Posts Tagged ‘White House’

Egypt’s military pressured by U.S. to hand over power to the people

The White House

Newscast Media, CAIRO, Egypt–The Egyptian military has been pressured by the U.S. government to hand over power to civilian leaders so they can form a new government that is acceptable to the Egyptian people, after Friday’s protests that filled Tahrir square with tens of thousands of protesters. Amid turbulent protests in Cairo this week, the White House has called for the military to set aside in Egypt, in favor of a civilian government.

Part of the statement from the White House press secretary read: “The United States strongly believes that the new Egyptian government must be empowered with real authority immediately. We believe that Egypt’s transition to democracy must continue, with elections proceeding expeditiously, and all necessary measures taken to ensure security and prevent intimidation. Most importantly, we believe that the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place in a just and inclusive manner that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, as soon as possible.”The entire statement can be read here.

Despite the many parallels being drawn to this week’s unrest and the mass protests that brought down President Hosni Mubarak in February, several key differences are contributing to the containment of this conflict.

“The protesters don’t want to antagonize the lifestyle of the rest of the population, but the most important fact is they want to show up for a mass rally in a place that’s safe because it’s self-protected from attacks,” said Ashraf al-Sherif, a political science lecturer at the American University (AUC) in Cairo.

When protests erupted throughout the country in January, Tahrir had not yet become the local and international symbol of freedom and civil rights, or even the popular social destination, that it is now.

“At that time Tahrir was not really that iconic and people were fighting their own battles with police in popular neighborhoods, unlike now when protests are concentrated in main squares in the cities and life is kind of normal outside of that,” Sherif said.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces’ announcement Friday that Mubarak-era Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri will lead a new cabinet did nothing to assuage the anger in the square on “Last Chance Friday.” And many are skeptical the tenuous peace imposed early Thursday morning between police and demonstrators will hold.

Tensions and rallies are likely to escalate even further over the next few days as military rulers fail to satisfy the Tahrir demands ― namely that they step aside, according to AUC lecturer Sherif. Protests and renewed clashes could spread throughout the city ahead of or during the scheduled vote, he said.

“In the coming few days before the elections I think the crisis will intensify,” he said. “It’s not the scale of the protests ― it doesn’t really matter if there are only 30,000 or 40,000 people in Tahrir, that’s enough to cause a problem ― it’s the lack of solutions.” http://www.newscastmedia.com/cairo-egypt3.html

Barack Obama Gives Shirley Sherrod A Ring

Obama apologizes to Shirley Sherrod

Newscast Media — Shirley Sherrod had earlier said she wanted to speak to Barack Obama. She finally got her wish when he gave her a ring. The White House released this statement:

The President reached Ms. Sherrod by telephone at about 12:35. They
spoke for seven minutes.

The President expressed to Ms. Sherrod his regret about the events of the
last several days. He emphasized that Secretary Vilsack was sincere in his
apology yesterday, and in his work to rid USDA of discrimination.

The President told Ms. Sherrod that this misfortune can present an
opportunity for her to continue her hard work on behalf of those in need,
and he hopes that she will do so.

http://www.newscastmedia.com/shirley-sherrod.htm

White House admits that GOP may sweep House in November elections

White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs

NewscastMedia — White House spokesman Robert Gibbs admitted that they could lose the House of Representative to the Republicans due to voters’ frustration about the economy.

Mr. Gibbs told NBC’s Meet the Press, “There is no doubt there are enough seats at play that could cause Republicans to gain control, there is no doubt about that.”

Should a shift like that occur, it would be difficult for Barack Obama to push through his agenda. Dick Morris takes it a step further. He contends that the GOP will win both the House and the Senate. Writing for the Hill Dick Morris said, “When Republicans are winning issues like education, healthcare and Social Security — normally solidly Democratic issues — a sweep of unimaginable proportions is in the offing.”

If Dick Morris is right, then we will be seeing a repeat of what happened during the Clinton administration in 1994 when the Republicans swept both the House and the Senate to the surprise of the nation. With the Tea Party movement energized, there is no telling what could happen come November.
http://www.newscastmedia.com/whitehouse.htm