NBC is referring to the resignation as a "coup" supported by the Egyptian military.

heads up!!!

Yes!

Great, but now what?

John, that's the question of the day (and years, most likely), isn't it?

"Omar Suleiman"

Out with the old tyrant in with the new tyrant!

zacherytaylor, that's the danger. Assuming Mubarek will actually leave, I suspect whoever his replacement is will be a figurehead for the military, and will likely be a temporary assignment. The question is whether or not the military will relinquish direct control to a civilian, freely elected government. That's a big question, indeed.

thanks for posting this. one for the people, even if there's one more to go.

Meet the new boos, same as the old boss

if Omar Suleiman is replacing him, then he really didn't go did he? I'm running around like an idiot in real life, so might not be tracking this very well, but I thought Omar Suleiman was Mubarek's man?

We will see...

For him to step down is a definitive step in the context of Egyptian politics.

Trust but verify. Is Mabarack going to be replaced by himself? Trust none of what you hear and little of what you see in the Middle East. The US and Israel are hip deep in the intrigues.

I am still waiting for the betrayal which will drive the Egyptians into the arms of the Muslim Brotherhood. We have never failed to betray an ally when he/she is no longer of use to US or has been stupid enough to become a Quisling and sell his or her own people for a pottage.

Obviously, Mubarek is living in a fantasy world, where hubris blinds one to the will of the masses. Things are going to get very interesting tonight.

Good ol' NBC News. Not exactly as reliable as the World Almanac.

It's a very fluid scene. From the NYT, 4:46 p.m. Thursday:

"Mubarak Refuses to Step Down"

Mistakes were made, he said.

Yes, the man is definitely not well. I, too, fear for the Egyptians tonight. A very precarious situation they're in, now more than ever. And, they had come so far! It's heartbreaking.

here's a little pulp fiction or maybe not his-story going back 50 years ago about our first little caesar....his big brother, JFK, was elected President, the first catholic to be elected into office....
so, the pope's first two orders were to save his little children in South Vietnam from the evil of little faith commies for North Vietnam and to jail all the sicilian mobsters running the big eastern cities at the time after their blood-letting in the 1950's....so, big brother made his little brother, bobbie-boy [referred to as "little caesar" from here on], AG and go-get-them little brother for a couple of years....now, the mob families {my Great Aunt Marie was married to one of Al Capone's 24/7 body guards in the 30's} were divided with no Godfather in power to control the whole nation only each major city until THE GREATEST ACTOR IN MY FUCKEN LIFE DELINEATED ONE IN 1972....now, back to little caesar rounding up a few mobsters here and there until the Sicilian
Brotherhood had enough of their Irish shit and put a hit out on JFK
to meet his maker on a sunny Dallas day in November....little caesar was in total shock that his big brother was killed by a ex-Marine sniper who was an excellent shooter from a book store....
neither knew it was coming before that fatal day not like MLK who
had seen the light from the mountain top and knew his days were numbered for I heard it in his voice and seen it in his eyes, and I was overcome by GREAT SADNESS on MLK fatal day....yet, that is another pulp fiction of his-story to be written on another day....
so, a few years pass bye as little caesar fades into the background under LBJ when to his surprise LBJ was not going to run for re-elect in 1968....so, his spirit was re-lighted to continue his brother's work for the pope, yet he could not keep his fucken mouth shouted about the six-day war in the middle-east cause the Jewish Americans demanded from him to express his support to defend Israel against the Arab Nations....as soon as he opened his mouth I knew little caesar was dead-meat....just like last week when cnn's anderson cooper and ivan watson, and nbc's brian williams and his young punk msnbc's little brother richard engel could not shut-the-fuck-up on Egyptian Sacred Land....their days are numbered there and even back home for there are 200+ Mubaraks here from Boston to
Washington DC x4or5 of distant relatives living here for last 30 years while President Mubarak was our Sheriff back there.

pulp fiction or maybe not only time will manifest what will be.... what will be....what will be....what will be....for all to witness it over again....again....again....again.......just a little pulp fiction his-story

Mubarak is rumored to have a fortune somewhere in the billions, right up there with other such financial wizards as Putin and Mugabe. I'm sure he's working his little tail off to figure out how to preserve his loot without being subject to it being confiscated and returned to Egypt, and, more importantly, himself extradited to stand trial. Unfortunately, in the modern world, fewer countries are willing to host men like him and those that do (would the Sudan take him?) are generally places where no one wants to live.

And the crowd roars..a Berlin Moment indeed.