I have been glued to the TV (and the laptop, the iPad and the iPhone) over the past few days, closely watching the events unfolding in Egypt. Thrilled to see Egyptians uprise against Mubarak, and concerned over the safety of my friends in the streets of Cairo. The regime has been trying to cut off the country from the rest of the world by shutting down the internet and mobile telecommunication. Obama statement was very disappointing, but I guess that doesn’t matter now. What matters is that the Egyptian people are standing up for their rights, and I hope that they won’t stop until they get them. Al Jazeera English is providing a great coverage, and CNN International is also doing a decent job, but I pay most of my attention to what people are saying on Twitter. This is the domino effect in realtime. Below are some pictures that I took during a demonstration held near the UN here in New York earlier today:
Saudi Jeans 
The french Governement of Mr Sarkozy supported Ben Ali until the very last moment. Nowadays, french politicians are systematically asked by journalists if they are “pure” of any favorable words towards the former Tunisian dictator (see on Facebook the Ben Ali wall of shame). This tunisian issue will be heavy in the debate for the next presidential elections in France.
The fact that Hosni Mubarak turned off internet highlights the fact that the Sarkozi’s project of an “civilized internet” is against freedom and rather a tool for dictators.
Egyptian revolution may have the same effect in the US. Moreover the images of arab people fighting for democracy could completely change the stereotypes among the french and american populations, toward more brotherhood. Then it could be more complicated for the Likoud to describe Israel as an island of democracy in a barbarian sea.
This would be a domino effect.
Hi, Revolution from the masses is always the most dreaded by the rulers. Mubarak has a challenge now. Rulers in most countries only leave when they are called by THE ALMIGHTY or if they r forcefully thrown away. Mubarak seems like one of them.
The only sad part of these revolutions is the loss of life, infrastructure and economy. I hope this turns out to be in favor of egyption people.
“Revolution from the masses is always the most dreaded by the rulers. ”
They can’t seem to grasp that if they had regular, properly run elections and free media, there would be no need for any revolutions.
Revolutions only happen when a country’s politics is stuck.
“I hope this turns out to be in favor of egyption people.”
What proportion of revolutions throughout history have turned out favorable for the people? One in four? One in ten?
Step by step progress gives much better results. I hope the Chinese can manage this.