Live: Al Jazeera coverage of Egypt’s growing revolution

[Joe Hillshoist]

Hi guys, been real busy.

Can anyone using twitter here please do me a favour, text into #egypt that following the arrest of blogger Sandmonkey a couple of hours ago tweeting your location isn't safe, and any protesters using Bambuser have their location shown on google maps. I dunno if its real time or not but if it is it ain't safe. if you're a "leader" you can be targeted and tracked if you reveal where you are going on twitter.

I know one blogger using it (bB)- alice first introduced me to him i think - and I'd hate to see him get done. Hossam el-H tweeting @ 3 arab awy (all one word). I can't access my account right now (have a never used twitter account but no mobile and till now no desire to use it), its 2 am and I've had an intense day and can't be fucked figuring it out.

cheers

[gnosticheresy_2]

Hi guys, been real busy.

Can anyone using twitter here please do me a favour, text into #egypt that following the arrest of blogger Sandmonkey a couple of hours ago tweeting your location isn't safe, and any protesters using Bambuser have their location shown on google maps. I dunno if its real time or not but if it is it ain't safe. if you're a "leader" you can be targeted and tracked if you reveal where you are going on twitter.

I know one blogger using it (bB)- alice first introduced me to him i think - and I'd hate to see him get done. Hossam el-H tweeting @ 3 arab awy (all one word). I can't access my account right now (have a never used twitter account but no mobile and till now no desire to use it), its 2 am and I've had an intense day and can't be fucked figuring it out.

cheers

Ok done. Checked the account of the guy you mentioned, he's still tweeting so appears to be ok



thugs r now approaching the square from champlion st. We r regrouping. #jan25
39 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply


this is people's power. This democracy from below. This is the most beautiful thing i have ever seen in my life.
43 minutes ago


the shabab who were exhausted in the confrontation retreat. Hundreds come in to replace them. Thugs r still retreating.
46 minutes ago


there is now replacement for the front teams that finished defending the frontline.
48 minutes ago


Barricades - LIVE at http://bambuser.com/v/1380337
1 hour ago

[nathan28]

Military COMPLETELY siding with Mubarak now. Personnel at checkpoints search for foods, med supplies & arrest or send people back #jan25
9 minutes ago via web

alaa confirmation the crack down is by the "military police" ie the army. #Jan25 the army is siding with regime more and more
33 minutes ago via Choqok

Retweeted by estr4ng3d and 65 others
Can anyone confirm arrests of protesters where by MILITARY POLICE? If this is true the army HAS taken Mubarak's side #Jan25
34 minutes ago via web

Is there any press on this? I can't find any indication one way or another. It sounds like the military forced the loyalists off the overpass they were firing from, but now sounds like the military is cutting off the pro-democracy protester's supplies (as well as letting the protestors curb-stomp the loyalists).

[crikkett]

Alice - a hundred and eight grandmothers in California are cheering you on, as I share your story with my charity group. Thanks for checking in!

BloggerSeif (http://twitter.com/BloggerSeif) reported earlier today that the child in his care has been reunited with his parents. I hope his Mom is proud because I sure am.

I was also amused to see the BBC reporter who seems to have started a twitter account just to wrangle Seif for an interview http://twitter.com/timfaramondBBC - I suspected this story would get coverage.

[crikkett]

Is there any press on this? I can't find any indication one way or another. It sounds like the military forced the loyalists off the overpass they were firing from, but now sounds like the military is cutting off the pro-democracy protester's supplies (as well as letting the protestors curb-stomp the loyalists).

I read other accounts of this on the guardians' liveblog (what an ugly-sounding word)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/201 ... s#block-40

Speaking of words, I like 'loyalist' - apt. I hope it catches on.

2.23pm: Here's Josh Halliday's report on the attacks on BBC, CNN and al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt.

And here's a video of some of today's clashes.

And here, from the comments, is protester marwaa,(http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/feb/03/egypt-protests-live-updates?commentpage=10#comment-9420428 ) who has had difficulties getting into Tahrir Square today.

Today I am unable to go down to Tahrir to join my colleagues in this struggle because the NDP thugs who are supposedly "pro-Mubarak" supporters have blocked any entrances. I decided then, to communicate with my friends in Tahrir who are suffering and to keep their experiences posted. At the moment, the thugs have blocked any FOOD SUPPLIES, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, and even BLOOD DONATIONS to people in Tahrir. It has reached the point where they would capture the supplies, empty, and urinate on them on the pavement right in front of the people who need it. Now, all the people in Tahrir have been blocked from medical and food supplies and are very much insisting not to leave (at some points they are not even ALLOWED to leave). "We will stay till we starve if that's what it takes."

[vanlose kid]

reports of snipers:

*

Pro-Mubarak snipers deployed in Cairo
Thu Feb 3, 2011 3:29PM
Share | Email | Print

A protesting Egyptian man against the government of Hosni Mubarak peeks between burned vehicles in the rubble of Tahrir Square after clashes overnight on February 3, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt. Hundreds of pro-government snipers have been deployed on top of buildings in central Cairo amid growing clashes between plain clothes police and anti-government protesters.


Clashes and pitched battles between plain clothes police and anti-government protesters have intensified in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime is stepping up its crackdown on peaceful protesters in Tahrir Square, the focal point of the anti-Mubarak protests.

A hypermarket serving the Sheikh Zayed suburb of Cairo was also torched on Thursday, witnesses said.

Protesters attacked with sticks

According to a Press TV correspondent, most of the protesters have been killed as a result of stone-throwing and attacks with metal rods and sticks.

Egypt's Health Minister Ahmed Samih Farid has admitted that several people have died in the fighting over the past 24 hours.

Reports say at least seven protesters have been killed and over 1,500 injured in clashes, which began on Wednesday.

According to the United Nations, at least 300 people have so far been killed and thousands more injured during nationwide protests in troubled Egypt.

More people march towards Tahrir

Thousands more are marching towards Tahrir Square, where anti-Mubarak protesters are currently camped, our correspondent said.

Main opposition figures have called for another mass rally on Friday, which they consider as President Hosni Mubarak's day of departure.

A Press TV's correspondent says pro-Mubarak vigilantes have broken into the journalists' center in the capital Cairo.

Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq has apologized for the fatal clashes between plain clothes police forces and anti-government demonstrators, pledging that violence will not be repeated in upcoming days.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/163415.html

*

3.53pm: A British man, Simon Hardy, has called in to relay his experiences in Tahrir Square this afternoon:

In the last few minutes some snipers on top of the Hilton roof opened fire, maybe seven or eight gunshots. The protesters are saying two people have been killed, one shot in the head and one in the neck.

There are growing numbers of pro-government protesters on Ramsay Street and behind the barricades on our side, still thousands of people in the square.

People are saying: "Is there going to be another attack tonight?" Anti-government protesters are saying that if they survive tonight, the demonstration tomorrow will be massive. They are calling it departure day, the day Mubarak will be kicked out of office. Everything hinges on the next 24 hours.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/201 ... s#block-72

*

[Bruce Dazzling]

Obscuring the Obvious
The Egyptian Uprising in the American Media

By JOSHUA FAROUK GEORGY
February 3, 2011

It has been one week since the Egyptian revolt began, and the mainstream American media has wheeled out many of their standard, self-appointed “experts” to illuminate matters. They attempt to solve the riddle of what could possibly have driven the thoughtless throngs into the proverbial “Arab streets,” while providing their set of contrived scenarios about how things might develop. Even as our “experts” set about to demystify what they themselves have mystified, they are quick to turn to what really matters – the effects these events will have on the United States and our allies. There really are two fields of discussion here. The first deals with a fantastical world of wild imagery, a world where monsters wait in the shadows with plans to lead a retreat from civilization (or worse?), and where heedless masses may unknowingly (or knowingly?) stampede into their arms. This is an encrypted world that must be decoded with the help of experts trained to make sense of the senseless. And the second field is a very rational one – American interests in the region.

It is no wonder then that most Americans are hopelessly in the dark. Middle East “news” in the mainstream is constructed so that people remain in a perpetual state of confusion and fear. A favorite question now being tossed to the experts is “what do Egyptians want?” If their expertise included anything but obfuscation, they might respond, well, what the hell does anyone want? We want to feed our families; we want our children to grow up with the prospect of a decent standard of living; we want to come out of college with some hope of finding a job; we want to have a say in the present and future affairs of our country. But that is expecting a bit too much of our controlled, corporate media and their favored talking heads. If a serious treatment of the present matter is to be made, it requires a probing analysis of issues that interested parties would rather not be had. And so the cryptologists and fear mongers do their job.

President Mubarak used his own brand of fear mongering as he tried to justify the renewal of the “emergency law” every five years across his three-decade rule. The law allowed him to claim democracy in Egypt while running the country like a giant prison. But as he went on protecting Egyptians from themselves, young people of the Facebook generation managed to pull back the curtain. They revealed to the world that the mighty Wizard who was keeping the whole thing together was a shriveled up old man. And what did the Egyptians do as “order” broke down? They united to protect each other; all segments of society came together to defend their streets and properties, to defend their homeland. Meanwhile America’s favorite stooge, the dictator we call “moderate,” sent his goons out against peaceful demonstrators.

Western governments have been intimately involved in the innumerable injustices wrought on the Egyptian people during the Mubarak years. But who has time to sort through all of that when we have ghoulish “worst-case scenarios” to bandy about? And so we have a character like John Bolton, of Bush administration disrepute, rising from the political graveyard with predictions that in all likelihood “a radical, tightly knit organization like the Muslim Brotherhood will take advantage of the chaos and seize power.” And he quickly directs his prognosticator’s spotlight onto the Christian minority, warning that they have reason to be alarmed. And the chatter goes on and on, as talk of America’s strategic concerns is punctuated with grim potentialities designed to frighten the American people.

In reality, what the political scene in Egypt will look like after the revolution nobody knows. But given the choice between what they have known and the unknown, Egyptians have chosen the latter. This uprising does not belong to a specific segment of the population – and as much as some in the West might like to present it in a sectarian or partisan light, this is an Egyptian uprising. Christians alongside Muslims from all backgrounds and walks of life are participating in the protests, many holding signs featuring the “cross and crescent” that since the 1919 Revolution has symbolized Christian-Muslim national unity.

My own family in Egypt, who are Christian, are gratified by the demonstrations of solidarity between Muslims and Christians in the face of grave circumstances, the rotten fruits of Mubarak’s reign. And if we look to history, we will find that this is hardly surprising.

When Egyptians have risen up and demanded their rights, they have done so as a people. This was the case during the revolution of 1952 as it was during resistance movements to British occupation in 1882 and 1919. Now we are witnessing a revolutionary moment in 2011, and the structure of Western mainstream discourse obscures the obvious.

A long time ago foreign powers, with the United States in the first place, cast their lot with the dictator. Now the Egyptian people are having their say.

Joshua Farouk Georgy is an Egyptian-American Ph.D. candidate in modern Middle East history at Columbia University.[/quote]

[vanlose kid]

Cairo’s Tahir Square battle rages on; snipers shooting on protestors

Gunfire has rung out in the early hours of Thursday around Cairo's Tahrir Square, where Egyptian anti-government protesters are camping out. At least two people are reported dead. On Wednesday three died in clashes with supporters of President Hosni Mubarak.


Hundreds of people were wounded as rival groups fought pitched battles in and around Tahrir Square, in the worst violence in nine days of protests.

The protesters are demanding President Mubarak's resignation. He says he will serve out his current presidential term, his fifth, which ends in September.

The unrest has left about 300 people dead across the country over more than a week, according to UN estimates. Cairo's Tahrir Square has been the main focus of the protests.

There are reports early on Thursday that supporters of President Mubarak have been firing on people in the square from the October Bridge, with unknown numbers wounded.

The US State Department has urged all Americans in Egypt who wish to leave to go to airports “immediately”, adding that delay was “not advisable”.

Wednesday's violence began when thousands of supporters of President Mubarak surged into the square. One anti-government protester told the BBC that the pro-Mubarak activists had initiated the fighting.

“They started throwing stones at us,” the man, named as Zaccaria, said. “Then some of us started throwing stones at them and then we chased them out of the square. They returned once again with the horses and the whips and the thugs.”

Opposition supporters say many in the pro-government camp were paid by the authorities to demonstrate, and allowed into the square by the troops surrounding it. The two sides pelted each other with stones in running battles lasting for hours.

Egyptian troops refused to intervene, but fired into the air to try to disperse people.

Egyptian Health Minister Ahmed Sameh Farid told the Associated Press news agency a member of the security forces died when he fell off a bridge.

Two other people died from unspecified wounds in hospital, he added. It was not clear whether they were critics or supporters of Mr Mubarak.

Clashes between the rival groups were also reported in Egypt's second city, Alexandria.

Late on Wednesday Vice-President Omar Suleiman urged “all citizens to return to their homes and abide by the curfew”.

In its earlier statement, Egypt's army called for demonstrators to return to their homes.

“Your message has arrived, your demands became known... you are capable of bringing normal life to Egypt,” said a spokesman in a message broadcast on state television.

In a speech on Tuesday night Mr Mubarak - who has been in office for nearly 30 years - promised to leave at the next polls and pledged constitutional reform.

He said he would devote his remaining time in power to ensuring a peaceful transition.

US President Barack Obama responded by saying an orderly transition “must begin now”.

Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei dismissed Mr Mubarak's move as “a trick” to stay in power, and Tahrir Square protesters have vowed to continue their demonstrations until Mr Mubarak quits.

Abdelhalim Kandil, leader of Egypt's Kifaya (Enough) opposition movement, said Mr Mubarak's offer not to serve a sixth term was not enough.

“I will tell you very simply that there is an unprecedented popular movement that rejects the presence of the president on a scope that has not been seen before, that is calling for the will of the people to be imposed,” he said.

If Mr Mubarak does not step down, demonstrators have planned to march on the presidential palace. Meanwhile, internet services were returning to the country, having been cut off for days by the government. (BBC)

http://en.mercopress.com/2011/02/03/cai ... protestors

*

[vanlose kid]

saw something like this friday from the clashes on Oct 6 bridge, don't know where this is from though. police van running over protesters...



*

[vanlose kid]

Don't forget the Sudan protest movement - http://nyti.ms/eANhAO
about 18 hours ago via TimesPeople
Retweeted by 96 people
.NickKristof
Nicholas Kristof

Young Sudanese Start Protest Movement
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Published: February 2, 2011

NAIROBI, Kenya — The messages started going up on Facebook about two weeks ago, to any Sudanese who cared.

“It is about time we show what we’re really made of,” the group said. “Our brothers in Tunisia did it and so did our brothers in Egypt. It is about time for us.”

In the past week, in an unusual show of boldness, thousands of young Sudanese, many responding to the Facebook call, have braved beatings and arrests to protest against their government. The parallels to Egypt and Tunisia are obvious — Sudan is a notoriously repressive Arab country, ruled by the same strongman for more than 21 years, historically and culturally close to its big brother just down the Nile, Egypt. And it was already seething with economic and political discontent even before demonstrators started taking to the streets of Cairo.

Though the protests are often small — a few dozen to a few hundred young people — they seem to be well organized and widespread across northern Sudan, from Khartoum, the capital, to Omdurman and El Obeid to Kosti, a relatively quiet city on the banks of the Nile.

The grievances tend to be focused on Sudan’s wounded economy and practical things, like the rapidly rising prices of sugar and fuel, though protesters have also shouted out against political repression. The police have cracked down hard, arresting dozens and beating countless others with batons and sticks. One student died this week from injuries that other protesters said had been caused by the police.

Still, many Sudanese students seem fired up, even if the masses have yet to fall in line behind them.

“There is a rising conscience in the region,” said Issraa el-Kogali, 29, an amateur filmmaker who joined a recent protest in Khartoum. “So why not go for it?”

Despite its reputation as a tightly controlled police state, Sudan actually has a history of successful protests. Street-level uprisings brought down the government in 1964 and 1985. Those moments unfolded similarly to what is happening in Egypt, with people taking to the streets with specific economic and political complaints, the government initially trying to crack down and then the security services joining the masses and the government eventually acquiescing to their demands.

But most seasoned analysts doubt that this Sudanese government will buckle anytime soon. The military is not simply loyal to the government — it is the government. Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, took power in a military coup in 1989 and has ruled ever since. The upper ranks of the military are said to be firmly behind him.

On top of that, the political opposition is weak, divided and widely discredited.

“There is certainly discontent with the regime, but it’s unclear if enough of the right factors are present to complete the equation in Khartoum,” said Zach Vertin, a Sudan analyst for the International Crisis Group. “Years of subjugation at the hands of the N.C.P.,” or the National Congress Party, as the ruling party is called, “have yielded both political apathy and a weak opposition. Likewise, the heavy and willing hand of security services and corresponding fears among the population act to inhibit such an uprising.”

In sum, Mr. Vertin said, “Protests undertaken thus far have not taken root with a broad section of the population, but given what we’ve seen in Egypt, nothing can be ruled out.”

Sudan is about to wade into a whirlpool of problems. The oil-producing southern third of the country, which has been the economic engine for the somewhat impressive growth in Khartoum, is preparing to split off. Last month southern Sudanese voters opted for secession by more than 99 percent in a long-awaited independence referendum, and some northern Sudanese blame the government for this.

The economy is already beginning to reflect the strains and worries of the coming split, scheduled for July. The value of the Sudanese pound has plunged. The government recently started cutting back on food and fuel subsides, which set the first protests in motion. But the government is trying to project confidence.

“The situation in Egypt is different than the situation of Sudan,” said Rabie A. Atti, a government spokesman. “We don’t have one small group that controls everything. Wealth is distributed equally. We’ve given power to the states.”

Many Sudanese, especially those in the war-torn and marginalized Darfur region, would probably argue with that. But few want to tangle with the police, who sometimes wear ski masks and commando-style uniforms and often smash civilians in the face with impunity.

“The Sudanese street is not yet prepared,” said Mouysar Hassan, 22, a student who took part in a recent protest. “Many are scared.”

Isma’il Kushkush contributed reporting from Khartoum, Sudan.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/world ... .html?_r=1

*

[vanlose kid]

Tahrir Square battleground: 'These people tried to slaughter us last night'
Anti-Mubarak protesters in Cairo fight to hold square littered with bricks and burnt-out vehicles after night of bloodshed


Peter Beaumont and Jack Shenker in Cairo guardian.co.uk, Thursday 3 February 2011 15.52 GMT

They were barely visible at first, a glimmer of tan clothing among the ranks of pro-Mubarak fighters lined on a low overpass above the entrance to Tahrir Square. It was from here that rocks, petrol bombs and bullets had been raining down on the anti-regime opposition defending their barricades below.

At 9am first one, then a second, and then dozens of Egyptian soldiers – the same military forces who had stood back and watched as last night's bloodshed unfolded – finally appeared at this key strategic flashpoint and began driving back those on the bridge. Before them lay a no-man's land littered with broken bricks and burnt-out vehicles that spoke of the extraordinary violence that had played out in the darkness.

It was the beginning of a day of to-and-fro street clashes in the densely populated neighbourhoods surrounding the square, as anti-Mubarak protesters fought close-quarter battles to hold Tahrir and, in a hail of warning shots and automatic gunfire, the army sporadically attempted to establish buffer zones.

A night of fighting that left more than 1,000 injured and several dead from gunshot wounds. Despite the denials of Egypt's government and interior ministry, both of which claimed these events were not state-orchestrated, the evidence strongly suggested otherwise.

Anti-Mubarak protesters dragged a supporter of the regime through their barricades just after 8am. In his pocket was an identity card showing him to be Ahmed Mahmoud Abdel Razik, a member of the police.

His was not the only identity card taken. Others were on display, taken as their owners were led away for interrogation in the buildings on the back streets before being handed over to the army. Despite the tensions in the crowd most captured fighters were protected from retribution by responsible protesters.

"These people tried to slaughter us last night – five of my fellow revolutionaries were killed by sniper fire at this location, and I saw one man collapse right in front of me at 4am with his brains falling out on to the road," said Mahmoud Mustafa, a 25-year-old anti-Mubarak demonstrator. "But look around you – we remain peaceful, we remain united and we remain determined to bring down this regime. I was never involved in politics before, but now I will stay here until Mubarak leaves or I die, whatever comes first."

The north side of the square was a scene of devastation – both physical and human. At the makeshift aid stations, which have been manned by 70 volunteer doctors in the open air, casualties were still coming in.

A man with a broken back was carried through the crowd on a piece of corrugated metal. Others came through with head injuries, broken arms and cuts.

One of those treating the injured was Dr Ibrahim Fakhr, a surgical professor. "We had shooting at 11pm last night and then again at around four in the morning from a sniper on the roof of the Egyptian Museum. We saw the laser light coming from the weapon. The latest that we have is that seven have been killed by gunfire."

Like the doctors, those trying to defend the square have been forced to improvise. Crude helmets were constructed out of cardboard boxes; others strapped water bottles to their heads. They built makeshift shields and used plastic crates to catch the incoming stones at their barricades.

"I'm an agricultural teacher by trade and I've never built weapons before, but I am good with my hands," explained Said el-Zoughly, who was directing a group of protesters as they broke down a burnt-out vehicle to salvage defence materials and put together catapults and slingshots. "We're not just running around wildly, we're trying to be organised and efficient. Anyone who wants a shield can get one. We'll stay for however long it takes – God is with us."

At the mouth of the square, buildings once held by the pro-Mubarak demonstrators had changed hands by morning. On the roof of one, a group of young men, equipped with stones and firebombs, were briefed by their leader, while others hauled sacks of rocks up the derelict stairs.

"Today's still early, but they're scared of us," he told those around him. "Don't get burnt out. If you are tired get into the building. If you want to sleep stay away from the edges of the roof and its corners.

"Then when they come into no-man's land we can surprise them."

As more people arrived at the square bearing food and supplies for those inside, the clashes – smaller in intensity than those the night before – broke out again. The lines of soldiers between were hit by missiles, and tanks moved in.

Mohamed Saleh, a 25-year-old senior accountant, surveyed the scene. "You must tell the world about this terrorism, government terrorism," he said. "We've been sitting here for eight days with no trouble, no fires, no violence – just a peaceful desire for revolution. Now civilians are being indiscriminately massacred by thugs. If the west cares so much about terrorism then why doesn't it act?

"Mubarak says he wants eight more months in power to manage a peaceful transition. Just see what the first day of that peaceful transition looks like, then you'll understand why we can't stop protesting until he leaves immediately. He is a thug and a criminal and he wants to kill us. Can you imagine what would happen to us tonight if we stood down and stopped defending ourselves? We would be slaughtered. We're fighting now for our lives."

On Twitter and by other means, anti-Mubarak protesters sent out appeals for medical supplies, blood donations and blankets, and exchanged information on which entrances and exits to the square were safe. On the fringes of Tahrir many people were assaulted and harassed by pro-Mubarak thugs, including dozens of local and international journalists who have been portrayed by state television as sympathisers of the revolution and accused of spreading misinformation and circulating drugs.

Elsewhere reports filtered in of other institutions perceived to be anti-Mubarak coming under attack, including the Hisham Mubarak law centre, which has previously provided legal services for arrested democracy activists, and the El Nadeem Centre for Rehabiliation of Victims of Violence, which has campaigned against police torture.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/fe ... protesters

*

[vanlose kid]

Media in the line of fire in Egypt


Journalists in Egypt – domestic and foreign – are increasingly under siege, with Egyptian authorities detaining reporters and gangs of young men roaming the streets looking for anyone with camera equipment.

Some of the pressure has come from the government: Six Al Jazeera journalists were detained for several hours earlier this week, and while they were eventually released, their equipment remains with the police.

Two New York Times reporters were reportedly arrested – or "taken into protective custody", as the government termed it.

Spotters stand outside many hotels, watching balconies with high-powered binoculars. When they see balconies with camera equipment or photographers, they use radios to call in the details.

Egyptian police sources say that information from those spotters has been used to conduct several raids on journalists’ hotel rooms in recent days.

And the government has reportedly pressured several hotels not to extend the reservations of foreign journalists.

But most of the intimidation and violence has come from unofficial sources: Young men loiter outside the hotels where many reporters are staying, shouting at (and sometimes attacking) anyone with equipment.

Hotel lobbies are filled with journalists and camera crews wearing bandages, and many have been restricted to watching the events in Tahrir Square from their hotel balconies.

Egyptian state television has actively tried to foment the unrest by reporting that "Israeli spies" have infiltrated the city – which explains why many of the gangs who attack reporters shout "yehudi!" (“Jew!”).

The area around Tahrir Square has become a virtual no-go zone for camera crews, which were assaulted on Wednesday almost as soon as they entered the area controlled by supporters of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Several of them were mistaken for Al Jazeera crews, and were chased off by young men wielding sticks and chanting, "Jazeera! Jazeera!".

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said his crew was also assaulted on Tuesday night after being mistaken for an Al Jazeera crew.

A reporter for the Al Arabiya network was kidnapped for several hours during Wednesday’s protest.

The violence has come exclusively from the Mubarak supporters: There have been no reports of pro-democracy demonstrators attacking or intimidating the media.

Egyptian journalists, too, have been the victims of angry mobs, all of them affiliated with the pro-Mubarak crowd. Sarah El Sirgany, an editor with the Daily News Egypt, tweeted that her brother was assaulted while trying to protect a group of reporters attacked by an angry mob.

An Al Jazeera reporter was held at knifepoint by a group of young men on Thursday morning. One man’s face was still bloodied from the previous night’s fighting.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middl ... 05359.html

*

[justdrew]

Media in the line of fire in Egypt
...
Spotters stand outside many hotels, watching balconies with high-powered binoculars. When they see balconies with camera equipment or photographers, they use radios to call in the details.
...

see those are they guys you take the radios from.

within a disorganized people's movement, there should be some cells of not-so-disorganized people with clear objectives.

[barracuda]

Last blog post before his arrest (though he seems to be out now):

Egypt Right Now, by Sandmonkey

I don’t know how to start writing this. I have been battling fatigue for not sleeping properly for the past 10 days, moving from one’s friend house to another friend’s house, almost never spending a night in my home, facing a very well funded and well organized ruthless regime that views me as nothing but an annoying bug that its time to squash will come. The situation here is bleak to say the least.

It didn’t start out that way. On Tuesday Jan 25 it all started peacefully, and against all odds, we succeeded to gather hundreds of thousands and get them into Tahrir Square, despite being attacked by Anti-Riot Police who are using sticks, tear gas and rubber bullets against us. We managed to break all of their barricades and situated ourselves in Tahrir. The government responded by shutting down all cell communication in Tahrir square, a move which purpose was understood later when after midnight they went in with all of their might and attacked the protesters and evacuated the Square. The next day we were back at it again, and the day after. Then came Friday and we braved their communication blackout, their thugs, their tear gas and their bullets and we retook the square. We have been fighting to keep it ever since.

That night the government announced a military curfew, which kept getting shorter by the day, until it became from 8 am to 3 pm. People couldn’t go to work, gas was running out quickly and so were essential goods and money, since the banks were not allowed to operate and people were not able to collect their salary. The internet continued to be blocked, which affected all businesses in Egypt and will cause an economic meltdown the moment they allow the banks to operate again. We were being collectively punished for daring to say that we deserve democracy and rights, and to keep it up, they withdrew the police, and then sent them out dressed as civilians to terrorize our neighborhoods. I was shot at twice that day, one of which with a semi-automatic by a dude in a car that we the people took joy in pummeling. The government announced that all prisons were breached, and that the prisoners somehow managed to get weapons and do nothing but randomly attack people. One day we had organized thugs in uniforms firing at us and the next day they disappeared and were replaced by organized thugs without uniforms firing at us. Somehow the people never made the connection.

Despite it all, we braved it. We believed we are doing what’s right and were encouraged by all those around us who couldn’t believe what was happening to their country. What he did galvanized the people, and on Tuesday, despite shutting down all major roads leading into Cairo, we managed to get over 2 million protesters in Cairo alone and 3 million all over Egypt to come out and demand Mubarak’s departure. Those are people who stood up to the regime’s ruthlessness and anger and declared that they were free, and were refusing to live in the Mubarak dictatorship for one more day. That night, he showed up on TV, and gave a very emotional speech about how he intends to step down at the end of his term and how he wants to die in Egypt, the country he loved and served. To me, and to everyone else at the protests this wasn’t nearly enough, for we wanted him gone now. Others started asking that we give him a chance, and that change takes time and other such poppycock. Hell, some people and family members cried when they saw his speech. People felt sorry for him for failing to be our dictator for the rest of his life and inheriting us to his Son. It was an amalgam of Stockholm syndrome coupled with slave mentality in a malevolent combination that we never saw before. And the Regime capitalized on it today.

Today, they brought back the internet, and started having people calling on TV and writing on facebook on how they support Mubarak and his call for stability and peacefull change in 8 months. They hung on to the words of the newly appointed government would never harm the protesters, whom they believe to be good patriotic youth who have a few bad apples amongst them. We started getting calls asking people to stop protesting because “we got what we wanted” and “we need the country to start working again”. People were complaining that they miss their lives. That they miss going out at night, and ordering Home Delivery. That they need us to stop so they can resume whatever existence they had before all of this. All was forgiven, the past week never happened and it’s time for Unity under Mubarak’s rule right now.

To all of those people I say: NEVER! I am sorry that your lives and businesses are disrupted, but this wasn’t caused by the Protesters. The Protesters aren’t the ones who shut down the internet that has paralyzed your businesses and banks: The government did. The Protesters weren’t the ones who initiated the military curfew that limited your movement and allowed goods to disappear off market shelves and gas to disappear: The government did. The Protesters weren’t the ones who ordered the police to withdraw and claimed the prisons were breached and unleashed thugs that terrorized your neighborhoods: The government did. The same government that you wish to give a second chance to, as if 30 years of dictatorship and utter failure in every sector of government wasn’t enough for you. The Slaves were ready to forgive their master, and blame his cruelty on those who dared to defy him in order to ensure a better Egypt for all of its citizens and their children. After all, he gave us his word, and it’s not like he ever broke his promises for reform before or anything.

Then Mubarak made his move and showed them what useful idiots they all were.

You watched on TV as “Pro-Mubarak Protesters” – thugs who were paid money by NDP members by admission of High NDP officials- started attacking the peaceful unarmed protesters in Tahrir square. They attacked them with sticks, threw stones at them, brought in men riding horses and camels- in what must be the most surreal scene ever shown on TV- and carrying whips to beat up the protesters. And then the Bullets started getting fired and Molotov cocktails started getting thrown at the Anti-Mubarak Protesters as the Army standing idly by, allowing it all to happen and not doing anything about it. Dozens were killed, hundreds injured, and there was no help sent by ambulances. The Police never showed up to stop those attacking because the ones who were captured by the Anti-mubarak people had police ID’s on them. They were the police and they were there to shoot and kill people and even tried to set the Egyptian Museum on Fire. The Aim was clear: Use the clashes as pretext to ban such demonstrations under pretexts of concern for public safety and order, and to prevent disunity amongst the people of Egypt. But their plans ultimately failed, by those resilient brave souls who wouldn’t give up the ground they freed of Egypt, no matter how many live bullets or firebombs were hurled at them. They know, like we all do, that this regime no longer cares to put on a moderate mask. That they have shown their true nature. That Mubarak will never step down, and that he would rather burn Egypt to the ground than even contemplate that possibility.

In the meantime, State-owned and affiliated TV channels were showing coverage of Peaceful Mubarak Protests all over Egypt and showing recorded footage of Tahrir Square protest from the night before and claiming it’s the situation there at the moment. Hundreds of calls by public figures and actors started calling the channels saying that they are with Mubarak, and that he is our Father and we should support him on the road to democracy. A veiled girl with a blurred face went on Mehwer TV claiming to have received funding by Americans to go to the US and took courses on how to bring down the Egyptian government through protests which were taught by Jews. She claimed that AlJazeera is lying, and that the only people in Tahrir square now were Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. State TV started issuing statements on how the people arrested Israelis all over Cairo engaged in creating mayhem and causing chaos. For those of you who are counting this is an American-Israeli-Qatari-Muslim Brotherhood-Iranian-Hamas conspiracy. Imagine that. And MANY PEOPLE BOUGHT IT. I recall telling a friend of mine that the only good thing about what happened today was that it made clear to us who were the idiots amongst our friends. Now we know.

Now, just in case this isn’t clear: This protest is not one made or sustained by the Muslim Brotherhood, it’s one that had people from all social classes and religious background in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood only showed up on Tuesday, and even then they were not the majority of people there by a long shot. We tolerated them there since we won’t say no to fellow Egyptians who wanted to stand with us, but neither the Muslims Brotherhood not any of the Opposition leaders have the ability to turn out one tenth of the numbers of Protesters that were in Tahrir on Tuesday. This is a revolution without leaders. Three Million individuals choosing hope instead of fear and braving death on hourly basis to keep their dream of freedom alive. Imagine that.

The End is near. I have no illusions about this regime or its leader, and how he will pluck us and hunt us down one by one till we are over and done with and 8 months from now will pay people to stage fake protests urging him not to leave power, and he will stay “because he has to acquiesce to the voice of the people”. This is a losing battle and they have all the weapons, but we will continue fighting until we can’t. I am heading to Tahrir right now with supplies for the hundreds injured, knowing that today the attacks will intensify, because they can’t allow us to stay there come Friday, which is supposed to be the game changer. We are bringing everybody out, and we will refuse to be anything else than peaceful. If you are in Egypt, I am calling on all of you to head down to Tahrir today and Friday. It is imperative to show them that the battle for the soul of Egypt isn’t over and done with. I am calling you to bring your friends, to bring medical supplies, to go and see what Mubarak’s gurantees look like in real life. Egypt needs you. Be Heroes.

[beeline]

.

Viva Sandmonkey