© Unknown
"We congratulate the Tunisian people for their uprising against the tyrannical regime," Daoud Shihab, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad group, said on Saturday.
The events in Tunisia "demonstrate that the Arab masses are able to bring change for freedom and rejection of tyranny and injustice," he added.
Ben Ali, who had earlier fired his government and announced early elections, fled the country on Friday after a month of popular revolt that claimed dozens of lives.
Hamas has praised the uprising, saying it represented the will of the Tunisian people.
"We are with our brothers, the people of Tunisia, in choosing their leaders no matter what the sacrifices are," Hamas' Interior Minister Fathi Hammad told reporters.
"This is an application of the people's will after being patient for a long time," he added.
© UnknownYouths burn a portrait of Tunisian President Ben Ali during a demonstration near Tunisia's embassy in Paris
Anybody else getting a weird Star Wars vibe off this story? Ben had to flee Tunisia? (The desert country which stood in for Tatooine many years ago.)
And just two minutes ago I saw Luke's name mentioned in an article here about the iPod brain reader.
Seems a bit backwards, though. In the stories, Ben was a good guy. But in considering Star Wars v.s. Star Trek = Aristocracy v.s. Democracy, it makes a little more sense. (Sort of.)
And just earlier today, I was thinking about the whole idea that the common folks in Star Wars are ignored while the blue bloods are followed as the heroes. Whereas the Star Trek universe is a true meritocracy.
(It's late for me and my sleepy brain tends to do some *very* lateral thinking.)