Michael Vick Still a Prick

Mel, dog rescued from Michael Vick and now owned by Richard Hunter

This is an attempt by Richard Hunter to ask Vick (after receiving the keys to Dallas) if he wants to know how one of his former dogs is doing. It doesn't last long, but the message is very clear.

Richard Hunter has written a lot about Mel, just one of the dogs who survived Vick's torture chambers. His website is called The Richard Hunter Show. There are numerous newspaper interviews on his site detailing Mel's recovery from life as a bait dog--a dog used to teach other dogs to fight and kill.

Richard and Mel


To those who say "He served his time," if these crimes had been committed against humans--kids--would you still say that? Just wondering how much animal torture and murder it takes to equate to the same when a human is involved: 10 dogs to 1 human? 100 dogs to 1 human?

Or maybe, no living creature deserves to be tortured and/or murdered. It's just a thought.

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Democracy protests bring down Egypt's Mubarak

!!الف مبروك يا قلبي يا مصر

Reuters/Emilio Morenatti

Democracy protests bring down Egypt's Mubarak

By PAUL SCHEMM and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Paul Schemm And Maggie Michael, Associated Press

CAIRO – Fireworks burst over Tahrir Square and Egypt exploded with joy and tears of relief after pro-democracy protesters brought down President Hosni Mubarak with a momentous march on his palaces and state TV. Mubarak, who until the end seemed unable to grasp the depth of resentment over his three decades of authoritarian rule, finally resigned Friday and handed power to the military.

"The people ousted the regime," rang out chants from crowds of hundreds of thousands massed in Cairo's central Tahrir, or Liberation, Square and outside Mubarak's main palace several miles away in a northern district of the capital.

...Thousands from across the capital of 18 million streamed into Tahrir, where protesters hugged, kissed and wept. Whole families took pictures of each other posing with Egyptian flags with their mobile phones as bridges over the Nile jammed with throngs more flowing into the square.

Abdul-Rahman Ayyash, an online activist born eight years after Mubarak came to office, said he would be celebrating all night, then remain in the square to ensure the military "won't steal the revolution."

"I'm 21 years old," he said. "This is the first time in my life I feel free."

[Click on title for full article.]


!!الف مبروك يا قلبي يا مصر
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Mubarak keeps title but "transfers powers" to VP Suleiman, former henchman

I am outraged. These are quotes from the CNN Live Blog from today: translations of Mubarak's speech on State TV, which was received tonight in stunned silence by a crowd of thousands in Tahrir Square. They are not silent now. How many people must die before he surrenders? (More than we thought--see below...)

[Update 11:00 p.m. in Cairo, 4:00 p.m. ET] The crowd in Tahrir Square erupts into roars of "get out" as Mubarak announces he will not step down.

"I will not submit to any international pressures," he says. "I love Egypt, I I have worked hard for its renaissance and I have never tried to have more authority, and I think the majority of other people here know very well who Hosni Mubarak is and it hurts my heart when I see and I hear from my own people."

We HURT his FEELINGS???

[Update 11:05 p.m. in Cairo, 4:05 p.m. ET] "This guy is calling for more rage in the country," a protester in Tahrir Square tells CNN's Fred Pleitgen after Mubarak speaks. "This guy doesn't want to leave in peace."

[Update 7:49 p.m. in Cairo, 12:49 p.m. ET] The number of people killed in Egyptians' protests against President Hosni Mubarak could be two or even three times higher than previously estimated, a human rights activist on the ground warned Thursday. Human Rights Watch has confirmed about 300 deaths, said Hossam Bahgat of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. But independent researchers have not been able to get information from many places, he said.

Very exclusive picture of President Hosni Mubarak and Vice President Omar Suleiman after the jump.


Hosni and Omar after their very trying day today. Read more!

Blood in Cairo square: Mubarak backers, foes clash

Pro-government demonstrators, bottom, watch as cars burn during clashes with anti-government demonstrators in Cairo, Egypt (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Blood in Cairo square: Mubarak backers, foes clash

By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press Hadeel Al-shalchi, Associated Press –

CAIRO – Supporters of President Hosni Mubarak charged into Cairo's central square on horses and camels brandishing whips while others rained firebombs from rooftops in what appeared to be an orchestrated assault against protesters trying to topple Egypt's leader of 30 years. Three people died and 600 were injured.


A man, [working as a medic] left, tries to calm down an Egyptian army captain atop an armored personnel carrier, who fired live rounds into the air to disperse anti-government demonstrators, who charged to clash with pro-government protesters in Tahrir square, in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

The clashes marked a dangerous new phase in Egypt's upheaval: the first significant violence between government supporters and opponents. The crisis took a sharp turn for the worse almost immediately after Mubarak rejected the calls for him to give up power or leave the country, stubbornly proclaiming he would die on Egyptian soil.

His words were a blow to the protesters. They also suggest that authorities want to turn back the clock to the tight state control enforced before the protests began.

Mubarak's supporters turned up on the streets Wednesday in significant numbers for the first time. Some were hostile to journalists and foreigners. Two Associated Press correspondents and several other journalists were roughed up in Cairo. State TV had reported that foreigners were caught distributing anti-Mubarak leaflets, apparently trying to depict the movement as foreign-fueled.


An Egyptian Muslim cleric cries in front of on army tank in Tahrir, or Liberation square, in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011. (AP/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

After midnight, 10 hours after the clashes began, the two sides were locked in a standoff at a street corner, with the anti-Mubarak protesters hunkered behind a line of metal sheets hurling firebombs back and forth with government backers on the rooftop above. The rain of bottles of flaming gasoline set nearby cars and wreckage on the sidewalk ablaze.


Pro-government protesters (L) clash with anti-government protesters outside the National Museum near Tahrir square in Cairo early February 3, 2011. (REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis)

Some of the worst street battles raged near the Egyptian Museum at the edge of the square. Pro-government rioters blanketed the rooftops of nearby buildings and hurled bricks and firebombs onto the crowd below — in the process setting a tree ablaze inside the museum grounds. Plainclothes police at the building entrances prevented anti-Mubarak protesters from storming up to stop them.

A pro-government and supporter of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak throws a molotov cocktail during clashes with anti-government demonstrators in Tahrir Square, in Cairo February 2, 2011. (REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

The two sides pummeled each other with chunks of concrete and bottles at each of the six entrances to the sprawling plaza, where 10,000 anti-Mubarak protesters tried to fend off more than 3,000 attackers who besieged them. Some on the pro-government side waved machetes, while the square's defenders filled the air with a ringing battlefield din by banging metal fences with sticks.

In one almost medieval scene, a small contingent of pro-Mubarak forces on horseback and camels rushed into the anti-government crowds, trampling several people and swinging whips and sticks. Protesters dragged some riders from their mounts, throwing them to the ground and beating their faces bloody. The horses and camels appeared to be ones used to give tourists rides around Cairo.


A pro-Mubarak demonstrator tries to control his camel during rioting between pro- and anti-Mubarak supporters in Tahrir Square in Cairo February 2 , 2011. Supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, throwing petrol bombs, wielding sticks and charging on horses and camels, fiercely attacked demonstrators in Cairo on Wednesday after the army told protesters to clear the streets. (REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic)

Please click on the article title to read the full piece.

An anti-government protester displays pictures of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and members of his cabinet on the bottom of a shoe during mass demonstrationsin Alexandria , February 2, 2011. (REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih)

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Welcome to Wisconsin in February

We got a little weather last night.


There is an unhappy Chihuahua dragging his leash and trying to open the storm door with his furry paw on the top step. That would be Dickens, who could not be less amused.



Turns out, Ginger was not amused, either.


In fact, she was quite perplexed at being completely blocked in by her "fun stuff."


She kept looking for a way out. The shovel is the key, but I was already beat.

I was not drinking. I wanted to be... And yes, the shovel is supposed to look like that. It's ergonomic, which means absolutely nothing to my back.

Follow the jump to see the back of the house.

Okay, we got a lot.

My Beetle is safe and sound in her kennel.

Drifts on lower back roof (no, I can't reach it with my rake but it's fine) and around the car kennel.

Getting the storm door open was NOT EASY with 3 ft of snow piled against it. Then I hiked to the neighbors to beg for help from their John Deere plow. Have money--will pay!! But this sidewalk remains to be done.

View from the car kennel. Biggest piles are from previous snow accumulations.

My path to the back door. Too narrow for snowblower so tackling that in half-hour.
Couldn't be more excited.

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Egypt's military secures famed antiquities museum

Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, directly off Tahrir Square

Well, I was half-right. I said the Museum would not become a target. Turns out, it almost did. I forgot about unconscionable looters. Thank you to those citizens that stepped in and prevented the unthinkable to happen before the army could take over. It became vulnerable after the building housing the Democratic Party (Mubarak's) was torched nearby, causing chaos.




Egypt's military secures famed antiquities museum

CAIRO – "The Egyptian army secured Cairo's famed antiquities museum early Saturday, protecting treasures including the famed gold mask of King Tutankhamun from looters.

The greatest threat to the Egyptian Museum first appeared to come from the fire enguling the ruling party headquarters next door on Friday night as anti-government protests roiled the country.

Then dozens of would-be thieves started entering the grounds surrounding the museum.

Suddenly other young men — some armed with truncheons taken from the police — formed a human chain outside the main gates on Tahrir Square in an attempt to protect the collection inside.

"I'm standing here to defend and to protect our national treasure," said one of the men, Farid Saad, a 40-year-old engineer.

Another man, 26-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim, said it was important to guard the museum because it "has 5,000 years of our history. If they steal it, we'll never find it again."

Finally, four armored vehicles took up posts outside the massive coral-colored building in downtown Cairo. Soldiers surrounded the building and moved inside to protect mummies, monumental stone statues, ornate royal jewelry and other pharaonic artifacts."


Main Hall of the Museum

[My personal reflections on the Museum after the jump...]

The Museum is massive and is overflowing with artifacts on display and in storage. It is two stories high and every hall is crammed with precious items from times long gone. You can spend days in there and not see everything. It is a great place to sit and reflect--it has such an atmosphere of its own... impossible for me to describe. A major refuge for both antiquities and lost souls, located in the busiest part of Egypt. --ND
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Egyptian military deploys in Cairo under curfew

Fires burn in the National Democratic Party ruling party headquarters, after it was set alight by anti-government protesters, in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) [This is not far from the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, which so far seems to be unscathed. The Museum itself would never be a target, but might take collateral damage, which would be tragic, as far as buildings (and antiquities) go.--ND]


Water cannons. Photo by Reuters/Yannis Behrakis

Egyptian military deploys in Cairo under curfew
By MAGGIE MICHAEL and HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press

This is a very good summary of today's events in Cairo and around Egypt. The decidedly different reaction to the army's arrival compared to the police--who are despised--is well worth noting. This government more than likely cannot be overthrown without the army's help. As they are paid next to nothing and tend to come from poor families (much like here) they are not unlikely to side with the protesters. Surprisingly, the article mentions that several police actually stripped from their uniforms and joined the supporters. Another very positive development.

Some photos from the press:


One of the two massive lions that guard the bridge into central Cairo. I was scolded by a policeman back in 1993 for taking pictures of them because the bridge is considered a "military installation" which it is forbidden to photograph under Martial Law. Egyptians have been under Martial Law since Mubarak assumed office almost 30 years ago. (Photo by Ben Curtis/AP)


Cairo's historic Sultan Hassan and Al-Rifai mosques are engulfed with smoke from a nearby fire at a police station which was set ablaze during massive protests by Egyptians demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. The United States said Friday that the political unrest in Egypt "is of deep concern." (AFP/Marco Longari) [Very sobering view of two highly revered and simply amazing mosques--ND]


Anti-government protesters surround and stand atop an Egyptian army armoured personnel carrier, near the Tahrir Square, in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Friday,Jan. 28, 2011. Egyptian activists protested for a fourth day as social networking sites called for a mass rally in the capital Cairo after Friday prayers, keeping up the momentum of the country's largest anti-government protests in years. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

I did read yesterday that one of the cities now rioting is Mansoura, north of Cairo in the delta region, which is the closest large town to where my roommates and I became friends with a whole village (wedding parties will do that) during our stay. So there is no question now that our friends are involved. These are folks with dirt floors (until my roommates' wedding present fixed that) and no phones--much less computers--so we have no way of knowing anything about them. In fact, we've had no contact with them since we left 17 years ago. But the memories are hard and fast, and won't go anywhere anytime soon.

"In the upscale Mohandiseen neighborhood, at least 10,000 were marching toward the city center chanting "down, down with Mubarak." The crowd later swelled to about 20,000 as they made their way through residential areas."

Mohandiseen is a adjacent to my wonderful old neighborhood of Dokki, where an American student I know is currently waiting out the situation. To get from Mohandiseen to the bridge leading towards central Cairo (where they were stopped by police) the crowd would have passed right through Dokki, where it sounds like they picked up enough supporters to double their numbers. Makes me proud. Read more!

Egypt ruling party offers no concessions

Ben Curtis, AP



Egypt ruling party offers no concessions

By HAMZA HENDAWI and HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press Hamza Hendawi And Hadeel Al-shalchi, Associated Press

CAIRO – Egypt's ruling party said Thursday it was ready for a dialogue with the public but offered no concessions to address demands for a solution to rampant poverty and political change heard in the country's largest anti-government protests in years.

At the same time, the grass roots protest movement was getting a double boost likely energize the largest anti-government demonstrations Egypt has seen in years. Mohammed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace laureate and the country's top pro-democracy advocate, was returning to the country Thursday night and declared he was ready to lead the protests. The country's largest opposition group — the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood — also threw its support behind the demonstrations.

Protests erupted for a third straight day and social networking sites were abuzz with talk that Friday's rallies could be some of the biggest so far calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak after 30-years in power. Millions gather at mosques across the city for Friday prayers, providing organizers with a huge number of people already out on the streets to tap into.

[Click on title for rest of article]

I don't believe in prayer, but I am most definitely hoping for as little violence as possible Friday. This will be a very crucial point in this uprising. Read more!

Plainclothes police arrest Mohamed Abdul Quddus, rapporteur of the Civil Liberties Committee and member of the Press SyndicateCouncil, during clashes in Cairo January 26, 2011. Thousands of Egyptians defied a ban on protests by returning to Egypt's streets on Wednesday and calling for President Hosni Mubarak to leave office, and some scuffled with police. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic


Egyptian police crack down on new protests (AP)


"Many in Egypt see these events as signs of the authoritarian president's vulnerability in an election year. There is speculation that 82-year-old Mubarak, who has been in power for nearly 30 years and recently experienced serious health problems, may be setting his son Gamal up for hereditary succession. But there is considerable public opposition and, according to leaked U.S. diplomatic memos, it does not meet with the approval of the powerful military. And the regime's tight hold on power has made it virtually impossible for any serious alternative to Mubarak to emerge.

"The crackdown by authorities brought harsh words from European leaders, who expressed concern and said the events underline the need for democratization and respect for human and civil rights. However, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did not criticize Egypt's government — a key U.S. ally in the Middle East — but only said the country was stable and Egyptians have the right to protest while urging all parties to avoid violence."



I'm sure there's more to come...


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Mubarak's son and family flee to UK

Mubarak’s son, family fly out to UK: reports


Not a good time to be in Cairo with the last name of Mubarak. President Mubarak has been grooming his son Gamal to follow him. Though presidencies are not supposed to be inherited, I guess we've all seen it happen here with the Bushes...

But it looks like it's getting a little too hot in Heliopolis lately, so Gamal and family have fled to the UK. Is the captain ready to go down with his ship?

My former professor in Cairo, Abbas al-Tonsi, also posted an Arabic article from The Telegraph (not sure which country) stating that the Egyptian revolution is shaking up the US government. LIke I said, though we often slapped Mubarak's wrist verbally for frequent human rights abuses, they are our most important ally (close tie with Saudia Arabia, but for vastly different reasons) and receive billions of US dollars of aid every year. The US is careful to provide matching amounts to Israel (not a poor nation, by the way) to keep everyone "happy." My favorite subscript to that fact is that the US profits ENORMOUSLY by providing munitions to both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. We have for decades.

Something tells me Hillary did not sleep well the last two nights...

See next post for more.

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