Tunisia is out-Americaing America (NYT article dripping with irony for our sad state)

[underpants]

But their new and conspicuous riches, partly exposed in a detailed cable by the American ambassador and made public by WikiLeaks, have fueled an extraordinary extended uprising by Tunisians who blame corruption among the elite for the joblessness afflicting their country.

Cables from the United States Embassy in Tunis that were obtained and released by WikiLeaks, including one titled “Corruption in Tunisia: What’s Yours is Mine,” sketch out some of the reasons. Before her marriage to the president in 1992, Ms. Trabelsi had been a hairdresser from a humble family with little formal education. But since then, many in her family, along with the president’s, have ascended to the pinnacle of wealth, owning major stakes in many of Tunisia’s most prominent companies.

“Seemingly half of the Tunisian business community can claim a Ben Ali connection through marriage, and many of these relations are reported to have made the most of their lineage,” the ambassador, Robert F. Godec, wrote in a cable two years ago. “Ben Ali’s wife, Leila Ben Ali, and her extended family — the Trabelsis — provoke the greatest ire from Tunisians,” he added, noting that he heard frequent “barbs about their lack of education, low social status and conspicuous consumption.”

Like others in the crowd, he said he felt emboldened to speak publicly without fear of reprisals. “Now, we can say we what we want,” he said. “It has started to change.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/world/africa/14tunisia.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

[dipsydoodle]

1. Hammamet is a holiday resort

Thompson's the UK largest travel company has already laid flights on to repatriate all UK and R.I. holiday makers form Tunisia : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12189126

The Foreign Office now advises against all but essential travel : http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/tunisia Non acceptance by any holiday makers would probably invalidate their holiday insurance.

Ben Ali's antics are removing one of Tunisia's primary sources of income - tourism.

[malaise]

2. If citizens in developing countries ever had a clue

we'd all be in the streets.