Tunesia, Egyt and now Yemen: a domino effect in the Middle East?

The power of the people is much stronger than the people in power.

1456: Separately, Yemen's Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, Hashid Abdullah al-Ahmar, has resigned from the ruling General People's Congress party in protest at the use of violence against anti-government protesters. On Friday, an ally of the president, tribal sheikh Ali Ahmad al-Umrani, also resigned.

1449:The Associated Press says the contrasting fortunes of the pro- and anti-government forces suggest the conflict in Libya could last for weeks and maybe months, with neither side mustering enough military power to decisively defeat the other. The government is fighting fiercely to maintain its hold in Tripoli and surrounding areas and the rebels are pushing their front westward from their eastern stronghold, it adds.

1439: And an eyewitness in Zawiya has also just told Reuters by phone that Gaddafi tanks are shelling the centre: "The attack has started. I see more than 20 tanks." A second resident said Gaddafi's forces were using "tanks and mortars".

1435: Confirmation of new attack on Zawiya: Al-Jazeera says 35 tanks are approaching from the east.

Today's TED talk by Wael Ghonim is the Google executive who helped jumpstart Egypt's democratic revolution ... with a Facebook page memorializing a victim of the regime's violence. Speaking at TEDxCairo, he tells the inside story of the past two months, when everyday Egyptians showed that "the power of the people is stronger than the people in power."

http://www.ted.com/talks/wael_ghonim_inside_the_egyptian_revolution.html

"The power of the people is much stronger than the people in power."

“The military chose to rule in the Mubarak style,” said one senior Egyptian political figure, speaking anonymously so as not to harm his own interaction with the generals. “They are micro-managing. We say it is time for new parties, and they say we cannot have them because there is no committee to approve them.”…

Soldiers beat protesters and burned down the suddenly reconstituted tent camp in Tahrir Square last Friday, the backlash prompting the Supreme Council to issue an apology (Message No. 24). Soldiers were photographed destroying some walls in the vicinity of a Coptic monastery, again prompting a sheepish explanation about illegal structures (Message No. 13). Finally it has come under harsh criticism for using the military courts to try protesters — with some sentenced after 10 minutes, human rights groups said…

“What they are finding out is that this period of transition requires much more of them than perhaps they initially thought,” said one Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity…

One proposal, designed to prevent the military from becoming entrenched while extending the stability it provides, is to appoint a presidential committee of two civilians and a general who would run the country for six months to a year until all parties are ready for elections.

The Army's control may, later on, prove to be true, but it isn't evident yet. Some public order needs to be created in the interim. The real test of both the revolution and Egypt's prospect for democracy will come in the months ahead as the emerging political forces there begin to deal with each other.

Most humans prefer living in a democratic country than any other - if they had the choice.