Egypt turns off internet, Lieberman wants same option for US

Original Article

by Cenobyte     Fri Jan 28, 2011

Yep -- Joe Liebermann is still an asshole.

As Egypt cuts Internet access to and from the outside world in its efforts to quash the popular uprising, it is worth revisiting the fact that Joe Liebermann wants the government here to have that very same power.

On Thursday Jan 27th at 22:34 UTC the Egyptian Government effectively removed Egypt from the internet. Nearly all inbound and outbound connections to the web were shut down. The internet intelligence authority Renesys explains it here and confirms that "virtually all of Egypt's Internet addresses are now unreachable, worldwide." This has never happened before in the entire history of the internet, with a nation of this size. A block of this scale is completely unheard of, and Senator Joe Lieberman wants to be able to do the same thing in the US.

This isn't a new move, last year Senators Lieberman and Collins introduced a fairly far-reaching bill that would allow the US Government to shut down civilian access to the internet should a "Cybersecurity Emergency" arise, and keep it offline indefinitely. That version of the bill received some criticism though Lieberman continued to insist it was important. The bill, now referred to as the 'Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act' (PCNAA) has been revised a bit and most notably now removes all judicial oversight. This bill is still currently circulating and will be voted on later this year. Lieberman has said it should be a top priority.

So long, Joe. Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

Technorati Tags: Internet,Internet Access,Joe Liebermann,Egypt,Current Events

Egypt Protesters:Live Stream

  Brought to you by Al Jazeera. Click HERE as the stream cannot be embedded on this site.

Technorati Tags: Egypt Collapse,Egypt,Al Jazeera

Mubarak Regime Is Going Down

DailyKos

Breaking: Police Siding with Protesters in Egypt. Mubarak regime falling.

by OllieGarkey     Fri Jan 28, 2011

Al Jazeera has LIVE video: http://english.aljazeera.net/...

UK's The Guardian newspaper is now reporting that Egyptian police are siding with the protesters. This is exactly how Tunisia fell to democratic forces. We are now seeing the same shift occur in Egypt.

"[The Regime] is already falling. It can't stop." Said a State Journalist to Jack Shenker, a reporter for the Guardian.

This comes on the heels of the news that El Baradei, one of the regime's most famous opponents, has been taken into custody.

This is the biggest political shakeup since the fall of the Warsaw pact. The protests have moved out of Tunisia, the protesters are winning in Egypt. Yemen and Lebanon are expected to see further protests today. The Anonymous hacking group is planning to make attacks against Algerian government websites.

I will continue to update this Diary as the news moves forward.

Update Scarce posted the audio report.

Update:

The police have now given up fighting the protesters. The police and protesters are now talking, with protesters bringing water and vinegar (for teargas) to the police. Afternoon prayer has just been called and hundreds are praying in front of the mosque in east Alexandria.

Much more reading

Technorati Tags: Egypt Collapse,Mubarak,Current Events,Breaking News

As Egyptian’s Take to The Streets For Real Democracy, Obama Loses His Voice

   It is a funny thing with our Presidents over the years. They will stand up while giving their speeches about how all countries should have “ real democracies “ with their citizens having more human rights and such things,but, when the citizens of a country such as Egypt actually take to the streets wanting a better government and more rights, our President (s) suddenly lose the will to speak up and tell the current leaders of said country that perhaps it is time for a change. Obama, mister democracy himself, is no exception to this rule. In the case of the uprising in Egypt, he may be keeping his mouth shut because the United States sends billions of dollars to the soon to be toppled (I hope) Mubarak regime.

"The fourth issue that I will address is democracy," he declared, before explaining that while the United States won't impose its own system, it was committed to governments that "reflect the will of the people... I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere."

"No matter where it takes hold," the president concluded, "government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power."     2009 Cairo Speech

   So President Obama. Do the people of Egypt not count in the fight for a “ real democracy?”  You talk the talk, but now you cannot/will not walk the walk when it comes right down to it.

Al Jazeera

Similarly, president Obama has refused to take a strong stand in support of the burgeoning pro-democracy movement and has been no more discriminating in his public characterisation of American support for its Egyptian "ally". Mubarak continued through yesterday to be praised as a crucial partner of the US. Most important, there has been absolutely no call for real democracy.

Rather, only "reform" has been suggested to the Egyptian government so that, in Obama's words, "people have mechanisms in order to express legitimate grievances".

"I've always said to him that making sure that they are moving forward on reform - political reform, economic reform - is absolutely critical for the long-term well-being of Egypt," advised the president, although vice-president Joe Biden has refused to refer to Mubarak as a dictator, leading one to wonder how bad a leader must be to deserve the title,

    A State Department spokesman had an interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday.  Go HERE to watch it if you have the time. Get educated!

    Barack Obama! Open your mouth and say the D-word

Technorati Tags: Egypt,United States,Democracy,Fight for Democracy,Barack Obama