HuffPost: 'Strikes break out across Egypt'

First from Huff Post, the screaming headline:

STRIKES BREAK OUT ACROSS EGYPT

Their story:

Thousands of state workers and impoverished Egyptians launched strikes and protests around the country on Wednesday over their economic woes as anti-government activists sought to expand their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak despite warnings from the vice president that protests won't be tolerated much longer.

Some 8,000 protesters, mainly farmers, set barricades of flaming palm trees in the southern province of Assiut, blocking the main highway and railway to Cairo to complain of bread shortages. ... Efforts by Vice President Omar Suleiman to open a dialogue with protesters over reforms have broken down since the weekend, with youth organizers of the movement deeply suspicious that he plans only superficial changes far short of real democracy. They refuse any talks unless Mubarak steps down first.

Showing growing impatience with the rejection, Suleiman issued a sharp warning that raised the prospect of a renewed crackdown.

And for some nuance, this from today's Al Jazeera today's live-blog. These are a few elected entries (I've reversed the order, so this is earliest to latest):

11:33am More strikes now taking place in Mahalla and Suez. About 10,000 workers at various factories in different cities over the past 24 hours have gone on strike. Most are demanding better wages and conditions but they are also adding momentum to pro-democracy protestors. ...

12:48pm Thirty-four political prisoners, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, were released on Tuesday, according to Egyptian state television.

The government seems to be scrambling under pressure from international governments and pro-democracy supporters, Al Jazeera's reporter in Cairo said. She added however, that there are still an unknown number of people missing, including activists who took part in the recent protests. ...

2:00pm Wael Ghonim, the activist who was recently released from custody in Egypt, says on Twitter that a policeman informed him that General Habib Ibrahim El Adly, the former Interior Minister of Egypt, ordered the police to fire live bullets at protesters.

An officer just called me to tell me: I escaped from the service after ElAdly asked us to fire live bullets randomly on protesters. #Jan25 ...

4:14pm The AP news agency reports that protesters are responding angrily to Suleiman's statement on Tuesday, in which the vice presidnet [sic] said that continued protests would not be tolerated and would trigger a "coup":

'He is threatening to impose martial law, which means everybody in the square will be smashed,' said Abdul-Rahman Samir, a spokesman for a coalition of the five main youth groups behind protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square. 'But what would he do with the rest of the 70 million Egyptians who will follow us afterward.'

Suleiman is creating 'a disastrous scenario,' Samir said. 'We are striking and we will protest and we will not negotiate until Mubarak steps down. Whoever wants to threaten us, then let them do so.' ...

8:39pm Citing medics as sources, theAFP news agency now reports that at least five have been killed in Wadi al-Jadid after police fired live rounds into a crowd of proteststers. ...

10:44pm There's a candlelight vigil going on at Tahrir Square tonight, in memory of those who have been killed in the 16 days of protest.

This is just a taste. Visit the site for the full picture, including videos.

Note that in the 12:48pm entry, it appears that a behind-the-scenes crackdown has begun. The 2:00pm entry, about Google executive Wael Ghonim and the live bullets, is important for two reasons: (1) that this seems to have happened, and (2) that the Egyptians are now aware of it, thanks to Ghonim's notoriety. (Our coverage of Ghonim's story is here.)

And the 4:14pm entry indicates a hardening of both sides, Suleiman's and the protesters.

In my estimation, this last is probably a good thing. The worst scenario for the nascent democracy movement would be for the situation to calm down, Suleiman to remain in power, and a quiet brutal crackdown to commence. Suleiman, by reputation an eager torturer, would most certainly make the protesters, their friends, and their families, pay dearly. At this point, the only way out for the protesters is all the way through.

This situation presents a Scylla-and-Charybdis situation for Obama, by the way. More on that later.

GP