That pussy... Thank god. However I doubt Egypt will go back to normal soon.

Yah, this is really only the beginning of this story. They still have to create a stable government.

I doubt that will happen any time soon though

I know I was just agreeing with you and expanding on what you said.

Sorry I read that as "*That* is only the beginning of the story"

And now we just have to wait and see what unfolds in the aftermath.

How likely do you think it is that the new leader going to be a extremist?

Well, the Muslim Brotherhood says it won't field a candidate for election, so not that likely.

Even if the Muslim Brotherhood did field a candidate, it still wouldn't be terribly likely.

It would be nice if some varying political parties emerged from all the commotion. It's good they dethroned Mubarak, but I don't think anyone quite thought out what they'd do afterward (and I don't blame them). Hopefully the future elections work out well. I'm hoping they'll re-outline their government somehow. Something a little more democratic...

"You will have 1 turn of Anarchy while Democracy is established."

In any case, the military seems to be on the people's side and will try to keep order while it facilitates time for fair elections.

Civ IV reference FTW.

Wait, it wasn't ruled by the military beforehand?

No, the president ruled over the military. When he stepped down, he handed command to them. What's the current state of Egypt?

Apparently, now Libya is uprising, too.

In Egypt, the military seems to be running the show for the moment, but things seem to have calmed down. The question now is when (and if) elections will be held.

BBC World News reported tonight that Libya is resorting to actual cash bribes for loyalty (or at least the televised promise thereof). That suggests that the current regime's fate is sealed, and it's now only a matter of time before it falls. Gaddafi seems determined to cling to power as long as he can, though, and the Libyan people seem more inclined to take up arms against their government than the Tunisians or Egyptians were.

Did he really go on television, talking about going house to house to kill those against him?

Yes he did.

Egypt showed the middle east, and the entire world, that people are willing to fight and die for their rights. Using violence to try to stop the uprising isn't going to work. It just makes the people hate the dictator even more. Even Machiavelli said that the one thing tyrants should do is make the people hate them.

The one thing they should do?

Not really hate, but fear. It's a similar emotion, but fear is more subservient.

However, I find that the most effective way to kowtow an entire population is through the way of the American democracy. Which is through the effective use of propaganda, make the poor agree with the rich when they do things that harm the poor, or make them not care or feel completely powerless to stop the system.

With a 35% turnout I would say it's very effective.

Sorry, I forgot the not.

"One of the most powerful safeguards a prince can have against conspiracies is to avoid being hated by the populace." The Prince

In Egypt, 82 percent want stoning for those who commit adultery; 77 percent would like to see whippings and hands cut off for robbery; and 84 percent favor the death penalty for any Muslim who changes his religion. Asked if they supported “modernizers” or “Islamists” only 27 percent said modernizers while 59 percent said Islamists.

That's what they believe in.

Don't be fooled, the Egyptian Revolutionaries don't want democracy. They want more tyranny.

If 82 per cent of a nation agree with it who are we to deny it? Should they become a democracy, we can't deny them that. I think it's disgusting personally, but I don't live in Egypt, if those bills were passed democratically who would I be to deny them?

Sorry, I don't object that what they want is wrong, but that is not tyranny

tyranny (ˈtɪrənɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]

— n , pl -nies
1. a. government by a tyrant or tyrants; despotism
b. similarly oppressive and unjust government by more than one person
2. arbitrary, unreasonable, or despotic behaviour or use of authority: the teacher's tyranny
3. any harsh discipline or oppression: the tyranny of the clock
4. a political unit ruled by a tyrant
5. (esp in ancient Greece) government by a usurper
6. a tyrannical act

It could be definition 3. Harsh discipline, but it is not oppression if it is a majority asking for it.

The number actually comes out to 69% wanting it to be put into law, since the PEW research poll only covered 90% of the demographics of the country and only 77% believed that stoning should be made into law, rather than simply supporting it personally.

I think that's despicable. But I'd rather have a tyranny chosen by the vast majority of a population that a tyranny thrust upon a population by force. Recall that Britain, the US, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, and all other "modernized" nations of the world once had as terrifying or more terrifying laws, and rarely by popular consent. It doesn't become our issue as non-Egyptians unless they start persecuting a class of innocent people unlawfully according to international standards.

Edit: I might also add that, in the US at least, we still do horrific and inhumane things which are actually against international law to innocent people all the time. We should focus on our own problems with inhumanity rather than the popular opinions of other nations.

^ what Gorgon said.