Middle East...


The question is not if oil price will go up but when it will go up.

The worrying thing about Middle East right now is risk & potential regime change in some of these volatile countries may have a knock on effect to "stable" countries. The idea of change itself is appealing, especially when there is a huge disparity between the rich and the poor. Higher prices in basic necessities and oil related products is adding fuel to the fire as well, uniting the cause of the people.

Higher oil prices will result in higher inflation. Cost of living will go up. Interest rates will also go up. So all in all, not very good if u are a consumer.
 

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Pse ... nothing on religion. It is about political stability.

As we know much of the world energy comes from the Middle East. The situation if it goes uncontrol will change the much volatile Middle East into another flaring spot!

Strictly speaking, except for Bahrain, most of the conflicts are in North Africa. They don't contribute to the global oil markets as much as Middle East.

[edit] I read that North Africa region contributes 1/3 to global oil so prices of oil has already surpass the US$100 mark on the back of Libya instability.
 

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oil is going to get expensive, time to use solar power bah !
 

Wow how incredibly biased is that video?? Evil empire? Anti-Israel automatically equals pro-terrorism??

This explains why one has to be careful about where we view/read the news.
FYI Fox News is on SCV and you can subscribe to it. You can view it in most hotels when you are travelling.

When MM (of MLY) was quarrelling with MM (of Sing), if you read the newspaper in MLY and then read the newspaper in ST, you will get different versions.
So the news that is presented to the world also depends on what country / organisation is allowing the licence to operate / funding that newspaper.

On the Internet, one is exposed to a variety of views. So we all make the choice who we want to listen to.
 

This explains why one has to be careful about where we view/read the news.
FYI Fox News is on SCV and you can subscribe to it. You can view it in most hotels when you are travelling.

When MM (of MLY) was quarrelling with MM (of Sing), if you read the newspaper in MLY and then read the newspaper in ST, you will get different versions.
So the news that is presented to the world also depends on what country / organisation is allowing the licence to operate / funding that newspaper.

On the Internet, one is exposed to a variety of views. So we all make the choice who we want to listen to.

Agreed. Dont you agree that Singaporeans are more vocal now?

China, if you ask me, they politically more stable and mature now!
 

Agreed. Dont you agree that Singaporeans are more vocal now?

China, if you ask me, they politically more stable and mature now!

That is central China but if you move to the fringes to the Tibetian/Muslim regions, it is still tense
 

The situation in Libya has worsen. The military order aerial bombardment on the protestors, 2 fighter pilots landed their jets in Malta to seek asylum, Gaddafi is rumoured to have fleed to Venezula.

The demonstration in Yemen is also gathering pace. One by one, the leaders in the Arab world are falling like coconuts.
 

That is central China but if you move to the fringes to the Tibetian/Muslim regions, it is still tense

The area is always a trouble spot for China. Just like southern part of Thailand and Phillipine.

Sigh... Middle East nations are changing hand one at a time and some may go into Civil War and .....
 

Things are looking pretty bad.. even the Bahrain F1 have been called off ...

BBC has an interesting interactive assessment on each country in that region .. taking into consideration things like corruption score, poverty, % of youths out of work and something called an unrest index.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12482291


egy_arab_map976_3.gif
 

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Well we dont know what the future holds. Its either take the risk to face up or just keep quiet abt it. For the arabs, they want changes. Lets just hope they made the right choice.

But I just worried that most narrow-minded ppl will always look at religion instead of other things.
 

Regime change always has risks.
The Cambodian ordinary people thought Sihanouk or Lon Nol were bad. They never imagined what they would get when the regime changed to Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot.

Somehow, it looks like the Mid East people in some of the countries will find out the hard way that the new regime is not always better than the current one.

And yes, regime change is often result of hidden hand by external forces / other countries interfering. e.g. Lon Nol was propped up by CIA. As usual, stupidly, the CIA thought Sihanouk was too close to PRC for comfort. These CIA clowns do not really understand Asia at all.

I never doubted that the Tian An Men student protests were funded by underhanded foreign powers interfering in China's internal affairs.
 

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The focus now is on Libya. Gaddafi has claimed that Libya will be set ablaze. He will die as a martyr on Libyan soil. This Gaddafi known for being eccentric may just go on a killing spree.

Interestingly, Syria has started distributing cash payout and reduce taxes to the poor.
 

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There is never a right or wrong issue. It is the leader and if the leader is of unscrupulous nature, the nation suffered.

To many, $$$ come first! They want to hold onto power so that their deeds will not be discovered.

Greed, fame and power are human weaknesses
 

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Not so much of narrow-mindedness but simple-mindedness. Many so called religious figures take advantage of the general population's disenchantment to rise to power. At the end of the day, it's still politics with a facade.

Hope the arabs will learn from the mistakes the iranians made
 

Not so much of narrow-mindedness but simple-mindedness. Many so called religious figures take advantage of the general population's disenchantment to rise to power. At the end of the day, it's still politics with a facade.

Hope the arabs will learn from the mistakes the iranians made

U are right. People never learn. There is always a big price to pay for when changing a dynasty.

It often come from a small percentage of a country which make the change in the leadership thru violence. Most prefer peaceful mean. But it often comes too slowly and too late.
 

If you realized most people will not do anything. It is this small minority that are movers and shakers, that created the change. If you wait for the majority - Ali Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak will still be in power today?

Sometimes, these revolutionaries did the right thing. The wrong thing is they did not move along with the times, grew power hungry and money greedy, forgot the cause that they have fought for once in power.
 

The Khmer rouge had armed sympathisers working for them in the city for years.
When they took over the city, what happened? Were they rewarded?
They were disarmed by the Khmer rouge and probably led to death camps.
Because the Khmer rouge were afraid of another armed group challenging them.


Same story with the Vietcong who fought for years for North Vietnam, in the cities of the South Vietnam.
When the war was nearing the end and the North knew they would take over the South.
The North Vietnamese ordered the Vietcong to do suicide missions to attack US fortified positions, knowing that in so doing, the Vietcong would be decimated.
Likewise, the North Vietnamese army did not want a strong group of armed Vietcong challenging them for power when the US troops left.

It is all very wicked and ungrateful.
 

History repeats.

To be a ruler, you have to be rudeless. Make people fears you, eliminate all your foes who maybe your friends.

Which ruler is not rudeless?

Yes, when in power, you want more and to protect what you have you become selfish and so on and......