Freedoms Zone::Blog

February 19, 2012

Video: Obama Administration Arrests Praying Pastor and Priest Outside White House

As Jim Hoft aptly suggests, it's now an Obama world, and the Obama administration's war on religion has indeed begun ...

Six Christians were arrested outside the White House this week including a priest and a pastor while praying.

World Net Daily reports (emphasis added):

Six people peacefully protested the Obama administration's mandate requiring employers to provide contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-producing drugs by kneeling in prayer in front of the White House, and they quickly were arrested and whisked away by U.S. Park police.

"Occupy Wall Street protesters have been occupying federal property for months, but when we kneel in prayer, the police are called in and we are arrested," said Father Wilde, one of the protesters.

The six people, including Wilde, of Priests for Life, and Rev. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, organized the peaceful protest on the heels of a Priests for Life lawsuit filed against the Obama administration seeking to permanently block the implementation of the HHS mandate.

Wilde and the other protesters were cited for "failure to obey a lawful order" as they knelt in prayer in front of the White House. Each paid a $100 fine and was released from custody.

Wilde said. "We knew that was the risk when we gathered today, and we will do it again regardless of the risk. What people of faith -- of every faith -- need to do now is stand with us."

Let there be no doubt as to the Obama administration's agenda. Given that the HHS mandate is now the second hostility in recent months in which the Obama administration has attempted to apply wide-reaching government regulation to religious organizations, it is clear the Obama administration intends to, unless stopped by the American people, change the role of religious institutions in American life, forever. As Father Robert Barron has noted, Obama's socialist secular state agenda is to push Catholicism (and along with it all Christianity) off the public stage and relegated to a private realm where it cannot interfere with secularism's totalitarian agenda.

Related: The HHS Mandate: One Battle in a Two-Front War (Obama has opened two fronts in the war on religious liberty, and may try more. )

Posted by Richard at 7:55 PM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2011

Breaking: Mubarak has stepped down (Confirmed)

This time ... for real!

jubilation in tahir squard.jpg

Right now on Fox News ... the Egyptian VP has announced that Mubarak has in fact stepped down (this time for sure?), and in Tahir square, the protesters are chanting ... "the people have brought the regime down."

On television, a roar from the crowd could be heard, horns honking, then suddenly the word came down that Muabarak was out of office and the Egyptian people will be "ruled by a military group." IANS reports wild jubilation in Tahir square.

A man that has been in power since the 1980s has been forced out of office by the Egyptian people.

Confirmed by the AP: Egyptian President Mubarak steps down
VP: Mubarak hands power to military:

CAIRO (AP) - Egypt's vice president says Hosni Mubarak has resigned as president and handed control to the military.

Car horns were heard around Cairo in celebration after Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement on national TV on Friday.

As Michelle Malken sarcastically suggests (well justifiably, I might add) ... Leon Panetta (and James Clapper) are scanning cable tee-vee and Twitter trending topics for intel.

Al Jazeera English (AKA - the Muslim Brotherhood channel): has the Live Stream.

(Image credit - AP / Emilio Morenatti)

Cross posted from Hyscience

Posted by Richard at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2011

'BBC: Hosni Mubarak 'may be stepping down' (Updated)'

Update: Fox News reports that Mubarak will indeed be stepping down tonight and transferring power to the vice president.

From the BBC:

A senior member of Egypt's governing party has told the BBC he "hopes" that President Hosni Mubarak will transfer power to Vice-President Omar Suleiman.

Hossan Badrawi, secretary general of the National Democratic Party (NDP), said Mr Mubarak would "most probably" speak to the nation soon.

The question now is not as much as will Mubarak step down, rather what happens when he does. Like Daniel Larison, I haven't really expected it to happen but I haven't been looking forward to the consequences if and when he actually does step down.

Larison's view of that scenario:

If the government is overthrown, it will probably have a good effect on reducing the suffering of the people in Gaza by ending the Egyptian part of the blockade, but it would make it easier for Hamas to operate. If the U.S. helps bring the regime down, the message will be that the U.S. pulled the plug on one of the only two Arab states to make peace with Israel. What are the odds that any other Arab state is going to see the benefits of formally recognizing Israel after that? As for Egypt itself, the fall of the regime could unleash terrible religious violence. The Christians of Iraq have already paid a terrible price as a result of the "liberation" of their country. The Copts and other Christians are at risk of facing similar treatment.

My guess is that two things are likely certain. The Copts and other Christians will face intolerable suffering and persecution at the hands of the Islamists, and the American liberal-progressives' fantasy (including that of Obama), that somehow the Egyptians will end up with a liberal democracy instead of an Islamic state, will be proven to be shear nonsense.

I hope and pray that I'm wrong, but the Islamists' hunger for power, regardless of what they claim, is insatiable.

Cross posted from Hyscience

Posted by Richard at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

'Barack Obama nothing short of a national catastrophe'

Canadian David Solway cuts right to the chase in his piece at PJM today titled "Obama Must Go," saying what many Americans have been thinking but as yet have failed to express in such a direct manner. Known for his polemical outspokenness, Solway flat out says that Barack Obama is the worst possible president at the worst possible time, and pins the blame squarely on Obama not only as a cause of the American malaise but also as an effect of a process of ongoing decay and a reflection of the majority who elected him (calling Obama an offspring of the god of civil unrest which has been gathering momentum at least since the radical 1960s).

Here are some excerpts to pique your interest:

[...] His malapropisms, however, are not only a sign of a deeply ignorant man but also a symptom of the policy miscarriages he has implemented since taking office -- again, too numerous to mention in toto. The most recent, of course, is his thorough mishandling of the Egyptian imbroglio, especially his opening the door to the ascendancy of the notorious Muslim Brotherhood into the corridors of power. But given his bungling in both Iraq and Afghanistan, his unwillingness to take steps to prevent Iranian weapons and insurgents from crossing into the battle zone, and his placing American civil security into the palsied hands of Janet Napolitano, his corpse-man gaffe has distinct and ironic implications for American servicemen as well as civilians.

For those who follow American politics closely, but from a privileged distance -- as does this Canadian -- it is hard to resist the conclusion that Barack Obama is nothing short of a national catastrophe, surely the worst presidential blight to fall on the U.S. since the woeful Jimmy Carter and probably as far back as Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce or John Tyler -- take your pick. Many if not most American presidents, it must be admitted, with only a minim of illustrious exceptions, were flat-out second-raters. True, this is par for the course for the majority of political leaders around the world, but Obama is a special case. His evident failings of character and insight might be bearable in a comparatively less hazardous epoch, but in a time of looming insolvency and market collapse, the demographic incursion of extremist elements into the social fabric, aka "stealth jihad," the advancing might of rejuvenated autocracies, an exploding Middle East and the nuclearization of rogue nations, Obama is quite simply the worst possible president at the worst possible time...

It is necessary, however, to see Obama not only as a cause of the American malaise but also as an effect of a process of ongoing decay and a reflection of the majority who elected him. He is the offspring of the god of civil unrest which has been gathering momentum at least since the radical 1960s. As David Horowitz laments, "we now live in a country so divided there are two Americas and two cultures which speak a different language." The tensions tearing America apart today are so massive as to seem almost unbridgeable. If, to take a fanciful example, America should one day fracture into two nations, call them the United States of America and the Republic of the United States, one could conceive an enmity between them no less intense, say, than that between Venezuela and Colombia. (The Panarin hypothesis posits not two but six discrete fragments.) Barring a domestic "reset" and a genuine conservative resurgence, the "culture wars" may well become terminally divisive.

The viciousness of rhetorical combat, the rage of slander and vituperation erupting in the national discourse -- largely, though not exclusively, emanating from the emotional inferno of the left -- transcend the connotation of that increasingly common epithet, "incivility." It is far more than that. The clash of two sundered cultures, variously denominated as red and blue, conservative and socialist, right and left, Republican and Democrat, is a dire portent of things to come. Democrats and Republicans may for a time be able to work together in the House as Obama attempts to rejigger himself for 2012, but they are perpetually at loggerheads in the media, the blogosphere, and the body politic itself. It is a virtual war of words, hearts, and minds, occasionally breaking out in sporadic acts of violence, which is now reaching a crescendo.

[...] For Obama is driving his country into the ground, espousing a social and economic agenda that can only lead to bankruptcy and increasing discord. At the same time, his foreign policy has reduced the United States to an international laughing stock, empowered its enemies, and abandoned its friends and allies. "t is going to be a long two years," writes Victor Davis Hanson, now that "the world has figured Obama out, and the wages of our version of 1979-80 are coming due." Hanson is alluding, of course, to the Iran/Egypt analogy and Obama's repetition of Carter's monumental error in empowering an Islamic fundamentalist regime masking as a democratic alternative. It is as if the faculty of memory has been removed and time has stopped, as if, let's say, a chronosectomy has been performed. But Hanson's warning has far more sweeping significance for a nation that is rapidly "losing it." For one thing, America's territorial waters, so to speak, are shrinking. America is not the colossus it used to be. For another, as we have seen, its cohesion is crumbling. The United States is no longer united.

[...] As Ronald Reagan urged in his 1983 "Evil Empire" speech, we must beware "the temptation to...blithely declare yourself above it all and label both sides equally at fault." What applied then in the international arena applies now on the domestic front. The cultures wars must go on until one side wins or all is lost, which is to say, until either America or the left triumphs. There is no doubt on which ideological parapet Barack Obama stands. Like Hollywood sequels, Obama II would be an even greater clunker than its original version; only, this is no movie but a real-life megaflop in the making.

Take the time to read the entire piece.

Clearly, Amercans have a choice to make in 2012, in what is likely to be the most important political decision in their lifetime ... effecting the fate of our nation over the next century. As Mark Noonan aptly notes over at BFV, if Americans re-elect Barack Obama, it could prove catastrophic -- if we defeat him, then we will have made a choice to restore American greatness. (Solway is a bit more succinctly harsher, saying that there is no option if one of the most destructive and recidivist presidents in American history is to be chased from office before his corpse-man gaffe becomes ever more of a reality, and that such a consummation might be a first step in at least partially recuperating the Democratic left back into the majority consensus of American life via the modality of a crushing defeat and, perhaps, of narrowing the rift that divides the nation from itself).

Indeed, it's not just about Obama, the man. It's far more than that. Obama symbolizes both American decline and an American unwillingness to confront the reality of the true threats we face.

Cross posted from Hyscience

Posted by Richard at 7:56 AM | Comments (0)

February 8, 2011

Egyptian Journalist on Al-Rahma TV: 'U.S. is Next to Become Islamic State'

Egyptian journalist 'Ata Abd Al-Aal, interviewed on Egypt's Al-Rahma TV outlined a plan for increasing Muslim influence over America, boldly declaring, "The U.S. will be transformed into an Islamic republic" and going so far as to say that he had even heard a sheik in America declare that "the most important place for the future of Islam, after Mecca and Medina, was the U.S."

From WND:

[...] The journalist explained a three-step plan for increasing Islam's influence on the U.S. The first step is through conversion:

"The rate of converts to Islam in the U.S. is very high ... rising on a daily basis," Abd Al-Aal insisted. "These converts adhere to Islam with total conviction."

The second step is to turn those converts into "preachers" who "convince others to convert to Islam."

The third step is to reverse many Muslim's avoidance of ballot box and instead encourage those faithful to Allah to take up the vote:

"[Other countries] should send religious guides, as the Americans call them, or preachers, who should put an end to the calls not to participate in elections," Abd Al-Aal continued. "Some of the sheiks who go to the U.S ... incite the Muslims living there not to take part in the elections, because they are living among infidels.

"This is very troubling, and runs counter to the rights of the Muslims in the U.S.," he continued. "The Islamic institutions in the Islamic world should send preachers who are well-versed in Islam, who know how to preach to the American mentality, and who are proficient in English and can communicate with the Americans."

If these missionaries for Islam in the U.S. forsake material and personal interests and "act for the sake of Allah," Abd Al-Aal claimed, "The U.S. will be transformed into an Islamic republic."

Any questions? Any more doubts of Islam's agenda and that what's going on in Egypt is important to our continued democracy and way of life here in the U.S.?

Cross posted from Hyscience

Posted by Richard at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

DOE-Mandated Arabic Classes Coming to a School Near You?

In a taxpayer-funded program, students will now be required to take Arabic language and culture classes. In addition to the Arabic language, the grant requires "culture, government, art, traditions and history" as part of the curriculum.

CBS Dallas/Fort Worth reports: Mandatory Arabic Classes Coming To Mansfield (Texas):

Some Students at Mansfield ISD schools could soon be learning Arabic as a required language. The school district wants students at certain schools to take Arabic language and culture classes as part of a federally funded grant.

The Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant was awarded to Mansfield ISD last summer by the U.S. Department of Education.

As part of the five-year $1.3 million grant, Arabic classes would be mandatory at Cross Timbers Intermediate School and Kenneth Davis Elementary School. The program would also be optional for students at T. A. Howard Middle School and Summit High School.

Parents at Cross Timbers say they were caught off-guard by the program, and were surprised the district only told them about it in a meeting Monday night between parents and Mansfield ISD Superintendent Bob Morrison.

The DOE has identified Arabic as a "language of the future." But parent Joseph Balson was frustrated by the past. "Why are we just now finding out about it?" asked Balson. "It's them (Mansfield ISD) applying for the grant, getting it approved and them now saying they'll go back and change it only when they were caught trying to implement this plan without parents knowing about it."

Some parents were rightly concerned over the implied religious aspect.

"The school doesn't teach Christianity, so I don't want them teaching Islam," said parent Baron Kane. During Monday's meeting Morrison stressed the curriculum would not be about religion, but about Arabic language and culture, similar to the Spanish curriculum already in place in the district.

The FLAP grant requiring Arabic was awarded to only five school districts across the country, including Mansfield.

Mark Steyn has explained the real implications of an "Arabic school and the Arabic language" (hat tip - Pamela Geller):

"It shows how we mischaracterized, we willfully misunderstand Islam. Yes, on the face of it, yes, Arabic is a language. In a sense there would be no difference between opening a foreign language school -- a Spanish language school or a french language school -- but in fact Arabic is more than a language. It is explicated the language of Islam, so in that sense it is part of the Islamic religious imperial project. Radical Islam advances through the Arabic language. And you go all kinds of places that aren't in the Arab world now, like Pakistan, Indonesia, Central Asia, the Balkans, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Canada and the United States, and you will here those Imams preaching in Arabic. Arabic is not just another language like French or Italian, it is the spearhead of an ideological project that is deeply opposed to the United States."

As Les Carpenter points out over at Rational Nation (emphasis mine):

This is America. We are an English speaking nation. We have distinct and traditional American cultural values. We have some Americans in our population who have difficulty speaking a coherent sentence. We have many who cannot construct a complete and proper sentence.

Yet we find the time and the money to educate youth in Arabic and Arabic culture. ...

And as for "Arab being a language of the future" ... lets take a quick look at how Arabs have done up to now in Nobel Prizes in science and medicine. A quick count shows 126 Jewish Nobel Prize Winners in science and medicine [that's from a pool of 12 million Jews which are 0.2% of the World's Population (2 out of every 1,000 people)] ... and a mere 3 Arab/Islamic Nobel Prize Winners {from a pool of 1.4 BILLION Muslims which are 20% of the world's population.

So why aren't our students all being taught Hebrew???

Cross posted from Hyscience

Posted by Richard at 12:32 PM | Comments (0)

Islamic Sharia Law in Brief: What Americans Need to Know About Islam and Sharia

This excellent detailed and extensive primer on sharia (Islamic law), posted at Australian Islamic Monitor on Feb 5th, should be read by every person living in the West ... especially North America and Australia (its probably too late for much of Europe) that cares about Democracy, freedom, liberty, and western-style justice (as opposed to barbaric "Sharia-based Islam").

Islamic Sharia Law in Brief!
By Syed Kamran Mirza

Cynicism of the Islamists to promote barbari"Sharia-based Islam" in the west is going on uninterrupted due to the utter ignorance of the westerners about Islamic ideology in general, democratic convenience, and also by the "politically correct nonsense" spewed by many western politicians by their selfishness and forceful ignorance about the inherent danger of Islamic Sharia.

Many hypocritical western residing Islamists are trying relentlessly to soft-sell Islam through their speeches and write-ups and so called "interfaith nonsense" only to fool the westerners. All these Islamists are portraying Islam being compatible with western values. Using cynicism and soothsaying techniques, they are trying hard to convince the westerners that Islam is democratic, Islam is tolerant of other faiths, Islam encourages the pursuit of religious freedom, etc. They conveniently ignore/hide the fascism in Islam that originated from the primary (Quran) and secondary (Hadith) texts in the form of Sharia (Islamic law).

The barbaric laws and rules of Sharia are causing the Muslims to suffer the most. Fact of the matter is, these so called Allah's laws are nothing but the ancient Arab Paganic ruthless tribal social justice which had been cleverly ingrained in Islam and now causing the humanity to suffer.

These Islamists are often bluffing westerners by citing some non-Arab Muslim majority nations such as Bangladesh as the proof that there is no inherent discord between Islam and democracy. Many of these countries are nascent western style democracies and are not governed by Islamic Sharia law at all. Outside Middle East, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has adopted partial Islamic laws and one can see the brutality and barbarism happening there in the name of Islam. To understand Islam, one of the important aspects is to understand the "Sharia law." I have written this piece to inform the readers about the Sharia law that can only generate brutality, hatred, and nothing but Islamic fascism.

What is Sharia law?

The term "Sharia" (Arabic ...; "way" or "path") is the sacred law of Islam. Sharia law literally means religious code of life. It is used to refer both to the Islamic system of law and the totality of the Islamic way of life. Sharia guides all aspects of Muslim life including politics, daily routines, foods, clothing, amusements, sports, familial and religious obligations, and financial dealings. Traditional Muslims (all mullahs, Mawlanas, Muftis, and Islamic scholars) who understand the Quran and the Hadith believe that sharia (Islamic law) expresses the highest and best goals for all societies on Earth. It is the "law of Allah" and bound to be the best of all. Because of this ardent belief, devout and fanatical Muslims all over the world are in constant struggle (Jihad) with their ruling Government to establish "Islamic Sharia" as the country's only rule by replacing modern secular democracy (Laws made by human).

[...] Islamic Taqiyya vs. Reality of Islamic Sharia!

Caution! Islam permits devout Muslims to lie, cheat, and deliberately bluff non-muslims to protect or promote his religion of Islam, anytime, anywhere. And this tactic is know as
"Islamic Taqiyya" (read: Islamic deception), and was originally used by the Prophet of Islam to fool, and later subjugate and destroy enemies of Islam. As Prophet of Islam repeatedly asserted: "War is a deception" and with this holy-tactic, Prophet of Islam established his most intolerant religion of violence (by 80 plus bloody battles) which he later named as: "religion of peace"!

Therefore, today's Islamists will follow the holy path of their Prophet and will deny that -- Sharia is really Islamic law! They will try to cheat by saying that, all these Sharia laws that are practiced in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, and elsewhere are not true Islamic, and they have been distorted. They also will try to fool people by saying: Saudi Arabia is ruled by King (Monarch) and Islam does not permit Kingship etc. But, their dishonest assertion is furthest from the truth. Ancient Caliphs of Islam were nothing but the kings of ancient Islamic nations having supreme despotic and dictatorial authoritative rulers. In fact, ancient Islamic caliphs were more despotic and brutal rulers than the present day Saudi King.

Take the time to be informed ... read the entire piece ... your way of life and freedoms depend on it. Don't be fooled by what liberal-progressives and the Islamic apologists in the media try to deceive you into believing.

Related must-watch, chilling, video: Terrorists Among Us: Jihad in America(Part 1 of 6), a PBS documentary produced by investigative reporter Steven Emerson after the first bombing of the World Trade Towers in 1993. It was first aired nationwide in 1994. Unfortunately, America hasn't listened or paid attention, and remains naive to what's still going on unabated.

In the first 3 minutes of this video you learn of a secret meeting that occurred somewhere near Washington D.C. in which some of the most respected men and women in and out of government learned that the greatest threat to America was not from China or Russia, nor any other single government or state; the greatest threat to America was and is Islamic fundamentalism ... and the spread of jihad - throughout Asia, Europe, and North America.

Terrorists Among Us: Jihad in America (Part 5/6)

Cross posted from Hyscience

Posted by Richard at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)

February 5, 2011

Islamic clerics across Iran call for Iranian supreme leader to lead new "international Islam"

Does this have a chance of gaining legs, or is it simply Iranian Islamonistas trying to take advantage of the Muslim Brotherhood's efforts to take power in Egypt. Robert Spencer seems to think it's the latter, saying that we've seen previous Iranian attempts to position itself as the leader of the Islamic world, i.e. ... Its funding of Sunni Hamas, but it's unlikely that Sunnis generally will accept a Shi'ite leader of the ummah.

Radio Zamaneh reports:

Clergy across Iran used their Friday sermons to spread the idea of a new "international Islam" to be formed under the leadership of Iran's ruling Islamic jurist, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Jaras reports that all of the country's Friday Mass prayer leaders contended that the Arab revolts are directly influenced by "the ideals and slogans of the Islamic Revolution" in Iran. They said the promises made by Islamic Republic leaders over the past thirty years are finally being realized with the export of the Islamic Revolution.

The representatives of Iran's Supreme Leader told worshippers that Muslims in the Middle East can "establish international Islam under the flag of the Vali Vaqih (expert cleric embodied by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) and make the necessary preparations for the reappearance of Imam Zaman. (The Imam Zaman is the so-called 12th Imam of Shiites whose return is part of an Islamic prophecy of a Day of Judgement.)."

Iran's Friday Mass leaders expressed concern over the "lack of religious leadership" in the Egyptian and Tunisian revolts. They warned that, unlike religious leaders, political and nationalist leaders are inclined to make compromises according to their own interests.

The Iranian opposition characterizes the Arab movements as akin to Iran's anti-government protests of the past, critical of the alleged fraud in the elections. However, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei gave a different interpretation today as he led Tehran's Mass prayers. He said Arab protesters have been enflamed by the ties that their governments have with the U.S. and other Western countries. He called those countries the chief enemies of the Islamic Republic.

[...] Rejecting the idea of an "Islamic Revolution", the Muslim Brotherhood said that the Egyptian Revolution includes Muslims, Christians, and all of the country's various political viewpoints.

As Spencer aptly quips, we'll see if the Muslim Brotherhood is saying the same thing once they're in power.

Cross posted from Hyscience

Posted by Richard at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)

Popular Egyptian Blogger and Tweeter Goes Public

Mahmoud Salem, a leading voice of the Egyptian uprising who tweets as , and blogs as Rantings of a Sandmonkey, has now gone public to accuse the police of attacking him:

For years, Freedom's Zone (an affiliate of Hyscience operated by our own super-great ... in more ways than just technical ... tech guy) has been hosting Mahmoud's blog site, without knowing his real name (we've known him through emails only as what we knew to be an alias). On February 3, attacks on his site forced our server down and we had to temporarily suspend the account until the technical issues could be addressed. Prior to doing so, his last "defiant" post prior to his arrest waposted in its entirety (also here), and an additional post a little later titled Re: Free Sandmonkey (Updated).

Now that Sandmonkey has gone public, we wish Mahmoud good luck and our prayers that he will stay safe beyond the reach of Mubarak's thugs ... and out of prison.

Cross posted from Hyscience

Posted by Richard at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)

February 3, 2011

Rantings of a Sandmonkey: Egypt Right Now!

Due to problems related to traffic and attacks (many from IPs in Saudi Arabia), the blog Rantings of a Sandmonkey (hosted on Freedom's Zone server ... an affiliate of Hyscience), one of Egypt" top bloggers and activists, has been temporarily suspended until the problems can be resolved (hopefully by this evening). Before Sandmonkey was suspended, his last post, dated Thursday, 3 February 2011, was posted below. Follow Sandmonkey on Twitter at

Egypt Right Now!

I don't know how to start writing this. I have been battling fatigue for not sleeping properly for the past 10 days, moving from one's friend house to another friend's house, almost never spending a night in my home, facing a very well funded and well organized ruthless regime that views me as nothing but an annoying bug that its time to squash will come. The situation here is bleak to say the least.

It didn't start out that way. On Tuesday Jan 25 it all started peacefully, and against all odds, we succeeded to gather hundreds of thousands and get them into Tahrir Square, despite being attacked by Anti-Riot Police who are using sticks, tear gas and rubber bullets against us. We managed to break all of their barricades and situated ourselves in Tahrir. The government responded by shutting down all cell communication in Tahrir square, a move which purpose was understood later when after midnight they went in with all of their might and attacked the protesters and evacuated the Square. The next day we were back at it again, and the day after. Then came Friday and we braved their communication blackout, their thugs, their tear gas and their bullets and we retook the square. We have been fighting to keep it ever since.

That night the government announced a military curfew, which kept getting shorter by the day, until it became from 8 am to 3 pm. People couldn't go to work, gas was running out quickly and so were essential goods and money, since the banks were not allowed to operate and people were not able to collect their salary. The internet continued to be blocked, which affected all businesses in Egypt and will cause an economic meltdown the moment they allow the banks to operate again. We were being collectively punished for daring to say that we deserve democracy and rights, and to keep it up, they withdrew the police, and then sent them out dressed as civilians to terrorize our neighborhoods. I was shot at twice that day, one of which with a semi-automatic by a dude in a car that we the people took joy in pummeling. The government announced that all prisons were breached, and that the prisoners somehow managed to get weapons and do nothing but randomly attack people. One day we had organized thugs in uniforms firing at us and the next day they disappeared and were replaced by organized thugs without uniforms firing at us. Somehow the people never made the connection.

Despite it all, we braved it. We believed we are doing what's right and were encouraged by all those around us who couldn't believe what was happening to their country. What he did galvanized the people, and on Tuesday, despite shutting down all major roads leading into Cairo, we managed to get over 2 million protesters in Cairo alone and 3 million all over Egypt to come out and demand Mubarak's departure. Those are people who stood up to the regime's ruthlessness and anger and declared that they were free, and were refusing to live in the Mubarak dictatorship for one more day. That night, he showed up on TV, and gave a very emotional speech about how he intends to step down at the end of his term and how he wants to die in Egypt, the country he loved and served. To me, and to everyone else at the protests this wasn't nearly enough, for we wanted him gone now. Others started asking that we give him a chance, and that change takes time and other such poppycock. Hell, some people and family members cried when they saw his speech. People felt sorry for him for failing to be our dictator for the rest of his life and inheriting us to his Son. It was an amalgam of Stockholm syndrome coupled with slave mentality in a malevolent combination that we never saw before. And the Regime capitalized on it today.

Today, they brought back the internet, and started having people calling on TV and writing on facebook on how they support Mubarak and his call for stability and peacefull change in 8 months. They hung on to the words of the newly appointed government would never harm the protesters, whom they believe to be good patriotic youth who have a few bad apples amongst them. We started getting calls asking people to stop protesting because "we got what we wanted" and "we need the country to start working again". People were complaining that they miss their lives. That they miss going out at night, and ordering Home Delivery. That they need us to stop so they can resume whatever existence they had before all of this. All was forgiven, the past week never happened and it's time for Unity under Mubarak's rule right now.

To all of those people I say: NEVER! I am sorry that your lives and businesses are disrupted, but this wasn't caused by the Protesters. The Protesters aren't the ones who shut down the internet that has paralyzed your businesses and banks: The government did. The Protesters weren't the ones who initiated the military curfew that limited your movement and allowed goods to disappear off market shelves and gas to disappear: The government did. The Protesters weren't the ones who ordered the police to withdraw and claimed the prisons were breached and unleashed thugs that terrorized your neighborhoods: The government did. The same government that you wish to give a second chance to, as if 30 years of dictatorship and utter failure in every sector of government wasn't enough for you. The Slaves were ready to forgive their master, and blame his cruelty on those who dared to defy him in order to ensure a better Egypt for all of its citizens and their children. After all, he gave us his word, and it's not like he ever broke his promises for reform before or anything.

Then Mubarak made his move and showed them what useful idiots they all were.

Continue reading "Rantings of a Sandmonkey: Egypt Right Now!"

Posted by Richard at 7:51 AM | Comments (0)