Assad and dictator's disease

The Australian puts it very well.

Backing 'none of the above' in Liberal Voice poll

Lib Dem Voice is holding its annual Liberal Voice of the year poll. And a pretty unispiring choice it is too.

Two of the short list stand out: Mohamed Bouazizi - whose self immolation (ahem) sparked the Tunisian uprising - and Chinese human rights campaigner Ai Weiwei. But neither's actual political views are definitively known to be liberal rather than simply opposed to oppression and injustice. The rest of the shortlist is a ragbag of names who may have uttered something vaguely liberal at some point in the last thirty years.

It's obviously not to be taken too seriously, but surely the chaps at Lib Dem Voice towers could have produced a more reflective list of truly liberal movers and shakers than they did?

Assad faces end game

With Syria facing increasing isolation from its Arab neighbours, as well as the international community and now increasing opposition domestically - President Bashar al-Assad's days are surely numbered. The only question being how much of a bloodbath is he prepared to unleash on his own people in delaying the inevitable?

Like Gaddafi - Assad has benefitted for too long from tacit and explicit support from democratic leaders and their advisers whose belief in 'strongmen' to hold the middle East together has been proved an abject failure in terms of delivering more democracy, freedom or peace.