Hey Google, how does FaceBook's azz taste? How has Google not fired this clown? No love for Buzz or Wave. Ingrate.
congregational friday prayer before hosni mubarak resigned: <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7FU3X08agyg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Bloody crackdown in Bahrain. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41638606/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa Bloody crackdown smashes Bahrain protesters At least four dead, 60 said to be missing and more than 600 reported hurt MANAMA, Bahrain — At least four people were killed Thursday after riot police used buckshot, tear gas and clubs to drive protesters from a main square in Bahrain's capital Manama, where they had been demanding political change in the tiny kingdom. Armed patrols prowled neighborhoods and tanks also appeared in the streets for the first time Thursday. Medical officials said four people were killed, although there were unconfirmed reports of more casualties with one website claiming 20 people had been "martyred." New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who is in Bahrain, said that more than 600 people had been treated for their injuries and an opposition lawmaker, Ibrahim Mattar, told Reuters that 60 people were missing. The protesters had been in Pearl Square since Monday in an attempt to emulate the successful protest camp on Cairo's Tahrir Square. "They are killing us!" one man said as police firing teargas and buckshot moved in at around 3 a.m. local time Thursday (7 p.m. Wednesday ET), dispersing some 2,000 people, including women and children. "This is real terrorism," said Abdul Jalil Khalil, of Bahrain's main Shiite opposition party Wefaq. "Whoever took the decision to attack the protest was aiming to kill." Mattar said later that Wefaq was going to quit parliament. "All the members are going to resign. The decision is taken," he told Reuters. Barbed wire was in place on streets leading to the square, where police cleaned up flattened protest tents and trampled banners. The Interior Ministry declared the protest camp "illegal" and warned Bahrainis to stay off the streets. "The security forces have stressed that they will take every strict measure and deterrent necessary to preserve security and general order," an Interior Ministry spokesman said on Bahraini television Thursday afternoon local time. CNBC television news, citing U.S. military sources, said there was a significant amount of blood on King Faisal Highway, in a different part of the city than Pearl Square. It reported that authorities were confiscating camera phones from individuals suspected photographing affected areas. There were also rumors of an impending curfew, the broadcaster said. CNBC also reported 100 demonstrators had also gathered near Salmaniya Hospital, with "visual confirmation" of a group of 15 to 20 carrying stones. Hospital officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said four people were killed early Thursday. Wounded streamed by the dozens into Salmaniya, which is the main state-run hospital in Manama, with serious gaping wounds, broken bones and respiratory problems from the tear gas. Outside the medical complex, dozens of protesters chanted: "The regime must go." Kristof said in a series of Twitter messagesthat the Bahrain government had ordered ambulances to stop going out. He said 10 ambulance paramedics had been attacked by Bahrain police. "I interviewed them, saw their injuries," he wrote. "Nurse told me she saw handcuffed prisoner beaten by police, then executed with gun," Kristoff added. He said that an ambulance driver had said a Saudi Arabian army officer "held gun to his head" and threatened to kill him if he helped the injured. Kristoff also reported that the hospital had seen more than 600 people injured in the protests by early Thursday morning. 'This place is boiling' Martin Chulov, a correspondent for the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper who is in Bahrain, said in a Twitter message that there were "amazing scenes" at Salmaniya Hospital with doctors "on shoulders with bull horns calling for an uprising!" "The Drs say they are not being allowed to treat the wounded. This place is boiling," he added in another message. A horrific picture of a man with his head blown off was being circulated on Twitter and other social media. Demonstrators had made the square — beneath a 300-foot monument featuring a giant pearl — the nerve center of the first anti-government protests to reach the Arab Gulf since the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. The police assault came early Thursday with little warning. Mahmoud Mansouri, a protester, said police surrounded the camp and then quickly moved in. "We yelled, 'We are peaceful! Peaceful!' The women and children were attacked just like the rest of us," he said. "They moved in as soon as the media left us. They knew what they're doing." Dr. Sadek Akikri, 44, said he was tending to sick protesters at a makeshift medical tent in the square when the police stormed in. He said he was tied up and severely beaten, then thrown on a bus with others. "They were beating me so hard I could no longer see. There was so much blood running from my head," he said. "I was yelling, 'I'm a doctor. I'm a doctor.' But they didn't stop." He said the police beating him spoke Urdu, the main language of Pakistan. A pillar of the protest demands is to end the Sunni regime's practice of giving citizenship to other Sunnis from around the region to try to offset the demographic strength of Shiites. Many of the new Bahrainis are given security posts. Akikri said he and others on the bus were left on a highway overpass, but the beatings didn't stop. 'Stop beating him. He's dead' Eventually, the doctor said he fainted but could hear another police official say in Arabic: "Stop beating him. He's dead. We should just leave him here." As the crackdown began, demonstrators in the square described police swarming in through a cloud of eye-stinging tear gas. "They attacked our tents, beating us with batons," said Jafar Jafar, 17. "The police were lined up at the bridge overhead. They were shooting tear gas from the bridge." Many families were separated in the chaos. An Associated Press photographer saw police rounding up lost children and taking them into vehicles. Hussein Abbas, 22, was awakened by a missed call on his cell phone from his wife, presumably trying to warn him about reports that police were preparing to move in. "Then all of a sudden the square was filled with tear gas clouds. Our women were screaming. ... What kind of ruler does this to his people? There were women and children with us!" ABC News said its correspondent, Miguel Marquez, was caught in the crowd and beaten by men with billy clubs, although he was not badly injured. Tanks and armored personnel carriers were seen on some streets — the first sign of military involvement in the crisis — and authorities send a text message to cell phones that said: "The Ministry of the Interior warns all citizens and residents not to leave the house due to potential conflict in all areas of Bahrain." The island nation was effectively shut down since workers in the capital could not pass checkpoints or were too scared to venture out. Banks and other key institutions did not open. Protesters' demands The protesters' demands have two main objectives: Force the ruling Sunni monarchy to give up its control over top government posts and all critical decisions, and address deep grievances held by the country's majority Shiites who claim they face systematic discrimination and are effectively blocked from key roles in public service and the military. Tiny Bahrain also is a pillar of Washington's military framework in the region. It hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which is a critical counterbalance to Iran's efforts to expand its clout in the region. Any prolonged crisis opens the door for a potential flashpoint between Iran and its Arab rivals in the Gulf. Bahrain's ruling dynasty is closely allied to Saudi Arabia and the other Arab regimes in the Gulf. But Shiite hard-liners in Iran have often expressed kinship and support for Bahrain's Shiite majority, which accounts for 70 percent of the island's 500,000 citizens. Sporadic clashes between police and protesters continued in Thursday morning, with demonstrators hurling rocks, then retreating. A group of young men broke up the pavement for more stones to throw. A body covered in a white sheet lay in a pool of blood on the side of a road about 20 yards from the landmark square. Police cleared away the wrecked tents and the street was littered with broken glass, tear gas canisters and other debris. Bahrain's parliament — minus opposition lawmakers — met in emergency session. One pro-government member, Jamila Salman, broke into tears. Hours before police moved in to Pearl Square, the mood in the makeshift tent city had been festive and confident. People sipped tea, ate donated food and smoked apple- and grape-flavored tobacco from water pipes. The men and women mainly sat separately — the women a sea of black in their traditional dress. Some youths wore the red-and-white Bahraini flag as a cape. While the protests began as a cry for the country's Sunni monarchy to loosen its grip, the uprising's demands have steadily grown bolder. Many protesters called for the government to provide more jobs and better housing, free all political detainees and abolish the system that offers Bahraini citizenship to Sunnis from around the Middle East. Increasingly, protesters also chanted slogans to wipe away the entire ruling dynasty that has led Bahrain for more than 200 years and is firmly backed by the Sunni sheiks and monarchs across the Gulf. Regional financial hub, playground Although Bahrain is sandwiched between OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Qatar, it has limited oil resources and depends heavily on its role as a regional financial hub and playground for Saudis, who can drive over a causeway to enjoy Bahrain's Western-style bars, hotels and beaches. Social networking websites had been abuzz Wednesday with calls to press ahead with the protests. They were matched by insults from presumed government backers who called the demonstrators traitors and agents of Iran. The protest movement's next move is unclear, but the island nation has been rocked by street battles as recently as last summer. A wave of arrests of perceived Shiite dissidents touched off weeks of rioting and demonstrations. Before the attack on the square, protesters had called for major rallies after Friday prayers. The reported deaths, however, could become a fresh rallying point. Thousands of mourners had turned out for the funeral processions of two other people killed in the protests earlier in the week. After prayers Wednesday evening, a Shiite imam in the square had urged Bahrain's youth not to back down. "This square is a trust in your hands and so will you whittle away this trust or keep fast?" the imam said. "So be careful and be concerned for your country and remember that the regime will try to rip this country from your hand but if we must leave it in coffins then so be it!" Across the city, government supporters in a caravan of cars waved national flags and displayed portraits of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. "Come join us!" they yelled into markets and along busy streets. "Show your loyalty." Thousands of mourners had turned out Wednesday for the funeral procession of 31-year-old Fadhel al-Matrook, one of two people killed Monday in the protests. In Pearl Square, his father Salman pleaded with protesters not to give up. "He is not only my son. He is the son of Bahrain, the son of this nation," he yelled. "His blood shouldn't be wasted."
I agree the election monitoring funding was a good thing but I question your motives for posting that given your selective highlighting of [rquoter]When Obama took office, his administration halved the amount of money available for democracy funding in Egypt, to $20 million in 2008, and allowed Egypt to have a veto again over some funds.[/rquoter] When I noticed you didn't highlight [rquoter]But by the end of Bush’s second term, he softened his democracy push. Analysts and former US officials say Bush grew more wary of the effort after the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned Islamist group in Egypt that has been critical of the United States, won 88 seats in the 2005 parliamentary election. US officials were also concerned by victories at the polls by the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, respectively. Indeed, analysts say, if the protesters’ demands are met and fair elections are held, there is no guarantee that the new government would be as friendly as the Mubarak government to the United States and Israel.[/rquoter] and [rquoter]Donna Woolf, spokeswoman for the State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative, blamed the difficult budget environment for the cut. But she said the Obama administration funneled more money to independent groups than Bush, with $2.6 million directly funding groups that don’t have the Egyptian government’s permission to operate.[/rquoter] I agree that funding election monitoring was a good thing but it wasn't something the previous Admin. didn't have reservations about while the current Admin also still sought to support. That said if this type of funding made a difference it was probably a very small difference.
Sickening report...can anyone explain this part to me? Does the regime in Bahrain have hired guns from Pakistan among their police force? What is the connection?
Bahrain allows any Sunni Muslim from the Middle East (not sure if that includes Pakistan) to apply for citizenship. It's one of the biggest points of contention considering its a majority Shia nation. Anyway off the top of my head, that's my initial thought.
Really starting to worry about Bahrain, my in-laws work there. Hoping that they get sent back home soon if it continues.
I was in Bahrain afew years ago. The hired guns you are talking about are merceniaries from Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and some other middle eastern countries. They have been hired to do the nasty and the brutal work, cause it would be diffcult to get locals to shoot each other. i have found a couple of pictures on CNN Ireport showing the violence of the regime, pretty disturbing: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-557131?ref=feeds/people/connect/VivaBritania Another youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6RCBOC-MAM&feature=player_embedded#at=21
So the protests have spread to Libya, where someone who - in my opinion - is much worse than Mubarak was - is still in power - terrorist murderer Gaddhafi. Libya: Security Forces Fire on 'Day of Anger' Demonstrations Government Should Respect Right to Peaceful Protest and Investigate Deaths (New York) - The Libyan security forces killed at least 24 protesters and wounded many others in a crackdown on peaceful demonstrations across the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should cease the use of lethal force unless absolutely necessary to protect lives and open an independent investigation into the lethal shootings, Human Rights Watch said. Hundreds of peaceful protesters took to the streets on February 17, 2011, in Baida, Benghazy, Zenten, Derna, and Ajdabiya. According to multiple witnesses, Libyan security forces shot and killed the demonstrators in efforts to disperse the protests. "The security forces' vicious attacks on peaceful demonstrators lay bare the reality of Muammar Gaddafi's brutality when faced with any internal dissent," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Libyans should not have to risk their lives to make a stand for their rights as human beings." Some of the worst violence was in the eastern city of Baida. At around 1 p.m. on February 17, according to sources in Libya, hospital staff put out a call for additional medical supplies, as they became overwhelmed with the medical needs of 70 injured protesters, half of them in critical condition due to gunshot wounds. On the night of February 16, security forces had attacked peaceful protesters with teargas and live ammunition, shooting dead two protesters, according to protesters who spoke to Human Rights Watch. Geneva-based Libya Human Rights Solidarity has confirmed three of the names of those shot dead so far: Safwan Attiya, Nasser Al Juweigi, and Ahmad El Qabili. One protester told Human Rights Watch that a new protest started on February 17, after noon prayers and the funerals of those killed on February 16. Joined by hundreds of other protesters, families marched toward the Internal Security office, chanting, "Down with the regime" and "Get out Muammar Gaddafi." Some protesters filmed the protests with mobile phones and posted them online. One injured protester in a hospital in Baida told Human Rights Watch that he was sitting near the intensive care unit there and had confirmed that security forces had shot dead 16 people and wounded dozens of others. He said that Special Forces and armed men in street clothes fired live ammunition to deter protesters. A protester in Benghazi told Human Rights Watch that hundreds of lawyers, activists, and other protesters gathered on the steps of the Benghazi Court calling for a constitution and respect for the rule of law. Early in the day, sources in Libya told Human Rights Watch that security forces had arrested a Benghazi journalist, Hind El Houny, and Salem Souidan, a family member of a group that has been seeking justice for the massacre of inmates in Abu Salim prison in 1996. Security forces also arrested a former political prisoner, Abdel Nasser al-Rabbasi, in Bani Walid. The protester said he saw groups of men in street clothes armed with knives, later joined by Internal Security forces, charging the protesters to disperse them. The protester told Human Rights Watch that he believed security forces had shot dead at least 17 protesters during the day, mostly near Abdel Nasser Street. Human Rights Watch was able to confirm eight of those deaths. It appears that the government also has coordinated pro-government supporters to confront the demonstrations. On February 16, subscribers to Libyana, one of two Libyan mobile phone networks, received a text message calling upon "nationalist youth" to go out and "defend national symbols." At around 11:30 p.m. on February 17, a protester in Tripoli told Human Rights Watch that anti-government protests had started in Tripoli also. "It is remarkable that Gaddafi is still copying the very same tactics that failed Hosni Mubarak so completely just across the border," Whitson said. "Using security forces and armed thugs to deny people the right to express their opposition to the government increasingly looks destined to fail." http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/17/libya-security-forces-fire-day-anger-demonstrations
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/18/bahrain-allow-medical-care-investigate-attacks-medics Shocking!
Actually, I'm not surprised to see other dictators use violence to suppress dissent. I bet it will work more often than not, despite its failure in Egypt.
I suspect that leaders like Gadafi and King of Bahrain consider that protests will settle for nothing less than the removal of their regimes so they have decided they have nothing to lose by launching a violent crackdown. My guess is they see how the Iranian regime survived the Green Revolution by cracking down while Mubarak fell. Its a terrible situation and one that could have been avoided if these regimes had taken steps earlier to make democratic reforms, guarantee rights, make their economies more equitable and address corruption. I think its too late for many of these countries.
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In my opinion, the reason is that the Iranian regime as well as the two others you mentioned are even much more violent, cruel and dictatorial than the Mubarak regime was to begin with. I am just wondering where the people are who were so adamant that Mubarak needs to go . Libya and Iran are certainly way, way worse - and it looks like Bahrain is, too.
Raw footage from Bahrain: <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VJINi_IFa7s?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/huw5rQrTAOg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zjTnOYRLvx4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Terrible. Horrifying. I love how technology aids in shining light on these atrocities and letting the world see what these oppressive regimes actually do and who our own government lies in bed with. Keep filming, brave people...
