With the fast-breaking news this week of continued and intensified demonstrations against the regime of President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo and throughout Egypt, I'm reminded of how Mubarak rose to power -- as the result of Sadat's assassination on October 7, 1981.

Virtually unknown, even in Egypt at the time, Hosni Mubarak was a General in the Egyptian Air Force when he was chosen by then-President Anwar Sadat to become vice-President. With Sadat's assassination by a group of military conspirators, Mubarak quickly assumed the role of President -- one which he's maintained the past 31 years, establishing a virtual monarchy in the process.

So as a refresher of where these dynasties get started and how, here is a Special Edition of All Things Considered, which aired on the evening of October 7,1981, a few hours after the assassination and the official announcement of Sadat's death. In the broadcast are several news reports, reactions and speculations on what the future had in store for Egypt. Whether or not it offers any insights as to goings on in the streets of Cairo today isn't quite clear. Although, a recent item citing support of the Mubarak regime by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce might produce a clue, at least in some circles and the recent release of Wikileaks cables on Egypt in recent years might be another.

Still, a story quickly unfolding. And like all stories, it has a history to go along with it.

Editors Note: A Repost from October 2010 with added relevance.

When Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser died suddenly at 52 on September 28, 1970 it cast doubt on what the future of the Middle East was going to be. For a long time, Nasser was considered by many to be the glue that held the otherwise volatile region together. He was widely admired and respected throughout the Middle East and many speculated who would be taking his place, once the 40 day period of mourning was over.

On the day of his death, NBC Radio ran a special program regarding his place in the world, with tributes and speculations coming in from various capitols around the region.

Nasser's vice-President Anwar Sadat took over and a new page in history began.

April 10, 1979, and if you were living in the infamous Mid-West belt known as "Tornado Alley" you'd be dazed and counting your blessings that you weren't one of the 59 who lost their lives in this worst series of Tornadoes to hit the area in years.

And if you were on the other side of the planet, around Kampala Uganda, and you were Idi Amin, you'd be planning your escape in the wake of advancing troops from Tanzania, who were spelling the end of your regime.

That's the kind of day it was.

If you were a Union Trucker, you'd be looking at a tentative settlement in one of the longest strikes in history, and if you were a Steel Worker your employment would still be hanging in the balance.

In other news on this day - Israel's Menachem Begin did a personal reach-out to Egypt's Anwar Sadat in the form of a phone call to discuss points in the Peace Plan. Iran was busy executing 13 more of its citizens by firing squad on charges ranging from murder to "warring against God".

In the aftermath of the 3-Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant disaster, tests for radioactive contamination in the area around the reactor turned up negative, which spelled some relief for anxious residents.

And after 41 days of testimony, the infamous Marvin vs. Marvin case was heading off to the jury.

All that, and a bunch more for this day, via the CBS World News Roundup and the 9:00 am (West Coast) News for April 10, 1979.

And how is this March 7th different from other March 7th's?

Well . . .

On March 7th 1978, news from Tel-Aviv reported a sharp divide, bordering on revolt among Israeli Cabinet Ministers over the matter of Israeli settlements being built on disputed Arab territories. Moderates, headed up by Ezer Weizmann wanted the settlement building to stop. Hawks, headed up by Ariel Sharon wanted it to continue and Prime Minister Begin was stuck in the middle. Meanwhile, in Cairo - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was looking to the U.S. for some leadership in the area of Peace talks with Israel. As always, the Middle-East was a hotbed of activity.

Back in the States, a settlement of another kind was being sought after. This one having to do with the Coal Miner's Strike, which was having a devastating impact on the Mid-West. President Carter was invoking Taft-Hartley legislation and the Coal Miners were hearing none of it. Meanwhile, the loss of coal production meant severe cutbacks throughout Indiana, Ohio and several other states with electrical cutbacks as much as 50%.

On Capitol Hill, debate was continuing regarding the Panama Canal Treaty with no eye on an actual vote until "maybe May 1st". Jesse Helms introduced an amendment to keep a U.S. Radio facility up and running in the Canal Zone to be used in tracking ships, particularly those of Soviet lineage.

Elsewhere - Continuing border clashes between Rhodesia and Zambia were getting the attention of other African nations who wanted to reach some settlement in the dispute, preferably without Ian Smith involved. Kind of tough since, even though Smith headed up the minority government of Rhodesia, he was still heading up the government.

And Kuwait's Oil Minister was calling for a substantial boost in oil prices, since the U.S. dollar was sinking slowly in markets around the world, and Kuwait was claiming losses of $1million a day as the result. Gee.

And publisher Larry Flynt was recovering from surgery the day following a shooting of him and his attorney by "unknown" assailant(s).

And that's what this particular slice of reality sounded like for March 7, 1978 as reported by Dallas Townsend on The CBS World News Roundup.

Your average day, only this one was in 1975. Economic news was grim, with reports on the Recession getting worse. The Gross National Product dropped 9.1% the previous month. The worst since 1958. Inflation shot up 13%. The worst since 1947. Meanwhile, calls on Capitol Hill for Gasoline rationing were roundly poo-pooed by President Ford, saying it wasn't really all that necessary. The grumblings continued.

The Soviet Union proclaimed Detente wasn't dead, it was just wounded.

Meanwhile, back on Capitol Hill - Congressional Hearings on the CIA brought up two former directors, Jesse Helms and William Colby who both had different takes on the matter of Domestic spying. It doesn't bode well when your own people can't get their stories straight.

Some good news from the Auto Industry, at least for consumers. Ford announced it was offering rebates of $200-500.00 on new car purchases.

In the Middle East, border skirmishes were taking place between Israel and Lebanon with artillery fire being traded back and forth. On the Negotiation front, Senator Charles Percy was in Cairo handing out peace feelers to Anwar Sadat in the hopes of getting something moving, however slow.

And in his Commentary, news analyst Eric Sevareid offered some pithy observations on World reaction to the Economic crisis.

All in all, a run-of-the-mill day for January 16, 1975 as reported by Douglas Edwards on CBS Radio's The World Tonight.

If you were somehow jettisoned back in time and woke up this morning, realizing it was 1978 . . .and you had the misfortune of living on the East coast, you'd be blanketed in snow and contemplating wind chill factors of up to -50 degrees as you staggered out of bed.

And that's what happened on this particular January 10th in 1978. A massive Cold Wave hit the Eastern United States covering just about everything in snow and buffeting everything in its wake with freezing temperatures, as low as -26 in some parts - a veritable heatwave where it got up to -6.

And joining the misery, only in a wet way, was the West coast with torrential rains, flooding and landslides complicating just about everyone's morning.

All in all, the inclement weather was responsible for 8 deaths with the number certain to rise in the coming hours.

But in the rest of the world . . . .The Shah of Iran was flying to Saudi Arabia to make the pitch on behalf of Egypt over Anwar Sadat's Middle East Peace initiative. Sadat was getting a lot of flak from Arab countries over engaging in a peace mission with Israel and supporters were doing their best to paint a positive picture to the suspicious. In Israel through, Menahem Begin denied rumors of a land swap as part of the peace settlement. And so it went between Cairo and Tel-Aviv.

In Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) racial violence continued with deaths mounting, primarily among White farmers.

The Supreme Court was getting down to business today, reviewing a mountain of cases before them, including one which argued over the legality of a Mother having her teenage daughter sterilized and whether or not a judge can be held libel for actions not permitted by law. It promised to be interesting year at SCOTUS. And Justice William Brennan had been diagnosed with Throat Cancer and was receiving Chemo and expected to recover.

And that's how this day went, January 10, 1978 as reported on the CBS World News Roundup.

News for the week ending on November 2, 1975. An insane week (aren't they all?), capped with the latest salvo fired by the Ford Administration to the people of New York, or as it was characterized "words by Archie Bunker, music by Herbert Hoover". Another fun week full of nail biting.

But then it wasn't Beirut, who were getting upfront and personal with street battles raging in the Hotel district. The latest siege taking place at a Holiday Inn with Lebanese rebels running roughshod over the lobby. Advice from the U.S. Embassy: GTFO! - even UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim appealed for some semblance of calm. To no avail.

And the sound of explosions wasn't the exclusive property of Beirut this week - a fashionable Italian restaurant in the middle of London was site of a terrorist bombing that claimed 18 injuries.

Meanwhile, over on Capitol Hill - Egypt's Anwar Sadat made his first State visit, actually the first State Visit of any Egyptian President. Ever. Warmly received and later addressed the United Nations, Sadat made feelers at a possible peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. At the time of running it up the flagpole, no one was saluting. But it got the ball rolling.

In another part of the Hill - hearings were underway with the Senate's investigation of the Intelligence community and allegations of domestic spying and bugging of transatlantic telephone calls and cables.

The question of Busing came back into the picture with calls for a Constitutional Amendment against forced busing. And Karen Ann Quinlan, the woman once referred to by National Lampoon as New Jersey's State Vegetable was the subject of another appeal by her parents to pull the plug since all signs of life seemed to be missing. Lawyers for the doctors treating Quinlan said it was tantamount to murder (one wonders if they were thinking of Quinlan or their bank accounts) and the controversy continued.

And Spain's lifelong dictator Gen. Francisco Franco was hovering at deaths door this week and subsequently appointed Prince Juan Carlos to assume role as Head of State. The Dark Endless Chapter was about to come to an end.

And that's how it landed in our lap, that week ending on November 2nd in 1975 via ABC Radio's World News This Week. Curiously we survived and, in some cases, flourished. Those of us jaundice-eyed from the goings on of that week peered cautiously at the days to come and wondered if it would always be that nuts.

And the truth came back, yes.

June 8, 1967 and it was Day Four of the now-famous Six Day War. News was all about attempts at a ceasefire, threats of escalation, finger pointing and lurking around in the background; the nuclear option, which was par for the course in those days. Any sort of armed confrontation that took place during this period always had the caveat of it somehow going into Nuclear territory, even Vietnam as you recall. Cuban Missile Crisis? The Berlin Wall? Yep, the Red Phone always figured in the picture somewhere. And this news special talks about it happening over the Middle East too.

Luckily, cooler heads always seemed to prevail, but at the time it was one more thing to lose sleep over.

Here is a run-down of the days events in the Middle East and the progress (or non-progress) of attempts at a peaceful settlement.

June 8, 1967 - one more fun day in history.

News for March 10, 1979. Jimmy Carter was giving the Middle East Peace Process some face time by visiting Egypt and heading over to Israel, meeting with both Anwar Sadat in Cairo and Menachem Begin in Tel-Aviv. Meanwhile, tensions were continuing between China and Vietnam with reports of Chinese troops digging in on the Vietnam border. Fighting was continuing in Uganda. Corsica was dealing with terrorist strikes at banks overnight with a string of bombings ratcheting up the nerve-factor. And to top it all off, Progressive Magazine created an uproar when plans were disclosed to publish an article "How To Build An H-bomb".

The collective breath of the earth got a bit shorter that particular day.

And so it went, as broadcast on The CBS World News Roundup, March 10, 1979.