"Israel's Staunchest Allies" At work In Homeland Security.

@Nervana_1 @salamamoussa Mr ElIbiary member of homeland security team in Washington, advice to Hamas pic.twitter.com/I5q1g57gCP

— res ipsa loquitur (@Hragy) July 22, 2014

Egypt’s ElBaradei says constitution that eliminates rights cannot succeed.

Egypt’s ElBaradei says constitution that eliminates rights cannot succeed.(BM).By Joseph Mayton.CAIRO: Leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei has once again lashed out at the government, this time on a controversial draft constitution that is to go to a public referendum on December 15.
The Nobel Laureate and member of the National Salvation Front (NSF) on Sunday morning that a constitution that removes the rights and freedoms of Egyptians will fall.
“We broke the fear barrier: a constitution that eliminates our rights and freedoms is a constitution we will topple today before tomorrow … our strength is in our determination,” the head of the Constitution Party posted on Twitter.
A referendum on a draft constitution written by an Islamist-dominated assembly will take place on Saturday, despite calls from opposition forces to postpone it.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi announced shortly after midnight that the controversial presidential decree that gave him power above judicial review had been revoked.
However, the new decree put in its place will ensure that the constitutional referendum on an equally controversial draft constitution will go forward as scheduled on December 15.
Activists have already stated that this is giving very little. However, others say it is a sign that Morsi is willing to compromise.
But in many ways, the revoking of the decree also means that there will be little time for the country’s top court to rule on the legality of the constituent assembly tasked with drafting the constitution.
A sit-in still remains in front of the top court by Muslim Brotherhood supporters.
It remains to be seen how this will affect the current political impasse currently facing Egypt.
The constitution is now the top issue of contention in Egypt and numerous groups, especially women’s rights organizations have condemned the document, saying it is an attack on women and their rights.
The Egyptian Association for the Assistance of Juveniles and Human Rights added that Article 70 also does not prohibit child trafficking and sexual exploitation.
The NGO decried the assembly’s failure to specify the age of children in the charter, particularly when Egypt was one of the first signatories of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which clearly declares anyone below the age of 18 as a minor.
The minimum age for marriage set by the Personal Status Code in 2008 was 18, which is not the case under the new constitution.
According to Amnesty International, Egypt’s draft constitution does not shield minors from early marriage and permits child labor.
Ultra-conservative Salafists – Islamic puritans – have been calling for the marriage age to be reduced, and under the new constitution, it could very well see the gross exploitation of the country’s young girls.
That is just one of the many clauses in the constitution, or not in the document, that activists have repeatedly told Bikyamasr.com that they are worried will push the country on a slippery slope toward Islamist rule.Hmmmm........Morsi Obama's newest BFF.Read the full story here.

Egypt Live Updates: Egyptian presidency sends messages of 'compromise' as thousands surround palace.

Egypt Live Updates: Egyptian presidency sends messages of 'compromise' as thousands surround palace.(AO).

20:30 Leader of the opposition National Salvation Front Mohamed ElBaradei calls on President Morsi to withdraw the constitutional declaration “tonight” and to postpone the referendum until national consensus is achieved.
“I ask President Morsi in the name of the Egyptian conscience to heed these two demands tonight. I am betting on president Morsi’s patriotism,” ElBaradei said in a live speech on private satellite channel ONTV.
21:12 Member of the National Salvation Front and ex-MP Amr Hamzawy says in a phone interview with private satellite channel CBC that members of the front will meet to discuss their stance after the announcement made by Mahmoud Mekki about Morsi’s readiness to hold off the referendum, describing the decision as a “positive step.”
21:10 Ahram Online’s Bel Trew describes the scene at the presidential palace right after President Morsi’s announced he is conditionally willing to postpone the referendum on the draft constitution.
“Protesters are celebrating the postponement of the referendum on the constitution,” she said.
“Meanwhile, some of them are discussing fortifying the area surrounding the presidential palace with barriers, out of fear that the Muslim Brotherhood’s rally in Naser City’s Raba El-Adawiya Mosque [three miles away from the presidential palace] will head towards them soon.”
21:08 Egypt's vice-president Mahmoud Mekki read a presidential statement on Friday evening stating that President Mohamed Morsi is ready to postpone the constitution referendum.
However, "the political forces who demand the delay of the referendum must provide guarantees that there will not be appeals [against the delay] in courts," the statement said.
Last year's constitutional declaration, which was issued by then-ruling military council in March 2011 after a similar referendum, stipulates that a referendum on draft constitution must be held within 15 days of the date at which the president receives the draft from a constituent assembly.
The controversial draft constitution was handed to president Morsi by the outgoing constituent assembly on 1 December and the president set a referendum on the draft for 15 December.
20:42 Rights lawyer Ragia Omran confirms on Twitter that the 139 protesters captured on Wednesday during clashes at the presidential palace have been ordered to be released.
20:40 Ismail Fathy, head of Mahalla's city council, denies that protesters have attempted to create a "revolutionary council" and rule the industrial city, located in western Delta governorate of Gharbiya.
"The demonstrations, which attracted around 3,000 people, were peaceful. Nothing of this sort happened," he said in a phone interview with private satellite TV channel CBC.
20:30 Head of the Supreme Electoral Commission Samir Abu El-Maati officially confirms that the expatriate voting on the constitution referendum has been postponed from Saturday to Wednesday 12 December, according to Al-Ahram Arabic website.
19:55 In a fresh swipe at opponents, the Muslim Brotherhood said they would not let opposition “detail the path to democracy.”
“The Egyptian people will defend their democratic choice and will not let opposition to derail path to full democracy through intimidation and violence,” the group said on its English Twitter feed.
“If opposition is seeking change, the only way to do it through ballot box and earning people's trust in upcoming elections. So far they have failed miserably.”More updates here.

Egypt’s opposition formally refuses dialogue with Mursi, several marches planned for today.

Egypt’s opposition formally refuses dialogue with Mursi, several marches planned for today.(AA).Egypt’s opposition coalition rejected on Friday a dialogue proposed by President Mohammed Mursi to defuse bloody protests over sweeping powers he assumed to speed through a new constitution.
The National Salvation Front said it had decided “to refuse to take part in a dialogue proposed by the president for tomorrow, Saturday.”
Opponents of President Mursi vowed to take on the capital’s streets to protest against the leader expanding his power, Al Arabiya correspondent reported Friday.
The coordination committee, which is grouping anti-Mursi parties and movements, is planning 17 marches to head to the presidential palace after Friday prayers. The committee dubbed the Friday protests as the “final ultimatum” if Mursi doesn’t back off from his constitutional declaration.
The Constitution Party, Egyptian Popular Current, the Revolutionary Socialist Movement, April 6 Movement, the Egyptian Liberal Party and the Egyptian Social Democratic Party said they are collaborating to go on in a one-million-man march, they described as “red card” to Mursi.
Early Friday, some demonstrators were already grouping in Tahrir Square to get ready for the Friday protest.
Mursi has defied calls to curb his sweeping powers or suspend proposed changes to the constitution, infuriating thousands of protesters who have clashed bloodily with his supporters in recent days.
In an address broadcast live on Thursday, Morsi vowed to push on with a December 15 referendum on the controversial new constitution, saying “afterwards, there should be no obstacle and everyone must follow its will.”
As he was wrapping up his speech, protesters stormed the Cairo villa housing the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood which backed him for the presidency.
“Two hundred thugs went to the headquarters. Security tried to prevent them, but some got through the back door, ransacked it and set it on fire,” AFP reported Brotherhood spokesman Mahmud Ghozlan as saying.
Police outside the three-storey building said it was a limited blaze and that riot officers had pushed demonstrators back.
An AFP correspondent at the scene said there were fierce clashes between hundreds of stick-wielding protesters and police, who fired tear gas.
Seven people died in clashes between Mursi’s Islamist supporters and his mainly secular opponents on Wednesday in Egypt’s worst political crisis since Mursi took office in June. Another 644 people were injured, medical officials said.
The army on Thursday ordered the square in front of the presidential palace cleared of protesters from sides, deploying tanks and setting up barbed wire.
In his speech, Mursi said more than 80 people had been arrested.

Egyptian anti-President Mohamed Morsi protesters are launching what they say is the final attempt to find a way through the current impasse. The protesters will be marching across the capital, Cairo, on Friday in continued action against the president, who they argue is unwilling to compromise and is taking dictatorial stances over the country’s future.
Here is a list of the marches (more information and contact information can be found on Facebook):
1. A march from al-Nour Mosque in Abbassiya just after Friday prayers
2. A march from Anwar Mosque after Friday prayers
3. March from Nasr City (Rabaa Adawiyyah Mosque) after Friday prayers
4. March from Jamaluddin Afghan Mosque Square (Heliopolis) after Friday prayers
5. March from Abu Bakr mosque (Sheraton) after Friday prayers
Second action: Marches in Giza to the Federal Palace
1. March from Mustafa Mahmoud Dokki Metro Station to Saray Station and then to the Federal Palace
2. Salam Mosque pyramid march to the Giza metro station and then to Saray Station and then to the Federal Palace.Read the full story here.

Opposition Marches move towards Egypt's presidential palace despite curfew.

Opposition Marches move towards Egypt's presidential palace despite curfew.(AO).Political forces opposed to President Mohamed Morsi on Thursday evening launched three marches on the presidential palace in Cairo, the scene of recent clashes between the president's supporters and opponents. The president's supporters dispersed a sit-in held by opposition protesters after hundreds of thousands demonstrated against Morsi on Tuesday due to his 22 November constitutional declaration and a controversial draft constitution, which will be put before a popular referendum on 15 December. 
The rallies include members of the Dostour Party, the revolutionary Maspero Youth Union and the Popular Alliance Party. They are planning to head towards the presidential palace in three marches. One has set out from Cairo's Abbasiya cathedral, a second from Al-Nour Mosque in Abbasiya, and a third from Raba Al-Adawia Mosque located in the capital's Nasr City district.
An Ahram Online reporter in the march that set off from Al-Nour Mosque says there is an air of "sadness and anger" as protesters chant against the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi. "Down with the rule of the Supreme Guide," "Down with Morsi" and other chants rang out as thousands of protesters walked towards Al-Khalifa Al-Maamoun, which intersects Marghany Street overlooking the palace. As the groups marched, opposition protesters were already at the palace, where adjacent streets have been barricaded and staffed with Presidential Guard officers and soldiers. The guard ordered protesters to leave the area by 3pm Cairo local time and imposed a curfew on the area until further notice. Wednesday's clashes saw at least six people killed and 600 injured. The Brotherhood – from which Morsi hails – said that five of its members had been killed in the clashes. For over two weeks, protesters have been calling for the annulment of the president's recent constitutional declaration and the draft constitution.Read the full story here.

Egypt president Morsi to address nation shortly.Security forces evacuate Morsi family.

Egypt president Morsi to address nation shortly.(AO)Egypt President Mohamed Morsi is expected to address the nation on TV shortly. Ahram Online will provide a live coverage of his speech.Here.


Update: Security forces evacuate Morsi family.

Egyptian newspaper Al-Youm Al-Sabee has reported violent clashes between Egyptian security forces and protesters not far from the Morsi family home in the city of Zagazig, the capital of the Al Sharqia Governorate in northern Egypt. According to the reports, the Presidential Guard has begun evacuating the Morsi family from their residence.
Though it is still unclear which family members are being evacuated, Zagazig is Morsi's hometown and it was previously reported that his wife had remained in the city so as to allow their son to finish his studies. (Roi Kais)

ElBaradei Rises to Lead Egypt Against Islamists.

ElBaradei Rises to Lead Egypt Against Islamists.(INN).Former diplomat, politician and presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei has risen again, this time to lead Egypt's opposition movement.
ElBaradei has become the coordinator of the National Salvation Front, a newly unified secular movement determined to oppose Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
The group threatens nationwide protests until Morsi responds to calls for national dialogue over a controversial draft Constitution and retracts a recent decree granting himself sweeping new powers.
At a news conference Wednesday announcing his new position, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urged the president to open his eyes.
Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood backers, said ElBaradei, should “see what is happening in the Egyptian street, the division, the polarization. This is something that leads us to violence and worse,” he said, according to the Egypt Independent.
Since Morsi issued the new decree nearly two weeks ago, the streets of Cairo have seen protests nightly. The move prompted many to charge Morsi with attempting to become “the new Pharaoh.”
With overwhelming support from a parliament controlled by his party and those even more radically Islamist, his edict placed the authority of his office above that of the judiciary.
He also rushed to pass a newly-completed draft Constitution written by a National Assembly comprised of Islamist members. The process was boycotted by Christians, secularists and liberal lawmakers. The president immediately set December 15 for a national referendum on passage of the new Constitution.
"The ball is in his court,” ElBaradei acknowledged, but warned, “Bullying will not accomplish anything in this country. “
Just as nearly two years ago the revolution had destroyed the decades-old regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, Elbaradei reminded Morsi that it could easily happen again.
"Egyptians will protest in every place, and use all legitimate measures, and won't back down from this battle we began for freedom,” he said, describing Morsi's administration as “a repressive regime.”
Reminding the Egyptian public of the goals for which they had fought in 2011, ElBaradei noted, “The demands of the revolution were for social justice, freedom and dignity. Our battle continues, and will be peaceful. Our strength is in our unity and numbers, and we will be victorious because we are in the right.
"I call on Morsi to appear on TV to address the nation to announce that he is open to national dialogue,” ElBaradei.
Hmmmmm.....Sounds like Churchill: 
"we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender."Read the full story here.

Muslim Brotherhood newspaper: ElBaradei, Sabbahi accused of inciting regime overthrow, 'Zionist plot'.

Muslim Brotherhood newspaper: ElBaradei, Sabbahi accused of inciting regime overthrow, 'Zionist plot'.(Ahram).

The Freedom and Justice Party news website says that key opposition figures will be investigated by state security for inciting to overthrow the regime and for espionage, based on a complaint against them. 

According to the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party news website, recently appointed prosecutor-general Talaat Abdullah has transferred a complaint against opposition leaders Hamdeen Sabbahi and Mohamed ElBaradei, as well as Mubarak-era minister and former presidential candidate Amr Moussa, Wafd Party head Al-Sayyed Al-Badawi, and Judges Club chair Ahmed El-Zend, to the Supreme State Security prosecution. The complaint was reported by lawyer Hamed Sadek, accusing all five of inciting the overthrow of the regime, and specified that Moussa met with Israel's former foreign minister Tzipi Livni and agreed to "confuse" Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi – in coordination with the others accused – and provoke internal strife.
Moussa's withdrawal from the Constituent Assembly, according to the FJP report, was the beginning of the plan. Protesters surrounded the presidential palace in Heliopolis on Tuesday to protest the recent constitutional declaration issued by Morsi, and the recently completed draft constitution. The draft constitution, which will be subject to a national referendum on 15 December, has been rejected by many political groups and human rights organisations who argue that it falls short of being representative of Egyptians. The Constituent Assembly, which was tasked with drawing up the draft, was largely dominated by Islamist figures. ElBaradei and Sabbahi are at the forefront of a current sit-in in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, in protest at the draft constitution. Hmmmm.....Yup that will work , point to 'the Jews' are behind it.Read the full story here.More about the 'Zionist plot' here.