The day part of the Internet died: Egypt goes dark

[onodera]

Haredi are not revolting, so enough about the Jews.
People have retaken the Pearl roundabout in Bahrain, so it looks like the king will fold.
There are mass protests planned in Iran for tomorrow. It's night-time there right now, and people in Tehran keep shouting slogans from the rooftops. Islamic slogans, of course.

[C0ckney]

These days, unwavering condemnation of Israel and support for the palestinians is the knee-jerk reaction of liberals (a good example was provided yesterday by the one-sided speech by american ambassador to the UN on a resolution brought by Lebanon i.e. Hezbollah) and COckneys statement is consistent with that viewpoint.

this would be the resolution condemning israel's continued illegal settlement building in the west bank. this resolution was supported by 14 out of 15 security council members and co-sponsored by 130 nations. luckily the plucky americans were able to save poor little israel from censure. way to go obama! spencer's language tells you all you need to know about his views on the matter.

and yes as we all know that lebanon = hizbollah and the muslim brotherhood = hamas. it's a good thing we have the american right to educate us on these matters.

[C0ckney]

meanwhile - the bahraini monarchy looks like it will compromise and sit down with protesters and opposition groups.

Opposition groups and anti-government protesters in Bahrain say their demands must be met before they will enter into talks with the Gulf state's monarchy.

They want the government to resign, political prisoners to be released and the deaths of protesters investigated.

Six people were killed and many wounded in the last week as security forces used deadly force to quell protests.

Demonstrators have re-established a protest camp in Manama's central Pearl Square after security forces withdrew.

Hundreds of people spent the night in the square, the focal point of the week's unrest.

A protest camp had been cleared on Thursday with the deaths of four people, but protesters flocked to the square on Saturday after the military left.

They were met by police who fired volleys of tear gas and shotgun rounds, wounding dozens of people, before suddenly withdrawing and leaving the square to the jubilant protesters.

.....


"Fellow citizens of Bahrain," the crown prince said in an address on state television.

"I hope that we can join hands, work together and communicate with all political forces in the country. Join us to calm the situation so that we can call a day of mourning for our lost sons."

Speaking on CNN television, he apologised for the deaths.

"I think there is a lot of anger, a lot of sadness, and on that note I would like to extend my condolences to all of the families who lost loved ones and all of those who have been injured. We are terribly sorry and this is a terrible tragedy for our nation," he said.

He said protesters would be allowed to stay in the square, which has become the focal point of the anti-government demonstrations.

while in libya, things are getting pretty nasty. there are reports that the city of benghazi has 'fallen' to the protestors and that army units have switched sides.

Details have emerged of huge casualty figures in the Libyan city of Benghazi, where troops have launched a brutal crackdown on protesters.

More than 200 people are known to have died, doctors say, with 900 injured.

The most bloody attacks were reported over the weekend, as funeral marches were said to have come under machine-gun and heavy weapons fire.

One doctor, speaking amid the sound of fresh gunfire on Sunday, told the BBC that "a real massacre" had happened.

....

The Dubai-based Kalam institute has issued an appeal on behalf of a group of religious and clan leaders from across Libya, urging "every Muslim, within the regime" or anyone helping it [the regime]: "Do NOT kill your brothers and sisters, STOP the massacre NOW!"

Most of Benghazi is said to be controlled by anti-government protesters.

There have also been reports of anti-government protests in other eastern cities, including al-Bayda and Dernah, as well as Misrata further west, about 200km (125 miles) from the capital Tripoli.

Members of an army unit known as the "Thunderbolt" squad had come to the hospital carrying wounded comrades, he said. The soldiers said they had defected to the cause of the hundreds of thousands of protesters in the streets and had fought and defeated Gaddafi's elite guards.

"They are now saying that they have overpowered the Praetorian Guard and that they have joined the people's revolt," another man at the hospital who heard the soldiers, lawyer Mohamed al-Mana, told Reuters by telephone.

A Libyan tribal leader threatened to block oil exports to the West within 24 hours if the government does not stop the "oppression of protesters." Another tribal chief told al Jazeera Gaddafi had to leave the country.

gaddafi's son appears to have lost touch with reality. while there are reports that the libyan government is using foreign mercenaries against its own people.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Sayf al-Islam, has warned that civil war could hit the country.

His comments came in a lengthy TV address to the nation broadcast as anti-government protests spread to the capital Tripoli.

Despite criticising protesters, he also held out the promise of significant political reforms.

He admitted that the police and army had made "mistakes", but said the death toll was far lower than reported.

He said opposition groups and outsiders were trying to transform Libya into a group of small states. If they succeeded, he said, foreign investment would stop and living standards would drop drastically.

Sayf Gaddafi also criticised the foreign media for what he termed their exaggeration of the extent of the violence in Libya.

In his rambling TV address - the first comment on the unrest by a senior figure from the Libyan leadership - Sayf Gaddafi poured scorn on protesters, talking of "drunkards and thugs" driving tanks about the streets of Benghazi.

"Libya is not Tunisia or Egypt," he declared.

He accused "opposition elements" living abroad of trying to initiate an Egypt-style Facebook revolution and said security forces had pre-empted the plot.

Troops had opened fire on protesters because they were not trained to handle civil unrest, he argued.

....

On Sunday evening, witnesses spoke of tear gas and live ammunition being used against protesters by the security forces.

Unconfirmed reports that African mercenaries were being deployed against protesters again surfaced, as they have in Benghazi.

....

Benghazi, the country's second city, appears to be largely under the control of protesters after four days of unrest. Unconfirmed reports say an army general there has defected to the opposition.

Hospitals in the city are said to be struggling to cope with casualties, with one doctor saying he had received 50 bodies on Sunday afternoon alone.

Fresh demonstrations have been reported in cities including Tobruk, al-Bayda and Misrata.

In another blow to Col Gaddafi's rule, representatives of the Warfla tribe, Libya's biggest, have endorsed the protests.

Libya's envoy to the Arab League, Abdel Moneim al-Honi, also announced he was "joining the revolution" in "protest against the acts of repression and violence against demonstrators".

[Docfeelgood]

Just heard that Gaddafi has fled Lybia.

[C0ckney]

i think the reports are unconfirmed. there are also reports that libyan fighter jets taking off from gaddafi's 'home base' and bombing army bases in the east of the country.

several senior officials including the justice minister have resigned.

it looks like game over for gaddafi. we are living in incredible times.

[DaShi]

I pick Feb 21 in the pool for when he'll leave Libya.

[Docfeelgood]

OMG! petrol price is going to go high.

[Heraclitus]

Yay Islamic republics for everyone!

[Wezil]

Yay Islamic republics for everyone!

Can it be any worse than a leader that will order the bombing of his own capitol?

[DaShi]

A leader that would order the bombing of my capitol?

[germanos]

Yay Islamic republics for everyone!

Thank God for Hera.

[Al B. Sure!]

What is the role if any of Pan-Arabism in all this? The way everything appears to be one big movement, might some of these countries merge?

[Wezil]

A leader that would order the bombing of my capitol?

Keep in mind, Col. Gadfly has had a hand in international terrorism in the past and, as the events of the last few days show, he is a maniac.

[Al B. Sure!]

He has virgins (females) for bodyguards.

[Wezil]

After today's events it looks like they're ****ed.