Hosni Mutabak in big trouble Dare LKY to take roti Prata man's place!

[Think_PAP]

Is LKY not eying this year to take Prata man's place?

But Roti Hosni Mutabak is getting OVER-COOKED and blackened in Cairo now.

Ass Luck for LKY.

Bad timing!

It is Prata Election & GE year in SGP.

Dare LKY take Prata man's place ??



http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...ers-gather-for-mass-march-20110201-1acae.html

Egypt protesters gather for mass march
February 1, 2011 - 6:49PM

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Egyptian protesters were gathering in their thousands Tuesday for mass marches in their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak, reassured by the army, which has said it will not fire on them.

The call by opposition leaders for a "march of a million" is seen as a crucial test of support for the biggest uprising in Egypt in three decades which protesters have vowed to escalate until Mubarak's regime falls.

In a bid to defuse the crisis, Mubarak announced a new cabinet that saw the demise of a widely feared interior minister, while his newly appointed vice president offered talks with the opposition,
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But protest organisers denounced the moves as too little too late and announced an indefinite general strike while calling for a million-strong marches Tuesday in the capital and in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria.

At dawn on Tuesday, the eighth day of an angry revolt that has claimed at least 125 lives in clashes between demonstrators and police, some 5,000 people had crowded into Cairo's Tahrir square ahead of the march due to start at 11.00 am (0900 GMT).

Many protesters defied a curfew to bunker down overnight in Tahrir square and were joined by thousands of others soon after dawn, some toting signs reading "Mubarak Out," while others carried posters showing the embattled president hanging from a noose.

But while it remains unknown what posture police will adopt in the face of the strike and marches, the army stated clearly that it would not confront the demonstrators.

"To the great people of Egypt, your armed forces, acknowledging the legitimate rights of the people," stress that "they have not and will not use force against the Egyptian people," the military said in a statement.

Faced with the biggest protests of his presidency, an increasingly embattled Mubarak has appointed his first-ever vice president and a new prime minister in a desperate attempt to hold on to power.

A new cabinet unveiled on Monday did little to placate the protesters. However, the departure of interior minister Habib al-Adly, whose notorious security forces have been accused of systematic human rights violations, was welcomed.

"We will accept no change other than Mubarak's departure," said one protester who asked not to be named.

Police were ordered back onto the nation's streets on Monday, after an absence during which the army was deployed in the face of the revolt, but few policemen were visible on Cairo's streets.

Their vanishing act remains unexplained officially, but it left the city prey to looters and jail-breakers, and residents formed self-defence groups to protect their patches.

As the anti-regime campaign continued apace, Vice President Omar Suleiman said Mubarak had tasked him "with opening immediate talks with the political forces to begin a dialogue around all the issues concerning constitutional and legislative reforms."

Meanwhile, Arab League chief Amr Mussa, a former Egyptian foreign minister often tipped as a possible successor to Mubarak, called for a peaceful transition.

"There has to be a peaceful way forward, a peaceful transition ... from (one) era to the other," Mussa told AFP. "It is incumbent upon politicians or people working in politics to help that process."

Protesters massed in downtown Cairo vowed that Mubarak's resignation would not be enough, while Egypt's main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, called for them to press on until they bring down his creaking regime.

Washington, a key ally of Egypt, has urged Mubarak to do more to defuse the crisis, with President Barack Obama calling for "an orderly transition to a government that is responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people."

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Frank Wisner, a former ambassador to Egypt who knows Mubarak, had landed in Cairo.

State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley told the paper that the US believed it would be "useful" for Wisner to meet with Mubarak directly and get his perspective.

Amid chaos and lawlessness, several foreign governments said they would evacuate their nationals, and the United States authorised the departure of embassy families.

In Washington, Assistant Secretary of State Janice Jacobs said at least 2,600 Americans in Egypt have asked US officials for help in leaving.

More than 1,200 left the country Monday on nine flights headed for Larnaca in Cyprus, Istanbul and Athens, according to the State Department.

China meanwhile sent two Airbus A330 jets to bring its nationals back from Egypt.

Turkey said it had brought 1,144 of its citizens home aboard five specially chartered aircraft of Turkish Airlines from Cairo and Alexandria on Sunday night, in addition to 330 flown back over the weekend.

© 2011 AFP
This story is sourced direct from an overseas news agency as an additional service to readers. Spelling follows North American usage, along with foreign currency and measurement units.

 

[Dreamer1]

And compared the Egypt's army with our shameful murderous Asian army,all our so called unstoppable armies are really good for nothing leh!!!
How about Sinkies SAF(you anf me,our children),where would they go?


Egypt's Military Plays Neutral Role In Protests
January 31, 2011



So far during the massive demonstrations in Egypt, the country's military has held its fire. Shadi Hamid, studies Islamic political parties and democratic reform in the Middle East. He's director of research at the Brookings Institution in Doha, Qatar, and talks to Steve Inskeep about Egypt's military.

And let's talk more about Egypt's military now with Shadi Hamid. He follows the region for the Brookings Institution. We found him in Doha, Qatar, in the Persian Gulf.

Welcome to the program.

Mr. SHADI HAMID (Brookings Institution): Thank you for having me.

INSKEEP: And we were just talking about the Egyptian military and the immense aid that they receive from the United States. Many people have wondered over the last several days what game exactly the military is playing - the way that they've come out onto the streets, the way that they've held their fire, they way that they've said they're supporting the people. What exactly are they doing?

Dr. HAMID: Well, so far, they've played a largely neutral role. They've refrained from getting involved and taking clear sides here. They've focused on securing major buildings and installations, but that's about it.

So, at this point, the military really could be the kingmaker. Right now, we're at an impasse. The protestors are not going to back down. They want Mubarak to step down. Mubarak doesn't want to step down. So we may be at the point where some outside force is needed to tip the balance one way or the other.

INSKEEP: Outside force. Who could that - meaning the military itself.

Dr. HAMID: Yes, the military is one possibility, and then the U.S. and the international community would be another option. It's worth noting that the U.S. does have considerable leverage here. As Ambassador Mack noted, the U.S. gives the Egyptian military $1.3 billion a year. There are close relationships between senior military staff in Egypt and their counterpart at the Pentagon. So in that sense, if the U.S. really did want to put pressure on the military, it could.

INSKEEP: And that's an interesting point, because when you hear about the demonstrators in Tahrir Square and the way that they have seemed to have taken over the square in recent days, it's hard not to think of a little bit of history and think of Tiananmen Square in China in 1989, where it seemed that the protestors had taken over. And then the moment came when the government moved in, when the tanks moved in, when the military moved in, and it was all over.

That would be a complicated decision for the Egyptian army to change its tactics, wouldn't it, because it's receiving so much aid for the United States.

Dr. HAMID: Yeah. Well, that type of massacre scenario looks less likely now. I think there was a lot of concern that was in the offing yesterday. But the momentum really now is with the protestors. If the military did decide to shoot, it would - it's difficult to do that when the whole world is watching, when the international community has made clear that massacres of this sort would be a red line.

It's a very risky move for the military. And do they want to be remembered as the military that defended the old order and prevented Egypt from moving forward and becoming a democracy?

I think the Tunisian model is instructive here. The Tunisian military, during their uprising, protected the people and actually forced the president to leave. So I think the Egyptian military here has a replicable model, if they want one.

INSKEEP: One other question in a few seconds, Mr. Hamid. There have been so many revolutions and uprisings, and some of them have turned out well, and some of them have evolved into dictatorships of different kinds, or authoritarian governments that replaced the old autocrats. Do you think that the leaders of the opposition movement here can be trusted to push for the right outcome, or even to succeed in getting a good outcome?

Dr. HAMID: They can certainly be trusted to do that more than the current regime. The current regime is one of the most autocratic in the region. It's made almost no progress. It's gotten worse over the last three decades. Of course, U.S. policymakers are going to be afraid that the Brotherhood will have growing influence in a new government.

INSKEEP: The Muslim Brotherhood.

Dr. HAMID: But Brotherhood isn't isn't as - yeah, the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition force in Egypt. But they aren't as scary as, I think, sometimes people make them out to be. They are nonviolent. They are committed to the democratic process. They work with other secular opposition groups and cooperate with them.

INSKEEP: Okay.

Dr. HAMID: And, in any case, they'll be only one part of the future of Egypt.

INSKEEP: Okay, Mr. Hamid, thanks very much.

Dr. HAMID: Thanks for having me.

INSKEEP: Shadi Hamid, of the Brookings Institution, analyzing the situation this morning from Doha, Qatar.

This is NPR News.

 

[pap_doggy]

And compared the Egypt's army with our shameful murderous Asian army,all our so called unstoppable armies are really good for nothing leh!!!
How about Sinkies SAF(you anf me,our children),where would they go?


.

SAF are not neutral, SAF are Singaporean voters and peasants! Better still for us.

If Singaporean peasants will mass protest, the SAF also will do the same, because ONE PEOPLE ONE NATION ONE SINGAPORE! As claimed by our DEAR LEEders.

If Singaporean peasants will revolt then SAF will automatically join a military coupe. They will defy their BG's orders, if BG Guailan they will be shot first.

 

[Dreamer1]

BROTHER IN ALMS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, February 1, 2011

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

U Gawsita was one of the leaders of the Saffron Revolution in Burma in 2007, and was one of the first few monks who were physically beaten by the army and riot police during the first stage of the government's brutal crackdown on the uprising. Following the crackdown, he fled Burma and has been since living in the United States. He has met with former President George W. Bush and addressed the US Congress about human rights violations in his country. He was featured in “Burma VJ,” a Hollywood-nominated movie about the Saffron Revolution.

In an interview with The Irrawaddy, he shared his thoughts on the ongoing anti-government protests in Egypt against the Mubarak regime, and looks back at why the 2007 uprising in Burma failed.





U Gawsita
Question: What do you make of the unfolding events in Egypt?

Answer: When I see the Egyptian army on the streets in Cairo at peace with the protesters, I felt so angry now with the Burmese soldiers. I can't really help crying, thinking why our soldiers dared beat us and the ordinary people so cruelly. I think the army in Egypt seems to be protecting its own people.

Q: So these protests have given you a sense that the Mubarak regime will collapse?

A: Yes. Cooperation between the army and the public is the key to the downfall of these regimes, which is going to take place in Egypt, I expect. But, looking at the protests in Egypt, I am now upset with the Burmese public too. I don't have any belief in building democracy networks or such. People must take to the streets, and only then will the regime collapse. It is no use merely shouting support for Aung San Suu Kyi and applauding her.

Q: But in Burma, people saw again and again that when they defied the regime on the streets they were gunned down or jailed for years. Do you think it would be sensible for the public to take to the streets again at this point?

A: Of course. They should follow the Egyptian people's example. Nothing will happen if you are standing idle out of fear of shootings and arrests. Don't you see that the people in Egypt are sacrificing their lives for the revolution?

Instead of perishing in poverty like people do these days in Burma at the hands of junta chief Than Shwe, people must take to the streets. After the lives of at least 20 people are sacrificed, Than Shwe will meet his own end.

Q: So why do you think the 2007 protests in Burma were ultimately unsuccessful?

A: First, we had no experience at all. As you know, our movement was sort of spiritual in the initial stages though it was political. When the opposition political forces failed to step in, we ourselves had to call for the forming of an interim government should no dialogue take place between us and the regime. That set off the brutal crackdown.

Q: So are you saying that the political groups failed to play their part in 2007?

A: It would be like washing your dirty laundry in the public if I said that. In retrospect, I found that many able politicians were in jail at that time. Even Daw Suu and her political colleague U Win Tin were still detained at that time. Only aging NLD politicians were not in prison. If we had Daw Suu and U Win Tin at such a critical time, change might have come about.

Q: Are you hoping for another monk-led revolution in Burma?

A: Since I am not present inside the country, I am in no position to comment on this. But there are monks inside the country who will take up such an initiative given the chance.




As for me here in the United States, I am busy struggling with my own survival rather than with my country's affairs since the material support from the laypeople here was not as strong as it was in BurmA:

Q: We heard that monks who took asylum in the US after the 2007 crackdown have returned to the lay lives due to the difficulties of being a a monk. Why have you not done that?

A: Yes, it's true many of my fellow Buddhist monks took off their robes because of the difficulties of life as a monks. During the first few years after I came to the US, I received financial support from the US government. But not any more. Even though it is difficult for me to pay US $800 a month for renting a house, I still wish to remain as a monk depending on the meager support of the laypeople here. However, I am waiting for the day when Burma gets democracy and I can return home.

Q: On Monday, Burma convened its first session of Parliament based on the results of last year's election? What is your take on this news?

A: A useless and empty event. This will bring nothing meaningful to our country.

 

[singveld]

burma people are useless, they cannot win against their dictator, only come to peninsula plaza and stink up the place. Stop making our shopping centre stink.
We should see more weapons to them to clear them out.

 

[singveld]

Hosni Mutabak is a hero for maintain middle east peace for 30 years.

maybe the protestors will win, but they will all lost.

because war will not bring happiness to them.

Only suffering.

I see where is this going. WAR with ISRAEL.

 

[red amoeba]

hero externally esp in the eyes of USA is nothing if his people suffered from poverty.

actually if you look at it...Egypt should be the most prosperous nation there - they have the pyramids & mummies - draws tourist dollars.

They jaga the Suez Canal - vital to world's economy. Their ports should be busy.

Why is it that people there are still poor? Mismanagement of the economy?

They are the first to have a peace treaty with Israel.

If Mubarak falls, and Iran exerts power, then we are in for turbulent times.

 

[Hitler_Bush]

Hosni Mutabak is a hero for maintain middle east peace for 30 years.

maybe the protestors will win, but they will all lost.

because war will not bring happiness to them.

Only suffering.

I see where is this going. WAR with ISRAEL.

But war is good. Let there be wars. Israel is weak now because Obama & US is weak and not supportive. Chance for Arabs now to take back the natural balance that had been sold away by Mubarak for 30 years.

 

[flkyflky]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/world/middleeast/02egypt.html

Mubarak’s Grip on Power Is Shaken
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Protesters praying in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Monday. Some supporters of Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, said that the military’s support for demonstrators was a blow to Mr. Mubarak. More Photos »
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: February 1, 2011

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CAIRO — The government of Egypt’s authoritarian president, Hosni Mubarak, shook Monday night, as the Egyptian Army declared that it would not use force against protesters demanding his ouster and, in an apparent response, Mr. Mubarak’s most trusted adviser offered to talk with the opposition.
Multimedia
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Photos From the Protests in Egypt
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Locating the Protests in Cairo

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Slide Show: Seventh Day of Protests in Egypt

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Egyptian soldiers detained an alleged escaped convict atop a tank in the Giza district of Cairo on Monday. More Photos »
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Those statements, along with the damage to Egypt’s economy, appeared to weaken Mr. Mubarak’s grip on power just two weeks after a group of young political organizers called on Facebook for a day of protest inspired by the ouster of another Arab strongman, in Tunisia.

Hundreds of thousands have turned out into the streets over the last six days, and organizers called on millions of Egyptians to protest on Tuesday — a day that is seen as a critical juncture in the test of wills between President Mubarak and his adversaries eight days after the protests began.

By morning Tuesday morning, before a formal curfew that many have ignored had been lifted, hundreds of people moved toward the central Tahrir Square — a plaza that, for some outsiders at least, has assumed some of the symbolic importance of Tiananmen Square in Beijing during pro-democracy demonstrations there in 1989.

But, in marked contrast to those events, the military’s promise not to use force has emboldened demonstrators sensing that the political landscape of the country has shifted as decisively as at any moment in Mr. Mubarak’s three decades in power. The military seemed to aggressively assert itself as an arbiter between two irreconcilable forces: a popular uprising demanding Mr. Mubarak’s fall and his tenacious refusal to relinquish power.

Overnight, soldiers seemed to have boosted their presence around the square, with tanks and armored personnel carriers guarding some of its entrances and stringing concertina wire to block off some streets. The black-clad police — reviled by many protesters as a tool of the regime — also seemed to have been deployed in larger numbers, though not on the same scale as when the protests started a week ago.

The Associated Press reported that authorities had sought to isolate Cairo — Egypt’s teeming capital — from the rest of the country, throwing up roadblocks on main highways and canceling train and bus services to prevent demonstrators from reaching the city. There was no immediate confirmation of the report.

How far Mr. Mubarak is offering to bend in negotiations remains to be seen, and given the potential ambiguities of both statements it is too soon to write off the survival of his government.

But the week-old uprising here entered a new stage about 9 p.m. on Monday when a uniformed military spokesman declared on state television that “the armed forces will not resort to use of force against our great people.” Addressing the throngs who took to the streets, he declared that the military understood “the legitimacy of your demands” and “affirms that freedom of expression through peaceful means is guaranteed to everybody.”

A roar of celebration rose up immediately from the crowd of thousands of protesters still lingering in Tahrir, or Liberation, Square, where a television displayed the news. Opposition leaders argued that the phrase “the legitimacy of your demands” could only refer to the protests’ central request — Mr. Mubarak’s departure to make way for free elections.

About an hour later, Omar Suleiman, Mr. Mubarak’s right-hand man and newly named vice president, delivered another address, lasting just two minutes.

“I was assigned by the president today to contact all the political forces to start a dialogue about all the raised issues concerning constitutional and legislative reform,” he said, “and to find a way to clearly identify the proposed amendments and specific timings for implementing them.”

The protesters in the streets took Mr. Suleiman’s speech as essentially a capitulation to the army’s refusal to use force against them. “The army and the people want the collapse of the government,” they chanted in celebration.

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Reporting was contributed by Mona El-Naggar, Kareem Fahim, Anthony Shadid and Robert F. Worth from Cairo; and Nicholas Kulish from Alexandria.

 

[singveld]

OIL price is the biggest problem for war in middle east.

we are addicted to oil. With high oil price, our economic will grunt to a halt.

maybe some feel romance of revolution, some might feel that maybe sinkies should do the same. But make no mistake, if he falls, the peace he kept will be gone.

 

[jacobsgoh]

OIL price is the biggest problem for war in middle east.

we are addicted to oil. With high oil price, our economic will grunt to a halt.

maybe some feel romance of revolution, some might feel that maybe sinkies should do the same. But make no mistake, if he falls, the peace he kept will be gone.

If you think that Egyptians' plea is uncalled for, that our addiction to oil and peace/happiness is more important than their daily sufferings; i am sure nobody can dispute your post.

Season's greetings and may God help you.

 

[singveld]

If you think that Egyptians' plea is uncalled for, that our addiction to oil and peace/happiness is more important than their daily sufferings; i am sure nobody can dispute your post.
QUOTE]

daily suffering, wait til constant and prolong war with the jews taken place, see if their present daily sufferings can compare to now.

They are heading for disaster.

Can't you see that.

 

[jacobsgoh]

wait til constant and prolong war with the jews taken place, see if their present daily sufferings can compare to now.

They are heading for disaster

Can't you see that.

In every way you are right, many sinkies always KPKB about pap govt allowing in FTs, should be happy that those FTs are helping Leeaporeans control diet [no job, less food], better for health.

 

[halsey02]

Hosni Mutabak is a hero for maintain middle east peace for 30 years.

maybe the protestors will win, but they will all lost.

because war will not bring happiness to them.

Only suffering.

I see where is this going. WAR with ISRAEL.

The Egyptians are not changing for the better but for the worst, the Islamic militants will soon have a field day & they will become another Iraq, that is where they are heading. Mubarak is no angel, but at least he kept the militants at bay.

The world is not getting better but worse...:p