Muslim Brotherhood Supporters Torch Christian Churches Throughout Egypt Amid Deadly Clashes With the Army

Coptic Pope Tawadros II seen on a visit to the Vatican with Pope Francis in May

Human rights officials in Egypt say that at least 25 churches throughout the country have been torched by supporters of ousted Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi, although the unofficial count may be more than double that number. Numerous eyewitnesses described the attackers as chanting slogans in support of Morsi as they attacked the churches as well as businesses and homes owned by Christians.

According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), at least 25 churches across Egypt were attacked by arsonists on Wednesday and Thursday, following the violence in the capital, Cairo, between security forces and supporters of Mr Morsi.

Christian schools, shops and homes were also targeted, it said.

The Mar Gergiss church in Sohag, a city about 390km (240 miles) south of Cairo, with a large community of Coptic Christians, was one target.

Witnesses likened the area to a ghost town, with residents hiding indoors.

Patriarch Louis Sako, the head of the Chaldean Catholic church which is based in Iraq, said churches belonging to his community in Egypt were among those targeted on Wednesday.

"This is a real disaster," he told the AFP news agency, saying the region was a "dangerous volcano".

The Coptic Church is Egypt's largest and oldest Christian denomination, dating back to 42 AD. Other denominations include Greek Orthodox and Protestant.

Last month, the Coptic Church's Pope Tawadros II expressed his support for the massive demonstrations throughout Egypt calling for the removal of Mohammed Morsi from office. Many Christians said the rights of Egypt's 12 million Copts were eroded by a constitution written by the formerly outlawed Islamist party while Morsi's supporters say that the church was inviting attack by supporting the massive demonstrations that led to the Egyptian military ousting the Muslim Brotherhood.

According to Egypt's Health Ministry, at least 638 people were killed in clashes this week when security forces moved in to clear out an encampment of pro-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators. Defense Minister and interim president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has also promised to rebuild the damaged churches in a statement on Egyptian state TV shortly after the coordinated attacks.

BREAKING- 48 Hour Deadline Passes, Egyptian Army Seizes Power as Morsi Goes Into Hiding

Shortly after a defiant Mohammed Morsi issued a statement that he would not be stepping down, the Egyptian military announced that the country's Muslim Brotherhood-backed president has been ousted and will be replaced with the chief justice of the constitutional court on an interim basis.

In appointing Adli Mansour the new interim leader, [Defense Minister] el-Sissi also said a government of technocrats would be formed with "full powers" to run the country. He did not specify how long the transition period would last or when new elections might be held.

Top military officials and opposition leaders met Wednesday and agreed on a political roadmap for the country's future, el-Sissi said. A new presidential cabinet will be formed as well as a national reconciliation committee, which will include youth movements that have been behind anti-Morsi demonstrations.

El-Sissi also warned said the military would deal "decisively" with any violence sparked by the announcements.

Before el-Sissi's address, Egyptian troops, including commandos in full combat gear, were deployed across much of Cairo, including at key facilities, on bridges over the Nile River and at major intersections.

Witnesses told Reuters that the army erected barbed wire and barriers around Morsi's work compound, and moved in vehicles and troops to prevent supporters from getting to his palace.

A travel ban was put on Morsi and the head of his Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, as well as Badie's deputy Khairat el-Shater, officials told the Associated Press.

Minutes before the military’s deadline for Morsi to resolve the nation’s political crisis passed Wednesday afternoon, the embattled leader called for "national reconciliation," but vowed he would never step down.

Millions were in the main squares of major cities nationwide, demanding Morsi's removal, in the fourth day of the biggest anti-government rallies the country has seen, surpassing even those in the uprising that ousted against his autocratic predecessor Hosni Mubarak. Critics say Morsi set the nation on a path toward Islamic rule.

Khaled Daoud, spokesman of the main opposition National Salvation Front, which pro-reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei leads, said that ElBaradei, Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azharmosque, and Pope Tawadros II, patriarch of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority, were part of the Wednesday meetings with military leaders.

The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper -- which also seemed to be following a military line -- reported that the military had placed several leaders of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood under surveillance.

Employees at Egypt's state TV station said military officers were present in the newsroom monitoring its output, but not interfering with their work.

In an emotional 46-minute speech late Tuesday, Morsi vowed not to step down and pledged to defend his constitutional legitimacy with his life in the face of three days of massive street demonstrations calling for his ouster.

The Islamist leader accused Mubarak loyalists of exploiting the wave of protests to topple his regime and thwart democracy.

"There is no substitute for legitimacy," said Morsi, at times angrily raising his voice, thrusting his fist in the air and pounding the podium. He warned that electoral and constitutional legitimacy "is the only guarantee against violence."

On Tuesday, clashes in Cairo and elsewhere in the country left at least 23 people dead, most in a single incident near the main Cairo University campus. The latest deaths take to 39 the number of people killed since Sunday in violence between opponents and supporters of Morsi, who took office in June last year as Egypt's first freely elected leader.

Millions of Egyptians who had been protesting nationwide in massive demonstrations since the weekend erupted into cheers as the Army made the announcement. In Cairo's Tahrir square- the focal point of the 2011 'Arab Spring' uprising that saw strongman Hosni Mubarak ousted- demonstrators cheered, whistled, blew into vuvuzelas and set off flares and fireworks.

Since being elected in what many hailed as Egypt's first legitimate elections, Morsi has sought to consolidate executive power and approved a constitution that would give his Muslim Brotherhood backed party nearly unchecked power as the economy worsened, food and fuel prices soared and attacks on religious minorities were carried out, seemingly with tacit state approval.

The military made the televised announcement at a press conference on Wednesday where military leaders were flanked by Cairo's Grand Mufti and the Coptic Orthodox Pope.

Prior to the announcement, soldiers and police shut down a number of Islamist-run TV stations in Cario and detained some of their personnel. Prior to that, security forces had arrested 15 of Muslim Brotherhood Deupty Chief's Khairat el-Shater's bodyguards on Monday.

Egyptian Army Gives President Morsi 48 Hour Deadline to Resolve Crisis or Military Will Intervene

Somewhere in an Egyptian prison infirmary, you gotta figure Hosni Mubarak is chuckling.

Protestors and the media began a countdown on Monday after Egyptian military commanders gave Muslim Brotherhood-backed president Mohammed Morsi a 48 hour ultimatum to resolve the current crisis as millions of demonstrators took to the streets for the second straight day.

The military's statement puts enormous pressure on Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. So far, the president has vowed he will remain in his position, but the opposition and crowds in the street -- who numbered in the millions nationwide on Sunday -- have made clear they will accept nothing less than his departure and a transition to early presidential elections.

The military underlined it will "not be a party in politics or rule." But it said it has a responsibility to act because Egypt's national security is facing a "grave danger," according to the statement.

"The Armed Forces repeat its call for the people's demands to be met and give everyone 48 hours as a last chance to shoulder the burden of a historic moment for a nation that will not forgive or tolerate any party that is lax in shouldering its responsibility," it said.

It did not directly define "the people's demands," but said if they are not realized, the military is obliged to "announce a road-map for the future and the steps for overseeing its implementation, with participation of all patriotic and sincere parties and movements."

This is actually the second ultimatum by the military issued to Morsi- Defense minister Abdel Fatah el-Sisi had given the two sides a week to reach a power-sharing agreement that expired shortly before the demonstrations began on Sunday.



In a move that many anti-Morsi demonstrators view as tacit support from the army, military helicopters flying massive Egyptian flags circled low over Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday. An odd spectacle took place the night before as a low-flying formation flew over hundreds of thousands of anti-Morsi demonstrators and dropped Egyptian flags into the crowd while their aircraft was illuminated by thousands of laser pointers from the crowd below [although lasers and aircraft pilots tend not to be a good combination- not sure if the laser show was an attempt to harm the pilots or those in the crowd thought it looked neat (which I gotta admit, it does)- NANESB!]

Unlike the ousting of Mubarak in 2011, involvement in the crisis by Egypt's military seems to be welcomed- to a degree- by the anti-government demonstrators. Since Morsi officially took office last year, there has been a sharp increase in attacks on the nation's Coptic Christian minority with authorities seen as complicit or actively participating in some attacks.

This week's demonstrations are also different from the 2011 uprising in that according to most estimates the number of people who turned out nationwide in Egypt this weekend to demand the departure of president Morsi dwarfed the crowds during the 2011 'Arab Spring' protests.

In the early morning hours on Monday, a crowd of protestors attacked the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo, setting fires, throwing furniture out of windows and taking armloads of documents away after the buildings defenders fired birdshot at them.

Thousands of Islamists also gathered in mosques throughout Egypt to express their support for Morsi and prepare for confrontations ahead of this weekend's massive demonstrations.

Millions of Demonstrators in Egypt Take to the Streets Demanding President Mursi's Resignation

A year after his inauguration as Egypt's first new president since 1981, millions of demonstrators throughout Egypt demanded President Mohammed Morsi step down in protests throughout the nation reminiscent of those that forced his predecessor Hosni Mubarak out of office.

Waving national flags and chanting "Get out!", a crowd of nearly 500,000 massed in and around Cairo's central Tahrir Square in by far the largest demonstration since the 2011 uprising that overthrew Mursi's predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.

"The people want the fall of the regime!" they shouted, echoing the Arab Spring rallying cry that brought down Mubarak - this time yelling it not against an ageing dictator but against the first elected leader in Egypt's 5,000-year recorded history.

Huge protest rallies continued late into the night in a mostly festive atmosphere.

While the main protests were peaceful, five people were shot dead in clashes in the Nile valley towns of Assiut and Beni Suef and the oasis town of Fayoum. The Health Ministry said more than 200 were injured in clashes in several provincial towns.

A military source said as many as 14 million people in this nation of 84 million took part in Sunday's demonstrations in sweltering heat. There was no independent way to verify that estimate, which seemed implausibly high, but the armed forces used helicopters to monitor the crowds.

Many demonstrators bellowed their anger at the Brotherhood, which they accuse of hijacking Egypt's revolution and using electoral victories to monopolize power and impose Islamic law.

Others, including some who said they had voted for Mursi, have been alienated by a deepening economic crisis and worsening personal security, aggravated by a political deadlock over which he has presided.

The veteran leaders of Egypt's secular, liberal and left-wing opposition, including former chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei and leftist presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, joined protest marches in Cairo.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through the Mediterranean port of Alexandria, Egypt's second city, and large protests were reported in at least 20 towns around the country.

Once the sun went down, the number of protesters grew even further. In Cairo and Alexandria, people threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at Muslim Brotherhood offices. Throughout the weekend, those numbers were offset somewhat by pro-Morsi counterdemonstrators wearing hardhats and brandishing sticks.

Before the weekend's demonstrations, the opposition had gathered an estimated 22 million signatures calling for Morsi's ouster. The buildings housing the petition signatures and opposition party headquarters were attacked by arsonists earlier this month, although the signatures were unharmed.

Earlier in the week, a 21 year old American identified as Andrew Pochter was stabbed to death as he was watching an anti-government demonstration in Alexandria. Pochter's family said that he was in Egypt to teach English to children and was to attend Kenyon College in Ohio later on this year.

Egyptian Army Commander Warns Latest Protests "Could Lead to a Collapse of the State"

In comments posted on the Egyptian Army's official Facebook page, Army Commander General Abdul Fatah al Sisi warned that the ongoing unrest and demonstrations against Muslim Brotherhood-backed president Mohammed Morsi could lead to a total collapse of the Egyptain state and "threaten future generations".

He made his statement following a large military deployment in three cities along the Suez Canal where a state of emergency has been declared.

More than 50 people have died in days of protests and violence.

In response, President Mohammed Morsi has cut short a planned European trip.

His spokesman said he would still visit Germany on Wednesday as planned, but the two-day trip has been cut to just a few hours and a visit to France has been cancelled.

On Monday night, thousands of people in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez - where some of the worst unrest has been - ignored a night-time curfew imposed by Mr Morsi to take to the streets.

Thousands were again on the streets of Port Said on Tuesday for the latest funerals of those killed, with mourners calling for the downfall of the president.

There were also was continuing sporadic clashes in the capital, Cairo.

Gen Sisi's lengthy statement appears to be a veiled threat to protesters and opposition forces as well as an appeal for calm and an attempt to reassure Egyptians about the role of the military, the BBC's Yolande Knell in Cairo says.

The latest unrest stems from an Egyptian court in Port Said sentencing 21 defendants to death for their part in a postgame soccer melee that killed more than 70 people last year.

Immediately after Saturday's verdict was read live on state TV, two policemen were shot dead outside Port Said's main prison when angry relatives tried to storm the facility to free the defendants. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, as well as live rounds, at the crowd outside the prison.

In other parts of the city, residents tried to storm the governor's office, police stations, the power station and the main court building. Residents occupied one police station in the east of Port Said.

The director of hospitals in Port Said, Abdel-Raham Farah, said two local soccer players were shot to death Saturday as they were apparently on their way to practice. He identified them as Mahmoud Abdel-Halim al-Dizawi, who played for the city's Al-Marikh club, and Tamer al-Fahla, who used to play for the city's main Al-Masry team. Al-Diwazi was shot three times, the doctor said.

The widespread unrest also coincides with the second anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising that eventually led to the ousting of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

After an interim military junta ruled Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi was elected to the office of president in the June 2012 presidential elections. However, he has been facing increasing opposition after granting himself and his cabinet sweeping new powers and immunity from Egypt's judicial branch in November.

Morsi insisted these new powers were temporary and would be relinquished once a new constitution was put in place for Egypt. A Muslim Brotherhood-backed draft was approved by voters in December, although critics said it provided no protection for minorities or women in Egypt.

However, by Monday, protesters in other Egyptian cities were clashing with riot police. Looters seized the opportunity to break into a luxury hotel along the Nile River in the capital city of Cairo on Tuesday. The death toll in Port Said alone is at least 39 people. Opposition demonstrators claim that gangs of sexual predators are roaming the area around Tahrir Square, harassing and assaulting female demonstrators with the tacit approval of the regime.

Meanwhile, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has proposed legislation that would halt the sale of arms to Egypt. Last year, Lockheed Martin [NYSE- LMT] delivered 20 F-16 fighter jets to Egypt as part of a 2010 agreement reached with the Mubarak regime. However, no less than a dozen additional F-16s and 200 Abrams tanks will reportedly be sent to Egypt by the end of 2013.

Islamist Constitution Apprears Headed For Approval After First Round of Voting in Egyptian Referendum

"Why so serious?". Graffiti in Cairo depicting Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi as the queen of clubs on a card dealt by Batman villian the Joker. Photo via Ghazala Irshad

A draft of Egypt's constituion endorsed by the Muslim Brotherhood and President Morsi appears headed for a likely victory after the first round of voting over the weekend.

An official tweet by the Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful political group, said its tallies showed nearly 57 per cent of voters said "yes" to the disputed charter, while about 43 per cent voted 'no.' The vote was held on Saturday in 10 of the country's 27 provinces, including Cairo and the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city.

A second round of voting is set to take place for Dec 22nd where the Muslim Brotherhood is expected to carry most of Egypt's rural areas.

However, a number of rights groups, observers and opposition leaders allege that this weekend's balloting was marred by women and Christians being barred from some polling stations as well as people falsely identifying themselves as judges showing up at the polls.

Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's best known reform leader, was as frustrated by how the referendum was run as the rights groups.

"Is a referendum held under insufficient judicial supervision, clearly tenuous security and the violence and violations we are witnessing the road to stability or playing with the country's destiny? the Nobel Peace Laureate and former U.N. nuclear agency chief wrote on his Twitter account.

Most of Egypt's judges has announced ahead of the weekend that they intended to boycott the referrendum on the Muslim Brotherhood backed draft of the new constitution. The move was repotedly never intended to halt the vote outright, but rather undermine its legitmacy should it have been approved.

Egypt's political crisis began on Nov. 22 when Morsi issued a decree granting himself — and the Islamist-dominated panel that drafted the constitution — immunity from judicial oversight or challenge, sparking mass demonstrations.

The constituent assembly then hurriedly approved the draft constitution in a marathon overnight session, prompting hundreds of thousands of the president's opponents to take to the streets in massive rallies — the largest since the uprising that toppled Mubarak in February 2011.

The vast majority of Egypt's judges, meanwhile, said Tuesday they would not oversee the referendum on the draft constitution. Ahmed el-Zind, chairman of the Judges' Club and a fierce Morsi critic, told a news conference that 90 percent of the nation's judges would join the boycott.

Observers have speculated that the unrest and chaos that resulted from Morsi's November 22 decreee was by design, pressuring voters to approve the Muslim Brotherhood-supported draft of the constitution without giving it any scrutiny.

Over the weekend, Morsi also authorized the Egyptian military [which is expected to recieve up to 20 new F-16 fighter jets courtesey of the Obama Adminstration- NANESB!] to assume joint responsibility with Egyptian police for public safety during the staggered balloting this weekend and next.

Balk Like An Egyptian- Muslim Brotherhood Cancels Pro-Morsi Rallies as Opposition Grows

As opposition to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-backed president Mohammed Morsi and his decree giving himself nearly unlimited powers last week grows, the Muslim Brotherhood has cancelled a series of planned mass demonstrations in support of the Egyptian president.

In Cairo, thousands of Egyptians flocked to Tahrir Square for a massive protest against Morsi on Tuesday in a scene reminiscent of the 'Arab Spring' from earlier this year that toppled the 30-year rule of strongman Hosni Mubarak.

By early afternoon, nearly 20,000 people were at Tahrir, birthplace of the 18-day popular uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian regime nearly two years ago. Security was tightened across Cairo, with police checking ID papers and searching cars coming into the center, but there was no sign of protesters being stopped from reaching Tahrir.

A chaotic city of some 18 million people, Cairo's traffic was uncharacteristically light on Tuesday, with many businesses and government offices closing shop early in anticipation of possible unrest.

A new banner in the square proclaimed, "The Brotherhood stole the country" and one protester, Mahmoud Youssef, said: "We are here to bring down the constitutional declaration issued by Morsi." Many chanted the iconic slogans "the people want to bring down the regime."

Several thousand lawyers meanwhile gathered outside their union building in downtown Cairo ahead of their march to Tahrir to join protesters there. "Leave, leave," they chanted, addressing Morsi, who narrowly won elections in June to become the country's first freely elected civilian president.

In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, some 3,000 anti-Morsi protesters gathered outside the main court at the center of the ancient city.

The mass demonstration follows reports of angry mobs ransacking and torching offices of the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm- the Freedom and Justice party- in Mahallah and the Mediterranian port city of Alexandria.

Meanwhile, Morsi told top officials from Egypt's judiciary that he did not infringe on their authority when he granted himself near-absolute powers last week. Morsi had previously defended the move by telling the public that such measures would be temporary.

Since Morsi's decree and the gathering political unrest, shares in Egypt's stock exchange- the EGX30- have tumbled by as much as 9%, which was comprable to market activity leading up to the protests that swept Mubarak from power.

Protests Erupt as Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-backed President Grants Himself Sweeping New Powers

Consider this a combination of 'Meet the new boss, same as the old boss' and a sarcastic 'Gee- didn't see that coming', Egypt's new president has granted himself broad new- what some are calling dictatorial- powers this week.

Clashes between police and protesters broke out in Cairo and Alexandria not even a full day after Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi issued a proclamation that granted himself sweeping new powers. The decree reportedly shields any decisions by him from any challenge by Egypt's judicial branch and has led to domestic and international observers dubbing the president 'Pharoah Morsi'.

Morsi today usurped all state powers & appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh. A major blow to the revolution that cld have dire consequences
— Mohamed ElBaradei (@ElBaradei) November 22, 2012

Earlier in the week, Morsi had won international praise for attempting to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after the IDF retaliated against a continuous barrage of rockets from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Not surprisingly, Egypt's judiciary slammed Morsi's proclamation- which seemed to be directed almost exclusively at the court system and the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court.

Egypt's liberal and secular forces -- long divided, weakened and uncertain amid the rise of Islamist parties to power -- are seeking to rally themselves in response to the decrees issued this week by President Mohammed Morsi. The president granted himself sweeping powers to "protect the revolution" and made himself immune to judicial oversight.

The judiciary, which was the main target of Morsi's edicts, pushed back Saturday. The country's highest body of judges, the Supreme Judical Council, called his decrees an "unprecedented assault." Courts in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria announced a work suspension until the decrees are lifted.

Outside the high court building in Cairo, several hundred demonstrators rallied against Morsi, chanting, "Leave! Leave!" echoing the slogan used against former leader Hosni Mubarak in last year's uprising that ousted him. Police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of young men who were shooting flares outside the court.

The edicts issued Wednesday have galvanized anger brewing against Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, from which he hails, ever since he took office in June as Egypt's first freely elected president. Critics accuse the Brotherhood -- which has dominated elections the past year -- and other Islamists of monopolizing power and doing little to bring real reform or address Egypt's mounting economic and security woes.

Opposition groups have called for new nationwide rallies Tuesday -- and the Muslim Brotherhood has called for rallies supporting Morsi the same day, setting the stage for new violence.

Some observers believe that Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood allies in Egypt's Parliament are attempting to consolidate power while there is still some goodwill from the international community for brokering a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and before more secular, pro-democracy factions in Egypt could galvanize and pose any significant opposition to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood-controlled government.

Although the Egyptian military has been conspicuous by their silence, there are reports in Arabic-language media that Egyptian officers tacitly approve of the anti-Morsi demonstrations taking place throughout the nation. This could lead to a tenuous alliance between Egypt's military and the nation's Supreme Constitutional Court- many of whom still have officers and officials appointed by the Mubarak regime- and the 'Arab Spring' protesters who ultimately ousted the former Egyptian strongman. Hosni Mubarak has been incarcerated and is reportedly in poor health since June.

Iron Horse Roundup for October/November 2012

EGYPT- At least 49 schoolchildren in southern Egypt were killed when the bus transporting them to school was struck by a speeding train at the village of al-Mandara on Saturday.

The bus was carrying more than 50 children ages four to six when it was hit near al-Mandara village in Manfaloot district in the province of Assiut, a security official said. He said it appeared that the railroad crossing was not closed as the train sped toward it.

Books, school bags and children's socks were strewn along the tracks near the blood-stained, mangled bus. Parents of the missing wailed as they looked for signs of their children. An Associated Press reporter at the scene said many of the remains were unrecognizable.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Residents in Assiut complained that there were not enough ambulances in the area that could respond quickly enough and that the ambulances themselves were ill-equipped to deal with the emergency.

At al-Mandara village, angry families and locals gathered near the tracks, shouting at officials. Some chanted: "Down with Morsi!"

This is the biggest disaster in Egypt since the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Mohammed Morsi took power in the wake of last year's 'Arab Spring' popular uprising. With frequent accidents and outdated equipment, Egypt's rail network has long been considered unsafe and accident-prone.

A pair of New Jersey Transit GP40s seen delivering 21 new Bombardier multilevel commuter cars at Dunellen, NJ on November 17, 2012. The cars are sorely needed after Superstorm Sandy damaged or detroyed 25% of NJ Transit's passenger cars after they were sent to a low-lying rail yard before Superstorm Sandy made landfall in late October. Robert Pisani photo

NEW JERSEY TRANSIT- New Jersey's commuter railroad agency has been dealt a considerable setback in their attempt to resume full service in the wake of Sandy after officials had decided to shuttle locomotives and rolling stock to a low-lying yard in Harrison, NJ ahead of the superstorm.

At least $385 million in equipment- including nine dual-mode locomotives, 84 multi-level commuter cars and NJT's computer equipment for dispatching- were damaged in a tidal surge at the Meadowlands facility while more equipment was damaged at the agency's Hoboken terminal and rail yard.

"If there's a predicted 13-foot or 10-foot storm surge, you don't leave your equipment in a low-lying area," said David Schanoes, a railroad consultant and former deputy chief of field operations for Metro North Railroad, a sister railway serving New York State. "It's just basic railroading. You don't leave your equipment where it can be damaged."

Most of the avoidable damage came at NJ Transit's Meadows Maintenance Complex, a sprawling 78-acre network of tracks and buildings in an industrial area of Kearny that is surrounded by wetlands. The complex is the primary maintenance center for the agency's locomotives and rail cars, with both outdoor and indoor equipment storage; repair, servicing, cleaning, inspection and training facilities; and the agency's rail operations center, which houses computers involved in the movement of trains and communication with passengers.

The yard sits in the swampy crook where the Passaic and Hackensack rivers come together. Elevation maps show that it lies between 0 and 19 feet above sea level. The National Hurricane Center was predicting a storm surge of 6 to 11 feet along the New Jersey and New York coast on top of an unusual tide that already had the rivers running high.

Forecasts were that the storm would make landfall on Monday, October 29, somewhere along the New Jersey or New York coast. On Friday, October 26, executives from the New York City subway system and all of the region's commuter rail systems - NJ Transit, Long Island Rail Road and Metro North Railroad - decided they would halt all service Sunday night.

NJ Transit's last trains left their originating stations at 11 p.m. on Sunday, and workers spent the next 12 hours securing equipment, said Weinstein.

At NJ Transit's emergency command center, reports streamed in from the governor's command center in Trenton, county emergency management officials and the National Weather Service, which provided frequent updates on the storm's progress. Monitoring those reports and advising the agency on what to expect from the storm was NJ Transit Police Capt. Robert Noble, who is well-versed and trained in monitoring storms, Weinstein said.

On any given weekday, New Jersey Transit carries an estimated 136,000 people between New Jersey and New York's Penn Station. NJT got some relief in the form of 21 new bilevel Bombardier commuter cars assembled in Plattsburgh, NY that arrived on Nov 17th.

Shortline operator Morristown and Erie has reportedly been contracted by the agency to repair at least ten of the damaged NJT locomotives at their Morristown, NJ shops.

Mass Coastal GP9M #2008 seen trundling down the Falmouth line past the cove at Bourne, MA with a trash train enroute to the Otis transfer station in August 2008. Ryan Parent photo

MASS COASTAL- Chicago-based Iowa Pacific Holdings acquired a controlling interest in the parent company of two southeastern Massachusetts shortlines in late October.

Iowa Pacific announced the acquisiton of Cape Rail, Inc- the parent company of Mass Coastal and Cape Cod Central- last month. Cape Cod Central hauls seasonal excursion trains on Cape Cod while Mass Coastal handles freight on the former New Haven Falmouth Line in addition to a pair of lines that serve New Bedford, MA and Fall River, MA from a CSX interchange in Taunton, MA. Both the Fall River and New Bedford lines are reportedly prime candidates for a proposed expansion of MBTA commuter rail service to Boston's South station. Mass Coastal has operated those lines for the last two years.

Other railroads in the Iowa Pacific fold include the Permian Basin Railways in New Mexico, San Luis & Rio Grande in Colorado, the Mount Hood Railroad in Oregon and the Saratoga & North Creek in upstate New York.

Norfolk Southern SD60 #6920 seen at Brea, OH with intermodal train 21G.
Dan Davidson photo.

NORFOLK SOUTHERN- Norfolk Southern unveiled a specially painted locomotive honoring veterans just prior to Veteran's Day.

Photographers got a glimpse of red white and blue (not to mention copious amounts of black) SD60M #6920 at the railroad's Altoona, PA facility before it headed south for a Veteran's Day event in Norfolk, VA. According to a press release, the special paint scheme required 26 employees (two of whom were veterans) and 66 gallons of paint. The railroad also stated that military veterans currently make up about 14% of their current workforce and they were ranked #32 by GI Jobs in their list of top 100 military and veteran-friendly employers.

After the Veteran's Day weekend ceremonies, the #6920 resumed regular service and was spotted leading intermodal freight 21G through Ohio.

IDF Preparing For Ground Assault on Gaza Strip After Hamas Fires Rockets

Explosion and smoke seen during an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City. Reuters/Suhaib Salem photo

Air raid sirens sounded across Israel over the weekend as Hamas launched hundreds of rockets from the Gaza strip and the IDF retaliated with airstrikes targeted assassinations of Hamas leadership.

After the southern towns of Ashkelon and Beersheeba came under fire from rockets launched in the Gaza strip, the IDF killed senior Hamas leader Ahmed Jabari in an airstrike as Jabari and his aides were travelling by car on Wednesday. Hamas officials claim that additional Israeli airstrikes have killed 11 civilians in the Gaza strip. However, Hamas officials had been caught attempting to pass photos of Syrians killed in that nation's ongoing civil insurrection as Gazans victimised by Israeli violence earlier this week, casting doubt on the credibility of their claims.

Israeli officials said that most of the rockets- including the long-range, Iranian-made Fajr-5 capable of reaching Tel Aviv- were launched from civilian areas in the Gaza strip. Senior IDF officers say that the majority of the incoming rockets has been intercepted by the newly-deployed 'Iron Dome' interceptor system.

Israeli troops and armor have been massing along the Gaza border over the last few days as IDF commanders weigh an ground assault against Hamas targets in Gaza City. The Israeli army has also begun calling up thousands of reservists and erecting roadblicks in the southern portion of the country as both Hamas and the IDF took to social media to try and gain support worldwide.

While Israeli and Egyptian diplomats were meeting to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza, although Hamas has reportedly rejected any talk of a ceasefire.

Post Benghazi Update- State Department Insists Deadly Consulate Attack was 'Spontaneous' Demonstration; Filmmaker Identified, Questioned by Authorities

Violent protests and attacks on American embassies throughout the Middle East continued on Friday and over the weekend. Demonstrators in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan and Yemen had stormed the grounds of US diplomatic missions, set fires and tore down the stars and stripes while hoisting a black islamist flag with arabic script.

The continued unrest comes as the White House and State Department repeatedly denied that the deadly attack on the Benghazi consulate was premeditated in any way. The attacks that killed US Ambassador Chris Stevens, Diplomatic Security officers and former Navy SEALS Tyrone Woods and Glenn Doherty and information officer Sean Smith took place on the 11th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks.

While President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton maintain that the mob that had stormed the grounds of the US Consulate in Benghazi had formed 'spontaneously' in response to a short anti-Islam film that appeared on YouTube, Libyan officials have claimed otherwise. In an interview with NPR, Libyan president President Mohammed el-Megarif said the Benghazi assault was a military-style attack that used heavy weaponry such as RPGs and mortars to assault the consulate and safehouses as well as keep reinforcements at bay. Such an attack, el-Megarif points out, would require comprehensive advanced planning. Egyptian PM Hesham Kandil said that at least some of the rioters in Cairo who were arrested after clashes with police in front of the US Embassy there had confessed to being paid to show up. In the face of all that, White House Press spokesman Jay Carney claimed that the protests, arson, looting and murders directed at American diplomats throughout the Middle East and arab world somehow aren't directed at the USA, but rather a visceral reaction to the anti-Muslim video circulating online.

Curiously, a few days prior to the American consulate in Benghazi being overrun, Canada had announced they were closing down their embassy in Tehran and expelling all Iranian diplomatic personnel from Canada. The Canadian government cited their official designation of Iran as a terrorist-sponsoring state, their continued support of the Syrian regime's military crackdown on its citizens and an attack against the British Embassy in Tehran that the UK insists was orchestrated by Iran's ruling mullahs. I thought Canada's Foreign Affairs ministry was newsworthy in and of itself at the time, but it's taken on greater significance since the murder of American diplomats on September 11.

Meanwhile, the Obama Administration, State Department and US Media's response to the slaughter in Benghazi has been disheartening at best.

While insisting that an attack utilizing heavy weaponry such as RPGs and mortars WASN'T pre-planned, the Obama Administration and American media outlets quickly went on the counterattack- not against the people who murdered our ambassadors and torched our diplomatic posts, but rather Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the purported filmmaker.

A number of press outlets immediately jumped on Romney shortly after he issued a statement criticizing a message from the State Department that the Administration themselves had backed away from. So as Obama flew out to a Las Vegas campaign fundraiser as American embassies throughout the middle East were burning, there was the matter of a compliant media coordinating questions shortly before a press conference former governor Romney's non-existent gaffe and 'jumping the gun' to the point while President Obama briefly issued a statement and took no questions before leaving to continue his re-election campaign in Nevada.

However, that paled in comparison to what took place in Southern California on Friday night when Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies showed up at the house of one Nakoula Basseley Nakoula to take him into custody. Nakoula, who made The Innocence of Muslims film under the pseudonym Sam Basile, was identified as a Coptic Christian who emigrated here from Egypt and was sentenced to 20 month in prison after being arrested in a 2009 check-kiting scam. Nakoula had also reportedly agreed to become a government informant after his 2009 arrest in exchange for a sentence reduction. Reportedly the deputies were there to escort him to an interview with federal probation officials. However, the late night visit by deputies only came after calls from Islamist groups like Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to prosecute the filmmaker for insulting the prophet Muhammed.

Over the weekend, images of Nakoula with his face hidden and flanked by deputies had circulated throughout the web. Curiously, some of Obama's more prominent supporters [in the entertainment industry of all places- NANESB!] had come out in favor of prosecuting Nakoula on ambiguous 'hate crimes' charges.

Meanwhile, the press had thoughtfully taken it upon themselves to reveal Nakoula's face and home address to the world. Unsurprisingly, Nakoula and his family have fled their Cerritos, CA home to an undisclosed location. Google- which is the parent company of YouTube- has since rejected a White House request to take down the offending video.

US Ambassador to Libya, 3 Other Americans Murdered in Attack on Consulate in Benghazi

Charred vehicle on the grounds of the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The diplomatic compound was overrun by a mob of roughly 1,000 people before gunmen in the crowd opened fire on the consulate and vehicles with on Tuesday, September 11th

US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens was among four Americans murdered on Tuesday night after a rampaging crowd managed to break in to the grounds of the US Consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi. Heavily armed terrorists moving within the crowd then opened fire on the consulate and diplomatic staff with AK47s and rocket-propelled grenades.

The crowd had reportedly paraded around Ambassador Stevens' corpse while taking photos. A local media report quoted a Libyan official in Benghazi said that the ambassador had died of suffocation. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith, an avid online gamer, had reportedly left a message a few hours prior to the attack on the Benghazi facility that read ”Assuming we don’t die tonight. We saw one of our ‘police’ that guard the compound taking pictures.”. Smith was also fatally injured in the attack.

A report from CBS earlier on Wednesday quoted an official from Libya's Interior Ministry who claimed that after the consulate's Libyan security detail evacuated the Ambassador and diplomatic staff, some of the security staff had reportedly tipped the crowd off to the Ambassador's new and supposedly secure location.

Wanis al-Sharef, a Libyan Interior Ministry official in Benghazi, said the four Americans were killed when the angry mob, which gathered to protest a U.S.-made film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad, fired guns and burned down the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

He said Stevens, 52, and other officials were moved to a second building - deemed safer - after the initial wave of protests at the consulate compound. According to al-Sharef, members of the Libyan security team seem to have indicated to the protesters the building to which the American officials had been relocated, and that building then came under attack.

Although the short film had been blamed for inciting angry mobs in both who breached US Diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt on Tuesday, intelligence agencies say the fact that the murders took place on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks it's increasingly likely that the attack was planned well in advance by an Al Qaeda offshoot. Intelligence and media reports indicate that a Libyan jihadist group operating under the name of Ansar Al Sharia is behind the attacks. Stevens was the first US Ambassador to be killed while on assignment since Adolph Dubs- the US Ambassador to Afghanistan- was killed in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan in 1979.

Benghazi is the eastern city that's considered the cradle of the uprising that ultimately toppled Mummar Ghdaffi's 42-year reign in Libya. Ghdaffi's Army was on the cusp of crushing the uprising and seizing Benghazi before the international community intervened in the form of NATO air strikes in February 2011. After months of fighting, Ghdaffi was captured and killed in a pitched battle near his hometown of Sitre. Ambassador Steven's had reportedly worked closely with Libya's transitional council after the Ghdaffi regime fled the capitol at Tripoli. The property was reportedly a temporary location that wasn't as secure as a number of permanent facilities.

The Benghazi assault came just hours after protestors in Egypt breached the walls of the American embassy there and tore down the American flag, replacing it with a black flag with white arabic script used by Al Qaeda.

However, instead of immediately condemning the provocation from the Egyptian crowd, the US Embassy released multiple statements criticising the producers of the movie the protestors were supposedly upset with and a series of tweets that bordered on apologetic. The official US Embassy in Cairo statement reads as follows [empasis mine].

The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims - as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.

The White House distanced themselves from the Cairo Embassy's statements while Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticized the statements coming from the Cairo Embassy as 'an apology for American values' and the Obama Administration's repudiation of the statements as an example of mixed signals the President has been sending to the international community. In Cairo, police and protestors clashed for a second straight night.

A team of about 50 Marines has been dispatched to Tripoli to secure the US Embassy in the Libyan capital while two guided missile destroyers have been deployed off of the coast of Libya.

Egypt's Supreme Court Deems Elections Invalid, Orders Islamist-Dominated Parliament Dissolved

And just in time for Friday prayers! This oughta be good....

In a blow to the Muslim Brotherhood and their Islamist allies, Egypt's 18-judge Supreme Court has ruled that the post-Mubarak parliamentary elections invalid and that the new Islamist-dominated parliament be dissolved.

The sweeping ruling by many judges who were appointed by Mubarak drew immediate criticism from the Muslim Brotherhood, who compared the high court's ruling to a coup d'etat.

The decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court effectively erased the tenuous progress from Egypt's troubled transition in the past year, leaving the country with no parliament and concentrating power even more firmly in the hands of the generals who took over from Mubarak.

Several hundred people gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square after the rulings to denounce the action and rally against former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, the presidential candidate seen by critics as a symbol of Mubarak's autocratic rule. But with no calls by the Brotherhood or other groups for massive demonstrations, the crowd did not grow.

Activists who engineered Egypt's uprising have long suspected that the generals would try to cling to power, explaining that after 60 years as the nation's single most dominant institution, the military would be reluctant to surrender its authority or leave its economic empire to civilian scrutiny.

Shafiq's rival in the Saturday-Sunday runoff, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, said he was unhappy about the rulings but accepted them.

In last year's parliamentary elections -- Egypt's first democratic ones in generations -- the Brotherhood became the biggest party in the legislature, with nearly half the seats, alongside more conservative Islamists who took another 20 percent. It is hoping to win the presidency as well.

The rulings, however, take away the Brotherhood's power base in parliament and boost Shafiq at a time when the Islamists are at sharp odds with a wide array of major forces, including the military, the judiciary and pro-democracy groups behind the uprising.

The law governing the parliamentary elections was ruled unconstitutional by a lower court because it breached the principle of equality when it allowed party members to contest a third of the seats set aside for independents. The remaining two-thirds were contested by party slates.

Earlier this week, the military appointed government gave police and military the authority to arrest civilians for poorly-defined and vague crimes such as disrupting traffic or the economy. This has led to speculation that the measures were designed specifically for cracking down on protests like the Tahrir Square demonstrations that ultimately toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak and that military commanders plan on retaining power after the June 17th runoff presidential election between Muslim Brotherhood-backed Muhammed Mursi and Hosni Mubarak's former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq.

Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court also struck down a law passed by the post-Mubarak Islamist dominated parliament that barred former officials with the Mubarak regime from running for office. The Muslim Brotherhood was hoping that Shafiq would be removed from the ballot, eliminating the need for a runoff campaign and effectively handing over the Presidency to Mursi.

Deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has been incarcerated since being found guilty of complicity in the deaths of more than 800 protesters in the 'Arab Spring' uprising that took place in early 2011. He reportedly suffered a heart attack shortly after arriving in prison and his health has been steadily deteriorating since then.

Quickie Weekday Sports Chowdah Update: Welcome to Seidenberg; Cleveland Nearly Rocks C's Again; Tigers Crown A Prince; 74 Dead in Egyptian Soccer Riot

BRUINS: The second half of the Bruins 2011-2012 campaign got underway at the Garden Tuesday night when they played host to the Ottawa Senators Tuesday night.

Despite a 3-game losing streak heading into the All-Star break, the Senators had closed to within a few points of the Bruins in the Northeastern conference standings, raising the stakes for the B's home game against a divisional opponent.

This was also Tim Thomas' first start in net since opting out of a team visit to the White House before the All-Star break- Tukka Rask was between the pipes for their 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals in the last game before the All-Star break.

Former Senator Zdeno Chara looked every bit the Fastest Shot winner from the All Star skills competition when he drilled the puck past goalie Craig Anderson and into the back of the net all the way from the blue line to give Boston the 1-0 lead on a power play goal at the 8:02 mark in the first.

The Senators' Colin Greening would get the equalizer with 1:20 remaining in the first to send both teams into their locker rooms with the game tied 1-1 at the 1st intermission.

The Bruins would have some chances early in the second, but fail to capitalize. As the period went on, the Senators were successfully able to pressure the Bruins and keep the puck on the B's end of the ice. This resulted in the Sens taking a 3-1 lead on goals from Erik Karlsson and Kyle Turris before the Bruins were able to make it a 1-goal game thanks to a Milan Lucic goal in the final minute of the 2nd period.

A little over 2 minutes into the 3rd, Brad Marchand would get the game-tying goal to make it 3-3 on another Boston power play. Then, not to be outdone by Chara's early goal from the blueline, 7 minutes into the 3rd Dennis Seidenberg shot the puck towards the Ottawa net from center ice. While it lacked Chara's velocity, it seemed to have the movement of a Tim Wakefield knuckleball and got by Craig Anderson to make it 4-3 Boston.

Lucic had a glorious opportunity to pad the Boston lead at a little over 10 minutes into the 3rd period, but Anderson was able to get a glove on Lucic's breakaway shot from near point-blank range [perhaps if Lucic had attempted the shot from center ice or the blue line....just sayin' -NANESB!].

Boston hangs on to win their first game afer the All-Star break by a 4-3 final, putting some distance between themselves and 2nd place Ottawa in the process. Tim Thomas had 30 saves on 33 shots faced while Craig Anderson allowed 4 goals out of the 30 shots he faced. There were no power-play opportunities for the Senators, meaning all of their goal Tuesday night were even-strength. The Bruins, however, scored twice on their 4 power play opportunities Tuesday night.

The B's will next play host to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. The game gets underway at 7:00 PM ET and will be televised on the NHL Network/

OTHER BRUINS NEWS: The Montreal Gazette has retracted a column in which writer Jack Todd accused the Bruins goalie of being motivated by racism in his decision to opt out of the White House luncheon for the team.

“What’s worse, you know Thomas would not have done this with the liberal Democrat Bill Clinton in the White House,” Todd wrote. “Truth is, he felt free to dis Barack Obama, because Obama is black.”

[Wow! That's highly original and groundbreaking! Accusing somebody who doesn't like President Obama's policies of raaaaacism- I don't think I've heard of somebody doing that since....whaat time is it? I guess...noon-ish NANESB!]

Perhaps I wasn't paying attention, but last I heard not even Thomas' harshest critics in the USA decided to venture down that particular path of cheap-shottery. Memo to petulant, Vietnam-era draft-dodger Jack Todd- giving President Barack Hussein Obama a pass on his numerous and collossal fuck-ups simply because of his skin color is about as racist as planting a burning cross in somebody's yard [only not as overtly racist- NANESB!].

The Montreal Gazette eventually pulled that one sentence from Todd's column after determining Todd offered zero evidence to back up such an incendiary claim [of course, that never stopped a progressive journalist before. Or perhaps I'm being paranoid; I mean it's not like there's a history of liberal journalists getting together to coordinate how to present progressive politicians and policies in the best possible light while colluding on how best to assail conservatives or anything- NANESB!].

CELTICS: The Boston Celtics are now a .500 team after Tuesday night's road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Although unlike their collapse at the Garden on Sunday where they allowed 12 unanswered points towards the end of the 4th quarter, the C's managed to survive another late rally from the Cavs. In the 4th quarter on Tuesday night, Cleveland managed to trim a 22 point deficit to just 2 points- although Boston would hang on to win by a final of 93-90.

Kevin Garnett and Brandon Bass had 13 points each [with Bass coming off the bench with and getting 6 rebounds as well- NANESB!] while Paul Pierce had 20 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists on the night.

After Tuesday night's game, the C's will travel home to take on the 7-15 Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. Game gets underway at 7:30 PM ET and will be televised on Comcast Sports New England.

RED SOX: The Red Sox have signed free-agent pitchers Vincente Padilla and John Maine to minor league contracts.

Padilla most recently pitched in the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen and had a 4.15 ERA with 5 holds in 2011. Maine's most recent MLB experience was with the 2010 Mets where he went 9-9 with a 4.35 ERA. In 2011 he signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies and went 1-3 with a 7.43 ERA in 11 starts while playing for the Rockie's AAA affiiate in Colorado Springs.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: The Detroit Tigers have signed one of the marquee free agents of the offseason. Former Milwaukee Brewers 1B Prince Fielder has finalized a 9-year $214 million contract with the Tigers and was introduced in a press conference this week.

During the Brewers 2011 campaign, Fielder batted .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBI. A number of teams, including the Marlins, Rangers and Nationals, considered themselves in the running to sign the power-hitting son of 1B/DH Cecil Fielder, who's big league career spanned the mid-1980s to late 1990s and included six seasons in Detroit.

SOCCER: More than 70 people were reported dead in a riot that broke out after a soccer game in Port Said, Egypt.

Fans of the home Al-Masry club swarmed the field after their upset 3-1 win over the top-ranked Egytian team, Al-Ahly. A melee broke out where Al-Masry fans began throwing rocks and sticks at the players and fans of the Al-Alhy club, Many of the dead were said to have been caught up in the ensuing stampeded as Al-Alhy fans made their way towards the exit.

Islamist Parties Make Strong Showing in First Egyptian Balloting of Post-Mubarak Era

Free Elections Egypt by Tom Janssen of Holland

In what could be described as the least-surprising development since the fall of the Mubarak regime in Egypt, candidates affiliated with the formerly outlawed Muslim Brotherhood have fared well in the first round of balloting since 83 year old Hosni Mubarak stepped down after protracted protests and demonstrators clashing with riot police in Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt earlier this year.

The exact margin of victory wasn't made clear because of a higher-than-expected turnout which some estimates put at 62%.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party was projected to have won at least 40% of the vote, according to unofficial results leaked by election judges. That number indicates that the group, whose religious rigor and social programs bolstered it for decades against a repressive police state, is emerging as Egypt's most potent political force.

The unofficial results were from nine of the nation's 27 governorates, including Cairo and Alexandria, the two most populous cities.

The strong showing by both the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice party and the ultra-orthodox salafist Al Nour party are of concern to moderates, Coptic Christians and secularists who want Islam's role in the soon-to-be-revised Egyptian constitution limited.

Members of the secular and pro-democracy Egyptian Bloc had in fact urged the interim ruling military junta to postpone elections because their campaigns weren't as well organized as the Muslim Brotherhood's. Salafist figures such as parliamentary candidate Abdel Monem Shahat have made it clear that they think very little of civil liberties, saying that Democracy is not permitted in Islam.

Egypt's Coptic Christian community- about 10% of the Egyptian population- would have the most to lose under an Islamist government in Cairo. Even before Mubarak stepped down, there was a deadly bombing attack on a Coptic Church in Alexandria to start off the year 2011. Over the past several decades, Copts have been subjected to sparodic attacks by Islamists.

Although outlawed as a political party under Hosni Mubarak's 30 year reign, candidates from the Muslim Brotherhood often ran for office as independents, winning as much as 20% of the seats in parliment as recently as 2005.

CNN Talking Head And Self Proclaimed Obama Foreign Policy Advisor: Founding Fathers, Constitution & American Exceptionalism Overrated

Last month, former Newsweek editor and current CNN talking head Fareed Zakaria had boasted that he had been advising President Obama on foreign policy matters concerning the Middle East.

One could be forgiven if one thought Zakaria's claims were mere bluster or hot air in an attempt to establish some credibility among peers in the media.

However, one look at this interview and I'm wholly convinced.

Note the derision and condescension directed at America's founding in Zakaria's smug monotone. After viewing that brief clip, I'm almost certain that not only is Zakaria advising President Obama on a number of domestic policy issues.

Although I'm just a lowly blogger and Zakaria is a highly-respected intellectual (who served as editor of a magazine that sold for $1), I would like to challenge Zakaria to find me what countries out there we're supposed to be learning from.

The European Union is an even bigger basketcase than the USA as far as finances and sovereign debt is concerned, with more productive countries like Germany and Holland having to bail out pseudo-welfare states like Spain or Greece.

While economic forces to be reckoned with, half the countries in the BRIC (Brazil/Russia/India/China) axis have an inglorious history of citizens being murdered by the millions in the last century- by their own governments, no less. While post-Apartheid South Africa didn't bring the full-fledged race war that so many had feared, high crime and the staggering murder rate has led to a massive 'brain drain' as sought-after professionals both black and white leave for more secure locales.

But like I said, as an intellectual Zakaria probably has an answer all lined up...perhaps even one of the aforementioned countries that he might view as a flawed gem. But I have one question for the naturalized citizen of America- and to be fair, it's the same question I ask of other American who hold similar views as he does: Why stay in America if you want it so badly to be like other countries?

Libyan Evacuation: Ferry Bring Americans to Malta, USAF Flying Egyptian Nationals Home.

While some 200 Americans being evacuated from Libya had to wait for a ferry to Malta last week, President Obama dispatched US Air Force C130s to Tunisia in order to aid in the evacuation of Egyptian workers trapped in Libya since an uprising against the Gahdaffi regime and ensuing crackdown

President Obama announced today that he had approved the use of military planes to transport Egyptian refugees from the Tunisian border back to Egypt.

Defense officials says the operation will be run by Africa Command (Africom) which is based in Stuttgart, Germany. One of the officials says Africom will use between two and four C-130 aircraft based in Germany to carry out the flights between Tunisia and Egypt. C-130’s are smaller aircraft compared to C-17’s so it looks like they could be making a lot of trips.

The flights will operate between Tunisia and Egypt. A Department of Defense official said that USAID would charter additional civilian aircraft to evacuate foreign nationals who are fleeing strife-torn Libya via the Tunisian border. Spain and German are sending aircraft and warships to aid in the evacuation of foreigners (mostly Egyptians) while India and South Korea have dispatched Naval vessels to evacuate their citizens.

You know what? I hope I don't come off like I'm against using US Air Force aircraft and personnel to evacuate foreign nationals from the escalating and increasingly bloody clusterfuck in Libya, because I'm not....

Simply put, It's the right thing to do......

I'm sure there were some logistical concerns as well. But with that said, how come these assets weren't made available to the American citizens who needed them first?

Food for thought.

Egyptain Army Suspends Constitution, Dissolves Parliment; Antiquites Ministry Reports 18 Ancient Artifacts Missing from National Museum

Ed Ou- New York Times Photo

The Egyptian Army dissolved the nation's parliment and suspended the constitution this weekend in a move to dismantle some of the trappings of Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian legacy.

Now while a military junta stepping in and forcing the civilian president to resign while suspending the constitution and dissolving parliament could be instinctively viewed as an ominous development, a number of the protesters applauded the move. The announcement came after protest leaders met with the caretaker government and Egyptian military leaders.

The 18-member Supreme Council of the Armed Forces allayed some concerns by dismissing the legislature, packed with Mubarak loyalists, and sidelining the constitution, used by Mubarak to buttress his rule. Activists said they would closely watch the military to ensure it does not abuse its unchecked power -- something that is clearly starting to make some uneasy.

The council "believes that human freedom, the rule of law, support for the value of equality, pluralistic democracy, social justice, and the uprooting of corruption are the bases for the legitimacy of any system of governance that will lead the country in the upcoming period," the Council said in a statement.

"They have definitely started to offer us what we wanted," said activist Sally Touma, who also wants the release of political prisoners and repeal of an emergency law that grants wide powers to police.

The military council, which has issued a stream of communiques since taking power, said parliamentary and presidential elections will be held, but did not set a timetable. It said it will run the country for six months, or until elections can be held.

It said it will represent Egypt in all internal and external affairs and proclaimed the right to set temporary laws. It was expected to clarify the scope of its legal authority as the complex transition unfolds and the role of the judiciary remains unclear.

It said it was forming a committee to amend the constitution and set rules for a popular referendum to endorse the amendments.

Protesters are demanding that the constitution be amended to impose term limits on the president, open up competition for the presidency, and remove restrictions on creating political parties. Others want an entirely new constitution.

Judge Hisham Bastawisi, a reformist judge, said the military measures "should open the door for free formation of political parties and open the way for any Egyptian to run for presidential elections."

Hossam Bahgat, director of the non-governmental Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said the steps were positive but warned that Egypt was on uncharted legal ground.

"In the absence of a constitution, we have entered a sort of 'twilight zone' in terms of rules, so we are concerned," he said. "We are clearly monitoring the situation and will attempt to influence the transitional phase so as to respect human rights."

Both the lower and upper houses of parliament are being dissolved. The last parliamentary elections in November and December were marked by allegations of fraud by the ruling party, which was accused of virtually shutting out the opposition.

The military council includes the chief of staff and commanders of each branch of the armed forces. It took power after protesters' pleas, and promised reform. The institution, however, was tightly bound to Mubarak's ruling system, and it has substantial economic interests that it will likely seek to preserve.

The caretaker Cabinet, appointed by Mubarak shortly after the pro-democracy protests began on Jan. 25, will remain in place until a new Cabinet is formed -- a step expected to happen after elections.

In a related development, the Supreme Council of the Egyptian military said that they will continue to honor all international and regional treaties.

CAIRO (AFP)- Egypt will remain committed to all its regional and international treaties, its ruling military council said on Saturday, implicitly confirming the nation's peace deal with Israel would remain intact.

"The Arab republic of Egypt will remain committed to all its regional and international treaties," the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces said in a televised address.

The announcement was part of "Communique Number 4," issued a day after veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak handed power to the military.

ELSEWHERE IN EGYPT: An Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities audit has found that looters managed to abscond with at least 18 ancient Egyptian artifacts in the chaos surrounding the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak into retirement.

On Jan. 28, as protesters clashed with police early on in the turmoil and burned down the adjacent headquarters of Mubarak's ruling party, a handful of looters climbed a fire escape to the museum roof and lowered themselves on ropes from a glass-paneled ceiling onto the museum's top floor.

Around 70 objects -- many of them small statues -- were damaged, but until Sunday's announcement, it was not known whether anything was missing.

Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass said the museum's database department determined 18 objects were gone. Investigators searching for those behind the thefts were questioning dozens of people arrested over several days after last month's break-in.

The most important of the missing objects is a limestone statue of the Pharaoh Akhenaten standing and holding an offering table. Akhenaten is the so-called heretic king who tried to introduce monotheism to ancient Egypt.

"It's the most important one from an artistic point of view," said museum director Tarek el-Awady. "The position of the king is unique and it's a beautiful piece of art." During Akhenaten's so-called Amarna period, named after his capital, artists experimented with new styles.

Also gone is a gilded wooden statue of the 18th Dynasty King Tutankhamun, Akhenaten's son, being carried by a goddess. Pieces are also missing from another statue of the boy king wielding a fishing harpoon from a boat.

"We have the boat and the legs of the king, but we are missing other parts of the body," el-Awady said. "We are looking everywhere for them -- around the museum, outside, on the roof, from where the thieves got into the museum."

He said none of the missing objects was from the gated room containing the gold funerary mask of Tutankhamun and other stunning items from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings -- the museum's chief attractions. The looters did not break into the room, he said.

The other missing items are a statue of Nefertiti making offerings, a sandstone head of a princess and a stone statuette of a scribe from Amarna, a heart scarab and 11 wooden funerary statuettes of the nobleman Yuya.

Egyptian soldiers had arrested some 50 individuals attempting to break into the museum earlier this month.

Mubarak Steps Down as President of Egypt

I have to say that if you don't like the Obama Administration's handling of this, then just wait five minutes- They're sure to change their position on something.

After a number of false-starts this week, the octeginarian president of Egypt has called it quits- handing over power to the Egyptian Army.

CAIRO – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down and handed control of the country to the military, Vice President Omar Suleiman said Friday in an address on state television.

The announcement touched off a wave of jubilation throughout Cairo's Tehrir Square, where tens of thousands of anti-government protesters had gathered demanding Mubarak's ouster hours after he failed to announce his resignation in an address on Thursday.

"In these difficult circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave the position of the presidency," Suleiman said. He has commissioned the armed forces council to direct the issues of the state."

Hours later, President Obama said "Egypt will never be the same."

No word on whether or not those shirtless photos Mubarak took of himself that he sent to this chick he met on Craigslist contributed to his decision to step down.

Naturally this begs the question: 'what next?' Even before Mubarak stepped down, there were those in the Obama Administration who sought to soft sell the Muslim Brotherhood as a 'largely secular organization'.

In a way, former IAEA head Mohammed El Baradei getting any position of power would be worse than the Muslim Brotherhood, since he would be a figurehead Western dupes could point to and say 'Of course he's a moderate! Just look at that Nobel prize he won!' as the Muslim Brotherhood begins to implement shari'a law, prepares for war with Israel and continues the persecution of Coptic Christians with the approval of the state.

On a personal note, I seem to have gotten an increase in traffic from Egypt over the last week or so- despite my minimalist approach to the fluid and fast-breaking series of events there. To those of you in Egypt who took the time to visit my humble blog with the 'internet kill switch' hanging over you like an electronic sword of Damocles, I thank you.

And, you know, if you're a Egyptian model, actress or bellydancer who might need asylum in the USA, then by all means you can get a hold of me via this blog.

However, if you're reading this, I would also caution you against replacing Mubarak with something even worse- look no further than Iran and see how they dealt with the protestors over there not even two years ago; most of whom were asking for the same things you were. Of course, I'd also be mistaken in assuming that at least some of you weren't aware of that- I guess it would be incumbent upon you to convice other Egyptians as well.