another_liberal
another_liberal's JournalThe top post of this string.
Where did you apologize for the NSA? Why in the top post of this string:
Seemingly every day I come on DU now, the Greatest threads are singularly focused on various cliques engaged in passive aggressive bickering. Everyone seems to be either a Paulite, Obama-bot, Pony Chaser, etc, etc. I wish had a kept a list over the last couple of years, because it didn't even remotely start with the NSA issue.
I consider the defense of my Constitutional right to privacy much more than mere "passive aggressive bickering." But go ahead and do your job. Unless I miss my guess, we are paying you.
Cairo mosque cleared of most protesters.
Source: Al Jazeera
Police have reportedly cleared a Cairo mosque of many of the anti-coup protesters trapped inside, following a day-long siege punctuated by gunfire, tear gas volleys and mob attacks. The Fateh mosque in Ramses Square was evacuated on Saturday of the bulk of protesters who had been trapped inside since violence flared in the square on Friday evening. Those inside had refused to leave for fear of being attacked by what they described as "thugs" among the crowds waiting outside.
However, about 100 people remained inside, and reports suggested that clerics from the Al Azhar religious institution had arrived to mediate between those left inside and the police. Those still inside feared attack from crowds gathered around the mosque, which were opposed to the anti-coup protesters and had attacked others who had left the building earlier.
Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from Cairo, said that it was unclear where those who had been removed from the mosque had been taken by police. "There have been various reports about what happenend. Witnesses said some had been taken by the army beyond the crowds outside, some were taken into military or police custody. The police had said earlier that there were some inside they wanted to investigate for an attack on a building nearby."
The protesters inside the mosque denied any link to those firing at the police, saying there was no access to the top of the minarets from inside the building. One man, Waleed Attar, was among a group who managed to escape the building as gunfire erupted. He told Al Jazeera: "We didn't know where the bullets were coming from." He said they managed to flee and avoid "thugs" waiting outside. "We found our way between vehicles before the thugs could trap us, we ran for fear of being shot. Many of those trapped were being assaulted by thugs. They said we would all be slaughtered."
Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/2013817144949638218.html
". . . it was unclear where those who had been removed from the mosque had been taken by police."
Undoubtedly it had to have been somewhere really nice and pleasant, that goes without saying.
Hundreds barricade themselves in Cairo mosque.
Source: Al Jazeera
Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi are trapped in a mosque near Cairo's Ramses Square as military and police forces keep the area surrounded. The tense standoff continued early on Saturday morning at the Egyptian capital's Fateh Mosque.
Speaking to Al Jazeera by phone from inside the mosque, Omaima Halawa said there were about 700 people, including women and children, inside and that they feared leaving the mosque because "there were thugs outside with the security forces, and that ... the security forces were working with the thugs". She said she feared about what might happen to her or where she would be taken if she left the mosque. Earlier, Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Cairo, said people inside the mosque were hoping that the end of government-imposed curfew on Friday at 6am local time would save them from arrest.
(snip)
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Samer Shehata, who teaches Middle Eastern politics at the University of Oklahoma, said security forces should not be allowing civilians to gather outside the mosque as part of their mandate to control the situation.
(snip)
Many Western allies have condemned the killings, including the US, but Saudi Arabia threw its weight behind the Egyptian government on Friday, accusing the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to destabilise country. However, with no compromise in sight, the most populous Arab nation - which is often seen as leading events in the entire region - looks increasingly polarised and angry.A number of tour operators have suspended all holidays to Egypt until at least next month and the US has urged its citizens to leave the country. The EU has asked its states to consider "appropriate measures" to take in reaction to the violence, while Germany said it was reconsidering its ties.
Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/201381742936960875.html
If you're a coup-supporting thug the military imposed curfew does not apply to you? You can trap people in a house of worship and, one assumes, commit any sort of violence you please should you manage to break in. I guess that's just, "Egyptian democracy on display again."
Envoys recalled amid Egypt-Turkey spat.
Source: Al Jazeera
Egypt has recalled its ambassador in Turkey for consultations, the state news agency reported, mirroring a step announced by Ankara after Turkish criticism of Cairo's crackdown. Egypt's ambassador in Ankara, Abdel Rahman Salah left Turkey on Friday after he was recalled by Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy. Turkey also has recalled its ambassador to Egypt for consultations, a foreign ministry official said, following harsh condemnation by Ankara of a bloody crackdown by Egyptian security forces on supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
Egypt and Turkey on Friday cancelled planned naval exercises, the latest escalation in a diplomatic row over the bloody crackdown on ousted president Mohamed Morsi's supporters. Both countries claimed to have made the decision the scrap the joint drills scheduled for October, with Cairo saying it had pulled out to protest Turkey's "clear interference" in Egypt's domestic affairs - an accusation Ankara denied.
Turkey has emerged as one of the fiercest international critics of what it called was an "unacceptable coup" that saw President Morsi being ousted last month. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also demanded that those responsible for the August 14 massacre in Egypt be tried for "massacre," Turkish Anadolu news agency reported.
"Coup makers massacred those who wanted their votes to count in a democracy. The West never said that was a coup although they were confessing it was a coup in our private talks", Erdogan said. "Those who resisted against the military coup in Egypt, did not resort to violence, did not use weapons ... The Egyptian people will gain their rights sooner or later," he was quoted as saying.
Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/2013816163421338342.html
Our own government's reluctance to move off the diplomatic dime in regard to the Egyptian generals' murderous actions now has led to the United States getting a lesson from Turkey regarding international leadership and responsibility (let alone support for democracy).
Morsi supporters to head back onto streets.
Source: Al Jazeera
There are calls for supporters of Egypt's deposed President Mohamed Morsi to head back onto the streets, in spite a state of emergency imposed by the interim government. At least 278 people were killed when security forces moved in to break up pro-Morsi sit-ins on Wednesday, according to Egyptian officials. Three journalists were among those killed in Wednesday's violence. The Gulf News newspaper reported on its website that Habiba Ahmed Abd Elaziz, who was 26, was killed near the Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque. Egyptian journalist Ahmed Abdel Gawad also lost his life as security forces moved in.
The violence in Egypt has triggered protests in other countries. Small rallies were held in the Israeli capital Tel Aviv and Gaza in support of the pro-Morsi groups cleared by Egyptian security forces. There were also demonstrations in Turkey, Tunisia and Jordan. The army-backed interim government imposed a month-long nationwide state of emergency, and curfews in Cairo and 13 other provinces after the violence on Wednesday. Gory photographs and video images of the Cairo bloodbath dominated social media networks, as world powers called for restraint and condemned the show of force by security forces. At least four churches were attacked, with Christian activists accusing Morsi loyalists of waging "a war of retaliation against Copts in Egypt".
The health ministry said 235 civilians were killed in the Cairo crackdown and in subsequent clashes across Egypt. The interior ministry added that 43 security personnel had lost their lives. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood spoke of 2,200 dead overall and more than 10,000 wounded. Among those killed in Cairo was 17-year-old Asmaa al-Beltagui, daughter of wanted Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed al-Beltagui, a spokesman for Morsi's movement said.
Britain's Sky News said a veteran cameraman, Briton Mick Deane, was shot and killed while covering the assaults. The violence prompted vice president and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei to resign, saying his conscience was troubled over the loss of life, "particularly as I believe it could have been avoided. It has become too difficult to continue bearing responsibility for decisions I do not agree with and whose consequences I fear," he said.
Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/2013814224835732803.html
There are some fairly graphic videos included along with this article. Anyone who is easily upset by the sight of blood and suffering might not want to view them. That being said, Americans need to know what their aid to the Egyptian military is buying. This is what we have paid for.
The link for this article no longer takes one to it. The source instead offers a related piece entitled: Egypt's interim PM defends deadly crackdown.
Dozens dead as Egypt cracks down on sit-ins.
Source: Al Jazeera
A security operation to clear protesters camped out on the streets of Cairo since President Mohamed Morsi was deposed by the military last month has left at least 40 people died. The Egyptian Interior Ministry says 200 people have been arrested, including 50 in the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in in Nasr City and 150 at the Nahda Square sit-in in Giza. Live footage from Cairo on Wednesday morning showed smoke engulfing Nahda Square - which was later completely cleared - and there were reports of tear gas and birdshot being used on supporters of the Morsi. By mid-morning, state television reported that security forces had finished breaking up the sit-in there. Bulldozers were said to have been used to uproot the camps. The Interior Ministry said security forces had "total control" over Nahda Square, and that "police forces had managed to remove most of the tents" in the area. Security forces had blocked all access to the protest camp.
Sources on the ground told Al Jazeera of at least 40 fatalities, while the Muslim Brotherhood said at least 300 people had been killed, with more than 5,000 others injured. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the Brotherhood's figure. The Health Ministry said at least seven people had been killed, including three members of the security forces, and 78 injured. Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Cairo, said: "This battle is much bigger than what you're seeing and the casualties. This is a fight for the future of the country, and something that will determine the course of the Egyptian revolution that has been going on for two years now. "No one expected this to be an easy operation. It became very clear that both sides were engaged in a battle of wills and a dangerous game of brinkmanship."
(snip)
Khaled Daoud, spokesperson for the National Salvation Front, one of the main opposition blocs against Morsi, told Al Jazeera: "These sit-ins, which are not peaceful at all, have been around for nearly 48 days, blocking main roads … All of those sit-ins were the HQs from which demonstrations go out to nearby military installations, security installations, they clash with people ... several incidents in which weapons have been seen with supporters of the Mulsim Brotherhood.
In response to the security operation, the Muslim Brotherhood urged Egyptians to take to the streets to "stop a massacre". "This is not an attempt to disperse, but a bloody attempt to crush all voices of opposition to the military coup," Brotherhood spokesman Gehad al-Haddad said on Twitter. The organisers of the protest in Rabaa al-Adawiya, where several Brotherhood leaders were present, "is calling on Egyptians to take to the streets to stop the massacre", Haddad said.
Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/201381452017193693.html
What will happen now that the generals have shown who they truly are? Is Egypt on the brink of civil war?
Egypt postpones dispersing pro-Morsi camps
Source: Al Jazeera
Egyptian authorities have postponed a move to disperse two Cairo sit-ins by supporters of the country's deposed president Mohamed Morsi, to "avoid bloodshed,'' security sources said, as Morsi's detention was extended by 15 days. Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Cairo, said that the decision not to disperse the protesters on Monday came after there were some leaks to the media about the possible intervention of security forces and larger groups started to attend those pro- Morsi sit-ins.
"A security source said that with the number of protesters swelling, armed forces decided to not move in the direction of these camps" our correspondent said. "The dispersal did not happen arguably because of the international pressure. Now what security forces are doing is essentially measuring their every step".
Egyptian security forces have been preparing to besiege the supporters of Morsi as protesters braced for a security crackdown, some of them joining marches heading to Rabaa al-Adawiya, one of the main protest sites.
(snip)
Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/2013812135921813183.html
Finally, some good news from Egypt! Lets hope it becomes a trend and lasts for a long, long time.
Cairo protesters defy crackdown threat.
Source: Al Jazeera
Thousands of supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi are continuing to protest in Cairo, despite warnings of a military crackdown. The protesters held sit-in protests on Saturday, despite repeated warning from the interim government that it would clear all sit-in demonstrations. However, it had yet to give a deadline on the action. Meanwhile, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was deeply concerned about the crisis and called on all sides to urgently reconsider their actions and language.
Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Cairo, said that statements by the interim government and pro-Morsi supporters indicated that neither side was willing to compromise to break the deadlock. "Some mediators would tell you they don’t feel that the door has been completely shut on mediation, that both sides may have not yet crossed that point of no return," Rageh said. "But that, of course, both sides need to bring down the rhetoric, because while these statements might not reflect a genuine negotiating stance, they could still be overall damaging to the process." A military coup last month removed Morsi from office, following weeks of anti-government protests.
The Anti-Coup Alliance said protests would continue in Cairo. "The days will only increase their determination to persist in their peaceful struggle until the country returns to the democratic path, until the coup is completely ended," the pro-Morsi group said in a written statement. Twenty-eight pro-Morsi protesters and one police officer were injured when clashes broke out between demonstrators and police on Friday outside the security directorate in Fayoum. Reuters news agency later quoted security sources saying that the clashes had taken place between several hundred supporters and opponents of Morsi.
(snip)
Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/2013810144522859302.html
Yes, they are still there, in their tens of thousands. They may not be, though, for very much longer. Tomorrow morning (late tonight U.S. time) was the original deadline for the army's long awaited "crackdown." This article has a video of some of the pro-Morsi protest marches which took place yesterday, after Friday prayers. Some touching views of families with young children among the protesters are included.
Sinai group says it was Israeli drone target.
Source: Al Jazeera
An armed group has said that four of its members were killed in an Israeli drone attack in Egypt's North Sinai region. Egyptian security sources said earlier that four people were killed by a missile strike on Friday as they prepared to launch rockets at Israel. "Our heroes became martyrs during their jihadi duties against the Jews in a rocket attack on occupied lands," Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, the group, said in a posting on a website.
It was not clear how the group determined that its members were the target of the attack. Five security sources told Reuters news agency the attack was carried out by Israel. But Egyptian armed forces officially denied that was the case and an Israeli army spokeswoman in Jerusalem declined to comment on the incident. The two countries have cooperated in tackling armed groups in Sinai in the past. Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis criticised the Egyptian military for what it called its repeated cooperation with Israel. The Egyptian military said two explosions took place at a site 3km west of the border and south of the city of Rafah on Friday afternoon.
The security sources in Sinai told Reuters an Israeli aircraft launched missiles, killing four, after discovering they had planned to fire rockets into Israel. One source said the Israeli aircraft had observed the men preparing three rocket launch pads to hit Israel. It launched a missile, killing two men, then killed another pair who stepped up to the pads after the first strike.
(snip)
Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/201381010496940689.html
Israel using armed, Predator-type drones to kill her enemies inside the borders of other countries? With the Egyptian authorities denying any Israeli participation, if that is indeed what happened the Egyptian generals must have given Netanyahu's forces permission to conduct this strike. At any rate, this does suggest much closer ties between the two old enemies since President Morsi's removal and arrest.
Deadly air strike reported in Sinai.
Source: Al Jazeera
An air strike in Egypt's northern Sinai peninsula has killed five suspected armed fighters, news agencies have reported quoting Egyptian sources and witnesses. It said the source of the strike was not clear, with some sources claiming it to be an Israeli drone strike while others credited the Egyptian military.
Residents heard a large explosion on Friday in the region near the border with Israel. Egypt's army said two explosions were heard at about 4:15 pm (1415 GMT) in the Al-Ojra area, 3km from the border with Israel.
"The armed forces are combing the area of the explosions to find out the cause," army spokesman Colonel Ahmed Aly said in a statement. Witnesses said Egyptian military helicopters hovered above the site after the blasts.
(snip)
Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/20138916859774555.html
Israel using armed, Predator-type drones to kill her presumed enemies inside the borders of other countries? If that is indeed what happened, I wonder if the Egyptian generals gave Netanyahu permission to conduct the strike?
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