It should be pretty clear by now that the destabilization of certain old, corrupt regimes in the former Ottoman Empire leaned heavily on mobile Internet. We had

It should be pretty clear by now that the destabilization of certain old, corrupt regimes in the former Ottoman Empire leaned heavily on mobile Internet. We had the sobriquet "Arab Spring" for it, and look what it became. Mobile Internet seems to have taken the role in this disruption that the printing press took in the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is perhaps too early to see if a subsequent Enlightenment is to follow. We know from direct historical provenance that the regions where Islam held sway were perfectly capable of a high degree of culture. Right now, however, barbarism seems to hold sway. During the rise of Sayyid Qutb, Nasser was able to control things. He did so somewhat ... brutally, but the situation remained in control. Libya itself was mostly a criminal enterprise masquerading as a government. George Orwell wrote at least one thing - "Poetry and the Microphone" which expressed skepticism about radio. In my own household, it's taken considerable effort on my part to explain to people that teh TeeVee isn't always good for your brain. There is still brilliant work done on television, more than in the past. You just have to be careful.