My Beauty Best Teacher

From PSD Blog:

The question, then, is not how to exorcise labor standards from international trade agreements but how to include them in such a way as to improve labor productivity and not actually serve as an implicit trade barrier - a question to which, of course, there are no easy answers...[continue reading]

Haven't heard nary a word from our teachers' union president, George Parker about our pending contract proposal. Today is the day it was supposed to be presented to Chancellor Rhee's negotiating team. Let's hope there will be an update on our weekly Sunday robo call. Stay tuned for more. (Posted by The Washington Teacher).

Abigail Tucker at the Smithsonian reviews George Steinmetz's aerial photography:

...his Africa pictures convey a kind of intimacy that comes only with a certain distance. His perspective is lofty but not detached, and it's informed by his love of geophysics, which he studied as an undergraduate at Stanford University. His aerial pictures trace human patterns, too, in the slums radiating from Cape Town, South Africa, for example, or the crowds at a Soweto cemetery assembled for Saturday morning funerals...[continue reading]

via 3QuarksDaily
photo courtesy of George Steinmetz

Tonight was the Oakland County (MI) Republican Convention, and as an elected official from northern Oakland County, it was my duty to show up, and I thought I'd pass along some of my thoughts and observations about it to you.

One of the great aspects of going to these events and actually participating in partisan politics is that you come in contact with people who believe in and talk about such things as freedom, liberty, and choices- the first conversation that I overheard on coming in the room was a conversation about how we can work to better protect individuals life, liberty, and property in this great Republic. While the Democratic Party might sound like a Marx convention, talking about the People, welfare, and increasing taxing and spending, the Republican Party sounds like the Founding Fathers, discussing the Declaration of Independence.

Like most Republican gatherings, it began with the Pledge of Allegiance, and as usual, I wonder if the Democrats begin meetings in a similar manner- I would guess that they don't. Some of the aspects of the Pledge really don't fit with the modern liberal Democratic Party- promising to do something, believing in God, and believing in liberty.

Next, the new chair, David Law, made some remarks to the delegates there. He talked about fighting through the Democratic wave, overcoming the wave of popular opinion, and focusing on creating good policy and talking about how to make government better. The Democrats will overreach- in fact, the Bankrupt America Pork Bill they passed yesterday shows how much and how often they will overreach- and when they do, they will be held accountable. Mike Cox, the Attorney-General of Michigan, followed him, and looked and sounded better than in the past, spreading a message of mostly hope and change- hope that as a country we are merely in the darkest of night before the Republican sunrise, and speaking about how we can work to change our nation into a prosperous and moral one again.

The only real objection I had came next at the meeting- the likely new state chairman, Ron Weiser, gave a speech that focused on stamping out dissent and enforcing unity in the party, something I wrote about earlier this week. I reject that philosophy- now is not the time to build a unified voice, but to re-discover our conservative voice and learn new ways to voice it. I aim to cause chaos, and got the impression that Weiser looks down on people like me.

After that speech, former-Congressman Joe Knollenberg spoke, and conversationally mentioned that he was proud of the House Republicans, who all stuck together to vote no yesterday, and was also proud of the Democrats who joined with them. He said that the reason why more Democrats didn't vote no is because Pelosi ordered them to toe the line, or else there would be consequences. Say what you want about President Bush or the Republicans when they controlled Congress, but they at least said 'vote your conscience' or 'serve your constituents'- only Democrats believe in tyranny and oppression, and Pelosi is a great example of someone who wants power in order to control others, not to make the country more free and prosperous.

Before I left I had a nice conversation with a friend of mine, who is from East Germany, and still remembers from her childhood living under the communists. She is increasingly dismayed by the direction our nation is heading- instead of moving farther from communism, farther from corruption, farther from poverty, farther from the ills of living under a tyrannical government, she thinks that we are moving closer to these things, especially with the latest elections and legislation passed in Congress. Hearing this from someone who has been there made an impression on me.

Not bad for a couple hours on a weekday night- if you aren't involved with the Republican Party yet, I advise you to do so- it is a rewarding experience.

Efam Dovi asks at African Renewal:

What if wealthy Africans decided to invest their earnings in Africa instead of overseas? What if the 80 per cent of Africans who don’t have bank accounts were able to use financial services? And, what if African governments were able to invest their money in ways that will produce more goods and services?...The answer, says Samuel Gayi(of UNCTAD), is that “rates of savings [would] go up significantly and Africa could perhaps meet more of its own needs.” Turning Africa’s hidden homegrown wealth into profitable investments, however, will require new thinking and innovative policies by bankers and government officials alike...[continue reading]

via African Loft

From an overview of The Places We Live photographed by Jonas Bendiksen:

For the first time in human history more people live in cities than in rural areas. This triumph of the urban, however, does not entirely represent progress, as the number of people living in urban slums—often in abject conditions—will soon exceed one billion...His lyrical images capture the diversity of personal histories and outlooks found in these dense neighborhoods that, despite commonly held assumptions, are not simply places of poverty and misery.

via Boing Boing

In the FT:

Nigeria plans to launch its first international Naira-denominated bond within six months, dismissing concerns that the global financial crisis and the country’s exposure to falling oil prices will starve the $500m offer of buyers.
The government says the planned 10-year bond will lay the foundation for future bond issues by Nigerian companies and state governments by creating an international benchmark for sub-Saharan Africa’s second biggest capital market...[continue reading]

The water provision debate continues, what works and the building of viable providers should have precedent over ideological posturing-Water and Sanitation Media Network.
Retooling education-Global Guerrillas
A terrible plight the hounding of Albinos-The Economist
Matching health research to local needs-SciDev
Shackles of religion?-GhanaWeb
Living Large in Liberia-NGO Expatriates

via LeoAfricanus

Almost 3 million of America’s black population are foreign born and between 1980 and 2005 this population has more than tripled. By 2005, at least 1 million US born black children had at least one foreign born parent. To capture these developments, a new documentary film “The Neo African Americans” by director Kobina Aidoo looks at how “… rapid immigration from Africa and the Caribbean is transforming the African-American narrative.”

Is America better than it was last week- in other words, after having Obama as President for one week, and having him make decisions and executive orders, is our country a better place?


First, your tax dollars will now go to support abortion clinics and doctors who perform abortions. Now only does this mean that it will now be easier and more welcoming for women who want to have an abortion, but it means that even if you are against abortions, you are still forced by your government to support something that you oppose. This is a very controversial issue- tax money shouldn't be going to support or oppose abortions- and by having the President step in and enforce his view of the world, it makes the decision illegimate and tyrannical, whether you are for or against abortions. This did not make America a better country.


Second, the national government has given up the power to regulate the flow of air between states, and will now let states control their own air and what goes into this air. Look, if the commerce clause has been tortured to give the federal government the ability to control virtually every aspect of business, then it clearly gives the federal government the ability to regulate emissions into the air, because air flows pretty easily between state boundries. It is only logical that the ability to control emissions resides in the federal government, not the states, and what is going to happen is a mess of conflicting state laws- again, not making America a better country, and likely leading to increased tyranny and lowered economic growth.


As a side note, I get a little angry when I am 'ordered' to do anything by the government- this isn't a monarchy or a tyranny yet, and hearing that Obama thinks my choice of a car isn't a good one and that he demands I switch to another car, one even he doesn't drive- well, to be honest, it makes me want to grab a gun and start the revolution right now.


Third, Obama choose as his first national broadcast and his first TV interview to endorse a terrorist media network. His hope is that by recognizing and legitimiszing this media outlet, that people will be nicer to us- his hope is that by going in front of the world and agreeing with thier claims that the Untied States sucks, that the United States is bad, that everyone will like us better. Not only will this not work, it will actually encourage and embolden our enemies abroad, thereby huring the United States.

I would say that one week on the job, and we are not better as a nation.

Bill Easterly sounds a note of caution in FP:

For Jeffrey Sachs the crash is an opportunity to gain support for the hopelessly utopian Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty, achieving gender equality, and improving the general state of the planet through a centrally planned, government-led Big Push. “The US could find $700 billion for a bailout of its corrupt and errant banks but couldn’t find a small fraction of that for the world’s poor and dying,” he wrote in September. “The laggards in the struggle for the [goals] are not the poor countries ... the laggards are the rich world.” To Sachs and his acolytes, poor people can’t prosper without Western-country plans—and the crash only serves to turn Western governments inward. Therefore, progress on poverty is bound to suffer...[continue reading]

via BOPreneur

This week is the Oakland County (Michigan) Republican Convention, and to be honest, I'm still a little annoyed about the last one. At the last convention- which I wrote about here- each precinct choose leaders for the county executive board, which plays a large role in shaping the direction of the party at the county and state level.

I stood up and volunteered my services, and spoke about my youth, enthusiasm, and new conservative take on politics- and lost to a group of old same-old moderates. Many people liked me, but were unwilling to support me for any sort of leadership, fearing change and lacking hope.

If there is one thing that I took from Obama's rise to victory, it is that as Republicans, we need to embrace change and speak once more of the hope for the future- and both change and hope are indeed deeply conservative ideals.

Let me quote a bit from William Kristol's article:

Republicans, newly liberated, need to resist calls to shackle themselves to prematurely announced agendas and already anointed leaders. This is the time for a thousand Republicans to bloom. Congressmen used to looking to the White House for guidance or approval--or fearing disapprobation--should show some healthy ambition and unleash their inner policy entrepreneur. Backbenchers need to come forward with heterodox ideas. There should be vigorous debate. Disharmonious disarray is in the short term much less of a danger than a false and stultifying unity.

If party leaders and ideological guides had succeeded in buttoning everything down, if there had been harmonious unity and a coordinated strategy and an agreed-upon message in early 1977, there would have been no Reagan Revolution. And if politicians--or for that matter pundits--had been deterred from changing their minds, worried over charges of inconsistency, there would have been less progress during those years. When you're out of power after having been in power for a long time and when there are new realities requiring fresh thinking, a foolish consistency really is the hobgoblin of little minds. Or at least politically unsuccessful ones. So a little chaos, lots of debate, tons of political entrepreneurship--that's what we need.

I'm all about chaos, debate, and testing new methods of politics- what I am running up against as a conservative Republican are those people who lost us the last election, those people who want to play it safe, stifle debate, and do things the old way- those people who want to play not to lose rather than play to win- I'm running up against the Republican Party that wants to lose again.

At this next convention, if I can find a way to, if I can find the means to, I will speak about liberty and freedom, I will speak about founding principles and the bright future of our country, and I will fire up our party and try to spark debate and new ideas- if I can figure out a way around the safe, staid, confining rules that bind the Republican Party convention itself.

From Terry Talks Duncan McNicholl of Engineers without Borders discusses value chains:

Cassava is an excellent crop for conditions in Malawi and has the potential to vastly improve food security in famine-prone regions of the country. The difficulty is that the crop has little market value and many farmers are not interested in producing it because of this.
However, cassava has the potential to be processed into flour, which can be used as a substitute for wheat in baking products and also for the traditional Malawian meal, nsima. With rising wheat prices and crop failures limiting the production of maize flour, processed cassava is beginning to have promising market potential...[continue reading]

Click here to watch the video

Odhiambo Ocholla of Suntra Investment Bank writes:

Kenya desperately needs development capital, and current inflows from remittances are fast becoming a source of financial resources.I propose that a Diaspora Development Bond be introduced with appropriate incentives to attract investment from our nationals in the Diaspora.Such a bond can be structured in such way that it does not compete with traditional remittances, as this would be an investment vehicle.
Diaspora development bonds are typically long-dated securities, which a country has to redeem only upon maturity. Thus, Diaspora bonds are a source of foreign financing that is long-term in nature.The Diaspora purchases of bonds issued by their country of origin are likely to be driven by a sense of patriotism and the desire to contribute to the development of the home country...[continue reading]

One way that our administration feels that teachers could improve their teaching is by having them observe other teachers. Today I was lucky enough to watch a civics teacher teach a lesson on the Presidency. One of the ways that this teacher taught the Presidency was to spend a day or two reviewing each President and some notable features to their Presidency, and it is in doing these types of lessons that the strong liberal bias comes out of most teachers.

The first thing that I noticed as the teacher went through these lessons is that instead of focusing on all the highlights of our ancestors in an attempt to strengthen some of the myths about them and give students something to revere and emulate, she mostly ran them down and spewed forth the revisionist crap that goes for education in today's Education Schools. After the lesson, students could tell you that Madison was short, Washington owned slaves, and Jefferson had an affair, but could tell you who was the Father of our Country or wrote the Constitution or Declaration of Independence.

Next getting into the more modern Presidents, I increasingly noticed the disparity of time that this teacher spent on each President. It was subtle, and if I wasn't tuned into the bias in schools, I may have missed it, but after a while I began to time her based on the clock at the front of the room, and noticed that the Democratic Presidents, most notably FDR, Kennedy, Johnson, and even Clinton, had ten to fifteen minutes spent on each, while the Republicans only had a couple minutes spent on each. If a parent asked or a student noticed, the teacher would say "I taught the students about both Republicans and Democrats"- but in honesty, the lesson was slanted, with more time given to Democratic Presidents.

The other thing that jumped out at me about this teacher's lesson was the type of issues that she focused on with each President. Her discussion on Nixon focused on Watergate, on Reagan it was the national debt and Contra affair, and Bush was Iraq. Now, those are notable features of each Presidency, and it is okay to teach those- but when she mentioned FDR, it was 'saving us from Great Depression and winning WWII,' Kennedy was 'taking us to the moon,' and Clinton was 'booming economy and peace around the world.' Those might be true, but this disparity of the content of the discussion was not lost on me- it was a clear attempt to portray Democrats in a positive light and Republicans in a negative light, and these impressions will stick forever in these students minds (or else they won't, which isn't good either, because that means the students learned nothing about any President).

The next day, students would be quizzed about this material, and would have a reading out of the textbook that would also build on these ideas. I only saw the lecture- just one day out of many- from one teacher out of many, but as I demonstrated, the liberal bias in education is clearly evident.

Catherine A. Odora Hoppers asserts:

Africans need to move firmly towards acknowledging that knowledge primarily rests in people rather than in ICTs, databases or services, and thus that for Africa the challenge has to be that of how to build on local knowledge that exists in its people as a concomitant to working with global knowledge and information.
“As we survey the wreckage and note the unprecedented evacuation of billions of people from the arena of substantive innovation essential to their existence, we need to turn with force to the task of redefining key concepts such as ‘innovation’, its link with the goals of building sustainable societies and cognitive justice as key to the attainment of the long-term, and sustainable development,"...[continue reading]

As promised, the DC teachers' contract proposal is coming soon. As most of you are aware, the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) have been working together during the past several months in order to develop a teachers' contract proposal that supports student achievement, provides meaningful compensation for our union members and is based on sound research based educational practices.

Thursday evening was our first glimpse of the newly revised teacher contract proposal. Of course there is still some very minor tweaking to be done. From where I sit- the proposal looked good based on the power point presentation that I saw. I believe that generally the proposal will satisfy many of the concerns that I heard many of our teacher members raise.

Next Steps
The proposal is scheduled to be submitted to Chancellor Rhee by the end of January 2009. Both the WTU and AFT have agreed not to disclose specific details about this proposal until Chancellor Rhee's negotiating team gets an opportunity to review the plan and make a determination whether or not they will accept or reject this offer. As you may be unaware contract negotiations should remain confidential. Once a decision is made about the proposal, additional information will be forthcoming to the membership.

I do encourage all WTU union members to attend our upcoming Representative Assembly meeting scheduled next week on Monday - January 26, 2009 from 4:30-6:30 pm @

McKinley Technology High School
151 T Street NE, Room 150
Washington, DC 20002

Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) will speak at this very important meeting. Please encourage your school building representative or an alternate to attend this meeting and bring back important information to teachers. All union members are encouraged to attend. Please bring a copy of your union ID card to gain entry to this meeting. Look forward to seeing you all there. (Posted by The Washington Teacher).

From the International Herald Tribune: The era of Obama is here, and many scientists in bureaucratic agencies around the country are exuberant- staff members throughout the government's scientific agencies held inaugural parties on Tuesday, and many reported being teary-eyed with joy. Frank Press, a former president of the National Academy of Sciences and former science adviser to President Jimmy Carter said "It's not just getting money- it's (Obama's) recognition of what science can do..." Carter's former advisor probably commented off the record that money and results don't' even matter- the only thing that matters is Obama recognition that scientists can do anything that God did, and giving them the power to do so.

The article goes on to accuse the two-time democratically elected President of the United States of interfering in the work and policies of government bureaucrats. 20 Nobel laureates issued a statement claiming that the Bush administration had treasonously attempted to achieve its policy goals on the environment, health, biomedical research and nuclear weaponry, and they are outraged that they didn't get to set those goals and control our society using their obviously superior intellect.

Last month the inspector general of the Interior Department, a cabinet department under the control of President Bush, determined that Bush's policies often interfered with his personal agenda of massively expanding the power of government over our society in order to protect 'species in danger of extinction.'

Obama transition officials said that the new administration would also loosen the oversight that the Bush administration imposed over federal scientific agencies, letting them play God with science without any elected officials meddling in their taxpayer funded business. Scientists are most excited about the prospect of expanding stem cell research now that they don't have to deal with foolish notions such as religion and morality.

William Hubbard, an associate FDA commissioner who retired in 2005, said that top Bush administration officials were so opposed to taking away our freedom and liberties that they callously ignored the attempts by lawyers, lobbyists, politically-connected businesses, scientists, and bureaucrats to put in place new rules to govern us serfs and control our behavior.

Meanwhile, there is a new poll out that says that the majority of people in the United States are no longer buying the myth of man-made global warming. Most scientists' have all reached consensus on this issue, deciding that the world is warming, that the warming is continual and exponential, that it is man-made, and that the only way to prevent a catastrophe is for the government to control every aspect of our society. In spite of this, the idiots of the United States, by that I mean thousands and thousands of real people with brains, no longer buy this load of bull, and feel that the Earth must warm and cool periodically, regardless of human behavior, and government action is not needed on this issue.

The breakdown is 41% are Believers, 44% are smart, and 16% are other- it's surprising that 2/3 people in this nation don't buy into Global Warming, and yet we just anointed a Head Shaman who is going to radically change our nations policies to confront it. I'll never understand voters, or whoever put Obama in charge of our once great nation.

Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem writes at Pambazuka:

Obama is not our saviour. Our capacity to leverage anything from Washington beyond good intentions will depend on how clear we are in terms of our own interests....One thing may change with Obama. African leaders’ who guilt trip western leaders for being interfering colonialists may have to find other default responses...[continue reading]

Keguro Macharia writes:

We are curious and, as the jua kali sector proves, we generate new innovative unheralded forms of knowledge all the time.As scholars such as Joyce Nyairo have shown, our most interesting forms of knowledge production and dissemination may not be happening within the universities.Kenya’s knowledge economy thrives and flourishes on matatu graffiti, on street corners, in community-based theatre productions.
But to say this is also to ask, then, about the role of our universities.If most of our knowledge is produced and disseminated elsewhere, what role do our universities have in the knowledge economy?
...We cannot continue to rely on that old, tired “I’m an African” bit so beloved of African participants in international conferences, who use that opening statement to disengage from the tough conceptual demands being placed on them.Locating ourselves is an ethical and political act. Disengaging from tough conceptual demands because of location is anti-intellectual...[continue reading]

From Obama's inaugural speech words that resonate for us here at Africa Unchained:

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

via Make Magazine

Related articles by Zemanta

• Obama Restores Science to Its Rightful Place

Image via WikipediaIn an interview with Fatima Mahjar of ResetDoc Talha Gibriel(of Asharq Al-Awsat) stated:

Sudan is the “African Yugoslavia.” In my country there are several ethnic groups, religions, and over 200 dialects. Since our Independence in 1956 from the British Empire, Sudan has failed to build national unity; in fact we are not one nation. We have become one country only because the British Empire decided our borders, but the reality on the ground is another one. The other main problem causing conflicts in the country is the lack of democracy. The government in Khartoum thinks that using power will give stability to the country. However, the regime has never taken into consideration that democracy and the use of dialogue could be the solution to the crisis in the Sudan...[continue reading]

In the Detroit News today is this fun story- there is nothing serious about this, it's just a neat quirk of the American political system:

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., swearing in a new president for the first time, flubbed the opening words of the oath of office. President Barack Obama, paused, then repeated the right words slightly out of order.

That is what makes the oath Obama took Tuesday before nearly 2 million spectators so interesting. It might be that they didn't witness Obama being sworn in. The Constitution is clear that the oath's 35 words must be spoken exactly.

The presidential oath says, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

When Roberts administered the oath, he misplaced the word "faithfully." Obama said, "I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear ... " Roberts continued, "that I will execute the office of the president to the United States faithfully..." Obama paused and then said, "that I will execute ... " Roberts interjected, "faithfully the office of the president of the United States ... " Then, Obama said, "the office of president of the United States faithfully."

Constitutional law experts agree the flub is insignificant. Yet two previous presidents -- Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur -- repeated the oath privately because of similar issues.

Lawyers said Obama and his supporters need not be worried about the legitimacy of his presidency: technically, Obama was already president anyway -- the Constitution says the term of the incoming president begins at noon Jan. 20.

Just to emphasize, there is nothing serious in this, but if I were him, I would put any controversy to rest and follow the precedents of Coolidge and Arther and just say it again privately.

Fascinated, I decided to google Coolidge and try to find out about his mess-up with regards to the oath of office. What I found was this, which I think is from his autobiography:

On the night of August 2, 1923, I was awakened by my father coming up the stairs calling my name. I noticed that his voice trembled. As the only times I had ever observed that before were when death had visited our family, I knew that something of the gravest nature had occurred...He placed in my hands an official report and told me that President Harding had just passed away. My wife and I at once dressed.

Meantime, I had been examining the Constitution to determine what might be necessary for qualifying by taking the oath of office. It is not clear that any additional oath is required beyond what is taken by the Vice-President when he is sworn into office. It is the same form as that taken by the President.

Having found this form in the Constitution I had it set up on the typewriter and the oath was administered by my father in his capacity as a notary public, an office he had held for a great many years.

It seemed a simple and natural thing to do at the time, but I can now realize something of the dramatic force of the event.

Pretty interesting, but I don't know if that qualifies as the error similar to that of Obama. Perhaps it wasn't done with the right people, and that's why it was an error? I did find this line at several sources "Coolidge was resworn by a federal official upon his return to Washington," but wasn't about to come up with more information in my modest researching. I did find this site though- it makes some good points about how those of us of a certain age tend to point to Ronald Reagan as "the great conservative of our time"--we forget that Reagan often claimed as his "model President" Calvin Coolidge.

How about Chester A. Arthur?

On September 20, 1881, upon the death of President Garfield, Vice President Arthur received a group at his home in New York City to take the oath of office, administered by New York Supreme court Judge John R. Brady. the next day he again took the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice Morrison Waite, in the Vice President's Office in the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

It looks like to me that the reason he took the oath twice was not because he 'flubbed' it the first time, but because it wasn't official enough, although my research on this was limited.

Now I am bothered by this event, and not the fact that Obama didn't say the words in the right order- I'm bothered by the sloppy and poor job the media did writing about this. Every newspaper is carrying this story, and all are implying the same thing- that past Presidents didn't say the words in the right order and so it's no big deal. But my research indicates that that didn't happen. Again, it doesn't really matter, but if I turned up this in 5 minutes of research, it shows what a bad job our media does, and how easy it is to introduce a false premise into the media, who will then repeat it over and over.

UPDATE: Just to be safe, Obama did take the Oath again. The story is here. I agree with the logic- it isn't really that hard to just re-do it correctly, and would put to rest any weak controversy. I'm still bothered by the weak reporting though, as this story again says that "Two other previous presidents have repeated the oath because of similar issues, Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur"- but the 'similar issues' are only similar in that they were about repeating the Oath of Office, not about getting the words right. It might be over-analyzing, but I'm pretty sure no one did any research on this line, and it shows.

In Ngex,Wole Soyinka stated:

“Part of the Obama lesson for this continent is that those who believe that leadership depends on religion, race, ethnic and other related issues are obviously living in the past. They are completely antiquated and are not to be counted upon as civilized people.
“What America has done is to gate-crash so many of us into the third millennium. Nigeria had an opportunity to show the way. Zimbabwe had an opportunity too. But we lost it because a few antiquated people never accepted the fact that all men are created equal, and that it is actually possible for a virtual outsider, but who is qualified to be a citizen of a nation, to rise to the top position of the country.”...[continue reading]

via DailyKos

Join dozens of educators in the TV studios of WHUT – Howard University Television for a Teacher Training Workshop on teaching Lincoln in the classroom. WHUT and Howard University’s Department of History are hosting this multimedia Workshop.The workshop is FREE with registration and includes lunch. For additional information, e-mail lincolnwhut@gmail.com or call 202-806-3059.

Saturday, January 24, 2009 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
WHUT-Howard University Television, Studio D
2222 4th St. N.W.
Washington, DC
Keynote speaker Dr. Edna Green Medford, a Lincoln expert

Overview of LOOKING FOR LINCOLN broadcast program and Website
Free Lunch
Hands-on lesson plan demonstration.
Great Door prizes and takeaways. Free on-site parking (Posted by The Washington Teacher).

My wife woke up this morning and said "Today is a bad day in history," and it made me think- is today really going to be a bad day for history? When it really comes down to it, historically-speaking, I judge 'days in history' based on whether they move us forward or backward- closer to our god-given rights to life, liberty, and property, or farther away from our god-given rights. So let's judge today based on that- does having Barack Obama begin his Presidency move us closer to life, liberty, and property?

The answer is no. Based on his past voting record and statements as to his plans for the future, today marks the beginning of a steady attack on your life, liberty, and property, and thus today is not a day to be happy and proud, but instead a day to be upset. Today is a day, just like any other day, and is not holy just because of the election of a man to the office of Presidency in our Republic. And in spite of what the media wants you to believe, we do have a very good idea as to what Obama will do to our country- his history and voting record are becoming more clear by the day.

So, my wife is correct- today is a bad day in history- it is a day where our right to life is respected and protected a little bit less, it is a day when we start to lose a little bit more our freedoms and liberty and ability to make free choices, and this inauguration of Obama is a day that will make it official that there is a large segment of this population that doesn't respect your right to property. Today is a day when we move a little bit farther away from the vision of our founding fathers, and it is a bad day when that happens.

Secrets of an African First Lady-Oluremi Obasanjo's Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo
The need for equity in African research-SciDev
More on the industrial revolution
Large Lectures Are Going the Way of the Blackboard @ MIT-NYTimes
Ministers to discuss an African investment bank...what about the AFC?

So I'm listening to the radio on the way home today, and hear that Pelosi implied that she is going to criminalize some of the political differences she has had with Bush, and after he leaves office, attempt to prosecute some of his advisers and allies for various offenses. I imagine she'll demand that anyone who was nice to Bush show up to testify in front of an angry committee, where they'll be accused of lying under oath for not remembering an offense they didn't commit. Welcome to fascism folks. But this isn't what got me all fired up. I flipped over to the other station.

On the other station, the thug (Ed Schultz) was talking with some intellectual about Obama's new proposal to establish the Bank of Obama, through which he would personally invest taxpayers money in projects that he thinks would benefit his friends. At least that's my read on his proposed "National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank."

For our economy, our safety, and our workers, we have to rebuild America. I’m proposing a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that will invest $60 billion over ten years. repairs will be determined not by politics, but by what will maximize our safety and homeland security; what will keep our environment clean and our economy strong. And we’ll fund this bank by ending this war in Iraq. It’s time to stop spending billions of dollars a week trying to put Iraq back together and start spending the money on putting America back together instead.

Yes, he said that... last week (January 19th, 2009). Lose the war in Iraq, invest billions we don't have in environmentally friendly 'infrastructure' projects, built by union labor, and that will improve our country.

Kick me if I'm wrong, but didn't we learn from experience that having the national government run banks is bad? First Bank of the United States led to corruption and a collapse of our economy. Second Bank of the United States led to more corruption and a massive economic recession. The Federal Reserve... the jury is still out, but after these 'partially-run' government banks were established we had a Great Depression, followed by massive inflation and debt, and a now an investment and banking industry rotten to the core. And the solution is more government involvement? I don't think so.

So what's the next step? Give in to the coming fascism of our country? Buy guns and ammo and prepare to clean the tree of liberty with the blood of patriots? At this point, no to both of those. The next step is for you to get involved. Join the Republican Party. Join the Democratic Party. Be active in the party. Vote for the right candidates. And know your history and be smart with your arguments. Good patriots defeated these attempts to nationalize banks and make America more like Europe in the past- surely we can emulate our ancestors and rise up to meet the challenge today.

Mary Kimani writing in African Renewal:

According to the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), women own about 48 per cent of all enterprises in Africa. But they have the hardest time gaining access to finance...According to IFC Operations Officer Mary Njoroge, “by focusing on established small and medium enterprises that are looking to expand,” the organizations hope to “increase the share of women’s enterprises that actually make it to middle and large scale.”...[continue reading]

via African Loft

On Friday, January 16th a DC City Council hearing was held on the human capital initiative. Ten DC teachers testified at the hearing after school hours including three DC teachers who were terminated under Rhee's administration without due process. One teacher reported that she was fired via email by McKinley principal David Pender while teacher Fred Kamara never received notice of his termination . Denise Hamilton and Fred Kamara both appeared at the council hearing. Both are blind teachers and their stories were featured on this blog earlier in the year. The story- "DC Teachers Say Morale Is Low" as written by Bill Turque on the DC Wire blog on January 17, 2009 will not be reported by our local mainstream press. Here's the story in its entirety:

D.C. Teachers Say Morale Is Low

"At an 11-hour hearing Friday on the D.C. schools' "human capital" policies, teachers charged that Michelle A. Rhee's quest to reform the historically poor-performing system--which includes a pledge to replace significant numbers of them--has created a culture of fear. Morale, many said, has never been lower.Seemingly arbitrary and capricious performance evaluations, petty retribution for questioning authority, and just plain bungling were recurrent themes in the discussion with D.C. Council members, headed by Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D).

Fred Kamara, a special education teacher, said he worked for several weeks (without pay) before learning that he'd been fired. Kadesha Bonds said the principal never came to observe her classroom work before filling out her evaluation form. She was fired last summer.Jeff Canady, a third grade teacher at Emery Education Campus in Northeast, received "exceeds expectations" in multiple categories on his June 2008 evaluation, scoring 25 out of a possible 30 points. This fall, he was placed on the so-called "90-day plan," which puts instructors on notice to improve their performance or face dismissal. Canady said he is the same teacher he was last June, the only difference being that he complained to Rhee and other administrators about conditions at the school, including a lack of Internet service.Speaking in a soft but deliberate tone, Canady said that in 17 years, "I've never had one single principal or individual say anything about my teaching."Resources promised and not delivered was another frequently cited complaint. Crystal Silvia, a social worker at Bruce-Monroe Elementary School at Parkview, said the school was supposed to begin the academic year with an additional social worker and a psychologist. It hasn't happened."I feel like what I'm doing most of the time is crisis management," Silvia said.

Deputy Chancellor Kaya Henderson told council members she concurred that morale was bad. "I expect that some people will be frustrated with the rate and pace of change," she said. "It makes our job a lot more difficult when people are frustrated."But Henderson added that Rhee and her team were trying to reverse years of neglect and mismanagement within a short span of time. "If all of our teachers were great and wonderful, we wouldn't be the lowest performing school district in the country."Henderson said DCPS has been pushing to overhaul its personnel practices. The system's payroll, which had 9,933 employees when Rhee took over in 2007, is now just over 7,000, although only a few hundred jobs were actually eliminated. Most of them, including transportation, facilities management and food service, were off-loaded to other agencies or outside contractors.

A more sophisticated new teacher evaluation system will be rolled out in the spring and implemented next fall, Henderson said. Among the metrics to measure teacher effectiveness will be a new "value-added" category that measures the academic growth of their students year-to-year.But Gray cautioned Henderson that none of these innovations would amount to much if the Chancellor isn't more effective in fostering trust among teachers and managing the tensions triggered by change."If that doesn't change, this thing is going to drop of its own weight," he said." (Posted by The Washington Teacher). Article courtesy of the DC Wire.

The thought crossed my mind that Barack Obama's cabinet might be the worst collection of knaves ever assembled. Right now people are talking about how his choice for Treasury, a department that overseas the IRS, owes thousands in back taxes. Last week the conversation was about his choice for State, a department who is supposed to represent us overseas, is one of the louder proponents of the "United States sucks and is the root of all problems" theory. His choice for Energy is a guy who is going to focus on making less energy to combat so-called 'global warming.' Obama's nominee for Attorney General thinks the US is guilty of torture- thanks for that- and heck, there was even a rumor that he was considering Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm for Commerce Secretary (for those who don't get the irony of that, Michigan has had the worst commerce in the country for years, and it's getting worse). Talk about hiring the wolves to watch the hen house!

Then I did a little bit of research into Obama's nomination on his Labor Secretary, Representative Hilda L. Solis, a Democrat from the Union of Soviet California Republics. Apparently- surprise surprise- she's a communist!

An article this past weekend in the Communist Party USA's People's Weekly World Newspaper welcomed Solis and quoted known socialist leaders calling her a "great choice" and an "outstanding" selection with "a life-long commitment to working people."

This past June, Solis sent Elana Henry, a caseworker from Solis's East Los Angeles office, to represent her at a forum on worker's rights organized by Socialists International. Solis also reportedly sent a representative to a major event of the Communist Party USA.

The Communist Party's newspaper documents that on June 20, 1996, Solis sent Antonio Aguilar on her behalf to present an honoree at the Party's Southern California Friends of the People's Weekly World tribute.

So, the new labor secretary is going to pursue the communist agenda for our workers. If you still retain the capacity to be scared to your very bones for the future of our nation, that should do it (I'm numb with shock myself). Get ready for policies that encourage less production, government induced disasters, inhuman policies, and a generally suckier world to live in- that's change you can believe in, although I hope it doesn't happen.

Oh yeah, and Obama's personal pick for climate czar has socialist ties. I'm just going to quote the article from the Washington Times that I found, just to scare you-

Until last week, Carol M. Browner, President-elect Barack Obama's pick as global warming czar, was listed as one of 14 leaders of a socialist group's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which calls for "global governance" and says rich countries must shrink their economies to address climate change.

By Thursday, Mrs. Browner's name and biography had been removed from Socialist International's Web page, though a photo of her speaking June 30 to the group's congress in Greece was still available.

Socialist International, an umbrella group for many of the world's social democratic political parties such as Britain's Labor Party, says it supports socialism and is harshly critical of U.S. policies.

The group's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, the organization's action arm on climate change, says the developed world must reduce consumption and commit to binding and punitive limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Obama, who has said action on climate change would be a priority in his administration, tapped Mrs. Browner last month to fill a new position as White House coordinator of climate and energy policies. The appointment does not need Senate confirmation.

Okay, how many things are just wrong about this? Socialist. Cover-up. Policies. No confirmation. Look, if she was a proud socialist that would be a different matter- but like Obama, she tries to hide her background so she can achieve her agenda through stealth. And why in the world would you appoint someone who wants the US to lower production, reduce consumption, and give power to world organizations to your cabinet? Is anyone taking bets on if the Constitution burns his hand when he swears in on it at inauguration?

By the way, since when did our nation need more czar's- doesn't someone who takes his name after imperial Russia run directly at odds with our tradition of a free country? I wrote about this before, when Obama said he was ready to rule us from day one, and it scared me then and scares me now. The irony is that Obama appoints a bunch of czars to rule us plebs, but on the other hand, hires a bunch of communists and socialists to do so, who worked to overthrow the czars, and then became the very people who replaced him. In Animal Farm, what did the pigs turn into again? I wrote about it once before. But I digress- my point is, Obama is going to be bad for our country not so much because of what he does, since his track record shows he does nothing, but because of who he chooses to associate himself with.

The NYTimes reports on a regional infrastructure initiative:

Kenya and Uganda plan to build a new railway from the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to cope with increased trade among the East African countries and their landlocked neighbors, officials said. The two countries are now served by a meter-gauge track built at the turn of the 20th century and officials say it carries less than 6 percent of freight destined for Kenya’s interior and countries in the region...[continue reading]

via EmergeInvest

Helon Habila writes at Granta:

After 1985 the military regime systematically undermined the once-buoyant, fuel-driven economy of Nigeria. The country’s infrastructure collapsed. There were no plans for industrial and technological recovery. Local manufacturers couldn’t compete with the cheap foreign goods that were dumped daily on our shores: everything was imported, including toilet paper. Publishing was one of the businesses that was worst hit. What small market there had been, thanks to a pre-independence curiosity about African literature--which had encouraged energetic literary activity inside the country--fizzled out because ordinary people couldn’t afford to buy books for pleasure. The big publishing houses disappeared, to be replaced by small-time hustlers moonlighting as publishers...[continue reading]

via 3QuarksDaily
photo courtesy of Tom Langdom

Actis on Infrastructure:

There is increased interest in African infrastructure opportunities from a host of investors experienced in, and new to, African countries. Development finance institutions (DFIs) continue to play a lead role in advising and financing challenging projects. African and international banks are broadening their debt offerings to include equity for infrastructure projects, contractors are prepared to commit more equity and State-sponsored entities from countries that include Russia and China are taking on significant infrastructure projects...Infrastructure assets have long lives, and it is impossible to forecast every turn in the fortunes of a country or a sector over a 20- or 30-year period. Time will tell whether the private-sector transactions currently being structured and negotiated are pricing the risk correctly, but the indications are that Africa's risk continues to be over-rated and experienced investors are able to lock in superior, risk-adjusted returns...[continue reading]

via Engineering News

The AP and mainstream comedians are outraged at the rumored cost of the Obama inauguration bash that is coming up. Over at The Guardian, one author writes "Police State Inauguration for King Obama: Unprecedented Security & Cost for Obama's First Inauguration," and goes on to describe how "central Washington will be transformed into an armed camp next week." Opps, never mind, I got that wrong- that's how the media described Bush's 2nd inauguration. Sorry.

At least this CNN article rips Obama for the massive expense of his inauguration "Some critics have questioned spending millions on inauguration festivities in a time of war and after the collapse of the nations economy recently." Oh wait, never mind, again that's the media ripping into Bush. CNN's coverage of Obama's inauguration makes no mention of those who criticize the cost.

At least comedians, who never hold back from ripping politicians, are involved. I found a list of potential jokes they will be rolling out here. "President Obama is being criticized because his inaugural celebration cost $40 million. When asked about it, the president-elect said, 'Sorry, but my daughters insisted on free rap CD's'" Conan O'Brien joked. Just kidding- he would never make fun of Obama- the joke was about Bush and alcoholism, funny subjects both to O'Brien. Here is a good one Jay Leno- "There were a total of ten balls last night and President Obama went to all ten. He even went to the ball hosted by William Ayers, but no one recalls seeing him there"- just kidding, that was Leno ripping into Bush.

One more good one- "They say that the security arrangements for the up coming presidential inauguration will be the most extensive in history. And that's just to keep the Obama twins away from the crack" from Craig Ferguson. Again, just kidding, the real joke was about Bush and drinking, but for some reason joking about Bush's underage daughters drinking is funny, and implying that Obama's underage daughters might do drugs is just wrong. Must be due to the difference in age? It couldn't be due to race- Obama's election has saved us from that sin, and soon will save us from the sins of torture and global warming too.

Yeah, if my post today shocked you, here is the kicker- Obama's inauguration cost is estimated to reach $160 million. That is more than Bush's second inauguration. That is more than Bush's first one... more than Clinton's 2nd... more than Clinton's 1st... and more than H.W. Bush's... combined.

Kim McLarin at The Root writes:

The New York Times ran a story on its front page about the king of Swaziland, Mswati III, who leads a life of ostentatious luxury while the people of his small and proud nation struggle with poverty, malnourishment and HIV...In this political season of outrage, why get excited about a front-page story in the paper of record mocking the greedy king of some place in Africa? Because the story highlights how stereotypes and prejudices render real people in caricature, making it almost impossible to seriously assess their problems or devise real solutions to them; this is Africa's special affliction, and something very familiar to those in the Diaspora...[continue reading]

Via the AP comes this shocking announcement- that the UN is actively supporting Hamas by letting these troops have access to its buildings and supplies. Apparently Hamas troops have been operating from UN buildings under the belief that they will be targeted less than civilians, whom Hamas usually hides behind.

According to the report, UN officials are healing and repairing Hamas fighters so that they can re-enter the fight against Israel, were running a series of warehouses and workshops from which they could distribute aid to terrorists, and even had stockpiles of fuel that they were distributing to terrorist agents.

It is unclear how or why the UN, an international organization dedicated to world peace and law, is supporting terrorists or the aims of terrorist groups, is supporting Hamas, but that it is is clear. What else could explain how people wearing black masks armed with machine guns could enter a building that the UN owns and operates, and no protests were made? How does the UN allow terrorist groups to assume defensive positions in these buildings without lodging protests and condemning the terrorist groups for violating world peace and order? The only explanation is that it must support these groups, either openly or implicitly.

Upon hearing about this incident, it was reported that the UN had "grave concerns"- but, in another indication of the bizzaro world that we live in, the concern that the UN had was because Israel returned fire and destroyed the compound that terrorists had seized, and the UN, instead of being angry and upset at the bad guys in this conflict, apparently are upset and angry at the good guys.

"We are calling all parties to respect international humanitarian law and especially to ensure the protection of civilians" said a spokesman for the UN, even as it supports terrorist groups operating outside international law and that have a policy of killing civilians with indiscriminate rocket attacks and using civilians as human shields.

The article that I am loosely quoting from in the AP also takes the bizzaro slant on it, clearly biased towards the bad guys. It isn't surprising though- the AP has a policy of subsidizing Hamas in this conflict by employing and supporting hundreds of 'reporters' and 'stringers' to 'gather news' about events in this area.

In addition to the attack on the U.N. office, Israel shells landed next to a U.N. school in another Gaza City neighborhood, wounding 14 people who had 'sought sanctuary' there", Hamas 'medics' and 'firefighters' said. One wonders what curriculum is being taught at this UN school- it wouldn't be shocking to me if the UN was using international money provided by liberals like Ted Turner to teach classes on How to Launch Rocket Attacks at Jews 101.

Angola is making a bid to become Africa's leading contemporary culture centre, Louise Redvers reports on an interview with Fernando Alvim (president of the Fundação Sindika Dokolo) where he states:

“She started before she was ready,” he says. “We had the liberation struggle, then the civil war and all this time Angola was a child in an incubator, feeling the violence around her and suffering through each power cut in the hospital. Now, after the election, we have to see that there is a new beginning: Angola is ready; ready to grow, ready to develop.” ...If you have political and economic development like we have here, you need also cultural development. And this is a wonderful time for art in the country...[continue reading(PDF)]”

This article is part of a larger piece (in the Sonangol magazine) on Luanda's aspirations to becoming an alternate Dubai-A New African city:

Related articles by Zemanta

• Angola's economic miracle

Listening to the radio today, I realized that Obama is the savior, and I know how he will be the savior. Victor Davis Hanson has a good article about how everything will suddenly change, but the change in perceptions is only half of it.

All the campaign talk of the Great Depression, a Vietnam-like war, and our shredded Constitution will now thankfully subside as the Obama administration assumes office and solves problems with conciliation, dialogue, and multilateral wisdom, rather than shrillness, unilateralism, preemption, and my-way-or-the-highway dogmatism. We will hear that, by historical levels, unemployment is still not that bad, that GDP growth is not historically all that low, and that deficits, inflation, interest rates, and housing starts are all within manageable parameters. "Depression" will transmogrify into "recession" which in turn by July will be a "downturn". Indeed, almost supernaturally crises will be solved with the departure of the hated Bush.

But this will only be half of it. The country will revive, in a fake way that will be very bad in the long run for our country, as Obama burns through the rest of 350 billion dollars 'stimulating' the economy, and then spends another trillion dollars on top of that. The amount of money boggles the mind, and the expenditures of the Obama administration will dwarf any amount of money ever spent by any government ever in the history of the world. This will revive America.

But at what cost? America can not afford annual deficits of a trillion dollars. Inflation will set in. Savings will be eaten away. Obama is the perfect President for our day, because he represents the recent failures- over leveraging of resources, fake gains, using politics to disguise unprofitably, and turning our economy from a capitalist one to a fascist one. Those are the problems that led to the recent crisis, and the man we elected President is not the cure of these- he is these. He promises more of what got us into our current situation.

America will be worse off after his administration, mark my words. There will be reasons, and blame, and all that- I've been living in Michigan where we have been sucking ever since we put Democrats in power, but it's somehow not their fault- but America will be worse off. I only hope he will not destroy our great nation in 'saving' it.

While I was reading some of the responses on my blog, one especially caught my eye from blogger- Lodesterre. I thought that it deserved front page billing. He makes the point that there are differences in schools west of the park (upper north west) versus schools east of the river (far south east) in terms of the level of resources, support and educational leadership often lacking in these schools. It seems to me that this blogger's argues that Rhee's decision to terminate and/or buy-out a 'significant share' (Rhee's words) of the entire DC teaching corps does not represent a substantial education plan. Certainly I do not know of any research-based practices to support terminating a significant portion of your work force. Lodesterre sums it up this way : "..teachers are the heart of education. Well, a doctor doesn't replace the heart in a sick body. First the patient must be made strong, then you replace the heart."

I pose to all who blog here: How would you rate Rhee's 5 year education plan ? What other solutions to education reform would you propose particularly for some of our poorer and most neglected schools ? Keep in mind that the reality is that many teachers and administrators do not voluntarily choose to work at these schools given the location (far SE), discipline issues, lack of parental support, crime rate and lack of resources and administrative support, etc.

lodesterre said...
"My school does have instructional coaches, but then I work in a pretty good school. A lot of the schools do not. Go into the SE, SW, NE and parts of NW that don't look like Cleveland Park or Chevy Chase and you have a different world. With each step closer to Anacostia and beyond you will find yourself in an alternate reality. I used to work in one of those schools before being excessed by an administrator, I might add, who was a nightmare and used the procedure to rid herself of anyone who stuck up for the children (believe it or not). Look at where Chic was, Nalle. If you had ever been to that school, and I have numerous times, or knew someone who worked there, and I do, then you would know that the school does not have everything it needs.

Many of us were far from perfect as beginning teachers. We all needed help to survive our first couple of years and certainly could have used more. Imagine a teacher in a school where the coaches are pulled to do a thousand different things by the administrator. At my old school I had a reading specialist 8 days the entire year. I documented it. This was in a school where the reading scores were way below what they should have been. The reading specialist was always running some errand for the principal. I made noise, complained through the proper channels and was excessed at the end of the year.

The schools that need changing most are beyond dysfunctional. They are in conditions that go beyond "bad" teaching. To focus on the teachers and believe that getting rid of all of them will change things is short sighted. I honestly believe that you first build the support structure you need to have in place before you start putting up and painting walls. I don't see Rhee's plan. I know she has it on the DCPS website but to me it is more of the same: get rid of the teachers, replace them with TFA and DCTF and NTP teachers and our world will be transformed. There is no coherent, substantial plan that she has had in place. Her professional development and her family support plan have come as afterthoughts - thrown in after numerous complaints were made. Her one idea of change is to bulldoze and rebuild. This is a waste of talent and resource that, despite what you may think or say, does exist in these places.

There are fundamental issues which Ms. Rhee has felt can be dealt with after replacing all the bad teachers. She has said that teachers are the heart of education. Well, a doctor doesn't replace the heart in a sick body. First the patient must be made strong, then you replace the heart." (posted by The Washington Teacher).