Too Little, Too Late

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak finally made a statement, but it won’t work.

The BBC reports that Mubarak sacks cabinet and defends security role

President Hosni Mubarak has defended the role of Egypt’s security forces in suppressing anti-government protests which have rocked the country.

Mr Mubarak also dismissed his government and said a new cabinet would be announced on Saturday.

It was his first statement since the protests – in which at least 26 have died with hundreds injured – began.

Tens of thousands took part in protests in Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and other cities.

Protesters set fire to the headquarters of the governing NDP party and besieged state TV and the foreign ministry.
…

“I have asked the government to present its resignation today,” Mr Mubarak said, adding that he would appoint a new government on Saturday.

He also said he understood the protesters’ grievances but that a thin line divided liberty from chaos and he would not allow Egypt to be destabilised.

He won’t accept that he is what people want changed, not his cabinet. Here’s a news flash for you, Egypt has protests in full swing in all its cities which is not the sign of a “stable” country.

Al Jazeera English is still the go-to site for up-to-date reporting on the situation. The BBC is hampered by the Egyptian security forces arresting and/or beating up their reporters. I think that Al Jazeera figured out early on that the police would target them if they identified themselves as journalists.

The Egyptians are using proxies to get around the government’s attempt at blocking the Internet. Remember: the Internet’s original purpose was to stay connected during a nuclear war, so it routes around “problems”. On the ground people are using that ancient peer-to-peer network called conversation, to plan and organize when nothing else is available, now that they know each other.