Protest leaders meet with Egypt PM

[cal04]

Source: Associated Press

Protest leaders say they have met with Egypt's prime minister to discuss ways to ease President Hosni Mubarak out of office so negotiations can begin on the nation's future.

Abdel-Rahman Youssef, a youth activist, says he and other protest figures met with Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq late Friday. He underlines the meeting dealt only with ways to arrange Mubarak's departure and that protests will continue until that happens.

Under one proposal, Mubarak would deputize Vice President Omar Suleiman with his powers and step down "in some way, either in a real departure or a political one," Youssef says.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110205/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt

[xchrom]

1. making this a slow departure is for mubarak's sake.

and i'm beginning to think it has something to do with his personal assets.

[IDemo]

2. Mubarak would deputize Suleiman?

How is it acceptable for this group to yield the "transformation" government to Mubarak's hand-picked henchman? Do they really speak for the population at large in this meeting?

[loudsue]

3. That's my question. It doesn't seem like it begins to come close to doing

away with the corruption that they are fighting against. It's kind of like handing over the reins of the US government to Clinton after bush/reagan left (Iran Contra/BCCI) , or to the Obama administration after the bush junior mafia left, or to Jerry Ford after Nixon left. It is just a way of perpetuating the same types of crimes under a different name.

A smart government right now would stop and take notice that people are getting sick and tired of corruption and TWO systems of justice: one for the rich and powerful criminals, and one for the poor criminals and/or prison-profit-units, which has become the case in the USA privatized prison system.

We're getting pretty damned sick and tired of this shit, so just think how the Egyptians must feel.

[L. Coyote]

4. Vice President Omar Suleiman lied on State Television

Saying he met with certain factions, who reported they knew nothing about it.

[cal04]

5. Al Jazeera blog; Frank Wisner, Barack Obama's special envoy, Mubarak must stay

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/04/live-blog-feb-5-egypt-protests

8:07pm Hosni Mubarak must stay in power for the time being, says Frank Wisner, Barack Obama's special envoy for Egypt.

We need to get a national consensus around the pre-conditions for the next step forward. The president must stay in office to steer those changes.

8:01pm Al Arabiya television retracts its earlier report that Hosni Mubarak resigned as head of Egypt's ruling party.

7:33pm Al Jazeera's online producer in Cairo reports, the army is no longer negotiating to remove the protesters out off Tahrir Square, the army is still present around the square. Protesters continue to rally in Tahrir Square under the cold and rainy weather.

6:00pm General Hassan El-Rawani, the head of the army's central command, speaks to the masses in Tahrir Square urging them to leave the square, they chant back at him "We are not leaving, He is leaving".

[Astraea]

7. Who are we to say he should stay?

Oh, right... world's only superpower. I'll be glad the day that phrase goes out of fashion.

[WhiteTara]

6. they're all trying to figure out how to make a defeat

not look like a defeat; while stealing as much money as possible.

Power to the People.