Egypt
Egypt
I have no idea if anyone else on this board is interested in politics but it's pretty remarkable watching what's going on in Egypt right now. It's amazing how throughout the course of humankind people usually eventually revolt like this regardless of risk and cost and what they go up against. And billions a year in American military aid and American weapons is a lot to go up against. I don't know if I'd have the cajones myself. We live in interesting times...
Oh definitely! I was reading about the spread of self-immolation as a protest technique after a street vendor who was desperate after the Tunian police confiscated his cart and vegetables set himself on fire (died later, of course) helped spark the Tunisian riots and it was pretty sad. As a general rule, you have to be in a pretty awful situation to think lighting yourself on fire is the answer.
The protesters have gotten some concessions but there's really no denying that Suleiman taking power is like slapping a wig on Mubarak and saying "See! We listened and switched leaders!" Hopefully, nobody else is going to get hurt and this all works out because I have a suspicion that the majority of the protesters aren't going to fall in line with replacing one unpopular leader with another just like him. That's what happened when they were getting fed up with Sadat and they got a "change" in Mubarak. The same trick ain't likely to work twice in the same generation for God's sake.