The main event that started the Tunisian revolt was a shopkeeper, squeezed by a corrupt policeman and refused help by the corrupt local government, protested by

The main event that started the Tunisian revolt was a shopkeeper, squeezed by a corrupt policeman and refused help by the corrupt local government, protested by setting himself on fire. The fact we're even considering Twitter a factor here just shows how completely out of touch we are with the lives of people in dictatorships like Tunisia (which isn't amongst the worst in the region). These are places where people burn themselves in the street get attention, rather than tweet. Last week 4 Algerians, one Egyptian and one Mauritanian have torched themselves in similar protests: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/world/africa/18egypt.html http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/world/africa/18egypt.html