Protesters in Tahrir Square in Cairo yesterday. From the New York Times.
Egypt President's Son, Family Flee to Britain from the Times of India
"Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son, who is considered as his successor, has fled to Britain along with his family, a US-based Arabic website reported. "
Bet: like in Tunisia, the army has communicated to Mubarak that they will only go so far to protect his regime -- and they have either reached or are close to that limit.
Cairo Erupts as Egyptian Protesters Demand Mubarak Resign from Raw Story
"Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Egypt Tuesday, facing down a massive police presence to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in protests inspired by Tunisia's popular uprising."
Fresh Anti-govt Protests in Egypt from Al Jazeera English
"More than 500 protesters arrested as thousands return to streets to protest poverty and government repression."
Check out the video coverage of Tahrir Square in Cairo. The story notes that it is not just the young and the educated who are protesting but average Egyptians. Bad sign if you're in the Presidential palace.
Who Would Have Believed It? (Brian Whitaker) from Al-Bob: An Open Door to the Arab World
"Today's protests in Egypt far exceeded my own expectations and, no doubt, the expectations of the organisers and the Egyptian authorities. The Mubarak regime, even if it's not headed for oblivion just yet, must surely be shaken to the core."
Interesting blogging and analysis of what's happening in Egypt can be found here.
Will Egypt's Protests Go the Way of Tunisia's Revolution? (Mona Eltahawy) from the Washington Post
"To understand what drove tens of thousands of Egyptians to erupt Tuesday in the largest protests in a generation against President Hosni Mubarak, you only had to see one photo of events in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, a Nile Delta factory city where an estimated 5,000 people turned out."
Obama Poised to Intensify U.S. Criticism of Egypt’s Mubarak from Bloomberg Businessweek
"The White House is prepared to step up its criticism of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a key Middle East ally, if his government intensifies its crackdown on protesters, said an administration official."
In an indirect way, I suspect this explains why Mubarak's family split. Obama says this far and no further with the crackdowns. You can bet Egyptian generals are making their own plans based on this.
Obama's Support for Egypt Protesters Risks a Key Ally (Leslie Gelb) from the Daily Beast
"In a move charged with great danger, the Obama team is tilting slightly away from Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian strongman and U.S. critical ally, and toward the demonstrators thronging the streets, writes Leslie H. Gelb. Plus, full coverage of the protests in Egypt."
No doubt there is great danger here for Obama and US interests on many levels -- but what is he supposed to do? Hang in there with Mubarak (whose family just fled the country) until some bitter end? Do the Jimmy Carter thing with a repressive dictator? The US is ALREADY in deep s@#$ with the so-called "Arab street". After years of backing folks like Mubarak in Egypt and elsewhere, the US is in a no-win situation.
Jordan Islamists Vow More Nationwide Protests from Al Arabiya News Channel
"Jordan's Islamist opposition on Wednesday called fresh protests for later in the week and warned it would press on with its campaign to force political and economic reform in the kingdom."
Yemen Protesters Demand Change of Government from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Thousands gather in Sana'a to call on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down."
Incredible. As a historian, I look at what's happening in the Middle East right now, and I see interesting parallels with the European revolutions of 1848, a year when most of the major European monarchies faced near-death experiences against revolutionary forces inspired by liberalism and incipient nationalism. One can only hope that 2011 will end better for Arab reformers than 1848 did for European democrats. In 1848, conservative monarchist elements ultimately crushed virtually all of the liberal revolutions.
A Region’s Unrest Scrambles U.S. Foreign Policy (Mark Landler) from the New York Times
"As the Obama administration confronts the spectacle of angry protesters and baton-wielding riot police officers from Tunisia to Egypt to Lebanon, it is groping for a plan to deal with an always-vexing region that is now suddenly spinning in dangerous directions."
As each Arab regime goes through its own revolutionary tumult, we may end up with ten or twelve different versions of US policy going to hell in a handbasket.
Operation Groundhog in Kazakhstan: The US Seeks to Protect Former Soviet Nuclear Testing Site from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"Plutonium is lying around, virtually unprotected, at a test site in Kazakhstan where the Soviets once detonated more than 500 nuclear bombs. Could the dangerous material fall into the hands of terrorists?"
Dealing with Julian Assange and the Secrets He Spilled (Bill Keller) from the New York Times Sunday Magazine
"Is the WikiLeaks founder the great puppet master of the news media? He would like you to think so. But The Times’s dealings with him tell a different story."
Financial Crisis Was Avoidable, Inquiry Finds from the New York Times
"The 2008 financial crisis was an “avoidable” disaster caused by widespread failures in government regulation, corporate mismanagement and heedless risk-taking by Wall Street, according to the conclusions of a federal inquiry."
Obama SOTU Speech: Love Train in the House! (Howard Fineman) from the Huffington Post
"When he was done delivering his feel-good, oh-so-sensible and sotto voce State of the Union address, I expected the sound system in the House to begin blasting the O'Jays' classic--and to see the members dancing in a conga line in the aisles, Coors Light in hand. Early polls showed that the speech was one of the most well-received he has ever given."
First Thoughts: An 'Exceptional' Speech from MSNBC
"Ryan's speech "was gloomy, especially compared with Obama's positive and forward-looking address... This will ultimately be a challenge for the Republicans competing against Obama in 2012. How do you both criticize his policies and chart a new course, but also remain optimistic? Ryan has a fairly sunny nature, and he had a hard time looking optimistic. This is NOT going to be easy for the actual presidential field.""
Why an Unexceptional Speech Got an Exceptional Response from Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
"It was no surprise that the post-State of the Union snap polls released last night and this morning showed a win for President Obama. What was surprising -- more like jaw-dropping -- was the lopsided degree of the President's win. "
As I have noted for some time -- Obama doesn't pitch much to pundits. I thought the speech was better than his first SOTU, and, after listening two nights ago, I was confident he had hit a home run … for the audience he was pitching to: the general public.
A Call to Protest Ignites a Call to Arms (Barbara Ehrenreich) from Los Angeles Times
"The reaction to Frances Fox Piven's essay urging the unemployed to protest for change shows that we are no longer a democracy but a tyranny of the heavily armed."
Michele Bachmann's Alternate Universe (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"For Republican leaders, it's more than a one-night problem. Bachmann is bidding to become the new voice of the opposition, replacing the titular leaders of the GOP."
In so many ways, Bachmann's rise reminds me of Palin's popularity -- and not just in terms of their far right politics. These two are so profoundly self-serving and egomaniacal, it leaves me speechless.
Michele Bachmann Stirs Talk of a GOP Divided from the Los Angeles Times
"Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's decision to give a second response to President Obama's State of the Union -- after the official GOP response -- draws fire and revives talk of Republicans as split into mainstream and 'tea party' factions. CNN's decision to televise her critique also is criticized."
AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOK NUGGET!!
Young Writer Searches for Harlem: A Review of Harlem is Nowhere: A Journey to the Mecca of Black America by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts from the New York Times
"Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts’s first book, “Harlem Is Nowhere,” takes its title from a 1948 essay by Ralph Ellison, and it pays homage, in grainy and shifting ways, to many other classics of black literature and thought."
1st PERSIAN GULF WAR HISTORY NUGGET!!
Hussein Wanted Soviets to Head Off U.S. in 1991 from the New York Times
"As the American-led ground offensive in the first war with Iraq got under way on Feb. 24, 1991, Saddam Hussein directed his frustration at an unlikely target: the Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Mr. Hussein had dispatched his foreign minister to Moscow in an 11th-hour bid to head off a ground war."
HISTORY OF BAWDY HOUSES NUGGET!!
A Guide to Houses No Gentleman Would Dare to Frequent (Alison Cowan) from the New York Times
"Encyclopedic in breadth but compact enough for the vest pocket of a 19th-century gentleman on the go, the book was an insider’s guide to Manhattan, easily picked up at the newsstand before a night on the town, much the way tourists and locals now consult a guidebook when they are in the mood for a memorable restaurant or meal."
The whole book is HERE with a map HERE.
ANIMAL NUGGET!!
Dogs for the Disabled and Assistance Animals: A Friend for Life from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"Guide dogs play a vital role in aiding the disabled, says Tom Chivers. But now monkeys, horses and even llamas are getting in on the act."
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