Sean Penn joins Egyptians in Tahrir Square protest

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Sean Penn shakes hands with protesters in Tahrir Square during a demonstration against the ruling military council, after Friday prayers in Cairo, September 30, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Stringer

By Sami Aboudi

CAIRO | Fri Sep 30, 2011 12:20pm EDT

CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. actor Sean Penn joined thousands of Egyptian activists who packed downtown Cairo on Friday demanding that military rulers speed up the transfer of power to civilians and end emergency laws once used by Hosni Mubarak against his opponents.

Local media said Penn, holding an Egyptian flag, walked with Egyptian actor Khaled el-Nabawi in Tahrir Square, where Egyptians demonstrated in what they dubbed as "Reclaiming the Revolution" day amid growing discontent over the way military rulers had managed the transitional period.

"The world is inspired by the call for freedom by the courageous revolution of Egypt for its freedom," Penn said in remarks carried by Al-Ahram newspaper's online page.

"Clearly that is not a completion overnight, there are still struggles forward, there are constitutional issues, there is ... a transition of power from the military to the people," he added.

Nabawi said he had invited the Oscar-winning Penn to visit Egypt as part of efforts to demonstrate that Egypt was a safe place to visit despite the uprising. "We want to show that Egypt is safe," Nabawi said.

The military council has announced that parliamentary elections will start on November 28 with a mixed system of proportional representation and individual lists. Most political groups fear the system will allow Mubarak supporters to return to office.

"This week is different because we feel that our revolution has been stolen from us," said Yasser Fouad, an unemployed 38-year-old, his voice drowned out by loudspeakers urging people to ensure the protest remained peaceful.

"None of our demands have been achieved. We want them to hand over power immediately through elections," Fouad said.

Mahmoud Sayyid Saif, 58, who works at the Health Ministry, said Egyptians would no longer put up with inaction. "It has been seven months, and nothing has been achieved," he said.

WARNING

The ruling military council has warned demonstrators against attacking public facilities, but soldiers and security forces stayed away from the square.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest political force, said on its website that it would not join the protest. But social media websites said many youths vowed to defy the orders from the group's leadership and join the protest.

Egyptians have grown more vocal in criticizing the military council's handling of the transitional period. Six presidential hopefuls on Thursday issued a statement demanding that the council set March as the deadline for handing over power.

They also declared that the state of emergency legally expired on Friday. The military council has said it will stay in force until next year.

"The state of emergency in place now will come to an end on September 30, 2011, in accordance with article 59 of the constitutional decree, and any decision or judicial ruling issued after September 30, 2011 based on the state of emergency will be null of any legal or constitutional legitimacy," the presidential candidates' statement said.

They also demanded reactivation of a law dating back to the 1950s that criminalizes abuse of office, to make it possible to try remnants of the Mubarak regime and "render them incapable of sneaking back to the seats of the legislative authority."

Some 60 political parties issued a joint statement earlier this week with similar demands. They also gave the military council until Sunday to amend election laws to allow political parties to also compete for seats allocated to individuals.

Egypt's Al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday that the government was considering the request.

Thousands of Egyptians also marched in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and in the city of Suez. Witnesses said the protests were peaceful.

(Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy, Yousri Mohamed in Ismailiya and Abdel Rahman Youssef in Alexandria)

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Michelle Joins Team Obama's Dining For Dollars

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The urgency for donations inside the Obama-Biden campaign was stepped up a notch today when first lady Michelle Obama was tapped to plead with the president's supporters for just $3.

After a week of sometimes desperate sounding E-mails as the campaign wraps up its latest fundraising quarter, Michelle Obama today joined her husband, campaign staff and even the vice president, in promoting a dinner offer with the president in return for a few bucks.

"Paul,

Not everyone knows how to prepare for a dinner like this. As someone who's eaten countless meals with my husband, I want to tell you the one thing to do if you're selected to join him.

Just relax. Barack wants this dinner to be fun, and he really loves getting to know supporters like you.

I hope you'll take him up on it before Friday's deadline.

Will you donate just $3 today and be entered to have dinner with Barack?

These dinners mean a lot to Barack. They're a chance for him to talk with a few of the people who are driving the campaign—and a chance for him to say thank you.

So come prepared to tell your story, and say whatever's on your mind.

Don't miss the opportunity to be there. Donate $3 or more today, before the September 30th deadline:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Dinner

Thanks,

Michelle

No purchase, payment, or contribution necessary to enter or win. Contributing will not improve chances of winning. Void where prohibited. Entries must be received by midnight on 9/30/11. You may enter by contributing to Sponsor at https://donate.barackobama.com/Dinner-with-Barack-Sept or go here, http://my.barackobama.com/Dinner-with-Barack-Alt-Sept, to enter without contributing. Four winners will each receive the following prize package: one round-trip ticket from within the fifty U.S. States, DC, or Puerto Rico to a destination to be determined by the Sponsor; hotel accommodations for one; and dinner with President Obama on a date to be determined by the Sponsor (approximate combined retail value $1,050). Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Promotion open only to U.S. citizens, or lawful permanent U.S. residents who are legal residents of 50 United States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and 18 or older (or of majority under applicable law). Promotion subject to Official Rules, http://my.barackobama.com/Dinner-Rules-Sept, and additional restrictions on eligibility. Sponsor: Obama for America, 130 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601.

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Teamsters Joins AFL-CIO to Blast Obama as Timid

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The Teamsters today joined the AFL-CIO in demanding that President Obama stop caving in to the GOP and offer a new jobs program that he will fight for.

"We want him to fight harder," said James Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Up to now, he added, the president is "not fighting enough."

While labor isn't about to back a Republican in the election, Hoffa echoed the AFL-CIO's frustration that labor doesn't seem to be on the president's mind. Instead, he said, the president has been too willing to cave into GOP demands on spending and deficit cuts.

In an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Hoffa said: "I think he's got to draw a line in the sand. But to constantly keep backing up, and backing up, we don't want him to do that. We want him to fight and we will rally behind him. And the president also has to rally the base, come back to labor. You know when he was out there talking to the farmers [on this month's Midwest bus tour], I had to laugh at that. Do you think the farmers are going to vote for the him? I mean, I don't think so. When he's standing out in that corn field—I love the president—I don't know what he's thinking out there. He's not going to get any votes out there. I guess it was good television." [Check out editorial cartoons about the economy.]

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka made similar remarks Wednesday and added that he didn't think the union would play it's usual big role at the Democratic convention to reelect Obama if the president doesn't offer a bold jobs program.

"If they don't have a jobs program I think we'd be better to use our money doing other things," he said.

Trumka also said the president's fight for jobs will be a make-or-break moment for how hard labor works in his reelection. "This is going to be a moment when history and our members are going to judge him and they are going to be making an opinion. And if he puts all of his emphasis and focus on jobs creation, it's going give them one picture," said Trumka. "And if he continues to do little nibbly things around the end that aren't going to make a difference and aren't going to solve a problem, that will give another picture."

On MSNBC [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/#44285417], Hoffa said that labor won't vote Republican. "We're going to be backing the president but we want the president to fight harder. We don't him to be rolled over," said Hoffa. [Read: Seven Ways Obama Can Gain Credibility on Jobs.]

During the last debt ceiling vote, he said the president disappointed him. "He basically got stared down and he blinked."

On the jobs program, which the GOP is expected to fight, Hoffa said that the president has got to give up his wishes for a compromise. "He's eminently reasonable and the president, he's a very smart man. He thinks, 'If I'm reasonable,' but he's dealing with unreasonable people that don't want to deal," said Hoffa. "They don't want to work with him, they want to crash him." [Check out political cartoons about the deficit and debt.]

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