why did it start now? Egypt.

[svsuman23]

I understand that Mubarak has been in power for 30 years.

But why did these protests start now? What make the people start protesting now, and now sooner or later?

[tabatha]

1. Food prices. No jobs. Tunisia example.

[Poll_Blind]

2. Whatever it was, it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

These things can brew for a long time...

PB

[ixion]

3. A gentleman burned himself alive in Tunisia

and that is what started the balling rolling.

[CC]

4. The Jasmine Revolution.

A top heavy country, high unemployment, government corruption and inflation, specially food inflation. The media has been pretty good at letting people know the whys and this was expected eventually, just not right now. Even Israel was taken by surprise and you know they have a very good intelligence apparatus in the area.

[Marblehead]

5. good question

There is a lot of speculation.

[grahamhgreen]

6. Disparity of wealth, corruption, gaming food prices, the same things we see here.

This is a repudiation of the neo-con agenda.

[JoePhilly]

8. Here, is nothing like, there.

[grahamhgreen]

9. Ever been to Detroit? Just a difference of degree.

[JoePhilly]

14. Not really.

There are some very poor parts of the US, that is true.

Egyptians also have fake elections. If they descent, they can be picked up off the street and disappeared.

We have lots of problems ... but as I said, here, is nothing like, there. We are not about to see a popular uprising demanding that the tyrannical dictator leave the country.

[justiceischeap]

7. I think when the younger generation of Egyptian's saw what an uprising could do in Tunisia

they decided they too could create change in their country if they only took to the streets and raised their voices.

Other posters have touched on what led to this feeling but the why of it, I believe, stems from 2 things. Obama's Cairo speech, watering an already planted seed and Tunisia's protests was like sun shining on the watered seed.

[sabrina 1]

10. There were two main events that sparked the Egyptian revolution.

One was the Tunisian revolution and the other was the murder of young man in June in Egypt by the Mubarak's thugs. That caused outraged, not that it was a shock, but something about the brutality of it left people outraged. Same thing in Tunisia, the self-immolation of a 26 year old, after one too many incidents of harassment by Mubarak's thugs. Both will probably will probably go down in history as heroes in their countries

[kenny blankenship]

11. In part because Mubarak *has* been in control for 30 years, and is now basically waiting to die

he's 82 and has cancer. How much longer could he possibly last?

So that means his successor, who has labored many years within the One Party + Military State, is ready to take over from Mubarak imminently. Whoever he is, he will have to be a top man in the NDP gang, and will rule Egypt and steal from Egypt's people just like Mubarak did.

That is what the crowds in Tahrir Square do not want to see happen. They don't want merely a change of the asshole at the top of the pyramid, they want to turn the pyramid over: revolution, a change in the form of a country's government. If they simply wanted Mubarak replaced they could just wait a year or two more and nature would take care of it for them. But then Mubarak's successor would have time to get all his plans and people in place, and there would be a smooth changeover from one bloody despot to the next.

To prevent an "orderly transition" to a new dictator from occurring, the anti-Mubarak demonstrators have to launch their revolution now, as the old dictator is dying off and before the new dictator can get a good grip on the reins of power.

Last week Hosni Mubarak took a step that he had put off for thirty years: he named a VP. Mubarak had never named a number two for fear of being assassinated by his VP's followers. He himself came to power through the assassination of his predecessor, Anwar Sadat. The new man was put forward by the Egyptian Generals yet does not wear a uniform himself. However, he is if anything even more frightening than they are. Omar Suleiman was Head of Egyptian Intelligence for Mubarak. As Intelligence chief in a period in which Egypt has accepted its subordinate role to Israel in the US directed middle east, Suleiman's main concern has not been "chasing Israeli spies", as you might imagine based on all the accusations of espionage, beatings and near lynchings of international journalists going on in Egypt in the last 48 hours, but rather his mission has been infiltrating and liquidating any groups and individuals that might pose a political challenge to the Mubarak regime. He endeared himself the US by being a thorough and enthusiastic torturer of War-on-Terror detainees we had shipped to Egypt. Mubarak trusts him enough to accept him as his successor, meaning he believes his family and fortune are safest with Suleiman in power. And now we hear our own Dear Leader is proposing that Suleiman be made the official head of state in Egypt in what they say will be a "transitional govt". This is a move -not particularly subtle- to subvert the aspirations of the Egyptians now putting their lives on the line in Cairo and Alexandria for democracy and for an END to government by gangsterism in their country. Suleiman is as close to a personification of despotic gangsterism as could be found. If he is installed as the head of a "transitional government" for Egypt, the transition will last for the rest of his life.

[xchrom]

12. four things: no jobs, high food prices, no democratic representations, tunisia. nt

[blm]

13. My take: Wikileaks showed many of 'leaders' in region as actors for NWO's global fascist agenda

and when you couple those revelations with a sinking world economy that only benefits the already very wealthy fascists in charge......REVOLUTION.

[BeFree]

15. Good Question

I wonder if Obama's speech there evoked some hope for change?

Really, Obama's election was a sign to the rest of the world that any person given the right to freedom can do just about anything. Be whatever they want. To me that was a huge selling point then and still today. A selling point for democracy. Methinks everybody would like a similar opportunity.

Here, it is a birthright. They really do love our freedom. And desire something similar.