Tag Archives | Egyptian Revolution

Mubarak Retrial? Backstory to the Revolution

By majestic on March 4, 2013 in News 0

For those disinfonauts following the ongoing saga of the Egyptian Revolution, two recent developments should keep Egypt-watchers glued to their screens. First, current president Muhammad Morsi has called an early parliamentary election on April 22nd, which the opposition promptly responded to by declaring a boycott. Second, former president Hosni Rubarak’s retrial has been slated to commence on April 13th:

He faces charges of conspiring to kill protesters during the 2011 revolt that ended his 29-year rule, and corruption.

A retrial was ordered in January after a court accepted his appeal against the life sentence he had been serving since his conviction last June.

Mr Mubarak, 84, is currently in a military hospital. About 850 people were killed in the 2011 crackdown.

News of the retrial came as his successor as president, Mohammed Morsi, met US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was concluding a two-day visit to Egypt.

The two leaders were said to have discussed Egypt’s political crisis as well as Syria, Iran and Middle East peace.

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Anniversary Of Egyptian Revolution Brings More Beatings In Tahrir Square

By majestic on January 25, 2013 in News 4

Two years after the start of the revolution that finally rid Egypt of Hosni Mubarak, police are still beating down revolutionaries in Tahrir Square, report Ramy Francis and Laura Smith-Spark for CNN:

The streets around Cairo’s Tahrir Square were again roiled by violent clashes between police and protesters Friday, as crowds gathered to mark two years since the start of the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

At least 29 protesters have been treated over the past 12 hours for cuts, broken bones and birdshot injuries, Health Ministry spokesman Khaled El Khatib said…

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Noam Chomsky: Is The World Too Big To Fail?

By JacobSloan on April 29, 2011 in News 12

In a talk given in Amsterdam, Noam Chomsky weighs in on revolutionary unrest in the Middle East and the United States’ unsustainable foreign policy and domestic power structure. Via the Huffington Post:

Support for democracy is the province of ideologists and propagandists. In the real world, elite dislike of democracy is the norm. The evidence is overwhelming that democracy is supported insofar as it contributes to social and economic objectives, a conclusion reluctantly conceded by the more serious scholarship.

Elections have become a charade, run by the public relations industry. After his 2008 victory, Obama won an award from the industry for the best marketing campaign of the year. Executives were euphoric. In the business press they explained that they had been marketing candidates like other commodities since Ronald Reagan, but 2008 was their greatest achievement and would change the style in corporate boardrooms. The 2012 election is expected to cost $2 billion, mostly in corporate funding.

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Inside The Fortress Of Egypt’s State Security Service

By JacobSloan on March 16, 2011 in News 4

In the aftermath of Mubarak’s downfall, Egyptian protesters stormed the headquarters of the feared-and-hated state security service, exposing what lay hidden inside: mountains-worth of shredded documents, endless surveillance footage of ordinary citizens, horrific torture devices, never-seen sex tapes of Arab royalty, and “a closet full of belly-dancing outfits” likely used for psychological torture. Al Jazeera has the story:

The protesters who stormed the offices of Egyptian state security this weekend say the buildings are proof of “the greatest privacy invasion in history”, filled with transcripts of phone conversations, surveillance reports and stark reminders of the torture carried out inside.

Hundreds of protesters seized the state security building – a prominent symbol of the Egyptian government’s brutality – after hours of protests in 6th of October City on Saturday night. The takeover was the climax of several days of protests outside other state security buildings.

One photo from inside the state security building showed a room full of shredded papers, the pile reaching almost to the ceiling.

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Egyptian Dad Names Child ‘Facebook’

By imkaan on February 21, 2011 in News 0

Via CNN:

A man in Egypt has named his newborn daughter “Facebook” in honor of the role the social media network played in bringing about a revolution, according to a new report.

Gamal Ibrahim, a 20-something, gave his daughter the name “to express his joy at the achievements made by the January 25 youth,” according to a report in Al-Ahram, one of Egypt’s most popular newspapers.

Many young people used Facebook and other social media networks to organize the protests, which began January 25 and ultimately led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak after 30 years in power.

Wael Ghonim, a Google executive who organized a Facebook page on his own time, became a central figure of the revolution.

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