text:
By Bonnie K. Goodman
Ms. Goodman is the Editor of History Musings. She has a BA in History & Art History & a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.
Demonstrators in Cairo rejoiced Friday upon hearing that President Hosni Mubarak had been toppled after 18 days of protests against his government.
- Egypt's generals impose martial law — Egypt day 20: Aftermath of a regime change: Ruling council says it will run the country for six months or until elections are held; tensions flare as military evicts protesters in Tahrir Square.
Egypt's generals imposed martial law on Sunday, dissolving parliament and suspending the constitution, moves that many of the protesters who helped topple President Hosni Mubarak said were necessary to excise a rotten form of government.
The sweeping actions appeared to have their desired effect of calming the national mood. Under a celebratory facade, Egypt has remained on edge since Mubarak was forced to abdicate Friday, as uncertainty grew over the revolution's next stages…. – WaPo, 2-13-11
- Middle East nations scramble to contain unrest: Governments step up political concessions, dole out benefits or prepare the riot police in attempts to keep order after the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, which showed people that strongmen may not be needed to protect against sectarian violence or Islamic extremism…. – LAT, 2-13-11
- Revolutionary art gives expression to Egyptians' hopes: In the midst of the protests, a small group of artists, playwrights and poets in Tahrir Square helped give expression to Egyptians' angers and frustrations. Now they focus on their victory and hopes for the future…. – LAT, 2-13-11
- As Egypt Calms Down, So Do Israeli Nerves: As Israelis began to adjust to the departure of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, their staunchest and longest- standing regional ally, the alarm and anxiety that Israel has been projecting seemed to give way on Sunday to more nuanced tones, as well as some hints of admiration for the Egyptian people and sympathy for their cause.
"It is difficult not to be awed by the new spirit, the hope and the optimism that gushed forth out of Egypt," wrote Ben Caspit, a prominent Israeli commentator, in the newspaper Maariv on Sunday. "By the courage of the masses. By the wisdom of the army, by the fight that Mubarak gave (many would have broken before he did). By the comparatively dignified way in which the Egyptian people swept out one of its greatest heroes, who became one of the strongest and most-hated rulers in the modern history of this ancient people."
The front page of the popular newspaper Yediot Aharonot was taken up entirely by a picture of Egyptians celebrating, with the headline "A New Egypt."… – NYT, 2-12-11
- U.S. seeks to maintain stability in Egyptian power vacuum: The Obama Administration's standing in the Middle East is largely dependent now on Egypt's success in transforming its toppled government into a secular democracy. As throngs of Egyptians celebrated the resignation of embattled President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday, Western officials wondered whether the transfer of power would help — or hurt — the U.S.
"The hard part begins now," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution. Egypt has been one of America's strongest allies in the Middle East and Mubarak has played a major role in maintaining peace with Israel. The army said it would respect Egypt's peace treaty with Israel until a new government is established. Riedel said the U.S. must maintain a strong presence in Egypt's transition by "building a broad coalition that includes the army and the politicians that can prepare for elections and reboot the economy while avoiding quarreling with Israel."… – Washington Examiner, 2-12-11
- 18 days of protest culminate in Mubarak's ouster: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down Friday and handed over power to the military, his nearly three decades of iron rule ended by a groundswell of popular protests that began January 25. In a somber one-minute announcement on state television, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced Mubarak's resignation and said the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will "run the affairs of the country."
As Suleiman spoke, deafening cheers erupted among tens of thousands of Egyptians who thronged the streets of Cairo. It was a moment they had sought throughout long, often tense days of demonstrations — some of them violent — that demanded Mubarak's departure.
It was also a moment that many in the Arab world's powerhouse nation had not dared contemplate. Chants of "Egypt is free!" and "God is great!" rose from the crowds, dizzy in the honeymoon of their success. Some waved Egyptian flags; others honked horns; still others set off fireworks as they savored the scene…. – CNN, 2-11-11
- 'Egypt is Free' chants Tahrir after Mubarak quits: Cries of "Egypt is free" rang out and fireworks lit up the sky over Cairo's Tahrir Square where hundreds of thousands danced, wept and prayed in joyful pandemonium Friday after 18 days of peaceful pro-democracy protests forced President Hosni Mubarak to hand over power to the military, ending three decades of authoritarian rule.
Ecstatic protesters hoisted soldiers onto their shoulders and families posed for pictures in front of tanks in streets flooded with people streaming out to celebrate. Strangers hugged each other, some fell to kiss the ground, and others stood stunned in disbelief. Chants of "Hold your heads high, you're Egyptian" roared with each burst of fireworks overhead.
"I'm 21 years old and this is the first time in my life I feel free," an ebullient Abdul-Rahman Ayyash, born eight years after Mubarak came to power, said as he hugged fellow protesters in Tahrir, or Liberation, Square…. – AP, 2-11-11
- Egypt Erupts in Jubilation as Mubarak Steps Down: Egypt erupted in a joyous celebration of the power of a long repressed people on Friday as President Hosni Mubarak resigned his post and ceded control to the military, ending his nearly 30 years of autocratic rule.
Shouts of "God is Great" competed with fireworks and car horns around Cairo after Mr. Mubarak's vice president and longtime intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, announced during evening prayers that Mr. Mubarak had passed all authority to a council of military leaders, bowing to a historic popular uprising that has transformed politics in Egypt and around the Arab world.
Protesters hugged and cheered and shouted, "Egypt is free!" and "You're an Egyptian, lift your head."… – NYT, 2-11-11
- As Mubarak resigns, Yemenis call for a revolution of their own: Thousands of secessionists protested in Yemen today in an example of how disparate movements across the Middle East are tapping the anti-regime fervor for their own disparate aims…. – CS Monitor, 2-11-11
- Obama Presses Egypt's Military on Democracy: President Obama declared on Friday that "Egypt will never be the same" after the street revolution that deposed President Hosni Mubarak, but warned the military council taking over the country that it will now have to "ensure a transition that is credible in the eyes of the Egyptian people."
He also offered Egypt "whatever assistance is necessary" to pursue changes that would lead to democracy. Saying that the protesters have "bent the arc of history," he likened their accomplishments to those of the Germans who tore down the Berlin Wall and the Indonesians who led an uprising that brought democracy to their country.
Mr. Obama barely mentioned Mr. Mubarak, a longtime ally of the United States, and did not offer thanks for his efforts to help carry out United States policy in the region…. – NYT, 2-11-11
- Boehner credits Obama for handling of Egypt crisis: House Speaker John Boehner says on NBC's 'Meet the Press' that he thinks the president responded to the 'very difficult situation' in Egypt about as well as possible. Potential GOP presidential candidates believe otherwise.
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Sunday he thought the Obama administration handled "a very difficult situation" in Egypt about as well as possible, undercutting potential Republican presidential candidates who have charged that President Obama botched the U.S. response to a popular revolt against a key ally…. – LAT, 2-13-11
- Israel fears loss of a crucial ally with Mubarak's fall: Israel is concerned that the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will give rise to the Muslim Brotherhood and create an 'encirclement' of hostile states.
For Israelis, Mubarak has been absolutely crucial to their sense of regional stability. Through wars and uprisings, Mubarak adhered to the peace treaty with Israel, chastising DON'T CHASTISE THAT… Arab radicals that the days of Egypt warring with Israel were over. Egypt joined Israel in blockading the Gaza Strip in a bid to undermine its Hamas rulers and was a de facto ally against the spread of Iranian influence in the region.
Unlike the US, Israel did not turn against Mubarak during the crisis. In fact, according to a Haaretz report, Israel called on the US and Europe to curb their criticism of Mubarak "in a bid to preserve stability in Egypt" and the wider Middle East…. – CS Monitor, 2-11-11
- Quiet Worries as Israel Watches an Ally Depart: As the streets of Gaza exploded with celebration on Friday night with masked Hamas militants marching defiantly to cheer the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Israelis reacted with quiet and deep concern because the regional leader on whom they had relied most was suddenly gone. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained the same studied silence it has sustained for more than two weeks on the assumption that nothing it said could serve its interests: if it praised the pro- democracy movement, it would be seen as disloyal to its ally, Mr. Mubarak. If it favored Mr. Mubarak, it would be dismissed as a supporter of dictatorships.
But behind the scenes, officials willing to share their thoughts anonymously expressed worry because they believed that whoever followed Mr. Mubarak would be less friendly to Israel. "We don't know who will be running things in the coming months in Egypt, but we have to keep two things in mind," one top official said. "The first is that the only example we have of this kind of thing in the region is Iran in 1979. You can't take that out of your mind. The second is that if Egypt pulls back in any way from its peace with Israel, it will discourage anyone else in the region, including the Palestinians, from stepping forward. So the regional implications for us are significant."… – NYT, 2-11-11
- Biden calls Mubarak resignation 'pivotal moment': Vice President Joe Biden said Friday that the Egyptian people will shape their country's future following the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.
Speaking at the University of Louisville, Biden called Mubarak's decision to relinquish power an "historic day for the people of Egypt" and a "pivotal moment in history."
Biden's midday speech was delayed about a half-hour after Mubarak's sudden decision to shift authority to the military following waves of mass protests demanding his resignation. Near the start of his 50-minute talk, Biden said the aspirations of the Egyptian protesters must be met. "The transition that's taking place must be an irreversible change in a negotiated path toward democracy," he said…. – AP, 2-11-11
- Military Caught Between Mubarak and Protesters: Even as pro-democracy demonstrations in Cairo have riveted the world's attention for 17 days, the Egyptian military has managed the crisis with seeming finesse, winning over street protesters, quietly consolidating its domination of top government posts and sidelining potential rivals for leadership, notably President Hosni Mubarak's son Gamal.
Then came Thursday, a roller coaster of a day on which the military at first appeared to be moving to usher Mr. Mubarak from the scene — and then watched with the world as Mr. Mubarak clung to his title, delegating some powers to Omar Suleiman, the vice president and former longtime intelligence chief.
The standoff between the protest leaders and Mr. Mubarak, hours before major demonstrations set for Friday, could pose a new dilemma for military commanders. Mr. Suleiman called for an end to demonstrations, and Human Rights Watch said this week that some military units had been involved in detaining and abusing protesters. But by most accounts, army units deployed in Cairo and other cities have shown little appetite for using force to clear the streets…. – NYT, 2-10-11
- Mubarak speaks, but little changes: Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak addressed his country Thursday night amid rumors that he might step down, sparking dramatic change. He did not, and in the end, what had changed was little more than the belief that Mubarak would relinquish power.
— Mubarak stood firm, sweeping away hours of speculation that his resignation was imminent. "I am going to adhere … to the decision of shouldering the responsibility in defending the constitution and the national interest of the people until the transfer of power and the transfer of responsibility, which is going to be to the one that the people will choose as their leader in transparent and free elections where guarantees are going to be there for full transparency and for freedom," he said.
— The "dialogue" begun last week will continue until a "peaceful transfer of power" is completed after the September elections…. – CNN, 2-10-11
- Obama's advisors split on when and how Mubarak should go: White House aides acknowledge that the differing views among Obama's team of advisors has resulted in a mixed message on Egypt. The Obama administration's shifting response to the crisis in Egypt reflects a sharp debate over how and when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should leave office, a policy decision that could have long-term implications for America's image in the Middle East.
After sending mixed signals, the administration has appeared to settle on supporting a measured transition for easing Mubarak out of power. That strategy, which remains the subject of vigorous debate inside the administration, calls for a Mubarak crony, Vice President Omar Suleiman, to lead the reform process…. – LAT, 2-9-11
- More Egypt protesters turn out, drawn by Google's Wael Ghonim: Released Google executive Wael Ghonim emerges as an impassioned but reluctant symbol of resistance.
Wael Ghonim stood on a tiny stage in a corner of Cairo's Tahrir Square, a spindly figure in a sea of tens of thousands of anti-government protesters, his shouts of "Long live Egypt!" rippling out before evaporating in the noisy squall.
As the head of Google marketing operations in the Middle East, the gaunt 30-year-old seemed an unlikely figure to command special attention Tuesday, a day when the movement to topple President Hosni Mubarak drew one of its biggest crowds yet. But his role in organizing online opposition to Mubarak, and his highly publicized release after 12 days in the custody of Egypt's security services, had turned Ghonim, temporarily at least, into an icon of Egyptian resistance…. – LAT, 2-9-11
- Despite retreats, Egypt regime's core stands firm: Egypt's regime has offered a string of concessions in the face of the strongest threat yet to its rule, but so far nothing that uproots its entrenched monopoly on power.
The power elite has ruled for six decades, backed by a constitution it wrote, state media it controls and millions of Egyptians who depend on its patronage. In the face of a popular uprising, it has shown dogged resilience in what opponents say is a campaign to break anti-government protests and preserve the regime's authority after President Hosni Mubarak leaves the stage.
In an example of the levers it can pull, the government announced a 15 percent raise Monday for some 6 million public employees — a potent message to almost a quarter of Egypt's labor force about where their loyalties should lie. Leading the effort is Vice President Omar Suleiman, a canny former intelligence chief with vast experience in international negotiations, who has promised to carry out change…. – AP, 2-7-11
- West Backs Gradual Egyptian Transition: The United States and leading European nations on Saturday threw their weight behind Egypt's vice president, Omar Suleiman, backing his attempt to defuse a popular uprising without immediately removing President Hosni Mubarak from power. American officials said Mr. Suleiman had promised them an "orderly transition" that would include constitutional reform and outreach to opposition groups. "That takes some time," Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton said, speaking at a Munich security conference. "There are certain things that have to be done in order to prepare."… – NYT, 2-5-11
- Egypt feels the cost of protest: A report released Friday estimates that Egypt is losing $310 million daily from the protests. On Cairo streets, Concerns range from tomato prices to the future of tourism and jobs…. – CS Monitor, 2-5-11
- To ensure order, Obama officials back slow-motion change in Egypt: The Obama administration joined other Western nations Saturday in endorsing embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's gradual exit from power and, in a shift, urged Egyptians to back the power transition Mubarak and his closest advisers have set in motion.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking at a security conference, touted the transition concept, a strategy that tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters in Cairo appear to reject in favor Mubarak's immediate ouster. "I think it's important to support the transition process announced by the Egyptian government, actually headed by now-Vice President Omar Suleiman," Clinton said. "That is what we are supporting, and hope to see it move as orderly but as expeditiously as possible, under the circumstances."… – Miami Herald, 2-5-11
- Does the US really want Mubarak to go?: The dramatic events in Egypt and the wider Middle East have inevitably overshadowed the meeting of policy-makers gathered at the annual Security Conference here in Munich. This was the first face-to-face opportunity for key figures like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to exchange views on the upheavals in the Arab world. Only one prominent speaker at the conference – former Republican US presidential candidate John McCain – was ready to state in explicit terms that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak must go now.
By and large though it is the Obama administration's more nuanced line that represents the consensus here. The emphasis is upon process rather than personality – the need for an orderly transition towards a truly democratic society…. – BBC, 2-5-11
- Egypt: Secretary of State Clinton warns of 'perfect storm': Secretary of State Clinton warns of a "perfect storm of powerful trends" across the region, including a young population, political repression, economic disparity, and dwindling supplies of oil and water….
Speaking from a security conference in Munich, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of a "perfect storm of powerful trends" across the region, including a young population, political repression, economic disparity, and dwindling supplies of oil and water.
"This is what has driven demonstrators into the streets of Tunis, Cairo, and cities throughout the region," Clinton said in her speech Saturday. "Some leaders may believe that their country is an exception – that their people will not demand greater political or economic opportunities, or that they can be placated with half-measures," she said. "In the short term, that may be true; but in the long term that is untenable."… – CS Monitor, 2-5-11
- Egypt crisis: Death toll at 11, health ministry says; 916 injured: Demonstrators continued to gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square Saturday morning in defiance of a government- imposed curfew.
Read full coverage of the unrest in Egypt updated continually by CNN reporters worldwide.
See also this strong roundup of timely, insightful views on the wave of upheaval in the Arab world…. – CNN, 2-4-11
- Mubarak hangs on after mass protests in Egypt: Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians marched peacefully in Cairo on Friday to demand an immediate end to Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, but there was no sign of the army or the president's U.S. allies forcing him out just yet.
With the unrest entering its 12th day, protesters camped out in Tahrir Square, the hub of demonstrations in the heart of Cairo, prepared on Saturday to wait him out.
"Mubarak must go, Mubarak must go" and "Hold your ground, God is with us," someone shouted over a loud speaker, after a brief burst of heavy gunfire shortly before 2 a.m. local time…. – Reuters, 2-4-11
- White House, Egypt Discuss Plan for Mubarak's Exit: The Obama administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately, turning over power to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military, administration officials and Arab diplomats said Thursday.
Even though Mr. Mubarak has balked, so far, at leaving now, officials from both governments are continuing talks about a plan in which Mr. Suleiman, backed by Lt. Gen. Sami Enan, chief of the Egyptian armed forces, and Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, the defense minister, would immediately begin a process of constitutional reform.
The proposal also calls for the transitional government to invite members from a broad range of opposition groups, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood, to begin work to open up the country's electoral system in an effort to bring about free and fair elections in September, the officials said.
Senior administration officials said that the proposal was one of several options under discussion with high-level Egyptian officials around Mr. Mubarak in an effort to persuade the president to step down now…. – NYT, 2-3-11
- Israel ponders border security, enlarged military amid Egypt unrest: Israelis are looking fearfully beyond the end of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's rule, expecting it will force them to stiffen security across an extensive southwestern border and perhaps reoccupy a strategic corridor between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
In the long term, it may require Israel to expand its military force and budget if a new Egyptian government comes under the sway of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, or otherwise casts into doubt the long-standing peace accord between the two nations.
Israel has relied for three decades on the assumption that it would never again fight a land war against the Arab world's most populous state, or worry about Egypt openly supporting militants in the Gaza Strip or elsewhere…. – WaPo, 2-4-11
- Canada's cautious position on Egypt linked to support for Israel: On the surface, the Conservative government's statements on the crisis in Egypt might seem a carbon copy of those churned out by the White House. But there has been one major difference — and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's staunch support for Israel and strong backing within Canada's Jewish community could offer clues about why.
President Barack Obama's administration, along with major European countries, have called for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step aside now and allow for a transition of power. But the Canadian government has markedly refrained from asking for Mubarak's ouster. Instead, it has spoken in broad terms about the need to respect human rights and a peaceful transition to democracy.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon on Thursday condemned the detention of Canadian journalists in Cairo, but did not wade into the question of Mubarak's presidency.
During an emergency House of Commons debate late Wednesday night, Conservative MPs repeatedly noted their concerns about Israeli security and the need to uphold the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace accord. "In order for us, here in Canada, to recognize and support the future Egyptian government, it must meet four basic conditions: first, it must respect freedom, democracy and human rights, particularly the rights of women; second, it must recognize the State of Israel; third, it must adhere to existing peace treaties; and fourth, it must respect international law," Cannon said…. – Canadian Press, 2-2-11
- Kerry-McCain resolution calls on Mubarak to step down: Senator John F. Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican Senator John McCain are calling on embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to immediately begin a peaceful transition to a new democratic government. The two former presidential candidates, Kerry in 2004 and McCain in 2008, have been among the leading voices of their parties on international affairs in general and the violent unraveling of Egypt's power structure specifically. The two co-wrote a resolution, passed by the Senate on a voice vote tonight, that calls on Mubarak to hand over power to a caretaker government…. – Boston Globe, 2-3-11 — Resolution Copy
- Yemen's President Is Latest To Vow Exit: President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he won't run for re-election when his term ends in 2013, and that he won't attempt to pass on the presidency to his son, abruptly ending his bid to change the constitution to erase all term limits on the post. Opposition leaders called the president's concessions insufficient and urged their supporters to join renewed mass protests Thursday. Ahead of that rally, most major commercial banks in the capital, San'a, reported large withdrawals from thousands of citizens, as fears grow that the protest will turn violent.
Separately, Jordan's largest political group, the Islamic Action Front, said it plans mass protests Friday over the appointment of a new prime minister, Maruf Bakhit, who started talks Wednesday on the formation of a new government…. – WSJ, 2-3-11
- Obama Continues to Monitor Tense Egypt Situation: President Obama returned to the White House after a brief trip to Pennsylvania on Thursday, and has been holding more consultations with his advisers on the situation in Egypt. The United States pressed harder on the Egyptian government and military to stop a wave of violence.
The president moved quickly past members of the press corps without comment, and into the Oval Office where over the past few days of the Egyptian crisis he has met with advisers and spoken twice by telephone with President Hosni Mubarak.
In an interview with ABC's Christiane Amanpour, Mr. Mubarak referred to those conversations and said, according to excerpts, while he is a "very good man" Mr. Obama didn't understand the culture of Egypt. In the same interview, Mr. Mubarak said he was "very unhappy" with violence in Egypt, which he blamed on the Muslim Brotherhood, but said he could not step down and risk the chaos he says would ensue…. – VOA, 2-3-11
- US, UK condemn attacks on journalists in Egypt: The United States and Britain condemned the intimidation of foreign reporters covering protests against President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday and said the Egyptian government must not target journalists.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned assaults on American journalists in Cairo as concern rose about the possibility of an intensified round of rioting on Friday.
"This is a violation of international norms that guarantee freedom of the press and it is unacceptable under any circumstances," she said, reading a statement…. – Reuters, 2-3-11
- Tens of thousands turn out for rival rallies in Yemen: Anti-government protesters in Sana are met with a competing rally across town by the president's supporters, who get logistical support from the army…. – LAT, 2-3-11
- Egypt's VP uses state TV to blame unrest on 'foreign agendas': Egypt's new Vice President Omar Suleiman took to state TV Thursday night to make a play for Mubarak to hang on until presidential elections in September…. – CS Monitor, 2-3-11
- The Arab reform dodge: Cosmetic concessions aren't enough: LIKE EGYPTIAN President Hosni Mubarak, Arab rulers around the Middle East are trying to head off the swelling popular discontent in their countries while retaining political control…. – WaPo, 2-3-11
- GOP divided over Obama response to Egypt: As chaos roils Egypt, Republican lawmakers and the GOP's potential presidential candidates are divided over President Barack Obama's response though united in concern that an Islamic regime could rise to power in a nation that is an important U.S. ally in the precarious Middle East.
Compared with recent verbal sparring on domestic issues, the debate between Democrats and Republicans on Egypt is somewhat muted. That's perhaps because the two parties differ little over U.S. policy toward Egypt. Both view the country as a linchpin to a peaceful Middle East. And while supportive of democracy there, both also express concern about the influence of extremists in a post-Mubarak government, a particular worry of Israel.
Trying to set the tone for their party, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the country's two top elected Republicans, have deferred to the Democratic president. They are signaling an unwillingness among the GOP leadership in Congress to pick a fight, in line, at least on this issue, with the tradition that politics stops at the waters' edge in the midst of foreign crises. "America ought to speak with one voice," said McConnell…. –
- The Pentagon View of Egypt: What the Uprising Means for the U.S. Military – ABC News, 2-3-1
- Why Obama's position on Egypt's Mubarak was too little, too late: The images that have come out of Egypt over the past week are stunning: tens of thousands of largely unarmed protestors facing tanks, teargas, and live ammunition and who are still demanding that President Hosni Mubarak step down. But throughout the upheaval, the United States response has been guarded, if not inadequate. After days of tepid statements and measured acknowledgements of the Egyptian people's "legitimate grievances," even an eventual call for "free and fair elections," the Obama administration would still not publicly call for Mr. Mubarak's departure…. – CS Monitor, 2-2-11
- Journalists Are Targets of Violence in Cairo: As chaos gripped central Tahrir Square in Cairo on Wednesday, journalists covering the scene on the ground found themselves the targets of violence and intimidation by demonstrators chanting slogans in favor of President Hosni Mubarak. One prominent American television correspondent, Anderson Cooper of CNN, was struck in the head repeatedly.
Reporters Without Borders said it had received dozens of confirmed reports of violence against local and international journalists in Egypt. Tala Dowlatshahi, a spokeswoman for the group, said to "expect more foreign journalists to be targeted." The attacks were reported by Al Jazeera, CNN and Twitter users almost as soon as violent clashes began in the square, also known as Liberation Square, eliciting a strong condemnation from the White House and the State Department…. – NYT, 2-2-11
- Uprising in Egypt Splits U.S Conservatives: Glenn Beck blasts the uprising in Cairo as a threat to our way of life. Michelle Goldberg on how the rebellion is splitting U.S. conservatives—and the fallout for the 2012 presidential campaign. Plus, full coverage of Egypt's protests…. – The Daily Beast, 2-1-11
- Obama Urges Quick Transition in Egypt: President Obama declared on Tuesday night that an "orderly transition" in Egypt "must begin now," but he stopped short of demanding that President Hosni Mubarak leave office immediately. Mr. Obama used his four-and-a-half minute speech from the Cross Hall of the White House to embrace the cause of the protestors in Egypt far more fully than he has at any previous moment since the uprising against Mr. Mubarak's 30-year-rule began.
He praised the Egyptian military for refusing to fire on the protestors. And by declaring that Mr. Mubarak had to begin the process of transition immediately, he seemed to be signaling that the United States would not stand by if Mr. Mubarak tried to slow-walk the process, or manipulate its results.
But if he pushed Mr. Mubarak, he did not shove him. Mr. Obama said there would be "difficult days ahead," a clear signal of recognition that the transition period could be messy. Only a few hours before, Mr. Mubarak had declared he would not run for re-election, but planned to stay in office through September. Mr. Obama never discussed that timetable in his public response, and he did not declare exactly what steps he wants the Egyptian leader to take to start the process of transition.
But he made clear that the process started by the protestors could not be reversed. "We've born witness to the beginning of a new chapter in the history of a great country," Mr. Obama said, casting it as a natural successor to other moments of transition in a society that goes back thousands of years…. – NYT, 2-1-11
- Israel wary of transition in Egypt, concerned about regional stability: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's quickening collapse and increasing political turmoil in Jordan have prompted concerns in Israel that its historic peace treaties with those countries may not withstand the convulsion sweeping the region.
A change of power in Egypt and instability in Jordan could have profound consequences for Israel, which depends on the peace accords – its only two with Arab countries – as a cornerstone of its security. The treaties struck by Israel with Egypt in 1979 and with Jordan in 1994 remain unpopular among the residents of the two Arab nations, and Israel has relied on the strength of Mubarak's regime and the Jordanian monarchy to keep them intact.
Not all of the recent developments have been bad from the Israelis' perspective: Newly appointed Egyptian vice president Omar Suleiman has become a trusted interlocutor on regional security issues, and the United States will push to ensure that the peace accords remain in place. But the fast pace of events may change how Israel perceives its position, and make it less willing to offer territorial concessions as part of any peace deal with the Palestinians. The country is still digesting the rise in Lebanon of a new government chosen by the Shiite Hezbollah, one of its chief antagonists, and may now sense instability on all sides.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened top intelligence analysts and senior cabinet members in Tel Aviv for a day of urgent consultations Tuesday to weigh the changes underway in Egypt and assess the strength of Jordan's King Abdullah II, an Israeli official said. Abdullah sacked his cabinet Tuesday amid clamors for more economic and political reform. After the meetings, Netanyahu said the international community "must demand that any Egyptian government preserve the peace accord with Israel."… – WaPo, 2-1-11
- Quiet Acts of Protest on a Noisy Day – NYT, 2-1-11
- Israel shocked by Obama's "betrayal" of Mubarak: If Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is toppled, Israel will lose one of its very few friends in a hostile neighborhood and President Barack Obama will bear a large share of the blame, Israeli pundits said on Monday. Political commentators expressed shock at how the United States as well as its major European allies appeared to be ready to dump a staunch strategic ally of three decades, simply to conform to the current ideology of political correctness.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told ministers of the Jewish state to make no comment on the political cliffhanger in Cairo, to avoid inflaming an already explosive situation. But Israel's President Shimon Peres is not a minister.
"We always have had and still have great respect for President Mubarak," he said on Monday. He then switched to the past tense. "I don't say everything that he did was right, but he did one thing which all of us are thankful to him for: he kept the peace in the Middle East."… – Reuters, 1-31-11
- Turbulence Rocks an Israeli Ally: The street revolt in Egypt has thrown the Israeli government and military into turmoil, with top officials closeted in round-the-clock strategy sessions aimed at rethinking their most significant regional relationship. Israel's military planning relies on peace with Egypt; nearly half the natural gas it uses is imported from Egypt; and the principle of trading conquered land for diplomatic ties began with its 1979 peace treaty with Egypt.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt more than with any other foreign leader, except President Obama. If Mr. Mubarak were driven from power, the effect on Israel could be profound. "For the United States, Egypt is the keystone of its Middle East policy," a senior official said. "For Israel, it's the whole arch."… – NYT, 1-30-11
- Clinton Calls for 'Orderly Transition' in Egypt: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Sunday for "an orderly transition" to a more politically open Egypt, stopping short of telling its embattled president, Hosni Mubarak, to step down but clearly laying the groundwork for his departure. Mrs. Clinton, making a round of Sunday talk shows, insisted that Mr. Mubarak's future was up to the Egyptian people. But she said on "State of the Union" on CNN that the United States stood "ready to help with the kind of transition that will lead to greater political and economic freedom." And she emphasized that elections scheduled for this fall must be free and fair. President Obama reinforced that message in phone calls on Saturday and Sunday to other leaders in the region, including King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, as the administration tried to contain the regional reverberations…. – NYT, 1-30-11
- U.S. cautiously prepares for post-Mubarak era: Mindful of other allies in the region, U.S. officials have been careful not to abandon the Egyptian leader, urging him to implement a transition to democracy. But they are also preparing for the possibility of his ouster…. – LAT, 1-30-11
- What impact will the uprising in Egypt have on the Middle East, the U.S., Canada, China, and the EU? The Mark's experts weigh in. – The Mark News, 2-2-11
- Obama's Remarks on the Resignation of Mubarak: Following is a transcript of President Obama's remarks on Friday, after President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt announced his resignation, as released by the White House…. – NYT, 2-11-11
- Remarks by the President on Egypt: THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place. This is one of those moments. This is one of those times. The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same.
By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people's hunger for change. But this is not the end of Egypt's transition. It's a beginning. I'm sure there will be difficult days ahead, and many questions remain unanswered. But I am confident that the people of Egypt can find the answers, and do so peacefully, constructively, and in the spirit of unity that has defined these last few weeks. For Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day.
The military has served patriotically and responsibly as a caretaker to the state, and will now have to ensure a transition that is credible in the eyes of the Egyptian people. That means protecting the rights of Egypt's citizens, lifting the emergency law, revising the constitution and other laws to make this change irreversible, and laying out a clear path to elections that are fair and free. Above all, this transition must bring all of Egypt's voices to the table. For the spirit of peaceful protest and perseverance that the Egyptian people have shown can serve as a powerful wind at the back of this change.
The United States will continue to be a friend and partner to Egypt. We stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary — and asked for — to pursue a credible transition to a democracy. I'm also confident that the same ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that the young people of Egypt have shown in recent days can be harnessed to create new opportunity — jobs and businesses that allow the extraordinary potential of this generation to take flight. And I know that a democratic Egypt can advance its role of responsible leadership not only in the region but around the world.
Egypt has played a pivotal role in human history for over 6,000 years. But over the last few weeks, the wheel of history turned at a blinding pace as the Egyptian people demanded their universal rights.
We saw mothers and fathers carrying their children on their shoulders to show them what true freedom might look like.
We saw a young Egyptian say, "For the first time in my life, I really count. My voice is heard. Even though I'm only one person, this is the way real democracy works."
We saw protesters chant "Selmiyya, selmiyya" — "We are peaceful" — again and again.
We saw a military that would not fire bullets at the people they were sworn to protect.
And we saw doctors and nurses rushing into the streets to care for those who were wounded, volunteers checking protesters to ensure that they were unarmed.
We saw people of faith praying together and chanting – "Muslims, Christians, We are one." And though we know that the strains between faiths still divide too many in this world and no single event will close that chasm immediately, these scenes remind us that we need not be defined by our differences. We can be defined by the common humanity that we share.
And above all, we saw a new generation emerge — a generation that uses their own creativity and talent and technology to call for a government that represented their hopes and not their fears; a government that is responsive to their boundless aspirations. One Egyptian put it simply: Most people have discovered in the last few days…that they are worth something, and this cannot be taken away from them anymore, ever.
This is the power of human dignity, and it can never be denied. Egyptians have inspired us, and they've done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained through violence. For in Egypt, it was the moral force of nonviolence — not terrorism, not mindless killing — but nonviolence, moral force that bent the arc of history toward justice once more.
And while the sights and sounds that we heard were entirely Egyptian, we can't help but hear the echoes of history — echoes from Germans tearing down a wall, Indonesian students taking to the streets, Gandhi leading his people down the path of justice.
As Martin Luther King said in celebrating the birth of a new nation in Ghana while trying to perfect his own, "There is something in the soul that cries out for freedom." Those were the cries that came from Tahrir Square, and the entire world has taken note.
Today belongs to the people of Egypt, and the American people are moved by these scenes in Cairo and across Egypt because of who we are as a people and the kind of world that we want our children to grow up in.
The word Tahrir means liberation. It is a word that speaks to that something in our souls that cries out for freedom. And forevermore it will remind us of the Egyptian people — of what they did, of the things that they stood for, and how they changed their country, and in doing so changed the world. – WH, 2-11-11 — Transcript — Mp4 — Mp3
- LIEBERMAN STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT MUBARAK'S RESIGNATION: Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) today issued the following statement in response to the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak:
"President Mubarak's decision to step down today marks the beginning of an extraordinary new chapter in the history of a great and ancient nation – a hopeful chapter that the people of Egypt, through peaceful and courageous protest, have secured the freedom and opportunity to write for themselves. The United States has had a longstanding friendship and partnership with Egypt; now that partnership must be applied to support the successful, orderly transition to genuine democracy that the Egyptian people desire. I hope that the Egyptian army – which has displayed such admirable professionalism and restraint during the historic events of recent days – will seize the opportunity to reach out to the opposition and make them a full partner in jointly developing a roadmap and timetable for transition, which should include the immediate suspension of the emergency law, legal enshrinement of the right to free speech and other fundamental freedoms, and preparations for free, fair, and inclusive elections that are internationally- monitored and meet international standards."… – Lieberman Senate
- SENATOR JOHN McCAIN APPLAUDS PRESIDENT MUBARAK FOR STEPPING DOWN: "I applaud President Mubarak's decision to step down. This was obviously a very difficult decision for President Mubarak, but it is the right decision for Egypt. History will note that President Mubarak's last action in office was in the best interest of the country he loves.
While this is a welcomed event, the Egyptian people are clearly saying that President Mubarak's resignation should be the beginning, not the end, of their country's transition to democracy. I completely agree. For the Egyptian people to achieve the legitimate and enduring democratic change they seek, representatives from Egypt's pro-democracy parties and movements must be included in the transition government. In advance of elections later this year, Egyptians must be free to exercise their universal rights peacefully – to speak and express themselves without interference, including over the internet; to organize independent political parties; to register candidates of their choosing for office; and to participate in elections that are free and fair by international standards.
In the days ahead, the Egyptian military will continue to have a critical role in maintaining order and stability while allowing their fellow Egyptians to exercise their universal rights in peace. The Egyptian people are demanding a meaningful and irreversible transition to democracy, and I urge the Egyptian military to faithfully support and secure the coming process of political change in Egypt.
The United States stands fully ready to assist the Egyptian people and government as they begin the hard work of democratic reform." – McCain Senate
- Press Secretary Gibbs on Egypt, Violence & Journalists: During his gaggle with the press aboard Air Force One, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs opens the session with pointed remarks about recent developments in Egypt…. – WH, 2-3-11
- Remarks by the President on the Situation in Egypt: Good evening, everybody. Over the past few days, the American people have watched the situation unfolding in Egypt. We've seen enormous demonstrations by the Egyptian people. We've borne witness to the beginning of a new chapter in the history of a great country, and a long-time partner of the United States.
And my administration has been in close contact with our Egyptian counterparts and a broad range of the Egyptian people, as well as others across the region and across the globe. And throughout this period, we've stood for a set of core principles.
First, we oppose violence. And I want to commend the Egyptian military for the professionalism and patriotism that it has shown thus far in allowing peaceful protests while protecting the Egyptian people. We've seen tanks covered with banners, and soldiers and protesters embracing in the streets. And going forward, I urge the military to continue its efforts to help ensure that this time of change is peaceful.
Second, we stand for universal values, including the rights of the Egyptian people to freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and the freedom to access information. Once more, we've seen the incredible potential for technology to empower citizens and the dignity of those who stand up for a better future. And going forward, the United States will continue to stand up for democracy and the universal rights that all human beings deserve, in Egypt and around the world.
Third, we have spoken out on behalf of the need for change. After his speech tonight, I spoke directly to President Mubarak. He recognizes that the status quo is not sustainable and that a change must take place. Indeed, all of us who are privileged to serve in positions of political power do so at the will of our people. Through thousands of years, Egypt has known many moments of transformation. The voices of the Egyptian people tell us that this is one of those moments; this is one of those times.
Now, it is not the role of any other country to determine Egypt's leaders. Only the Egyptian people can do that. What is clear — and what I indicated tonight to President Mubarak — is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.
Furthermore, the process must include a broad spectrum of Egyptian voices and opposition parties. It should lead to elections that are free and fair. And it should result in a government that's not only grounded in democratic principles, but is also responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people.
Throughout this process, the United States will continue to extend the hand of partnership and friendship to Egypt. And we stand ready to provide any assistance that is necessary to help the Egyptian people as they manage the aftermath of these protests.
Over the last few days, the passion and the dignity that has been demonstrated by the people of Egypt has been an inspiration to people around the world, including here in the United States, and to all those who believe in the inevitability of human freedom.
To the people of Egypt, particularly the young people of Egypt, I want to be clear: We hear your voices. I have an unyielding belief that you will determine your own destiny and seize the promise of a better future for your children and your grandchildren. And I say that as someone who is committed to a partnership between the United States and Egypt.
There will be difficult days ahead. Many questions about Egypt's future remain unanswered. But I am confident that the people of Egypt will find those answers. That truth can be seen in the sense of community in the streets. It can be seen in the mothers and fathers embracing soldiers. And it can be seen in the Egyptians who linked arms to protect the national museum — a new generation protecting the treasures of antiquity; a human chain connecting a great and ancient civilization to the promise of a new day. – WH, 2-1-11 — Transcript — Mp4 — Mp3
- Time for Mubarak to 'step down': US Senator McCain: Top US Senator John McCain, shortly after talks with President Barack Obama, urged embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday to "step down and relinquish power." "Regrettably the time has come 4 Pres Mubarak 2 step down (and) relinquish power," McCain said in a post on the microblogging site Twitter roughly an hour after discussing the bloody political crisis in Egypt with Obama. "It's in the best interest of Egypt, its people (and) its military," said the lawmaker, Obama's rival for the US presidency in 2008 and the top Republican on the US Senate Armed Services Committee…. – AFP, 2-2-11
- Egypt protests: US conservatives divided on how to view them: Egypt's street revolution represents a threat to the US and the capitalist system, some tea party icons say, while in the GOP establishment others see it as the spread of freedom to the Arab world.
"The newer voices in the Republican Party – the Becks and Palins – have been the most vocal in warning about this [Egyptian] revolution," says Julian Zelizer, a congressional historian at Princeton University. Their attack is not just on Mr. Obama, he says, but on Mr. Bush's foreign policy aims to promote freedom in the Arab world. "Beck says that's not going to happen," Mr. Zelizer says. "It's just going to be fundamentalism."… – CS Monitor, 2-9-11
- Julian E. Zelizer: Should top U.S. goal be democracy?: When the Egyptian people took to the streets of Cairo to protest the oppressive government of President Hosni Mubarak, they instantly challenged one of the most powerful strains of U.S. foreign policy thinking.
In American diplomatic circles, the "realists" have long argued that the U.S. must be primarily focused on national self-interest, rather than concentrating on trying to promote democracy and human rights in other countries….
The realists have been highly skeptical about Egypt. They warn that revolution in Egypt could open the door to Islamic fundamentalism, as in Iran in 1979, and cost the U.S. and Israel one of their most loyal allies.
Should the Egyptians be able to withstand the response of the Mubarak government and be able to establish a truly democratic and secular government, the results would be dramatic. These turbulent weeks could be remembered in the same way the nation remembers the late 1980s and early 1990s, when conditions that seemed inevitable in the Soviet empire suddenly were not.
However, if Mubarak stifles the revolution, or fundamentalism takes hold, realists will, for a long time, point to Egypt as the prime example of why we cannot hope for much better than the status quo when it comes to the Middle East. – CNN, 2-7-11
- New York Times: Room For Debate: Mubarak's Role and Mideast Peace: What does the crisis in Egypt mean for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?… – NYT, 2-1-11
- Gil Troy: Anxiety and Skepticism: Egypt's uprising has already undermined most Israelis' sense of security and their willingness to take risks for peace with the Palestinians. Israelis now worry about the biggest risk they ever took for peace: the withdrawal from Sinai in 1982.
A radical Egypt downgrading or abrogating its peace treaty with Israel would top the litany of failed peace-making attempts and reinforce the argument of right-wing skeptics against trading land for peace with the Palestinians. Moreover, a hostile Egypt would reinforce the sense of betrayal so many Israelis have felt since 2000, as the failure of the Oslo peace process triggered a wave of Palestinian terror, the withdrawal from Lebanon boosted Hezbollah, and disengagement from Gaza brought Hamas to power.
Israelis have longed for greater intimacy with the Egyptian people, always speaking of "peace with Egypt" not with Mubarak. Yet this "cold peace" has been government to government not people to people. Israelis have accepted the limits, given their alternatives.
Mubarak's Egypt has served as an important counterweight to Ahmadinejad's Iran. The recent Wikileaks documents suggested some of the benefits Israel enjoyed from its alliance with Mubarak, including diplomatic support, intelligence sharing and military cooperation. Most important have been decades of non-belligerency. With the loss of that sense of security on its southern border, Israelis will be much more reluctant to cede control of their eastern border to an independent Palestine.
This week's hysterical headlines in the Israeli press about the potential loss of Egypt, the dip in Tel Aviv stocks, the debate about whether President Obama can be trusted to support American allies, all suggest that Israel's strategic doctrine is being hastily rewritten.
The prospects of peace become even more unlikely if Egypt turns Islamist. Israel's safest border will suddenly look menacing. Hamas will look stronger in Gaza with an Islamist Egyptian regime not even pretending to try to stop the flow of arms. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank will look like a less viable peace partner with fundamentalism ascendant, and any pro-peace or pro-Western Palestinians demonized as collaborators. Moreover, Israeli policymakers will feel caught, doubting Mahmoud Abbas as another unelected autocrat while fearing the popular Palestinian street more than ever.
Israelis find themselves once again in dissonance with the international community. Many Israelis wish they could wholeheartedly support this popular move against an aging dictator. But the bitter experience of the last ten years suggests that skepticism is in order. – NYT, 2-1-11
- Niall Ferguson Explains Why Egypt Is More Like Iran Than Berlin: This revolution in Egypt is more likely to result in something like Iran, than it is to be like the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, according to Niall Ferguson. Speaking to the German daily Handesblatt, Ferguson says that because the forces for democracy in Egypt are not well organized, Islamic fundamentalism will have a chance at success… – Business Insider, 1-31-11
- How did the U.S. get in bed with Mubarak? Q&A with Joel Beinin: Salon.com interview with Joel Beinin, a Middle East history professor at Stanford who studies Egypt and who spent several years at the American University in Cairo in the 2000s.
How far back can the roots of the current alliance be traced?
It goes back to the aftermath of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war when, following the near-victory of Syria and Egypt, Henry Kissinger engaged in many rounds of shuttle diplomacy, which resulted in a separation of forces agreement between Israel and Egypt. Those were the first steps which led ultimately to the Israel-Egyptian peace treaty, which was signed in 1979. That was not at first what the Carter administration wanted to have happen. They wanted at first for something to be included on the Palestinian issue, but it wasn't, so they just said, "OK, this is what we can get."… – Salon, 1-29-11
- Khaled Fahmy: Mubarak Fails to Quell Protests as Turmoil Spreads to Yemen: "I expect the demonstrations to continue," said Khaled Fahmy, professor of history at American University in Cairo, in a telephone interview. "He really hasn't offered much. What I've seen is that he has burned bridges. There is no trust between him and the people." SF Chronicle/Blomberg, 2-2-11
- Yale History prof sign letter to Obama regarding Egypt: As protests against the 30-year reign of President Hosni Mubarak continue in Egypt, three Yale professors joined over 150 academics in signing an open letter to President Barack Obama yesterday, calling on Obama to support Egypt's democratic movement. The letter reads:
For thirty years, our government has spent billions of dollars to help build and sustain the system the Egyptian people are now trying to dismantle. Tens if not hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in Egypt and around the world have spoken. We believe their message is bold and clear: Mubarak should resign from office and allow Egyptians to establish a new government free of his and his family's influence. It is also clear to us that if you seek, as you said Friday 'political, social, and economic reforms that meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people,' your administration should publicly acknowledge those reforms will not be advanced by Mubarak or any of his adjutants.
Alan Mikhail, an assistant professor of history who researches Egypt during the Ottoman period, said he saw the letter as a "small gesture" academics could make, regardless of whether it sways Obama's opinion.
"It seems like a small gesture that I as a historian could do, to show support for the people in Egypt who are protesting, and sometimes putting their lives on the line, for a better society and a better government," Mikhail said. "Is [Obama] going to read it? I have no idea. He's a very busy guy."… – Yale Daily News, 2-2-11
- Kent Schull: Professor to students: Write your members of Congress about Egypt: In an effort to support the millions of Egyptians protesting their authoritarian government, one University of Memphis professor is asking students to flock to their keyboards. Kent Schull, assistant history professor, has expertise in modern Middle East history and said he thinks students should write to their state and U.S. representatives.
"These people are really trying to get a better life for themselves, and that resonates with all of us," he said. "We all want basic freedoms that we all feel we have a right to, and this is what the Egyptian people want, and I think the United States has to put the Egyptian people's interest ahead of our own international interest."
"You have a huge gap between the rich and poor," he said. "Egypt has a lot of its money coming from tourism and from small manufacturing depths from agricultural production, and the people that control that — they have a lot of money, but the vast majority of the population is very poor."
Schull said that the U.S.-Egypt alliance is based, in part, on geography and natural resources. "Egypt has been a very close trade partner with the United States," he said. "(It's) a very close political partner for trying to keep stability within the Middle East. Without Egypt as an ally, then it would be very tough to get Saudi Arabia's oil to us."
The U.S. doesn't want Egyptian people viewing it as a country that funds a dictator, Schull said. "The U.S. has been walking this fine line and probably needs to throw its support very squarely behind the Egyptian people going for democratic change," he said. Schull said that the more representatives and senators hear from Americans about supporting these Egyptian protests, the more likely it is that "maybe they'll listen."… – Daily Helmsman, 2-2-11
- Charles Wilkins: Wake Forest Professor: Economy Plays Role In Egyptian Protests: The violence is escalating in Cairo. Protestors for and against President Hosni Mubarak are clashing, surrounded by burning buildings and gun fire. Hundreds have been hurt since Wednesday when the protests turned violent. So what's causing the un-rest in Egypt? Wake Forest University Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern History, Charles Wilkins, says it started with pent up anger and the resentment of Egypt's government
The economy also plays a role. "Economics of it are very important. We have high unemployment, we have low wages and high cost of living. We have basically a housing shortage," says Charles Wilkins. "It's a young generation that's actual rebeling. This is a politically active and aware population that want to see change."
Wilkins also credits the internet with helping protestors coordinate their efforts and making them more powerful. He says the protests in Tunisia a few weeks ago gave Egyptians, Jordanians and Syrians the courage to question their governments…. – WFMY News 2, CBS Newspath, CNN Newsource, 2-3-11
- Historians worry about Egyptian antiquities: The fighting has intensified in Tahrir Square. It has become a battle field. That is where the Egyptian Museum is located, filled with antiquities and the history of Egypt. There are concerns among historians about the fate of the museum and its huge collection.
"In a situation like this where anything could happen you are always worried," Professor Carol Redmount director of Near East Studies at UC Berkeley said.
"On the one hand in a situation like this you are always concerned, these things are irreplaceable, they're national treasure, international treasures, they tell is about our human history," Redmount said. "But the Egyptian people will do whatever they can to protect it."
Redmount has reason to be concerned. Earlier this week vandals broke into a museum and smashed statues and glass. It is likely the next wave will steal items.
"You can try to sell it on the antiquities market, now everyone is going to be looking for these things on the antiquities market," Redmount said. "They've been looting the site with shovels, which is better than bulldozers, at the same time we don't know how much damage has been done," Redmount said… – ABC Local SF, 2-2-11


text:
Listen to some Rhymes and Reasons
about your own worst enemy and how I'm right
Click or tap on these links to the topics I talk about in this podcast episode. Like…
This podcast episode brings those topics together for those of you who'd rather listen than read. Thanks for tuning in. And yes…there's a song in this episode! You'll have to subscribe or tune in here on my website to hear it.
Use one or more of the links I've provided to share with anyone and everyone you know. Oh yeah, when you get a minute, please leave me a review on iTunes. Here's the easy link. And don't forget to get your free music and book if you haven't already. Look over there in the sidebar ➤➤➤
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Tune In On iTunes Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | TuneIn | Spotify | RSS | Subscribe on iTunes
Stay tuned,
P.S. Share the rhymes and reasons with your friends and family. And let's stay connected. Like this…
Join my Rhyme and Reason Club
Discover my ebooks on Amazon.com or Smashwords
Subscribe to my Podcast on iTunes – OR Google Play OR Player.fm
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Circle me on Google +
Follow me on Twitter
Watch my videos on YouTube
Find me on Facebook
Or use the social media links below

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Starting 五
It's believed that he was a Nazi experiment gone horribly wrong.
Has the shooting rhythm of a one legged man ****ing a lawn mower.
Laundry Folds
Hot like a Mexican's lunch.
Cunning Lingus
Is terrified of beavers
The Man Handler
It's believed that if you lick his chest, the taste is identical to wasabi. Cool.
Crazy⑧s Exclusive Feature
The Bucks move the ball well. Whether or not Ellis will somehow detract from that as their new piece we will see. They tend to be out rebounded, particularly in the back-court, but otherwise they're reasonably on par with their opponents statistically.
The Bucks most effective field goal % comes during the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. They play good transition basketball, and, as I've said move the ball well.
Fact! The Bucks reached 30 assists for the sixth time in seven games and the seventh time in 10 games. They lost for the first time when reaching that mark. ... The Bucks scored at least 104 points for the ninth time in 10 games. They fell to 18-5 in games where they score at least 100.
Key to Victory.
● Defense - naturally. When we last lost to the Bucks at home our defense was just woeful. The Bucks move that ball, and any players not paying attention to their man will get burned. STAT could very well be made to look silly by Gooden on numerous occasions.
● We need the bench to come out gunning. Our propensity to let leads balloon rather than be cut down will be under surveillance as always, and we need the bench to score and exert energy from the get go.
⑧Previous Encounter⑧
⑧Knick Art by Joe Petruccio⑧
Who To WatchAmar'e Stoudemire
With the emerging Ilyasova and Gooden's potential to get hot and stay hot, STAT will have to be on his toes in this one defensively.
Assignments - We owe Jennings one, and Ilyasova needs to be kept quiet.
knicksonline.com Poster In The Spotlight!
Love the username! Dude knows his stuff and good to see him posting a lot more. Keep it up, you big rapist.
⑧Fun Bags!⑧
Michio Kaku
A very interesting, intelligent dude. Check him out!


text:
(Driving home from work early) Great! I'll be going home to an empty house. I should get on the exercise bike before starting dinner. I'll definitely have enough time.
But ugh, I sooo don't feel like biking. What will I watch on TV?
Hmm...I kinda feel like going for a run. The roads are clear. I could do it.
Yep, I definitely want to run. If I'm going to do that 15K in April, I need to start training. At some point.
Oh man, it's only 28 degrees.
Crap, now it's down to 26 degrees. And snow flurries have started.
But whatev - I AM SO GOING FOR A RUN. DAMMIT.
So I got home and raced to change my clothes because it was already past 4:15 and it gets dark by 5pm.
All bundled in my hodgepodge outfit, along with hat, gloves, and iPod securely in place, I set out.
(3 minutes into run) Whew, it's kinda hard to breathe...harder than I thought.
(5 minutes into run) I wonder if there is such a thing as a snow visor. Because I need one. But it would have to keep my ears warm too.
(6 minutes into run) Ok, this is no longer just a harmless flurry. This is a WEATHER SITUATION.
(7 minutes) Abort! Abort mission! Snow HURTS.
(10 minutes into run) Hmmm...I wonder if I can't feel my legs because they're cold or because I haven't run since Thanksgiving morning?
(11 minutes) Yup. No feeling in my legs. But hey, they're still moving. That's a good thing. And shit, I can't stop now. I'm nowhere near home and it would take frickin longer to walk.
(14 minutes) I seriously need my own iPod. Why the hell am I listening to NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK?!
And then, the turning point. I could have either run into my subdivision and gone home, for a total of 20 minutes, or ignored the entrance and kept going, to make it a good 3+mile run.
Can you believe I didn't make the turn? Yup, I kept going. And actually started to feel....good?!
I stopped looking at my watch. The snow was no longer stinging. My legs were on automatic. Besides my cold fingertips (note to self: get running mittens), I didn't feel anything...
Except alive. Vibrant. Strong.
By the time I turned into my driveway, it was no longer daylight and the snow was falling in full force.
Huffing and puffing, I entered my warm, inviting Trenches exactly 32 minutes after I had exited.
And snapped this pic:
But you know what? I felt AWESOME.
And that, right there, is why I know I need to run.


text:
Megan Fox has transformed into one hot mama!
The 26-year-old actress welcomed a baby boy last month, her first child with husband Brian Austin Green, E! News has exclusively confirmed.
What a couple of secret-keepers! Not that we're surprised...
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Megan was rocking clingy dresses throughout her pregnancy
Fox and Green also stayed entirely mum about their expectant status, which E! News exclusively reported in April.
But once the bump became apparent--and that took some time for the slender Fox--the happy duo got with the program and offered up a sweet baby-on-board pictorial confirmation for an obliging paparazzo.
Fox told Cosmopolitan in April that she's "always been maternal" and that she wants "at least two, probably three kids."
The "Friends With Kids" actress and her 90210 beau tied the knot in June 2010. Green also has a 10-year-old son, Kassius, from a previous relationship.
Update: A hour after E! News exclusively reported that the Transformers star and hubby Brian Austin Green had welcomed a baby boy last month, the 26-year-old actress confirmed the news on Facebook, sharing with fans the couple's joy as a new parents.
Not only that, she also revealed her new bundle of joy's beautiful name.
"We have been very lucky to have had a peaceful few weeks at home, but I would like to release this myself before others do," she wrote on Facebook. "I gave birth to our son Noah Shannon Green on September 27th. He is healthy, happy, and perfect."
She also gushed, "We are humbled to have the opportunity to call ourselves the parents of this beautiful soul and I am forever grateful to God for allowing me to know this kind of boundless, immaculate love."
"Thanks to those of you who wish to send your positive energy and well wishes," she added. "May God bless you and your families abundantly."


text:
On Wednesday, September 13, two members of the ArkGeo Steering Committee were graciously invited to represent ArkGeo at the annual meeting of the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission in Little Rock. Our intention was to ask the Commission to allow the placement of geocaches on lands they own. We were given 10 minutes in which to make our case.
An oral presentation was given, accompanied by some printed materials for each of the Commissioners. These materials included:
A copy of the "Geocacher's Creed"
An article entitiled "What Is Geocaching?"
A list of members who indicated they wanted to be represented
Pictures from a CITO event held at Beaverfork Lake
A document entitled "An Arkansas Landowner's Guide to Geocaching"
A copy of the Arkansas State Parks directive regarding geocaching
A copy of the Arkansas State Parks Geocache Placement Permit
We are proud to report that the Commission was very impressed with the idea of geocaching and they were all in agreement that it would be another tool they could use to draw people to AG&FC-owned lands. Further, they believe (as do we) that geocaching offers several benefits.
The official vote by the Commission on the approval of this policy will be on Thursday, September 14. Details about the new policy will be forthcoming. However, the Commission clearly indicated that they would like to work with ArkGeo during its creation.
Finally, THANK YOU to all those who sent us information and helpful suggestions and comments!!! It was very much appreciated!
ArkGeo is a significant part of the "face" of geocaching in Arkansas. Let's continue to be good representatives for geocaching and let the AG&FC (and others) see just how great a group of people we really are!
Steering Committee
Arkansas Geocachers Association


text:
The realisation that within this construct the poles have shifted.
What was once down is up. All is in flux and reversal.
It is a requirement.
The most difficult parts of experience are those which are yet to be fully understood and verbally expressed.
Zarathrustra and Gnome
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
To be honest with oneself one is required to walk their talk.
Initial constructs apply.
Visuals, Sounds, Colours, Codex and they can leave a cornucopia of interpretation.
To grasp that all of this sprang forth from one question?
3 then 2 Tarot Cards
A bout of suffocating Panic and Flatness at the same time.
And a picture of the Sky
To then have the stamina of will to realise all of that which is above.
To take it and work with it in the understanding that it is only after all energy, that can be worked with, broken in to its parts and solved.
As Alchemy and Art.
Yes there are enemies at the edge of the lower fields.
For if you are not part of the new then you are part of the old.
"The lonely one offers his hand too quickly to whomever he encounters."
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None
Those who feign friendship and Magickal Cooperation only to realise that they never cared and are only in it for themselves.
"The higher we soar the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly."
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
So the need to express is validated by truth and honesty.
"Become who you are!"
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None
Poor old Nietzsche he had the concept yet neither the heart or will to truly be
His Abyss was his own shadow he feared to leap.
"you must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame;
how could you rise anew if you have not first become ashes?"
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
His understanding that he could not in actuality assist in giving birth to a Neo Creative Reality was his entrance to insanity.
What we do here is create and sometimes cups will be spilled, torches that blazed feel empty, opposites will be paired eventually. Still through those dark tea parties of the soul - True Spirt will avail. And The Magus continue to Work That Will.
"And once you are awake, you shall remain awake eternally. "
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra - A Book For All And None
For what constitutes the tremendous historical uniqueness of that Persian is just the opposite of this.
Zarathustra was the first to consider the fight of good and evil the very wheel in the machinery of things: the transposition of morality into the metaphysical realm, as a force, cause, and end in itself, is his work.
Zarathustra created this most calamitous error, morality; consequently, he must also be the first to recognize it.
His doctrine, and his alone, posits truthfulness as the highest virtue; this means the opposite of the cowardice of the "idealist" who flees from reality
—Am I understood?—The self-overcoming of morality, out of truthfulness; the self-overcoming of the moralist, into his opposite—into me—that is what the name of Zarathustra means in my mouth.
— Nietzsche, Ecce Homo, "Why I Am a Destiny",
So you see? You understand? What you have made me do.. To almost fall entrapped into the system of a weaker man. To quote the above when it is below the Abyss already crossed.
Follow the Arrow where does it shoot? -
From Ḥwt-Ḥr, am I now Aeropagus
For your misalliance the Will remains True in LVX
The Magus 9°= 2□ XI°


text:
I had monovision Lasik on March 31st and have never had a clear minute out of my distance eye. My reading eye has been doing fine since the surgery. My prescription was 7+ in both eyes and I had nice thick corneas. I always had slight dry eye so I've been using eye drops at least every 10 or 15 minutes and have been taking flax seed oil every day. I can see clearly for about 5-10 feet out of the distance eye but after that forget it. I don't have large pupils. I do see ghosting around indoor lights but not to a debilitating degree.
Should I be concerned at this point? Am I being too impatient or should I have been able to see clearly (or at least clearER) occasionally at this time in my recovery?


text:
MWC 15 Special
Back in February, Toshiba announced the TG02 and K01 smartphones which followed last year's launched TG01. And while all three Windows Phones were powered by Windows Mobile 6.5, the Global Certification Forum has just approved the Toshiba TG03 which we saw on a 2009 leaked roadmap already. However, according to that roadmap, the initial TG03 was expected to be launched anytime late 2009. Nevertheless, since it never made it to the market, Toshiba might have changed its plans and will launch it now with Windows Phone 7 instead? At least the GCF just approved it with quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE as well as triband UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA at 800/850/2100 MHz!
Guessing would be easier if Toshiba would have called it TG07 but nevertheless, since many expected upcoming Windows Phone 7 smartphones are currently approved by the GCF there might be a real chance that Toshiba will also join Microsoft's latest party. However, so far Toshiba wasn't named to be a Windows Phone 7 launch partner at all! Neither at the Mobile World Congress nor anytime later so at this point it's just a rumor that Toshiba might also launch a Windows Phone 7 smartphone.
Cheers ~ Arne
Article Source
Related Articles Toshiba
No items available


text:
Use Touch and Motion Controls to Take Anti Gravity Racing to the Next Level
Experience the thrill and speed of anti-gravity racing with PlayStation® Vita's System enhanced controls - including front touch, rear touch, and six-axis motion sensors. Optimized for 23rd century racing, you can compete with up to 8 other players on 10 new tracks. It's a never-ending battle to stay atop the online leaderboards.


text:
An "irrational quest for safety" drove all kinds of nutty economic and investment behavior in 2011, said T. Rowe Price Chairman and Chief Investment Officer Brian Rogers on Tuesday at a media conference in New York. Irrational thinking explains why companies' cash levels are so high, why this year's investment bubble was the 10-year Treasury note, and "why people are terrified of risk and volatility," according to Rogers.
"This year has been an exhausting one," said the chairman of the Baltimore-based global investment management firm with $453.5 billion of assets under management, pointing to the congressional supercommittee's failure to come to an agreement this week as well as the debt ceiling crisis last August.
But looking ahead to 2012, five T. Rowe Price experts at the conference said investors shouldn't give up just yet, because there's good news ahead for some U.S. and international stocks along with certain areas of the fixed-income market.
Here, then, are T. Rowe Price's economic and investment outlooks for 2012:
Running in Place. "Company profit margins are high and rising" and "more Federal Reserve stimulus in the year to come is likely as growth lags Fed expectations," said Chief Economist Alan Levenson. While market volatility has been giving investors a crazy ride, the U.S. economy should see a modest but sustained recovery in 2012, Levenson says. His 2012 forecast is for real GDP growth of 2%, core consumer price inflation of 1.5% to 2% and an unchanged unemployment rate of about 9% even though job growth will pick up in the second half.
Volatility vs. Valuations. "While the market doesn't make sense now, we're actually quite sanguine about its growth going forward," said John Linehan, head of U.S. equities and co-portfolio manager of large-cap value strategy. "We've seen a lack of conviction in the marketplace with unprecedented volatility, but we're actually not going anywhere. For 2011, we're roughly flat." Looking ahead, Linehan sees a "glimmer of hope" in equity valuations. If volatility doesn't drive the U.S. economy into another recession, he said, stock valuations will save the day because U.S. companies are sitting on piles of cash and stocks are trading at 20-year lows in terms of price to trailing earnings. "Currently," Linehan said, "over 200 stocks in the S&P 500 are paying higher dividend yields than the 10-year Treasury."
Held Aloft on a Treasury Bubble. "It's been a strong year largely on the back of Treasuries," said Fixed Income Director Michael Gitlin. "People ask me if there's a fixed income bubble, and I say, 'No, there's a Treasury bubble.'" That said, other areas of the credit market are in positive territory, especially high yield, Gitlin noted, pointing to a discrepancy between spreads and default rates. "Companies are doing quite well," he said, remarking that fundamentals remain strong in investment-grade corporate. And in high-yield credit, he added, "there's a disconnect between what the market is pricing in versus the true risk of default."
And Then There's European Banks. "Although uncertainties remain, policymakers appear to have sidestepped the immediate danger, and we are cautiously optimistic they will craft a viable, long-term solution," said Samy Muaddi, a credit analyst in global financials. To be sure, Europe's sovereign debt troubles have weighed heavily on the region's banking system, raising fears of a systemic financial crisis with global implications, and Muaddi noted that the muted issuance of bank debt since June has raised liquidity concerns. "However," he added, "the European Central Bank has ample tools to provide additional liquidity, and we do not expect any solvent European bank to fail due to lack of liquidity."
Tech Is a Bright Spot. "This is one of the best times to be a tech investor in a very long time," said David Eiswert, portfolio manager of the T. Rowe Price Global Technology Fund (PRGTX). "We see a rich opportunity set in technology investing." For example, the growing base of middle-class consumers in India and China is helping to drive extreme outcomes in technology. Investors should keep in mind that "it's very important to be a stock picker" in the technology sector, Eiswert said. For example, smartphone and tablet manufacturers are seeing a boom while companies with large exposure to the shrinking government sector are at risk.
Read AdvisorOne's complete lineup of Outlook 2012 stories.
Read Best 5 Investment Picks for 2012 at AdvisorOne.com


text:
by Dr. Neal Halsey, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Dr. Noel Rose, Autoimmune Disease Research Center, Johns Hopkins University
1. What is the risk of developing smallpox?
Smallpox does not exist as a naturally occurring disease anywhere in the world. The only risk of smallpox would come from the use of smallpox as a weapon of bioterrorism. Government security experts believe that bioterrorists in several countries may have smallpox. No one knows for certain whether or not they have smallpox or if smallpox will be used as a weapon. Most infectious disease experts believe that the risk of any individual being exposed to smallpox is extremely low.
2. How good is this vaccine?
No vaccine is perfect. The smallpox vaccine provides approximately 95 percent protection against smallpox. This is about as effective as most other live viral vaccines.
3. What kinds of adverse reactions can occur?
The smallpox vaccine causes a local infection on the arm. A small group of blisters or vesicles develop associated with inflammation, swelling and tenderness that lasts for one to two weeks. About 10 percent of people develop an exaggerated reaction with more marked swelling, redness and tenderness and decreased use of the arm for a few days. Some people develop red streaks going around the arm, which resolve spontaneously, but this reaction is sometimes mistakenly assumed to be a secondary bacterial infection. Headache, fever, and feeling poorly for a few days occur frequently. About one-third of healthy young adults who were vaccinated reported missing at least one day of work, school, or participating in usual activities. More serious reactions occur much less commonly.
The vaccine virus can be transmitted from the vaccination site to some other part of the body or to people who have direct contact with a vaccinated person. The virus is transmitted on hands after touching the vaccine site. There is no evidence that the virus is transmitted through respiratory droplets or that there is any risk from being in the same room as a vaccinated person. If the vaccine virus is put on an area where the skin is broken or on a mucous membrane such as the mouth, eye, vagina, or rectum, then sores develop that are similar to the sore at the vaccination site. This can create serious problems if the viruses are placed in or around the eye or the genital area. The vaccine is not recommended for anybody with acute or chronic skin conditions that could predispose to this problem. People with eczema are at particularly high risk of developing severe reactions. Any person with eczema, atopic dermatitis, or any household member who has these conditions should not be vaccinated.
When the smallpox vaccine was given to pregnant women, the vaccine virus was sometimes transmitted to their unborn babies and caused serious infections and sometimes premature birth. When the vaccine was given to children under a year of age, they had a higher risk of developing encephalitis than older children and adults. The risk in adults is about one to two per million and this complication can lead to long-term brain damage or death.
4. Are there special risks for patients with immune disorders?
Yes, patients with immune deficiency disorders and their household contacts should not be vaccinated. Persons with defects in lymphocyte function, including people with leukemia and other forms of cancer, are at high risk of developing a serious and frequently fatal complication called progressive vaccinia. Although patients with mild defects in the immune system that do not affect lymphocyte function may not be at increased risk, there is no reason for these people to be vaccinated at this time. If there were to be outbreaks of smallpox associated with bioterrorism, these people should check with their doctors before considering smallpox vaccination.
5. I am being treated with prednisone. Should I take the vaccine?
Any person with a condition that requires the use of prednisone or other immunosuppressive agents should not receive the smallpox vaccine at this time. Although low doses of prednisone do not usually cause any problems with live viral vaccines, these persons might require higher doses of prednisone if their underlying condition became more severe. We do not have any data on what doses of prednisone might be safe for people who receive the smallpox vaccine.
6. If I have an autoimmune disease, should members of my family take the vaccine?
If you have an autoimmune disease that might require the use of steroids or other therapy that could affect the immune system, no one in your family who lives in the same household should receive smallpox vaccine because you might acquire the smallpox vaccine virus from your family member.
7. If I have an autoimmune disease, should I stay away from my place of employment if there are people there who have been vaccinated? If so, how long should I stay away?
You do not need to stay away from your place of work where people have received the smallpox vaccine. We do not have the same physical contact with people in the workplace that we have with family members. Vaccinated individuals in the workplace should have their smallpox vaccine site covered with special bandages that will markedly reduce, if not eliminate, the risk of their transmitting the virus to you. If vaccinated people take appropriate precautions with regard to care of the vaccine site, then they can continue to shake hands and have other minimal contact with other persons.
8. Are there any special precautions that I as an autoimmune disease patient should take if there is a national vaccination program?
If your disorder puts you at increased risk, you should take care to minimize direct touching contact with people who may have received the smallpox vaccine and who have an open sore that could contain the virus. If your job requires direct physical contact with people, such as people who do massage therapy, then you might consider asking clients who have been vaccinated not to come for therapy during the time when they have an open sore from the vaccine.
9. If I have an autoimmune disease that affects the skin, should I take the vaccine?
If you have active lesions from psoriasis, cutaneous vasculitis, bullous pemphigoid, Behçet's disease, discoid lupus, Mooren's ulcer, or any other skin disorder, you should not receive the vaccine. If your skin disorder is under control, you do not have any open lesions, and the vaccine is highly recommended for you because of your occupation, then you might consider receiving the vaccine after consultation with your physician. If it is not essential for you to be immunized, then we would advise against it.
10. Is there any way of treating the adverse reactions if they occur?
Some adverse reactions can be treated with a special immune globulin preparation that appears to help patients with eczema vaccinatum, severe inoculation around the eye or other sites, and possibly for progressive vaccinia. There is one antiviral drug that is available for investigational purposes, but it has a high rate of serious side effects. These drugs are available through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
11. Is there a safer vaccine available for patients with autoimmune disease?
A new smallpox vaccine is currently being tested and should become available sometime during 2003. This vaccine is made from the same virus that is in the current smallpox vaccine. The new vaccine will be grown in cell culture rather than on the calf skin. Since the viruses are the same, the new vaccine will probably have the same risk of adverse reactions as the current vaccine. Scientists are working on developing safer vaccines against smallpox, but it will take at least five to ten years before these vaccines might become available.
12. Is the situation likely to change with regard to the risk of exposure to smallpox?
Almost all infectious disease experts recommend against routine vaccination of the civilian population because the risks of exposure to smallpox are very small and probably close to zero. Experts are constantly reevaluating the potential for exposure from bioterrorism. As the United Nations investigations in Iraq continue, we should learn whether or not this country has produced smallpox for possible use as a weapon. If there was one small event in a single location, this may not change the equation with regard to balancing the risks and benefits from this vaccine for the general population. Experts would contact everyone who had been exposed to be sure that they were immunized, but it would not require immunization of the general population. Smallpox vaccine can protect against smallpox even when it's administered up to four days after exposure. If someone has a known exposure to smallpox, then there are very few contraindications to using the vaccine and people with skin disorders and mild immune deficiency disorders would be immunized. If there was a confirmed large outbreak in your local community, then many experts believe that almost everyone in that community should receive the vaccine. We must always weigh the potential benefits of vaccines against the potential risks. At this time smallpox vaccination is not warranted for the general public.
American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association
22100 Gratiot Avenue
Eastpointe, MI 48021


text:
For the first time, Kallie Davis will be able to bring birthday treats to school this year on her actual birthday. Not the day before, or the day after, or on her half-birthday. On Feb. 29, Kallie turns 8 years old and will finally celebrate the rite of passage of bringing treats to her second-grade class on her birthday.
For the first time, Kallie Davis will be able to bring birthday treats to school this year on her actual birthday. Not the day before, or the day after, or on her half-birthday. On Feb. 29, Kallie turns 8 years old and will finally celebrate the rite of passage of bringing treats to her second-grade class on her birthday. Kallie is ecstatic with anticipation. Sugar cookies decorated with colored frosting and sprinkles is what she picked out for the class to gorge themselves on. The kids will also work through a math problem: if Kallie is 8 but only has a birthday every four years, how many birthdays has she had? The energetic girl insists she hasn't told anybody in her class the answer, not even her best friend. Kallie's mom, Laura, said she was nine days overdue when Kallie was born. A relative tried to get Laura to have Kallie sooner so she wouldn't be born on Feb. 29. "But that's just when she was born," Laura said. It's probably for the best. Kallie said she likes her birthday. It makes her unique. With a little help from her mom, she can tell the story of why we need leap year day. "It's so the days don't get mixed up and summer turns to winter and spring into fall. Wouldn't that be funny?" she said, giggling and revealing the gap between her two front teeth. The last time she had a party on her birthday was four years ago, right after she and her parents moved to Camdenton from the Kansas City, Mo., area. That party was small, with only close family there to celebrate her first birthday, when she turned 4. Kallie said she doesn't remember that party. She's making up for it with the one she has planned for Friday. Besides the celebration in her classroom, she's having a sleepover with 10 of her friends. Dad has plans to stay out in the garage, Kallie's mom said. Kallie's love of animals has become the birthday theme. She'll blow the birthday candles out on cupcakes shaped in the form of dog bones. Puppy-themed gift bags filled with candies and other goodies are already filled for the guests to take home. They're going to eat pizza and watch movies, probably with an animal theme, Kallie said. Her favorites are "Air Buddies" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks." She's asked for more sets of Puppy in My Pocket, Kitty in My Pocket and what she said is the latest and greatest, Pony in My Pocket. Each are small, pocket-sized animals that can be clipped on bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry. Her dream birthday present is a hamster. If it's small, she's going to name it Zippy; if it's large and furry, Teddy, just like the hamsters in her classroom. A chocolate lab is also on the list. It's her favorite breed of dog, she said. It's what her former dog, Sammy, was. Her chocolate lab Webkinz is named Sammy after him. She also wants a brother or sister, but that is up to mom and dad, Kallie said. Kallie already has the math figured out for the next year she gets to bring treats to class on the day of her birthday in 2012, when she turns 12. It will be her third party on the actual birthday. Contact this reporter at firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Please pardon the slightly fussy photo, I was excited! =)
Oh the inks! Super yummy colors and the dies and stamps!
I was surprised how much goodies that they managed to fit in those boxes!
I was like a kid in a candy store. I kept pulling more crafty supplies out from those boxes. The RG people totally spoiled us!
I can't wait to get crafty and start making some cards/projects with all those awesome projects, so stay tuned! =)
Have a crafty day and thanks for stopping by!


text:
Projects Abroad Volunteers Make Big Difference in Indian Clinic
Projects Abroad volunteers are now making a big difference at a village health clinic in Tamil Nadu, Southern India.
The Rayagiri Village Clinic was opened on 1 March 2009, with the intention of serving the village and the initial hope was that it would cater to 40 patients a day. Yet within the first week of its opening, this proved to be a gross underestimation as up to 120 patients attend daily. Former volunteer Juliana Thompson notes that 'this means that staff are often stretched, particularly during evening sessions, which provides volunteers with opportunities to assist with a number of procedures.'
The village has a population of 10,000 and is relatively poor. The nearest private hospitals are over an hour's drive away and private healthcare is very expensive. This means that hospital care is very inaccessible to many of the villagers who rely on walking or cycling to receive costly treatment. As Thompson remarks "the village clinic has therefore quickly become an integral part of Rayagiri and has been warmly welcomed."
Depending on the level of a volunteer's experience, a volunteer working with Projects Abroad at this clinic could be doing anything from observing the doctor's surgery and assisting the lab technician with blood and urine analysis to helping in all areas of outpatient medical care, nursing and health promotion.
A placement in Rayagiri Village Clinic is an incredibly rewarding experience that provides the chance to see and experience traditional Tamil life and the hospitality of the Tamil people. It is a wonderful opportunity to make a significant difference to the community by contributing funds, skills and time to a much needed health care service.