From protests over fuel subsidies to attacks by Boko Haram, the most populous African nation is facing a crisis.
Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, is considered one of the most dangerous places on earth. Its two million inhabitants have endured more than two decades of conflict and today a battle rages between the armed al-Shabab group and Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG).Amidst the chaos of this war-torn city, Mahamoud Nur, the mayor of Mogadishu, is trying to make a difference, in part by "altering the mindset of the people"...[continue reading]
More here...within such ‘chaos’, or apparent disorganization, the system works. Somehow it does, and nowhere is this more exemplified than in Makoko, Lagos’ water community. Kunlé Adeyemi of NLÉ works is doing some very interesting work in this community and I am enthusiastic. Not only does the community provide 33% of Lagos’ fish supply and a high proportion of its timber, but it is also the city’s cheapest
Image courtesy of NLE
dwellings...The fact that this community is existent after 100years shows that there must be a way around this. A form of collective intelligence that goes into how the residents co-habit successfully, how they build, how they plan their dwellings. I find it interesting and exciting. Excited to learn more about it, to understand it, and know how this intelligence can be replicated across the city in terms of intelligent and effective urban planning.
This is intelligence.
In conclusionAt first glance,there’s nothing extraordinary about the shed sitting next to Uncle Joe’s mud brick home in the coastal Ghanaian village of Atabadze.Inside there’s a certain familiarity about the clutter – tools propped up against stacks of roofing sheets and machinery – the kind of organized chaos you’d find in tool sheds and workshops anywhere in the world. But the sheer ordinariness of it of all belies the fact that this is the birthplace of a remarkable and important technology.Those roofing sheets – Uncle Joe made them,out of local river sand,using only his own ingenuity and the electric vibrating table in the corner – he made that too.
Uncle Joe's roofing sheet fabrication facility
Uncle Joe is an innovator.He has brought his community something they never had before:a roofing material that is both sturdy and affordable.Before his intervention,his neighbours had a hugely unsatisfactory choice between using expensive,often imported, manufactured materials, or local unprocessed thatch, at a fraction of the price,but at the cost of durability;there was no middle ground.But Uncle Joe was not so sure this was necessarily a matter of ‘either or’; why couldn’t there be an alternative that was both manufactured and local, he wondered.
So he set about answering his own question,experimenting with local environmental inputs and different manufacturing processes.And through his efforts he developed a process to produce roofing sheets from river sand – a sturdy,high quality product The poor need opportunities to generate income and work themselves out of poverty manufactured from a sustainable local resource. To produce these sheets,Uncle Joe even had to build his own electric vibrating table,a vital piece of machinery that blends the sand with a small quantity of cement (added as fixative),enabling the mixture to set.All in all,an unlikely triumph of innovation considering the poor infrastructure and extremely limited availability of capital and manufacturing know-‐how in his rural locality.
Uncle Joe is a prime example of the creativity and dynamism that are blossoming in Africa; one of the manyindividuals and communities championing innovative technologies that,by mobilising local resources to provide essential goods and services,and create income generation opportunities for the poor,can deliver sustainable and equitable ‘grassroots’development across the continent.And yet his story also illustrates the uphill task they face.
For all the originality of his idea and his dedication to implementing it,Uncle Joe cannot currently make ends meet manufacturing tiles – he simply cannot afford to hire the labour he needs to produce viable volumes.Without capital,his operation will not reach a level at which the technology can really impact the livesof the poor.
For the global development community (donors,NGOs,etc) Uncle Joe’s story is one of opportunity: it highlights an opportunity forthem to create the opportunities the rural poor need to work their way out of poverty.To date the governmental and multilateral institutions with the resources and clout to change the lives of those living in poverty have favoured...To make meaningful inroads into poverty reduction in Africa,the development community must foster the growth of robust local industries that mobilise the continent’s substantial environmental resources to meet local needs and create opportunities.Technologies like Uncle Joe’s manufacturing process are the foundation on which such industries are built,and donors should support their development,whether by investing in the entrepreneurs pushing innovative local solutionsor by providing the tools and training rural communities can use to unlock the developmental potential in their local environment.More here
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Software should be viewed holistically, in my opinion. I know that in 4 years most of my students will not be using the same version of any software I teach. I do want them to have deep knowledge of many different programs, however, I want them to know that no matter what software or "apps" come their way that they are able to take the app, understand the app's purpose, an utilize it in a functional way in a very short period of time.
Instead of the standard 4 software application program 2 semester program that I ran 10 years a go when I started this job, we start off with a bootcamp using software that I know they do not know. After learning a method of how to intuitively learn new software and viewing a video that introduces them to the concept of building a PLN, we embark on our "software exploration" project. I thought I'd share that with you today.
Software Exploration in a Nutshell
After introducing the ClickSmart method of learning new software I have them set off to learn about new software and explore the software on the computers in our lab. (ClickSmart(tm) is a way I invented to look at software holistically- and yes, I need to publish that in detail - several publishers want to publish it but they want me to do things to the book I'm not willing to do so I WILL be self publishing hopefully sooner rather than later.)
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Before we began, I showed them the video about Dantae Thrash, the Evansville Indiana student who linked himself into the Lego Brick Filming online groups. We talked about help files built into software programs but the importance of building a Personal Learning Network when you have something you are passionate about. We pulled up a few message boards for on of our programs to show how to determine which message boards and forums have things going on, which do not, and how to join in.
It has been quite a fascinating journey and today will be their last presentations. Just wanted to give you an overview of the software that we've plowed through the three days in the first class (they had 2 days of prep time to explore and document the software in our class One Note notebook which doubles as our textbook.)
One Note Notebook
Below you can see the Online view of the One Note notebook. It has a little less functionality than the offline version but still means that students can access the information anywhere.
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| View on One Note notebook in Skydrive from a computer that does not have One Note Installed |
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| the software exploration assignment and on the left you can see some of the programs my students shared. |
microphone into the computers and imported some audio and showed how to record over, edit the voice, remove things, and apply filters. They also demonstrated how to run an instrument app on an ipad or ipod Touch and record into audacity.
Great leaders hire people smarter, more innovative, and better than themselves.
poor leaders are never made great by taking down great leaders.
Perhaps you can recall a time when you felt immensely alive-when you had a sudden recognition of beauty, a feeling of deep contentment, and a sense of connection with life greater than you had ever thought possible. And then, this fl eeting moment was gone. What if you could recapture that remarkable opening, and make it a consistent way of living in the world? Throughout Europe and North America, a man named Eckhart Tolle has emerged as a teacher with the unique ability to draw us into the awakened state he calls "presence." With Realizing the Power of Now, you have an unparalleled opportunity to immerse yourself in the timeless dimension- "a place within us that always is and ever will be beyond the turmoil of life, a world of calm beyond words, of joy that has no opposite." Join Eckhart Tolle and discover the many simple ways to leave behind the chaos and suffering of the mind-made world and enter this state of serenity and grace. With Tolle's guidance, you will explore a space beyond the endless stream of thoughts . . . use sense perceptions and your "inner body" to fi nd a peace that exists independent of conditions . . . see past "the little me and my story" and fi nd your home in the "living Now." Recorded at a momentous four-day retreat led by Eckhart, here is a special invitation to transcend the fi nite world of fl uctuating thoughts, ambitions, and fears, and touch your true essence-that which has "no form, no time, and no name"-through Realizing the Power of Now.
Follow Chick Bowdrie's adventure in these classic westerns by America's favorite storyteller, Louis L'Amour.
Chick Bowdrie could have been an outlaw, but he rode a different trail. The Texas Rangers recruited Bowdrie to help pursue the most wanted men in the Southwest. And Bowdrie knew the terrain all too well: the dusty trails, bitter cattle feuds, the desperate killers, and the weather-beaten towns that could explode into chaos at the wrong word. The Rangers were called in to handle the tough cases, and Bowdrie was the toughest and smartest. He had vowed to seek out justice, but there were times when justice required fists and guns...
Investigating a woman’s disappearance on a New York City ferry, Detective Eve Dallas wonders…if she didn’t jump, and she’s not on board, then where in the world is she? #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb “Tough as nails and still sexy as hell.”—Stephen King “Can’t-miss pleasures.”—Harlan Coben “Wonderful!”—Robert B. Parker
In this exciting second installment of the three-book series, Carter and Sadie, offspring of the brilliant Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane, embark on a worldwide search for the Book of Ra, but the House of Life and the gods of chaos are determined to stop them.
Listen hereTwo years ago, Assignment visited the Nigerian city of Jos and found a city riven with sectarian divisions. Since then more than 1,000 people have been killed in fresh violence between Muslims and Christians.In the run up to Nigeria's presidential election, Rob Walker returns to the city to meet residents he met on his last visit...[continue reading]
courtesy of the BBC
In a hypothetical future, America will be prosperous, free, independent, and filled with life and strong families and a hope for the future. And will be governed by a Conservative Party that battles with the more moderate GOP for control of Congress, with a President Ryan or Christie in the White House, and judges that no one ever hears from because they do their job properly. The chaos and ruin of the Obama/Liberal years will have faded, as will the partisanship/whining of the Bush/Moderate years, and our nation will have overcome the entrenched corruption that marked the early 2000's, and instead our nation will return to what made it great enough to grow from 13 small colonies (circa 1800) to a world conquering empire (circa 1900)- limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and popular sovereignty.
Watching this video is a small step, and only a small step, to getting America closer to that hypothetical future.
Good evening.
This is a special night for me. Three years ago, in 2008, I accepted the nomination of my party to run for President of the United States. I promised you a President who is not isolated from the people, who feels your pain, and who shares your dreams and who draws his strength and his wisdom from you.
During the past 3 years I've spoken to you on many occasions about national concerns, the energy crisis, reorganizing the Government, our Nation's economy, and issues of war and especially peace.
Ten days ago I had planned to speak to you again about a very important subject -- hopechangetogetherness. For the uncountable time I would have lectured you on the urgency of the problem and laid out a series of legislative recommendations to the Congress. But as I was preparing to speak, I began to ask myself the same question that I now know has been troubling many of you. Why have we not been able to get together as a nation to resolve our serious energy problem?
It's clear that the true problems of our Nation are much deeper -- deeper than high gasoline prices, deeper than the madness of the NCAA tournament, deeper even than expected inflation or the continuing recession. And I realize more than ever that as President I need your help. So, I decided to reach out and listen to the voices of America.
I invited to Camp David people from almost every segment of our society, including labor union leaders, government union leaders, teachers, bureaucrats, university professors, donors to my campaign, Democrat Governors, the Mayor of Chicago, and foreign officials. It has been an extraordinary 10 days, and I want to share with you what I've heard.
These 10 days confirmed my belief in the decency and the strength and the wisdom of the American people, but it also bore out some of my longstanding concerns about our Nation's underlying problems.
I know, of course, being President, that government actions and legislation can be very important. That's why I've worked hard to pass legislation and conduct myself in a manner completely different from what I promised in my campaign -- and I have to admit, these have been met with little success. But after listening to the American people I have been reminded again that all the legislation in the world can't fix what's wrong with America. So, I want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy.
The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our Nation. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.
America, you are what is wrong with America, and we need to change you to make you better.
The confidence that we have always had as a people is simply some romantic dream from a slavery past or was a proverb in a dusty book that we once read. The real confidence of America and the reason it was founded is to elect me so that I can progress our Nation. Confidence in the future has supported everything else -- public institutions, our own unions, and the very Government of the United States. Confidence has defined our course and has served as a link between generations. We've always believed in something called progress. We've always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own, in spite of the massive debt and underfunded institutions we are pushing to them.
This loss of confidence did not happen overnight. They've come upon us because of Republicans and the resulting years of shocks and tragedy.
Looking for a way out of this crisis, our people have turned to the Federal Government and found it isolated from the mainstream of our Nation's life. Washington, D.C., has become an island. The gap between our citizens and our Government has never been so wide. The people are looking for honest answers, not easy answers; clear leadership, not false claims and evasiveness and politics as usual.
What you see too often in Washington and elsewhere around the country is a system of government that seems incapable of action. You see a Congress twisted and pulled in every direction by hundreds of well financed and powerful special interests. You see every extreme position defended to the last vote, almost to the last breath by one unyielding group or another. You often see a balanced and a fair approach that demands sacrifice, a little sacrifice from everyone, abandoned like an orphan without support and without friends.
Often you see paralysis and stagnation and drift. You don't like, and neither do I. What can we do?
First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in the ability of Democrats to govern you, and faith in the future of this Nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to America is now the most important task we face. It is a true challenge of this generation of Americans.
We know the strength of America. We will be strong. We can regain our unity. We can regain our confidence. We are the heirs of generations who forged a New Deal, a Fair Deal, a Square Deal, and who built a Great Society. Although my grandmother was a racist, my Muslim father from Kenya and my mother were strong, and believed that in me they had created someone who would carve out a new charter of peace for the world.
We ourselves and the same Americans just three years ago elected me, a man who represents hope and change We are the generation that dedicated our society to the pursuit of human rights and equality. And we are the generation that will win the kinetic military actions against non-state actors and we are the generation that will cool the globe and stop the rise of the oceans and in doing so build a new confidence in America.
We are a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest, the path that Republicans want us to take. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others, the right to keep and own private property, and the right to choose life. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure.
All the traditions of our present, all the lessons of the failures of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values. That path leads to True Freedom for our Nation and ourselves. We can take the first steps down that path as we begin to solve our confidence problem.
I do not promise you that this struggle for freedom will be easy. I do not promise a quick way out of our Nation's problems, when the truth is that the only way out is an all-out effort. We know the Republicans, Tea Party activists, and conservatives will attempt to block us and prevent us from progressing as a society to True Freedom. What I do promise you is that I will lead our fight, and I will enforce fairness in our struggle, and I will ensure openness and togetherness and hope. And above all, I will vote present on this issue and be the one we were waiting for.
Little by little we can and we must rebuild our confidence. We can spend until we empty our treasuries, and we may summon all the wonders of science. But we can succeed only if we tap our greatest resources -- America's people, America's values, and America's confidence.
I have seen the strength of America in the inexhaustible resources of our people, which I will spend and then some. In the days to come, let us renew that strength in the struggle for a confident nation.
In closing, let me say this: I will do my best, and I will do it alone if need be. If you support me, then let your voice be heard- whenever you have a chance, say something good about me and my plan. With my help and for the sake of our Nation, it is time for us to join hands in America. Let us commit ourselves together to a rebirth of the American spirit, this one based on my vision of hope and change and togetherness and progress. Working together with this common faith we cannot fail. We are the ones we have been waiting for.
Thank you and good night.
UPDATE: This is a fake speech that I expect Obama to give soon. It is based on Jimmy Carter's "Malaise Speech" in 1979. What is surprising is how little I actually have changed from that speech- I'm honest, I only changed an occasional word or edited out an occasional section, and yet this speech sounds like something Obama would say. Does it sound like a speech Romney, or Palin, or Bush, or Reagan, or Lincoln, or Jefferson, or Washington would say? No, but it does sound like a speech for Obama, Carter, Hoover, or Buchanan. That says something.
The Gbagbo mafia is struggling first and foremost for power; for an exclusive hold on power, for the very enjoyment of power, with all its attendant material benefits. How, one might ask, can civilians freely and openly express dissent when the thugs of the outgoing regime exact merciless reprisals against anyone expressing overt opposition or who is even suspected of voting for the wrong candidate?More here
Often overlooked on this blog and others is foreign policy. Those who follow the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan usually only do so as a reflection on US domestic policy. Events in North Korea or Georgia serve only to give citizens of the United States a chance to test responses by political actors. Few really truly appreciate that importance of foreign policy, but it was foreign affairs that dragged our nation into the War on Terror, the Cold War, Vietnam, Korea, WWII, WWI, etc. It was foreign policy that led to crisis in the Balkans, Rwanda, Somalia, etc. It was foreign policy that opened up markets to our products.
Walter Russell Mead never losses sight of foreign policy and its importance and today put together an excellent article that surveys the major challenges facing the world. Here are some highlights from his article Things Fall Apart, via The American Interest:
...There are times when the ideas of the world’s rulers and the institutions through which they govern are adequate to the needs of the era, and there are times–like the present–when they are not. It is not just the Obama administration that seems mentally and even culturally unprepared to understand much less to guide the events now sweeping through the world. In Brussels, Beijing, Moscow, Tokyo and Delhi — to say nothing of Washington – leaders seem equally clueless, equally committed to outmoded, inaccurate approaches to the issues of our time...Mead also touches on Japan ("a pale shadow of its former self"), India (scandals, poverty, political chaos), Israel, Turkey, etc. His conclusion is one that I also echo:
Europe
...The European Union is perhaps the most feckless of the world’s power centers. Its currency is built on a foundation of hopeful assumptions that haven’t panned out: for example that countries as disparate in culture and situation as Greece, Germany, Finland, Ireland and Italy can all live happily under a common currency. There has been no shortage of warning signs for the last decade: there was no secret about the housing bubbles in Ireland and Spain. The falsity of Greek statistics was well known, as were the imprudent habits of its governments and the dysfunctional nature of its economic culture....
...Meanwhile, Europe continues its relentless failure to manage urgent challenges at home and abroad. The Europeans are unwilling (and in some cases, unable) to make the investments that would keep NATO strong; the continuing refusal to take Turkey’s application for EU membership seriously further and decisively marginalizes Europe in the Middle East. Wishful thinking cannot substitute for policy when it comes to the question of immigration, and Europe’s deepening demographic crisis ensures not only a future of population decline but of economic decline and welfare state bankruptcy as well...
China
...Europe is not the only place where leaders don’t measure up to the problems. Although China is not as democratically governed as Europe, on the whole the technocrats of Beijing have handled the last twenty years better than the bureaucrats of the EU. Nevertheless Beijing is confronting a confluence of economic, environmental and social challenges that pose problems which even China’s leadership is unlikely to overcome. Arguments about China’s currency undervaluation, while real, miss the main point: Whether China revalues the renminbi or not, its model of rapid growth based on manufactured exports is reaching fundamental limits... Rising raw material prices combined with consumer fatigue in the malls is squeezing the profitability of Chinese industry just as workers are demanding higher wages. Meanwhile, food price inflation in China is triggering mass anxiety and the financial system appears vulnerable to the kind of bubbles that have wreaked such havoc in the West....
China’s problems go beyond economics. Chinese public opinion, smarting from what it sees as two centuries of humiliation, and now elated by (overblown) press reports of China’s rise, wants its government to follow a more assertive and even aggressive foreign policy. Disputes with Japan, Korea and Vietnam over offshore islands stir deep currents of emotion, and public opinion judges the Chinese government by its ability to prevail in these disputes.
...Looming environmental disasters threaten China’s future, with issues of water, air quality and the usual environmental devastation that accompanies communist governance on a massive scale already taking a toll. The consequences of the one-child policy threaten a demographic disaster as an aging Chinese population will place a growing burden on a society not yet affluent enough to support it...
Russia
Emerging from the sordid shadows of the Soviet Union, Russia faced four great challenges. It needed to come to terms with the horrors and failures of the past, recognizing the enormous evil that Russia both suffered and inflicted during the Soviet period... It has failed, and Russian life and culture remain poisoned by the residue of unrepented horrors and uncomprehended crimes.
...Second, Russia needed to build a modern and competent state that in turn could provide the framework for a new economy and a new society... but with every passing year the critical failure of the Putin presidency to build the stable institutions and solidify the rule of law that a genuinely strong Russian state would require becomes more clear — and more costly....
...The third task, of building the kind of capitalist economy that could provide its citizens with dignity and affluence, has also been left undone. There is no one who thinks that the rule of law is secure in Russia, or that investors (foreign or domestic) have any real security for their investments....
...The fourth task, of finding a suitable world role for a new Russia, has also been decisively botched. Russia has no real friends anywhere in the world; there are those it can bully and those (a much greater number) that it can’t...
I hope and pray that the generations of today will not know the sick despair of September 1939; if we are to avoid that kind of fate under even uglier circumstances, we need to start demanding more of our leaders — and of ourselves.For those interested, check out some books by Walter Russell Mead such as Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World, God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World (Vintage)
, or Walter Russell Mead.
A famous curse of the Chinese is "may you live in interesting times." Uninteresting times, such as the 1920's, 1950's, 1990's, or early 2000's, were times of very little upheaval, of steady but unspectacular economic growth, of domestic tranquility, and rather boring cultural changes. Some people though don't like peace, tranquility, steady growth, and static cultural norms- they want change. And once you start changing things, times get interesting.
In May You Live in Interesting Times, I wrote:
Many want Obama to be Lincoln, who, even though he was a great President, was head of a country that descended into a Civil War that was incredibly bloody and socially destructive. They want Obama to be FDR, who was the head of a nation that went into its longest and deepest recession ever and engaged in another bloody and destructive war. Or they want Obama to be JFK or LBJ, both of whom ran a country that was in the midst of some interesting times- riots, strikes, Vietnam, etc. How come liberals and the media don't want to live in the 1980's, that was a long boring time of economic growth and rebuilding of strength. Or the 1950's, when our country returned to white picket fences and normal times (admittedly, I'm too young for this, but I always loved that show Wonder Years). Because those were the boring times under Republican Presidents, and were not times when liberals grew in power.I wrote this post in 2008, predicting that over the next couple years, this Chinese curse would come up more and more often, now that liberal Democrats controlled the Congress and Presidency and would push for more 'interesting times.' Jonah Goldberg referenced it back then, Powerlineblog referenced it back then, and I've been seeing it referenced many times since. Including today, when I read an article in the Telegraph about how the Age of the Dollar is Drawing to a Close, and after decades of stability and boring uninteresting currency issues, things may start to get interesting as the world drops the US dollar as a reserve currency:
The rest of the world is now openly questioning the merits of a global currency whose value is governed by America's perceived domestic needs, while the growth that once underpinned confidence in its ability to repay its debts has never looked more fragile.The entire article is a good analysis of what could happen very soon- the entire world switching from using the US dollar to some sort of other currency or basket of currencies- but the point is that if they do so, times may get even more interesting in America, and we'll all be regretting the change we made with our votes in 2006 and 2008.
Already, there are calls for alternatives. Unwilling to wait for one, the world's central banks are beginning to diversify their currency reserves. This, in turn, will eventually exert its own form of market discipline on the US, whose ability to soak the rest of the world by issuing ever more greenbacks will be correspondingly harmed.
These are seismic changes, of a type not seen for a generation or more. I hate to end with a cliché, but we do indeed live in interesting times.
Shadow and Act reviews Andy Okoroafor's Relentless:
In an interview he gives his reasons for making the movie:
Relentless Teaser
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Taking a very European and somewhat retrospective approach, tropes that are familiar to many Nollywood productions – prostitution, corruption, ritual slaughter… get the nouvelle vague treatment. The narrative is far from being dialogue heavy and, with regard to performances, it must be said that Gideon Okeke as the quiet, introspective loner, Obi, gives a perfectly sublimely restrained and understated performance. And for her first film performance, Nigerian songstress, Nneka (Nneka Egbuna) doesn’t do a bad turn as the prostitute, Honey, although her performance isn’t quite as nuanced as it could be. But while, the acting is somewhat uneven, the melodrama prevalent in your average Nollywood film is practically non-existent. In fact, existentialism and introspection are key themes that run throughout the film, and long, quiet takes are interspersed with rapid, short cuts symbolic of the underlying chaos of both Lagos city and the lead character’s inner turmoil. And in a country where continuous electricity supply isn’t a given, that the filmmaker committed to using natural light is no mean feat. No doubt, his use of 35mm film and an adept cinematographer is what gives the film in visual depth and texture...[continue reading]
I wanted to make something that is aesthetic, a true reflection of Africa today and how we go about our normal everyday lives without any exaggeration or apology. A lot of what is out there doesn’t project the real Africa in my opinion. I also wanted to showcase how the history and politics of the place affect normal citizens going about their every day lives.Read the entire Catch a Vibe Interview here
Tesfaye Habisso writes in Friends of Ethiopia:
It must also be understood by all that elections alone will not produce democracy and do not necessarily bring about democratic culture. Authoritarian traditions take a long time to wash away. Creating a democracy in poverty -stricken and illiterate societies such as ours itself takes a long time and exacts huge costs, and is often accompanied by violence, disorder, and a period of uncertainty, even chaos. After all, democracies do not at a stroke make societies more civil and stable; they require strong civil institutions and a long period of time. It is only those who are committed to the values of democracy, rule of law, civil liberties and are prepared for the long-haul, and support less than perfect results as long as the efforts are sincere, who will succeed in realizing democracy and development, peace and stability.More here
Yesterday was Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (April 24). The word ‘genocide’ is a recent word that means destroying, either in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. This can be done by killing them all off, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life that are calculated to kill them off, imposing measures on the group intended to prevent births by the group, forcibly transferring children of the group to another group, and trying to breed the group out of existence by raping the women of the group.
The 20th Century has a brutal legacy of genocide, and it all started with the Armenian Genocide from 1915-1923. Before Darfur (current day), before Bosnia (1995), before Rwanda (1994), before Cambodia (1975-1979), before the Nazi Holocaust of Jews and Poles and Gypsies (1938-1945), and before the Ukrainian Famine, there was the Armenian Genocide. Hitler once justified his Holocaust by asking “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
In the Armenian Genocide, more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed out of 2 million. The main reason for this was a desire to ‘Turkify’ the Ottoman Empire and kill off all non-Muslims (Armenians were largely Christian). Armenian men were drafted into the army to fight WWI- and then were disarmed and put into labor camps, where they were soon starved or killed. Groups of government officials spread rumors of the Armenians betraying Turkey, blamed them for the losses Turkey was suffering during WWI, and demanded ‘justice.’ In April 24, 1915, all community leaders were systematically rounded up and put to death. After that, as WWI spread and became more confusing and disorganized, armed groups would come into Armenian villages and kill off the rest of the men or make them go on death marches, rape or carry off the women to use as slaves, kidnap or enslave the children, loot the village of all valuables, and then chase off remaining Armenians (who then later died of starvation, exposure, or brutality). By 1923, Armenian was simply a memory- 4000+ years of history wiped away like it never existed- churches, monasteries, schools, people, possessions were all destroyed or gone. Even the Armenian names of cities, villages, and rivers were changed.
The official line in Turkey is that the number of people that died has been grossly inflated, and the evidence of this genocide comes from dubious and prejudicial sources. Turkey claims that more Muslims than Christians died during the same period in the chaos that engulfed Turkey during and after WWI. Turkey says that Ottoman officials were tried for crimes against the Armenians and were acquitted, and that the word ‘genocide’ wasn’t even around until after WWII, and that the Holocaust isn’t anything like what happened in Turkey to the Armenians. In 2004, Turkey passed Article 301, which makes it a crime to even talk about the Armenian Genocide, and Turkey today spends millions lobbying the US to try to defeat efforts here in the US to recognize the genocide. Turkey even gives millions to prestigious universities to fund studies of the ‘Turkish view’ of the genocide and offers scholarships to people who will write books or articles denying that the genocide ever took place.
Typical for the waffling spineless President that he is, Barack Obama refused to call what happened in Armenia from 1915-1923 a genocide, instead 'artfully' finding a middle ground on the issue, much like Chamberlain did when confronted by a similar display of evil. "On this solemn day of remembrance, we pause to recall that ninety-five years ago one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century began," Obama said in a statement.... " It is in all of our interest to see the achievement a full, frank and just acknowledgment of the facts." He then refused to call what took place in Armenia a 'genocide' and mouthed vague words of nothingness to mark the occasion.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) rapped Obama for "disgraceful capitulation to Turkey's threats" and of "offering euphemisms and evasive terminology to characterize this crime against humanity," in a press release Saturday. I agree.
While it is important to maintain relations with Turkey, and while we badly need their support on a bunch of important subjects, the truth is the truth, and it is black and white. Obama should recognize the truth and quit trying to make everything so grey.
