“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, January 31, 2014

Israel concerned at growing boycott threat

Google – AFP, Steve Weizman (AFP), 31 January 2014

Entrance of the Israeli SodaStream factory in the Mishor Adumim industrial
 park, next to the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim on January 30,
2014 (AFP, Manahem Kahana)

Jerusalem — Israeli government and business leaders are alarmed by a growing international boycott movement and the likely effect of EU measures against exports from Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Cabinet ministers are to meet next week to hammer out a strategy against a growing international campaign to boycott trade linked to settlements, Haaretz newspaper reported Friday.

And a group of top Israeli businesspeople has launched a publicity campaign urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make peace with the Palestinians for the sake of the economy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
 at the 7th Annual International Conference
 in Tel Aviv on January 28, 2014 (AFP/File,
Jack Guez)
In the latest developments, Norway's sovereign wealth fund blacklisted Thursday two Israeli companies involved in building settlements in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem and US actress Scarlett Johansson stepped down as Oxfam ambassador amid a storm over her ad campaign for a firm operating in a settlement in the occupied West Bank.

These incidents highlight the creeping success of a campaign to boycott trade linked to settlements built on Palestinian land seized during the Six Day War of 1967, and viewed by the international community as illegal.

Meanwhile, the European Union recently moved to block all grants and funding to any Israeli entity operating beyond the 1967 lines, sparking growing alarm in Israel.

Lars Faaborg-Andersen, the EU's ambassador to Israel, told AFP last week that, in addition to coordinated action by the body, Israel's constant settlement construction was fuelling private moves to boycott products and services linked to the settlements.

He said initiatives in Europe to require separate labelling for goods manufactured in the settlements were gathering pace every time Israel announced a new round of construction.

Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid warned Wednesday that the breakdown of current peace talks with the Palestinians could strengthen the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement and deal a body blow to the economy.

Israel is a country dependent on exports, with 33 percent of its foreign trade conducted with the European Union, he told a security conference.

"Europe is our primary market," he said. "Even a 20 percent fall in our trade with Europe would mean 9,800 workers being fired immediately," he said.

"Even a partial European boycott would be felt by every Israeli, and the cost of living would go up," he added.

"Exports will drop by some 20 billion shekels ($5.7 billion/ 4.2 billion euros) annually; GDP will drop some 11 billion shekels," he said.

Last May, the Palestine Liberation Organisation published an estimate of EU imports of goods produced on settlements, which it put at 229 million euros a year.

'Pain in the ass': SodaStream CEO

While some Israeli companies set up in occupied territory to take advance of tax breaks, low rents and soft loans, others do so for ideological reasons, believing in the Jewish religious imperative to settle the biblical land.

SodaStream, the home soft-drink machine maker that hired Johansson this month, says it hadn't chosen to set up in Maale Adumim settlement, east of Jerusalem, but simply inherited the facility when it acquired the business in 2007.

Israeli SodaStream factory on January 30, 2014 (AFP, Menahem Kahana)

In fact, CEO Daniel Birnbaum told New York Jewish weekly The Forward the plant's location was "a pain in the ass."

But he added: "We will not throw our employees under the bus to promote anyone?s political agenda," saying he "just can?t see how it would help the cause of the Palestinians if we fired them."

Senior executive Yonah Lloyd told the Jerusalem Post that would mean making 800 Palestinians and 500 Israelis jobless.

Commenting in Haaretz, Egyptian-Belgian journalist Khaled Diab said that while boycotts could change the behaviour of commercial enterprises they were unlikely to change state policy.

The film "'Lost in Translation' brought Scarlett Johansson global fame. Will the actress's latest role -- lost in the occupation -- earn her widespread infamy," he asked.

"Even at the height of anti-apartheid sanctions, South Africa managed to find 'sanctions-busting' alternatives, and began a process of recalibrating its economy and finding alternative trading partners."

"In addition, sanctions had some unintended consequences," he added. "For instance, it forced the country to innovate more, such as developing alternative energy technologies."

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