Police Open Fire In Middle-East

Just to be sure you are paying attention, police fired on protestors in Bahrain and Iraq in the past two days as protests sweep the Middle East. In Bahrain, police and military forces swarmed the town square, site of a political protests with thousands of angry men and women. The military forces opened fire on five people, at least two of them asleep at the time. Some 200 other protesters were wounded in addition to the five fatalities. The government now claims it has banned protests and they control all of the city.

Actual photo from Bahrain of police opening fire on protesters, who are shown running from the square.

In Iraq, a small protest in the town of Kut ended in gunfire as police officials opened fire on protestors outside the provincial governors office. Some cars were set alight and some reported fires in the building itself. The provincial governor was in Baghdad at the time of the protest. The town is close to the Iraq-Iran border, where similar protests have been brutally silenced. The Iranian government arrested over 1,400 people in a single day over the weekend after protests in Tehran. They will not allow a repeat of Egypt in their own country.

Mubarack Has Left The Building

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarack has handed over all power to the Egyptian military and retreated to his expansive, awesome crib in Sharm el-Sheik, according to announcement by VP Omar Suleiman. While prayers were being said in Tahrir Square, the VP informed thousands of protestors of the transition, which was responded to with applause and joy, and more than a bit of crying. The Egyptian military quickly followed with a communique vowing to adhere strictly to the Egyptian constitution (which, the Bohunk notes, says only people from Mubarack’s party can old office) and to supervise the myriad and sweeping reforms called for by weeks of mass protest. No timetable for the military to cede power to an elected official has been set down, nor is the real structure of power being revealed in any detail. According to the constitution in place, power can only be transferred to the VP in times of crisis, and is only meant for short term or temporary time periods. It is possible that the military will claim control….Or that Mubarack is calling the shots via Skype from his pimped out palace in the south of Egypt.

Psych!: Mubarack Does Not Step Down

Note to embattled asshole and President of Egypt: Do not gather three million people together to give them news they do not want to hear. Nearly every major US and international news outlet announced that Mubarak would step down from his office today, and when the President stepped up to the plate, he did everything but that. Mubarack said he would hand over presidential power to the vice president, ending in 30 years of control in the country. Many believe a sort of behind-the-scenes military coup has taken place, though the Egyptian people or government have made such a proclamation. The military released “Communique No. 1”, (the equivalent of Order 66 in Star Wars Episode III, to score a second nerd point on the day) which announced the military's commitment to keeping, or enforcing, the peace in Egypt. Other nations have yet to comment on whether or not they believe or can confirm the coup, but the top general in Egypt, a man named Roweny, has circled Tahrir Square with US made Abrams tanks, ‘urging’ the protesters to sing the national anthem. Egypt has the tenth largest army in the world with over 468,000 troops with which to rule the country.

Protestors mount a US made tank to oust the US backed Mubarack…

The official US stance, according to the CIA, is that Mubarack will step down completely in the next six to twelve hours. It also points out that, according to the Egyptian constitution, the President cannot, in fact, turn over any power to the Vice President, instead indicating that Parliament would assume the executive powers.

What a dicktator. Mubarack vows to hand over power, but will retain President until elections are held in September.

If you are not watching a news outlet, and that does not include Fox News, please tune in; this is an amazing historic moment worth witnessing.