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...deadlocked situation," says Sompop Manarungsan, another Chulalongkorn economist. Plenty of Thais are fed up with both political factions and just want a government that isn't constantly stuck in crisis mode. Abhisit has offered dialogue with the red shirts' leaders, but no amount of talking over the past four years has resulted in any political conciliation. Equally distressing for Thais, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, often considered an arbiter of last resort in Thai politics, has been hospitalized since last September. The 82-year-old monarch stepped in during key crises in Thai history, like in 1992 when soldiers gunned down dozens...
...splashed by the bucketful at the Prime Minister's office and private residence. Brahmin priests attended the bloodletting, casting hexes on the government amid swirls of incense. Such black magic, which dates back to Thailand's pre-Buddhist past, might seem like the domain of superstitious peasants. But last year, yellow-shirt leader and media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul placed sanitary napkins soaked with menstrual blood around a Bangkok monument as part of a spell designed to vanquish Thaksin. Many locals seem to believe that witchcraft will be just as influential in driving the course of Thai politics as good governance...
...country where most people have only ever known his father's rule, Saif says Libyans have grown impatient for change. Last February, when President Gaddafi ended his one-year term as the head of the African Union, the organization passed a resolution giving itself the power to expel or impose sanctions on leaders who seize power through force. The message was not lost on Libyans. "In black Africa, we see real democracy, real elections, real parliaments, real constitutions," Saif says. "Why don't we have the same as them...
...blessing. They have a great relationship." Skeptics point to Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad promised change but has brought few reforms since his father Hafez died in 2000. In neighboring Egypt, Hosni Mubarak's son Gamal could face a similar predicament if he runs in next year's presidential elections. (See "Why the U.S. Is Back on the Road to Damascus...
Mindful of such pitfalls, Saif rejected his father's proposal last year to assume the country's second-highest post. "I would not accept [a position] because you need to have a constitution," Saif says. "You need transparent political rules of the game." He's also prepared to test the system. Tensions erupted into full view last December after Saif invited the Washington and Middle East directors of Human Rights Watch to launch its report on Libya's human-rights violations at a press conference in the heart of Tripoli. Few groups had ever been allowed to speak out publicly...