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Warning Signs

caldrail

Entry posted by caldrail

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Iraq has been returned to sanity. Libya has been returned to sanity. Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen are undergoing counselling. Afghanistan was always a pretty insane place to begin with and so far has proven difficult to pacify. Now President Assad of Syria has spotted the trend and warns the west that intervention will cause an earthquake that will burn the whole region.

 

Now apart from his complete ignorance of geology, this does sound like the usual arabic vitriol. "Rivers of blood" is another popular warning. You get the idea? One might wonder if Assad is feeling a bit exposed at the moment now that the worlds media have no other middle eastern country creating any news stories worth reporting.

 

I have no idea if the western governments plan to liberate Syria from despotism. They have been keen to aid the overthrow of them just lately, and as for worrying about how Gaddafi died, that would seem to be little more than crocodile tears. That's the problem with regime change - it has lethal ramifications.

 

In democracies you can simply oust your least favourite dictator by marking an X on a ballot paper. In many foreign lands, they don't generally take any notice of other peoples opinions and ultimately if the decision is made that the tyrant has to go, you might need to apply something a little more forceful, like a riot of armed men or a battering from military jets.

 

Well Mr Assad, I can understand your concerns. You might want to reform a little bit quicker. That might impress the west rather better than a shaking fist.

 

Tremors

On the news pages I spotted an article telling us chaps how to watch out for mini-strokes. Like the persistent earth tremors that warn of an impending eruption, these mini-strokes are tell tale signs that a major stroke will occur within four weeks.

 

Good grief, I've had those symptoms for twenty years. Not sure whether I should be relieved or worried. The article says phone 999 immediately. Should I warn the doctor that there will be rivers of blood? Decisions... Decisons...

 

Look Left, Look Right

This has been a weekend of idiocy on the roads. Drivers are going the wrong way up one way streets, pedestrians are running in front of cars, and bus drivers have lost any sense of safe braking distances. Not to worry. The clocks went back an hour this morning so everyone should be calm and accident free again.

 

Stand Up

There's a standing joke at the museum - literally. When I'm sat there on duty at the front desk no-one comes in. The moment I stand up and walk away, crowds rush through the entrance in a mad desperate bid to pay for a ticket.

 

Your first thought might be that I'm frightening people away. Apparently not. Last night I was sat quietly doing boring un-weekend stuff when I heard a voice in the street say "The truth is you're a wuss."

 

Actually the truth is your opinion means nothing. Face it kid, you don't amount to anything. So why should I be worried because you have a big mouth? Oh, and by the way, I couldn't tell if you were a boy or a girl. Sorry about that.

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docoflove1974

It seems to me that dictators have a tendency to bluster about much right before they know the end is near. Mr. Assad fits the bill right now. Whether the Syrian people do the job, or they get help from the outside, that remains to be seen.

 

A student of mine brought up an interesting point: is Silvio Berlusconi a type of dictator? He has been in office for nearly 20 years, in some form or other, which seems odd. Yes, I know that people have to vote him in (as well as his party), but I have heard Italians for years now scoff at their leader. Plus, it seems like he can do no wrong, that he still gets re-elected regardless of scandal or hair plugs. My response was that the voting process has made changes in the make up of Parliament, and that this make-up will bring Silvio down if he's not careful. In fact, I think his time is done; the changes that the EU are requiring him to make will be unpopular, and they will be the last straw.

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caldrail

There seems to be point in rulership after which everyone just accepts you're a nutter and sort of grows attached to the old bugger no matter how daft he is. The problems arise if the dictator isn't benign. Eventually it causes hatred.

 

As for Italy, I simply do not understand their politics. Who does? I hear that one town mayor has declared independence and printed his currency which he one day hopes will be used alongside the Euro. He might just get his chance the way things are going.

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GhostOfClayton

It's quite interesting. If the Greeks weren't in the Euro, there would be much less motivation for other countries to bail them out. Yet the Greeks seem to want out at the moment. So who will bail them out next time if they're using the Drachma again?

 

I think people are only saying that the Euro's in crisis, because there's an option for nations to drop it for their original currency. If, as a nation, you're already using that original currency, your finances would still be just as far up the creek, but you couldn't blame the currency itself. The UK are not blaming sterling, yet things are pretty grim here.

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