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Tunisia Revolution
Opportunity at last for the Liberation of Tunisia : Freedom from Oppression!
Tunis Cakes, Tunis Tourism, and now Tunis Revolution! The Mediterranean country of Tunisia has suffered for too long under oppressive authoritarian rules, and now at last there is an opportunity for the people to oust the repressive system and to put in place a libertarian ideal by which people may do as they please provided they don't damage other people's chance to do as they please.
I've known for some time that there was something wrong with Tunisia, as clues were coming in at the time I was looking around Sri Lanka which also has problems of not really understanding freedom. In effect it's an authoritarian rule-based way of thinking which bans anything a bit unusual or different. Well, now there's a revolution in progress, this could all change!
You could even see it in ways hotels were run, where guests weren't allowed to do various odd things in hotels.
Now about the Revolution. It's not a fundamentalist islamist thing regardless of how the USA wants to repaint it. The Revolution in Tunisia is by middle-class people who are sick of being repressed by the overburdening rules, and by poor people who are sick of everyday goods being too expensive. So, in the end, something had to give. There was a sudden uprising and the government had to go. Some of the leaders fled to tyranny-friendly states, leaving the population with no chance to hang them from lamp-posts and film it on digital movie cameras. Instead, the people had to make-do with taking out their pent-up aggression on various iconography of oppression such as pictures, statues, and symbols of various types.
Tourism companies such as Thomas Cook and Thomson, who had tourists in Tunisia at the time of the revolution, made special arrangements to have them rescued. Well Done!
The important thing about revolution is to replace the vanquished government with a new setup that's better. It's no good just having a default democracy and hope it works somehow, because these things seldom do. Instead, it's better to define the principles by which things should be done, and then to set up the structure to see that it's done properly. Revolution is an opportunity to get things right. Let's hope in Tunisia that opportunity is used well and not wasted. It would be sickening if a half-hearted attempt was made and the same bad old ways recycled. Instead, how about something Libertarian?!
Here are some interesting links about the Revolution in Tunisia...
www.boingboing.net/2011/01/14/a-revolution-in-tuni.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/01/16/tunisia.fruit.seller.bouazizi/index.html
www.heraldscotland.com/news/world-news/revolution-in-tunisia-1.1080194
http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffreycarr/2011/01/15/in-tunisia-cyberwar-precedes-revolution/
http://arabrhizome.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/liberation-of-tunisia/
http://blogs.ajc.com/kyle-wingfield/2011/01/14/truly-remarkable-revolution-in-tunisia/
http://transmontanus.blogspot.com/2011/01/tunisian-model-crush-islamists-and.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4456332.stm
www.counterfire.org/index.php/blogs/66-luna17-activist/9293-paris-celebrates-tunisian-revolution
http://storify.com/acarvin/sidi-bou-zid-a-jasmine-revolution-in-tunisia
www.brianshall.com/content/smartphone-liberation-technologyin-tunisia
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/13/tunisia-youth-revolution
http://walkersunknownthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/01/freedom-in-tunisia.html
...and others which may yet be added.
Now that the people of Tunisia have shown their disapproval of a regime and overthrown the government, maybe a few other countries' governments might reconsider their position about oppression. They could be next to be overthrown!
Another thing is, it's all very well overthrowing a cruel tyrannical regime, but it's important to replace it with something better, more reasonable, something that is sympathetic to people's freedom. This idea, of what's to be done After the Revolution, is something which doesn't come to mind when fighting oppression, but afterwards and the establishment has fallen, then what? It's got to be thought about.
First published mid-issue on 2011/01/21
Update: The bad regime in Egypt was also subsequently overthrown. But who's next? Saudi Arabia!?