Libya

The greatness of a nation is measured by the way it treats its enemies. Well, Libya does not score too well on that scale, judging by the way its former leader and his cronies were dealt with upon discovery. I'm not saying Gaddafi cum suis deserved any better, but the protestations of the new Libyan leadership that they did not want Gaddafi dead sound a tad hollow.

In civil wars, the first line of this blogpost becomes incredibly difficult to maintain, and the acrimony that has gripped Libya since February is testimony to that. In fact, the pent-up hatred against the totalitarian rule of Gaddafi has come pouring out like from a freshly lanced boil. There will be the inevitable settling of accounts, some going back to 1969, when Gaddafi came to power. I have no illusions that things will stay ugly in Libya for a long time. Some say Sirte, which provided succour to the dictator, should not be reconstructed.

I am not so naive as to expect an instant national reconciliation in Libya. I can only hope for that, given time.

Hurricane update - 24 October

Hurricane Rina formed yesterday evening as a tropical depression, but has exploded to hurricane force within 18 hours. The storm, which is slowly headed for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, will be at 105 knots (120 mph) by the time it reaches that area. Rina will veer round to the northeast at the end of the forecast period.

The resort of Cancun lies near the path of this hurricane.

Monday 24 October

Quite an acceptable day, with good sunshine at times and relatively high temperatures - we got up to 16C / 60F today. As I type this, the sun is dipping towards the horizon and it's cooling down. Although there is not much wind, the 5.35pm ferry sailing from Ullapool has been delayed for about 12 hours until 5 am tomorrow morning due to adverse weather conditions. The shipping forecast shows a galewarning for our area.

I went into town this afternoon for a few bits in the shops, and could not help but notice how quiet things have become since the Royal National Mod ended on Saturday. Last week, the place was very busy - but not nearly as much so today.