Prometheus 6

There's links to seven editorials posted at Pambazuka News on how Africans (and at least one American) sees Sen. Obama and the issues floating around him. Said links have sufficient text abstracted from the text on the other side to let you decide if the rest is of interest.

There's something for everyone. And it ought to keep you busy for a while.

Zimbabwe consumes 3,5 million litres of diesel, three million litres of petrol and five million litres of Jet A1 daily. The country needs about US$130 million a month to import fuel.

In March, government came up with a plan to use diamonds illicitly mined from Marange in Manicaland province in exchange for fuel from Equatorial Guinea.

BP deal to supply fuel to Zimbabwe falls through
2008-08-08

Negotiations between the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) and two international petroleum companies to supply fuel to the country have collapsed over pricing, sources told ZimOnline.

Sources in the oil industry said NOCZIM was about to clinch a fuel deal with Independent Petroleum Group of Kuwait and BP Shell of South Africa, but it fell through after NOCZIM insisted that the landing rate be US$0,60 a litre.

Under a draft settlement reported in South Africa's Star newspaper on Wednesday, Tsvangirai would run the country while Mugabe would become ceremonial president.

Zimbabwe power-sharing deal close
NELSON BANYA | HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Aug 08 2008 07:53

The destruction of African agriculture
Walden Bello (2008-08-05)

Biofuel production is certainly one of the culprits in the current global food crisis. But while the diversion of corn from food to biofuel feedstock has been a factor in food prices shooting up, the more primordial problem has been the conversion of economies that are largely food-self-sufficient into chronic food importers. Here the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) figure as much more important villains.

Whether in Latin America, Asia, or Africa, the story has been the same: the destabilization of peasant producers by a one-two punch of IMF-World Bank structural adjustment programs that gutted government investment in the countryside followed by the massive influx of subsidized U.S. and European Union agricultural imports after the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture pried open markets.

African agriculture is a case study of how doctrinaire economics serving corporate interests can destroy a whole continent’s productive base.

Black folks, historians and people working in Black and/or Confederate History have lost a great supporter. Except those who don't like truth...

Dear Friend,

It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of our Executive Council member, the historian and archivist  Dr. Walter B. Hill, Jr.  Walter was a tireless advocate for ASALH since joining in 1970. He served as Vice President from 1996-1998 and was a member of the Executive Council from 1995 until his passing. He carried out his work  with honor and integrity as he supported the mission and vision of the Association. He was beloved by all of the members of the Council, the Advisory Board, and the entire ASALH community. Walter developed partnerships between ASALH and similar organizations such as The HistoryMakers and The African American Civil War Museum.

Walter Bowers Hill, Jr., was born in St. Louis, Missouri on May 22, 1949. After finishing high school, Hill enrolled in the College of Wooster, earning a B.A. degree in history in 1971. From there, he attended Northern Illinois University, studying American history. Earning an M.A. degree in 1973, he returned to school to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1988.

After completing his master's degree, Hill taught at St. Louis University from 1974 to 1977. He returned to school in the fall of 1977 to work towards the Ph.D. in U.S. History at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. He worked as a graduate teaching assistant and later as an instructor in the Afro-American Studies Program between 1982 and 1983. While working towards the Ph.D., he also worked at the National Archives and Records Administration as a Graduate Intermittent Research Student until 1983 in the Office of the Archivist and Office of Federal Records. From 1983 to 1984, he held a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship at the Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Upon completing the Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in 1984, he returned to the National Archives and Records Administration as an Archivist with the Office of the National Archives where he remained for seven years. In 1990, he left to work in the Office of Public Program, assuming the Director of the Modern Archives Institute and Subject Specialist for Afro-American History. He remained with the Office until 1995 when he departed for the new facility in College Park, Maryland and assumed the position of Senior Archivist and Subject Area Specialist for Afro-American History and Federal Records. In 1984, Hill became an Adjunct Professor of Afro-American History in the Afro-American Studies Department, Howard University, Washington, D.C. and taught courses in Afro-American history for the next two decades.

As a noted historian, Hill appeared in several documentaries, as well as on Good Morning America, Washington Journal and Fox TV. He served on the editorial board of the African American History Bulletin, the Executive Council of the Association for the Study of Afro-American History and on the advisory board of The HistoryMakers, among others. He has also written extensively, his work appearing in such journals as the Newsletter of the American Historical Association and the Journal of Minority Issues.

Hill passed away on July 29, 2008 at the age of 59.

Hill was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on September 11, 2003.

Africa’s Unnatural Disaster
Sameer Dossani (2008-07-23)

While the mainstream media doesn’t always ignore the pressing issue of hunger in Africa, it rarely explores the root causes of this problem. Behind most news on the issue, there’s an assumption that casts hunger as a natural result of unfortunate weather conditions, coupled with bureaucratic inefficiency and bad economic planning.

With this in mind, in 2005 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a plan to “help millions of small-scale farmers lift themselves out of poverty and hunger.” In the years since, the foundation has been joined in its efforts by a number of other organizations that have founded the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

ACCORDING TO AGRA

Apparently the Sudanese have been driven mad.

Although the West has been relentlessly focused on Darfur, here in Sudan, most people view the crisis as simply a continuation of a long chain of internal conflicts between an autocratic government and the deeply impoverished people on the periphery. The deadliest of these conflicts, between the north and south, raged for decades, killing 2.2 million people — many more than the lives lost in Darfur — and threatened to split the country along religious lines.

Sudan has been at war with itself for almost its entire post-colonial history, starting in 1956. Nearly all of the major ethnic and religious groups have fought one another, and politics continue to be dominated by mistrust, outside interference and combustible animosities. There are dozens of armed groups across the country, each with its own political agenda.

Sudan Rallies Behind Leader Reviled Abroad

KHARTOUM, Sudan — President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan has been accused by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court of genocide and vilified the world over as an incorrigible mass murderer bent on slaughtering his own people in Darfur.

But inside Sudan, his grip on power seems, for the moment, to be surer than ever.

In the past few weeks, one sworn political enemy after another has closed ranks behind him. A result has been a swift and radical reordering of the fractious political universe in Sudan, driven in part by national pride but also by deep-seated fears that the nation could tumble into Somalia-like chaos if Mr. Bashir were removed as president.

"This time, we will make sure that those zeros that would come knocking on the Governor's window will not return. They are going for good," Gono was quoted as saying.

In 2006, the central bank slashed three zeros from the currency when inflation stood at a few hundred percent, already the highest rate in the world then.

Computers, electronic calculators and automated teller machines at banks have not been able to handle basic transactions in billions _ nine zeros _ or trillions _ 12 zeros _ or even quadrillions, with 15 zeros.

A new laptop computer was advertised Sunday at 1.2 quadrillion Zimbabwe dollars.

Zimbabwe to remove 'zeros' from currency
By ANGUS SHAW
The Associated Press
Sunday, July 27, 2008; 7:42 AM

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe's bank chief plans new currency reforms _ removing "more zeros" from the plummeting Zimbabwe dollar and raising the limit on cash withdrawals _ to tackle the country's runaway inflation and cash shortages, state media reported Sunday.

Previous currency reforms have failed to tame Zimbabwe's inflation _ officially pegged at 2.2 million percent a year but estimated by independent analysts to be closer to 12.5 million percent. It also has become virtually impossible to get access to cash as the country's economic collapse worsens.

"Regarding the Congressman's desire to hunt wildebeest and distribute the cured meat to refugees, wildebeest are not present in Chad."

And a Wildebeest in Every Pot
By Al Kamen
Wednesday, July 23, 2008; A13

Sometimes even the most altruistic notions come to naught. Take California GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter's nifty idea to help the neediest of the needy: the 230,000 refugees in Chad who have fled the slaughter in Darfur and are desperately in need of food.

Hunter's staff contacted the embassy in N'Djamena, Chad, last week to see whether Hunter could distribute food at a camp. Hunter also wanted to put together an outing to hunt wildebeest and distribute the meat to refugees.

Sudanese Leader Mounts Charm Offensive
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

EL FASHER, Sudan — Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, who has been accused of genocide, is not especially well known for his dance moves.

But on Wednesday, in front of tens of thousands of people packed into what appeared to be a mandatory pep rally in Darfur, the portly president jumped on a desk and did a little jig. He jutted his cane. He rolled his hips. Shadows of sweat bloomed under his arms. But the crowd did not seem to care.

“Seer, seer, al-Bashir!” spectators screamed. “Go, go, Mr. Bashir!”

With an international indictment looming on charges of genocide, Mr. Bashir returned to the scene of the war crimes he is accused of committing in Darfur — this time on an uncharacteristic charm offensive.

Report: U.S. Africa Aid Is Increasingly Military
Advocacy Group Cites Development Needs
By Stephanie McCrummen
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, July 18, 2008; A10

NAIROBI, July 17 -- U.S. aid to Africa is becoming increasingly militarized, resulting in skewed priorities and less attention to longer-term development projects that could lead to greater stability across the continent, according to a report released Thursday by the advocacy group Refugees International.

The report warns that the planned U.S. Africa Command, designed to boost America's image and prevent terrorism, is allowing the Defense Department to usurp funds traditionally directed by the State Department and U.S. aid agencies.

A Pentagon spokesman did not return a call requesting comment. But Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned this week against the risk of a "creeping militarization" of U.S. foreign policy and said the State Department should lead U.S. engagement with other countries.

Misgivings aired about US Africa Command
By Desmond Butler, Associated Press Writer  |  July 15, 2008

WASHINGTON --Some U.S. officials fear the U.S. military's new regional command in Africa is poorly defined and could usurp the State Department's role in U.S. foreign policy there, according to a congressional investigator.

John Pendleton, investigator for the Government Accountability Office, also told a House panel Tuesday that the Defense Department has made progress in establishing its Africa Command but may have drastically underestimated the costs.

The Defense Department created AFRICOM last October to consolidate operations that had been split among three other regional commands, none of which had Africa as a primary focus.

China 'is fuelling war in Darfur'
By Hilary Andersson
BBC News, Darfur

The BBC has found the first evidence that China is currently helping Sudan's government militarily in Darfur.

The Panorama TV programme tracked down Chinese army lorries in the Sudanese province that came from a batch exported from China to Sudan in 2005.

The BBC was also told that China was training fighter pilots who fly Chinese A5 Fantan fighter jets in Darfur.

China's government has declined to comment on the BBC's findings, which contravene a UN arms embargo on Darfur.

"The Sudanese government will not accept any pressure from the ICC," said Rabie Atti, a party spokesperson, noting that Sudan, like the United States, is not a signatory to the court.

Sudanese President Charged With Genocide
By Stephanie McCrummen
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, July 14, 2008; 10:48 AM

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 14 -- The chief prosecutor for the Internationals Criminal Court charged Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir Monday with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for orchestrating a brutal, scorched-earth campaign against particular ethnic groups in Sudan's western Darfur region.

It is the first time the court has charged a sitting head of state.

Living by Ethiopia's sewage canal
By Ernest Waititu
BBC Focus On Africa magazine

Sanitation in Ethiopia's capital city leaves a lot to be desired - and it is the poor who are most vulnerable as a result.

In a small shack made of iron sheets and pieces of clothing in the slums of Addis Ababa live the Alemu family - Abiy, Marasit Bishaw, and the couple's three-year-old son and 25-day-old baby daughter Yanit.

And just a few metres from their one-room home is a mass of sewage and garbage, mixed with the carcasses of dead chickens and cow and goat skulls.

The Alemus live near the gully where the Kabena river used to meander gracefully through the Ethiopian capital.

But the river is now full of the city's waste, and a stench of sewage is the first thing that hits.

“I had a little money in the bank and I had to think of something to invest in that might give me some returns,” Mr. Kyalo said.  Sporting a pressed polo shirt and crisp jeans, Mr. Kyalo thinks of himself as providing a service.  Even though he charges 150 times his cost, he said he thinks he is being reasonable. Some sellers, he said, demand far more during shortages. 

The Business of Water In An East African Shanty Town
By Sarah Stuteville

NAIROBI, Kenya--As day breaks over the rusty tin roofs and makeshift homes of the sprawling Kibera slum in Nairobi, the water sellers are already at their water tanks, waiting for their first customers.

Selling water in one of the world’s largest slums is a good business. On most days the vendors charge 5 cents for five gallons, 100 times the cost of piped water provided by the city. But the city does not send water to the residents of Kibera--at any price.

No, it's not goth...or gangster.

Bunch said he wants the site "to sing" as well as respect its prominent location and enhance the Mall. "It also must help us to remember those often left out of history, such as an enslaved woman . . . who refused to let slavery strip her of her humanity, her humor and her family," he said. "Yet this museum must also let our audiences find the joy, the strength and the creativity that is at the heart of this community. . . . This is not an African American museum created to tell the African American story; rather, it is created to tell the quintessential American story."

Designer Sought for African American Museum
By Jacqueline Trescott
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 11, 2008; C03

The National Museum of African American History and Culture began the formal process of designing a building yesterday, one that will include a slave cabin and a Jim Crow railroad car.

The museum is not scheduled to open until 2015. But there is a certain urgency to identifying large artifacts that are likely to influence the shape of the exhibit space, said Lonnie G. Bunch III, the founding director of what will be the Smithsonian's 19th museum.

"Ocampo is playing with fire," Mohamad said. "If the United Nations is serious about its engagement with Sudan, it should tell this man to suspend what he is doing with this so-called indictment. There will be grave repercussions."

Sudan Leader To Be Charged With Genocide
Peace Efforts in Darfur Could Be Hampered, Some U.N. Officials Fear
By Colum Lynch and Nora Boustany
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, July 11, 2008; A01

UNITED NATIONS, July 10 -- The chief prosecutor of the Internationals Criminal Court will seek an arrest warrant Monday for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, charging him with genocide and crimes against humanity in the orchestration of a campaign of violence that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians in the nation's Darfur region during the past five years, according to U.N. officials and diplomats.

The action by the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo of Argentina, will mark the first time that the tribunal in The Hague charges a sitting head of state with such crimes, and represents a major step by the court to implicate the highest levels of the Sudanese government for the atrocities in Darfur.

A brief history of the G-8
Walden Bello (2008-07-09)

The Group of Eight came into being in 1975 as the G7 at a time that the world was embroiled in deep economic crisis, much like today. Its main aim was to coordinate the macroeconomic policies of the rich countries at a time of stagflation as well as to forge a common strategy vis-a-vis the developing world, which had loosened its political and economic dependency on the First World during the heady days of decolonization, national liberation struggles, and the emergence of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as an economic power.

The G7 were not successful in coordinating their policies, with the US under Ronald Reagan aggressively pursuing a cheap dollar policy that brought on recession in Germany and Japan. They did, however, come together in a united front against the developing countries, putting their weight behind the neoliberal structural adjustment policies imposed by the World Bank and IMF on more than 90 developing and transition (post-socialist) economies. The structural adjustment programs rolled back the economic gains achieved by the South in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

In the 1990’s, the G7 became the main promoters of corporate-driven globalization, for which the road had been paved by the radical deregulation, radical liberalization, and radical privatization that took place in developing countries under structural adjustment. The G7 also provided strong support for the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the main agency for the process global trade and investment liberalization demanded by their corporations.

via Afro-Netizen

Author Kevin Phillips coined the term “petrol-imperialism” to describe the Bush administration’s policies in this regard, “the key aspect of which is the U.S. military’s transformation into a global oil protection force.”

Will the Next War for Oil Be in Africa?
San Francisco Bay View, News Report, Antonia Juhasz ,
Posted: Jul 03, 2008

The number of Americans who believe that the war in Iraq was a mistake has surpassed the number who felt the same way about Vietnam during that war. At the same time, a much quieter U.S. military build-up is underway on another continent. The ultimate objective of the two efforts is the same: securing Big Oil’s access to the regions’ oil. The impact in Africa will likely be the same as in Iraq: perpetual occupation, instability and growing anti-Americanism.

A defining moment for Zimbabwe
Bill Saidi (2008-07-03)

It may be too early to speak of a positive response to calls for a government of national unity. It would be most encouraging to conclude that both parties are agreed on the essence of a GNU. But this would not be an accurate or even remotely hopeful analysis of the scenario. First, there is the violence in which unarmed citizens have been victims of mayhem. Secondly, there is the unresolved question of who should head this GNU - Tsvangirai or Mugabe. If this were going to turn out to be a defining moment for Zimbabwe, you could argue, with good reason, that both men would lower their own personal expectations in favour of their country’s and their people’s. But would that be realistic? asks Bill Saidi.

In essence, what came out of the African Union summit in Egypt, which presumably ventilated the Zimbabwean imbroglio thoroughly, was to leave it to the people to gird their loins for what might turn out to be a bruising or an amicable struggle to rescue the country from the brink of a disaster.

Before the African Union made its call, both Mr. Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change had ruled out a negotiated settlement based on power-sharing of the kind that emerged from Kenya’s post-election violence earlier this year.

“Kenya is Kenya; Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe,” George Charamba, Mr. Mugabe’s spokesman said. “We have our own history of evolving dialogue and resolving political impasses the Zimbabwean way. The Zimbabwean way, not the Kenyan way. Not at all.”

African Union Calls for Settlement in Zimbabwe
By KENNEDY ABWAO and ALAN COWELL

SHARM EL SHEIK, Egypt — The African Union Tuesday urged the creation of a government of national unity in Zimbabwe to heal the nation’s deep political wounds following President Robert Mugabe’s triumph in a one-candidate election widely condemned as a sham.

The 53-nation body, Africa’s most authoritative group, made the call after a two-day gathering of African leaders marked by divisions over the handling of the crisis in Zimbabwe. While President Omar Bongo of Gabon endorsed Mr. Mugabe’s presidency, Botswana urged the suspension of Zimbabwe from African forums because its participation would ‘’give unqualified legitimacy to a process which cannot be considered legitimate.”