Saturday, 5 February 2011

EVERY REVOLUTION HAS ITS RULES. IGNORE THEM AND THE FIRE WILL BURN OUT

EVERY REVOLUTION HAS ITS RULES. IGNORE THEM AND THE FIRE WILL BURN OUTBy Neal AschersonHard-wired into human beings, but never accessed by most of them, is the capacity to be transfigured, to be seized by confidence that a new world is being bornSaturday, 5 February 2011From Tahrir Square, television brings us two sorts of image. The close-ups of men mopping blood from their broken heads, cowled women shaking their fists at heaven, boys with dilated...

QUIET HEROINES WHOSE COURAGE HAS HELPED KEEP UPRISING GOING

QUIET HEROINES WHOSE COURAGE HAS HELPED KEEP UPRISING GOINGBy Donald Macintyre in CairoSaturday, 5 February 2011Asked in Cairo's Tahrir Square if she was scared about what might happen, Mona Seif reflected for a moment before saying yesterday: "You know, I was scared last Thursday night, but once you're here among the people you don't feel scared. I hope I don't die here, but even if I do I'll have spent 10 days here with all these people and felt this is my country, and I have never experienced that before."If this is a revolution, then 24-year-old...

EGYPT'S TRUE REVOLUTION? A LEADERLESS MOVEMENT, FUELED BY UNIVERSAL VALUES.

EGYPT'S TRUE REVOLUTION? A LEADERLESS MOVEMENT, FUELED BY UNIVERSAL VALUES.Yes, millions of Egyptians are in protesting to oust Mubarak. But this popular, largely leaderless uprising is also driven by each individual's desire for rights -- starting with the right to assembly, and expressed in how the protests are conducted.Like the Tunisians before them, Egyptian protesters are setting a vivid example for the rest of the Arab world. They are showing that a universal cause, even one as simple as the right to assembly, can inspire millions to come...

EGYPTIAN REVOLT: ORDINARY PEOPLE DEMANDING ORDINARY FREEDOM

EGYPTIAN REVOLT: ORDINARY PEOPLE DEMANDING ORDINARY FREEDOMDon't be misled by the grand scale and vast legacy of Egypt's legendary leaders -- from Ramses to Cleopatra to Mehmet Ali. The same nameless Egyptians calling for freedom today have always been the heart of this ancient society.Walk through the Museum of Egyptian antiquities – the one in Cairo’s Tahrir Square that was briefly attacked during the recent Egyptian unrest – and you can be overwhelmed. Room after room is filled with ceiling-high shelves jammed with amulets, jars, effigies, statues,...

EGYPT: DEMONSTRATIONS AND POLITICAL PRESSURE, BUT HOSNI MUBARAK CLINGS ON

EGYPT: DEMONSTRATIONS AND POLITICAL PRESSURE, BUT HOSNI MUBARAK CLINGS ONBarack Obama sends Mubarak his strongest message yet: it's time to goThe Guardian, Saturday 5 February 2011 A prayer for the future: Thousands of Egyptians gathered to pray together in Cairo’s Tahrir Square yesterday afternoon. With government thugs absent, events were largely trouble-free. Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty ImagesBarack Obama yesterday tried to nudge Hosni...