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