Tag Archives: Egypt

This is a follow-up to Nasos’ earlier post on China’s response to the Egyptian Lotus Revolution.  As has already been discussed, China used it’s elaborate 30-50,000 man strong  internet shield, known as the Golden Shield (金盾工程: jīndùn gōngchéng) to censor references to the recent social upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa from the […]

I’ve been enthralled with watching the demonstrators in Cairo, it’s been amazing. According to most reports and analysis that I’m familiar with, the demonstrators are standing up for their humans rights, for democratic rights, and standing against oppression and corruption. The revolt has been inspired by lack of jobs and by the frustration of an […]

Apparently should have included this image in my previous post. The New York Times and LeMonde both came out yesterday with stories depicting “divisions” among European leaders on Egypt following Friday’s Brussels summit. But a close reading of the reports shows it is apparently just one leader who can’t quite fall in line and call […]

Al Jazeera is leveraging the crisis in Egypt (and their coverage of it) to campaign for broadcasting rights throughout the US. They say they are not available in most of the 50 states in the US, but want the right to be. In an opinion article on their website, Al Jazeera’s Director General Wadah Khanfar […]

Advancements in communication technology have often foreshadowed civil unrest and revolution

Today I went to a town only 23 kilometers south of Tahrir Square. The plan was to see if the 11-day uprising in Egypt has produced any benefits so far – just by way of finding something different from the insecurity and chaos in Cairo. Kirdasa, a small town known for its flower nurseries and […]

The chaos in Egypt does indeed signal opportunity, but the big question is whether the Egyptian people (or their fellow protestors in neighboring countries) will end up with genuine reform or merely a different gang of corrupt officials willing to cut more (or different) people in on ‘the take.’

Journalists and reporters have an unofficial badge of honor they work for in their careers: credibility. Or what people in the media industry sometimes jokingly refer to as “street cred.” It is usually earned by reporting under dangerous, extremely taxing, or even life-threatening circumstances. An extreme example is a story I heard from a former […]

The turmoil in Egypt raises endless questions about accountability. To name a few: Is it possible for a dictator to be accountable to his people? What responsibility do Egypt’s allies have for holding him accountable? Are the massive public demonstrations currently on display doing any more for accountability than the previous status quo? Any leadership […]

As the situation in Egypt ramps up by the day, a casualty that is frequently making headlines  is the media. Specifically, reporters. The attacks on journalists have become so frequent and high profile (think Anderson Cooper) that the White House, in a rare move, has commented on it. According to a story in the New […]

News and Media coverage in China, is generally not my area of expertise… but this is the best account I have seen of the reaction by China’s authorities on developments in Egypt.  Willy Lam has an intimate knowledge of developments in China, which is why I am reproducing his recent commentary on Beijing’s response to […]

It’s been interesting watching the evolution of the U.S. role in dealing with the crisis in Egypt. It’s clear that the U.S. was taken by surprise by the pace of events. Sure, Tunisia was a warning, but Egypt is not Tunisia and few expected revolution in Egypt. At the outset, the Obama team took a […]

When I made my last post about the U.S. role in backing Mubarak, I hadn’t realized that Obama asked for “an orderly transition” that must begin “now” in Egypt. I am not changing my earlier post though. This is because it does reflect the growing general sentiment in Egypt about the U.S. role. This confusion […]

This is from Cairo, right in the middle of this turmoil. 4:50 Cairo Time. I HAD NO ACCESS TO THE INTERNET FOR THE PAST 5 DAYS. THE MUBARAK GOVERNMENT CUT ALL ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS. I AM TYPING SO FAST BEFORE THE I LOSE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AGAIN Mubarak is clearly backed by the Americans. He […]

Though Egypt blocked Twitter following the protests that erupted on January 25th, tweets about Egypt have surged in the days leading up to and after the start of the revolution that has rocked the capitol. According to Sysomos, the number of tweets that contained the words “Egypt,” “Yemen,” or “Tunisia” increased more than tenfold after […]