Many people lose their tempers merely from seeing you keep yours - Frank Moore Colby
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Google faces an Egyptian choice to do good
DO NO EVIL might be Google's sometimes adhered-to mantra but for the Egyptian military dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak, detaining Google managers is apparently okay.
Google's marketing manager for the Middle East and North Africa Wael Ghonim disappeared in late January. His disappearance started getting media coverage from 29 January and then on 4 February it emerged that he had been detained by the Egyptian authorities. Media reports claim that Ghonim was arrested while taking part in the protests. It was after his arrest that Google started its phone-a-tweet service on 1 February.
With all Internet access shut down in Egypt, the search engine giant publicised its phone-a-tweet telephone numbers that were a voice to tweet to voice service. However Google's gesture was somewhat undermined by the fact that the Egyptian government turned Internet access back on for its citizens on 2 February.
Media reports are claiming that Ghonim will be released today. He has already been appointed, apparently without his knowledge, as spokesman for a group called the "6th of April Youth Movement". It will be interesting to see what Google will do after Ghonim's release if he does become the leading light of the Egyptian revolution that some protest groups want him to be.
"Do no evil" might be an ethic that Google likes to think it adheres to, but it remains to be seen if it will try to do good even if that will likely ruin its chances of doing business in other less than democratic states around the world. µ
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I would like to point out that, following what is indicated in Mubarak's bio on Wikipedia, Egypt has been under Emergency Rule since 1967 - with all civil rights rescinded and police powers extended.
Now I don't know about you, but without the support of the military I doubt that that would have been possible.
In any country the army is supposed to be the last line of defense for the regime. As long as the army tows the party line, the leader can continue pressuring and whatever else he wants.
The fact that today the Egyptian army is not repressing the popular revolt in lakes of blood is an interesting turn of events, but I think we all have to agree that the Egyptian army has been a tacit ally of Mubarak for quite a long while.
Thus, the term "military dictatorship" does indeed apply. Not supporting the government for a week or three does not cover the fact that it did so for over 40 years.
"the Egyptian military dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak"
If you bothered to watch the news you would have noticed that the military is standing between the cops/pro-mubarak goons and the demonstrators, and at one point turned the barrel of a tank towards a pro-mubarak gang when things got very dicey.
And they stand with the back to the demonstrators because those have no issue with the military it seems.
So perhaps you should not use the term 'military dictatorships' just because it 'sounds right'