A Minor Diversion

Calls for a no-fly zone over Yemen were more or less muted today as dozens were killed and hundreds wounded by some brave young men doing a wonderful job under difficult circumstances. The intervention was carried out by soldiers and by "plain-clothed government loyalists" disguised in journalistic euphemism and what George W Bush would have called "civilian uniforms".

According to Britain's leading liberal newspaper, President Ali Abdullah Saleh has "maintained a firm grip on power" for more than thirty years, which is not at all the same thing as being a dictator. Demonstrations have been going on for more than a month in Yemen and in other small places, but are considered a minor diversion compared to the prospect of strong-armed airgasm spraying white western liberty all over Libya.