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

Worthless, helpless, and ignorant all! They set themselves up for failure by their past.

It's a reasonable proposition that it will be the most humane outcome.

probably true.

After is all said and done, I'm still unclear on where the middle east is likely to go from here. Will the quashing of the Libyian uprising put a halt to other uprisings across the area? Or do the poor populations of these countries now represent a "genie" which cannot be put back in the bottle.

I realize nobody can predict the future, but is there any general consensus on where all this is likely to head and how long it will take to get there?

In that case, how long do you think before the UN reinstates Libya's seat on their Human Rights Council?

I think the question is, How much blood on the streets occurs under differing scenarios to what outcome? at least, that's the way I see it.

Interesting question ! Nothing would surprise me.

The European wars of the last century are said by some analysts to have been caused by prodigious increases in wealth not matched by an acceptable sharing out of it. It was a Fabian society position.

Whether it is true or not it is easy to see that such factors are in play in these countries where the rich are richer than our rich and the poor are poorer than our poor but with a knowledge of the standards our poor have.

I would imagine that Gadaffi's seeming success will strengthen the resistance to rebellion in other countries but the rulers of those countries will feed more wealth down to the poor to damp down dissatisfaction and reduce the motive for rebellion. It will take a while and the process will not be covered by our drama seeking voyeurs. It will be boring and thus unsuitable for keeping us glued to our screens so that we can see the ads on which so many highly paid jobs depend. It might get a page 6 mention in the Financial Times or Wall Street Journal every few months and this thread will slip out of sight to be replaced by whatever topic it has been decided we should exercise our indignation upon.

After what is called a "decent interval". This is an elastic concept depending mainly upon money and the contemporary standard of attention spans.

Are you saying that Dr. Pangloss was right?

I think the message will be fairly clear to other dictators: let them run wild and abdicate, or crush them flat.

not at all sure how the wit and satire of Voltaire fit's in here but I do support Spendi in the prognosis that a quick and violent squashing of the "freedom fighters" might very well be the more humane resolution of "the Libyan problem".

Spendius I would lose all my investments that I have been putting away for retirement! That I have not touched yet!

You are probably spending yours now and have been for some time, you may lose your investments but you will still have intact, "your creative imagination!

I'm still sitting on the fence on this one, because I really don't know the best option for all concerned.

If these rebels are a bunch of thug free loaders looking for a free lunch then I would not hope that they find it.

Now if these rebels are hard working people trying to make ends meet and the government has taken the ability for them to live a depression free life then I would hope the best to these rebels.

The price of freedom that has to be paid to psychopaths is not cheap!

But that requires fortune telling. And only the Bible is any good at that.

But the person who refuses to hurt anybody would not consider the question. He might tell them where they were going wrong, if he's brave enough, and if he's put on Ignore he might lend one of them his boots. He would wait for destiny to provide the answer.

If there was no-one who would hurt anybody it would be---well--er--er-er--it would be another world.

Did you ever see the Series of Dreams video where Dylan more yearns than sings those two words--another world.

Our science is derived from another world, not of this world. Our mathematics is based on it. The mystical in number. That's why we have church spires and some have domes. Or Onions. The ancient Greeks nearly snuffed the idea out. They had dolmens. They thought they had snuffed it out. They thought it dangerous and you know what they did to dangerous folk. Like Bradley Manning. Some ascetic monks meditated it though. Centuries of it. Some library didn't get burned down. It got through in some dark hole. Why was it a dangerous idea and if it is why can't we manage it to minimise the dangers and see what account it can be put to. If that hadn't been done Gadaffi's oil wouldn't be worth a banana to an overfed chimp. And the anti-IDers wouldn't have a computer to whinge about Christians either.

So what do you do when it is the police doing the drive by shootings?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDKruSCu0xE

Where will we be when the majority of the world thinks that we are the evil empire?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhbNjxx-8M&NR=1&feature=fvwp

I just thought that I would give some of you something to thumb down!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pj3Gr9KauQ&NR=1

Crikey!!!! We are being told that Cameron has not spoken to Obama for eight days.