Update on the Egyptian Revolution - 013

Today was a mixed day, with anticipation, hope and fear.

First we have Ahmed Shafik, the newly appointed prime minister, apologize for Wednesday's massacres, even though there were killings overnight, and clashes in the morning with regime thugs.

We then had the vice president, Omar Suleiman have a sit down with a reporter and a clearly scripted, and full of lies. He blamed Qatar for using AlJazeera to target Egypt and cause unrest. He claimed that some protesters were negotiating with him. He said the original protester on 25 January had legitimate claims, but the ones in Tahrir Square today were "infiltrated" by "foreign agendas" and had "political inclinations" (as if that is a crime). And many more lies.

Late in the day, I saw on Facebook a fake photoshopped photo making the rounds claiming that AlJazeera web site had a banner saying "Together, for the downfall of Egypt".

He said that he was inviting the Muslim Brotherhood for negotiation, but they are hesitant.

At the same time, Mubarak was being interviewed by Christian Amanpour, and he said the age old false dichotomy of "it is me or chaos" and the fear mongering "if I go, the Muslim Brotherhood will take over". He said he is "fed up" and wants to resign had it not been for these things.

The regime can't even get its message straight? How come one is negotiating and the other reviling the Muslim Brotherhood?

Back to Mubarak. He gave his first ever possible resignation in 10 days since it all started. It was for the USA ABC News. One would think that he would have done that with the Egyptian media, but he chose a USA one. This signals that he is desperate and seeking support from the USA.

Later in the day, Omar Suleiman promised Christian Amanpour not to use violence against the protesters.

This was amid fears that they would be "dealt with" overnight on Thursday.

It is obvious there are deep divisions within the regime, with Mubarak, Shafik and Suleiman each having a different opinion, and that may explain the contradictions.

Another thing that was worrying was the continued an organized crackdown on reporters. There was a Greek reporter that was stabbed, and the CTV crew from Canada had their camera overlooking the Tahrir Square were taken away. The footage of the incident was on TV.

Very late in the day came news of negotiations taking place for Mubarak to resign.

Before that, there were demands from Hillary Clinton for the regime to ensure the safety of journalists. This was followed by discussions in the US Congress on possible use of US aid as a tool to force Mubarak to step down.

Both these actions were perceived negatively by many Egyptians watching state or tycoon media in Egypt. They saw in it a conspiracy.

Rassd News Network (RNN), a Facebook news group that is widely read for news updates on the Egyptian situation was hacked into by someone calling himself MO7TAREF (The Professional). The hacker claimed that he is not affiliated with anyone, but just against one sided news. He then pretended to apologize, and hand over the group back on the admin. False and misleading information followed. For example, saying people should not go to the demonstrations tomorrow. This was clearly a take over by the ruling party or state security.

The original admins of RNN created a new RNN page and most people moved there.

More images of the brutality of the regime emerged, with a riot police armored van plowing through protesters killing or injuring several. Then a fire truck doing the same. Then a white "stretch" car doing the same. Some of my school friends living outside Egypt expressed outrage at these images.

As for my mother, she seems that she has shifted her position a little bit overnight. She is willing to accept a seven month stay for Mubarak, after hoping he would leave just one day earlier. Seems that the brainwashing of the media has payed off for the regime, and that some portion of Egyptians inside Egypt were affected by it.

For my brother, he still wants Mubarak to go. But does not plan to go to the protests, and will rather guard his family.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a big day. No idea how many protesters will turn out after all the info warfare and split in the Egyptian society. If enough turn out in the streets, with some pressure from the international community.

Here is to hoping this would indeed be the Friday of Salvation, and Friday of Departure.