Anniversary of Maspero, and Other Thoughts

Dear readers
I think we should just commemorate the anniversary of the Maspero massacre on October 9, 2011. It was a very stressful and emotional time in my life, and the life of my colleagues. It really made me pay attention to the discrimination faced by Christians, and Bahai in Egypt. What was particularly eerie about the Maspero Massacre was how the state run press tried to pretend that a) it had not attacked the protesters, and b) the protesters were violent terrorists who had attacked the army.
The Maspero episode also made me worry about the fate of any minority group, Bedouin, Nubian, or women, who want to make a peaceful point in the face of a violent state. This is particularly a matter of concern, because Syria has devolved into a bloody civil war. Egypt's revolution was supposed to lead to a brighter future.
My colleague Abdel Rahman has written a few posts worth reading that I would like to share with you
As my brother Abu says, "Meet the old state, same as the new state." We need to keep our eyes on the prize and hold Morsi accountable. We need to keep fighting to finish this revolution.
Amnesty reports on persistent violence
Maspero Massacre, a Year on from the terrible turning point
The Morsi Maneuver
~WMB