Regime's concessions fail to quell Egypt uprising

[bemildred]

Source: AP, AFP, The Times

---

The demonstrators were trying to establish an enduring presence, complete with food and entertainments such as strolling musicians and poetry recitals, in Cairo's main square. Many are lying in front of army tanks, or resting on their treads, in attempts to prevent a feared military push to move the protesters out of the square.

Vice-President Omar Suleiman met opposition groups, including the banned but influential Muslim Brotherhood - a move that was unthinkable just days ago.

Dissident and opposition figurehead Mohamed ElBaradei was sidelined from the talks, saying he was not invited.

Government spokesman Magdi Radi said the parties had agreed to form a committee of judges and politicians "to study and propose constitutional amendments and required legislative amendments . . . by the first week of March".



Read more: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/regimes-concessions-fail-to-quell-egypt-uprising/story-e6frg6so-1226001855361

[EFerrari]

1. What I heard this morning was that after the meeting broke up

the participants were surprised to hear Suleiman claim that they had reached any "agreements" because none of them had agreed to anything.

That and that the "concessions" reported so breathlessly by the AP and others didn't include anything the protesters had asked for.

[bemildred]

2. There is a river of bullshit flowing about all this right now.

Check this out:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x586938

[EFerrari]

5. Yeah, the proof that the government is destabilizing the whole Middle East

is that the Greater Middle East Project map is a map of the Middle East. :)

[bemildred]

6. I just love secret stuff and conspiracies, it's soooo exciting. nt

[EFerrari]

8. There's plenty of real stuff here. Frank Wisner's dad was a big spook.

Wisner was recruited in 1947 by Dean Acheson to join the State Department's Office of Occupied Territories. In 1948, the CIA created a covert action division, the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC). Frank Wisner was put in charge of the operation and recruited many of his old friends from Carter Ledyard. According to its secret charter, its responsibilities include "propaganda, economic warfare, preventive direct action, including sabotage, antisabotage, demolition and evacuation procedures; subversion against hostile states, including assistance to underground resistance groups, and support of indigenous anti-communist elements in threatened countries of the free world."<7>

In 1947 Wisner established Operation Mockingbird, a program to influence the domestic and foreign media. In 1952, he became head of the Directorate of Plans, with Richard Helms as his chief of operations. This office had control of 75% of the CIA budget. In this position, he was instrumental in supporting pro-American forces that toppled Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran and Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán in Guatemala <8> following the Alfhem affair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Wisner

Our "Noise Machine" is a knock off of "Wisner's Wurlitzer".


lol

[bemildred]

9. Well yeah, there is that, but I don't think everybody is even on the same page.

Also offering Mr Wisner as evidence. He is very old school. But somebody stepped in it there too. How often does the President have to claim that his envoy does not speak for him? I mean if you must have some shill call for Mubarak Forever, you use a tool like Tony Blair. :-)

The Egyptian government has similar troubles, internal squabbles and lack of clue at the top. It is no surprise that there would be jockying and disorder in the government, given that Hosni can't last much longer and his kid is not acceptable to anyone except his own entourage, so there are conspiracies and cabals to get be the next Grand Poobah.

Another interesting question is how did a government this incompetent and oppressive and, well, Stalinist, make it this far? Why did it take so long?

Edit: speaking of which, I hear the King of Saudi Arabia is old and sick too.

[EFerrari]

10. Those thirty years were packed with violence in the Middle East.

The years from the Iranian revolution, then the war between Iraq and Iran, then the American wars. It would be hard to look at all of that and decide Mubarak was worth joining the carnage. Maybe "the devil you know" had a little to do with it.

[bemildred]

11. That is true, and at peace with Israel too.

That could be worth a lot.

And to be fair, why are US-ians so passive? Anybody that grew up after WWII knows how much things have changed for the worse here. Willful blindness is not something unique to Egypt. So I guess I ought to apologize to Egyptians, at least they ARE in the streets with they intent to shut things down until they get some action. We haven't done that since the 60s.

[EFerrari]

12. The other thing, of course, is that it's a lot harder to move from a military dictatorship

to a representative democracy if you are a client of the US government.

And maybe that speaks to how hard it is for us to effect change here. I don't think it's possible for our government to be in symbiotic relationships with these dictatorships without some of those ideas, practices, tactics flowing the other way, i.e., here.

[bemildred]

14. True, that, accountability is such a hassle, you know?

We need our own people's revolt to get rid of the incompetent, ignorant nitwits that are running the place now and lording it over the rest of us.

[Fuddnik]

3. The old healthcare reform tactic.

Dissident and opposition figurehead Mohamed ElBaradei was sidelined from the talks, saying he was not invited.

Hope and change come to Egypt.

[ananda]

4. That made me suspicious about it from the beginning...

... that El Baradei wasn't present.

[bemildred]

7. Egypt's new cabinet announces 15% rise in salaries and pensions

Increased chocolate rations!!!

Egypt's new cabinet has announced a 15% rise in salaries and pensions in an attempt to draw the sting from the public protests that have convulsed the country, threatening to drive Hosni Mubarak out of power after 30 years.

The increase for public sector workers followed earlier proposals for greater political freedom that have yet to convince pro-democracy protesters to leave Tahrir Square after two weeks of unrest that have claimed up to 300 lives.

The new finance minister, Samir Radwan, says some 6.5bn Egyptian pounds ($960m) will be allocated to cover the increases, which will take effect in April for the 6 million people on the public payroll.

State TV also announced that the family of a Google marketing manager who helped organise the anti-Mubarak demonstrations, has been told he will be released from prison. Wael Ghonim was one of the most prominent youth organisers of the protests and was seized by security agents last month.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/07/egypt-cabinet-announces-salaries-pensions-rise

[EFerrari]

13. AJ reporter Dima Khatib points out in a tweet

that these increases are done yearly by law. The only thing unusual is that they moved the timing up from July.

Dima_Khatib Dima Khatib أنا ديمة
by Elazul
Last year salary raise between 10-20% so nothing extraordinary in 15% ! Just that this year: effective in April instead of June/July #jan25
38 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply
»
Dima Khatib أنا ديمة
Dima_Khatib Dima Khatib أنا ديمة
by Elazul
Surelyno Egyptian would be fooled by salary raise (no-)tactic, esp. not a 15% in 2 months time! I think it was meant to impress world #jan25
34 minutes ago

So, you were right.

lol