On Monday I heard Robin Wright, a Washington Post Middle East correspondent, talk about the realities and hopes in that region. While there many challenges remain she did express hope in the rising tide of grassroot activists.

An excerpt of her book, Dreams and Shadows:

"Web sites and blogs have become the twenty-first-century chroniclers of police crackdowns, human-rights abuses, and election irregularities. In countries where I once sought out clandestine cells, I now also look for computer nerds."