“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.

Friday, April 29, 2011

U.S. slaps sanctions on top Syrian officials

CNN News, by the CNN Wire Staff, April 29, 2011

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • At least 22 more people died Friday in Syria due to the government's crackdown
  • The Obama administration had hoped Assad would prove to be a reformer
  • The U.S. government has imposed new sanctions against Syria
  • The sanctions are in response to the Syrian government's crackdown on protesters

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. government announced Friday that it has imposed new sanctions against top members and elements of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad responsible for overseeing the recent violent crackdown against protesters.

The new sanctions against top
members of the regime of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad.
The sanctions -- imposed on Assad's brother, among others -- involve an asset freeze and a prohibition on doing business in the United States.

Mahir al-Assad, a brigade commander in the Syrian Army, has played a key role in the regime's actions in the southern city of Daraa, a flashpoint for the protests.

Syria's intelligence director and a cousin of Assad responsible for security around Daraa were also hit with the sanctions.

"I have determined that the Government of Syria's human rights abuses, including those related to the repression of the people in Syria ... constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," President Barack Obama said in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

The increasingly bloody crackdown orchestrated by Damascus resulted in at least another 22 deaths Friday, witnesses sid.

Jacob Sullivan, the State Department's director of policy planning, told reporters that the individuals targeted by the sanctions are "key decision-makers" and "key perpetrators" in the crackdown. It "does sharpen the choice for the Syrian leadership," he said.

RELATED TOPICS

President Assad himself was not targeted by the sanctions, but "don't think (he's) not on our radar," an administration official told CNN. Don't think "that if these abuses continue we won't act against him."
"We have (the) flexibility to add additional designations," Sullivan stressed.

Last week, the White House released a statement by Obama condemning "in the strongest possible terms the use of force by the Syrian government against demonstrators."

"This outrageous use of violence to quell protests must come to an end now," Obama said.

Until Friday, the administration had taken a more muted response to the crackdown in Syria out of fear of destabilizing the Assad regime. Officials have voiced concern about possible sectarian tensions if Assad's Alawite minority government is overthrown, and have expressed little confidence in Syria's fragmented opposition.

Washington has also been under pressure from Israel and allies in the Persian Gulf such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who fear Assad's departure could produce a more radical Syria and encourage further revolutions, officials said.

At the same time, however, a number of U.S. officials and Western diplomats have described Assad's regime as increasingly brittle, and are predicting it may be hard for Assad to survive.

The United States has less leverage in Syria than it does in other countries. The Bush administration already imposed strict sanctions against Damascus in 2004, including a ban on almost all trade between the two countries. It is unclear how effective the new round of sanctions will be.

The administration appears to have ruled out the use of any military force -- a stark contrast to the recent course of action in Libya.

"Syria is a different country (than Libya). It's in a different place," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said Thursday. "While we certainly abhor the violence and abhor the killing, I think we have to be very mindful of the uniqueness of Syria in both its history, its location, and what the potential is."

Obama administration officials had hoped Assad, unlike his father, would prove to be a reformer. Those hopes now appear to be waning.

"We are worried he is dropping all pretenses of reform and carrots and sticks, and is going to go out hard with all sticks," one official said recently. "We are expecting him to increase the crackdown."

CNN's Jill Dougherty, Elise Labott, Adam Levine and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.

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