The revolution in Egypt ain't quite over yet. Cynic that I am, I did not see this level of defiance this coming. There have been so many examples of Islamists successfully hijacking revolutions from cowed and disunited secular democrats to seize absolute power around the world. I expected the violence in Egypt to die down and the Muslim Brotherhood to consolidate their rule a la the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Mullahs of Iran and the hellish pockets ruled by self-declared sultans from Algeria to Pakistan.

This may still happen. But Egyptians are not going down without a fight.

The ongoing riots aren't just a rejection of Morsi's theocractic thuggery. They're a reaction to a dire vision of a future that's been decades in the making. It's doubtful that a President and parliament absolutely committed to economic reform and a secular democratic civil society could ever pull his countrymen out of the grave the country's rulers have dug for themselves. Hunger and never-ending violence on the scale of Somalia are pretty much the only sure things people have to look forward to... and the Muslim Brotherhood are going to have to wear this failure....More >>

Confirmation of this scenario is likely to come in the form of targeted preventive attacks by the Israeli Air Force against Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon (you know, the ones the United Nations and the Lebanese state were supposed to prevent), or possibly against bases in Syria. Still, the signs are not looking good:

Israel continued to warn the world on Monday of the potentially devastating outcome if Syria's chemical arsenal falls into the hands of rebels, or worse, Hezbollah, as Lebanese media outlets reported that the Lebanese terror group had already obtained some chemical weapons and long range missiles.

UPDATE January 30 2012. Confirmation may have already happened. The IAF has taken out targets moving from Syria into Lebanon. Given that weapons shipments into Lebanon for Hezbollah are practically routine at this point (no thanks to UN personnel) it does beg the question: what was in that weapons convoy?More >>

Saudi Arabians have the unique experience of living amidst wealth and modernity, at the same time that they live amidst backwardness and an archaic, fundamentalist regime. At least Saudis have a sense of humour about their predicament: "I confess, I saw a naked dinosaur thigh and felt aroused" was one of many mocking responses posted on social media in response to Saudi religious police suddenly raiding a children's dinosaur exhibit in a Saudi Mall:

The government-salaried vigilantes, a bearded auxiliary police force familiarly known to Saudis as the Hayaa, had marched officiously into an educational exhibit featuring plaster models of dinosaurs, turned off the lights and ordered everyone out, frightening children and alarming their parents.It was unclear precisely why the religious police objected to the exhibit, which apparently had been innocently featured at shopping centres across the Gulf for decades.

Read more Tweets speculating on what it was about the seemingly innocuous dinosaurs that got the grim guardians of the sacrosanct all hot and bothered here.More >>

As if we needed more proof: The Syrian government will free 2,130 prisoners in exchange for 48 Iranians.

It may well be that the 2,130 prisoners languishing in Syrian jails are all innocent civilians unassociated with the jihadist-dominated rebels. Syria has always been that kind of place, since long before the rebellions started; to get thrown into a dungeon or torture chamber, the corrupt regime could finger you on just about any pretext. Assad has always ruled through fear.

That said, there may be another straightforward reason Assad can't get Syrian soldiers back in this exchange: the rebels execute their prisoners. The only reason the Iranians are still breathing is the rebels probably figured they'd be worth something in a hostage swap.

That said, the 48 Iranians are almost certainly members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Even the most devout pilgrim knows to stay away from active warzones -- the Tehran regime's story doesn't hold water.More >>