I think what is happening now in North Africa is so important, and the hacker connection is so exciting, that I have been blogging about it just about every day this week. I have developed sources and information about this that is a little hard to come by, so I figure the most important contribution I can make right now is to get it out there.

These are excerpts from today's diary Tunisia: A Single Tweet Can Start A Prairie Fire!

"So what?" some will say. It is the job of Moody's to look out for investors not cuddle new governments. But that is exactly my point. Civil and social instability do make for a negative investment environment, so why didn't Moody's lower Tunisia's bond rating when blood was flowing in the streets and the stock exchange was being denied the Internet by hackers? Why do they lower it only now, after the thorn has been removed and the wound is starting to heal?

"What an irony that a guy who banned veils should end up with the Wahhabis."

Tunisian hackers started playing a visible role in Tunisia's freedom struggle as early as 2004 when Astrubal remixed Apple's 1984 ad with Ben Ali as Big Brother. The video went viral in Tunisia. He also made use of Internet plane-spotting groups to track the president's plane around the world and then published a Google map showing all the unreported places the President's plane was visiting. That went viral too.

History is full of irony and unintended consequents so I hope Ben Ali has a sense of humor because he is certainly the victim of one of his own making. Ben Ali planned to make big money off of the Internet in Tunisia. He built the most advanced fiber optic grids in North Africa, and he created one of the most Internet savvy populations in the region. 35% of all Tunisians use the Internet and 15% are on Facebook.

FYI These are my other diaries on the Jasmine Revolution:

Anonymous plans Op Swift Assist in Tunisia
Arrested Pirate Party Member Becomes Tunisian Minister
Is Libya Next? Anonymous Debates New Operation
Tunis: This Photo was Taken 66 Minutes Ago
The WikiLeaks Revolution: Anonymous Strikes Tunisia
EMERGENCY: DKos Must Act Now to Protect Tunisian Bloggers!

I hope you will find this info useful.

In Solidarity,

Clay