Monday, October 24, 2011

TUNISIAN ELECTION FORESHADOWED BY VIOLENCE AGAINST TV STATION THAT AIRED IMAGE OF ALLAH, ‘Yeah they just love the Western Ways….’



From the Daily Caller: “On October 14 a Tunisian television station aired “Persepolis,” an animated movie about a girl coming of age during the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. The film won the Jury Prize at the 2007 Cannes film festival, but its depiction of Allah as an old, bearded man upset Tunisia’s ultra-conservative religious radicals…After two days of mostly peaceful protests, one group estimated to be as large as 100 men rioted — torching the home of Nabil Karoui, the TV station’s top executive. Witnesses said the rioters arrived in taxicabs, armed with Molotov cocktails and knives. A similar group attempted to attack the TV station itself.”






Tunisia election 2011 10 23. Tunisian security guard watches
Tunisia election 2011 10 23. Tunisian security guard watches
Geography
Location: North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya.
Area: 163,610 sq. km. (63,378 sq. mi.), slightly smaller than Missouri.
Cities: Capital–Tunis; Sfax, Bizerte, Sousse, Nabeul.
Terrain: Arable land in north and along central coast; south is mostly semiarid or desert.
Climate: Hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters.
Land use: Arable land–17.05%; permanent crops–13.08%; other–69.87%.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective–Tunisian(s).
Population (2010): 10.549 million
Annual population growth rate (2010): 1.2%. Birth rate–17.7 births/1,000 population. Death rate– 5.7 deaths/1,000 population.
Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 98%, European 1%, other 1%.
Religions: Muslim 99%, Christian less than 1%, Jewish less than 1%.
Languages: Arabic (official), French.
Education: Years compulsory–9. Literacy (definition–aged 15 and over and can read and write, 2007 est.)–74.3%; Male 83.4%; Female 65.3%.
Health (2009): Infant mortality rate–17.8 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy–74.5 total, 72.5 years male, 76.5 years female.
Work force ( 2010): 3.769 million.
Unemployment rate (2011): 18.57%
Unemployed people: 700,000
Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: June 1, 1959; amended July 12, 1988, June 29, 1999, June 1, 2002, May 13, 2003, and July 28, 2008.
Independence: March 20, 1956.
Branches: Executive–chief of state interim President Fouad MBAZZA (since January 17, 2011); head of government, interim Prime Minister Beji CAID ESSEBSI (since February 28, 2011); cabinet, Council of Ministers appointed by the president; prime minister appointed by the president.
Legislative– Elections on October 23, 2011 will yield a 218 seat Constituent Assembly mandated to draft a new constitution and name a new interim government. The previous parliament was suspended in late January 2011 following the fall on January 14, 2011 of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the decision by the “Supreme Council to Achieve the Objectives of the Revolution” to disband and outlaw the ruling party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD).

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