Events in the Central African Republic generally lie outside my radar, but major developments there are relevant to an understanding of events in Chad, Sudan, and for that matter Uganda and other countries in central Africa. Recent fighting in CAR thus merits some discussion here.

Darfuri Refugees, Sam Ouandja, Central African Republic

On Thursday, a rebel group called the Patriotic Convention for Justice and Peace (CPJP) attacked the town of Ndele in northern CAR, inflicting some casualties, temporarily gaining control of the town, and causing most of Ndele’s inhabitants to flee. The BBC calls CPJP a “fringe movement” but also says that “the events in Ndele offer another bleak reminder of the CAR’s fragility.” The fighting, coming on the heels of several kidnappings of French aid workers in CAR and Chad, highlights the difficulties regional governments have in controlling their territory and the difficulties international agencies face in delivering aid.

The army has retaken Ndele, but the political issues that drive the rebels remain unresolved. This fighting is the latest eruption of a conflict that began after 2003, when current President Francois Bozize took power. AFP explains CPJP’s position in the rebel network:

The CPJP is led by Charles Massi, who was a prime minister under Ange-Felix Patasse, the president toppled in a bloodless coup by General Francois Bozize in 2003.

Massi in May 2008 joined the Union of Democratic Forces for the Rally (UFDR) led by Zakaria Damane, who signed bilateral and then global peace accords with Bangui in April 2008 and June this year.

Massi then left the the UFDR for the CPJP, which has not signed any accords with the government.

He was arrested last May just over the border in neighbouring Chad and accused of attempting to destabilise the CAR but released by Chadian authorities a month later.

From that account, it seems to me that whatever other factors are driving the rebellion – regional tensions within CAR, for example – the power struggle between elites is a major reason for the fighting. Bozize, likely recognizing that, wants to solve the conflict through political means:

President Francois Bozize says he is pushing ahead with the [2008 peace] accord.

In an interview on state-run radio, President Bozize says a new structure is in place within local committees near former combatants and former rebels. If this demobilization takes hold, he says conditions will be in place to bring more investment and social development.

With the recapture of Ndele, President Bozize says the situation is now normal after rebels cut the route to the north. He says there is peace now, as illustrated by the October return of former President Ange Felix Patasse.

Mr. Bozize toppled Mr. Patasse in a 2003 rebellion and won election as the country’s president in 2005. Mr. Patasse returned from exile in Togo last month promising to challenge Mr. Bozize in next year’s presidential elections.

[...]

President Bozize says Mr. Patasse is free to contest the 2010 election, in which they will be joined as candidates by former prime minister Martin Ziguélé.

As that vote approaches, President Bozize is eager to secure the demobilization of former fighters and end the rebellion in the north to restore security along the border with Chad, where two aid workers were kidnaped at gunpoint one week ago.

Trying to fit these developments into a regional context, I came across this 2006 report from the US Institute of Peace on the “triangle of instability” in CAR, Chad, and Sudan. The report explains how the fact that “CAR and Chad have a history of harboring each other’s insurgent groups” has contributed to regional upheaval, exacerbated by the crisis in Darfur. Incursions by the Ugandan rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army, up to and including a raid last week, have also contributed to the destabilization of CAR (and South Sudan, for that matter). These intractable and interlocking crises make the region a true powder keg.

Triangle Charity has stated two of their French aid workers have been kidnapped in the Central African Republic, by gunmen in the town of Birao, on the border with Chad and Sudan. The abductions are the latest to hit aid agencies working in the region, with French workers taken in Chad this month and Sudan last month. A local elder told AFP news the armed kidnappers, numbering about 20, fled to Sudan with their hostages, as well as three cars and a motorbike. The International Red Cross temporarily suspended operations in Chad after a French employee was abducted by armed men in eastern Chad on 9 November. The employee, Laurent Maurice, remains missing.

In case you are thinking of purchasing the new global version of Amazon’s Kindle for Christmas, be aware that there are still quite a few places that the global version will NOT work.  I was disappointed to find that the new version still will not work in my country.

Apparently the new global version will only work in SOME countries.   I thought it would be helpful to most expats to have a complete list of which countries it will, or will not work in (below).

It’s also interesting to note the PATTERN of groups of countries where the Kindle doesn’t work–some countries probably lack satellite coverage or delivery systems, while others probably don’t WANT readers to be able to download whatever they want by satellite.

STARRED (*) countries marked below indicate that Kindle needs to be ordered from a SPECIAL PAGE on the Amazon site.

The Global Kindle version DOES work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Aland Islands, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia*, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Boznia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liberia, Leichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldovia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozembique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka,  Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands – British, Virgin Islands – U.S.,  Wallis and Futuna, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Global Kindle version does NOT work in (as of Dec. 2009) the following countries:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Antarctica, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, French Southern Territories, Gambia, Guinea, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea – Democratic People’s Republic of, Korea – Republic of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco (including the Western Sahara), New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pitcairn, Qatar, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Sudan, Svalbard and Jan Mayan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uzbekistan,  Yemen.

Nature and Animal Conservation

 

     Preserving species and their habitats is important for ecosystems to self-sustain themselves. Yet, the pressures to destroy habitat for logging, illegal hunting, and other challenges are making conservation a struggle.

Visit : http://www.globalissues.org/article/1…

 What is Biodiversity ?

 

    The variety of life on Earth, its biological diversity is commonly referred to as biodiversity. The number of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the enormous diversity of genes in these species, the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts, rainforests and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse Earth.

   

    Appropriate conservation and sustainable development strategies attempt to recognize this as being integral to any approach. Almost all cultures have in some way or form recognized the importance that nature, and its biological diversity has had upon them and the need to maintain it. Yet, power, greed and politics have affected the precarious balance.

Does it really matter if there arent so many species?

Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play.

For example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops; greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms; and healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters.

And so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in wildlife.

Who Cares?

  Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play. For example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops; greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms; and healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters.

And so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in wildlife.

Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions

It is feared that human activity is causing massive extinctions. From various animal species, forests and the ecosystems that forests support, marine life. The costs associated with deteriorating or vanishing ecosystems will be high. However, sustainable development and consumption would help avert ecological problems.

 

  

November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The white ribbon has become the symbol for the day.

Click on the picture to join the Community

I just discovered this delightfully-entertaining, half-hour episode comedy series about a diverse group of Muslims, set in a small Canadian town on on the prairie.  The 20-minute video above is the first episode.

The diverse group of Muslims in the town have the same disagreements among themselves that different groups of Muslims have in their own home countries, or even that different Muslim countries have with each other (between conservative and liberal views of Islam)–but all in an entertaining way.  Of course everyone in the town misunderstands things, in the same ways people misunderstand in real life.

Try this first video.  It’s a very cleverly done Canadian sitcom, filmed in Toronto, Ontario, and Indian Head, Saskatchewan.   The first episode (above) was filmed in Regina.  Little Mosque is the most popular sitcom in Canada and has been syndicated in France, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Finland, Turkey, Israel, the West Bank, and African countries.  It is light-hearted, and family-oriented.  Expats who have lived in Muslim countries will especially enjoy this humorous series!

Links to all Little Mosque on the Prairie episodes (Seasons 1 – 4) can be viewed HERE (scroll down the page).   The links are free.

September 1, 2009

Copyright © 2009 Jim Sizemore.

When I’m reborn as a dog, just let me live in Japan.

Has your heart ever been broken? Mine has. The feelings that are associated with a broken heart can be overwhelming, depressing, and even debilitating. It’s easy for us to explain what a broken heart feels like. We’ve all been there. The thing that haunts me is trying to imagine what God’s broken heart must feel like. If I could begin to even slightly understand, my heart may begin to break for the things that break His heart. What would be the results of that encounter? If it was you what would be the results of your encounter?

“Take Me In” is one of the songs that is on the You Offer Me album. This songs speaks of the mysterious things of God. The fact that God’s heart breaks for us is mysterious to me. But like the song says, ” Take me in to this mysterious place,” We will never know what breaks God’s heart until we are willing to embrace the mysteries of God. Check out “Take Me In” among my other releases to get a deeper picture of what I mean. You can check it out on itunes or contact me directly at chad@chadspriggs.com for your very own copy.

Hi kids. Chad here. I hope you’re all enjoying your Monday. Now shut up for a second. Ok, so. Some instant back-story: Joel and I are white. No, I mean we’re white. So, naturally we would end up at a local d-bag club on a Sunday night, for what I can confidently call Oklahoma City’s only b-boy showdown. I know what you’re thinking: “Don’t you dumb Okies just hang guys like that from trees then smack the horse they’re standing on, so it runs off killing them in a twitchy dance of racist hatred?” Well..no, asshole. We stopped stringing people up back in the early 1980s, if I recall. Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m sort of a distant fan of b-boy culture. I owe that to the Beastie Boys and bad movies. So I had to see for myself when Joel mentioned this thing, and I was shocked at the way in unfolded.

So Joel, our good friend and all-around adorable dude Spencer Hicks and I head to this place in OKC’s “entertainment district” after recording podcasts, and started hitting the $3 mixed drink specials. That’s problem #1, by the way. Problem #2 will be discussed soon. As we all stood around, some b-boys decided to preempt the official battle, and the typical human circle formed on the dance floor. Only, nobody was dancing. It was dumb. I’m all of 5′9″, and standing there trying to see anything was as pointless as a screen door on a prostitute. Once the official battle started, we made our way up to the “reserved” VIP area upstairs, with a few other random folks. And that’s when things started to pick up.

Apparently, the Native American crew didn’t take to kindly to the little white kid who fucking served their asses. Them bitches was on a silver platter, y’all. So then the pushing and shit-starting began. By this time I was on $3 Crown&Coke #4, and upstairs away from the action that would normally terrify me, so it was just funny. Speaking of: Problem #2 was $3 whiskey. Not for me, mind you. But for the many, many douchey meat-heads in attendance. Things escalated quickly.

Before we knew what had happened, security (read – underemployed former college linebackers) were upstairs across from us breaking up an apparent skirmish. We watched a giant guy get headlocked and forced out by a former linebacker, only to see security come back in and demand that everybody upstairs vacate the area. Immediately. Can you guess why? Yep, Problem #3 is why: Some dumb fuck meat-head had a gun. In a club. On a sunday. In Oklahoma City’s family-friendly “entertainment district”. Sigh. Morons. If I would’ve gotten shot at fucking America’s Pub on a Sunday, I would have been far angrier than I was bloody, if for no other reason than to be seen on the news, getting carried out of one of the Ed Hardy-est cock markets in town.

So, long story short, there was only one winner in my first, and likely last, OKC b-boy showdown: Rampant idiocy, homegrown and on full display.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Problem #4 was the bass player from Hinder also being there. Seriously–if I’d gotten shot and been associated with all that without the implied sense of irony which made me even attend, my perfect internet reputation would never have recovered.)

Amazon's Global Kindle Reader

I heard that Amazon now has a global version of Kindle. I was disappointed to find this morning that the new version still will not work in my country.

Since I’ve wanted one for some time, but have been waiting until they got a version that would work in my country, I checked out their website this morning, only to be disappointed again. Apparently the new global version will only work in SOME countries.

In case you are thinking of purchasing the new Global Kindle for a Christmas gift this year, since the new version will only work in SOME countries, I thought it would be helpful to most expats to have a complete list of which countries it will, or will not work in.

STARRED (*) countries marked below indicate that Kindle needs to be ordered from a SPECIAL PAGE on the Amazon site.

The Global Kindle version DOES work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Aland Islands, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia*, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Boznia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liberia, Leichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldovia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozembique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands – British, Virgin Islands – U.S., Wallis and Futuna, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Global Kindle version does NOT work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Afghanistan, Algeria, Antarctica, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, French Southern Territories, Gambia, Guinea, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea – Democratic People’s Republic of, Korea – Republic of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco (including the Western Sahara), New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pitcairn, Qatar, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Sudan, Svalbard and Jan Mayan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

Fishing in Kribi isn’t what it used to be. There are certainly multiple reasons for the decline in fish stock, but everyone here singles out the pipeline as the main culprit.  The pipeline cuts right through the middle of the coastal village of Bume, just south of Kribi, on its way to the marine loading terminal 12 kilometers offshore. The residents of Bumé, who depend entirely on fishing, blame the pipeline for killing their livelihood.

There are two types of fishing in the Kribi area and the pipeline impacted each differently.  The hardest hit are the small, village fisherman — like the residents of Bumé — who put their nets out just offshore.  These fishermen do not have motor power; they paddle their small dugout canoes out to sea and are unable work more than a few kilometers from shore.

They used to catch the fish that lived in the reef just offshore. That reef was blasted away during pipeline construction and the fish have never come back.  Using their traditional fishing methods, local fishermen now pull in only a few kilos of fish at a time.  Sometimes, they pull in nothing at all.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the initial pipeline plans did not include the destruction of the reef.   As no one from ExxonMobil would speak to me, I could not find out why this, a significant environmental impact, was not not part of any early reviews.  The shallow waters of the coast here are lined with rocky offshore reefs and the Bumé reef was clearly visible.  If any local fishermen had been interviewed, they would have talked about the importance of the reef for local fishing.

Although ExxonMobil documents claim that there were multiple environmental studies and an extensive consultation process prior to pipeline construction, my research (and that of others) shows that consultations were limited and insufficient. There was a lack of frank, detailed communication. Oil company representatives were often accompanied by government officials when visiting villages, a further impediment to any real dialogue.

The marine loading terminal, seen from Bumé.

So the pipeline construction crews came through, blasted away the reef, and left behind a village with no viable source of income. The people of Bumé — poor to begin with — were ruined.   Although the area is dotted with hotels, tourism is still on a fairly small scale here and there’s definitely not enough hotel or restaurant work to employ all the fishermen of a village. Following numerous complaints from residents and NGOs, the fish pond plan was foisted on the residents of Bumé.  After that failed, COTCO eventually put out an artificial reef made of tires.  According to Bumé residents, that structure has already detached from the seabed and risen close to the surface of the water. It does not attract fish. Bume residents claim that the fish, plentiful before the pipeline construction, have not returned in the seven years since construction ended.

Again, I could not verify this information as no officials would speak to me.  But I did see what the fishermen hauled in and it’s very little.  I also spoke with local journalists and environmentalists who have been following the plight of the Kribi fishermen and concur with their claims.

At the port of Kribi, I met with local fishermen who fish on a somewhat larger scale.  They still go out in wooden boats, but they are larger and powered by outboard motors.  These men are out at sea for two to three days at a time.

These boats have just enough room for the fishermen and the ice chests and it’s hard to imagine how the men spend several days out on the water. It was raining the day I was at the port and the seas were choppy.  The fishermen coming in were thoroughly soaked.  It’s a tough life, but when the fishing is good, there’s enough income to sustain a local economy.  The fish they bring to port are packed in ice and are immediately dispatched to buyers who distribute to Douala, Yaounde and beyond.

The fishermen in Kribi also had complaints about the pipeline.  They, too, report that fish stocks are down, although they see the trawlers  (Chinese, Spanish and others) offshore and blame them for depleting stocks with their destructive fishing techniques.  The pipeline poses different problems for these fishermen.  First, there’s a large security perimeter around the marine loading terminal where no boats are allowed, effectively limiting their fishing zone.  Then, even more troubling, is the question of oil pollution.

In January 2007, a small spill occurred at the marine loading terminal.  Unfortunately, COTCO did not release any information about the spill for four days.  Local village leaders were kept in the dark for an additional two days. The Cameroonian government agency responsible for the pipeline made no public statement on the oil spill.  The spill, which began in the middle of the night, was only detected, visually, in the morning, suggesting that the marine terminal facility is lacking sufficient surveillance technology.  At the time of the spill there was no national emergency plan for dealing with spills at the marine loading terminal, despite the fact that this plan is required by law and should have been in place before the marine loading terminal became operational.

Several NGOs released a news statement shortly after the spill that underlined the problems caused by COTCO’s silence.  The public was unable to get any credible information about the actual amount of oil spilled, the cause of the spill or COTCO’s emergency response procedures — especially crucial given the lack of a national plan.  Suspicions and rumors filled the void and added to the general public distrust of COTCO.

Fishermen today say they can often see oil on the water near the terminal.  Is this true? Is this from the marine loading terminal or from passing ships? It is hard to say as no officials will speak and local journalists are thwarted in their efforts to gather credible information.

I was consistently frustrated by COTCO’s unwillingness to speak publicly.  The case of the missing fish is one example of a problem whose causes are likely more complex than one missing reef.  For the public, however, the logic is simple: if COTCO won’t speak, it’s because COTCO has something to hide and therefore, COTCO is to blame.

October 11, 2009

Two words sum up my feeling about this recipe – Not. Good. Admittedly I am not a huge meatball fan to begin with but what makes these different is the addition of pumpkin seeds. The recipe notes that this adds “a special touch”. I did not find it special. This is the first recipe in EtT that I will definitely not repeat.

Texas in Africa looks at piracy in Somalia and argues that “the reason the response to the pirates has largely been effective is that piracy isn’t really the problem here. Young Somali men only become pirates because they don’t have other employment options.”

William Easterly and Laura Freschi ask whether Ethiopia is having a famine.

As often is the case, there are two forces pulling in opposite directions that make it hard to answer the question.

On the one hand, the authoritarian government wants to cover up any famine to mute criticism of its performance.  Ethiopia is due for elections next year, and the government is determined not to go the way of previous regimes toppled in part because of anger at famines in the 1970s and 1990s. The government’s solution? Prohibit journalists from entering the worst-off areas, and fight tooth and nail with aid agencies to repress or delay information on humanitarian needs.

Complicating the situation further is that the government army is operating against insurgents in the suspected famine areas in the South and cites security reasons for not allowing outsiders to enter, so nobody really knows what is happening there.

On the other hand, NGOs have a well known tendency to cry wolf and exaggerate—to see famine where there is no famine—perhaps in order to raise more money for their own organization (I am echoing here fierce accusations of exactly this from Ethiopians I talked to during my visit who were NOT allied with the government).

Reuters writes that the population of Africans in China hovers around a quarter of a million.

FP Passport flags an interview highlighting the SPLM’s views on Scott Gration. The same blog examines dynamics of aid and violence in Chad.

And finally, Kal critiques a recent Newsweek piece on terrorism in the Sahel. Definitely worth a read.

What are you reading today?

French Equatorial Africa, colony of CHAD

stamp: 1 centimes

year: 1924

mammal: catlikes / leopard

Overprinted stamp from Middle Congo

I have no idea why everyone favors going out on the weekends so much. I hate when Chad’s days off are on the weekend. It’s not so bad when we plan to stay home, but if we need a date it’s awful. Last night was bad.

We took the kids to Chad’s mom’s house so that she could watch them for us to go out. We had planned on seeing New Moon and grabbing something to eat. Chad had warned me that it was really popular and it would probably be sold out, to which I said ‘Not where we live. Plus all the die hard fans will have gone to see the midnight showing.’

We drove to Dublin. We drove up to the parking lot of the theater and it was packed. There was a line to buy tickets and a line to get inside to see the 7:00 showing.  The sign is blinking that the 7:00 show and the 7:10 show are sold out. Obviously they’ve got two theaters showing it,  yet they only have one of them open for the 9:50 showing, which is also sold out, but we don’t find that out until we have waited in line for 25 minutes and we get up to the booth. Then they tell us they’ve sold out of tickets for that showing too and we have to wait to the midnight showing.

Uh, no. Chad has to be up at 5 a.m. there is no way we can sit through a 2 hour movie and then drive an hour home. No. Way. In. Hell.

So we head to the car and start talking about our options. Thanksgiving is coming and it’s going to be crazy to try to ask his mom to babysit on a different night. We’re a little sad, thinking we’ve wasted our free babysitter. Chad calls a friend and asks them to stop by the theater in Eastman and pick us up some tickets to the 9:25 showing. He says he will see what he can do , so we decide to get something to eat. I suggest Red Lobster. We get there and the parking lot is slam packed, there’s a line waiting. Red Lobster is not that awesome so we drive around a bit. Applebees. I need a mudslide like woah, so we stop.

A 15 minute wait turned into half an hour.

It was so busy. The food was okay, the drinks were good, but I was about done for the night. I feel pretty stupid, walking around in my Twilight shirt with my hair in pig-tails. Thinking I dressed myself up like a 15 year old girl and now I won’t even get to see the movie. It’s not even that I’m one of those people who HAS to see the movie the second it comes out. I just wanted to go on a freakin date with my husband and that’s the movie we wanted to see.

We drive back to Eastman, stop by and get the tickets from our friend and find out the movie doesn’t even start til 10. We go to the house, let the dog out and waste some time before heading back up to the theater to wait in line for 15 minutes so we can buy a dang drink and snacks. Finally, we go inside the theater and we have to sit on the very front row because the whole thing is packed. We wind up slouching down as low as we can in our seats, craning our necks behind us just so we can see the movie.

BTW, the movie wasn’t worth all that trouble.

Yeah, it was okay, but I have a lot of issues with it. For one, Catherine Harwicke did a much better job with a much smaller budget on Twilight. The guy they replaced her with, once they realized the movie had gained such a huge following really didn’t make the story flow well at all. There were a crap ton of cheesy one-liners from the fanfics scattered through the movie. They didn’t focus enough attention on any particular thing that was happening in the story line. The fight scenes and stuff that were awesome in the trailer kind of sucked in the context of the movie…

And why the hell can’t Kristen Stewart cry? I’m suppose to believe that she loves Edward with every ounce of her being, she would die for him and become a vampire for him and she…is just so unconvincing. She’s a decent actress, but she does not make me feel like her character is in love with Edward.

I remember being a teenage girl and having my heart crushed, multiple times, when a guy broke up with me. I cried for days. I cried hard. She just takes deep breaths and her eyes flit around all over the place. Then she screams a lot when she’s sleeping, I guess to suggest she’s having nightmares. I don’t think it was her acting though. They did well in the first movie. I truly think the director suckes.

Oh, and I love Dakota Fanning and her part was so small. Which, it is in the books too, but I wanted to see more of her. It seems like they did an awesome job of making the not-so-important characters have awesome lines. Alice, Jasper, the rest of the Cullens and the Volturi. They were kick ass! The main characters were just so dull and unbelievable. They had no real chemistry this time.

I’m done ranting. I just had a sucky time last night because the movie was pretty lame and there were too many people there. Weekends suck.

Plus, I have a massive headache today from the lack of sleep and the kids are testing my patience.

Every year, Transparency International makes a list of the most corrupt countries in the world. I searched through the blogs to find out more about each one, from a travelers’ perspective.

1. Somalia

Hardiek at the border of Somalia

“For those of you who don’t know (almost everybody, including me up until a few weeks ago) the once unified country of Somalia is now effectively divided into three, the rump Somalia surrounding dangerous Mogadishu, the country of Puntland from which all the ship piracy of recent fame takes place, and Somaliland, relatively peaceful and open for business, connected by land to the also relatively peaceful states of Djibouti and Ethiopia.” – Hardiek

2. Afghanistan

Samcato telling home base about an explosion in Afghanistan

“From ‘grease my palm’ to ‘oil-fill my bellybutton’: corruption has penetrated the political, economic, judicial and social systems so thoroughly that it has ceased to be a deviation from the norm and become the norm itself. Corruption had existed ever since the Taliban regime was toppled, but it has reached a historically record breaking level. Ordinary Afghans are well aware of this, the majority of the country is sorry, not because it existed but they are not in a position to benefit from bribery. Corruption has become so endemic that it is perceived as normal. Nothing is possible at the same time, everything is possible. When a job comes to a standstill it doesn’t mean there is a problem with the job, it is time to grease up some bellybuttons. If one is prepared to pay as much as needed then anything could be done. Shortcuts are introduced if one is willing to compromise. I could have thought of any word as synonyms for bribery but not compromise, Farsi and Pashto languages are rich with euphemisms for bribe. My favorite and all time fresh is ‘Shirini’, the sweetener. It is generally used when you got something done. In other words shirini is post bribery bribe. Don’t be surprised. At least I had something done, these days ordinary citizens pay bribes as much to be left alone as to get something done. They call it ‘Kharcha’, ‘paeesi chai’, ‘jawani’ and many more which are basically *bribe of survival*. Exactly this has changed everything; everyone attempts to be in a position to take a bribe as oppose to a sucker. Bribe takers are at the highest rank of the society where everybody inspires to be.” – Samcato

3. Myanmar

Markl's tour guide "Stella" spoke about the corruption in her country

“Stella was forthcoming about the current regime and it’s appalling corruption. They have moved the capital inland and have created an insane, artificial compound where the military and civil servants live in pampered luxury. They are building a zoo, of all things there, and transporting the animals from Yangon zoo to fill it. So the people in the capital get a few old camels and the rest get shipped 300 miles inland. Civil service pensions are no better, her mother receives 100 Kyat or $0,10 a day. Stella’s bitterness was mainly reserved for the treatment of the poor who seem to have been mainly abandoned by the political rulers. The stories of aid for rural people post Cyclone Nargis in 2009 were terrifying.” – Markl

4. Sudan

Bonthorn on the road in Sudan

“You have two choices when you come to a roadblock. You can play Mr./Mrs. Nice Guy/Gal and greet the officer as if you’ve known him your whole life, shake hands amicably and ask about his health, his family, their health, etc. Calling him ‘my friend’ and patting him on the back is also a good tactic (although never try this if you are female). After all the formalities are completed, he might just let you off the hook and wish you a “Good Journey”. The second option is to play dumb and pretend you have no idea what the officer is saying, although it’s blatantly obvious. Keep jabbering in English in a tone that is neither offensive nor accusing, and sooner or later, he will hopefully tire of you and your feigned stupidity and wave you on. So far, these are the two choices we’ve attempted, both at pretty successful rates. But the key is to pick one and stick to it BEFORE your car is stopped and you’re face to face with him and his gun.” – Bonthorn

5. Iraq

Rebecca.mcneal went through several checkpoints in Iraq

“After passing through numerous checkpoints, Iraqi, Pesmerga and Awakening Council fighter types we neared Mosul. Mosul was the only place that was worrisome. We passed by a truck bomb site that had killed 250 people in the recent past. We were not allowed to photograph checkpoints which were all manned with machine guns.” – Rebecca.mcneal

6. Chad

Kevandsian picked up some unexpected hitchhikers in Chad

“Crossing into Chad was surprisingly hassle free, the police in this country have a bad reputation for being corrupt and subtracting bribes and ‘tolls’ at every opportunity. We took a hitch hiker at the request of the police and also transported a soldier to the next village. We then gave another 5 police and military personnel lifts to neighboring towns 55 kms away,becoming the essential local transport as the first truck to pass through in 6-7 days. We decided this might help avoid searches and bribes at police stops and ease our journey. They did help at one small town where the police demanded a 16 dollar fee per person for registering and stamping our passports which was eventually avoided successfully.” – Kevandsian

7. Uzbekistan

Crowdywendy's tour guide in Uzbekistan, Behruz

Our first morning in Bukhara introduced us to the entrenched police and official corruption in Uzbekistan. It was our first introduction to “bakeesh” or bribes to officials. At the first Bukhara bank we were told that we were not allowed in. “Why not?” we asked. It was a very large bank and there were numerous tellers open everywhere. Well, we just couldn’t. The police were stationed at the entrance of the bank and would not let people in. Well, of course with a little bribe they would… But we resisted and moved on to yet another bank, and another. Later that evening while talking with other hotel guests, we were told that it is not uncommon for locals to have to try ten or so different banks before they would be allowed entry. The young local people were openly disgusted with the practice.

Similarly, bakeesh is a common practice with the police. There are frequent road blocks throughout Uzbekistan. While we had no problems thanks to Naim calling out “tourists!” at every point we were told over and over again by locals about the road police. Apparently being a police officer on the roads is a much sought after profession. Although they are dreadfully underpaid they certainly make up for it in bribes or bakeesh.” – Crowdywendy

8. Turkmenistan

Ricka leaving the "ferry from hell" in Turkmenistan

We loaded on-board after a trainload of freight was stowed and we were squeezed in between the carriages and the crew started to hassle us for “Security Fees”. We all had the sense to tell them to get lost! We were on at last! Another trip back into the customs hall to get our final clearance and it was back on board, passports handed over to a dodgy looking guy along with $90 and then a stagger up to the deck with our luggage. We wondered why there were loads of crewmembers smiling and laughing at us, little did we know!
The dodgy guy we gave our passports and cash to started to try to explain that if we wanted a cabin they were $100. We said no thanks, at that price we could manage the 12 hour crossing on the deck. I had a suspicion that things may not go to plan so I followed a crew down into the ship to have a look at a cabin. He showed me two of the filthyest, run-down excuses for cabins I had ever seen, with the “bathrooms” being even worse. I haggled with the guy anyway as I knew this was a “take it or leave it” situation and I settled on twenty bucks per cabin – I thought we would be needing them!” – Ricka

9. Iran

Jimsim at Persepolis in Shiraz, Iran

“While Sim took a few snaps of the mosque I chatted to a local soldier who was visiting the mosque. He was very young, and was very upbeat about Iran’s prospects for the future. While not stating a preference for either the hardline or more moderate of Iran’s leaders he seemed to believe that by keeping the right (positive) attitude the people of Iran would pull the country in the right direction. It was hard not to be caught up in his enthusiasm. He was also extremely helpful while we were there, happily answering the barrage of questions I had about Shiraz and it’s major attractions.” – Jimsim

10. Haiti

Mim301 on her first day volunteering in Haiti

“It is so hard to believe that so many people in Haiti live in poverty because of such a corrupt government, but that the beaches and mountains are so beautiful. I guess that this is just another one of life’s great mysteries.” – Mim301

Burundi, Kenya, Rwana, Tanzania, and Uganda “signed a common market protocol on Friday that they hope will boost commerce between their five countries when it comes into effect in July 2010.”

China and Senegal plan to increase military cooperation.

A few news items on Somalia: the BBC asks whether Somali pirates can be defeated; the Christian Science Monitor says that al Shabab “now controls much of the country, and it has made viable threats against neighbors Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, and Kenya.”

The UN says Chad is “moving to a calmer phase” as political stability increases and refugees return. However, Sudan says Chad is dragging its feet on normalizing bilateral relations between the two countries.

VOA reports that for some US officials, terrorism in the Sahel is “an increasing concern.” However, Newsweek writes that America should not “expand the War on Terror to North Africa.”

What do you think?

Jovica, E78A is QRV as TT8JT from Abeche for about three weeks. 

Activity is on the HF bands using mainly CW. 

QSL via E73Y

I can’t even begin to put into words how I feel at this moment. No words could give justice to the pain and agony I have running through my body.

I just want someone to understand. I want him to understand. I want him to feel what he’s put me through.

I want him to ‘cry me a river’ like I’ve done for him over and over again.

I want him to scream so much that he loses his voice.

I want to see him lying on the bed trembling and curled up.

I want him to suffer like I am!

I have SO much to study for. I have two huge tests between now and Friday… I have to turn in a chemistry lab report, and I have to do all my calculus homework that I’ve left to the last minute, as usual.

I have all this to do… and all I want to do is sleep, cry, throw shit and break things, and drink lots and lots of liquor… I bought a bottle of peach schnapps yesterday.. that’s gone! I have a six pack of bud light, but I hate beer! I’ve only drank one of those.

I’m so tired, and I have to do this report. I can’t stop myself from thinking about Chad.

He didn’t even let me know what he was feeling. He didn’t give me the chance to fix it! How was I supposed to know?!

Sometimes… it’s like I forget how to breathe, and I have to force myself to.

I am not okay! I am NOT FUCKING OKAY!

New Zealand tops Transparency International’s 2009 corruption perception index.

The others in the top 10 are: Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands and Australia, Canada and Iceland which are 8th equal.

The countries at the bottom are: Chad, Iraq, Sudan, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Somalia.

Corruption is a form of oppression and this map shows how widespread it is:

Republic of CHAD

stamp: 1 franc

year: 1972

insect:  – Gorrizia dubiosa

Transparency International has just released its 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks public sector corruption levels in 180 nations.

The least corrupt countries are New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland, while Iran, Venezuela, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Chad, Iraq, Sudan, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Somalia represented the most corrupt countries in the world.

So what is the effect of corruption on growth? In a new paper, Ratbek Dzhumashev (Monash University) examines this question.

His research “shows that direct and indirect growth effects of corruption can be statistically significant. Moreover, the empirical results confirm the existence of both negative and positive growth effect of corruption.”

On the negative end, corruption inhibits growth “by distorting the publicly provided productive externality and by deteriorating the overall business climate and perpetuating bad expectations about economic opportunities.”

On the positive end, he finds that “investment levels are higher with an increase in corruption levels, other things being equal.”

Dzhumashev concludes:

Nevertheless, the overall effect of corruption is negative, as the negative effects transmitted directly and through the public sector inefficiencies are greater than the positive effect through investment.