In times of crisis there is often a fine line between great leadership and inadequate leadership, which with regard to the latter can actually compound an existing disaster. Alternately, it is often out of disaster that great leadership comes to the fore because more than adequate leadership is required.

A long standing and traditional theme in literature and culture is that determination always being a virtue because it is commensurate with a positive approach to promoting the common good. This perspective negates the fact that there have been too many instances of people and leaders throughout history who have been determined to overcome all obstacles in the pursuit of their self-interest.

Due to technological innovation the world is entering a period of potentially negative creative destruction where change results in less employment being generated. The contemporary context of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) could create a context in which negative creative destruction causes high levels of poverty and associated social crisis.

The political situation in Egypt is so precarious that any mis-step by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces could be very detrimental to the Middle East region and to the world. This article by Dr. David Paul Bennett reviews the contemporary situation in Egypt with reference to that nation’s recent past and possible future.

Is Libyan Democracy a Desert Mirage?

The failure of the west to provide military aerial support to the Libyan people will probably deprive them of a once in a lifetime opportunity to regain their freedom that was stolen from them by Colonel Qaddafi in 1969.