Breaking News: Egypt Jubilant, This Blogger Called It Right: Mubarak Leaves

Image by robertxcadena via Flickr

From Denny:  This blogger gets to tell the mainstream media, "You were wrong!" They were claiming Mubarak would not leave. This blogger told them Mubarak was just doing his military leader version of The Long Goodbye. "I told you so!" never felt so good because now the Egyptian people have a real chance at democracy and truly free and fair elections of their own choosing.



It will be exciting to watch it unfold over the months ahead.  Do not underestimate the Egyptian people.  They will not allow a fundamentalist Islamic regime to grab power.  They are fed up with being held down, oppressed, and treated like starving dogs.



Right now the status is that Mubarak left Cairo last night after giving his unwelcome speech as the crowds swelled to millions in the Tahrir Square. The mainstream media were churning out stories of how Mubarak was still in power but with much less power since he transferred much of it to the new Vice President Omar Suleiman .



Right now the Army is taking over the transition to new government, aiding the Vice President who is basically the new President until someone can be elected.  The Army came down on the side of the protesters, giving Mubarak a safe exit.  Today many of the military are out in the Tahrir Square celebrating with the protesters.  After all, how can Mubarak ask the military to fire upon their own relatives and friends?  It was never going to succeed for Mubarak to hold onto power.



Another interesting development is the protesters are demanding to know, "Mubarak, where is all the money?" You guessed it. Follow the money. Turns out today the Swiss banks froze Mubarak's assets until this all shakes out. I guess the next question is, "But did Mubarak move money to Saudi Banks?"  They do own controlling interests in several American banks.  Are they hiding any of Mubarak's money in America? As you recall, the Saudi monarchy wanted to prop up Mubarak because they fear their own people will riot and depose their regime.



Egypt has a lot of well-wishers in the Arab world besides in the West. Palestinians in the Gaza and the Tunisians all took to the streets, horns blaring, celebrating with jubilation.



From Egyptian anchor Amr Nassef, who was once imprisoned in Egypt for alleged ties to Islamists, cried emotionally on the air and said: "Allahu Akbar (God is great), the Pharaoh is dead. Am I dreaming? I'm afraid to be dreaming."



It's a good day in Egypt!  We wish them well.



Watch the video of the celebration as Richard Engel reports:

Breaking News: Mubarak Angers Protesters As Saves Face, Justifies Rule, Long Goodbye

Image by robertxcadena via Flickr

From Denny: Mubarak seriously ticked off the thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square in Cairo as they just heard him speak to the nation. He did not quickly capitulate to their demands to leave immediately.



Mubarak tried the argument of how the economy and "the little people" will suffer if they don't quit with the protests and come back to his style of law and order.  He attempted to sway any Egyptians sitting on the fence who have yet to side with the protesters.



Mubarak pointedly told "outside powers" that he will not give in to their demands. There must be more foreign countries calling than we know, pressuring him to leave. Interesting. Saudi Arabia is just as obnoxious. They threatened President Obama they will prop up Mubarak if Obama comes out in favor of the protesters. Like that would work at this juncture.



Mubarak is known for being a very stubborn man and so I certainly did not expect a former general to state precisely he would give in to them and leave now. What I did expect is exactly what he did. He did the usual military leader dance, detailing how he has been a true patriot for decades, how he loves his country, how he paternalistically always had their best interests at heart even if they are too stupid to understand. His one mild concession was to tell the protesters they had "legitimate demands and they were just."



Mubarak went on to try and sell "free and fair elections in September" and that's when he will make his graceful exit. Like most military leaders, Mubarak is tone deaf to his people. He repeatedly spoke about his grand vision for Egypt. Clearly, no one else shares his vision among his countrymen.



Mubarak claims he will give - let's see, maybe "share" is a better word - some of his presidential powers to  the newly created Vice President position. No one believes that either. Unanimously, the protesters rejected his speech and his vision.



What is clear is that Mubarak will leave, what he thinks is his own timing: September. The protesters do not trust him to keep his word for free and fair elections. Nor do they trust him to properly investigate and punish those security forces who killed hundreds of protesters.



What Mubarak has accomplished is to strongly unify the protesters and increase their numbers by the hour.  Government workers have thrown in with them, especially those on the almighty money maker, the Suez Canal.  Mubarak is worried about his economy now?  After that disastrous speech, the whole country will now refuse to come to work tomorrow.  He can't last until September.



Western journalists keep pounding the message that Mubarak is not stepping down. Yes, he is. He is doing it with his own version of the truth and trying to save his dignity. This is what every former general does and how he does it. Write it on a rock and take it to the bank. Stubborn or not, proud or not, resistant or not, Mubarak is out.

Egypt: Tahrir Square Excitement Builds, Protesters Await Confirmation Mubarak Leaving

From Denny: Just two hours ago we received word here in America that Mubarak is truly stepping down, yielding power to his newly created Vice President. The Army is expected to assist in the transition to a new civilian government. The protesters are gathered by the thousands in Tahrir Square in Cairo to await Mubarak's "See ya!" speech.



This Mubarek departure has been confirmed by CIA Director Leon Panetta. President Obama spoke about an hour ago in Michigan, declaring America will assist the peaceful transition to a new democracy for Egypt in any way it is asked.

Breaking News: Egypt Protesters Win, Mubarak Stepping Down!

From Denny:  The crowds in Tahrir Square are electrified. Mubarak is about to speak to the crowd. It is expected he is to announce he will step down immediately, yielding power to his newly created Vice President, that according to CIA Director Leon Panetta too.



Arrangements have been made with the Egyptian Army to temporarily take over to oversee the transition to a newly elected democratic government. Most expect this to be a peaceful transition. This is not a military coup but rather an agreement between the Army and Mubarak. There are others in the West that dread the Muslim Brotherhood and wonder if that organization will try to take control in the euphoria of the moment among the protesters.



Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is threatening President Obama. Basically, they are taking America hostage economically by doing so. Saudi Arabia says they will prop up Mubarak if Obama demands Mubarak to go in a public way, humiliating him. And these dictatorship style governments in the Middle East wonder why their peoples want to get rid of them? It's all about their egos and "saving face" instead of what is good for the whole country and the benefit of the people.



Congratulations go to the Egyptian protesters who have risked their lives and their freedom to create their democracy.

31 More Egypt Revolution Cartoons

Cartoonists churn out new opinions at as fast a rate as the situation changes in Egypt during the protests.

From Denny: The fast pace of revolution is, well, why they call it a "revolution"! Events unfolding in Egypt are astounding to witness. The first few days of the week the protests were primarily peaceful with the exception of a few idiot looters.



In the early days the protesters called for Mubarek to step down immediately. Mubarek said "No!" but did dissolve his cabinet and created the first Vice President, a man of his own choosing, of course. The protesters were not well impressed and demanded Mubarek and his whole government leave. Mubarek was tired of his idea of concessions to the voice of his people.



Mubarek drew back the hated corrupt police force as a way to teach the people how much they needed him. That backfired. That act of depraved indifference for his people did not deter the protesters. Instead, they organized themselves in every neighborhood and created their own security task forces to guard themselves and their property.



Did I mention Mubarek also let loose thousands of violent prisoners, emptying them into the streets to terrorize the populace into submission? Then Mubarek closed down the internet and cell phone service which he later restored in a couple of days. He probably found out he couldn't run his own affairs without it.



Yesterday the protests turned violent with the odd addition of thugs on horses and camels riding into the protesters, swinging clubs and battering anyone they could. They especially went after foreign news crews with cameras to prevent the news from getting out of the country.



Clearly, Mubarek sent in those thugs in place of official police or the military. Who knows? Maybe those thugs are really plains clothes police who are afraid of what will happen to them if Mubarek does leave the country, abandoning them. That might explain the passion and the furor of which they fight because they may feel they are fighting for their own survival.



The Army refuses to fire upon the protesters, often joining in photo-ops and chants with them. Both the protesters and Mubarek have been competing for the loyalty of the Army. What's a ruthless dictator to do? Well, unleash every psychopath he can lay his hands on so he is not forced to let loose his 30 year grip on power.



If the protesters stand strong and fight back they will eventually win the day. A million protesters against a few hundred thugs will win in the end.



President Obama's response seems to be shifting and changing along with the situation. If Mubarek wants to live through this someone with a stronger will than Obama needs to convince this guy it's past due time to leave. Why not send a military man to talk to a military man?



And another question: Has Obama stopped the flow of foreign aid funds to Egypt yet? That's a reputed $1.3 BILLION  I would hope so until we know who will be in office running the country. Otherwise, our hard-earned taxpayers funds may end up in some Swiss bank account with a Mubarek (secretly) named owner. I guess we don't have to worry about hunting it down. Surely, WikiLeaks will blast those secret accounts all over the internet. It's enough to make you want to hide your cashed paycheck under the mattress. :)