The entire Middle East seems to be entering uncharted political and social territory with a similar mixture of anticipation and dread. Events in Lebanon and Egypt, following a limited vote for municipal councils in Saudi Arabia and landmark elections in Iraq, as well as the Palestinian territories, combined to give the sense, however tentative, that twilight might be descending on authoritarian Arab governments.

...

Another factor, pressure from the Bush administration, has emboldened demonstrators, who believe that their governments will be more hesitant to act against them with Washington linking its security to greater freedom after the Sept. 11 attacks. The United States says it will no longer support repressive governments, and young Arabs, while hardly enamored of American policy in the region, want to test that promise.

...

\"The general atmosphere awaits big political and social change,\" said Dawood al-Shirian, a Saudi commentator on Dubai television. \"There will have to be some sort of dialogue between the regimes and the people, or there will be confrontation, but things will not remain as they are.\"

Arabs differ on the degree to which American influence helped foster the changed mood, but there is no doubt that pressure from the Bush administration played some role.
 

These guys are more optimistic than you lot:

I still do not believe that the statistical method of the Quantum Theory is the last word, but for the time being I am alone in my opinion.
(Albert Einstein, On Quantum Physics, p125 1936)

sportinlife:

Or at least marry a good woman  

sportinlife:
 Would a good man do?

Speaking of Physicists, Hans Brethe died today.