The Times They Are A-Changin'

Before I was born (way, way before - I'm a very youthful chap, you see) there was a lot of fearful talk about the domino effect. It was feared that once one country fell to communism it was only a matter of time before the surrounding countries followed suit - reminiscent, naturally, of a line of dominoes toppling.

I never held much faith in that theory. It always seemed a little simplistic and fanciful to me. However, there seems to be a domino effect of sorts ocurring around the word as we speak, not this time in favour of communism, but in favour of freedom. I'll leave it up to the reader to decide whether this slew of protests for freedom and power have come as a result of the burgeoning democracy in Iraq. All I'm saying is I don't believe in coincidence.

Protests in Taiwan against Chinese rule:




More at Willisms and Publius Pundit;

Tens of thousands march in Bahrain demanding fairer and more representative government:


Photo courtesy of Chan'ad Bahraini

More can be found at Publius Pundit;

Mongolians march, demanding investigations into corruption. Former Prime Minister and current President Nambaryn Enkhbayar is head target;

Hundreds in Belarus call for the resignation of President Lukashenko;

500 protest in former Soviet Republic of Ingushetia - and I get you've never even heard of that one. It's directly west of Chechnya, by the way;

and finally, the overthrow of Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akayev. Those guys really have to come up with a name that's easier to spell. This is just getting silly.


While you're here, don't forget to help save my job.