Countries that are not Turkey

I do not keep a blog in order to reflect my political views or report on international events that I don't know much about, but I wanted to comment on what is currently happening in Egypt.  I was hoping to travel to Cairo at some point during my stay in Istanbul, because my friends and family that have been there say it is incredible.  Of course, there is much more to Egypt than its tourist attractions.  The recent episodes of political unrest in Tunisia, Lebanon, and Egypt have caught my attention more than they would have if I had been living in the United States this fall.  I would like to attribute this to my heightened sense of global awareness, but I guess the proximity thing helps too.  It has been interesting to read about the uprising in Egypt through the coverage of the New York Times, the only newspaper that we have delivered to my house in Massachusetts.  Despite the liberal reputation that the Times has earned, it is still very much an American newspaper.  It has covered the conflicts in Egypt with a much closer eye than, for example, The Hurriyet, an daily Turkish newspaper that is printed in English.  This must be because Egypt is the USA's strongest ally in the Middle East, and therefore US politicians are having an "Oh shit!" response to the instability of their only friend in the area.  Oh wait, there's Israel too.  But that's a whole different story. 

Anyway, here is an interesting video that my sister showed me earlier tonight of footage from the upheaval in Egypt.  My sister Charlotte has had a great deal of experience with China for someone her age, having lived in Nanjing and Shanghai for a couple of years following her college graduation.  After she showed me the video, she asked me if it reminded me of anything.  We agreed that what is happening in Egypt, particularly in that particular video, is strikingly similar to the student uprisings in Tiananmen Square and the mysterious tank man.  Charlotte then informed me that China has blocked internet browsers from searching "Egypt" as a preventative measure.  The Chinese government officials don't want the young people to get any ideas.  

I can't pretend to be an expert on these subjects, so this is all I will say on the matter.  I am interested to see how the situation in Egypt unfolds, and the effects it will have on its neighboring countries as well as its relationship with the USA.  I hope that Egypt's uprising can be resolved in a peaceful way that doesn't leave a gaping hole in its history, like what happened in Tiananmen Square.