Eslam Rashad

Eslam was 22 years old. He was shot on Friday, January 28 on Hanoveel Street in Alexandria, and died yesterday at 4 A.M, one week after the shooting.

He was a student last year at the Faculty of Hotels and Tourism. He had 1 sister and 1 brother.

[UPDATE: See a more complete post on Eslam Rashad above.]

journalists still facing abuse

0946: Hamish Macdonald from Ten Network Australia tweets: “Situation is calmer in Cairo today but tv crews are still facing attacks this morning #Egypt #6pm.”

NY Times article on the power of the elites

HERE.

My three favorite parts:

1. The occurrence of the phrase “a hated steel magnate.”

2. This line: “‘There are a lot of Fridays left,’ said Tayssir Ibrahim, a protester in Tahrir Square here.”

3. This overkill change-of-tack line by the Prime Minister, explaining why many Party favorite billionaires have suddenly been detained and their assets frozen: “We decided on eliminating all businessmen.” (That’s another of those sentences that has probably never been uttered in English before.)

a strange incident on Thursday

One mildly unnerving thing happened on Thursday on my way to the bus. I was rolling my luggage up Marashli Street, and right in front of Tabasco restaurant were two women in headscarves who made aggressive, glaring eye contact with me of a sort that is not normal in Egypt– especially from women.

I turned away, then looked back five seconds later and they were doing the same thing. My suspicion is that these were plainclothes officers, though I have no idea what they were doing in the middle of Zamalek, or why they would have any interest in my rolling a piece of luggage up Marashli. Maybe they were trying to decide if I was a journalist.

trains running again

From Anderson Cooper’s Twitter feed: “Looks like trains are moving again in Cairo.”

Field Marshal Tantawi earlier said that no effort will be made to clear the protestors from Tahrir, so it now looks as though daily life is restored (other than car traffic through Tahrir, presumably; and don’t plan to eat at Hardee’s for awhile either, since they have bigger fish to fry right now).

dirty trick

It seems that a van that slammed into a crowd of protestors MAY HAVE BEEN STOLEN FROM THE U.S. EMBASSY.

Alexandria

The Onion weighs in

Hilarious!

HERE.

the Muslim Brotherhood’s position

This is an excerpt from that same NY Times article.

“Mohamed el-Beltagui, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the outlawed Islamist group that had been the major opposition in Egypt until the secular youth revolt, said that the organization would not run a candidate in any election to succeed Mr. Mubarak as president.

He said his members wanted to rebut Mr. Mubarak’s argument to the West that his iron-fisted rule was a crucial bulwark against Islamic extremism. ‘It is not a retreat,’ he said in an interview at the group’s informal headquarters in the square. ‘It is to take away the scare tactics that Hosni Mubarak uses to deceive the people here and abroad that he should stay in power.’

Mr. Beltagui, who represents the Brotherhood on an opposition committee to negotiate a transitional government, said the group wanted a ‘civil state,’ not a religious one. ‘We are standing for a real democracy, with general freedom and a real sense of social justice.’

Like many others in the square, Mr. Beltagui said he was not worried that the military might back a new dictator to succeed Mr. Mubarak. He said the determination of the protesters would forestall that, and noted that a religious leader who appeared to back away from some of the protesters’ democratic demands was booed from a makeshift stage in Tahrir Square.”

writing on the wall?

The NY Times says loyalty to the President may finally be cracking:

“The country’s newly named vice president, Omar Suleiman, and other top military leaders were discussing steps to limit Mr. Mubarak’s decision-making authority and possibly remove him from the presidential palace in Cairo — though not to strip him of his presidency immediately, Egyptian and American officials said. A transitional government headed by Mr. Suleiman would then negotiate with opposition figures to amend Egypt’s Constitution and begin a process of democratic changes.

Administration officials said that among the ideas that had been discussed were suggesting to Mr. Mubarak that he move to his home at Sharm el Sheik, the seaside resort, or that he embark on one of his annual medical leaves to Germany for an extended checkup. Such steps would provide him with a graceful exit and effectively remove him as the central political player, going partway toward addressing a central demand of protesters on the streets of Cairo.”

However, I don’t think Suleiman as the transitional leader is going to be acceptable to anyone in Tahrir. Remember, this guy denies that there were any snipers and still claims that “foreigners” are behind the uprising.