The Native Iowan

UPRISING IN EGYPT

FAQs: Egyptian crisis: How did we get here?

Online: Protest coverage on the web

Map: Protests across the region

Analysis: What’s at stake for U.S.

Profile: Mohamed ElBaradei — Egypt’s president-in-waiting?

Citizen bytes: Stories from the ground

Egypt’s largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, joined talks with Egyptian Vice-President Omar Suleiman on Sunday in an attempt to end the country’s political crisis.

Other delegates attending the discussions include members of secular opposition parties, independent legal experts, a representative of opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei and business tycoon Naguib Sawiris, according to Reuters.

The announcement by the Islamist group that it would join the negotiations was made as mass demonstrations continued for a 13th day to press for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

The officially banned organization said in a statement early Sunday it would meet with Suleiman to press its “legitimate and just demands.”

The negotiations marked the first time the Muslim Brotherhood has held direct talks with the government.

Senior Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mursi said his representatives would be sticking to the protesters’ main condition that Mubarak step down after nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule.

Opposition leaders from othe groups met with Suleiman on Saturday but said there was no breakthrough.

Senior government figures argue only that the president has the power to make the changes necessary to enable a free and fair election for his successor.

Mubarak has said he would not run for the presidency again in elections slated for September, but has insisted he will serve out the remaining seven months of his current term to supervise a peaceful transfer of power.

Countries such as Israel and the United States have been worried that the anti-government protests would end with an Islamist government eventually running the country.

Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Assam el-Aryan said his party won’t contest the next election, but it will help with the transition of power.

“We are ready for any duty, any burden that can be given to us as a task for the future of our country,” he said.

On Saturday, Hossam Badrawi — who is known as a reformer — replaced Safwat El Sherif, who resigned as general secretary of the ruling National Democratic Party. At the same time the president’s son, Gamal Mubarak, stepped down as head of the party’s policies committee.

Anti-government demonstrators, meanwhile, are continuing to occupy Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

The military has been attempting to re-open the square, but protesters have blocked some soldiers from moving into the area and some are lying on the ground in front of the tanks.

Late into the night, the army set up check points farther away from the square in central Cairo. The CBC’s David Common reported saw the army confiscating food and other supplies and has heard they are turning away cars but letting pro-government supporters through.

Earlier Saturday, army commander Hassan al-Roweny made a direct plea for protesters to leave the central square in Cairo. The crowd shouted him down when he told them they were hurting the country, and he soon stepped down from the podium, saying he would not continue talk over their chants.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2011/02/06/egypt.html#ixzz1DBCm0YTR

What do the Egyptian papers have to say about all the ruckus?

check it out:

http://www.egyptnews.net/

my personal favorite here:

Defiant schoolboy warriors holding pro-Mubarak forces at bay
Egypt News.Net
Saturday 5th February, 2011 (ANI)
Anti-Hosni Mubarak protestors are defying the snipers of the tyrant Egyptian regime with the help of catapults, and leading from the front are schoolboy rebels who showed off their battlefield injuries.

Twelve-year-old Mohammed Ghozlan told how he struck back when police sharpshooters blew out the brains of comrades at his side in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Mohammed was felled when a rock smashed his head, but it did not stop him. The heavily bandaged youngster pulled a homemade slingshot from his pocket and said: “When Mubarak’s men came and the shooting started I fought back with this.”

“I could shoot stones much further than men could throw them. I helped hold back the attackers. I heard the shooting but was so excited I just carried on firing even after I was hit,” The Sun quoted him, as saying.

“Men saw I was bleeding and dragged me back to have my head bandaged. Other youngsters did battle with catapults. I will fight again if we have to,” Mohammed said.

Last night, Mubarak (82) refused to end his 30-year regime despite the huge protest.

Mohammed said: “My dad encouraged me to fight. He said everyone must fight until Mubarak goes. I sleep here, I eat here, I will stay here. We all have to fight for our future.”

Businessman Khaled, 44, said: “I am proud he is fighting for his future. It is dangerous for a child but he wants to stay to fight.”

Mohammed’s pal Sulaiman (14) joined him on the front line when protesters forced back pro-Mubarak forces in violent clashes on Thursday, The Sun reports.

“Everyone joined the fighting – men, women and children like me – and we won. A rock hit me in the mouth but, thanks to God, I was not badly hurt and am ready to fight on,” he said. (ANI)

what is the latest…

Best of the Week: Egyptians prove they are a democracy

Egyptian protests continue; turn violent

The most famous protests of our times continue unabated in Egypt.

During the week, embattled President Mubarak fired his cabinet, appointed new ministers, tried to get the army to enforce martial law, tired to enter negotiations with the opposition and even offered to step down when his term was complete in September.

The protestors offered to stop their agitation and go home peacefully only if Mubarak quit office with immediate effect and preferably left the country as well.

Mubarak’s stand stems from his belief that the country will dissolve into chaos if he does not set up an orderly transition.

The protestors’ stand arises from the fact that they were not born yesterday and refused to allow the spirit of their protests to be dissipated on the strength of weak promises.

In a sad note however, the protests have been steadily declining into more violence with the numbers of the dead and the injured steadily increasing in clashes. Even the army, which made no move to oppose the protests earlier, began to get uneasy and asked the protestors to calm down.

But the protests have been hailed as the first new-age protest where the youth of a nation, coupled with modern social media, organised mass protests. So a definite sign of changing times in the Middle-East. Egypt has proven through a million voices that it is indeed a democracy.

and as quickly as it came, as quickly it disappears… like magic…

These are well worth a look-see…

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/cyclone-yasi-pictures/

Real, real cheap?

G’day Mike – all ok here… We survived cyclone yasi, though right now we have no power and phones (landline and mobiles) are down (I’ll send this from a friend’s house when I can). We still have a water supply though so things are not too bad!

Talk to you later when circumstances are a bit better….

All the best,

This allows us to see how much influence the weather system named Yasi has…

The “eye” of the storm is at Mission Beach, Qld. The yellow colour shows the weather being sucked into the low pressure of the cyclone. This front technically covers thousands of miles.

Sore lo Aus but very impressive…

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/cairns-avoids-worst-of-winds-20110203-1ae3z.html

ABC: Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has warned residents that there could be devastation and heartbreak on an unprecedented scale as Cyclone Yasi smashes into the state.

North Queensland residents are feeling the full force of one of Australia’s worst cyclones, with the category-five storm crossing the coast near Mission Beach, south of Innisfail.
Yasi, packing winds up to 290 kilometres per hour, slowed as it approached the coast and was moving west south-west at 25kph.

Hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering in evacuation centres and homes across the region as strong winds and heavy rain lash hundreds of kilometres of coastline.

In Cairns, trees are thrashing violently and some are bending over, while street signs are rattling.

Power has been cut to the main evacuation centre in Cairns at Earlville shopping centre, where about 2,000 people are taking refuge.

A total of 152,000 customers are without power across the region, including the Townsville CBD where a number of evacuation centres are located.

Townsville resident Robert White lives in a four-storey waterfront unit and says he is struggling to stop his glass doors from shattering in the raging wind.

“The waves have been unbelievable, and the wind… I can’t believe it,” he said.

“We’ve got a glass frontage on our unit and we’ve put our lounge suite and everything against the windows and the doors because they’re all glass and we’re just trying to hold them together at the moment.”

Ms Bligh says the potentially deadly system is the “most catastrophic storm ever seen” in the state, and as well as destructive wind gusts it could also cause a tidal surge as high as nine metres.

The Premier says she cannot sugar-coat the situation and that it will be a tough night and a tough few days for people in north Queensland.

“We are in completely uncharted waters,” she said.

Innisfail resident Craig says the weather is wild.

“This is the scariest thing ever. I think my roof’s about to go, but I’m not 100 per cent sure.”

Ms Bligh says a storm surge of about seven metres above the high tide mark is expected to hit some areas, including the town of Cardwell, which now resembles a ghost town.

“Cardwell’s a small town of about 3,000 people and they’ve all been evacuated today, but you can begin to think of the catastrophic damage that we might find tomorrow morning,” she said.

Ms Bligh has also warned there could be a catastrophic failure of power services in the days after Yasi, and given its size it could have a two to three-day life span.

The Premier says there is very little power generation capacity in the cyclone-affected area and that a spine of transmission towers carries electricity from central Queensland to Cairns on an inland route west of Townsville, while another spine of towers carries the electricity to south of Mackay.

She says these transmission towers are likely to be severely damaged, and if that happens the region could be without power for a long period.

“It will not only take all the strength of those people who are enduring it, [but] we as a community and Australians need to prepare for what we are likely to wake up to tomorrow,” she said.

“We will all have to brace for this. It will take all of us and all of our strength to overcome it.”

Flood threat

Wind gusts of more than 110kph are battering Townsville, but across the city it is the flood threat more than the wind that is making people anxious.

“The thing I’m most worried about is tidal movements,” one resident said.

Mr White says he saw a yacht float away and sink.

“It is absolutely blowing a gale and I mean it’s really strong – the rain is unbelievable,” he said.

“We’ve still got a long way to go I reckon, so I think we’re going to get a fair bit more, a fair bit more yet.”

Glenda from Ravenshoe, west of Innisfail, says she is on an isolated property and is worried about her horses.

“We couldn’t get any tape for our windows so we tried to use wide sticky tape but it’s peeling off … we are very scared. One side of our whole house is just glass,” she said.

“We are actually camping under a desk that is bolted to concrete walls on two sides.”

Wind speeds have also increased around the Mackay and Whitsunday region to the south.

Residents have been told to stay inside until the massive cyclone, which is five times wider than Larry, passes.

Authorities are warning that emergency services will not be able to attend calls for help during the height of the cyclone, but they are already planning the emergency response for when it is safe to leave shelter.

Yasi is expected to reach Mount Isa, around 900 kilometres from the coast, as a category-one cyclone on Friday.

North Queensland taking a hammering… this was about 6pm last eve.

Tens of thousands flee ‘perfect storm’

WEDNESDAY, 02 FEBRUARY 2011 04:06

A Google Maps image shows Cyclone Yasi bearing down on the Queensland coast. (Google Maps)

 

ABC:Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi has been upgraded to a category four system as it moves steadily towards north Queensland, where tens of thousands of people are fleeing their homes.

 
The Bureau of Meteorology says Yasi is still about 800 kilometres off the coast with wind gusts of up to 260 kilometres per hour at its centre.The Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre says damaging wind gusts of up to 90 kilometres per hour are expected on coastal islands this morning.

It says there will be damaging gusts in excess of 125 kilometres per hour between Cooktown and Ingham by this afternoon.

Yasi is still on track to cross the coast somewhere between Cairns and Innisfail about 1am AEST on Thursday morning.

Its destructive winds and associated storm surges could affect an area from Cape Melville to Sarina.

The cyclone warning also extends inland to Georgetown and west of Charters Towers.

Residents in low-lying parts of Cairns and Townsville have been told to move to higher ground and patients from two Cairns hospitals are being flown to Brisbane overnight.

The Mayor of Cairns says the town is expecting damaging winds from Yasi to hit the town from midday today.

Mayor Val Schier has told Lateline that a storm surge close to three metres high is expected to arrive well before the cyclone hits.

She says far north Queensland region is facing its biggest cyclone in living memory.

“That obviously is going to inundate quite a lot of houses,” she said.

“We’ve actually asked more than 30,000 people to evacuate; that’s all those low-lying areas from Port Douglas, the northern beaches of Cairns, and right down to Bramston beach near Innisfail.”

She says people should leave for higher ground or seek shelter at evacuation centres, which open at 6am today.

People who have to leave their homes and have nowhere to go should call 1300 99 31 91 for help finding emergency accommodation.

Ms Schier says the town is still recovering from an economic slow-down in recent years.

“We were just getting back on our feet and feeling really confident in the tourism industry and in our other industries as well, so this will be a big set-back if we end up getting a lot of damage as is predicted at the moment,” she said.

Cairns resident Melissa Lovejoy is among the thousands in low-lying areas fleeing the cyclone.

“We just received a phone call and a text message that advised those in coastal low-lying areas, which is exactly where we’re living, to get out tonight,” she said.

“So we’re in the process of packing up boxes with essential and family heirloom-type things, the dogs and the pet snake and getting out of here.”

She says it has been an emotional experience packing up her house.

“I keep telling myself if we lose this house, cause we’re totally on the water, that it’s just stuff, it can all be replaced. But sometimes your heart doesn’t go that way,” she said.

“And also just not knowing how much damage it’s going to do and scared for other people, scared for the wildlife, and scared for Cairns; it’s such a beautiful region. I’d hate to see it decimated by such severe winds and rain.”

Another Cairns resident Graham Burridge says he expects his house will be destroyed by the predicted storm surge.

“We’re eight metres away from the water and if the predictions are right about the storm surge, then if we stayed here we’d be using the house as a surf board and probably end up 20 kilometres inland,” he said.

“So we’ve just decided discretion is the best part of valour and we’d rather see the house go ta ta and take our animals and valuables with us and go somewhere safe.”

Army called to help

Meanwhile, soldiers are about to start doorknocking homes in low-lying areas of Townsville and issuing mandatory evacuation notices.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh ordered the mandatory evacuations after lengthy discussions with the Townsville City Council yesterday afternoon about the threat from a cyclonic storm surge.

About 15,000 people have been ordered to leave almost 4,000 homes across the city.

Emergency evacuation centres have been activated to cater for up to 10,000 people.

Councillor Dale Last says forecasters expect winds of more than 100 kilometres per hour this morning and the evacuations have to be done beforehand.

“The level we’re talking about is 5.1 metres, the normal king tide in Townsville is 4.1 metres … so a metre above that,” he said.

“So if you live in one of those low-lying areas, such as South Townsville, Railway Estate, you need to work out just where that extra one metre of water will reach, hence the reason why we’re mandatory evacuating.

Council is hoping to have moved everyone out of the affected suburbs by the morning.

“The issue we have and the reason we’re undertaking it tonight or starting to do the doorknock tonight is that we’re expecting gale force building into destructive winds commencing from mid morning tomorrow,” Councillor Dale said.

“So we just won’t have the time tomorrow to go and doorknock the number of homes that we need to do so that’s the reason we’re starting tonight.”

South of Cairns, cyclone preparations are well underway in the town of Cardwell.

The weather bureau predicts it will be subject to winds in excess of 125 kilometres per hour from this afternoon – 12 hours before Yasi crosses the coast.

Cardwell residents spent yesterday boarding up windows and stocking up on essentials.

Patrick Quirk from Maritime Safety Queensland says commercial shipping and recreational boat users have been well warned over the past week and should know to stay away from Cyclone Yasi.

He says he hopes no-one at sea is foolish enough to get too close to the system moving rapidly across the Coral Sea.

“There were some pictures going around comparing this to Larry, but this is a system which is almost beyond belief,” he said.

“It’s almost beyond description in the extent of the system and also the power of the system. It’s almost a perfect storm.”

– ABC News

 

… by my ol friend MP if this cyclone was the one hitting Aus. I said “no”.

I was wrong…

Since yesterday we have changed speed (slowed down) and almost reversed direction.

Sure is a pretty pict of a classic tropical cyclone, eh?

way cool…

… what a tropical cyclone looks like?

the weather map shows us the barometric pressure and speed …

the sat picture shows the lovely little pin-point which is the “eye” of the storm…

Governor General receives petition signed by 25 MPs

THE Opposition group had filed their petition against Prime Minister Danny Philip to the governor general Sir Frank Kabui Tuesday this week.

Press secretary to Governor General Nigel Maezama confirmed to The Solomon Star that the petition had been received by Sir Frank on Tuesday morning.

Asked what steps, the Governor General would be taking to handle the case Mr Maezama said at this stage it was still unknown.

“We just have to wait and see but as far as I know the ball is in the Prime Minister’s court. “The Prime Minister only have two options and that is to resign (which he is unlikely to do) or call parliament,” he said.

The opposition press secretary Deli Oso confirmed that a total of 25 Member of Parliament (MP) signed the petition.

This included the five ministers who recently resigned and joined the opposition camp.

They are former forestry minister Douglas Ete, former police minister James Tora, former fisheries minister Bodo Dettke, former housing, lands and survey minister Martin Sopage and former public service minister Stanley Sofu.

The Solomon Star understands the petition was to advice the Governor General to intervene and call parliament as ministers have no confidence in the Prime Minister Danny Philip and he do not have the number to rule.

However, based on a court injunction in 2007 filed by then Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare when he was overthrown by the Sikua government, the court had ruled that only the Prime Minister has the authority to call parliament.

Prime Minister Danny Philip earlier this week said he would never step aside as the government was serious in bringing the country back on its feet.

“Only I can convene parliament. The Governor General doesn’t have the power to compel me.

“In certain circumstances where the country is at risk, they have insurrection or the government has definitely become dysfunctional because there’s absolutely no one to do the job, yes.

“But under normal circumstances I think the situation is still ok.

“I have no reason to resign because we have a program. Are you going to push another resolution to extend the resolution that we were passed last year for three months of spending?

“How many times, by electing prime minister, who will be your prime minister? You’ve got five or ten people in there wanting to be prime ministers,” Prime Minister Philip said.

PRIME Minister Danny Philip has hit back at the opposition revealing secrets of individuals within the group he described as ‘ring leaders.’

The Prime Minister identified deputy opposition leader Matthew Wale, former fisheries minister Bodo Dettke and former forestry minister Douglas Ete as the ring leaders behind  the  conspiracy to overthrow the government.

Prime Minister Danny Philip in a press conference earlier this week stated that he had files and information on the three men especially Mr Wale and Mr Dettke involving serious offences.

“I’m sorry to say that I have to do this so that the people in this country know who these people really are,” he said.

MP for Auki/Langalanga

Prime Minister Philip alleged that few years ago the MP for Auki/Langalanga Matthew Wale diverted a large sum of money paid by a shipping agent into his private bank account.

The Prime Minister said in another similar case involving Mr Wale, a certain amount of pharmaceutical products belonging to a private pharmacist ended up in the Solomon Islands government consignment.

“The products were ordered through government consignments to qualify for tax exemptions which were sold at private shops in the country.

“There is files and information on these cases and as a responsible government we will investigate it,” he said.

The prime minister added that it was a pity that the MP for East Honiara Douglas Ete knew very well about this case but yet he decided to join the opposition.

“Mr Ete is the former chief executive officer (CEO) on the National Referral Hospital and he knows about these things but yet he decides to join them.

“If he claims to be a man of principle then I challenge him to tell the truth,” the prime minister said.

He said he was aware the allegations against the MPs were serious but he reiterated that there are files to prove his arguments.

MP for North/West Guadalcanal

Regarding the MP for North West Guadalcanal Bodo Dettke, Prime Minister Danny Philip alleged that between 1996-1997, Mr Bodo was involved in a major airport project for six major airfields to be built around the country.

The Prime Minister said only two airfields were built with all the money exhausted.

The airfields were proposed for Lord Howe (Small Malaita), Ulawa (Makira/Ulawa Province), Lomolomo and Vanikoro (Temotu Province), one in Isabel Province and the other at Tangarare (Guadalcanal Province).

“This case will be pursued and investigated,” the Prime Minister said.

He said Mr Bodo had also owed the Solomon Islands government $12-$15 million outstanding tax liabilities which he never settled until today.

“The people in this country must understand that Mr Bodo’s intention to be in the government was to cease all logging licence belonging to foreigners,” the PM said.

“Mr Bodo revealed this to me that his plan was to reach a stage when all foreign loggers licence will be stripped with only certain companies remaining,” he said.

The Prime Minister said he could not allow such practice to happen because he said it would destroy the industry and government revenue for the country.

“I’m not protecting loggers but if you dig deep down you will find dead men’s bones attached to the real motive behind such decisions,” he said.

The Solomon Star called the opposition office yesterday but they said the three opposition members would respond together in a press conference today.

Mr Ete and Mr Dettke last night told the Solomon Star that more secrets would be revealed today.

“We will respond to these allegations when the time is right and the government must prepare to fasten their seat belts,” they said.

Had three generations of two wheel’n yesterday. Paul heads home today so he and I go a real nice ride up the Montville ridge. Mendozza and I got a good ride here in the neighborhood surveying the flooding. Afterward we all went and drove Big-go-carts. Looks like more rain today…

All good fun