We’re into the eleventh day of courageous Egyptian protesters demanding a new government.  From the beginning, we’ve provided breaking and original reporting here at The Nation and on TheNation.com.  Sharif Kouddous, senior producer at Democracy Now, reports live from Tahrir Square, detailing the armed assault on peaceful protesters and the extraordinary strength and unity of the uprising.  "This is the true face of the Mubarak-backed regime," writes Kouddous, "the one that has repressed the Egyptian people for so many years.  But this time, the whole world is watching."  Read his most recent post, "The True Face of the Mubarak Regime" here and watch him on Democracy Now from Cairo here.

This week Washington Editor Chris Hayes released a special edition of his podcast, The Breakdown, to help our readers and listeners make sense of the revolution in Egypt by taking a look at its recent history.  Find out more about the Mubarak regime and what comes next in this important conversation with professor of twentieth-century Egyptian history Noor Khan.  Listen to that podcast here.  Also, this week’s issue of The Nation—now available online—features important news and analysis out of Egypt.  Kai Bird asks how Mubarak was able to stay in power for three decades in his piece, "America’s Shah in Egypt," and Laila Lalami warns of extremist repercussions if Obama sides with a repressive regime in her piece, "Winter of Discontent."  Also, be sure to check out Jonathan Schell’s powerful rumination, "A Revolutionary Moment."  

WEBSITE: New Executive Editor

We are pleased to be making some changes at TheNation.com and excited to have The Nation‘s Senior Editor Richard Kim begin his new position as Executive Editor (online) this month.  We’re eager to deploy Kim’s valued editorial insight in the development of an even more robust and timely digital presence for our readers. Stay tuned as we continue to bring in-depth, quality reporting and analysis on TheNation.com.

AUDIO: Comcast/NBC Merger

Just days after Comcast and NBC finalized an unprecedented merger, John Nichols spoke with Marty Moss-Coane on WHYY’s Radio Times to discuss the dramatic effects of the deal and the threat of media conglomeration.  Nichols, whose recent Nation article co-written with Robert W. McChesney details the merger, makes clear the need to distinguish between what this does for citizens and not just consumers.  "I am a citizen always," says Nichols.  "I’m a consumer sometimes when I am looking for a product.  As a citizen, I need information from a variety of sources, not a consolidated single source."  Listen to that podcast here.

VIDEO: Health Care Legislation

On Tuesday, one day after a Florida federal judge ruled the individual mandate in the new health care law unconstitutional, Nation columnist Melissa Harris-Perry and contributing writer Ari Melber joined The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss if the mandate threatens reform legislation. Melber argued that, although the individual mandate was thought to be a political compromise, now it is "the actual lynchpin to the attacks that could wipe out the whole thing."  Melber notes that progressives "argued all along that there should have been a more comprehensive approach." Harris-Perry discusses the inconsistency of Republican policy ideas: "The only thing good that I can see out of this is that at least if we’re going to decide in the courts that there can be no individual mandate to buy health insurance, then maybe we can also agree that there is no right to an individual mandate to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term."  Watch that video here.

 

WIKILEAKS: Greg Mitchell Live-Blogs for 70 Days

Tomorrow marks Greg Mitchell’s 70th day live-blogging the WikiLeaks. Mitchell continues to be the go-to source for all you need to know to keep up with news and views about WikiLeaks. Also, available now is his new book, The Age of WikiLeaks, which details its political and media impact from April 2010 through January 2011.  Be sure to keep up by checking Mitchell’s Media Fix blog as he enters his 11th week of live-blogging.  

—

Thanks for reading.  You can follow me on Twitter—I’m @KatrinaNation. Have a great weekend, and leave your comments below.