Just in case you are not quite sure what is going on over in Egypt, what would cause such an enormous portion of the population to protest, let me give you some numbers....
5: the maximum number of citizens allowed
to assemble together without an official government permit.
$34: the fine police officers must pay for
"cruel treatment" on a civilian while on duty
300%: increase in malnourished children younger
than 5 for the period of 2000 to 2008
10%: unemployment
20%: live below the poverty line
10%:of the population controls 28%
of the household income
750m: the net worth of Mubarak's son, Gamal
205.8: gallons of oil go through the Suez Canal
and adjacent pipeline (6% of the global supply)
Simply put, the citizens of Egypt see massive, massive amounts of money going through the country, but live in abject poverty, they can't get at it. They have no hope, and they have no chance of ever improving their economic status with the class system they have there. And, well, they live in Egypt. Once you've seen the pyramids, the thrill is gone. It is primarily sand, at least the Egypt the lower class gets to experience. And it gets hot. Unbearably hot. And after 30 years of Mubarak's rule, they want to be heard. They want a spot on the world's center stage, and they've got it. And we're listening.
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