“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.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Tunisia's Ben Ali's organized plunder

Deutsche Welle, 13 April 2014

The laws of Tunisia were tailored to suit the Ben Ali family, which siphoned off profits from the economy. A World Bank study shows how the ruler and his family enriched themselves.


More than one-fifth of the Tunisian private sector's profits went to the family of former dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. That is the result of a study entitled "All in the Family," published recently by the World Bank.

How can a dictator seize so much money? Similar structures exist all around the world, said World Bank economist Antonio Nucifora, one of the authors of the study.

The authors of the study analyzed 220 companies that were placed under state guardianship in January 2011. By focusing on the most profitable sectors, the members of the dictator's family managed to obtain 21 percent of private sector profits with only a 1 percent share of the investment.

Telecommunications, transport and real estate were in the hands of the family. They were able to set the prices at their own discretion, according to the study.

Decrees at

Antonio Nucifora says old
structures could return
"They created monopolies, which were highly profitable," Nucifoa said. The World Bank estimates the wealth of the Ben Ali family at the end of his rule at 13 billion dollars - more than a quarter of Tunisia's gross domestic product.

That happened to the expense of the population, who in their daily live often had no choice but to buy goods from "the family." "You can't really talk about illegal measures," Nucifora said. "Ben Ali and his family took advantage of the regulations that were in place."

For example, the 1993 investment law was tailored to the interests of the family, he said. Twenty-five decrees that made it difficult for other companies to enter the market were issued to benefit the ruler. The public was told that these measures would protect consumers.

A driving force for political change

The division of the society into two groups, a small elite able to enrich itself and the powerless masses, was ultimately a main reason for Ben Ali's overthrow in 2011, Nucifora said.

But the measures that enabled Ben Ali to enrich himself still exist in the country. Nucifora said it was therefore posssible for history to repeat.

The Tunisians revolted against the
Ben Ali regime in January 2011
But Wided Bouchamaoui, director of the Tunisian business association, said all successful companies should be suspect.

"Ben Ali is part of our history, and we have to accept this," she said, adding that it was now necessary to learn from the mistakes in the past.

'A general problem in the Arab world'

But these structures are not unique to Tunisia, Nucifora said. They also exist in other countries in the region, even though the population may have revolted against its rulers.

"That's a general problem in the Arab world," he said. "Nepotism and the elites who benefit from it exist in many countries around the globe. It's similar in Russia and Ukraine."

Nucifora said that the World Bank will publish - probably in June - another study about economic structures in the Arab world.

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