Egypt

AOG, Madrid

It looks like the winds of change have begun to blow in the Arab world. 

The events which unfolded in Tunisia two weeks ago ousted a Government, and, like wildfire, the same spirit for change and democratic reform seems to be sweeping across other Arab countries. 

Particularly Egypt, where its presidential dictator, Hosni Mubarak, has been in power since 1981.

Given the state of affairs, he has said he will not stand for reelection in the Fall. Isn't it amazing how the powerful will do anything to stay in power no matter what? His country, it would appear, will have to put up with him until then. 

However, it seems like the people of Egypt are not having it. They want him out. Or at least the majority do.

 

 Will this affect the rest of the region? It would seem so. Jordan, one of the most stable states in the Middle East for decades, has had a change of Government. There have been protests in Yemen. 

Even Iran -not an Arab country but yes an Islamic nation-, seems preoccupied with these events.

Closer to home, the West, that is Europe and the US, have been more lukewarm in their appraisal of the situation. As an example, these kind words from the former British Primer Minister, Tony Blair, who assures us that Mubarak has been "immensely courageous, and a force for good."

In the case of President Obama, also disappointing, as this article from the Huffington Post points out.

The word in the street is that no one thought in Europe that Mubarak was a dictator.

I guess that kind of thinking belongs in the 'No one thinks Hitler is Austrian' school of thought. 

Let us not kid ourselves, the West, for all its pro-democracy demagogy, is quite happy to let sleeping dogs lie. Such is the case with notorious human rights violators such as Cuba, and China. 

Of course, the West only takes issue with such regimes when they begin to rock the boat, as is the case with North Korea.  But even then, all that we ask for is that you remain quiet and move along quickly. 

As usual, trade and vested interests are more powerful than any democratic ideology we in the West might want to peddle. And, of course, these regimes know it. 

I've read in the press that the only country which has shown some concern about the whole situation is Israel. According to some press reports, they rather have a dependable dictator to deal with, than... well, nobody knows for sure what will come next. 

So the lesser of two evils, is still pretty evil. 

Time to find a new motto?

Dying for Nintendo

AOG, Madrid

Sometimes you can't help but be amazed at how things turn out for the worse. A woman in California has died after ingesting too much water as part of a radio contest. It was called "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" The woman in question was a mother of 3 and according to the sources quoted in the media, she was doing it "for her kids". Her name was Jennifer Strange.

I think I will bypass the chance to make fun out of her last name. I feel sorry for her and her children.
I guess its true when they say that you learn something each day. I did not know one could die from water poisoning.

I think Ms. Strange's death is a good example of people getting in over their head without realising the tragic consequences. Many will rightly say, "Who knew?"

On a related topic, I have just been reading about Fidel Castro on the El Pais website. It appears that successive operations have left too much scar tissue which is having difficulty in healing. The story came with a small forum in which you can participate and leave your comments.

In a lot of these comments, people whish Fidel were dead. Others are amazed at this reaction. I side with the latter ones. I don't for a minute support or believe in any of Castro's policies.

Nonetheless, that is not saying that I wish him dead. I wish he would step down from power and let the younger generations open Cuba up and let modernity in. But he too seems to think he can achieve something for nothing.

Ms. Strange died in an unfortunate accident trying to do something good for her children.

Castro will die without having achieved anything for his people that a democratic government wouldn't have. Surely Cuba's greatest tragedy.

I think in the beginning many thought he would do great things for Cuba. As before, "who knew?".

He, with massive economic aid from the Soviet Union, did achieve some things. But I think the price the people of Cuba have paid since 1959 is too high. Castro has never been a good economist, and his people have paid for it.

Funny how things turn out for the worse.