“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, February 27, 2011

Hereditary dictatorship

RNW, 26 February 201, by Thijs Papôt

(Photos: Wikipedia)

The fact that Muammar Gaddafi’s seven sons all occupy key positions in Libya confirm the assertion that nepotism is an inevitable part of dictatorship.

The despot’s wife and children can easily double as confidant, security minister or head of the national oil company, and in many cases “heir to the throne”. If a dictator is ousted or brought to justice, it’s usually bad news for the family as well. Saddam Hussein’s sons and his cousin Chemical Ali were all dead before the man himself was executed.

But it can turn out differently. The admiration for a controversial potentate among a section of the population can often benefits his offspring, and vast sums of re-routed government money often find their way into the pockets of a leader’s heirs. Let’s see how some of these family businesses operate around the world.

DR Congo: Mobutu Sese Seko

Photo: Wikipedia
Mobutu Sese Seko (1930-1997) ruled DR Congo for 32 years and renamed it Zaire. After he seized power in 1965, it transpired that his main ambition was to become the richest man in Africa. By systematically plundering the country and its natural resources, he amassed billions at the expense of his starving countrymen. According to anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, Mobutu managed to siphon off around 5 billion dollars to Swiss bank accounts. While undergoing medical treatment abroad, Mobutu was ousted and never returned to his homeland.

Among Mobutu’s 17 surviving children, the political career of his son Francois Joseph Nzanga Mobutu Ngbangawe stands out. After making a bid to become president of DR Congo in 2006, he took a post as junior agriculture minister. While Switzerland has largely frozen Mobutu’s billion dollar assets, much of the money has proved to be untraceable. The personal fortunes of his children are thought to run in the millions. Part of the family currently resides in France.

Chile: Augusto Pinochet

Photo: Wikipedia
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (1925-2006) came to power in a military coup on 11 September 1973. His government became known for its repressive regime and its neoliberal economic policy, which led to both stability and socio-economic inequality. Opponents condemn Pinochet for the murders and torture that took place under his regime, while supporters believe he saved Chile from a communist dictatorship and brought the country economic progress.

In 2007 an investigation into the embezzlement of millions of dollars of public money led to his widow and five children being detained for a brief period. Two years previously, his wife Lucía Hiriart de Pinochet had already been prosecuted for tax evasion.

Indonesia: Suharto

Photo:Wikipedia
Former General Suharto (1921-2008) came to power in 1965 after a tumultuous struggle within the army top brass. He led his country with an iron hand, but developed an economic policy benefited a large proportion of the population and which provided him with considerable popularity among the new middle class. That popularity came to an abrupt end when Indonesia was hit hard by the Asian crisis in 1997. It probably also vapourised a significant part of his accumulated fortune. After a popular uprising Suharto was forced to resign. His six children still enjoy plenty of wealth, which has been estimated at between 15 and 35 billion US dollars, and that makes the Suhartos the most corrupt regime ever. One of his sons, Tommy Suharto, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment in 2009 for corruption and his involvement in the murder of the new chairman of Golkar, his father’s former party.

Albania: Enver Hoxha

Photo: Wikipedia
Of all the communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe, the terror of the Albanian leader Enver Hoxha (1908-1985) is "beyond description". After his regime broke all ties with Moscow in 1965 due to dissatisfaction with the destalinisation process, Hoxha set an isolationist Stalinist process in motion, upon which even the hardliners in the Kremlin frowned. Six years after his death the country's regime imploded simultaneously with the economy, leading again to years of bitter poverty.

His wife Nexhmije Hoxha lived for years in luxury and extravagance. In 1994 she was sentenced to several years in prison for the crimes of the communist regime. Hoxha's widow is reportedly spending her remaining days in a small apartment with a state pension of $30 per month.


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Lords of the Realm - The wealthy, unaccountable monarchs of the Persian Gulf
have long thought themselves exempt from Middle East turmoil. No longer.

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