Egypt braces for massive protest

[spanone]

Hundreds of Thousands of pro-democracy Egyptians are expected to march onto the streets of Cairo and other cities on Friday, in what could become the largest—and some fear the most violent—protests thus far, as the demonstrators’ wishes for the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak were dashed on Thursday.

In a 17-minute address televised to the nation, Mubarak told jubilant crowds, who expected an end to his 30-year authoritarian rule, that he transferred some of this authorities to vice-president Omar Suleiman, but that he will cling to power until September, when his current term ends.
Mubarak said he would oversee an “exit the current crisis, and to realise the demands voiced by the youth and citizens ... without undermining the constitution in a manner that ensures the stability of our society.”

Before he finished his anticlimactic speech, protesters camped in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of Egypt’s revolution, shouted “donkey, leave!”

Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera’s correspondent, reporting from Cairo said the prematurely elated protesters, who thought “they had a date with history” with Mubarak's ouster, vowed to return on Friday for what is billed as the biggest protest yet.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121125158705862.html

[virgogal]

1. God.I pray for these people. It won't be pretty.

[spanone]

2. mubarak lit the fuse....

[EFerrari]

3. They never stopped chanting all night. n/t

[H2O Man]

4. Right.

Thousands were out through the night.

They may head to the palace today.

[EFerrari]

8. There seems to be a small group at the palace and one at paliarment

and one at the state tv/media hq. That's quite an expansion in only the last two days or so.

[spanone]

5. i have been so impressed by the spirit of the egyptians

[EFerrari]

9. I've been reading between 20 and 40 protesters and journalists

every day for the last two weeks. They're a remarkable group of people.

[spanone]

6. fourteen minutes to sunrise in cairo

[applegrove]

7. Mubarak and his ilk want violence. I hope the protesters do not take the bait.