EGYPT: Videos taunt President Hosni Mubarak, defy media crackdown

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Despite the Egyptian government’s attempts to control the flow of information out of Egypt by intermittently cutting off Internet access, blocking phone lines and cracking down on media outlets, protesters on the ground and supporters abroad are combining efforts online to provide a ground’s-eye view of the unfolding protest movement.

The above video of a group of protesters in Cairo was posted without comment Saturday. Within hours, a commenter had provided an accurate translation of the slogans being chanted:

‘Leave, leave, Mubarak! Tel Aviv is waiting for you! Gamal, tell your father, the Egyptian people hate you! We’ve had enough! They’ve raised the price of sugar and oil; they’ve wrecked our homes. Raise your voice, people of Egypt! We can’t even find beans!’

Another video from Saturday shows a woman denouncing President Hosni Mubarak as fighter jets can be heard roaring overhead.

‘We die, but Egypt lives!’ she screams defiantly as onlookers cheer. More than 100 people have been killed in clashes with security forces since the protests erupted last week.

One of the most popular viral videos in circulation is a dramatic montage posted on YouTube several days ago that set footage culled from television and other sources to rousing music. The clip has racked up nearly a million views on YouTube.

Another online favorite features an 8-year-old Saudi girl lecturing Mubarak and advising him to ‘remove the law that lets him be president forever.’

-- Meris Lutz in Beirut

Videos, from top: Protesters in Tahrir Square in Cairo denounce President Hosni Mubarak. A woman defies fighter jets. A popular rousing montage has racked up nearly a million page views. A young Saudi girl lectures Mubarak. Credit: YouTube