It's Funny!

I remember that, after Mubarak was kicked out of Egypt but before the pro-union worker movement began, one of my more conservative followers mentioned that Egypt-style protests would spring up in the United States with the ultimate purpose being the removal of President Obama.

Well, sociologically speaking, that might have been likely...if the right hadn't already exhausted their political clout fighting for the benefit of their political corporate benefactors by fighting health care reform! The delicious irony is that, since the right caused so many pointless protests back in November, the left now gets to take the opportunity to rise up against the right!

There could be no more justice in this situation. The teabaggers, whether they realize it or not, were protesting in favor of corporate oligarchy taking over our democratic system. And it backfired. The anti-worker bill will be defeated in Wisconsin, and the sentiment will spread to Florida, New Jersey, and Indiana.

Note to the teabagger-minded:

• Union workers DO pay taxes. The value of their labor is subtracted from their paycheck in order to equal exactly what a private worker would pay.
• Plus, the workers already accepted a cut on wages and benefits. The Governor still refuses to negotiate. The remainder of the debate is about collective bargaining, or basically the right of the union to exist at all.
• Some claim that it is the "corrupt Union Bosses" versus the Koch bros. All I can say is that it is not the union bosses out protesting in 20 degree weather. It's the hardworking American people.

Party Politics

Tired of Dems and Repubs battling it out over who can screw you better? I sure am. That's why America needs an individual taxpayer-centered third party to keep us on top. And since we all know how weak the libertarian, green, and socialist parties are, it's time for a completely new option.

Vote for the Lemon Party with me in the next election! Only they are capable of throwing the Lemons out of the Federal Government.

For A Bitter Tomorrow!

PS: Party politics matter to keep any democratic (or republican) society healthy and strong. No matter how much it seems like one side or both sides are hurting the little guy, the solution is never to say "F@#k it, I'm not voting." Protesting by NOT getting your opinion out? Idiotic. You have the power to vote out the bums and the corrupt, so USE that power!

Koch Whores

If you're like me, you'd rather see public benefits go toward the American people than two greedy, corrupting billionaires. That's why I'm posting a list of Koch products for my readers to boycott with me, if you so choose.

Note: The Union workers pay for 100% of their pension and benefits through deferred wages. These aren't freeloaders who "get something for nothing."

Update: The bill has passed the senate to the shouts of "Shame, shame!" from the protesters. Illegally.

Koch Products:

Bath Tissue

Angel Soft®Quilted Northern Ultra Plush®Quilted Northern Soft & Strong®Soft n' Gentle®

Building / Remodeling

Blue Ribbon®
Clutter Cutter®
DensArmor Plus®
DensDeck®
DensGlass®
DensShield®
DryPly®
FireGuard®
GP Lam®
Hushboard®
Nautilus®
Ply-Bead®
Plytanium®
Southern Gold®
Sta-Strait™
Thermostat®
ToughRock®
Wood I Beam™
XJ 85™

Cups & Tableware

Dixie®
Insulair®PerfecTouch®Ultra™Vanity Fair®

Home and Office Papers

Advantage®Image Plus®Spectrum®

Napkins

Mardi Gras®Vanity Fair®Zee®

Paper Towels

Brawny®Mardi Gras®Sparkle®Zee®

Libya Update

I've been focus very heavily on Wisconsin lately when there's actually a more pressing round of protests out there.

Libya is the country in the Middle East where the protests have really taken off, though unfortunately it is also the country where the most protesters are dying. President Omar Qaddafi has actually ordered his troops to fire live ammunition at the protesters, resulting in a body count of over 100. He then ordered those same troops to kill certain disloyal factions within the army who would not fire on unarmed civilians. The troops burned their barracks down.

Meanwhile, the protests only escalated. Some cities have actually been captured by the pro-democracy protesters, resulting in a situation similar to a civil war. Qaddafi, meanwhile, was going on a tangent about how the Protesters were all on hallucinogenic drugs, garnered from a foreign source. The president's rant was nearly incoherent at times, but he made perfectly clear the fact that he would not voluntarily leave the country any time soon.

Unfortunately, with the UN's recent resolution to not intervene in the conflict, the protesters are alone in their fight to force out the raving lunatic. I wish them huge amount of luck in their quest for democracy.

• Meanwhile, overseas gas prices have been soaring thanks to the middle east unrest.
• In China, a Planned "Jasmine Revolution" was put down by security forces who arrested several of the organizers of the protests, leaving the attendees to mull about at the protest site.
• Protests in Bahrain and Algeria continue, though they are receiving substantially less coverage thanks to the happenings in Libya.
• Wisconsin protests continue unchanged. Governor Walker still refuses to negotiate with unionists.

TL;DR

If you didn't have the time to read through my last post, here's a shorter version with some added bonuses.

• The governor is pushing through a bill that would cause three major changes to the state's union structure.

1. Their ability to bargain with their employers is reduced.
2. Their ability to collect dues is undercut.
3. An annual secret ballot would be necessary to vote the union back into existence every year.

• The bill would effectively slash salaries and benefits to state employees in order to close the budget gap left from the governor's $200 million donation to corporate interests.
• The unions have agreed to these concessions, and they are only interested in keeping their collective bargaining rights. They want to get rid of the above three changes. This is not about the money, this is about rights.
• Governor Walker has rejected union concessions of giving up salaries and benefits in order to keep collective bargaining rights. He has made it his personal mission to dissolve the state's unions.
• Governor Walker has received the majority of his campaign financing from Tea Party supporting billionaire Koch Brothers, who are now funding efforts to disrupt the protests.
  
• At least 100,000 are expected to show up to the capitol building in protest today as a few rock legends are expected to put on an awesome show.

On Wiunion

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/whats-happening-wisconsin-explained

For days, demonstrators have been pouring into the streets of Madison, Wisconsin—and the halls of the state's Capitol building—to protest rookie Republican Governor Scott Walker's anti-union proposals. Big national unions, both major political parties, the tea party and Andrew Breitbart, are already involved. Democratic state senators have fled the state to prevent the legislature from voting on Walker's proposals. And the protests could soon spread to other states, including Ohio.

What's actually being proposed?

Walker says his legislation, which would strip most state employees of any meaningful collective bargaining rights, is necessary to close the state's $137 million budget gap. There are a number of problems with that argument, though. The unions are not to blame for the deficit, and

stripping unionized workers of their collective bargaining rights won't in and of itself save any money. Walker says he needs to strip the unions of their rights to close the gap. But public safety officers' unions, which have members who are more likely to support Republicans and who also tend to have the highest salaries and benefits, are exempted from the new rules. Meanwhile, a series of tax breaks and other goodies that Walker and the Republican legislature passed just after his inauguration dramatically increased the deficit that Walker now says he's trying to close. And Wisconsin has closed a much larger budget gap in the past without scrapping worker organizing rights.

What's really going on, as Kevin Drum has explained, is pure partisan warfare: Walker is trying to de-fund the unions that form the backbone of the Democratic party. The unions and the Democrats are, of course, fighting back. The Washington Post's Ezra Klein drops some knowledge [emphasis added]:

The best way to understand Walker's proposal is as a multi-part attack on the sta

te's labor unions. In part one, their ability to bargain benefits for their members is reduced. In part two, their ability to collect dues, and thus spend money organizing members or lobbying the legislature, is undercut. And in part three, workers have to vote the union back into existence every single year. Put it all together and it looks like this: Wisconsin's unions can't deliver value to their members, they're deprived of the resources

to change the rules so they can start delivering value to their members again, and because of that, their members eventually give in to employer pressure and shut the union down in one of the annual certification elections.

You may think Walker's proposal is a good idea or a bad idea. But that's what it does. And it's telling that he's exempting the unions that supported him and is trying to obscure his plan's specifics behind misleading language about what unions can still bargain for and misleading rhetoric about the state's budget.

Walker's proposals do have important fiscal elements: they roughly double health care premiums for many state employees. But the heart of the proposals, and the controversy, are the provisions that will effectively destroy public-sector unions in the Badger State. As Matt Yglesias notes, this won't destroy the Democratic party. But it will force the party to seek funding from sources other than unions, and that usually means the same rich businessmen who are the main financial backers for the Republican party. Speaking of which....

Who is Scott Walker?

Walker was elected governor in the GOP landslide of 2010, when Republicans also gained control of the Wisconsin state senate and house of representatives. His political career has been bankrolled by Charles and David Koch, the very rich, very conservative, and very anti-union oil-and-gas magnates. Koch-backed groups like Americans for Prosperity, the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Reason Foundation have long taken a very antagonistic view toward public-sector unions. They've used their vast fortunes to fight key Obama initiatives on health care and the environment, while writing fat checks to Republican candidates across the country. Walker's take for the 2010 election: $43,000 from the Koch Industries PAC, his second highest intake from any one donor. But that's not all!:

The Koch's PAC also helped Walker via a familiar and much-used political maneuver designed to allow donors to skirt campaign finance limits. The PAC gave $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, which in turn spent $65,000 on independent expenditures to support Walker. The RGA also spent a whopping $3.4 million on TV ads and mailers attacking Walker's opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Walker ended up beating Barrett by 5 points. The Koch money, no doubt, helped greatly.

What are the Democrats and the unions doing to respond?

Well, they're protesting, obviously—filling the halls of the Capitol and the streets of Madison with bodies and signs. They're calling their representatives and talking about recalling Walker (who cannot be recalled until next January) or any of eight GOP state senators who are eligible for recall right now. Meanwhile, all of the Democratic state senators have left the state in an attempt to deny Republicans the quorum they need to vote on Walker's proposals, but if just one of them returns (or is hauled back by state troopers), the GOP will have the quorum they need. (Interestingly, the head of the state patrol in the father of the Republican heads of the state senate and house of representatives, who are brothers.) Finally, Wisconsin public school teachers have been calling in sick, forcing schools to close while teachers in over a dozen other school

districts picket the capitol, plan vigils, and set up phone banks to try to block Walker's effort.

How could this spread?

Other Republican-governed states are trying to mimic Walker's assault on public employee unions. The GOP won a resounding series of state-level victories in high-union-density states in November. Now they can use their newly-won power to crack down on one of the Democrats' biggest sources of funds, volunteers, and political power. Plans are already under consideration in places like Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.

How are conservatives working to support Walker?:

It was only a matter of time till the Tea Party got in on the action. Stephanie Mencimer reports that activists are bussing into Madison, and are "promising a massive counter-demonstration." The push is being led by American Majority, a conservative activist group that trains impressionable young foot soldiers to become state-level candidates (check out their ""I Stand With Scott Walker Rally" Facebook page). Founded by Republican operatives, the well-funded group (which, according to tax fillings, had a budget of nearly $2 million in 2009) gets much of its money from a group with ties to those adorable Koch brothers. Conservative media baron Andrew Breitbart will be leading the rally, and will be joined by presidential candidate Herman Cain and maybe—if we're lucky—Joe "The Plumber" Wurtzelbacher. Expect fireworks.

• The words above were not written by me but by the great people at http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/whats-happening-wisconsin-explained
• Unfortunately for the Tea Baggers, less than 2,000 supporters of the governor actually showed up, resulting in a majority of pro-union supporters at a ratio of at least 35-1.
• A huge protest is being planned for pro-unionists on Monday, with over 100,000 expected to show up.
• I was having a lovely discussion with a misinformed right-winger last night. It turns out the protests are over "collective bargaining rights" or, basically, the right for the union to exist. This is not a drain on the state at all.
• The right wing hate machine will do their darndest to lie, cheat, and spin in order to make it seem like the unionist protesters are the bad guys, but in reality they are simply peaceful teachers, firefighters, and police looking to keep their right to organize. These people did not cause the deficit and they certainly are not looking for handouts. They just want to keep their current jobs.

It's Nice Outside

Screw the polar bears, it's a nice day.

Just kidding, you should save the polar bears.

In Other News:

-Wisconsin has experienced protests against an anti-union bill that has little standing on the budget of the state. If it passes, thousands of state workers including teachers, firefighters, and police officers, would lose benefits for no reason other than the fact that the neocons had an agenda. Yesterday, all democratic state senators left the state to prevent a quorum on the proposed bill. Around 30,000 protesters had gathered in front of the state's capitol building in order to oppose the measure.

-The informant who convinced the US that Iraq had chemical weapons which prompted the 2003 invasion was discovered to be a liar. He knowingly tricked the western world into invading Iraq based on a lie. Ultimate facepalm.

-The US has unexpectedly joined in a international board to officially censure Israel. In my opinion, the state of Israel is the best hope of bringing peace and progressivism to the Middle East. But if this conference leads to that peace sooner rather than later, it is certainly a good thing.

-A giant cheeseburger, later revealed to be the one true God, has eaten the polar ice caps which lead to a dramatic increase in warm temperatures in the United States. Tomorrow, the oceans are expected to turn into mcdonald's special sauce. I wonder who actually reads this far into my blog.

-The US recently cracked down on over 100 medical practices in order to try to prevent medicare fraud. Saving money through getting rid of illegal activity is always a good idea, so long as you make sure no innocents are harmed in the process.

-Protests in Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain have experienced a crackdown from police. In Bahrain, nearly 50 were injured and in Yemen around 24 were killed.

Mirror this video:

Updates

• The Patriot Act passed the Senate yesterday. President Obama is expected to sign it soon. Then we will continue living without our fourth amendment rights.

• Democrats and Tea Partiers have also worked together to try to block $3 billion worth of defense spending which would only serve to increase our debt and make John Boehner look good. Seems like the libertarian Tea Party candidates finally realized the republican talking point about "smaller government' is really just a false facade.

• Bahrain, a tiny middle eastern island nation, has had the most successful protests. Citizens have crowded into an important city square in a demonstration reminiscent of Egypt's protests. Earlier today, they were attacked by riot police while camping there overnight. I wish them luck in their attempts to truly change things.

• The BBC have put out an amazing interactive map of the Middle East protests, proving once again that they are far superior to US stations.

• Wisconsin has had its own protests. over 10,000 have gathered at the State capitol in order to object to the radical cuts proposed by the state's republicans. if only my state would do the same...

• Justin Beiber on general politics: “I’m not sure about the parties. But whatever they have in Korea, that’s bad.” And people wonder why I hate this kid.

• Unfortunately I have no Vlad comic for my followers this time, but here's something amusing

American Update

This is urgent. You now have a chance to stand up for your constitutional rights. It is a basic truth of politics that rights are not self-enforcing, and that sometimes you have tot take action.

Now before you try to overthrow the US government yourself, know that I'm simply talking about an online petition. But it's a really important online petition, trust me. You now have the chance to stop the extension of the worst infringement upon the fourth amendment since WW2, the Patriot Act.

This isn't a partisan issue, this is about the rights of the individual. Note that democrats in congress are attempting to form an alliance with tea party and libertarian candidates to block the extension of the bill.

Through the ACLU

Through the Electronics Frontier Foundation

Note: the ACLU and the EFF are working to block the bill. They're the good guys.

I've already contacted my senator after my idiot of a congressman voted in favor of the bill. I hope you will do the same.

Edit: If you'd like to call or email your senator, HERE's a list. I'll be calling mine as soon as my law and politics class is over.

Please, everyone take the short amount of time needed to write out a simple email regarding this rights-infringing bill. If you'd like me to write a quick copy-paste message here just let me know.

The Demise of the Glenn Beck Program

Well good news for anyone who (like me) was just waiting for the day when the insane and politically-illiterate Glenn Beck got his just desserts.

In just under one month EIGHT advertisers have dropped Beck as a sponsor. In the UK, the program has been running without commercials for 5 days now. Two of these aforementioned sponsors have dropped the Fox News network entirely, meaning that Beck is now actually a drain on their funding.

Even the StopBeck twitter feed had been in a good mood.

Recently, Beck want on yet another wild and unsupported rant, though this time the subject was Egypt. Beck managed to tie in Egypt with George Soros, the Green movement, Van Jones, President Obama, and an imaginary "Communist insurrection' which...doesn't...exist...

The problem is that Beck sounded even crazier than usual. (video)

Here's another Faux Noise pundit telling Beck that maybe he should tone it down:

You know it's gotten bad when "you-can't-explain-that" O'Reilly tells you you've extrapolated too far.

Remember, this is the same Beck who has:

-Called the first black president a racist

-Called Senator Marie Landrieu a "high class prostitute"

-Called the first Muslim congressman a Terrorist

-Called holocaust survivor George Soros a Nazi sympathizer

-Launched an unsubstantiated campaign of hatred against anyone he perceived to be his enemy, setting off a new "red scare"

So I call upon my followers, before the next time you insult George Soros, Van Jones, or the President, think for a second and make sure you're not just playing directly into the hands of the wingnuts of Fixed Noise?

Happy V-tines Day

Happy Valentines Day to all my followers. If you're like me, you're spending the day finishing your homework and then curling up alone with some Star Trek The Next Generation.

Then again, I will have Deanna Troi to keep me company. She could be my valentine any day of the year.

In other news, there's been no significant updates in the news so just chill for now. Except, of course, for the introduction to our new robot overlord on Jeopardy.

Dueling Budgets

Earlier this Week, US Republicans unveiled their budget plan which is projected to cut $61 billion off this year's budget. Their proposed cuts include limiting or ending funding to the Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Obama this morning has unveiled his own budget which would cut $1.1 trillion over the next 10 years, or ~$110 billion per year. Cuts in this plan come from placing a spending freeze on domestic projects. Unfortunately, even this plan falls short of the $4 trillion in domestic cuts that would be needed to rectify the deficit.

Neither plan addresses the three biggest contributors to the US budget: Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, and Defense spending. However the lesser of the two evils would have to be Obama's plan. The republicans' is filled with impulsive reactions to programs that would actually save money if they were left alone.

Other Updates:

-Iran protests began earlier today as young university students met riot police in the streets. Continuity is not assured but hopeful. The US State Dept has launched a twitter account in Farsi in order to show support for the protesters.

-Protests in Yemen and Algeria are still going on but only Algeria seems to be picking up steam. Al Jazeera is now giving them equal time as Egypt's aftermath.

-The Grammys are going on. Maybe. I'm actively trying not to pay attention.

-Vlad Putin is still a badass.

F!@# Yeah Anthony Weiner

Representative Anthony Weiner is possibly the most Principled Progressive ever to perpetuate his platform in a postmodern population.

A short list of the man's accomplishments:

-served on the Committee on Energy and Commerce (whatever that is)

-was a roommate with Jon Stewart in college

-stood up for healthcare reform even when his party was too chicken to do so

-defended the awesome notion of a public option in america

-advocated the unpopular decision of cutting defense spending

-called out unprincipled colleagues for being "wholly owned subsidiar[ies] of industry."

-blasted hypocrites for voting against the "9/11 First Responders Act"

-stood up to Bill O'Reilly. You can't explain that.

-recently challenged hypocrites on ignoring their own recently passed law

This man is like a "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" type character come to life. If Mr. Smith had huge swinging brass balls and was named Weiner. Honestly, I would vote for this guy fro president. Just look at this badass call for a Supreme Court Justice to excuse himself from an important case:

Routine Updates

-After Egypt Military has taken control of the country after Mubarak's resignation, they have pledged to ensure civilian rule. This is huge news tot hose who feared Mubarak's crones would regain power or that the military would rule.

-Algerian protests are still going strong. It's still unclear whether they will pick up enough steam to make a significant change. Meanwhile in Yemen, protesters have been getting savagely beaten by riot police.

-Similar protests are scheduled in Iran for Monday. The US has urged Ahmadinejad to allow the rally in an unexpectedly forceful stance.

-In the EU, the notion that multiculturalism has failed is spreading. First the Prime Minister of the UK and then the President of France have made official statements to that effect. This will most likely serve only to heighten anti-muslim sentiments across Europe.

-I've reached 200 followers! Thanks, all.

-Here's Al Jazeera's recent News Update

Next Stop: Algeria

Egypt-style protests have begun in another dictator-plagued North African country, Algeria. Thousands of pro-reform protesters have gathered in downtown Algiers chanting the mantra of the protest, "No to the police state"

Since this is only the beginning of the protests (and hopefully not the end), it is unclear as to exactly how much support they have. Reports are that nearly 10,000 showed up today alone, however the police are expected to take a much more hand-on role in preventing the protests than in Egypt.

The government of Algeria has just shut down social media sites like twitter and facebook in a similar manner of the *former* governments of Tunisia and Egypt.

I wish the protesters of Algiers luck in their venture, and would like to remind them to keep the protests peaceful, progressive, and secular.

As with Egypt, I will be monitoring the protests and will blog about any relevant updates. And also as with Egypt, updates can be found with the only reliable middle east news network, Al Jazeera at http://www.youtube.com/user/AlJazeeraEnglish

Countries where similar protests have the potential to form:

-Yemen

-Libya

-Saudi Arabia

-Tehran

-Iran

-Most likely Not the US or the western countries

Anonymous Uncovers Right-Wing Big Business Conspiracy

http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/02/10/more-fallout-from-anonymous/

If this were truly a free country, this would be THE biggest headline in the news right now.

Anonymous is a loose coalition of hackers on steroids who are dedicated to the freedom of the domain of the internet. Based out of Ebaumsworld(?), they dedicate their time to the free spread of information regardless of the origin. And this past week they've uncovered something huge.

Apparently the right-wing Chamber of Commerce-which represents such huge corporations as ExxonMobil and AIG-has been hiring hackers and infiltrators to disrupt the goings-on of its political enemies including ThinkProgress and the Service Employees Union

The implications are obvious. Not only does this confirm the existence of a class war in the United States, but it demonstrates exactly how the Middle Class is losing without even being aware of it.

A separate leak showed a conspiracy by Bank of America and its big business partners to defame Wikileaks and Glenn Greenwald of BraveNewFilms who wrote in support of the site.

Anonymous may truly be the last, best hope for humanity.

Other Updates:

-The US House of Representatives has once again passed the "Patriot" Act which is a huge infringement on individual rights as well as the biggest insult to the fourth amendment perhaps since the US was a British colony. The yea votes were largely republicans while the nays were largely democrats.

-Egypt President Hosni Mubarak has officially stepped down as President of Egypt. Ruling power now resides in the hands of a military governing council as well as the vice president Omar Sulieman.

-I got rid of my pop-out ads. I know how annoying they were.

Anonymous Uncovers Right-Wing Big Business Conspiracy

http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/02/10/more-fallout-from-anonymous/

If this were truly a free country, this would be THE biggest headline in the news right now.

Apparently the right-wing Chamber of Commerce-which represents such huge corporations as ExxonMobil and AIG-has been hiring hackers and infiltrators to disrupt the goings-on of its political enemies including ThinkProgress and the Service Employees Union

The implications are obvious. Not only does this confirm the existence of a class war in the United States, but it demonstrates exactly how the Middle Class is losing without even being aware of it.

A separate leak showed a conspiracy by Bank of America and its big business partners to defame Wikileaks and Glenn Greenwald of BraveNewFilms who wrote in support of the site.

Anonymous may truly be the last, best hope for humanity.

Other Updates:

-The US House of Representatives has once again passed the "Patriot" Act which is a huge infringement on individual rights as well as the biggest insult to the fourth amendment perhaps since the US was a British colony. The yea votes were largely republicans while the nays were largely democrats.

-Egypt President Hosni Mubarak has officially stepped down as President of Egypt. Ruling power now resides in the hands of a military governing council as well as the vice president Omar Sulieman.

-I got rid of my pop-out ads. I know how annoying they were.

Egypt Update

Earlier tonight, February 10, 2011, Egyptian President Mubarak has put an end to rumors that he would soon be stepping down. Despite transferring powers to the equally unpopular Vice President Omar Sulieman, this move was considered a snub to President Obama whose administration earlier helped to leak the aforementioned rumors.

Mubarak's tactics for saving face earlier include promising key changes to certain Egyptian constitutional amendments, claims that the protesters were motivated by out-of-state actors (untrue), and even promising to not run in the next Presidential election in September. None of these appeasements were sufficient for the protesters who understood that Mubarak would still attempt to claim power in his own underhanded way unless he and his supporters were to resign from the government immediately.

The new power holder Omar Sulieman is reportedly a very militant man, with a history in the armed forces as well as a record of using torture to achieve his ends. Bigger Protests are expected tomorrow, with the organizers calling for 20 million ro take to the streets tomorrow to finally achieve a lasting change. Rumors have spread about the protests possibly spreading to the presidential Palace which happens to be only a few blocks from the hub of the previous protests in Tahrir Square.

Rumors of similar style protests in Iran have also been circulating, so don't be surprised when the media switches their coverage there next week.

As always, live coverage of Egypt can be found on Al Jazeera television, as well as on their YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish

Also remember to check in on my blog for any relevant updates!

Mubarak's Speech:

Update: This morning President Mubarak officially stepped down as President after thousands of protesters congregated in front of his multiple presidential palaces. The streets of Cairo are awash in celebration.

Egypt

Egypt is in the midst of a struggle to overthrow a militaristic dictator in order to ensure a brighter and more hopeful future for the everyday citizen. Factors that prompted this uprising range from Wikileaks and Tunisia to the fact that the quality of life gap between the rich and the poor has been growing so rapidly.

Protesters have gathered in Tahrir (Liberation) Square and have demanded that President of 30 long years, Hosni Mubarak, step down from power.

The protests started on January 25th and have swelled in numbers up to today, when nearly 2 million people are gathered in central Cairo in pursuit of a common goal.

Some are worried about the local Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood, taking power afterward, however those fears are baseless as the next leader has been selected to be Nobel Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, a former UN official.

Al Jazeera has been the biggest coverer of the story, with other news networks simply mentioning it only as far as they believe will get them ratings. Al Jazeera's coverage of the story can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish

or here: http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

Here's a video update from Al Jazeera's youtube page

Update: 4:05 EST, President Mubarak promises not to run in the next Presidential Election, Vows to "die on Egyptian soil" and not flee the country like Tunisia's President. The protesters are not buying this and are now chanting "Go Away, go away!"