No sighting of the Goddess of Democracy in Cairo this morning.
Things are still coalescing, or un-coalescing, in Egypt. The girl heavy metal band "Jasmine Revolution," which has been credited with curing the facial condition Tunisia, is being cited as inspiration for full-throated democrats like my brother in photo at top.
There are photographs of demonstrators carrying signs with messages that reinforce the reporting yesterday by The New York Times that there is more un-coalescing than coalescing going on:
Justice is a good thing, I like justice. I just don't think they and I mean the same thing when we use the term.
She's cute and I would like to personally offer her my protection (as long as that would not be construed as American interference).
There you go. President Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar Sadat, was assassinated for signing a peace treaty with the country whose blue star adorns their flag.
That's the photograph of former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser being held aloft there. Following an assassination attempt in 1954 (assassinations are popular in Egypt), President Nasser "ordered one of the largest political crackdowns in the history of Egypt," according to Wikipedia.
President Mubarak attempted to offer an olive branch recently with the appointment of Omar Suleiman, his right hand man, to the vice presidency so that he could be his right hand man. The young and the restless were not assuaged: "Hosni Mubarak, Omar Suleiman, both of you are agents of the Americans," Reuters quoted the masses as responding.
Speaking of Americans, President Barack (Hope & Change) Obama, is "pressing for change" in Egypt according to The New York Times but has decided not to call on President Mubarak to step down because of concern that the U.S. "could lose all leverage over the Egyptian president," which sure sounds pretty close to me to making Mubarak an "agent of the Americans" as the Egyptian demonstrators chanted. The more things change the more they stay the same.
Meanwhile, somebody named "Fawaz Gerges," at the London School of Economics has weighed in on this intifada, saying, according to Reuters:
"This is the Arab world's Berlin moment. The authoritarian wall has fallen, and that's regardless of whether Mubarak survives."
Now I, Benjamin Harris, do not do my learned work at the London School of Economics. I could not get into the London School of Economics as a janitor. But I herewith make this solemn public pledge: If this is the Arab world's Berlin moment and authoritarianism has fallen in that world I will fly to London to kiss Fawaz Gerges' a** (unless he would prefer me not to).
