What's Going On in Egypt, Tunisia and the Middle East?

Egyptian Unrest

Lots of people are rioting, demonstrating, yelling, screaming, throwing and breaking things in Egypt.  Photos show lots of people in the streets, amidst clouds of tear gas and smoke.  I have searched the internet for information, but I still don't have a clue:  what are the demonstrations all about?  What do the Egyptian protesters want?  Do they even know themselves?

I glean from the jumble of half facts available, that the Egyptians (and Tunisians) became fed up with the dictators for life who rule their countries with the proverbial iron hand.  They want fair and free elections and a government that is accountable.  That sounds great, which is why I don't trust it as accurate analysis.

Maybe the Egyptians, like the Iranians in 1979, simply want a stronger Islamic government, more Sharia law, more intolerance to Christians, Jews and others, more scimitars, turbans, burqas and beards, more screaming fanatics, more chopped-off limbs and heads, more public stonings and hangings, more hate and rage, until the country is awash in adrenaline, B.O., bodies and blood.

I really hope that Egyptians and Tunisians are simply sick of the suffocation of the human spirit by tyrants, whether of the religious or the secular variety.  I'd like to see their societies become more open, more tolerant, less violent and less batshit crazy.  But will they?  I'm not holding my breath.