I have nothing but the greatest admiration for the dignity of the Egyptian people from the ordinary person on the street to the military for the way are handling their revolution.

Let us hope that if there is a regime change in Egypt that the new regime will not be worse than than the present one. The historical record in other countries does not fill me with optimism

Violent events today suggest I spoke too soon.

Often one of the big problems even if a new government is formed is the unrealistic expectations of change that follow the initial optimism. There is little anyone can do about the lagacy of massive unemployment and poverty that inevitably accompanies a corrupt regimes.

A long ways from over.


By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Maggie Michael, Associated Press – 1 hr 25 mins ago

CAIRO – Protesters and fought in a second day of rock-throwing battles at a central Cairo square while new lawlessness spread around the city. New looting and arson erupted, and gangs of thugs supporting President Hosni Mubarak attacked reporters, foreigners and rights workers while the army rounded up foreign journalists.

The government increasingly spread an image that foreigners were fueling the turmoil and supporting the tens of thousands in the street who for more than 10 days have demanded the immediate ouster of Mubarak, this country's unquestioned ruler for nearly three decades.

"When there are demonstrations of this size, there will be foreigners who come and take advantage and they have an agenda to raise the energy of the protesters," Vice President Omar Suleiman said in an interview on state TV.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley condemned what he called "a concerted campaign to intimidate international journalists in Cairo."

Pro-government mobs beat foreign journalists with sticks on the streets outside downtown Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests. Dozens of journalists, including ones from The Washington Post and The New York Times, were reported detained by security forces. One Greek print journalist was stabbed in the leg with a screwdriver, and a photographer was punched in the face by attackers who smashed some of his equipment.

The Arabic news network Al-Arabiya pleaded on an urgent news scroll for the army to protect its offices and journalists, and Al-Jazeera said two of its correspondents were attacked.

Human rights activists were also targeted. Military police stormed the offices of an Egyptian rights groups as activists were meeting and arrested at least five, including one from the and another from New York-based Human Rights Watch, the groups said.