“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.

Thursday, May 3, 2018

S.Africa miners reach landmark silicosis settlement

Yahoo – AFP, Beatrice Debut and Michelle Gumede, 3 May 2018

The settlement will cover those who worked for the mining giants between March
1965 and the present day and will reportedly benefit up to 100,000 former mine
workers or their dependents

Thousands of miners in South Africa affected by silicosis from exposure to dust reached a breakthrough settlement worth $390 million with several mining companies on Thursday, their lawyers said.

The settlement will cover those who worked for the mining giants between March 1965 and the present day and will reportedly benefit more than 100,000 former mine workers or their dependents.

Many of those affected were poor migrant labourers originally from countries neighbouring South Africa including Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique.

South Africa's mines, which have attracted workers from across the region in the 130 years following the discovery of the world's largest gold deposits, remain some of the world's deepest and most dangerous.

"This is an historic settlement, resulting from years of extensive negotiations," said a statement issued jointly by the miners' representatives and the affected companies.

"The agreement provides meaningful compensation to all eligible workers" who worked for African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American SA, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony and Sibanye-Stillwater, it added.

It is the first class action settlement of its kind in South Africa and follows three years of negotiations.

Many miners caught silicosis, which has no known cure, while drilling through rock and inhaling silica dust that lodged in their lungs and caused permanent scarring.

Symptoms include persistent coughing and shortness of breath, and the disease regularly leads to tuberculosis and death.

The agreement must now be approved by the South Guateng High Court in Johannesburg.

'The best we could achieve'

"The purpose was to hold the gold mining industry accountable for the enormous harm that it has inflicted on workers for years. The second objective was to bring a measure of redress for the families of miners and ex-miners," said lawyer Richard Spoor who headed the class action on behalf of the miners.

Some studies have found silicosis prevalence in South African gold mines at between
22 and 36 percent of all workers -- among the highest rates in the world

"It is the best we could achieve. We have not compromised. We have done the best we could possibly achieve."

Graham Briggs, who represents the Occupational Lung Disease Working Group which acted on behalf of six of the mining companies, said "a settlement is certainly preferable for several parties because it brings payment sooner than any class action".

"A settlement is preferable because it brings certainty," he added.

The joint statement said that six companies last year made financial provisions worth a total of 5 billion rand ($390 million) to cover the claims.

Anglo American has set aside the most for the payments with a provision for $101 million (84 million euros), followed by Sibanye which has earmarked $82 million, according to Bloomberg News.

Spoor said that claimants could expect payments to begin in September or October which he said might be "disappointing for those who have waited so long".

"In the last five years, out of 35,000 clients that my firm has represented, approximately 5,000 have died. It puts tremendous pressure to settle," he said.

In cases where the original claimants have died, health minister Aaron Motsoaledi vowed that "the widows will be paid (but) it is not going to be very easy to find them".

Some studies have found silicosis prevalence in South African gold mines at between 22 and 36 percent of all workers -- among the highest rates in the world.

In 2011, the Constitutional Court paved the way for the class action by ruling that mineworkers who had often accepted paltry compensation for their ill-health could still sue.

Activists warned of the huge challenge of organising the claims and dispensing the compensation.

"This is a good starting point, but they need to include actual miners and ex-miners in the trustees board so we can contribute to the rollout," said Rantso Mantsi, a former miner from Lesotho.

"There are many people who died before being compensated, hopefully their families will now be paid out."

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