I'm actually starting to pay attention!
Libyan ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi is battling to retain control of Tripoli and areas in western Libya as protesters consolidated gains in the east and foreigners continued to flee.
I figured: Tunisia. Okay. Egypt. Yeah, whatever. And all the others were fairly minor.
But now half of Libya has fallen and, it looks like, the writing is on the wall for Colonel Fred Williamson and his Virgin Squad.
I started reading about the Arab World Protests:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%932011_Arab_world_protestsThere's a list of the countries involved and the results. Some protests were pretty easy -- like demanding the end to Patriot Act-style rules, and sacking PM's, and forcing "presidents" to end their terms.
Some have relentlessly torn down their countries. Which is kind of awesome, really.
What I love is that Libya knew about the Feb. 17th protest date for a couple months. Their only attempt to avoid it was to throw out some ham-fisted rent assistance programs. So, you know, duh.
The unsung protests the news doesn't care about:
Djibouti -- Another case where the "president" has been in office for 34 years and suspiciously wins every election. Currently, the country is at a standstill and the protesters have even killed cops who tried to break them up forcibly.
Bahrain -- So far, the government has tried to buy off protesters by giving every family $2000, and they've released all political prisoners... And still an estimated 12% of the population has risen up and occupied the major cities.
The "World protests":
Albania, Serbia, and Greece are all in an uproar. General strikes, Albania's now-comical socialist party, and any old excuse to cause a ruckus in Serbia.
China's been having a war of attrition with mobs of protesters who are gathering like frightened cattle, standing silently, then moving along. The larger battle there is being waged online.
Kazakhstan's president is quietly stepping down in April.
Cameroon protesters set today as their "day of rage." No reports I've seen yet of unrest.
And... Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio! The state governments have, pretty much, been shut down by Democrat's (mainly organised unions) either walking out of the legislature or occupying the capital buildings (as is currently the case in Wisconsin). This is unrelated to any of the other protests, and much more civilized and non-violent. But, still... What's going on in the world?