The Flames of Rebellion

50,000 gather at Tahrir Square

Protesters appear in their highest numbers since the start of the rebellion in only one day after President Mubarak called police off the streets. Mubarak has now ordered police to take to the streets again on the 7th day of protests for fears of looting and 'mob violence'.

Today is set to be another strong day of rebellion after demonstrators called for a massive protest after their Monday prayers to honor those fallen over the last week of civil unrest. In an attempt to calm those taking to the streets Egyptian news networks have been regularly airing a message sent from the president to the Egyptian Prime Minister in which he states the importance of making political reform through dialogue and suggested new economic policies to bring down the massive unemployment rates, which is thought to be the initial issue that sparked the rebellion.

Yesterday marked record high numbers of civilian protest within Egypt with over 50,000 protesters gathering in Tahrir Square alone. In response to this, the Egyptian government has ordered regular fly-overs by the Egyptian air force as a show of force on top of the tanks and military already present, however this show of force is having no apparent effect on the demonstrations moral.

Barack Obama

Outside of Egypt more and more problems are arising because of the week long protests, New Zealand has joined the U.S, China, Japan, Britain and France in advising citizens to avoid all non-essential travel both to and through Egypt; this will only add to Egypt's economic problems as tourism accounts for up to 6% of the country's GDP. Japanese car makers Nissan have also closed down their Egyptian  plant fearing for the safety of their non-Egyptian employee's, which is sure to add the anxiety caused by unemployment.

The White House has finally taken a stance against the protests after days of trying to remain unbiased. US President Barack Obama was reported making various calls to Arab higher-ups such as King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and other world leaders such as British Prime Minister David Cameron. Another of Egypt's close allies, China, have released a statement saying  "Egypt is a friend of China's, and we hope social stability and order will return to Egypt as soon as possible"

- Are things set to get worse?
- Is there anyway to resolve this situation without the removal of President Mubarak?
- Who can step up to lead the country if the protesters get their way as the rebellion still has no official leader?

The Morning After

Tutankhamun

In response to the massive protest on Friday the Egyptian government have set a widespread curfew between the hours 1600 to 0800, anybody caught outside their homes during these times will 'be in danger'. These warnings however were ignored as protesters grouped in their thousands in major cities all across the Arab nation.

In accordance with their warnings the Egyptian army were given permission for the use of live ammunition against a crowd of rebellious civilians in the city of Alexandria resulting in the announcement of 45 deaths with fears of tens more unconfirmed. The death total since the protest began is now at 52 with over 2,000 injured officials and civilians.

In an attempt to protect national treasures the Egyptian government ordered tanks to guard the Museum of Egypt, which holds many priceless articles such as the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, tanks were also found in large numbers surrounding the country's famous pyramids. In protecting these heirlooms President Mubarak left many locations with little protection, the rioters then used this break in defence to set fire the main government building in Cairo, which had fortunately been evacuated earlier that day.

The protest has now reached all corners of Egypt as the riots spread to Abu Za'abal prison yesterday leaving over one hundred inmates in charge of one sector. One of these rioters was political prisoner Mohamed Mahmud  who released a statement to Egyptian press saying;  "Security forces are trying to storm in, but we can see that the soldiers are reluctant to fire at us, as if they want to side with the rebelling people of Egypt"

Government Building (Click to Enlarge)

Protesters are now said to be calming down, partly due to the reactivation of phone service across Egypt, however Internet access in many strategic locations has remained down for fear of 'outside sources' instigating further riots.



- Is this the end of the riots or is the worst still to come?

Update: Looters and protesters have fought through military in Cairo forcing their way into the National Museum, other sites of reported looting include the local hostpitals and a specialist child cancer medical building. Gunshots becoming more and more regular from both civilians as military, fears of many more deaths.

Watch live stream here: http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

The Right to Fight



Rioters meet police resistance

Egyptian officials and security forces have been place under the highest possible alert ahead of todays expected anti-government rally. The government has released an official statement saying that they were happy to allow for open dialog during the rally but warned of 'decisive measures' in the wake of violence.



The rallies have been ongoing for the last few days and are all based around the removal of the President Mubarak, who has ruled over the Arabic country since 1981. The main organisers of the rally are the 'Muslim Brotherhood' who are Egypt's oldest and largest Islamist organisation.

 

President Mubarak

 The Muslim Brotherhood have been officially banned from political activity, and in an attempt to limit their influence the government had instigated large disruptions to all internet and phone service within the country.  The rallies are planned to take place after Friday prayers, but the Brotherhood insisted that the rally was not about religion and was open to all who wished to join.

The US, who are a key ally in regards to Egypt, have refused to make any official comment regarding the rallies; however, when asked President Obama did say that the events were based around 'pent-up frustrations'



Even with the Egyptian government blocking media disturbing citizen captured video footage showing police tactics has been leaked online.

WARNING; This video contains  images in which you may not be comfortable seeing.



http://video.ap.org/?f=None&pid=oT7qj_wiVHTbYae3scwok4_irYjJ2R8Z

- What are your thoughts on the matter?

No Longer Anonymous

Anonymous

With Julian Assange’s trial set for February the 7th authorities have began to act upon potential Wikileaks ‘hacktivists’. As of this morning the police have arrested 5 people who they believe are behind a string of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on various websites on behalf of online group ‘Anonymous’. It is hoped that these arrests will discourage people from joining anonymous.

The accused consist of 3 teenagers and 2 men in their early twenties from London, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, Surrey and the West Midlands. All men have been charged in accordance with the ‘Computer Misuse Act’ and as such will have to remain in custody at their local police stations until approved safe for release.

Anonymous have always maintained that they are not formed of hackers, but instead of average internet using citizens who feel they have to do what the can to act out against perceived injustice. Police may also be making these arrest in regards to the alleged support Anonymous gave in regards to the violent Egyptian anti-government protests earlier this week.

- What are your thoughts on this?
- Will these arrests cause discourage members of Anonymous?

Equal or Not?

Andy Gray

As you may have heard Sky Sports pundit Andy Gray has been fired following comments aired on Saturday’s Liverpool/Wolves game. During this game Gray made a comment regarding a female official’s ability to judge the game. Gray was then offiically dismissed after the release of off-air studio footage showing Gray and colleague Richard Keys directing inappropriate behavior towards a female colleague.

The interesting aspect of this story is that all comments that lead to Gray’s dismissal were made off-air and were published by a Sky source with the intend of damaging his reputation. A spokesmen for Sky stated that Gray had been dismissed for ‘unacceptable and offensive behavior’ but they were still looking into the source of the leaks.

Factions opposing the fairness of the dismissal believe that Gray had no malicious intend and the comments were simply light-hearted banter between colleagues. Many people have also stated that this does not bide by equal rights as panelist on popular ITV show ‘Loose Women’ often make unnecessary sexist remarks with no repercussions.

Lorraine Deschamps, an ambassador for the FA feels as though more women should be involved in modern football and that “…their [Andy Gray & Richard Keys] anachronistic views have only served to highlight the change”.






Sian Massey, Female Official



Opposing this comment was Coleen Nolan of the Daily Mail who in her column stated that she strongly felt as though Gray should not have been sacked as it was clearly a joke and was never meant to be heard.

- What are your opinions on the matter?
- Is the decision to sack Gray in accordance with equal rights?
- Has it become publicly acceptable for women to have an open bigotry towards men?

Too hot for TV?

Skins US cast

The US version of British drama 'Skins' has encountered massive opposition stateside following the airing of it's debut episode. The Parent Television Council (PTC) has released a statement opposing the teen drama shown on MTV.

The PTC say they disapprove of the show as it portrays sexual activity and drug abuse using 16-17 year old characters. The problem came about as MTV's production of the drama is nearly identical to that of the original show in Britain, however unlike Britain the legal age of sexual consent in the US is 18.

Original Skins

Officials from the PTC have referred to the show as "...the most dangerous television show for children we have ever seen". Following this statement the PTC put pressure on the show's sponsor, Taco Bell, leading to the fast food giant dropping their sponsorship.


Even without a sponsor the future of this program is still bright as the debut reached an audience of 3.3 million American viewers, this is expected to increase now that 'Skins US' is in the media spotlight. MTV executives have told the show's producers to tone down or cut the explicit content, which could cause problems as the show is already diluted down from the original British content.

Are the PTC correct about the US version being 'child pornography'?
Should the producers be expected to change content because it upsets a few people?
Will the show maintain it's viewers with openly diluted content? 

Right or Priviledge?

Many government ministers have been taken back a step after having their plans to give convicts serving less that four years their right to vote have been dismissed by the European Court of Human Rights.

Ministers now wish to re-appeal but with convicts serving only a year or less, even though they feel these plans may also be scrapped as the European court placed a barring on a the convicts right to vote back in 2004 .

These new plans came about after John Hirst, convicted of manslaughter, won an appeal stating he has had he human rights violated by not being able to vote, stating “..everybody is entitled to the right to vote, no prisoner should be barred.”

Prime Minister David Cameron said the thought of having the ban lifted made him feel ‘ill’. Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan said “The government should be standing up for the victims of crime but instead they are slashing police numbers and giving dangerous convicted prisoners the vote”

- Should prisoners be allowed to vote?
- Do convicts deserve to have their human rights protected?

Feeling Safer?

The results from the British Crime Survey (BCS) have been released today showing a 30-year low crime. However, although crime as whole has fallen drastically sexual offenses have risen by 7% to the highest it has been in years.

Chief Constable Keith Brown is happy with the result but say more must be done to reduce sexual offenders. When talking to the BBC Brown said:

"We remain determined to bring to justice people who commit sexual offenses and we are making significant progress in this critical area, particularly around giving victims confidence to come forward and report these crimes and we need them to do so"

The BCS has a secondary section which retrieves information regarding public opinion, this section found that most people felt safer in general mostly due to feeling that the police and local councils were taking action to prevent anti-social behavior.

Home secretary Theresa May is now looking to publish these reports nationally in an attempt to improve public confidence.

All Crime  -7%  
Criminal Damage  -19%
Vehicle Offenses  -14%
Public Violence  -4%
Robberies  -5%
Homicide  -4%
     
Sexual Offenses  +7%
Burglaries  +9%
Household Theft  +16%

- Do you feel safer?
- Is crime being reduced in the right places?

Dinner Table Bigotry

A co-chairman of the Tory party spoke out today in a bid to reduce bigotry and racial stereotyping on the streets of Britain. Baroness Warsi who has fronted this campaign since 2009 says that Muslim prejudice has now become socially acceptable in the UK and fears that this may force people into extremism.

Warsi has been well known in the media with regards to her stance on bigotry ever since appearing on the controversial 'Question Time' opposing Nick Griffin back in 2009. Since then Warsi has given nationwide speeches, written articles and has even spoken with Pope Benedict XVI during his visit in a bid to improve Muslim relations within Europe.

Ms. Warsi blames the way in which the faith is described in the media and says promoting Islamophobia is a effective but immoral means of selling newspapers, because of this she says she is stuck in an 'ongoing battle with bigotry'.

Many religious leaders believe the main reason behind this socially accepted bigotry is the public holding the entire Muslim religion responsible for the very few individuals who commit terror offenses in the name of Islam. Warsi feels this can be stopped by having Muslim community leaders force social rejection for those who commit these acts so they cannot be used by the media to represent the entire Muslim community.
  
- Do you know somebody who has suffered at the hand of a bigot, or somebody who is openly anti-Islam?
- Can papers be sold simply by promoting Islamophobia?
- What more can be done to lower the social acceptance of bigotry and who should be held responsible?

The Cost of Separation

The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) which took over from the Child Support Agency (CSA) in 2008 have proposed a reform in the way in which settlements for child support are created.

Under the current system a lone parent can file for a child maintenance payment settlement off the other parent free of charge if a mutual agreement can not be made. However, the CMEC now wish to start charging up to £100 for this service.

The idea beyond the proposal is to provide more incentive to come to a mutual agreement; a mutual agreement is when the parents of a child negotiate an acceptable payment scheme which best suits them. The CMEC says under the current system parents are not even attempting to form mutual agreements in lieu of forced settlements.

The problem with forced settlement is the cost to the government and the time it takes to enforce said agreement, currently the CMEC spends £460m a year enforces settlements in over 850,00 cases.
The CMEC state that although money is a factor, the welfare of a child as and will always be the key issue for them. The CMEC state that the changes will improve child welfare as, forced settlements often have to be made in accordance with visitation restrictions, as the more time away from the child means the higher the cost of support. The CMEC have recorded many cases when a child has been forced to spend less time with one parent so that the other parent can claim a more exorbitant fee.

These changes will not always be enforced, state the CMEC, in cases of domestic violence for example. Advice in calculating fair payments within mutual agreements will still be offered free, as well as the Child Maintenance Options (CMO) service which offer free support to parents who wish to review their existing child maintenance settlements.

These proposals have received criticism in the form of the chief executive of Barnados, Martin Narey who said “The government need to tell us what will happen to those parents who are unable to reach an amicable settlement and equally unable to pay for a statutory service”. Mr. Narey did say that he does believe the CMEC’s intentions are based around child welfare and not around saving money.

- What are you opinions on this matter?
- Should parents have the right to free legal council, even if they do not wish to try a mutual agreement?
- Is the proposal money or welfare based?