Quixotic Mubarak

Notes 54

Egypt Army Promises 'Free, Fair' Elections

Egypt's Mubarak to step down, sources say
NBC News is told VP will take over; protesters and opposition fear a military coup
NBC, msnbc.com and news services NBC, msnbc.com and news services updated 2 hours 2 minutes ago 2011-02-10T18:22:29
breaking news
CAIRO — Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is to step down tonight, two sources have told NBC News, losing his 30-year grip on power after 17 days of mass uprisings across the country.
NBC's Richard Engel reported that a high-ranking source inside the president's office said the newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman, would take over. This was confirmed by a second source.
State television reported that country's supreme military council had expressed its "support of the legitimate demands" of the protesters after an all-day meeting. The latest developments came on the heels of repeated warnings by members of the regime of a military crackdown or coup.
Some pro-democracy protesters reacted cautiously to the reports Mubarak was leaving, saying they would only believe them if and when he announced his departure on television.
President Barack Obama urged people to "wait and see."

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A quickly revolving story
By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Maggie Michael, Associated Press
CAIRO – State TV says Egypt's information minister has denied that President Hosni Mubarak will step down.
The comment by Anas el-Fiqqi, in a written scroll on state television, comes ahead of an address by Mubarak to the nation. Announcements by the military that the demands of protesters calling for his immediate ouster would be met raised their expectations he would announce his resignation
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Not so easy

Egypt's Mubarak transfers power to vice president
By Maggie Michael, Associated Press –
CAIRO – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced he has handed his powers over to his vice president but he refused to step down outright or leave the country, retaining his title of president and ensuring regime control over the reform process. Stunned protesters in central Cairo who demand his ouster waved their shoes in contempt and shouted, "Leave, leave, leave."
The crowd in Tahrir Square had swollen to several hundred thousand in expectation that Mubarak would announce is resignation in the nighttime address to the nation. Instead, they watched in silence, slapping their foreheads in anger and disbelief. Some broke into tears. After he finished, they broke out into chants for him to go.
Immediately after Mubarak's speech, Vice President Omar Suleiman called on the protesters to "go home" and asked Egyptians to "unite and look to the future."

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Saga of the nine vestal virgins tht are swiftly decreasing in number
Impatient, Obama sharply questions Mubarak pledge
By Ben Feller, Ap White House Correspondent –
WASHINGTON – Bristling with impatience, President Barack Obama on Thursday openly and sharply questioned whether Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's pledge to shift power to his vice president is an "immediate, meaningful or sufficient" sign of reform for a country in upheaval.
Obama's comments came after Mubarak, in a televised speech, refused to step down despite intense speculation that he was on the brink of ouster. He said he was delegating powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman, yet Mubarak remained president and defiantly said he would so until a successor was elected to replace him in September. Protesters were shocked, saddened and enraged.
Obama challenged Egypt's leaders to plainly explain what the new changes mean and how they would lead them to the freedoms or opportunities that have driven enormous crowds into the streets since late January.
"Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy," Obama said, "and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world."
Still, analysts and even U.S. officials themselves acknowledge the White House has limited power to shape what Egypt does.
The White House has warned Egypt's leaders that they should not expect those protests to go away until they respond appropriately; at issue are deep concerns over repression, poverty and corruption.
In his address on state TV, Mubarak showed the strategy he has followed throughout the days of upheaval. He has made a series of largely superficial concessions while resolutely sticking to his refusal to step down immediately. And on Thursday, he said he would not give in to what he called foreign dictates.
"President Mubarak's announcement that he will remain in power is deeply unfortunate and troubling," said Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona. "The voices of the Egyptian people are growing louder and more unified, and they are not demanding partial transfers of power or minor adjustments to the current government. They are calling for President Mubarak to step down."
Joel Rubin, a former State Department official under President George W. Bush, said Mubarak was directly referring to the United States on Thursday when he said he would not be pushed out by foreign powers.
"He's daring them," said Joel Rubin, deputy director at the Washington-based National Security Network. "The White House will have a harder time messaging now because he's called their bluff."
A coup or other non-constitutional transfer of power could trigger a suspension in all non-humanitarian assistance. The U.S. is providing at least $1.5 billion annually to Egypt in military aid.
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Not only Mubarak has the power to shut things down. While Obama dithers if he’s on side of democracy or dictators, Liberation Sq continues to be a beacon for democracy

Egypt bus drivers go on strike as unrest spreads
AP – 27 mins ago
CAIRO – Bus drivers and other public transportation employees in Egypt have gone on strike as spreading labor unrest adds momentum to mass protests calling for President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.

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OOOPS. What you call something does make a difference. Like terrorism for example. Maybe nothing more than insurgencies after all. Maybe just local crime lords

Mexico angry at US official's 'insurgency' remark
By E. Eduardo Castillo, Associated Press – 1 hr 54 mins ago
MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government on Wednesday condemned comments by a top U.S. Defense Department official characterizing the drug gang violence here as a "form of insurgency" — remarks the official later apologized for and retracted.
Mexico's Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa regretted that "outdated visions" on drug trafficking continue to be used and urged U.S. officials to refrain from commenting on issues they are not fully informed about.
"These unfortunate incidents should show that officials need to refrain from making statements, from giving opinions without having all the facts," Espinosa said.

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According to NBC terrorism analyst , al Qaida formed by Egyptians in reaction to Mubarak repression. If democracy triumphs in Egypt, al Qaida has lost its reason to be.

AP source: Clapper says al-Qaida top threat
By Kimberly Dozier, Ap Intelligence Writer –
WASHINGTON – Amid criticism that intelligence services missed the signs of Arab revolt in Tunisia and Egypt, the nation's top intelligence official will tell Congress that the threat from al-Qaida and its affiliates remains his No. 1 priority, U.S. officials said.
In testimony scheduled Thursday before the House Intelligence Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper will stress that counterterrorism to keep Americans safe is the focus of the intelligence community, according to one of those officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.
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Not some enemy but the military a threat to national security according to Admiral Mullen

Mullen: Debt is top national security threat
August 27, 2010
|By the CNN Wire Staff
The wars on Iraq and Afghanistan have contributed to a more than doubling of the Pentagon budget, which has jumped from $300 billion to $664 billion since 2000

"The most significant threat to our national security is our debt," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen told CNN Wednesday. "And the reason I say that is because the ability for our country to resource our military -- and I have a pretty good feeling and understanding about what our national security requirements are -- is going to be directly proportional -- over time, not next year or the year after, but over time -- to help our economy.
The national debt is bad for the military according to Mullen


"That's why it's so important that the economy move in the right direction, because the strength and the support and the resources that our military uses are directly related to the health of our economy over time."

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Gimme a break. If we had just a small portion of the money spent on useless systems and scare-tactic hardware liked missile defense and missile silos over the past half century, the country would be solvent instead of broke and we’d be out of the war business,

Defense leaders warn of impact of big budget cuts
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press – 1 hr 12 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Congress' failure to pass a 2011 defense budget bill is jeopardizing the military's effort to send more surveillance and attack drones into Afghanistan, as well as stymieing plans to buy a new Navy submarine, Army combat helicopters and other major weapons systems, defense leaders say.
As Pentagon officials fan out across Capitol Hill, pleading for lawmakers to approve the 2011 spending levels proposed by the Obama administration, they also are hitting lawmakers where it hurts — in their congressional districts and states. Less money in the budget, the officials said, will put at risk thousands of jobs and construction projects nationwide.

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Discretion to pay or not to pay 1.7 billion dollars in bonuses makes Feinberg a sugar daddy

Watchdog: Gov't pay rules had few lasting effects

By Daniel Wagner, Ap Business Writer –
WASHINGTON – The government's restrictions on pay at bailed-out banks had little lasting impact because officials soft-pedaled some issues and did much of their work out of the public's view, a congressional panel says.
Obama administration pay czar Kenneth Feinberg used "black-box" processes that provide few lessons for the private sector, according to a report Thursday from the Congressional Oversight Panel that monitors the $700 billion financial bailout fund. The report faults Feinberg for deciding not to seek the return of $1.7 billion in banker pay that he deemed "ill-advised."\

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Maybe we need to hire Chinese to find out what’s happening

Report: hackers in China hit Western oil companies
BEIJING – An American security firm says hackers working from China have broken into computers of oil companies in the United States, Taiwan and other countries.
The report Thursday by McAfee says hackers stole sensitive information about operations, finances and bidding for oil fields.

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A threat to American superiority worth worrying about. What Hitler could not get done, the German economy, industrial base, Burse finally will.

NYSE Euronext in merger talks with
Deutsche Boerse
NYSE, Deutsche Boerse merger talks
By JUERGEN BAETZ and MATTHEW CRAFTThe Associated Press
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
-- Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG, the company that runs the stock exchange in Europe's largest economy, could soon take over the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE Euronext Inc., which also operates exchanges in Europe, said Wednesday it is in "advanced discussions" about a possible merger with Deutsche Boerse, owner of the Frankfurt stock exchange.