if you announce a curfew, you got to enforce it. if the people stop fearing/respecting your authority, you're gonna need a lot of violence to re-establish it.
I get the feeling that the USA's warning actually got through Mubarak's thick skull - any violence and you lose our subsidy and our support.
That might be the main reason the army hasn't cracked down yet - well, that or they're no longer loyal to Mubarak.
I wonder if Hosni even understands how deeply unpopular he is -- reminds me of Ceasescu in Romania (I'm showing my age) -- that stupid look on his face when he gave his speech in Bucharest and the crowd was booing said everything. He just didn't get it - the people hate you. Explains why he was dead the next day.
Hosni going on TV saying "I have fired my cabinet, here is my new vice-president and your next president". Hey, Hosni - it's not them... it's YOU.
Roughly 1,000 prisoners have escaped from Prison Demu in Fayoum, southwest of Cairo, state-run Nile TV reported early Sunday. The inmates are "on the streets causing chaos and families are scared," according to Nile TV.
Some commentators are saying that some of the people looting and committing crimes are actually those within the NDP party in Egypt close to the government inciting violence.
This way, Mubarak can say, you can either have lawlessness and voilence, or you can have me and peace and control.
Also, the idea is out there that the government released the prisoners to incite more violence.
One other thing I want to say is that we could be seeing the turning point of the whole middle east region. This could be the most important year in recent history in which this could spread to more countries.
Tunisia inspires Egyptians to take to the streets. If they Egyptians are successful, this will most likely spread. Egypt is the Middle East's most populous country and you can bet, every free thinking person in the Middle East is watching this closely. If it can happen in Egypt, it can happen anywhere.
Hats off to the Egyptian people. I truely hope they prevail.
Some commentators are saying that some of the people looting and committing crimes are actually those within the NDP party in Egypt close to the government inciting violence.
This way, Mubarak can say, you can either have lawlessness and voilence, or you can have me and peace and control.
Also, the idea is out there that the government released the prisoners to incite more violence.
One other thing I want to say is that we could be seeing the turning point of the whole middle east region. This could be the most important year in recent history in which this could spread to more countries.
Tunisia inspires Egyptians to take to the streets. If they Egyptians are successful, this will most likely spread. Egypt is the Middle East's most populous country and you can bet, every free thinking person in the Middle East is watching this closely. If it can happen in Egypt, it can happen anywhere.
Hats off to the Egyptian people. I truely hope they prevail.
The Iranians failed. There's no clear signs that the Egyptians will succeed. I think it's the beginning of something, but it's going to take a long, long, long, long time.
This is fantastic. The Egyptian people need a leader to get behind. I have been reading about the Muslim Brotherhood as well, and I don't think they are as scary as westerners think. I wouldn't have a problem if Elbaradei and the Muslim Brotherhood stood together to form an opposition figurehead to challenge Mubarak.
1206 A coalition of opposition groups issue a statement asking Mohamed ElBaradei to form a transitional government. They call on the Nobel Laureate "during this transitional stage, to act in the internal and external affairs of the nation, and to form a temporary government… and to dissolve parliament and draft a new constitution which enables the Egyptian people to freely choose its representatives in parliament and elect a legitimate president." The statement was signed by the 6 April Movement, the We are all Khalid Said Movement, the National Assembly for Change and the 25 January Movement.
Also, from multiple updates it seems as though a significant portion of the looting is being done by the police to create fear and instability.
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Huge thanks to Dion for the signature!
