Working for the Clampdown
Mubarak's thugs have arrived in Tahrir Square. The Washington Post reports:
Just before 3 p.m. (8 a.m. in Washington), dozens of pro-Mubarak riders on horseback and camelback charged into the square and began to beat anti-government demonstrators with whips and clubs.
Soldiers posted around the square did not immediately intervene….
Ahmed Diab, a 27-year-old a guitarist who has camped out in the square with pro-democracy forces for nine days, said the pro-government group appeared to be undercover police and Mubarak loyalists, likely paid to show up and create chaos.
"It's insanity. These are not Egyptians who are attacking," Diab said. "I'd rather be shot dead than see this happen again."
But Mohammed Shahad, who was in the pro-government group, said "Nobody told me to come here. Nobody paid me to come here."…
The government-controlled station then broadcast a printed message that read: "The armed forces call on the protesters to go home for the sake of bringing back stability."
Perhaps Shahad spontaneously decided to come to the melee on his own, but the Post notes that Mubarak's supporters were bused to the square. It also reports that "Those arriving on buses in support of the president were mostly men—a sharp contrast to the many families, women and children participating in the much larger anti-government protests."
On the bright side, Egyptians' Internet access has been restored.
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
They should have done that to the looters. Property crimes are unacceptable! God bless private property!
Property Rights! Freedom! Hookers and Blow!
See how libertarian I am?
You are an impostor and a coward.
However, I do support the right to do those things as all libertarians should.
Are you a sophisticated spoof of Dondero? I hope so.
OH GOD! Not Camels!
Serious question… If they’re literally riding camels, is it still racist for me to call them camel jockeys?
Thuggery is as thuggery does.
I was wondering how long until the “revolutionary guard” arrived.
I like Noriega’s ‘Dignity Battalions’.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dignity_Battalions
“The armed forces call on the protesters to go home for the sake of bringing back stability.”
Those who favor stability over liberty…you know the rest.
The “armed forces” are the people, not the police. Citizen firearms outnumber police firearms 4:1 (1.9 million to 445,000). Considering that they are going to win this fight, the citizens are showing remarkable restraint.
This is what Gregory Smith actually said:
Libertarians don’t think America is private property, they think it’s some kind of Walmart store! Wait, a Walmart store isn’t private property? HURR DURRRRRR…
I hope there’s actually more thought and context to that quote than what is there. Because the stupid is eating through my brain from reading that.
This public fart passes as coherent thinking? This motherfucker trying to make a case against LSD and Shroom legalization or something?
The roar of Gregory Smith could be farts…
I think it’s a particularly cruel parody of John.
I think that’s acutely unfair to John. That jackass makes some of the Randroid trolls look reasonable.
Whatever, you’re just another Obama-loving LIBERALterian.
It’s called a METAPHOR, asshole.
“Perhaps Shahad spontaneously decided to come to the melee on his own, but the Post notes that Mubarak’s supporters were bused to the square.”
What’s not to like?
+1
Hmm. Likely that now that the irrelevancies have all bloviated (Obama, Baradai, Mubarak), those weilding actual power (the military) have arrived at an “ok, enough of THIS shit” point. They’ve likely lost faith in their front guy, and have begun figuring out who the new front guy is going to be, although the crowds that have been engaged in primal scream therapy likely have no idea nor even less input as to who that will be. “Order”, at this point, will likely be welcome by the throngs, and some nice political theater will be arranged to keep up appearances and not threaten the streams of foreign aid flowing in to the country’s coffers, and allow the hot German tourist chicks to return. Nothing to see here, move along.
Hot German tourist chicks are really going to Egypt?
You know who else buses supporters to party rallies? That’s right, the Huffington Post.
And don’t forget George Soros!
Too bad Egyptians don’t have a second ammendment. No camel riding thug with a whip would be taken seriously.
They do, sort of. There are 1.9 million firearms in citizen’s hands, vs. 445,000 for the police. Firearm ownrship is legal there, as is open carry.
Do you have any evidence that the loyalist are “most likely paid”?
I’m thinking that the presence of the phrase “most likely” says no. But you knew that already.
The fact that they didn’t exist just a few days ago is one piece of (circumstantial) evidence. Also their level of organization. They don’t appear to be an organic movement.
I just got verbal confirmation from my aunt and mom in Cairo that their porter and housekeeper were paid money to go join pro-Mubarak rallies and cause chaos*. So change most likely to definitely.
* FWIW, they did not go join.
They actually dis-horse and dis-camel them, after the initial surprise wore off.
Isn’t it un-camel?
Anyway… CAMELS!!!!! LOLZZZZZZZ
If I ever stage a coup, you can bet there will be dog-riding monkey attackers. Have you ever seen anyone un-dog a monkey? Yeah, didn’t think so.
The monkeys will have top hats and knives, right?
Now they will!
Great title, Jesse. That was the second song on my alarm clock this morning.
I miss The Clash. Their politics were shit but their music was pure genius. R.I.P. Joe Strummer.
+1
and The Mescaleros weren’t too bad either…
It ain’t over until Mubarak sends in the mummies.
They need to string some piano wire about 6.5 feet off the ground.
Gut check time. Do we need to revisit the axiom that the enemy of Anderson Cooper is my friend?
For about an hour al-Aarabiya (which has had one of its reporters stabbed by Mubarak supporters) has been showing two groups standing on opposite sides of a parked truck, throwing rock at each other from a distance of about ten to twenty yards. No ground gained or lost. Just rocks thrown.
Eh. Maybe they’ve just seen his work and thought they could get a shot in without consequences.
One of his production assistants tweeted…
@stevebruskCNN
Anderson said he was punched 10 times in the head as pro-Mubarak mob surrounded him and his crew trying to cover demonstration
For some reason all the smiley emoticons were edited out.
Apparently Mubarak’s thugs have set fire to the Egyptian Museum with molotov cocktails.
Barbarians.
Kick over the wall cause government’s to fall. You know you can’t refuse it.
I find it both fascinating and incredibly irritating that my friends who, 5 years ago were protesting U.S. foreign policy, have now glommed onto these action in Egypt. NOw they’re out front of the Egyptian Embassy carrying picket signs, having absolutely no effect whatsoever on the situation over there. And here we sit, still at war in Eastasia…errrr…Iraq. And Afghanistan. Just shows the utter futility and ADD-ness of the so-called “peace” movement in the United States. Just wave a shiny object in front of their eyes….
>>”On the bright side, Egyptians’ Internet access has been restored.”
Great news! – those abysmally sexually-repressed Muslim dudes can start pulling their puds to porn video again.
What are we gonna doooooo nowwwwwwwwwwwwwww?!?!?!?!
BBC has reported that the camel and horse riders previously had worked at the pyramids, giving rides to tourists. Apparently they’d like the protesters to go home so the tourists can come back. I would have thought it clear that violence in the main square between political factions is unlikely to reassure tourists.
They didn’t come because they wanted to, they came because they were paid to come by Mubarak.
At least they don’t have a blizzard.
Gut check time. Do we need to revisit the axiom that the enemy of Anderson Cooper is my friend?
I found it particularly odd that the attacker shouted, “What’s the frequency, Abdullah?” as he punched Cooper.