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Saudi Bans Books at Fair in Wide-Ranging Crackdown
2014-03-17
[An Nahar] Saudi authorities have banned hundreds of books, including works by renowned Paleostinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, as part of a crackdown on publications deemed threatening to the conservative kingdom.
Betcha they all can be downloaded from the internet...
Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
 clamped down on dissent following the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, from which it has been largely spared, and has adopted an increasingly confrontational stance towards the Moslem Brüderbund and other Islamist groups it has long viewed as a threat to its security.

The local Okaz daily reported Sunday that organizers at the Riyadh International Book Fair had confiscated "more than 10,000 copies of 420 books" during the exhibition.

Local news website Sabq.org reported that members of the kingdom's notorious inquisitors religious police had protested at "blasphemous passages" in works by the late Darwish, widely considered one of the greatest Arab poets, pressing organizers to withdraw all his books from the fair, which ended Friday.

The inquisitors religious police frequently intervene to enforce the kingdom's strict conservative values, but the move to ban so many works was seen as unprecedented.

Similar action was taken against works by Iraq's most famous modern poet, Badr Shaker al-Sayyab, and another Iraqi poet, Abdul Wahab al-Bayati, as well as those by Paleostinian poet Muin Bseiso.

The fair's organizing committee also banned a book entitled "When will the Saudi Woman Drive a Car?" by Abdullah al-Alami, the Saudi Gazette daily reported.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women, forced to cover in public from head to toe, are not allowed to drive.

Other banned books include "The History of Hijab" and "Feminism in Islam."

Activist Aziza Youssef said the crackdown had offered "free advertising to those whose books were banned" as many "rushed to download these works from the Internet."

Organizers also banned all books by Azmi Bishara, a former Arab Israeli MP who left the Jewish state in 2007 and is now close to authorities in Qatar, where he is based, Sabq.org reported.

The ban comes amid escalating tensions between Qatar and three other Gulf Arab monarchies -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain -- who pulled their envoys from Doha earlier this month, accusing it of interfering in their internal affairs.

The decision to withdraw the ambassadors was seen as driven largely by Saudi animosity towards the Moslem Brüderbund of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi
...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator...
 and its regional affiliates, which are widely believed to receive support from Qatar.

"Revolution", a book by Wael Ghonim, a secular Egyptian and former Google
...contributed $814,540 to the 2008 Obama campaign...
executive who became an icon of the country's 2011 uprising that toppled Saudi ally Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
, was also banned from the Riyadh fair, according to Sabq.

Organizers of the book fair, which began March 4, had announced ahead of the event that any book deemed "against Islam" or "undermining security" in the kingdom would be confiscated.

A few days after the fair opened, Saudi authorities closed the stall of the Arab Network for Research and Publishing headed by Islamist publisher Nawaf al-Qudaimi and confiscated all his publications, citing threats to the kingdom's security.
Link


Africa North
Egypt's army says it's ready to save nation
2013-06-24
[CHRON] Wading into an increasingly volatile fray, Egypt's military on Sunday gave the nation's Islamist rulers and their opponents a week to reach an understanding before planned June 30 opposition protests aimed at forcing out the president, in a toughly worded warning that it will intervene to stop the nation from entering a "dark tunnel."

The powerful military also gave a thinly veiled warning to President Mohammed Morsi's hard-line backers that it will step in if the mostly secular and liberal protesters, who have vowed to be peaceful, are attacked during the planned demonstrations.

In a bid to project a business-as-usual image, Morsi's office said in a statement late Sunday that the president met with the army's chief, Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, to discuss the "domestic scene and the government's efforts to maintain the security of the nation and the safety of its citizens." There was no mention of el-Sissi's warning.

Seeking to assert Morsi's seniority over el-Sissi -- the president is the supreme commander of the armed forces -- the brief statement, alluding to June 30, said he ordered the quick completion of plans to protect the state's strategic and vital installations.

The opposition argues that Morsi and his Moslem Brüderbund, despite having won a series of elections since the 2011 revolution that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
, have squandered their legitimacy with heavy handed misrule. It contends that the Islamists have encroached on the independence of the judiciary, sought to monopolize power, and pushed through an Islamist-backed constitution, breaking promises to seek consensus.

Morsi's supporters say the opposition has shunned his offers of dialogue and now are turning to force to remove him because they have been unable to compete at the ballot box.

On Sunday, a court compounded Morsi's troubles by saying members of his Moslem Brüderbund conspired with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, Hezbollah and local gunnies to storm a prison in 2011 and free 34 Brotherhood leaders, including Morsi. Also, the most iconic youth figure of the 2011 revolution, Wael Ghonim, called on Morsi to step down before June 30 to prevent bloodshed.
Link


Africa North
Egypt president issues law to free news editor
2012-08-25
Mursi is moving right along with making himself the head cheese.
CAIRO: Egypt’s president intervened to release a newspaper editor jailed over accusations of insulting him on Thursday, issuing a law for the first time since he assumed legislative powers earlier this month.

President Muhammad Mursi’s ban on detention for journalists accused of publishing-related offenses overrides a court decision earlier in the day ordering newspaper editor Islam Afifi to remain in prison pending trial in September. The court’s decision and case against Afifi, accused of slandering the president and undermining public interest, has caused uproar in Egypt among journalists and intellectuals, with dozens holding a protest Thursday night in Cairo demanding the protection of free speech.

The decree affecting those awaiting trial for offenses such as libel, defamation and slander is the first law Mursi issued since taking over legislative authorities in the absence of a parliament, and following a decision to retire a cadre of generals with whom he had shared power earlier this month.

Mursi, who was sworn in as president in late June, issued the law just hours after a Cairo court ordered the imprisonment of Afifi, editor of the privately-owned el-Dustour daily. Egypt’s official news agency reported shortly thereafter that the attorney general had ordered Afifi’s release.
Afifi will now have to show the proper gratitude...
The case is one of several lawsuits brought mainly by Islamists against journalists in Egypt, accusing them of inflammatory coverage and inciting the public against the Muslim Brotherhood, Mursi’s own movement and the country’s most powerful political force.

El-Dustour regularly runs articles warning of alleged Brotherhood plots and conspiracies to turn Egypt into a fundamentalist Islamic state. It also has promoted an anti-Brotherhood demonstration for Friday, initially calling for the torching of Brotherhood offices but later toning down its call to peaceful rallies in Cairo.

Rights groups had expressed indignation at the court’s decision to imprison Afifi, saying it betrayed the values of last year’s revolt that deposed Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s longtime authoritarian president.

“This is a sad day for media freedom in Egypt because, for the first time since the January 2011 revolution, a professional journalist has been jailed for what he has written,” the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders wrote in a statement. “The judicial authorities are trampling on the desire for freedom that the Egyptian people expressed during the 2011 and 2012 protests.”

Youth activist Wael Ghonim, a former Google executive who played a key role in Egypt’s uprising last year, wrote on Twitter that “insulting the president is a vague accusation that can be easily politicized.”
Precisely, old boy, that's the point...
“Tomorrow, when someone writes his opinion and calls Mursi a weak president ... he will be prosecuted for insulting the president,” he added.

In the noisy court session earlier on Thursday, the head prosecutor from Cairo’s Criminal Court had ordered Afifi held in custody and scheduled his trial for mid-September. He read out a long list of defamation charges including “insulting the president via a publication” and “spreading rumors that could disturb public safety and harm public interest.”

Supporters of the defendant shouted in protest as the decision was read to the packed courtroom.

Pro-democracy activists have shown mixed reactions to the court cases. Many defend the right of freedom of expression and deem the Islamists’ practices as repressive. Others side with the Islamists and accuse journalists facing trial of spreading propaganda in the service of former regime loyalists.

Another prominent case is that of TV presenter Tawfiq Okasha, who was accused of suggesting the murder of Mursi during a talk show aired on the private el-Faraeen TV station earlier this month. The network was taken off the air and Okasha was banned from travel pending his trial in early September. Lawsuits have also been brought against chief editors of el-Fagr and Sawt el-Umma weeklies on similar accusations.

The Islamists, and especially the Brotherhood, have intensified their campaign against media they perceive as in their way against them antagonistic, claiming they follow the former regime’s agenda. The group feels empowered after Mursi became Egypt’s first elected civilian president in modern history.

The call for protests against the Brotherhood on Friday has spurred public debate, especially after a Brotherhood cleric issued a religious edict, known as a fatwa, saying that killing anti-Islamist protesters was permissible.

Activists demand Mursi to take a strong stance against such statements. Presidential Spokesman Yasser Ali on Wednesday said the president supports the right to hold protests and said “it is unhealthy” to spread fears about protesters’ safety.

Concerns of a possible showdown in Cairo have escalated. The Brotherhood asked its members to protect the group’s offices from opposition protesters on Friday. Security authorities warned in a statement that they would “confront with all firmness ... riots or chaos that harms citizens’ interests.”

Leading pro-democracy advocate Mohamed ElBaradei said the developments in Egypt are “as if no revolution has taken place.”

Although the lower house of parliament, which drafts laws, was dissolved this year, the Brotherhood-led upper chamber of parliament known as the Shoura Council continues to function. The council controls state-owned newspapers and last month ordered the dismissal of 50 chief editors, many viewed as regime loyalists.

The appointment of new editors, who are either sympathizers of the Islamists or members of the Brotherhood, sparked a wave of protests by journalists both within and outside state media. The national journalist association known as The Press Syndicate accused the Brotherhood of trying to monopolize the media and turn it into its mouthpiece.
Link


Africa North
Egyptian editor charged with insulting president
2012-08-24
Prosecution says chief editor of privately-owned el-Dustour daily 'spreading rumors that could disturb public safety; human rights
...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you...
 group 'shocked

A Cairo court on Thursday ordered the chief editor of an Egyptian newspaper placed in long-term storage
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
 pending trial on charges of insulting the country's president and potentially harming the public interest.
 
The case against Islam Afifi of the privately-owned el-Dustour daily is one of several lawsuits brought mainly by Egypt's Islamists against journalists, accusing them of inflammatory coverage and inciting the public against the Moslem Brüderbund, the country's largest political group.

In a noisy court session, the head prosecutor from Cairo's Criminal Court ordered Afifi held in jug and scheduled his trial for mid-September. He read out a long list of defamation charges including "insulting the president via a publication" and "spreading rumors that could disturb public safety and harm public interest."
 
Supporters of the defendant shouted in protest as the decision was read to the packed courtroom. Rights groups quickly expressed indignation at the decision, and the national journalist association, the Press Syndicate, called for an emergency meeting.
 
"Insulting the president is a vague accusation that can be easily politicized," tweeted leading youth activist Wael Ghonim, a former Google
...contributed $814,540 to the 2008 Obama campaign...
executive who played a key role in Egypt's uprising last year.
 
"Tomorrow, when someone writes his opinion and calls Morsi a weak president ... he will be prosecuted for insulting the president," he added.
 
'As if no revolution has taken place'
A human rights group called The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights expressed its "shock" and said there is no need to detain the journalist since he is already banned from travel outside the country.
 
Another prominent case is that of TV presenter Tawfiq Okasha who was charged with suggesting the murder of President Mohammed Morsi during a talk show aired on private el-Faraeen TV earlier this month.
 
The network was taken off the air and Okasha was banned from travel pending his trial in early September. Lawsuits have also been brought against chief editors of el-Fagr and Sawt el-Umma weeklies on similar accusations.
 
The Islamists, and especially the Moslem Brüderbund, have intensified their campaign against media they perceive as antagonistic, claiming they follow the former regime's agenda. The group feels empowered after Morsi in June became Egypt's first elected civilian president in modern history.
 
Afifi's el-Dustour regularly runs articles warning of alleged Brotherhood plots and conspiracies to turn Egypt into a fundamentalist Islamic state. It also has promoted an anti-Brotherhood demonstration for Friday, initially calling for the torching of Brotherhood offices but later toning down its call to peaceful rallies in Cairo.
 
The protest call has spurred public debate, especially after a Brotherhood holy man issued a religious edict, known as a fatwa, saying that killing anti-Islamist protesters was permissible.
 
Activists demand Morsi to take a strong stance against such statements. Egypt's Presidential Spokesman Yasser Ali on Wednesday said the president supports the right to hold protests and said "it is unhealthy" to spread fears about protesters' safety.
 
Leading pro-democracy advocate Mohamed ElBaradei
Egyptian law scholar and Iranian catspaw. He was head of the IAEA from December 1997 to November 2009. At some point during his tenure he was purchased by the Iranians. ElBaradei and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for something in 2005. After stepping down from his IAEA position ElBaradei attempted to horn in on the 2011 Egyptian protests which culminated in the collapse of the Mubarak regime. ElBaradei served on the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group, a lefty NGO that is bankrolled by the Carnegie Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as George Soros' Open Society Institute. Soros himself serves as a member of the organization's Executive Committee.
 condemned the imprisonment of the editor and the issuance of the fatwas, saying such developments betrayed the values of last year's revolt against Egypt's longtime strongman, former President Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
"Instigating to kill in the name of religion, and accusing revolutionaries of betrayal are not crimes, but insulting the president in the press leads to imprisonment," he said. "It's as if no revolution has taken place."
 
Concerns of a possible showdown in Cairo have escalated, as the Brotherhood has asked its young followers to come out on Friday to protect the group's offices from opposition protesters.
 
Security authorities meanwhile warned in a statement that they would "confront with all firmness ... riots or chaos that harms citizens' interests."
 
The Brotherhood dominates both houses of parliament, including the upper chamber known as the Shura Council. The council controls state-owned newspapers and last month ordered the dismissal of 50 chief editors of state papers and other outlets.
 
The appointment of new editors, who are either sympathizers of the Islamists or members of the Brotherhood, sparked a wave of protests by journalists both within and outside state media. The Press Syndicate accused the Brotherhood of trying to monopolize the media and turn it into its mouthpiece.
 
Pro-democracy activists have shown mixed reactions to the court cases. Many defend the right of freedom of expression and deem the Islamists' practices as repressive. Others side with the Islamists and accuse journalists facing trials of spreading propaganda in the service of former regime loyalists.
Link


Africa North
Uh-Oh! Egyptian Revolutionaries Ungrateful to Obama Administration
2011-03-15
As I've said before, the problem we have with Muslim countries springs from the masses, not the leadership. Rubin thinks this is because they are fed propaganda by the government. I think they've been fed propaganda from the Quran over the last 13 centuries, by their blood ancestors from one generation to the next. Muslims don't say "Sultan Akbar" or "Colonel Akbar" - they say "Allah Akbar". Any leader who deviates from their beliefs as regards the infidel risks assassination or violent revolt. Neo-con commentators like to say that Muslims hate us because their governments use the anti-Western propaganda to divert them from their problems. In reality, Mubarak has had 10 assassination attempts by Islamists mounted against him despite this so-called diversionary propaganda. A less hopeful interpretation would be that he parroted some of their anti-Western shibboleths to ward off even more assassination attempts - meaning that our enemy is the Egyptian people, not their leaders. Read the rest at the link...
Who’d possibly have thought it? Answer: Anybody who understands the Middle East. You see, the Obama Administration rushed to get rid of the Mubarak government in the belief that this action would make Egyptians see that they are simply wonderful people. This would assure that Egypt and America remained good buddies forever.

Unfortunately, though, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Cairo and they weren’t delighted to see her. In fact, those hip, Facebook-using youth that the Obama Administration kept extolling refused to see her at all! Here’s what Google executive plus youth revolution leader Wael Ghonim tweeted:

“Dear Hillary Clinton, thanks to the Internet, we can search for anyone's quotes within any period of time. Did you ever try this?”

Get it? We looked up all the nice things you said about President Husni Mubarak. We don’t like you. And no matter what you do, since you can’t change that history, we still won’t like you.

Of course, this gives the mass media a way out since it can claim that the problem is--once again!--past American sins rather than contemporary Arab radicalism and the popularity to be derived from demagoguery.

Anti-Americanism is going to explode now in Egypt, in all of its leftist, Islamist, and nationalist varieties. Candidates will compete to prove they aren't friendly to America. Egypt won't do anything the United States asks for.
Link


Africa North
The Postponement of Utopia
2011-02-27
[al-Hayat] Husam Itani
The Arab revolutions are leading salvation projects towards further unfeasibility, as the slogan of the Civil State raised by the Egyptians clearly indicates that those raising it no longer tolerate any talk about a religious state.

The same applies to all the earthly heavens that were promised by utopian ideologies of different sources and backgrounds. The new Arab revolutions have put an end to the illusions of the Aflaqist and Qadaffyst unions founded on utopian Pan-Arab ideologies, or at least have postponed them indefinitely. Likewise, the revolutions have upended whatever remains of the actual or potential leverage enjoyed by Islamist movements, especially in their Jihadist facet.

After millions of people erupted into the streets in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Bahrain, the conspiratorial-subversive mind fell in a deep predicament. Who will believe after this that a small clique with limited education and imagination could indeed induce change towards the better for the Arab people? Who will believe in the utopia that this clique will be calling for, after seeing history being made by the shouts and actions of the crowds?

More importantly, history proved once again that it chooses its own surprising path. Here are the regimes that have started to take shape in Tunisia and Egypt, featuring coalitions that cannot be otherwise tolerated by ideological governments carrying absolute salvation projects. And here are these new regimes announcing that the Arabs -- or at least the Tunisian and Egyptian people -- have relinquished the impossible utopia in favor of the possible national state, and that the two people among other Arab populations will no longer await the realization of this utopia and will instead move toward the accomplishment of a feasible political, social and economic project, capable of realizing the minimum level of requirements of a decent living for the Tunisians and the Egyptians.

These facts bring back to mind a study by American critic Fredric Jameson entitled "Progress Versus Utopia." Although the study focuses on the role of utopia in various literary and narrative works by clarifying the obstacles hindering humanity's progress, and the role of science fiction in conveying the contradictions of the present in a futuristic light - while relying on literary critique rather than political philosophy --, one can conclude that realistic progress often contradicts utopian ideologies, whether those embracing humanity as a whole or those related to a specific group.

Moreover, also based on Jameson's writings, the utopian project is a "promises-making machine." This means that the high level of political realism will automatically lead to the collapse of utopian ideas, as currently being witnessed in Egypt and Tunisia.

On the opposite end of the expressions traditionally used to describe the political practices of the youths - by saying for example they are romantic and staged in complete disregard of objective facts on the ground -, we are seeing in Tunisia and Egypt something that shows political craftsmanship in terms of the management of realities on the ground and the recognition of and coexistence with differences of opinions and beliefs. Also on the opposite end of vagaries hostile to politics and politicians, which accuse the latter of being "involved in filthy tricks" (as it was said by Wael Ghonim in an angry statement), the majority of the young activists involved in public affairs are aware of basic concepts related, for example, to the balances of internal and external powers, and the importance of avoiding positions dictated by the wishes and desires drawn up by the ideological mind.

The youths have replaced the utopian project with another feasible one, thus showing a maturity exceeding that of many pretending to be young and rushing to reap the fruits of change.
Link


Africa North
Egypt heading towards Iran type revolution
2011-02-18
Google out. Muslim Brotherhood in.

The self-important Google schmuck and "60 Minutes" darling, Wael Ghonim, to whom many point as the social networking guru behind the overthrow of the Egyptian governement, was barred from the stage by Qaradawi. Leftist asshats paving the way for the global caliphate.

Google executive Wael Ghonim, who emerged as a leading voice in Egypt's uprising, was barred from the stage in Tahrir Square on Friday by security guards, an AFP photographer said. Ghonim tried to take the stage in Tahrir, the epicentre of anti-regime protests that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, but men who appeared to be guarding influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi barred him from doing so.

Ghonim, who was angered by the episode, then left the square with his face hidden by an Egyptian flag.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Yeah. Dat's why we ain't lettin' you in!"
Qaradawi gave a Friday sermon in the square, where hundreds of thousands of people gathered a week after Mubarak's fall, in which he called for Arab leaders to listen to their people.

Ghonim, Google's head of marketing for the Middle East and North Africa, administered a Facebook page that helped spark the uprising that toppled Mubarak's regime.

The 30-year-old also appeared in an emotional television interview shortly after he was released from police custody after 12 days in custody which is credited with re-energising the movement just as it seemed to be losing steam.

In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" that aired on Sunday, Ghonim said the protests which led to Mubarak's ouster would not have happened without online social networks.

"If there was no social networks it would have never been sparked," he said.

"Because the whole thing before the revolution was the most critical thing. Without Facebook, without Twitter, without Google, without YouTube, this would have never happened."

Your job is done, tool. See ya.
From Atlas Shrugs. Egypt is rapidly following the same rout as Iran did in 1979. Good job, Bambi.
Link


Africa North
Egypt's military dissolves Parliament, suspends Constitution
2011-02-13
Cairo, Egypt -- Egypt's military dissolved the country's Parliament and suspended its Constitution Sunday following the ouster of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak, telling Egyptians it would be in charge for six months or until elections can be held.
Six months should be plenty of time to find a new front man if Suleiman doesn't work out...
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said it would appoint a committee to propose changes to the Constitution, which would then be submitted to voters. The council will have the power to issue new laws during the transition period, according to a communique read on state television.

Sameh Shoukry, Egypt's ambassador to the United States, said Sunday that the generals have made restoring security and reviving the economy its top priorities.
"This current composition is basically a technocratic government to run the day-to-day affairs, to take care of the security void that has happened, and to also address the issues related to the economy," Shoukry told CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

However, a so-called leading opposition figure in his own mind said Sunday that the military must explain its plans in more detail or see a resumption of the demonstrations that drove Mubarak from office.

"They need to come out of their headquarters and start talking to the people and tell us what is in store for us," ElBaradei told GPS.
So sez the Iranian tool.
And a prominent Egyptian activist credited with helping spark the revolution warned against taking too long to establish a new representative government.

"Biggest mistake now is to give the Egyptian people too little too slow. Restoring confidence requires a faster pace," Wael Ghonim said on Twitter.
Question is whether the Egyptian middle can hold against Islamicist thugs on one side and military thugs on the other.
Mubarak's abdication leaves a council of generals led by Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi in charge of the Arab world's most populous nation.

Sunday's military communique said new elections would be held for both houses of Egypt's Parliament as well as the presidency. In the meantime, government ministers are now reporting to the military high command in the same way they reported to Mubarak, Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq told reporters Sunday, in remarks that were carried live on state television. He said he was reviewing candidates to fill vacant government ministries, adding that no one who was not acceptable to the public would be appointed.
I think this means the military is smart enough to stay away from the closest FoH (Friends of Hosni), but two degrees of separation will likely work.
Link


Africa North
Egyptian opposition defiant over VP's warning
2011-02-10
[Arab News] Egypt's protesters were defiant Wednesday after a warning from Vice President Omar Suleiman
... Vice president of Egypt. From 1993 until his appointment to that office in 2011 he was Minister without Portfolio and Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate (EGID)...
 that if protesters don't enter negotiations, a "coup" could take place causing greater chaos, raising alarm of crackdown.

Organizers of the mass demonstrations, now in their 16th day, sought to widen their uprising.

Suleiman's sharply worded warning deepened protesters' suspicions of his US-backed efforts to put together negotiations with the opposition over reforms. The protesters insist they will only enter dialogue after geriatric President Hosni Mubarak steps down, fearing the regime will manipulate talks and conduct only superficial changes without bringing real democracy.

Suleiman, a military man who was intelligence chief before being elevated to vice president amid the crisis, has repeatedly said Egypt is not ready for democracy. "The culture of democracy is still far away," Suleiman said in a meeting Tuesday night with newspaper editors.

The vice president also appeared to be pushing ahead with a reform process even without dialogue. He said a panel of top judges and legal experts would recommend amendments to the constitution by the end of the month, which would then be put to a referendum. But the panel is dominated by Mubarak loyalists, and previous referendums on amendments drawn up by the regime have been marred by vote rigging to push them through.

Protest organizers have called for new "protest of millions" for Friday -- their term for dramatically enlarged rallies -- but this time they would be held in multiple parts of Cairo instead of only in central Tahrir Square, said Khaled Abdel-Hamid, one of the youth organizers. He also said protesters were calling for labor strikes, trying to draw powerful labor unions into support for their cause.

Abdel-Hamid dismissed Suleiman's warnings. "We are striking and we will protest and we will not negotiate until Mubarak steps down. Whoever wants to threaten us, then let them do so," he said.

A previous "protest of millions" last week drew at least a quarter-million people to Tahrir -- their biggest yet, along with crowds of tens of thousands in other cities. A Tahrir rally on Tuesday rivalled that one in size, fueled by a renewed enthusiasm after the release of Wael Ghonim, a Google marketing manager who helped spark the unprecedented protest movement.

Around 2,000 protesters waved huge flags outside the parliament several blocks from Tahrir on Wednesday, where they moved a day earlier in the movement's first expansion out of the square. They rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud demanding the dissolving of the legislature, where almost all the seats are held by the ruling party.

Thousands of protesters chanting "we are not leaving until he leaves" camped overnight in Tahrir Square in tents made with plastic tarps and bed covers to protect them from chilly weather, sprawling out into sidestreets.

Many have been sleeping underneath the tanks of soldiers surrounding the square to prevent the vehicles from moving or trying to clear the area for traffic.

Others started to flow into Tahrir on Wednesday morning, some welcomed with sweets by those who spent the night. The demonstrations have paralyzed the area around the square, defying the government's efforts to restore a sense of normality as the uprising enters its third week.
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