Social media triggers revolutions

Social media - Twitter, Facebook, Sina Weibo, etc - was invented for people, usually young ones, to communicate with each other electronically. They have succeeded extremely well.


But the inventors could not have envisaged that SM users would use it to do more than chat about their daily lives and exchange their views about the best movies, restaurtants and sound tracks. They certainly could not have imagined that SM would have the unintended consequence to ignite revolutions, to change the world.

I am, of course, talking about the so-called Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia, moved to Egypt and Libya, causing regime changes that their citizens could not have imagined possible for many more years to come.  SM nearly caused changes in Yemen and Bahrain and may be doing so in Syria as well. See http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/facebook-and-twitter-key-to-arab-spring-uprisings-report

There was both hope and fears that users of Sino Weibo would ignite a 'Jasmine Spring'. But that did not happen. Nevertheless, interactions have led to several dodgy factories being shut down or refused planning permission, several cases where persecution of dissidents or victims of miscarriages of justice by local authorities were overturned by central authorities. One does not know how much of the current moves by the Chinese Communist Party to rein in spending by officials, corruption, reversals of local injustices, exhortations to listen to the people, and even talk of major reform and move towards democracy is caused by or, at least, strengthened by SM interactions. By I am sure these interactions have not hindered such thinking and pronouncements. See http://chindia-alert.org/2012/05/19/how-chinas-300m-microbloggers-are-shaking-the-system/

Just as the invention of the printing press led to greater freedoms, either of religion or from political repression, so SM is proving to be another turn of the wheel towards greater awareness of wrongs and the garnering of popular support to overcome them. And just as the church in the Middle Ages could not stop the printing press, so today's authorities cannot stop SM. I'm afraid the 'rabbit is out of the hat' and Pandora's Box has been opened. No power on earth can get the rabbit back into the hat or shut Pandora's Box, at least not also getting SM back in it before shutting it.

Hanging on until it's too late

From Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/07/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE8610SH20120807?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

One of the unintended consequences of President Assad's decision not to make any substantive reforms s that in due course he may not only lose his position but perhaps his life as well. This will follow the precedent of Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein, and many other dictators faced with intractable opposition.

Riyad Hijab is sworn in as new Prime Minister by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) in Damascus in this handout photo distributed by Syrian News Agency (SANA) June 26, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/SANA/Handout

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN | Tue Aug 7, 2012 3:51am EDT

Syrian forces pressed on with their offensive against rebels in the largest city Aleppo after the prime minister fled the country, denouncing the "terrorist regime" of Bashar al-Assad.

The defection of Riyad Hijab - who like most of the opposition hails from the Sunni Muslim majority - was a further sign of the isolation of Assad's government around an inner core of powerful members of his minority Alawite sect.

Opposition figures, buoyant despite setbacks in recent weeks of fighting around Damascus and Aleppo, spoke of an extensive and long-planned operation to spirit Hijab and his large extended family across the border to Jordan.