Geography Archives: Middle East

  Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist.   Cf. “Egypt Shuts Down Al Jazeera Bureau” (Al Jazeera, 30 January 2011). | Print  

Mubarak: Leave, stay, leave, stay, leave, stay. . . . God damn you, Zine Ben Ali. May you burn in hell. It’s impossible to fix things now. Damn it. I think I’ll go make a speech — maybe things will quiet down a little.

  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton: We are deeply scared about our empire in the region and slightly embarrassed that we fund the Egyptian security forces to repress their own people, and we call on the 30-year dictatorship in Egypt to do everything in its power to protect our interests. . . .  As […]

Hope is a powerful feeling, it is contagious, and it tends to increase geometrically.  And hope is exactly what Tunisia gave our Arab people everywhere.  Tunisia the land of the revolution where today three martyrs fell in the Kasbah, is still the inspiration of a whole Nation.  Our great dormant nation, from Rabat to Baghdad. […]

Mohammed Ezzeldin: We have two main scenarios now regarding the relation between the people and the army.  We have the Tunisian scenario.  There’s a division in the ruling elites, there is division in the regime, so the army will be neutral: the tanks and soldiers and officers in the streets, they are just maintaining the […]

America’s international standing is under mounting strain on multiple fronts.  Nowhere is this more glaring than in the Middle East, where the balance of influence (and hence power) is shifting away from the United States and toward Iran, Turkey, and their allies.  This trend may, in fact, accelerate as a consequence of ongoing unrest in […]

“The presidential armed guard units, through the streets, headed towards the national television station, the state-run television station.  A bit of a confusing picture there in Cairo, because we are seeing protesters cheering the presidential guard, happy that these troops are arriving.” This video was uploaded to YouTube on 28 January 2011.  The text above […]

1.  The change in the composition of the Tunisian government ousting RCD ministers seems to have satisfied the UGTT.  This is a sign that the protest now will be weakened.  The protest was gathering sympathy again with an ever recurring discussion on regionalism and regional identity.  The people are aware and they are pushing their […]

  Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist.   See, also, <twitter.com/3arabawy/status/30662957587234817> and <twitter.com/3arabawy/statuses/30747797716209664>. | Print  

  Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist.   See, also, <twitter.com/3arabawy/status/30662957587234817> and <twitter.com/3arabawy/statuses/30747797716209664>. | Print  

Ahmad Shokr: Well, the scenes right now are quite remarkable. Literally, tens of thousands are taking to the streets amidst a huge security presence. I’m standing in front of a demonstration of at least a few thousand people who have taken over one of the main bridges in Cairo, calling for the ouster of Hosni Mubarak’s regime. They have raised their hands, stating that they’re peaceful protesters, but have been met by a shower of rubber bullets and tear gas.

On 26 January 2011, Fars News, a semi-official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran, reported that Antonio Cassese, the president of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (commonly called “Hariri Tribunal”), was a legal adviser to a powerful committee to de-list Mojahedin-e Khalq (“People’s Mojahedin of Iran,” aka MEK, MKO, and PMOI) from the […]

Egypt’s revolution is still cooking, but not boiling yet.  Today the people took to the streets in a fragmented way, after the police heavy-handedly dispersed the crowd yesterday. In Cairo one demonstrator and one police officer died today in the clashes.  That gives an idea of the level of protest; the government is denying this, […]

It is commonly said that “an investment in gold represents an investment in fear.”  Indeed, reports that recently deposed Tunisian leader Zine Ben Ali absconded with 1.5 tons of gold bars from that country’s central bank would seem to highlight the truth of this maxim.  Here in Egypt, it was reported two days ago in […]

Yasmine, 22, recently graduated from Cairo University.  She plans to work in law and currently interns at the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA).  She deems herself an activist, but really, she says, she’s “just an Egyptian with a vision.” Imbaba, Cairo, Thursday, January 27 Yasmine: I love the idea of going to the […]

كن مع الثورة Mohamed Gaber is a graphic designer and photographer in Cairo, Egypt.  Check out his blog at .  Gaber has created and published 13 other revolutionary posters for the ongoing mobilization in Egypt, under a Creative Commons license and downloadable at . | Print

Anger over unemployment and poverty continue driving people to protest.  So far six people have died, and many more injured.  Hundreds have been arrested, even journalists since Tuesday. . . .  All eyes are on Friday, when various organizations are calling for the largest demonstration yet. This video was released by Daily News Egypt on […]

25 January 2011 They do not belong to a political party, they do not follow a particular ideology, they make an appointment on Facebook, an appointment we all laughed about, telling them you cannot have a revolution like you have a blind date, but today in tens of thousands they came. . . .  They […]

Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist.   | Print

Listen to the interview with Hossam el-Hamalawy: Hossam el-Hamalawy: Egypt yesterday witnessed its strongest protests in probably four decades, since 1977: tens of thousands have taken to the streets in virtually all the cities of our country, chanting against Mubarak, chanting against the U.S., which is backing Mubarak, calling for internal reforms and for democracy. […]