Mid-East Contagion Fears for Saudi Oil Fields -- The Telegraph
Risk analysts and intelligence agencies fear that Egypt's uprising may set off escalating protests in the tense Shia region of Saudi Arabia, home to the world's richest oilfields.
"Yemen, Sudan, Jordan and Syria all look vulnerable. However, the greatest risk in terms of both probability and severity is in Saudi Arabia," said a report by risk consultants Exclusive Analysis.
While markets have focused on possible disruption to the Suez Canal, conduit for 8pc of global shipping, it is unlikely that Egyptian leaders of any stripe would cut off an income stream worth $5bn (£3.1bn) a year to the Egyptian state.
"I don't think the Egyptians will ever dare to touch it," said Opec chief Abdalla El-Badri, adding that the separate Suez oil pipeline is "very well protected". The canal was blockaded after the Six Days War in 1967.
My Comment: For the moment .... Saudi Arabia's oil fields are safe. But with many in the Arab world now galvanized with what is happening in Egypt/Tunisia/Yemen and elsewhere .... who knows if Saudi Arabia's Shiite population and disaffected Saudi youths may hit the streets and plunge Saudi Arabia into political and social anarchy.
Protesters gather at Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on Jan. 25, the first day of mass anti-government demonstrations in the country. (Submitted by Nour Ahmed)
Just What Is The Muslim Brotherhood? -- FOX News
While analysts ask who or what is behind the sustained protests in Egypt, one group is now seeking political legitimacy.
Technically banned under Egypt's constitution that forbids religious based parties, the Muslim Brotherhood is now throwing its support behind Mohammed el Baradei as an opposition leader.
But many fear that if Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak goes, the real replacement will be either the Muslim Brotherhood itself, or an Islamic fundamentalist group. El Baradei insisted on Sunday talk shows that the fear was unwarranted. Read more ....
GROWLER INSPECTION - U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 141 perform an inspection on an EA-18G Growler in the hangar bay aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, which is under way in the Atlantic Ocean, Jan. 27, 2011. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Leonard Adams
After Food Protests, Water Riots Are Next -- The Telegraph
Governments in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Yemen have faced protests in recent weeks, part fuelled by rising food costs. Unfortunately, this is a trend that looks set to continue and probably escalate over the next two decades.
The rise of the middle classes in emerging markets, coupled with a soaring world population, underpin an increase in the price of basics such as wheat, corn and sugar.
But the situation is going to be made much worse by the scarcity of water – the most important commodity there is.
"Water remains a more problematic commodity than food and fuel: though cheap in its natural state, it is expensive to process and expensive to transport, especially in the quantities necessary for agriculture," according to a report from a Washington-based think tank released last month.
My Comment: I am so lucky living in Canada .... fresh water is so abundant and never an issue. When I travel abroad .... wow .... in some countries (i.e. China, India, Middle East) .... this is a very big issue. And while I can do without food for a week or more .... water .... that is a completely different story.
Egypt's Antiquities Fall Victim To The Mob -- Wall Street Journal
When Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, came to work at the Egyptian Museum on Saturday, he found that looters had broken in and beheaded two mummies—possibly Tutankhamun's grandparents—and looted the ticket booth. Reports indicate that middle-class Egyptians, the tourism police and later the military secured the museum. But now it appears that many other museum's and storehouses have been looted, along with archaeological sites. A vast, impoverished underclass seems less taken with either the nationalist narrative of Egyptian greatness that stretches back to the pharaohs, or the intrinsic value of antiquities for all humanity, and more intrigued by the possibility of gold and other loot. For his part, Mr. Hawass has now been appointed state minister for antiquities by President Hosni Mubarak.
My Comment: The focus of the media is on the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and efforts to protect it. But the fact is that there are many more museums all across Egypt, and reports are now coming in that they are being looted. To say that this is a catastrophe is an understatement. Regardless of what is happening politically, years from now Egypt will be looking at what is happening today as a dark day in which a good portion of its historical past was looted and stolen.
Kim Jong-un (in black), Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and Kim Jong-il Photo: REX
The Incredible Kim Jong-il And His Amazing Achievements -- The Telegraph
Known to his people variously as The Supreme Leader, the Dear Leader, Our Father, the General, Lodestar of the 21st Century or Eternal President, Kim Jong-il has been credited with a mind-boggling series of achievements.
* Even before his birth, the future leader of North Korea was triggering miracles. Official biographers say his birth in a cabin on the slopes of Baekdu Mountain in February 1942 was foretold by a swallow and heralded by a double rainbow. When he was born, a new star appeared in the night sky.
* The first time he picked up a golf club, in 1994, Kim reportedly shot a 38-under par round on North Korea's only golf course, including 11 holes-in-one. He then decided to retire from the sport for ever.
Israel Allows First Egyptian Troops Into Sinai Since 1979 -- M&C
Jerusalem - Israel has allowed Egyptian troops into the Sinai Peninsula for the first time since 1979, Israeli radio reported Monday, while the Israeli president warned of the possibility of the radical Islamist opposition rising to power in Egypt.
A high-ranking member of the government had confirmed that at Egypt's request hundreds of troops had been allowed on to the peninsula because of ongoing protests in the country.
Since the 1979 peace agreement between the two countries, Egypt had only been allowed to station police forces there.
Egypt Crisis: Country Braced For 'March Of A Million' -- The Telegraph
A "march of a million" against the Egyptian regime has been called for Tuesday in Alexandria after one was announced in Cairo and all train services were canceled, an aide to dissident Mohamed ElBaradei said.
Protest organizers announced earlier that they would stage a mass march from Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of nationwide protests against President Hosni Mubarak's regime that have been raging for a week, leaving at least 125 people dead.
"We wanted to take part in the march from Tahrir Square tomorrow but given that all the trains have been stopped and there's no other means of transport we have decided to stay and organise a march of a million tomorrow," Abeer Yussef told AFP on Monday by telephone from Alexandria.
In Haiti, Hillary Clinton Meets With Candidates, Pushes Preval On Elections -- Washington Post
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton turned her attention Sunday from Egypt to a crisis closer to home - a disputed presidential election in Haiti that threatens to stall its recovery from a massive earthquake.
Clinton's visit to Haiti came as the U.S. government is pressing President Rene Preval to accept election monitors' conclusion that his handpicked candidate did not qualify for a runoff. "We've made it very clear we support the OAS recommendations and we would like to see those those acted on," Clinton told reporters, referring to the election monitors from the Organization of American States.
US President Barack Obama and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo in 2009. REUTERS
Obama Has Failed to Fulfill His Mideast Promise -- David J. Kramer, Spiegel Online
In recent months, the Obama administration has shifted its focus away from the Middle East. This approach might be justified if the situation were getting better there, but things are getting worse. Of the people living in the region, 88 percent live in countries that lack honest elections, a free press and rule of law.
A few months into his presidency, Barack Obama delivered what still ranks as the most ambitious foreign policy address of his administration. Presented at Cairo University, the speech set forth the outlines of a "new beginning" between the United States and the Muslim world.
Egypt Set For Mass Protest As Army Rules Out Force -- The Guardian
• One million to march on critical day for rebellion • Vice-president says he will talk to opposition • White House hardens stance over transition
Egypt's army gave a powerful boost to the country's opposition tonight by announcing it would not use force to silence "legitimate" demands for democratic reforms in the Arab world's largest country.
On the eve of a million-strong protest planned for tomorrow and amid multiplying signs that the US is moving steadily closer towards ditching its long-standing ally, Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak now has few options left.
As South Sudan Clears Another Milestone For Independence, Its Capital Booms -- Christian Science Monitor
South Sudan's capital, Juba, is exploding with new construction, incoming foreign residents and new embassies.
In less than six months, a new nation will be born in a particularly volatile corner of Africa. The capital of this Texas-sized territory is the upstart boomtown of Juba which, like many other institutions in Southern Sudan, is about six years old – as old as the 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of conflict between Sudan’s north and south, and that left the south’s already meager pre-war institutions and infrastructure in complete tatters.
Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu Watching Unrest With 'Vigilance And Worry' -- L.A. Times
Breaking official silence over the escalating unrest in neighboring Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he was monitoring events with "vigilance and worry" and feared radical Islamists could take advantage of any leadership vacuum.
Netanyahu told a news conference in Jerusalem that he was concerned about the fate of Israel's peace treaty with Egypt should President Hosni Mubarak be forced out of power and replaced by someone more belligerent toward Israel.
War Wounded: Father, Son Suffer Brain Injuries -- Washington Post/AP
MOORPARK, Calif. -- The crisply ironed uniforms of the father and son hang side by side in what they have dubbed the "Marine Corps closet," a dark space filled with vestiges of their tours of duty.
Two Purple Hearts. A backpack full of medical records.
The father is David R. Franco; the son is David W. Aside from the name, they share so much: proud service in Iraq, and a haunting, painful aftermath.
Read more .... My Comment: A disturbing look at how war injuries impact families when their love ones return home.
The White House Hardens Its Tone -- Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—The Obama Administration began to harden its tone toward embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak amid rising clamor in the Middle East and the U.S. for a more forceful response to the turmoil sweeping the world's largest Arab country.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on the major Sunday talk shows to call for an "orderly, peaceful transition" to a "real democracy" in Egypt, a position also taken by President Barack Obama in calls to the leaders of the U.K., Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia. White House officials said the president told world leaders he wants "an orderly transition to a government that is responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people."
Hosni Mubarak Names New Cabinet, But His Future Is In Military Hands -- Christian Science Monitor
The Egyptian military is now center stage in the battle between President Hosni Mubarak and the demonstrators demanding that he end his 30-year rule.
By midday Monday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had beefed up the military presence on the streets of the capital, named a new cabinet, and had Al Jazeera's broadcasts from his country shut and a number of its journalists arrested.
Governments Go Online In Fight Against Terrorism -- New York Times
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — In the Netherlands, the jailhouse recantation of a convicted terrorist renouncing violence has circulated online. Counterterrorism officials say it could make disaffected youth think twice about joining violent extremist ranks.
In Pakistan, the authorities are posting on YouTube gruesome videos of mosques bombed by Islamic extremists, to show that such attacks kill fellow Muslims.
And here in Saudi Arabia, a government-supported program has enlisted hundreds of Islamic scholars turned bloggers to fight online radicalization by challenging the interpretations of the Koran posted on extremist social networking forums.
My Comment: This is so long overdue .... radical Islamists have been using the web to promote and radicalize their followers .... time to go straight to the source.
Syria's President Says His Nation Immune From Unrest Roiling Egypt, Tunisia -- Canadian Press
BEIRUT — Syria's president, who has resisted calls for political freedoms and jailed critics of his regime, said in an interview published Monday that his nation is immune from the kind of unrest roiling Tunisia and Egypt.
In a rare interview, Bashar Assad was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as acknowledging that the toppling of Tunisia's longtime ruler and the protesters that have left Hosni Mubarak's government teetering in Egypt signalled a "new era" in the Middle East.
As Egypt Goes Offline US Gets Internet 'Kill Switch' Bill Ready -- Sydney Morning Herald
As Egypt's government attempts to crackdown on street protests by shutting down internet and mobile phone services, the US is preparing to reintroduce a bill that could be used to shut down the internet.
The legislation, which would grant US President Barack Obama powers to seize control of and even shut down the internet, would soon be reintroduced to a senate committee, Wired.com reported.
My Comment: I guess the proponents for this legislation in the Senate and the White House believe that one day unrest and riots will sweep the U.S., and the government will need to have legislation in place to validate an internet shutdown.
A very uncomfortable thought .... especially when you realize that this is how our government thinks .... that the people are the threat to the nation, and not the government itself.
In Yemen, Calls For Revolution But Many Hurdles -- Washington Post
SANAA, Yemen - The pro-democracy protesters marched through the dusty streets of this Middle Eastern capital, voicing hope that the revolution unfolding in the Arab world would soon reach them.
"Yesterday, Tunisia. Today, Egypt. Tomorrow, Yemen," they shouted, trying to make their way to the Egyptian embassy.
But the small march on Saturday never reached its intended target. A line of police stopped the protesters; then a loud, unruly crowd of pro-government supporters emerged, and the two groups clashed. The protesters soon vanished, their voices muffled by pro-government chants.
Opposition movement calls for "a million people demonstration" on Tuesday in a bid to topple president Hosni Mubarak.
Egyptian protesters have called for a massive demonstration on Tuesday in a bid to force out president Hosni Mubarak from power.
The so-called April 6 Movement said it plans to have more than a million people on the streets of the capital Cairo, as anti-government sentiment reaches a fever pitch.
Several hundred demonstrators remained camped out in Tahrir square in central Cairo early on Monday morning, defying a curfew that has been extended by the army.
