I wasn't very happy to wake up early this morning to NPR reporting that gangs of pro-government thugs (probably rent-a_goons) were attacking Egyptian protesters. To think yesterday seemed so hopeful. But maybe this is simply Mubarak's last gasp, either that or he thinks he can simply wait out the protests. As one NPR guest pointed out, a lot can ( Read more... )

1. Julian Assange: While the concept of Wikileaks seems like a good thing in theory, it's starting to become clear that the whole thing is being run by a man who doesn't exactly have both oars in the water. NPR's Fresh Air talked to New York Times executive editor Bill Keller tonight, who was explaining, among other things, how Assange didn't ( Read more... )

NPR's All Things Considered today aired an interesting piece on how people from around the world are helping Egyptian activists to circumvent the Egyptian government's shutdown of the Internet. (audio with transcript)

Kudos to European ISP's for making numbers available free of charge for dial-up access from Egypt.

And Marketplace aired an ( Read more... )

Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes here and on Facebook and Twitter. Sorry about the lack of responses, but I have not had much time to be online today ( Read more... )

The Muslim Brotherhood seems to be taking a more active role in the Egyptian protests, at least according to the mainstream media. You get a different story when you follow Al Jazeera English or Twitter and it seems like the Muslim Brotherhood is being played up by the Western press because of the fear of Western governments of the aftermath of ( Read more... )

Occasionally the mainstream media actually does something useful. Tonight, NBC's Nightly News featured a rather dramatic illustration of an example of why there is such frustration with the U.S. in the Arab world. One of the reporters had gathered up some of the tear gas canisters fired at protesters by the Egyptian police in their violent ( Read more... )

Egypt's protests pose threat for regimeCAIRO - Thousands of Egyptians have vented their rage against President Hosni Mubarak's autocratic government for two straight days of protests that defied a ban on public gatherings. Baton-wielding police responded with tear gas and beatings in a crackdown that has shown no tolerance for dissent ( Read more... )

I remember when I was a kid watching the revolutions all across eastern Europe in 1989, as well as the demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square later that year. Back then it was phone and fax lines connecting the various dissident groups and often keeping them one step ahead of the authorities. Today, in Tunisia and elsewhere, it's cell ( Read more... )