Have a read of this and discuss. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/paulmason/2011/02/twenty_reasons_why_its_kicking.html
Nail on head tbh. Today's middle and working class populace are empowered by the net - it gives them truth (if you know where to look). Politicians and dictators can spin and lie all they want, but as has been demonstrated in Tunisia and Egypt this week, it's hard to stop the ball rolling once people get hacked off with the status quo.
but then...... the truth is a slippery thing on the net. Is it true that the moon landings were faked? that 9/11 was carried out by the CIA or the Illuminati? the people in power are too old to understand the power of the net but the generation coming up behind them do, and they will be able to exploit it for their own ends. When the printing press was first invented the powerful tried first to control it , then when they couldn't they learnt to use it. Now a few press barons are able to control what you think. Up until the net came along. We are living through a great time for the media savvy powerless. But not for long. The net and computing power offer those with a lust for power an amazingly efficient method of control and surveillance. They don't have mass observation by CCTV in Cairo. The next lot in power will see that its installed. They closed down the internet in Egypt. In China they control what you can access. Much more effective. This time is a little window of opportunity for the powerless. Lets hope they are wise enough to use it before it closes again. And there is this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgjIgMdsEuk
Propergander is reandered useless by the WWW. Dust Country dwellers see too much Western TV with teens looking fresh heathy and clean sitting in nice resturants doing "cool" things. Then they walk out of the door and dodge the camel shit and call to prayers. Many nations kids have their greedy eyes on, if they cant get to the west they want to make their countrys westernised. I think the points this guy makes will not only stop dictatorism but possible put a stop to religion, not anytime soon but in say 3 generations time. The kids want what the kids want
I think we need riots similar to Egypt and Tunisia but not peaceful ones, violent ones where banks get burnt to the ground
That BBC article was a load of shit in my opinion. The usual propaganda from the BBC - who would have thought it! If anyone thinks any of these revolutions are 'grass roots' then they need to have their heads looked at. The Egyptian military were in Washington the week before, no doubt brokering their 'stand down' orders before the country was eventually put under Marshal Law under the guise of peoples uprising. All this middle eastern 'revolution' is nothing more than intelligence agencies from other countries, and perfectly well spoken women from Oxford educational backgrounds (grass roots - ha ha) doing nothing more than consolidating power under the UN. The last Iranian uprising stank of MOSSAD and CIA involvement (fake twitter stuff making it to mainstream news, later admissions, the LOT) and this one wouldnt have went ahead unless the right people had the right orders. Still, everyone likes to believe they make a difference in this world. Pfft
