Egypt round-up

Here is Abu Aardvark's round-up of the Egypt referendum coverage, which he titled "Lovely. Laura must be so proud." Basically, those opposed to Mubarak were beaten and sexually harassed, sometimes by thugs and sometime by the police.

Here is the NY Times explanation of the referendum.

The measure, which is expected to pass by a wide margin, will ostensibly let rival candidates challenge President Hosni Mubarak, who is expected to run for a fifth term in September. But the opposition says the details of the law make it virtually impossible for any credible opponent to run, and dismissed the referendum as a ruse.

"This was not a referendum, but an extension of Mubarak's rule and a guarantee that Gamal will inherit from him," said Abdel Halim Qandeel, spokesman for Kefaya, Egypt's largest opposition movement, referring to the president's son, Gamal Mubarak. "We refuse for the people of Egypt to be insulted like this.".

...Under the amended Article 76 of Egypt's Constitution, which was voted on, independent candidates would need the support of 250 elected politicians drawn from the upper and lower houses of Parliament and from each of 26 provincial legislatures to be allowed to run for the presidency.

Given the domination of those institutions by President Mubarak's National Democratic Party, few if any independents would be likely to come close to meeting the requirements.

I wonder what the White House will say, and more importantly do, in regards to this. How serious are we about spreading freedom and democracy?