Egyptian riots

[BrainBlow]

Right as I write now, there is riots in Egypt in at least both Alexandria and Cairo.
The demonstrations were planned to be after the Friday prayers and the state planned to strike the people right then.
The plan failed completely and the police is literally losing to the riots. A police station was stormed and overpowered by the rioters. The detainees who were there for having been arrested during the demonstrations in the past two days were released. They then set fire to armored (probably unmanned) police vehicles.
There are tens of thousands of people. Imagine if this crows turns on the presidential palace?
There may be some serious change going on right now.

 

[kenandkids]

I think this is the fourth? nation this week alone facing riots and public demonstrations. This is good, as it proves that predominantly muslim nations CAN rise up and demand more from their governments.
Egypt has halted all personal media according to the news yesterday, btw.

 

[lrkun]

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/complete_internet_blackout_in_egypt.php

CNN's Ben Wedeman commented, "No internet, no SMS, what is next? Mobile phones and land lines? So much for stability" and asked "Will #Egypt totally cut communications with the outside world?"

 

[Pulsar]

Mohamed ElBaradei, former IAEA chief and Nobel Prize laureate, has been placed under house arrest.
ElBaradei just returned to Egypt yesterday. He has expressed his support for the protest movement, and willingness to lead an interim government if President Hosni Mubarak is removed.

 

[BrainBlow]

So I'm following this live-update on an internet newspaper. And WOW:
In Alexandria there are five hundred thousand demonstrators. What's more, they drove the riot police out of the city. And whats more? The military has pretty much switched sides to the demonstrators. Demonstrators are cheering in the streets for the military.
And the unrest have spread further. There are demonstrations in in Jordan now, people there are having "we demand change" as a chant.

 

[Shaedys]

Probably in for a change of power then.
The line "When rumors hit the protesters that the Egyptian Museum was going to be looted due to abrupt police abandonment, they ringed it with their own bodies to protect it." was kinda sweet though.
I just hope not too many people have to die.

 

[BrainBlow]

Probably in for a change of power then.
The line "When rumors hit the protesters that the Egyptian Museum was going to be looted due to abrupt police abandonment, they ringed it with their own bodies to protect it." was kinda sweet though.
I just hope not too many people have to die.

Seriously? Man, I am grateful to them! I would have broken down if the Egyptian museum of Cairo had been looted and/or burned.
So far, apparently "just" 5 people have died. Though there are over a thousand wounded in Cairo.

 

[kenandkids]

Probably in for a change of power then.
The line "When rumors hit the protesters that the Egyptian Museum was going to be looted due to abrupt police abandonment, they ringed it with their own bodies to protect it." was kinda sweet though.
I just hope not too many people have to die.

That fills me with so much happiness and hope for humanity.

 

[BrainBlow]

Well, there are some "egoistic" motives behind it too.
Cairo really isn't a champion of tourist resorts(trust me, I know), so most tourists in Cairo are on day-trips to see the various attractions. The Egyptian museum, being one of the biggest museums in the world, is a big tourist magnet and therefore very important for the local economy.
But I don't care as long as that means they protect it. I saw reports that the military (who remains passive-supportive to the demonstrators) are now taking care of guarding the museum.

 

[Shaedys]

In his speech a bit ago he announced that he will have a new government by tomorrow, not that he himself will be stepping down.
From what I heard in the news, the government usually keeps its most important ministers in place.

 

[lrkun]

Egypt protests: Curfew in cities as army deployed

1. Egypt has extended its curfew to all cities as anti-government demonstrators in Cairo besiege key buildings, including the foreign ministry and the state broadcaster.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12311007

 

[BrainBlow]

The people is utterly ignoring the curfew.
And Mubarak seems to not realize how he is standing inside a shed that its burning and won't stop burning before he leaves it or it consumes him.
The demonstrators showed clear signs that they did not care much for his speech.
I'm interested to see how the situation is tomorrow and how it will continue.
/goes to sleep

 

[lrkun]

1. Egypt: Mubarak sacks cabinet and defends security role

2.

President Hosni Mubarak has defended the role of Egypt's security forces in suppressing anti-government protests which have rocked the country.

Mr Mubarak also dismissed his government and said a new cabinet would be announced on Saturday.

It was his first statement since the protests - in which at least 26 have died with hundreds injured - began.

Tens of thousands took part in protests in Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and other cities.

Protesters set fire to the headquarters of the governing NDP party and besieged state TV and the foreign ministry.

At least 13 people were killed in Suez on Friday, while in Cairo, five people died, according to medical sources.

That brings the death toll to at least 26 since the protests began on Tuesday.
Set ablaze

"I have asked the government to present its resignation today," Mr Mubarak said, adding that he would appoint a new government on Saturday.

He also said he understood the protesters' grievances but that a thin line divided liberty from chaos and he would not allow Egypt to be destabilised.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says there had clearly been a lot of discussion behind the scenes before Mr Mubarak spoke to the country.

But his comments will probably just provoke further unrest, says our correspondent - the people on the streets will be both infuriated by his accusations that they are seeking to destabilise the country and inspired that, having wrung some concessions from him, they could yet manage to oust him.
Protesters in Cairo, 28 January 2011 Tens of thousands took part in the protests in Cairo and other cities

After Mr Mubarak spoke, a sustained volley was heard from central Cairo, which our correspondent said could have been either tear gas or live fire.

The Reuters news agency later quoted witnesses as saying more than 20 military vehicles rolled in to central Tahrir Square shortly after midnight, scattering protesters into the sidestreets.

The authorities had earlier announced a curfew from 1800 to 0700 local time (1600-0500 GMT), but it was immediately and widely flouted.

The headquarters of the governing NDP party was set ablaze, while protesters also besieged the state broadcaster and the foreign ministry.

Internet and phone services - both mobile and landline - have been severely disrupted, although protesters are using proxies to work around the restrictions.

Correspondents in Cairo say military helicopters have been circling overhead.

The US, which counts Egypt as a key ally, has appealed for calm from both sides, saying it has urged President Mubarak to enact reforms.

However, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Washington would review its aid to Egypt based on events in the coming days.

Britain, the US and France are advising against non-essential travel to Egypt.

---

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11777943

2. Ibid.

 

[MRaverz]

The people is utterly ignoring the curfew.

I like the idea of Mubarak standing at his balcony screaming 'Guys, go to bed seriously! I've got work in the morning!'.

On a more serious note, I hear the military aren't enforcing the curfew either.

 

[obsidianavenger]

i'm impressed that this hasn't just devolved into a massive bloodbath.

 

[televator]

Probably in for a change of power then.
The line "When rumors hit the protesters that the Egyptian Museum was going to be looted due to abrupt police abandonment, they ringed it with their own bodies to protect it." was kinda sweet though.
I just hope not too many people have to die.

Best riot evar? Makes me wish the library had been spared in such a manner back in the 4th century...

 

[BrainBlow]

Probably in for a change of power then.
The line "When rumors hit the protesters that the Egyptian Museum was going to be looted due to abrupt police abandonment, they ringed it with their own bodies to protect it." was kinda sweet though.
I just hope not too many people have to die.

Best riot evar? Makes me wish the library had been spared in such a manner back in the 4th century...

That was in Baghdad, was it not?
And it wouldn't have helped much then, since the invaders were pretty pissed and decided to kill everything in the city.

 

[)O( Hytegia )O(]

I was watching it live in Al Jazeera as it happened......

In other related news from the depths of Anon-
several of Anonymous decided that a world without internet sucks, so they threw some money together and began working into the dead of the morning. They achieved contact with fellow Egypt Anon via Fax machine, and he obtained several satellite phones...
Through these they collectively wrote a script for a network and the Anon on the other side set up some servers. Meanwhile on our side a good amount of traffic began flooding through one of 100 or so virtual servers that fed into American internet.
It was a long, complicated, headache-worthy process and the combination of both verbal insults and co-operation. I'm not even sure how many people have access to the network on their side, but it's dinging heavy traffic on someone's router at home, and it's probably laggy as all fuck to whoever's using it in Egypt.

Then I took a nap for 30 minutes.
Then I got up, checked my facebook, along with the server statistics (they were up and getting good traffic).
Then I went to work.

The day was saved.

Laptops are weird.

 

[kenandkids]

I was watching it live in Al Jazeera as it happened......

In other related news from the depths of Anon-
several of Anonymous (*cough* myself included *cough*) decided that a world without internet sucks, so we threw some money together and began working into the dead of the morning. We achieved contact with fellow Egypt Anon via Fax machine, and he obtained several satellite phones...
Through these we collectively wrote a script for a network and the Anon on the other side set up some servers. Meanwhile on our side a good amount of traffic began flooding through one of 100 or so virtual servers that fed into American internet.
It was a long, complicated, headache-worthy process and the combination of both verbal insults and co-operation. I'm not even sure how many people have access to the network on their side, but it's dinging heavy traffic on my router at home, and it's probably laggy as all fuck to whoever's using it in Egypt.

Then I took a nap for 30 minutes.
Then I got up, checked my facebook, along with the server statistics (they were up and getting good traffic).
Then I went to work.

It helps to start off your day with the feeling that you helped in a project that might have put a dent in history from the comfort of your own room, and then contenue life as usual.
Laptops are weird.

At a time when numerous nations are promising (not lightly) to hunt down and prosecute anon. members, I wouldn't admit that even in jest.... Some advice, stay anon.

 

[BrainBlow]

It is with great sadness that I inform that some looters DID get into the Museum and apparently destroyed two unspecified mummies.
The rest is mostly fine.

In other news, it seems that the military is aiding the demonstrators against the riot police forces.