The New York Times story yesterday about the origins of the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions

That story is still bothering me (see yesterday).  I have received many links and articles from colleagues and people in Latin America in particular about the role of Gene Sharp or AEI or the Einstein Foundation.  But all this is so irrelevant.  Even if US foundations brought youths from Egypt and even if they distributed translated works about non-violence, and even if some attended workshops all this affect a dozen or so of those youths.  This is a movement by hundreds of thousands of people and would not have succeeded if people who are NOT facebook or twitter generation did not join in.  And I still argue: the notion that people in Egypt know who Gene Sharp is is rather funny and crazy.  I mean, who buys that except Sharp himself to flatter himself?  Or those who believe those claims in the New York Times.  I want to also say this: the thesis of the article yesterday conforms with the thesis of the Mubarak regime itself: they for days in their official media peddled that thesis and argued that those youths had attended workshops by US foundations to do all that.  They had one disguised Youth member on TV one day: and it was so crazy.  He said: yes, they took us to a workshop and we stayed at a hotel and we attended lectures.  The anchorwoman said: and you got paid, right? He said: yes, we were paid.  She asked: what was the amount? He said: we were paid good money.  I got paid $500 for the leadership training program.  So $500 can buy a revolution? Against a puppet regime that you were desperate to keep?  But you know what it is?  The White Man can't leave the natives alone. No matter what they do, he has to take credit for their actions--if they are not violent.  But if the natives engage in violence, Islam and culture are responsible, and the White Man washes his hands of the natives.  And now there is a new ridiculous claim: that this comic book about Martin Luther King inspired the Egyptian Revolution.  It is only going to get worse once the book are written (and articles appear in the New York Times magazine).  But what do I expect when I read that a speech by Condoleezza Rice  (who is hated throughout the region) actually inspired the uprisings.