“O, swear not by the moon, the fickle moon, the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circle orb"

While the biggest moon in two decades is about to make its appearance tonight, the whole world has been witnessing a number of another type of revolutions for some two Moons already. 

Two decades ago Bush Sr. came with out with his proclamation of a New World Order.  The USSR had collapsed and the US had been quick to take on the role of the Globocop.  Two decades, two towers and a moon later, their role is being more questioned and questionable than ever.

Salvador Dalí. Big Thumb. Beach. Moon and Decaying Bird. 1928. Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, FL, USA.


Although the Moon, of course, is not responsible [ even if such a Moon can have slight effects on tides and seismic activity, "there is no evidence that … it influenced the catastrophe in japan" National Geographic - http://bit.ly/hPF4V1] for the latest natural and man-made revolutions of the past two months, one may hope that this Moon, which will be 20% brighter and 15% bigger form the Earth, will help some 'over-dozed' politicians see through what they no longer seem to see when lit by the Sun.

In Egypt to day is a day of joy.  People are casting their ballot and the 'Pride to be an Egyptian' that started in Tahrir on January 25th is palatable and contagious even through the 140 Characters allowed by Twitter.
- " It is the first time in my life to be proud of my finger :) - W. Hassan
- " This is definitely a first! We're making history whatever the outcome." L. Aasem
- " Today is a response to Husni Mubarak, Omar Suleiman, Ahmed Nazif & anyone who claimed that Egyptians are not ready for democracy" W. Ghonim
And for once, women are applauded:
- " My dad is at the stations with my sister and 4 of her friends. That's the 5 he took with him to vote, he said. :P" Mahmoud Salem, alias Sandmonkey
- " A woman just came out betzaghrat (trills of joy) after casting her ballot. Ppl in line started to clap:-)"
- " In one of the polling stations in #shubra, positive attitudes, more men than women. No reports of any problems"

The voters will decide whether to approve or reject nine amendments to the current constitution.  For Nasser Amin, Head of the Centre for Independent Justice in Cairo, quoted from his interview in the Deustche Welle, "not enough changes had been brought to the New Constitution".  He also deplored the fact not enough time had been given to allow for a general debate about the Constitution prior to the referendum.  The Referendum comes a mere five weeks after the fall of Mubarak.  His feelings are echoed by Amr Moussa, who fears that if the referendum is approved it could lead to some members of the Old Parliament to be re-elected into the new one.  
The Muslim Brotherhood on the other hand approve the nine amendments and have called on their supporters to vote 'yes' arguing it would bring more stability and is the first step towards democracy.
Results should be known by this evening.
The latest reports can be followed in English on the interactive map set up by u- shahid  http://u-shahid.org

In Lybia, on the other hand, even though the UN has approved a No-Fly-Zone over the country, seemingly prompting Ghaddafi to declare a cease-fire last night, bombing and shelling the anti-Ghaddafi forces have not ceased.  Abdul Jalil, head of national Lybian Council told Al Jazeera all districts of Benghazi were being bombarded by artillery and rockets and hospitals were flooded with victims.  He foresees a catastrophe if the International Community fails to implement the freshly approved UNSC Resolution. 
Anger read in different tweets about the time it is taking the international community to move, best resumed by Hisham G., co-founder of the online media agency, GlobalVoices ,
- "Why do foreign ministers need to meet in Paris before concrete action's taken against Ghaddafi? Couldn't they just Skype it away and move on?"
Others deplore the Western sense of Time: "France has a really funny definition of "few hours." Are they planning to deliver on the Lybia intervention today or is there no hurry?"

In the meantime a BBC journalist in Benghazi has seen pro-Ghaddafi tanks inside the city, Pro-Ghaddafi forces have burned down the Lebanese embassy in the city and the communication lines are down.

Nevertheless, Lybians and foreign journalists now adept at circumventing communication problems, the net is filled with videos and pictures bearing witness to the horror caused by Ghaddafi. AlJazeera blog:  http://bit.ly/e1dzFB  -

In Lebanon, a call to demonstrate against the sectarian regime has been shared online.

In Yemen, last night only, 45 peaceful protesters were killed in deadliest attack yet, prompting calls for the US to stop its military aid and an AlJazeera reporter is deported.

In Bahrain, the situation has been deemed in International Press as 'more dangerous than Lybia'.

In Israel, 50 rockets sent from Gaza have hit Israel in the early hours of the day, while 6 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli bullets. 

To move away from man-made disasters, the situation in Japan is no less terrible, More than 7000 dead, over 10.000 people still missing [ here is the online Japan Missing Person finder app.: http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/ ].  Moreover, about 400,000 people have lost their homes and are now homeless, battling near-freezing temperatures AND the crisis in Fukushima has not yet been solved. 
Japanese Media have presented an ingenious new video explaining to children what had happened.  It is worth a watch: http://bit.ly/eOvX6W

The Biggest Moon in the two decades may well have nothing to do with all the tragedies happening at Tweet-time, however, solutions will have to be found before the next 'Biggest Moon' which is set to appear in 2029!

Quote in the title is from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, when Romeo swears his love to Juliet by the moon and she protests with these words
"O swear not by the moon, th'inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable."

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