Egypt

I was asked to do a "Becca update" on Egypt. So:
I have a friend who's been studying Arabic intensively in Egypt all year. She is currently safe in Turkey and having fun visiting, but isn't sure if/when she's able to go back to Alexandria.
The grumbling against Mubarak has been going on for a long time, but mostly from disgruntled politicians who have been out of power and the academics. A factor in the counter-Mubarak movement that many analysts (including politicians in Egypt) didn't take into account for a good amount of time was the young people. (Always forget us, don't you?)
This is also likely a bit of a response to the events in Tunisia. Like Tunisia, Egypt has a large middle class (for an African country, Tunisia and Egypt both have highly educated populations, and a decent economy...but not enough to provide jobs for all of them). The two countries also have more of a connection to/awareness of the West than most other countries. Egypt has, for a long time, not had a great many ways for disgruntled citizens to express their displeasure. Educated young people without jobs who know what "freedom of speech" looks like but feel their voices have not been heard=large crowds of angry but organized people who know how to run a social movement without going totally insane.