“Jasmine Revolution”
Symbol of peace: Flowers placed on the barrel of a tank
in very much calmer protests than in recent days in Tunisia

'The Protester' - Time Person of the Year 2011

'The Protester' - Time Person of the Year 2011
Mannoubia Bouazizi, the mother of Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi. "Mohammed suffered a lot. He worked hard. but when he set fire to himself, it wasn’t about his scales being confiscated. It was about his dignity." (Peter Hapak for TIME)

1 - TUNISIA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)


How eyepatches became a symbol of Egypt's revolution - Graffiti depicting a high ranking army officer with an eye patch Photograph: Nasser Nasser/ASSOCIATED PRESS

2 - EGYPT Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)


''17 February Revolution"

3 - LIBYA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)

5 - SYRIA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)

"25 January Youth Revolution"
Muslim and Christian shoulder-to-shoulder in Tahrir Square
"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -
(Subjects: Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" (without a manager hierarchy) managed Businesses, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)
"The End of History" – Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)
(Subjects:Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Muhammad, Jesus, God, Jews, Arabs, EU, US, Israel, Iran, Russia, Africa, South America, Global Unity,..... etc.) (Text version)

"If an Arab and a Jew can look at one another and see the Akashic lineage and see the one family, there is hope. If they can see that their differences no longer require that they kill one another, then there is a beginning of a change in history. And that's what is happening now. All of humanity, no matter what the spiritual belief, has been guilty of falling into the historic trap of separating instead of unifying. Now it's starting to change. There's a shift happening."


“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.

They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."



African Union (AU)

African Union (AU)
African Heads of State pose for a group photo ahead of the start of the 28th African Union summit in Addis Ababa on January 30, 2017 (AFP Photo/ Zacharias ABUBEKER)

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela
Few words can describe Nelson Mandela, so we let him speak for himself. Happy birthday, Madiba.

Monday, September 10, 2012

New president, old problems in Somalia

Deutsche Welle, 10 September 2012



The election of a new president is supposed to end violence and anarchy in Somalia. But the war-torn country is still dogged by violence and corruption, and experts don't expect that to change any time soon.

When the new man at the helm of war-troubled nation of Somalia is elected, a sigh of relief will be heard from UN headquarters in New York all the way to Mogadishu. Many observers had feared the latest attempt to form a government had failed after lawmakers missed the August 20 deadline to elect a new head of state. Apparently, it was the United States that forced the Members of Parliament to give in and carry out the election. The vote of Somali MPs marks the end of the agonizing transitional period to set up a new administration.

Bribes are all too common

Questions however remain whether the administration can make a difference in the country that has been without a functioning government for more than 20 years. The parliamentary election last month was seen as a test run for the presidential elections. The polls however revealed that many of the chronic ills of Somali politics are still alive and well: Many Members of Parliament reportedly did not get a seat because of their competency, but because of "brown envelopes" - bribes of about $60,000 (47,000 euros) each. 

Members of Somalia's parliament
are said to have paid bribes
Legal expert Mohamed Osman Jawari was subsequently elected speaker - a post that traditionally carries much weight in Somalia. He is one of the experts tasked with drafting the new constitution. Many experts however doubt that the current draft is acceptable to the majority of Somalis.

"Most of the key issues raised in the draft such as federalism or the role of Islam in Somali politics have been edged out," Roland Marchal of the Centre for International Studies and Research in Paris told DW. Instead, the new parliament has to debate these issues again from scratch. "After eight years of negotiations, you can hardly call that a success," Marchal said.

A helpless international community

The troubled transitional process shows how helpless the international community still is in Somalia. The UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) was supposed to moderate the process. But the office is mired in so many disputes that Somalis called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to sack his special representative to the country, Augustine Mahiga.
At the same time, many Somalis doubt the motives of the international community. They fear that countries such as Norway are more interested in the country's fish grounds or recent oil finds than in establishing a functioning government. Many observers fear that large parts of the population will lack trust in the new government set up with assistance from the international community.

Campaigning, Somalia style 

The UN has accused President
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed of corruption
In the last days and weeks, contenders for the presidential post met regularly amidst the hustle and bustle of Somalia's capital Mogadishu to forge alliances. Just like before, ethnicity mattered more than ideology in these campaigns. 25 candidates had registered as candidates by September 7, which marks the official deadline. They included former prime ministers, business men and academics. Even the head of the BBC's Somali Service decided to leave his desk in London in favor of a campaign office in Mogadishu. On the weekend, the candidates officially introduced themselves to parliament. Sunday was their official campaigning day.

Most of the candidates are familiar faces in Somali politics. Many observers doubt that they stand for a new beginning in the war-torn nation. "There are two many cooks in the kitchen that are not trained to cook in the first place," Somalia expert Markus Höhne from the Max-Planck-Institute told DW.

Somalia's previous transitional governments have also failed to raise hope that Somali politics have changed for the better in recent times. Incumbent president Sharif Sheikh Admed has been heading a corrupt and inefficient administration since 2009. A leaked UN report accuses his government of "systematic embezzlement, pure and simple misappropriation of funds and theft of public money." Between 2009 and 2010, the government stole seven out of every ten dollars of public funds. Besides corruption, observers are also deeply worried about the country's human rights situation. Germany's Society for threatened peoples calls it "disastrous."






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