me and said that this was a very important operation with heavy costs. He said that many people are involved in the operation and that they rely on me. He said that if I am not successful all of these people will lose their lives,” Jamali Fashi said in his confessions aired primarily on Press TV on Friday. He further recounted various trainings he received in Israel and how he carried out the assassination of Dr. Ali-Mohammadi in January 2010.

Jewish radical extremist group in France. They physically attack people who dare to oppose Israel, Zionism or the genocide of Palestinians performed by Jews -like the Nazi Stormtruppen did in Hitler Germany.

Yesterday Al Jazeera released the final cache of the Palestine Papers, the network's publication of secret documents culled from the last ten years of negotiations between the Palestinian Authority, Israel and the United States. Among some of the latest revelations are agreements between all three parties to push the United Nations Human Rights Council to delay a vote on the Goldstone report, the fact-finding probe of alleged war crimes committed during Israel's winter 2008-09 attacks on the Gaza Strip. Approximately 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the 22-day assault, and more than 5,000 were wounded. Al Jazeera reported that documents prove the Palestinian Authority sacrificed potential legal accountability for Palestinian victims of Israel's attacks "in exchange for favorable assurances on negotiations from the United States and, they hoped, from Israel" ("PA stonewalled the Goldstone vote," S. Farhan Mustafa, 26 January 2011). Reporting for Al Jazeera, S. Farhan Mustafa wrote yesterday:

"What the Palestine Papers demonstrate is that, in the weeks preceding the vote, the United States apparently urged the PA to stall the report as a means of restarting negotiations with Israel."

[Remember this one?] "He may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch." "This famous quote was uttered by Cordell Hull, United States Secretary of State from 1933-1944. Hull was referring to Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Molino Trujillo. Hull was also a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945 for his work in originating the United Nations. The quotation is in line with the United States' foreign policy during the Cold War. Trujillo -- and many other Banana Republic dictators -- was oppressive, brutal, corrupt and greedy. The people they ruled generally lived wretched lives in abject poverty -- while the dictator, his family, and cronies had wealth beyond reason. But as long as US business interests were untouched and communism kept at bay, the US placed little pressure on these tyrants to reform. Often these regimes received economic and military aid from the US. Many would say that,"He may be a son-of-a-bitch, but he is our son-of-a-bitch," is still a major consideration behind US foreign policy decisions." [everything2.com]

Vice President Joe Biden spoke to the PBS NewsHour tonight with the most direct US governent comments yet about the gathering Egypt protests against President Hosni Mubarak's 29-year reign. Mr. Biden's comments are unlikely to be well-received by regime opponents, as they fit a narrative of steadfast US support for a government they want to bring down. About eight protesters and one policeman have died this week as Egypt has sought to bring down the heavy hand of the state against opponents. Since the US provides about $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt a year, the repressive apparatus of the state is seen by many in Egypt as hand in glove with the US.

WikiLeaks/Aftenposten: 14/05/2007: PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION IN EGYPT

"Regardless of whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, or an Atheist, you will demand your goddamn rights, and you will have them one way or the other."

Al Jazeera: Live Streams

Egyptian security officials say police have put Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei under house arrest. Police stationed outside his suburban Cairo home told him he cannot leave the house after he joined tens of thousands of protesters in the capital Friday. ElBaradei returned to the country Thursday night from a month abroad and declared he was ready to lead the protesters to a regime change.

Government shuts down internet and mobile phones ahead of planned protests against President Mubarak's 30-year rule. Egypt is on edge as activists pressing for a change in government prepare to stage the biggest day of protests in the Middle East's most populous nation amid a security clampdown. Security forces are on high alert and internet, mobile phone and SMS services have been disrupted ahead of the planned demonstrations following Friday prayers. Dan Nolan, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from the capital, Cairo, said that internet access had been blocked across the country and the government had effectively wiped the country off the global digital map in a bid to prevent protesters from organising themselves. For the past three days, cities across Egypt have witnessed unprecedented protests against the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, the president. Apparently inspired by the recent turmoil in Tunisia, the determined protesters have stood their ground against heavily-armed police and are refusing to relent until there is a change in government. The violence has so far left seven people dead.

CAIRO (AFP) – Egypt's interior ministry warned of "decisive measures" as dissidents planned to rally after Friday noon prayers for a fourth day in a row in the country's most serious anti-government protests in decades. The warning came as Internet services and cell phone text messaging, both used by organisers of this week's protests that led to deadly clashes between police and demonstrators, were cut across the country. As the unrest continued, US President Barack Obama warned that violence was not the answer, urging restraint on both sides, and also pressing President Hosni Mubarak to adopt political reforms.

The country's largest opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, said late Thursday that it would participate in Friday's protests, in a departure from the cautious approach it took towards the protests that started on Tuesday. At least 20 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested overnight Friday, its lawyer Abdelmoneim Abdel Maqsoud told AFP. Among those arrested at their homes were five former members of parliament and five members of the political bureau, whose best known leaders are Essam El-Eriane and Mohammed Moursi. The country's leading dissident, Nobel Laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, also said he would take part in the protests after arriving late Thursday from a visit to Vienna.

"It is a critical time in the life of Egypt. I have come to participate with the Egyptian people," El Baradei, a vocal critic of Mubarak, said before leaving Cairo airport. "The desire for change must be respected," he said. "The regime must not use violence in the demonstrations."

Earlier, in Vienna, he told reporters he was ready to "lead the transition" in Egypt if asked.

● Twitter: We will soon release numerous cables on Egypt
● Newsvine: Provider: Egypt's Internet suffers severe outages
● ReadWriteWeb: Complete Internet Blackout in Egypt
● Yahoo: The day part of the Internet died: Egypt goes dark
● The Independent: The day that Egypt unplugged the Internet
● Yahoo: Egypt's online movement takes to the streets
● Businessweek: Egypt Holds Islamists, Restrict Internet Before Rally

Suez is burning, North Sinai is burning and Egypt is a state of zero tolerance. The government that justifies killing its own people does not have any right to exist, and it must be taken down! [AP Raw footage of a man shot down in protests]

The Algerian opposition is regrouping after thousands of police were deployed on Saturday to suppress several hundred demonstrators. They too are inspired by the Tunisian revolution. With public protests being so strongly suppressed some Algerians have turned to a more drastic demonstration of their opposition to the status quo. At least four people in Algeria have attempted self-immolation, some successfully, since Tunisia freed itself of Ben Ali. As with Tunisia and Egypt, activist in Algeria have been able to make creative use of the Internet to organize in spite of the governments best efforts to stop them.

Libya's Moamer Gaddafi may have hailed WikiLeaks for exposing US 'hypocrisy' back in December but since the cablegate exposures helped rally the people to throw out Ben Ali in January, he has been singing a different tune. Yesterday Gaddafi "said he feared that the Tunisian revolution which overthrew president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was being exploited by 'foreign interests'" according to France24. In an interview, he told the private Tunisian Nessma TV station “I fear for the Tunisian revolution." Because Libya has 5.9 million cell phone users but less than 400,000 Internet users, Anonymous OpLibya is adopting strategies that focus more on spreading information via SMS.

Tens of thousands of people, inspired by events in Tunisia, protest in Sanaa to demand President Saleh's resignation. Inspired by recent events in Tunisia and Egypt, opposition members and youth activists rallied at four different locations in Sanaa on Thursday, chanting for Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years, to step down.

"Enough being in power for [over] 30 years," protesters shouted during the demonstrations.

They also referred to the ouster of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, saying he was "gone in just [over] 20 years".

"No to extending [presidential tenure]. No to bequeathing [the presidency]," they chanted.

An opposition activist said that the staging of the demonstration in four separate parts of the capital was aimed at distracting the security forces. One area chosen for the protest was outside Sanaa University. Security measures at the demonstrations appeared relaxed, but were tight around the interior ministry and the central bank.

Pakistani media say the US embassy official charged with the murder of two Pakistani citizens [allegedly] is an agent for the notorious security firm, Blackwater. The US official identified by police as Raymond Davis shot dead two men riding on a motorcycle in Lahore on Thursday in what he claimed was "self-defense" during an attempt robbery. A third Pakistani was run over and killed in the incident after being hit by a US consulate vehicle rushing to the scene to the American's aid. The US embassy in Islamabad has confirmed the man involved was a consular official [Blackwater staff cannot be consular officials. The CIA has infiltrated the US embassy/consular system, dominating it completely. -So this thug is a CIA agent.] and says it is carrying out an investigation. Trying to avoid an anti-American reaction, US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Thursday that Washington will fully cooperate with Pakistani authorities and will explain about the incident to the Pakistani people. The issue of American diplomats carrying weapons inside Pakistan was a hot-button subject last year among certain politicians and sections of the media purportedly worried about the country's sovereignty. Many Pakistanis regard the United States with suspicion or outright enmity because of its occupation of neighboring Afghanistan.

PressTV: US official to face trial in Pakistan

Accused of killing 73 in an airline bombing, Luis Posada Carriles charged with immigration violations, not terrorism. On October 6, 1976 a bomb exploded on Cubana Airlines flight 455, blowing it out of the sky and into the waters off Barbados, killing everyone on board, including Fernandez's father, the captain of Cuba's national fencing team. Posada, 82, a Cuban-born Venezuelan-citizen, was considered the mastermind— a CIA-trained explosives expert who would stop at nothing in his personal vendetta against Cuban president Fidel Castro. Planned in Venezuela, the attack killed mostly Cuban nationals.

"The terrorist activities of Posada Carriles are part of the [current US court] indictment, but they are not what he is being prosecuted for," said José Pertierra, a Cuban-born Washington lawyer who is representing Venezuela's interests at the trial. "He is only being prosecuted for lying about them [attacks]… to an immigration judge in a naturalisation hearing."

Venezuela jailed Posada for the bombing, but the wily operative escaped from prison disguised as a priest and eventually fled to the US, stopping in other Latin American countries along the way where he continued his anti-Castro activities. Venezuela has repeatedly called for his extradition.

"For many years, the truth has been hidden," Fernandez said. "But I want people to learn that there are a lot of victims of terrorism in Cuba as well as in the US and other countries."

Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's former chief of staff at the White House, will be allowed to stand for mayor of Chicago after the Illinois supreme court overturned an earlier ruling that he was ineligible under residency requirements. The decision of the highest court in the state clears the way for the famously straight-talking Chicagoan to press ahead with his bid to run the third most populous city in the US. There was jubilation at his campaign headquarters, and the candidate received a call on Thursday night from President Obama. The ruling comes not before time for Emanuel: early voting for the mayor's position opens on Monday, and the vote itself is on 22 February.

Stephen Lendman: Chicago's Mayoral Race: Rahm Emanuel's Eligibility At Issue