Egypt's Mubarak to Remain: Bloodshed in EGYPT

Can  Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak be trusted  by anyone from this point in Egypt's revolution? There has now been bloodshed in Egypt's revolution.  
Why should any independent  observer  expect anything other otherwise?    President Hosni Mubarak, after orchestrating a massive and brutal pro-government rally to intimidate,  beat and even kill anti-government protestors,  has now decided not to step down. 
Let us paraphrase President Mubarak's  unbelievable excuse and comment:    "( He)  cannot step down because it might bring  CHAOS to  Egypt. "  
      Has total lunacy set in?  Does anyone actually believe that highly questionable assessment of the unstable status quo?
     Surely the existing deaths and total CHAOS  are already the product of his deceit and orchestration. 
    No fewer than 10 people were shot dead,  and as many as 300 people may  have been killed and 800 wounded  in the violent conflict between pro-Mubarak thugs and anti-government demonstrators that had, been, at least up to the time the loyalists attacked them,  been patiently demonstrating in a relatively peaceful manner.
    Mubarak has also  ordered the roundup of western and other foreign journalists, some  of whom had already been attacked,  stabbed and beaten,  undoubtedly to prevent them from observing what his thugs are doing.  How better to  stifle  the voice of democracy and free speech, than under the "GUISE OF PROTECTION"? 
     He will now conveniently extend his tenure to the end of his term to "prevent CHAOS"  and his son Gamal "will not"  take his place.   Do his empty words mean anything at all?  Anti-government protesters think not.  The governments of Spain, Italy, Great Britain, France, Germany and the United States of America  think not. 
Why should the reader at Incoming BYTES  imagine otherwise?
     Clearly Mubarak's unbelievable method of choice   is to use blunt force if necessary,  and pretend  innocence  while conveniently "allocating" the  blame and brutality necessary to murderous thugs, camel-riding,   whip-wielding lunatics  and  Molotov cocktail-rock-throwing loyalists do his bidding.

      Proof  of his method  lies in the fact that his  paid military army  stood by doing NOTHING  while loyalists viciously attacked, wounded and killed anti-government demonstrators.  

     This brutality and murder of innocent people   is unacceptable by any civilized standard. Mr. Mubarak.  
If you wish to continue to run a brutal, corrupt dictatorship,  at the very least be HONEST enough to say so.
      Mr. Mubarak, perhaps you are right, the west  may not "understand" your culture, but we do understand murder, deception, dishonesty, and lies.

Intimidation in Egypt and Turmoil In Yemen: Is it any Wonder?

UPDATED 02/02/2011 @ 11:00EST

****UPDATE:  Four deaths and hundreds of people have been injured in the violence in Cairo. Molotov cocktails have been used, shots have been fired, and crowds attacked Western Journalists, beating a Canadian television cameraman severely .**** 
I am always amazed by the speed at which change occurs when there is  no other alternative possible.
Such is the case in the Arab world, where quantum change is taking place.
In Egypt, with the exception of a few ugly-natured Mubarak supporters riding camels and horses, into crowds,  viciously beating  and intimidating innocent protesters with sticks and whips as might be expected,   Hosni Mubarak is supposed to be in retreat,  encouraged  by  the Egyptian revolution and little other choice. Why would any sane observer be surprised to see intimidation and violence by Mubarak supporters?  Instead, it appears that pro-Mubarak support and demonstrations  and clashes between the two groups have been orchestrated and encouraged.  
 Tunisia is also  in turmoil,  the President was forced into exile with his treasures and  not much other choice,  so it is little wonder President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen is also suddenly taking pre-emptive and creative  steps to remove himself from power.   Is he  removing himself from mortal danger too?   After three decades of dictatorship, President Saleh has announced his departure. The people have spoken, the writing is on the wall,  so yet another dictatorship will fall ‘willingly’. 
 President Saleh has pledged that he will not seek re-election --and also vowed that his son Ahmed,  who leads  military special forces and the presidential guard, will  not  inherit the powerful position.  Both pledge and vow are convenient and timely.

It takes little imagination to explain Saleh’s sudden urgency for change; revolt is at hand,  the government of Yemen is rife with corruption, the nation has been dependent  upon shrinking oil production for revenue,  and little if any  of the income from that oil has ended up in the hands of the people. Half of the population of Yemen subsists on less than $2.00 per day, infrastructure for roads and sanitation is marginal or sub-standard, and unemployment is the norm,  as unrest  blooms like a desert receiving the blessing of seven days of rain.    Saleh has happily and boldly  proclaimed a 50% income tax cut.  It is a  nice promise and a creative tactic to stall for time, Mr. President.    
 In the presence of such extreme economic disparity, one might easily  wonder if a dictator’s accumulated wealth is best removed quickly to avoid confiscation,  a la’ Saddam Hussein -- when  hanging also may be both convenient and inevitable?
“But father, I wish to inherit the kingdom and rule the people just as you have”
 “Let us leave now, son, we finally have it  all, and the natives are restless... ”
 The “timely” evacuation of dictators is not unknown to the rest of the world.  If you are about to be hung, drawn and quartered, or  run out of town on an rail anyway, it is beneficial to do anything to delay action,  pretend happiness,  lead the parade in style, and clutch the strings of the golden purse tightly in both hands on the way out.   
“Time to leave.  What did you expect, Mr. President"?    Just as it did in Iraq,  the truth always comes out.  

Egyptian President "Steps Down" : Are Words Enough?

 Is the revolution in Egypt formally  bearing fruit?  Is the light returning to Egypt, the heart of the Arab world? Are words enough?  Are  "stepping aside" or "stepping down"  merely words to placate the Egyptian people? 
" I will pursue the transfer of power in a way that will fulfill the people's demands and that this new government will fulfill the people's demands and their hopes for political, economic and social progress...."   (1)  Such were the (translated)  words of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak  on February 1st, 2011  at 16:17 ET  as he announced he would be "stepping down".

Does "stepping down" and "transferring power" really equate  the demands of the people of Egypt?  Is Mubarak giving up power, or has he hauled out some very ancient smoke and mirrors,  the way of the deceiver? 
  At Incoming BYTES,  every reader is aware that in Canada, the United States, or any other democracy,  "shuffling the cabinet" means little and is usually a political maneuver designed to deceive. Musical chairs, but far more formal and expensive to play, usually resulting in little if any real change.
I believe  that if Mr. Mubarak transfers the power to anyone associated with the old regime, a major deception is already in progress.   Who has designed the "new regime"?  In the same speech, he stated 

"I will work very hard to carry out all the necessary measures to transfer power to the "authorized legitimate."     and  
" I ask of the parliament to commit to -- to speed up the elections." (1)
 Who are the "authorized legitimate" in the opinion of Hosni Mubarak?   Someone authorized by Mr. Mubarak and his inner circle? 
How about:
"Commit to--to speed up " the elections? 
 Worrisome words.  Not necessarily to HOLD elections, just to "speed them up".   
The pointed question "When?" comes to mind.
In the  favourite phrase of  a good friend of mine,  "We shall see what we shall see" 
..... I  know he  keeps HIS word,   but will Mr. Mubarak?  

The world will be watching. 


(1) Quotation courtesy of : Politics Daily, Transcript of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's Remarks,   CQ  Transcriptions (c)2011 Congressional Quarterly Inc.