Cory asks: Can you sum up what the heck’s been going on in egypt?

The revolution in Egypt was inspired by the revolution in Tunisia (also in Northern Africa). The revolution in Tunisia was sparked off when a vendor had his vegetable cart confiscated by a female police officer and was unable to get it back, which caused the man to burn himself to death in protest. The Tunisian revolution also inspired protests in neighboring Algeria.

The overarching cause of the increasing strife is anger over corruption, fixed elections, and the disparity of wealth. The disparity of wealth is actually much larger in the United States, but 40% of Egypt lives on $2 a day. While this global financial crisis, like all the others, was caused by banking institutions and the super-rich, the super-poor end up paying the consequences. Also, just like in Saudi Arabia and Iran, over half the population is under 30, plus there’s rampant unemployment, and the internet is making it harder for the dictatorship to quash all dissenting opinion. A Google executive recently released from Egyptian captivity is cited as helping the revolution, and Facebook and Twitter are helping people organize.

Like most totalitarian dictatorships, Egypt was an ally, so a lot of Paleo-Conservatives are angry at Obama for taking the side of the protestors, while Neo-Conservatives are stepping up and praising Bush for helping bring about the conditions that made regime change seem possible to the masses. Many people are scared the “Muslim Brotherhood” is going to take over, but they are a comparatively minor player and have been very quiet since the protests began. Glenn Beck thinks that it’s being caused by a conspiracy between Islamists and Communists.

The protests started the day after I watched the movie Agora, which is about Christians rioting in Egypt during the early 400s A.D. I definitely recommend it.