Internet In Egypt Shut Down...

Rabbi Dali Rick · Post by **Rabbi Dali Rick** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:39 am

The Internet in the whole Country of Egypt has been shut down until further notice. I know it sounds impossible but it has been done, they woke up yesterday in digital darkness. This "switch" to the Internet is exactly what they are clambering for here in the US...

the rebbi

daratheresa · Post by **daratheresa** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 12:12 pm

i've been following this one pretty closely, i know people there. day four of five of rioting, depending on how you count. pretty much every major city in egypt. police and military personnel are removing their uniforms and joining the protests... exiting, history making stuff.

the main internet is down, but there are some networks that come back up for a few minutes here and there. a woman in one of my discussion groups posted out of egypt this morning. they're also shutting down with some success mobile phone networks, landline phones, and are threatening to start shutting off utilities. any tv network/channel still up is the government ordering people to cease protesting.

they might not (might) have an official button like that in the US. but even if they did i'm going to bet that within days rogue networks would pop up all over, someone would hijack a satellite or two or something, and we'd have it back up before anyone could say boo...

*edit - i spel gud

Post by **Eric** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 12:48 pm

Al Jazeera English has live coverage.

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

Army is in large part peaceful... so far.

daratheresa · Post by **daratheresa** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 12:55 pm

yeah, for now...

i was just passed this link, too. i'll share, i think it's relevant here. i'm not asking anyone to sign some petition, i hate that shit. but it illustrates the point of the thread, i think. or at least is in the same direction?

http://act2.freepress.net/sign/dpi?foo=3

http://gizmodo.com/5746121/

*edited to add more linkage

Rabbi Dali Rick · Post by **Rabbi Dali Rick** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:08 pm

Here is one my friends are following;

http://www.renesys.com/blog/2011/01/egy ... rnet.shtml

the rebbi

daratheresa · Post by **daratheresa** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:22 pm

well, last week we had tunisia rioting, which was pretty successful and sent their leaders packing. this week we have the big ones in egypt, but also protests in yemen, gaza (over the palestine papers leak), and i just heard there are riots in jordan, too, now...

before they had iran, where they killed the internet during the protests.

wonder if they can take the internet down for the entire mideast?

MCPajammaPants · Post by **MCPajammaPants** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:29 pm

Egypt's awesome revolutionary battle plan!

http://www.theatlantic.com/internationa ... ted/70388/

Post by **Elderberry** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:12 pm

Eric wrote:Al Jazeera English has live coverage.

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

Army is in large part peaceful... so far.

Al Jazeera has pretty much been given credit for the revolution protest.

JK

Trishntek · Post by **Trishntek** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 4:06 pm

Apparently, the riot police seem to be the bad guys while the army is seen as good guys by the protesters. Could there be a coup d'etat in the works?

Post by **Elderberry** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:45 pm

Trishntek wrote:Apparently, the riot police seem to be the bad guys while the army is seen as good guys by the protesters. Could there be a coup d'etat in the works?

I'd say that would be a good thing, unless the takeover is by some radical Muslim faction. At least we know what our money is buying with Mubarik.

JK

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 10:07 pm

jkisha wrote:
Trishntek wrote:Apparently, the riot police seem to be the bad guys while the army is seen as good guys by the protesters. Could there be a coup d'etat in the works?
I'd say that would be a good thing, unless the takeover is by some radical Muslim faction. At least we know what our money is buying with Mubarik.

JK

you know who is really behind it........

cowboyangel · Post by **cowboyangel** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 10:35 pm

daratheresa wrote:i've been following this one pretty closely, i know people there. day four of five of rioting, depending on how you count. pretty much every major city in egypt. police and military personnel are removing their uniforms and joining the protests... exiting, history making stuff.

the main internet is down, but there are some networks that come back up for a few minutes here and there. a woman in one of my discussion groups posted out of egypt this morning. they're also shutting down with some success mobile phone networks, landline phones, and are threatening to start shutting off utilities. any tv network/channel still up is the government ordering people to cease protesting.

they might not (might) have an official button like that in the US. but even if they did i'm going to bet that within days rogue networks would pop up all over, someone would hijack a satellite or two or something, and we'd have it back up before anyone could say boo...

*edit - i spel gud

tell your friends that there's b-gan and ham radio modems for internet over ham frequencies.

daratheresa · Post by **daratheresa** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 5:12 am

cowboyangel wrote:tell your friends that there's b-gan and ham radio modems for internet over ham frequencies.

cool, thanks.

this is my egypt article for today, from the IEET even. again about the whole taking down of the internet.
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/notaro20110228

and jkisha, i don't think the people there would stand for another radical muslim group in power. large parts of the middle east are rioting right now, they want more freedom and equal rights, not less. some of the things they are demanding in egypt are things like a higher minimum wage, as the current minimum wage is something like the equivalent of $200/month american. and that their "elected" official finally give it up and his son not take over. not unreasonable, really.

Post by **Elderberry** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 8:57 am

daratheresa wrote:
cowboyangel wrote:tell your friends that there's b-gan and ham radio modems for internet over ham frequencies.
cool, thanks.

this is my egypt article for today, from the IEET even. again about the whole taking down of the internet.
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/notaro20110228

and jkisha, i don't think the people there would stand for another radical muslim group in power. large parts of the middle east are rioting right now, they want more freedom and equal rights, not less.

Let's hope you are right. Actually, since doing some more reading, it appears that the Muslim Brotherhood (the main group backing this) is actually not a violent group. So maybe things will work out for the better. (which will really piss off John Bolton!)

JK

Post by **Elderberry** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 10:02 am

From the Saudi King

"Egypt is a country of Arabism and Islam," the king said. "No Arab and Muslim human being can bear that some infiltrators, in the name of freedom of expression, have infiltrated into the brotherly people of Egypt, to destabilize its security and stability and they have been exploited to spew out their hatred in destruction, intimidation, burning, looting and inciting a malicious sedition."

JK

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 10:23 am

Once they get true democratic representation, what will they vote for? Sharia? Stay tuned.

Rabbi Dali Rick · Post by **Rabbi Dali Rick** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 10:54 am

Great, now that we've destabilized their country, we can bring in the McDonalds and KFCs.

In the immortal words of the natives chant in the "Tarzan" movies;

"Hayo Fa Hayo Madi"

the rebbi

Trishntek · Post by **Trishntek** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 11:45 am

We'll know who's won when Honey Baked Ham is in every neighborhood. A post on another thread long ago suggested spreading cooked bacon all over the Middle East. Now that would really be a defining moment would it not?

Post by **Elderberry** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 11:51 am

What truly amazes me is that the more progress that science makes, the more people seem to let superstition rule their lives. Why do people seem to cling to the past when the present and the future are so exciting.

JK

daratheresa · Post by **daratheresa** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 12:07 pm

"We will not be silenced, whether you're a Christian, whether you're a Muslim, whether you're an atheist, you will demand your goddamn rights, and we will have our rights, one way or the other! We will never be silenced!"

is a quote from a protester screaming in the streets of egypt. doesn't sound a lot like "Sharia" to me...

[youtube][/youtube]

*edited to add: what's with all the Islamophobia here?

*edited again to add: this isn't a religious uprising, it's a political one.

Post by **Elderberry** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 1:21 pm

Personally speaking, I'm religiphobic.
I fear them all equally.

JK

Trishntek · Post by **Trishntek** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 1:41 pm

No Islamophobia here,,,, it's more like pointing to swinophobia on the part of a rather dynamic group of people.

No disrespect intended,,,, just a wee bit of cynical humor in the midst of all this seriousness.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 2:30 pm

jkisha wrote:What truly amazes me is that the more progress that science makes, the more people seem to let superstition rule their lives. Why do people seem to cling to the past when the present and the future are so exciting.

Perhaps too exciting. Remember, that the aspiration of most of the people most of the time is to have enough time, enough money, and enough calm for them to raise their kids, with a reliable roof over their heads, with a not too painful job to go to. The constant changes driven by technology and science and the waves they cause in society can interfere with that to a great deal.

And religion does have this huge advantage of being taught to people before they start questioning things, so it remains comforting and familiar.

daratheresa · Post by **daratheresa** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 3:00 pm

Trishntek wrote:No Islamophobia here,,,, it's more like pointing to swinophobia on the part of a rather dynamic group of people.

No disrespect intended,,,, just a wee bit of cynical humor in the midst of all this seriousness.

fun? this one has a better soundtrack:
[youtube][/youtube]

and here's a neat update:

http://www.haaretz.com/news/internation ... e-1.339985

"More than 100,000 Egyptians from all walks of life gathered on Saturday at the central square in Cairo, as military officers stationed in the area embraced the protesters, chanting "the army and the people are one â€“ hand in hand."

The military officers removed their helmets as they were hoisted up by the crowd in ecstasy. The masses gathered at the square singing, praying and chanting that they will not cease their protest until Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns."

that's not being reported on much here. wouldn't want to give us ideas, right? could you imagine the power _we_ would have if our ARMY and our people united against the government?

*edited to add: sorry for spamming the thread. i have the worst cabin fever and watching a live revolution is fairly exciting.

Post by **Elderberry** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 3:30 pm

daratheresa wrote: could you imagine the power _we_ would have if our ARMY and our people united against the government?

Actually, this is precisely what our constitution is set up to prevent and that Eisenhower warned us about--and for good reasons. Let's hope this friendship between the army and the people doesn't have any unintended consequences--for the people.

JK

daratheresa · Post by **daratheresa** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 3:41 pm

jkisha wrote:
daratheresa wrote: could you imagine the power _we_ would have if our ARMY and our people united against the government?
Actually, this is precisely what our constitution is set up to prevent and that Eisenhower warned us about--and for good reasons. Let's hope this friendship between the army and the people doesn't have any unintended consequences--for the people.

JK

i know.

but there are days when i'd like to see it ALL burn, just to see what would rise up out of the ashes.

(not really meant as an anti-government statement, more of an anti-everything statement.)

and back to the original point, i don't think our own government would hesitate to take the internet down if faced with "unruly" citizens. and i don't think it would matter one bit. i think that this uprising is still going on is pretty decent proof of concept.

Major Krash · Post by **Major Krash** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 4:54 pm

cowboyangel wrote:...tell your friends that there's b-gan and ham radio modems for internet over ham frequencies.

The reason I just got my "ticket" and HT with APRS, etc....we had a field day today - did SSTV (slow scan TV, a picture in about 2 minutes). Pretty cool stuff...also had some text going...but I am looking at joining MARS/ARES, so....

Rabbi Dali Rick · Post by **Rabbi Dali Rick** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 5:15 pm

Today, I have new Heroes...

[youtube][/youtube]

the rebbi

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 5:32 pm

daratheresa wrote:
jkisha wrote:
daratheresa wrote: could you imagine the power _we_ would have if our ARMY and our people united against the government?
Actually, this is precisely what our constitution is set up to prevent and that Eisenhower warned us about--and for good reasons. Let's hope this friendship between the army and the people doesn't have any unintended consequences--for the people.

JK
i know. :)

but there are days when i'd like to see it ALL burn, just to see what would rise up out of the ashes.

(not really meant as an anti-government statement, more of an anti-everything statement.)

Learn to call it "Dada" and you might get an art grant next year.

I suppose saying something like "I'm going to watch extra porn tonight to show my solidarity for my egyptian brothers" is really, really uncalled for.

MCPajammaPants · Post by **MCPajammaPants** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 6:13 pm

From what I've been told Egypt is a pretty secular country, most Egyptians have no desire to see the caliphate restored.

Internet In Egypt Shut Down...

Internet In Egypt Shut Down...

HOLD YOUR GROUND EGYPTIAN!