Live: Al Jazeera coverage of Egypt’s growing revolution

[AlicetheKurious]

I don't believe in luck, Nordic. I don't believe in much any more, except right and wrong, which at the moment is very little comfort, because we seem to be an endangered species.

[crikkett]

http://bikyamasr.com/49799/egypt-import ... rettyPhoto[g49799]/0/

Crisis in Tahrir
ib.intertrader.com

You are here: Home » Egypt » Egypt imports 21 tons of tear gas from the US, port staff refuses to sign for it
Egypt imports 21 tons of tear gas from the US, port staff refuses to sign for it
Manar Ammar | 28 November 2011 | 0 Comments

Document of importation of tear gas.

CAIRO: The arrival of 7 and half tons of tear gas to Egypt’s Suez port created conflict after the responsible officials at the port refused to sign and accept it for fear it would be used to crackeddown on Egyptian protesters.

Local news sites published documents regarding the shipment that shows that the cargo, which arrived in 479 barrels from the United States and was scheduled to be delivered to the ministry of interior.

The reports also mentioned in the documents that a second shipment of 14 tons of tear gas was expected, making the total 21 tons, in one week.

The importing of tear gas comes after thousands of tear gas canisters were fired at Egyptian protesters last week as clashes raged in downtown Cairo, just off from the iconic Tahrir Square, where thousands of protesters had gathered.

The gas used has angered activists, who say the effects of exposure has yet to wear off, with a number of protesters telling Bikyamasr.com that they have coughing fits, chest pains, blurred vision and their arms often shake. According to the Journal of Royal Medicine, the use of CS Gas – the most common choice of Egypt’s police last week – can have lasting symptoms for over one year.

One of the tear gas canisters(CS) used in Cairo, made in Jamestown, PA.

The al-Shorouk newspaper reported that upon the arrival of the shipment, massive disapproval broke out between employees, where five employees refused to sign for the shipment, one after the other.

The five, being dubbed by activists as the “brave five”, will be refereed to a investigative committee as to why they refused to perform their duties.

The news about the shipment’s arrival stirred the Twittersphere, after it was consumed all day with the country’s first post-revolution elections, and activists mocked the reinforcement of weapons that is being used against them.

Many commented, saying that “gas bombs are definably more important than importing wheat to make bread.”

BM
ShortURL: http://goo.gl/jvulY

[JackRiddler]

.

Who knows if the count is going to be remotely accurate, but I'm allowing myself optimism (as I perhaps too often do with elections), again because of the fact that half of Egyptians are 24 years old or younger. May they surprise everyone!

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent ... rothe.aspx

Egypt's first polling day deemed promising, Brotherhood unethical

Sherif Tarek, Monday 28 Nov 2011

Violence was barely seen on the first day of the parliamentary elections, but there were other violations, many of which were linked to the Muslim Brotherhood


Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Mohammed Morsi shakes hands with a solider on the first day of parliamentary elections in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Nov. 28, 2011 (Photo: AP)


The first day of the maiden post-revolution parliamentary elections witnessed several drawbacks and violations across the nation, most of which were reportedly committed by the Muslim Brotherhood. Yet, it is fair to say that, on the whole, the ballot opener turned out to be way better than initially expected.

The elections got underway on 28 November as scheduled, in spite of political turmoil and further deteriorating security in Egypt in the wake of severe clashes that took place between protesters and Central Security Forces, and lasted for days in Tahrir Square and surrounding streets this month.

Last week’s bloody clashes, which saw over 40 killed and several thousand injured, significantly intensified revolutionaries’ calls for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to immediately hand over power to a national salvation government led by presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei.

The anti-SACF demonstrators believe a parliament under the ruling SCAF would have no real constitutional authority and insisted the military rulers had to step down before elections. Subsequently, they joined the current Tahrir Square sit-in that up until yesterday consisted of many thousands, boycotting the polling.

As police forces used batons, tear gas and even live ammunition against pro-democracy demonstrators during the confrontations, many also demanded the postponement of the ongoing elections, saying security has to improve first in order to ensure transparency and safety of the ballot.

Nonetheless, protests against SCAF and worries about the stuttering security status seem to be negligible the next day as elections got underway as schedules, with the overwhelming majority of Egypt’s voters casting their votes against all odds. And meanwhile, numbers in Tahrir dramatically decreased.

The numerous electoral committees, which were primarily stationed at school buildings, saw incredibly long queues of voters as the voting process lasted, at least theoretically, for over 12 hours.

The scene evoked memories of March’s nationwide referendum on constitutional amendments proposed by SCAF, which was approved by most of the voters. It was widely regarded as Egyptians’ first experience of democracy. The first day of elections was similarly acclaimed by many.

“For weeks, I have been planning to boycott elections and was even trying to persuade the people I know into following suit,” Wafaa Abou Ouf, a 63-year-old senior citizen, told Ahram Online. “But after I saw the lines on TV I changed my mind and will go to vote Tuesday.”

The elections’ opening day was far from violation-free though, with the Muslim Brotherhood, who are tipped to comprise the majority of the coming parliament, accused of several breaches.

The Brotherhood were already slated by many from across the political for boycotting the latest Tahrir Square sit-in. Their critics said they are only pursuing their own interests by making sure the elections would be held. Now, they are facing a new wave of criticism.

Leafleting

Egyptian law stipulates electoral candidates and political parties must halt leafleting 48 hours before polling. This particular law was repeatedly broken today, especially by the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) who reportedly committed other infringements throughout the day.

Reports of intensive FJP and Brotherhood campaigning, including leafleting, have intensively come in from Ahram Online reporters and elsewhere around the country. Social network sites have also been publishing dozens of photos and videos showing FJP supporters campaigning before polling stations.

In the Abrahimya district in Alexandria, for instance, FJP and Salafist Al-Nour Party volunteers were heavily leafleting polling stations, claiming ignorance when told their actions were in violation of the law.

However, Ahmed Abu Baraka, one of the leaders of the FJP, denied reports that the party is violating electoral rules and handing out campaign flyers in front of polling stations. Abu Baraka accused the media of “systematically” spreading these rumours, which he says are completely false.

“None of the members of FJP has committed any violations of the rules, and what is happening now is a systematic media campaign against us by our competitors who own satellite channels and are violating the rules of ethical journalism," Abu Baraka said.

In the meantime, the Islamist Wasat Party filed a complaint in Fayoum against the FJP for breaching election laws by leafleting outside electoral polls and using microphones to call on people to vote for their candidates.

Other non-FJP candidates were also campaigning.

The Amira Fawzia School in Maadi saw journalist Moustafa Bakry, one of the candidates, has been leafleting at the polling stations too, causing arguments among the voters as many objected that this is in violation of the ban on campaigning during the ballot.

In Assiut, a car with an amplifier was reportedly calling voters to vote for one of the independent candidates, which is also against the law but on the bright side not threatening the welfare of voters, unlike thuggery.

Thuggery

As promised by SCAF, joint troops from the army and CSF heavily secured the electoral committees and voters. Security forces kept acts of thuggery to a minimum, contrary to initial fears that candidates from the now-defunct National Democratic Party (NDP) would stoop to violence in order to rig elections.

The 2010 elections, the last parliamentary ballot in the 30-year tenure of toppled president Hosni Mubarak, were blatantly orchestrated by the then ruling NDP who eliminated almost all the opposition forces. The electoral scandal was one of the catalysts that triggered the January 25 Revolution.

The ongoing elections are nowhere near as chaotic and manipulated as last year’s poll, or those previous ones to it. Nevertheless, thugs were not completely ruled out this year. The Egyptian Coalition for Electoral Observation said in an official statement that it “found thuggish acts in some voting stations”.

“In El-Zawia El-Hamra Voting Centre, thugs prevented people from reaching the polling stations. The civil society organisations’ observers were prevented from reaching the voting stations, too,” read the statement, which mentioned many other violations that were spotted on the elections’ opening day.

“The coalition observers monitored thuggish acts in front of El-Salam Primary School, in El-Zawya El-Hamra and El-Abedin School in Downtown Cairo. In Assiut, thugs in El-Badary Village prevented the voters from reaching the polling stations,” the same statement added.

What’s more, angry voters in Mattariya have taken hostage the election judge at the polling station in Ahmed Shawki School. They locked him up in protest for making them wait for long hours, for no apparent reason. Several disputes took place for what appeared to be lack of organisation.

Delays

Polling, on paper, should have started at 8:00a.m., but practically many electoral committees in different districts started to receive votes nearly at 1:00p.m., leaving many voters bemoaning while waiting for hours to reach the ballot boxes.

The Operations Room of the National Council for Human Rights has received many complaints pertain to delays in opening polling stations across the country, with many putting the delay down to lack of organisation.

At the Amira Fawzeya school in Maadi, a wealthy suburb in southern Cairo, poor organisation saw one of the polling stations open at 12:00p.m., four hours later than scheduled as frustrations initially boiled over in the first parliamentary elections, according to an Ahram Online reporter.

“I decided to be positive and come and vote, I did my duty but they are forcing me to hate the whole process,” an angry man, who arrived early in the morning to take a leading position in what turned out to be a very long queue, shouted after one of the judges failed to show up on time, an Ahram Online reporter said.

The Egyptian Coalition for Electoral Observation said there were no ballot papers in some of the committees, such as in Dawedar, El-Kawmia, Ibn Khaldon Schools and Helmia Industrial School in Nasr City, Cairo, which was cited by many as a possible reason for the delay.

With less than half an hour to go before voting finished, the Egyptian Current Party also revealed that peripheral polling stations in the Ain Shams district of Cairo have yet to take delivery of their ballot papers, with voters running out of patience.

Bribes and other complaints

Buying off votes has always been one of the most infamous drawbacks in the parliamentary elections that were held throughout Mubarak’s rule, and that people were hoping not see during the ongoing ballot. That was not the case unfortunately.

Some political forces have reportedly resorted to bribes in order to win votes. Once again, the Brotherhood’s name was brought up in this accusation.

According to El-Badeel news website, several political parties are engaged in buying votes in Cairo and Alexandria. Evidence, if there was any, is yet to emerge to substantiate the allegation.

Election observers have told El-Badeel that among the offenders are the Brotherhood’s FJP, the Salafist Nour Party, established liberal party Wafd, and members of the dissolved NDP who have all been buying off voters with mobile phone credit and meat in various impoverished neighbourhoods.

Meanwhile, there were other concerns that ballot papers have not been stamped by the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC). The Egyptian Coalition for Electoral Observation documented that problem, highlighting that the same setback occurred during the constitutional referendum in March.

In other complaints cited by the Egyptian Coalition for Electoral Observation, some independent candidates were transporting voters to vote for them El-Ashraf Primary School, which is also against the law.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/27953.aspx

[AlicetheKurious]

We have so many heroes, like those five who refused the shipment of tear gas. The government has been telling us ad nauseum how down to the wire the budget is, blah-blah-blah. It's shocking that even while they've been informing us that there was no money for crucial expenditures, they were using Egyptians' own money to buy weapons to use against them.

That the five heroes are being punished instead of being thanked, says it all.

Below is not an important article, but I'm posting it here because it uncannily resembles a discussion that took place between me and an army officer last summer. He seemed totally sincere and earnest, and a really nice guy, as in fact they all do. Even, especially, the members of the SCAF who have been tasked with communicating with the public.

In fact, one of the reasons it took so long for many of us to wake up to the sickening reality is that even seasoned activists came away from meetings with them fully convinced that the SCAF are decent, well-meaning and genuinely patriotic, if terribly inexperienced, and that it's only a matter of opening more effective channels of communication between them and the revolutionaries, and everything will be better. Instead, the tortures, beatings, kidnappings and murders have just been getting worse.

It's a horrible, truly scary feeling to realize that you are dealing with a completely impervious individual, who sees himself as a paragon of morality even while he commits the most despicable crimes. These are people upon whom the most sophisticated brainwashing techniques have been used to render them incapable of questioning authority, so that they can only obey orders and believe what they're told to believe. You find yourself thinking that maybe he really doesn't know, because surely such a decent person could not possibly be involved in such terrible human rights abuses. It's a tempting, but as we've discovered the hard way, very dangerous mistake.

The Military Dialogue

I went to the nearby election committee today, but not to vote.

I went and I saw the long queues of voters, people whose right to vote, whose freedom to vote has been paid for by the blood of those who can no longer share in the experience.

I saw the posters of candidates, and it occurred to me – that I had never seen most of them in Tahrir. They are not leaders, they are vultures, preying on our dead.

I wanted to take some photos and wanted to shoot some video as outlined in an idea I explained in this video on YouTube.

Instead I got into a 2-3 hour conversation with a lieutenant colonel from the army.

He had overheard me speaking to a friend I ran into, it was clear that my position towards the military was one of distrust, and he wanted to discuss that with me.

I started off with the standard disclaimer, that I am primarily discussing SCAF, and not really the entire army. That I was boycotting the elections for a whole lot of reasons.

So he asked me why I distrusted SCAF so much, and I explained. I explained the countless violations SCAF had committed against the lives and dignity of Egyptians since they took over the country. I explained that if he had paid attention to the 3rd Communique of SCAF it would be clear that they believed their authority derived not from the Egyptian people or the Revolution of Jan 25, but from Mubarak. I explained that for months now, I had seen the army kill our youth in an attempt to abort the revolution and crush any and all voices of dissent. I explained, and recounted the various horrors we have been enduring under the yoke of the military; beatings, murders, detentions, military trials, virginity tests, attacks on peaceful protesters, the use of shotguns, live ammo, etc.

He asked me about Mohamed Mahmoud, the same old tired story about how the revolutionaries were trying to break into the Ministry of the Interior. I explained to him that I myself, had been shot by the CSF’s beads on the intersection of Kasr El Eini & Sheikh Rehan Street, that I was nowhere near the ministry. That those of us who were engaged in battle in Mohamed Mahmoud were doing so in order to protect the square. That on various days there had been hundreds of thousands in Tahrir, and that had we wished to ‘attack the ministry’ as the media claimed, there would not be a brick left in the building, and that Mohamed Mahmoud Street was not the only way to get to the ministry.

Every time I explained something the lieutenant colonel tried to explain it away. He would say it was a ‘mistake’ or that ‘had it happened’ – it must’ve been an individual action by a soldier who was not doing what they had been told. He tried to explain that no such systematic abuse was condoned. He even tried to convince me that those who had murdered civilians, those who had ran over them in APC’s, those who had subjected our girls to sexual abuse in the name of ‘virginity tests’ – were all being tried in military courts, that some had been sentenced, that these actions could not be possibly have been condoned or encouraged.

I explained that this was not possible. That had the abuses not been sanctioned, they would have stopped. That if soldiers had actually been tried for murdering civilians, or for abusing girls, then those actions would have happened once, and never again. That the recurring abuses make it quite clear that no such explanation is possible, no such explanation is credible.

All his explanations could be summarized quite simply, “The military is not evil, it is stupid.” – that was basically his reasoning. That they were incompetent at politics, that they did not have the skills to deal with politics or with a civilian population. That they did in fact, want to hand over power but that it was the liberals of all people who had stopped them from doing so! That they were willing to hand over authority to a government headed by Dr. El Baradei, for instance, but that the political parties had all refused such a deal.

“They told me,” he would repeat, over and over. “I’ve been told,” he would say, over and over.

I had to stop him at some point and explain, “all your sentences start with ‘they told me’ – and most of mine start with ‘I’ve seen’! – doesn’t that alone tell you something?”

“They’ll hand over authority in six months,” he swears – as promised.

I say “No, they won’t. They’re killing people so that they don’t.”

He asks “What’s yr number? We’ll talk.”

I say “I’m not giving you my number.”

He seemed genuinely hurt. I told him it wasn’t personal. That my distrust extended to his establishment and not to his person. That the fact that he believed their lies proved to me that he himself, was too decent to imagine that they are as brutal as I have come to know.

Then I told him “You know what? You say they’ll cede power in June? Fine. I’ll meet you back here on the 1st of July.”

He says “Okay, but do you mean it? Right here? First of July?”

I say “Yes, unless they’ve killed or detained me by then.”

He actually looked worried about me.

Then, with a look of great concern, he said “Okay, don’t give me yr number, but at least take mine – if anything happens – anything at all, please call me.”

I told him I could not do that, that I was no better than any of those they’ve killed or the thousands that they have already detained.

He said “But I might be able to help you if anything happen.”‘

I asked, rhetorically, if he expected me to accept help and leave thousands behind just because they can’t call in similar favors?

Finally, in commenting on all the lives lost, on the thousands of injured, he said that casualties were inevitable, that in order to reclaim Sinai we had lost many, many lives.

“Yes,” I said – “but are you comparing our army to that of Israel?”

So it goes. Link

[StarmanSkye]

Thanks for your posts Alice, esp. the last one detailing a one-on-one discussion with an SCAF member. O'd been hoping someone would post such a piece to help me better understand the mindset of the army soldiers. Its almost like you read my mind!

I suppose I would have expected that the soldiers' propagandizing and conditioning would have placed greater emphasis on the crucial role of Army in providing national security and top officials having the requisite experience in managing the many businesses as reasons why SCAF is 'acting cautious' in relinquishing control to a citizen-appointed national salvation government in advance of elections -- whereas it appears SCAF are hedging their bets and holding on to priveleges and overriding authority as most of the protestors suspect. The soldier's intractibility in even supposing he might have been lied to, and that by keeping soldiers from freely communicating with one another, to compare their experiences, SCAF leaders may be deliberately provoking the protestors to antagonize soldiers through misapportionment of blame -- as special groups of soldiers may be ordered to commit atrocities which the majority of soldiers are not privy to and cannot believe -- so they blame the protestors for making false claims which creates division and distrust, fueling mutual antagonism. This shows there are a lot of factions and cultural discontinuities causing severe barriers to understanding and compassion that the military leaders are undoubtedly exploiting -- to keep their foot-soldiers highly motivated, disciplined and committed as 'defenders' of democracy that the leaders are the biggest obstacles to -- kind of like creating the very conditions of crisis, public distrust and widespread conflict that is the main justification for heavy police/military crackdown. Say, where have we seen THAT before ... ?

Oh yeah, divide and rule -- Which England wrote the book on, the US since refined into a science and widely taught to its client regimes ...

Almost can't believe to what extent the people keep underestimating the venality and calculated ruthlessness of elites who stand in the way of peace and justice.

[Sounder]

Starman Skye wrote…

Almost can't believe to what extent the people keep underestimating the venality and calculated ruthlessness of elites who stand in the way of peace and justice.

And yet you can believe it when you consider that our very conceptions as to the nature of nature are derived from and filtered through a vertical authority distribution system that inherently requires one to defer to those ‘above’ you and to impose on those ‘below’ you. Still, I also find it hard to imagine that centuries of observation can be trumped by the earnest protestations of folk that are vested in the current system.

The consciousness of humans is still swimming in a pre-rational sea of confusion.

[seemslikeadream]

Suez port employees reveal 21-ton US tear gas order for interior ministry
Port workers in Suez refuse to receive initial seven ton shipment as the interior ministry looks to restock after firing tear gas at protesters in Egypt for six days last week
Ahram Online, Tuesday 29 Nov 2011

A group of customs employees at the Suez seaport have revealed that the Egyptian Ministry of Interior is in the process of receiving 21 tons of tear gas from the US.

The claim was supported by Medhat Eissa, an activist in the coastal city of Suez, who provided documents he says he obtained from a group of employees at the Suez Canal customs. The employees have been subjected to questioning for their refusal to allow an initial seven ton shipment of the US-made tear gas canisters enter the port.

A group of employees at the Adabiya Seaport in Suez have confirmed, with the documents to prove it, that a three-stage shipment of in total 21 tons of tear gas canisters is on course for the port from the American port of Wilmington.

Employees say the container ship Danica, carrying seven tons of tear-gas canisters made by the American company Combined Systems, has already arrived at the port, with two similar shipments from the same company expected to arrive within the week.

[crikkett]

http://bikyamasr.com/49799/egypt-import-tear-gas-from-us/#!wp-prettyPhoto[g49799]/0/

Crisis in Tahrir
CAIRO: The arrival of 7 and half tons of tear gas to Egypt’s Suez port created conflict after the responsible officials at the port refused to sign and accept it for fear it would be used to crackeddown on Egyptian protesters.

Local news sites published documents regarding the shipment that shows that the cargo, which arrived in 479 barrels from the United States and was scheduled to be delivered to the ministry of interior.

The reports also mentioned in the documents that a second shipment of 14 tons of tear gas was expected, making the total 21 tons, in one week.

My waking thought this morning (was with you Alice, may the revolution prevail and bring lasting peace and justice to Egypt)

My waking thought this morning was that it takes a Navy ship that isn't rushing about 10 days to cross the Atlantic from Norfolk to Madrid. It takes a container ship longer; they have top speeds of about 15 knots and they can't sustain top speeds indefinitely. To get to Egypt from Madrid you have to then cross the Mediterranean.

It's been 10 days since the Ministry of the Interior shot its wad in Tahrir.

Shipping containers overseas takes time, and paperwork, and inspections, and involves all kinds of hassles I wouldn't know about, and that's just for things like Chinese plastic crap, not weapons. So for the order to be placed in time for the shipment to arrive in Egypt yesterday, suggests:

The action against protesters was planned weeks ago. And, someone here knew about it then.

[JackRiddler]

http://bikyamasr.com/49799/egypt-import-tear-gas-from-us/#!wp-prettyPhoto[g49799]/0/

Crisis in Tahrir
CAIRO: The arrival of 7 and half tons of tear gas to Egypt’s Suez port created conflict after the responsible officials at the port refused to sign and accept it for fear it would be used to crackeddown on Egyptian protesters.

Local news sites published documents regarding the shipment that shows that the cargo, which arrived in 479 barrels from the United States and was scheduled to be delivered to the ministry of interior.

The reports also mentioned in the documents that a second shipment of 14 tons of tear gas was expected, making the total 21 tons, in one week.

My waking thought this morning (was with you Alice, may the revolution prevail and bring lasting peace and justice to Egypt)

My waking thought this morning was that it takes a Navy ship that isn't rushing about 10 days to cross the Atlantic from Norfolk to Madrid. It takes a container ship longer; they have top speeds of about 15 knots and they can't sustain top speeds indefinitely. To get to Egypt from Madrid you have to then cross the Mediterranean.

It's been 10 days since the Ministry of the Interior shot its wad in Tahrir.

Shipping containers overseas takes time, and paperwork, and inspections, and involves all kinds of hassles I wouldn't know about, and that's just for things like Chinese plastic crap, not weapons. So for the order to be placed in time for the shipment to arrive in Egypt yesterday, suggests:

The action against protesters was planned weeks ago. And, someone here knew about it then.

Excellent point. At the very least they expected to be running out of teargas and it was considered essential to put in an order.

.

[StarmanSkye]

Just a quick 2 cents thought:
COULD Be that Egypt as a fully-invested client of the US well-connected to the distribution system of US military equipment/weapons procurement has in-place automatic resupply requisition, ie. when stocks of a given military-weapons or material are used and fall to a pre-set level they trigger re-order purchases -- an attribute of just-in-time warehouse-supplyside inventory-control system.

The US subsidizes the sale of US weapons to Egypt -- with perhaps several levels of Egyptian military-officialdom middlemen managers overseeing the resale -- part of the lucrative business franchise that SCAF controls and is unwilling to relinquish. It points to how deeply intertwined Egyptian economic, military and political interests are with the techno-bureaucracy of globalism.

[AlicetheKurious]

On another note (pun intended), the wonderful group Cairokee just yesterday released a new song in honor of last week's events in Tahrir Square (and other squares throughout the country). It's a duet with the singer Aida al-Ayouby, called, "Ya Medan" (Oh, Square). I translated it for you. I hope you enjoy it:



Cairokee:
Oh, oh Square, where have you been all this time?
With you we sang, with you we struggled
We fought our fear,

We prayed, "One hand!"
night and day, and "With You,
nothing is impossible."
The voice of freedom
united us.

Finally our life
has meaning.
There's no turning back,
we made our voice heard.

Finally our dream
is no longer forbidden.

Aida:
Oh, oh Square, where have you been all this time?
You brought down the wall,
You turned on the light.
You gathered around you
a broken people.

We were born anew
and the stubborn dream
was born again with us.

At times when the picture blurs,
we disagree,
but our purpose is pure.

We will not let our country down,
neither our children's children
nor the rights of those who fell.

Together:
Oh, oh Square, where have you been all this time?

Cairokee:
With you we felt, and we began,
after we had drifted far away
and been finished.

With our own hands
we must change ourselves.
You've given us so much,
but the rest is up to us.

Aida:
Sometimes you become a memory,
we leave you and the idea dies,
we forget the past,
and we tell each other stories about you.

Cairokee:
A square filled with all kinds,
the desperate and the brave,
those driven by love and those who hopped on,
the ones who shout
and the silent ones.

Aida:
We gather and drink tea together,
and we learn how to get our rights.
We forced the world to listen to us,
and our neighbors to get together.

Together:
Oh, oh Square, where have you been all this time?

Aida:
Our thought is our strength,
and our weapon is our unity.

Together:
You are a Square that says the truth,
and always says to the oppressor, "No!"

Aida:
You are a Square like a wave,
some are riding, some are dragged along,
and others standing outside, say,
"It's a storm in a teacup,"
and everything is Written.

[AlicetheKurious]

Breaking news: According to the Revolutionary Coalition, one of the judges assigned to oversee the elections, Ali Abdel Fatah, has joined the sit-in in front of the Cabinet headquarters, saying that before the judges could count the votes as they are legally obliged to do, the army confiscated 3000 ballot boxes from the East Cairo district and ordered the judges to go home. Before going to the sit-in, he met with several reporters (all of whom are named and known for their independence) to give them his account. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes of this.

[crikkett]

Just a quick 2 cents thought:
COULD Be that Egypt as a fully-invested client of the US well-connected to the distribution system of US military equipment/weapons procurement has in-place automatic resupply requisition, ie. when stocks of a given military-weapons or material are used and fall to a pre-set level they trigger re-order purchases -- an attribute of just-in-time warehouse-supplyside inventory-control system.

The US subsidizes the sale of US weapons to Egypt -- with perhaps several levels of Egyptian military-officialdom middlemen managers overseeing the resale -- part of the lucrative business franchise that SCAF controls and is unwilling to relinquish. It points to how deeply intertwined Egyptian economic, military and political interests are with the techno-bureaucracy of globalism.

That might explain it, if Egypt had used a lot of tear gas (21 tons) in the last few months - before November. I didn't read about it, but that doesn't mean anything. But then it begs the question of the wisdom of the US automatically (indefinitely?) resupplying allies with arms.

It makes sense too that the Ministry of the Interior would anticipate the need for lots and lots of tear gas after the election, especially if the election were rigged in favor of a parliament friendly to the army.

[dada]

Thank you so much for posting that song and the translation, and everything, Alice.

[tazmic]

"Party numbers suggest that the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing won perhaps 40 per cent of votes."

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/201112135719182598.html



"Diaa Rashwan, the head of the Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, told Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram that Islamist parties - including the FJP, Nour, and several other smaller parties - could collectively win 65 per cent of seats in the first round of voting."