Reading the Times on the architectural symbolism of Cairo
Much right and a few key things wrong about Tahrir Square in Cairo, the center of the revolution
The truth about the Egyptian military
In the revolution, Egyptian reverence for the military shamed them into not opening fire. Now what happens?
Libya and the end of the neo-colonial argument
Libyans have asked the international community for help; there’s no colonial aggression in doing it
The truth about travel guidebooks
They are no joy to write and they don’t change as much as you think
Reading about Sarkozy and French nativists
French cultural insecurity eviscerates the universalism of the Rights of Man
What is in Gaddafi’s Green Book, Part One
In his infamous Green Book, Gaddafi offers his unorthodox solutions to the problem of democracy
What is in Gaddafi’s Green Book, Part Two
In his infamous Green Book, Gaddafi offers his unorthodox solutions on socialism and society
Reading the New Yorker on Islam and economic growth
The middle class everywhere competes on skills; in Egypt connections matter most. That’s the problem
The scene in liberated Benghazi in eastern Libya
The first detailed images out of Libya show thousands in Benghazi celebrating Gaddafi’s demise
Look in his glasses: Gaddafi speaks to no one
Gaddafi speaks but you can see the reflection in his sunglasses: he has no audience.
The surreal experience of visiting Libya
With a Libyan human rights activist, racing through the Tripoli medina alleys to avoid eavesdroppers
Prospects for social justice and economic reform in Egypt
Why social justice in Egypt demands more economic reform — true reform, this time — not less
From Egypt with love
If you’ve spent time in Egypt, the human warmth of this video will be familiar; if you haven’t, go
The Muslim Brotherhood had a monopoly. Can they compete?
Mubarak gave the Muslim Brotherhood an unnatural monopoly on opposition. Can they compete?
Reading Hani Shukrallah on what Egypt does now
The political revolution in Egypt needs a legal revolution equal to its values and moral force
Triumph at last in Midan at-Tahrir
These 18 days of protests constitute the most beautiful political act I have ever witnessed
Reading ‘How Democracy Became Halal’ op-ed in the Times
What a former CIA Middle East specialist gets wrong in his Times op-ed about the Egypt protests
Shepard Smith’s moment of moral clarity about the Egypt protests
Finally, the American media abandons the pretense that the pro-Mubarak gangs might be spontaneous
Why downtown Cairo has been the symbolic center of protest since the 1950s
Downtown Cairo burned on 26 January 1952; exactly 59 years later, it is the center of protest again
Portrait of Saad Zaghloul, leader of Egypt’s 1919 revolution
The tattered portrait of the man who led the Egyptian revolution of 1919
What makes Egypt beautiful
This exceptionally moving interview reveals what is at stake for the protesters in Egypt
Reading the Atlantic on Facebook in Tunisia
It is the apolitical nature of Facebook that makes it useful to political activists
What the Tunisia revolution looked like
Big, powerful images of the revolution in Tunisia from the Boston Globe’s site ‘The Big Picture’