In a subscription drive for new members, the Stratfor “global intelligence” company sent this message to non-members yesterday, February 22.
Libya is spiraling out of control and is dominating the media. But there’s unrest in lesser-known places that are strategically more important.…
If the situation in Bahrain gets out of hand, the U.S. could lose a base for its 5th Fleet; Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority could follow suit with their own protests; the Iranian-Saudi balance in the region would teeter heavily toward Iran. Does this small country have your attention now?
These are the nuances you won’t learn flipping through TV channels showing angry protesters with cries for democracy.
Eric Koch’s book, The Weimar Triangle, is available at Indigo-Chapters and in your local bookstore. 
A Bahreini acquaintance told me yesterday (by email) that the Ruler had recently decreed that there would be no repression of demonstrations, whether anti- or pro-government. As a result, he said, the demonstrations were taking the air of street parties.
We can hope that that lasts, for the residents’ sake as well as for the region’s.
I am reassured and hugely impressed. Do you also have friends in North Korea?
None. However, I live half a block from Korea Town in Toronto – I don’t know the provenance of the Koreans who do business there (most of whom seem to live elsewhere).