Riots erupt in Malawi's capital‎

jvbrewer:

We had an Arab Spring. Does this portend the beginning of a Sub-Saharan Summer?

Some protesters are demanding President Bingu wa Mutharika’s resignation…

The demonstrations were called to protest against rising fuel prices, a shortage of foreign exchange reserves, alleged bad governance and poor international relations.

Last week, the UK cut direct aid to Malawi after a diplomatic spat with Mr Mutharika’s government.

The UK accused Malawi of mishandling the economy and failing to uphold human rights.

The government recently passed an austerity budget, raising taxes to reduce dependence on aid.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an estimated 75% of the population living on less than $1 (60p) a day.

They wouldn’t be alone … Malaysia had a similar spate of protests, too, recently. Perhaps we’ve gotten beyond the Arab Spring? To put a pop-culture spin on this: Remember how around 2006 or so when seemingly every indie rock band and musician appeared to be getting fame via blog/MySpace attention, and how the media was quick to play it up? And how that’s basically a way of life these days? Well, what if we’ve gotten to the point where this is just how it happens — where movements just build upon the successes and failures of other protest movements, word spreads, and further movements and learn to grow from them? Even taking the computers and phones out of the equation, it seems like that wouldn’t be a stretch.