Free Talk Live

Acknowledging the riots and protests that have all but shut down Egypt for the past two weeks, the Egyptian government have caved to popular demands and given head bureaucrats 15% pay raises. Wait, what?

Cairo residents boarded up homes and set up neighbourhood watches of citizens armed with guns, clubs and knives as looting and violence engulfed the capital.

With the police having disappeared from the streets, the army expanded its presence of tanks and armoured personnel carriers but mainly around government buildings. As night fell Saturday and the chaos continued, the military fanned out to neighbourhoods across the city in a bid to quell the lawlessness.

How would the police be handled in a free society without government? The people of Egypt are giving us a glimpse.

Get fired up for the *peaceful* protests for the National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality with two awful tales of police brutality being directed against peaceful people.

Days before Egypt’s presidential runoff, the Egyptian Supreme Court has dissolved the newly elected parliament, handing power back to the military. The court also confirmed Hosni Mubarak’s former prime minister, Ahmed Shafik, can run for president against Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi. Protests have erupted in Egypt, with critics saying the decision is tantamount to a judicial coup. We go to Cairo for an update from Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous.

In recent days, with Iranians taking to the streets to protest against the government, the country's Islamic authorities have boosted their censorship efforts in a bid to crush opposition activity online. This is where Anonymous and its "Operation: Iran" come in.

A government-school in Australia practically forces children to soil and wet themselves as part of a social engineering experiment.

I have a feeling that with recent events in places like Iran, and current events in Egypt, a decentralized Internet is going to be in huge demand. Especially if the government of bigger countries, like the U.S., get their ‘off-switch.’

There are 3 projects in the works to make this dream a reality -- one of which was directly inspired by events in Egypt, and seems to be a well-funded undertaking.

Is Egypt on the Verge of a Second Revolution?

Last week, traders in Cairo's Tahrir Square were selling chintzy pharaonic souvenirs and the odd t-shirt alluding to the Springtime ousting of Hosni Mubarak. Now, they're back to flogging scarves, gas masks and safety goggles. It's a sign of the times that means times aren't great.