2011-09-10

Social mood this weekend

Egyptian protesters pull down Israel embassy wall Egyptian protesters raid Israeli embassy as ambassador and family flee the country (with pictures)
The demonstrations against Israel coincide with increasing discontent among Egyptians with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took control of the country when Mubarak was forced out on February 11 after nearly three decades in power. Several thousand massed Friday in Cairo's Tahrir Square, as well as in the cities of Alexandria, Suez and elsewhere. Demonstrators in Cairo also converged on the state TV building, a central courthouse and the Interior Ministry, a hated symbol of abuses by police and security forces under Mubarak. Protesters covered one of the ministry's gates with graffiti and tore off parts of the large ministry seal. Seven months after the popular uprising that drove Mubarak from power, Egyptians are still pressing for a list of changes, including more transparent trials of former regime figures accused of corruption and a clear timetable for parliamentary elections. Activists accuse the council, headed by Mubarak's defense minister, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, of remaining too close to Mubarak's regime and practicing similarly repressive policies, including abusing detainees. The trials of thousands of civilians in military courts has also angered activists. 'In the beginning we were with the military because they claimed to be protectors of the revolution, but month after month nothing has changed,' said doctor Ghada Nimr, one of those who gathered in Tahrir Square.
Social mood certainly hasn't changed for the better. In the U.S., President Obama looks increasingly to be a one-term president. Democrats Fret Aloud Over Obama’s Re-election
“In my district, the enthusiasm for him has mostly evaporated,” said Representative Peter A. DeFazio, Democrat of Oregon. “There is tremendous discontent with his direction.”
But a survey of two dozen Democratic officials found a palpable sense of concern that transcended a single week of ups and downs. The conversations signaled a change in mood from only a few months ago, when Democrats widely believed that Mr. Obama’s path to re-election, while challenging, was secure.

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