Egypt shuts down Internet and cell phone network
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Inspired and motivated by events in Tunisia, tens of thousands of protesting Egyptians flooded into the streets after Friday’s prayers in mounting demonstrations calling for an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule.
Internet service, a key tool for activists, was shut down across the country shortly after midnight. Cell phone text messaging and data plans were also disabled. Telecom company Vodafone says the Egyptian government ordered all mobile telephone operators to suspend service in parts of the country.
Earlier, Egypt’s largest opposition group, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, says at least five senior leaders and five former members of parliament were arrested in raids.
The group has said it will join protests, but has not organized the demonstrations headed by young people angry at poor living standards and authoritarian rule.
At least five people have been killed and the government says 800 people have been detained since Tuesday. Human rights groups say there have been more than 2,000 arrests.
The 82-year-old Egyptian president has not been seen or heard from since the protests began Tuesday with tens of thousands marching in Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and other cities.
Washington-based analyst Rasool Nafisi says that Tehran has been trying to spin the unrest in the region as a religious struggle in order to promote the idea that its own ideology is spreading.
“At first, they were taken by surprise because (events in Tunisia) had certain similarities with the 2009 uprising in Iran,” Nafisi says. “When Ben Ali left, they could spin it and make it look like the 1979 revolution in Iran and interpret it the way they wanted – meaning an uprising of Muslim people against a secular tyrant backed and supported by Western powers.”
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It gets worse by the hour. Mubarak is now saying he will name a new govt tomorrow, he is that scared. The ruling party headquarters has been burned down. It’s complete chaos.
When the people taste control via taking to the streets, the police have no control as there is never enough police to control them.
If people here ever wise up to that…gawd help our govt.
I swear Dusty they would blow us away by the hundreds with various means we kind of know about and that includes the military. The corporations will not be denied.
I do think what is happening in those country’s will eventually become a reality here as it’s the only way we’re going to get a chance at the “change” we really need.
They shut this stuff down with the help of a US company.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-karr/one-us-corporations-role-_b_815281.html
They will be worse to us if it ever comes down to it.
Wow! That was a surprise. Thanks Tom.
Your welcome and just what I wonder do they have in store for we the people?
We the People might get as angry as the Egyptians and the Tunisians if they screw with our internet.
and that’s a fact jack
The consequences of such civil unrest in this region could be catastrophic, not only for this part of the world, but for the United States and others. The fact is once people taste the reality of freedom, such as using social sharing sites, and etc. they become accustomed. They also learn about what is happening in the real world. When these new found tools are taken away the reaction is as we see. Very interesting post.
People got all fired up when printed matter first appeared. This is no different except for the scale of involvement.