My Beauty Best Teacher

Commenting on western perceptions of Africa in the media and its celebritization ,Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie stated that:

What I find problematic is the suggestion that when, say, Madonna adopts an African child, she is saving Africa. It's not that simple. You have to do more than go there and adopt a child or show us pictures of children with flies in their eyes. That simplifies Africa. If you followed the media you'd think that everybody in Africa was starving to death, and that's not the case; so it's important to engage with the other Africa...She finds CNN's coverage of Africa "exhausting" because of its refusal to let Africans do the talking. "They go to the Congo, for example, line the Congolese people up in the background, and then have a Belgian, who they say is a Congo expert, tell us about the Congo. And I think, 'Well, how about you bring the Congolese forward so we know what life is really like?' Sometimes I think, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could become the voice explaining America or England to the world.' It would never happen."

In Anansi Chronicles:

Much has been said of celebrities taking an interest in Africa. Celebrities like Oprah, Madonna, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Danny Glover and, of course, Bono,  have pusued a wide range of Africa-related causes and initiatives to mixed response here and elsewhere in the media. For their March/April issue Mother Jones magazine has put together a fun interactive map outlining which American celebrities have been most involved in which African countries. 

G. Pascal Zachary writes:

"Saving" Africans is all the rage among celebrities. Hollywood is releasing a string of African morality tales, from "The Last King of Scotland," about Idi Amin's capricious rule, to "Blood Diamonds," the story of a white smuggler in West Africa who has pangs of regret over his misdeeds....By reducing Africans to the status of props in an American morality play, Africans are themselves robbed of some measure of their dignity, which is why a number of Malawians are upset by Madonna's fast-track adoption.

March 21, 1776. The liberal media is apparently outraged that patriots and tea party activists are upset that their liberty, life, and property is being voted away today. Many of the King Obama's supporters are shocked by the unruly behavior of these so-called patriots, who are waving American flags and screaming about law while they apparently should be cheering the massive expansion of welfare and government power that is the Obama Healthcontrol Bill.

A senior editor in the New Republic describes what just transpired here inside the House of Representatives. Moments ago, while members of the Kings faction were on the floor for a vote to put in place the Intolerable Acts, a protester stood up in the visitor's gallery and began shouting "Liberty! Freedom! Life! Property!" Armed thugs quickly removed the man, but while they were doing so, several of those patriotic Republicans actually cheered on the man. This was shocking to the editor of New Republic, who couldn't understand why anyone would believe in the unalienable rights of man, and also was surprising to Representative Barney Frank, who yesterday made up the fact that he was was the target of homophobic epithets (like teabagger), who was "appalled" and that he felt George Washington and James Madision "were encouraging him to resist. ... It's a dangerous situation and the Republicans are cheering him on."

Some Democrats, liberals, and Loyalists even seem a little scared that the continual erosion of liberties and freedom and the increasing taxes and regulations and fees might even spark a revolution. They accuse these patriots of being divisive, feeling that people should just roll over when faced by a determined tyrant.

As the senior editor of this newspaper reported, the scene was more farcical than scary--like a scene out of some movie starring Madonna and not a real attempt by real people to keep their god-given rights to life, liberty, and freedom. But there was still just a little bit of something unsettling to it, even to him- it was almost as if people really believed in the Declaration of Independence or something.

The Republic is dead, Democrats remark- the King by a stroke of the pen can now make laws in our nation (such as the deal made with Congressman Stupid)- and people now face a choice- either be part of the tyranny of the majority, or fade away.

Rasna Warah writes (reg reqd) in the Nation:

THOSE OF US WHO HAVE worked for, or are working within, the development industry are familiar with the many poverty-reduction conferences, seminars and workshops that we have to attend as part of our work, or for what development professionals like to call “networking opportunities”...The “hottest” topics on the international development agenda these days is Africa...I mean the Africa that development professionals love to dwell on – the poverty-stricken, disease-ridden Africa that is being managed by kleptomaniacs and dictators...IN OTHER WORDS, THE AFRICA that is the raison d’etre of the international development industry, the one that makes Bono, Bob Geldof, Madonna and Angelina Jolie shed real tears...At almost all poverty-reduction seminars and conferences, the word “poverty” is used interchangeably with the word “Africa”. To some extent, this association is justified. Africa has the largest proportion of people living in extreme poverty (over 40 per cent), and 34 of the 50 poorest countries in the world are African...Countries that have managed to reduce poverty have done so through improving economic management, adding value to their products, increasing investment in infrastructure, specialising and investing in key profitable industries, making distribution of wealth and services more equitable, and ensuring that governance structures are accountable and sustainable.
Unfortunately, these issues are rarely discussed at poverty-reduction seminars and conferences.