June 2010
125 posts
Somalie : l’enrôlement d’enfants soldats financé... →
Seuls deux États n’ont pas ratifié la Convention internationale des droits de l’enfant du 20 novembre 1989, la Somalie et les États Unis.
Cette Convention interdit en son article 38 l’enrôlement…
Happy Birthday, Congo →
Happy Birthday, Congo.I have posted below Patrice Lumumba’ independence speech that he read in from of parliament and King Baudouin on June 30th, 1960. Whatever one might think of Lumumba - I…
Gad Ngabo arrested →
Numerous sources in Uganda indicate that Gad Ngabo, the leader of the FPLC rebellion that is based on the Ugandan-Congolese border around Ishasha, has been arrested in Kampala. Gad’s troops have been…
The U.N.: Russia's den of spies →
At the center of the Russian spy ring rounded up this week
by federal agents were two Russian handlers from Moscow’s Foreign Intelligence
Service (SVR), the successor to the KGB, who…
U.S.-Born Al Qaeda Sets Peace Terms, Creates... →
It’s strange that you’ve probably never heard of Adam Gadahn. He defected from the U.S. to join al-Qaeda, and is now their spokesman. Given that al-Qaeda is still, some ten years on, U.S….
Afghanistan’s Beauty →
Band-e Amir was to become Afghanistan’s first national park in the 1960s, but due to the instability of the Kabul government at the time, this did not happen. In 2004, Band-e Amir was…
As Israel eases Gaza siege, Palestinian militants... →
Last night, 25 armed, masked men set fire to a U.N. summer
camp at a beach in Nuseirat, Gaza, destroying inflatable pools and tents and
roughing up a group of guards protecting the…
Why Does the Pakistani Taliban Want to Draw in the... →
The Justice Department says that the Times Square bombing attempt last month can be traced straight back to the Taliban in Pakistan, according to Josh Gerstein at Politico.
Apparently,…
Ode to the World Cup version 2010 →
I’m not a rabid football fan, but I’m a World Cup enthusiast.
That is to say that between World Cups, I keep an eye on what’s going on in the football world in a general…
GUINEE : FAUT-IL LIBERER LES GRENADES LACRYMOGENES... →
Le colonel Ibrahima Balde l’a dit sur RFI le 23 juin 2010 : pour que la FOSSEPEL puisse faire son travail, « il faut libérer les grenades lacrymogènes ».
Dans le contexte guinéen, cela n’est pas…
Worrying signs in Kigali →
Jean-Leonard Rugambage, the editor of the Umuvugizi newspaper in Kigali, was gunned down in front of his home on Thursday. A man came up to his car as he was driving into his gate and shot him…
Blackwater Open For Business and the State... →
In the market for a private army? You can probably purchase Blackwater — yes, the infamous team of private military contractors employed by the U.S. government in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and…
Iran is ready for planned U.S. sanctions targeting... →
With Congress having targeted Iran’s vital fuel imports as part of its most
far-reaching sanctions package yet, observers say the Tehran government has
already done much to deflect the impact of…
A resilient Iran shields itself from pressure by... →
A year ago, Iran
was on its way to becoming a pariah state. Dozens of governments accused
Iranian leaders of stealing the presidential election and condemned the brutal
crackdown on…
Are Western and Asian Countries Re-Colonizing... →
On the BBC today, Africa war journalist Alan Little asks, “Can Britain Lift Sierra Leone Out of Poverty?” He reflects on this tendency in post-Colonial environments for many locals to lose…
The General, the Private and the Fast Food →
I love American soldiers. I hate war, but I love the men and woman in uniform. American soldiers come from all walks of life and many of them dedicate their lives to the service of others.
…
D.R. of Congo: The Murder of Human Rights Activist... →
Update on Semadwinga's murder →
More details of the killing of Denis Ntare Semadwinga are coming to light, although much is still unclear. Apparently 8-10 people (some say in uniform, other say in civilian clothes) came to…
Can K Street save Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo’s... →
What does an
autocrat have to do to get some respect? Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo,
the longtime ruler of Equatorial Guinea, offered to plough $3 million into a
worthy cause — a UNESCO life…
Bolton to Ban: Back off! →
John R. Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, blasted U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today for
pressing ahead with an international probe into the Israeli commando…
Somalia is No More a Failed State Than the United... →
You gotta love the United States, I simply love it here, but sometimes we have to come out of the shadows on the side of struggling nations to battle the tendency of politicians and…
Vital Kamerhe throws down the glove →
Vital Kamerhe, the former president of the national assembly, has come out with a statement condemning Floribert Chebeya’s death. That in itself was not unusual, but the tone was certainly…
Afghanistan: Drug use keeps on rising →
Afghanistan: Parliamentary elections in the... →
Somalia: Death to anyone who watches the World Cup →
Australians Challenge Afghanistan War Commitment →
Could BP Oil Fuel the Afghan Antiwar Movement? →
Hard as it may be to believe, the BP oil disaster may actually have an upside, by bringing new life to the antiwar movement in Afghanistan.
Despite the constant daily stream of news stories…
To Win Against Sexual Slavery, Fight Demand →
“The only way to decrease the problem and the victimization is to go after the perpetrators,” Guy Jacobson, director of the new film, Redlight, told me in a phone interview on Friday. Fight…
U.S. Sponsors Commando Competition for South... →
G.I. Joe, He-Man, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — these are intended to be the amusements of children, although their adult-sized box office returns say differently. Merchandized…
Où l’on apprend qu’il y aurait des souffrances... →
Si le crime d’agression constitue le “plat de résistance” de la conférence de Kampala, qui continue de tenter jusqu’à la dernière minute, peut-être tard dans la nuit,…
Mullah McChrystal Must Be Drunk →
General McChrystal’s remarks on Obama and Biden and others is already echoed through the media in the United States. God knows what he has been thinking with expressing such bizarre statements. I…
Muslim Student Union Possibly Suspended from UC... →
Last Tuesday it was reported that a Muslim Student Union has been suspended from the University of California at Irvine (UCI) campus for one year, and disciplinary probation for an…
Supreme Court Prohibits Steering Terrorist Groups... →
“Legislating from the bench” is a term often used by conservative lawmakers who find that “activist judges” are trying to take their Constitutional prerogatives away from them, sometimes…
Photo blog - Niger food crisis →
With Israeli Nuclear Subs Off Iran's Coast, Saudis... →
It’s just like playing with rubber ducks in the bath, except if one of them explodes, World War III starts.
As if the recent flotilla fiascos and botched government responses…
Dan Gertler: At it Again? →
Israeli diamond tycoon Dan Gertler appears to be working his magic again. Various sources have reported his involvement in Caprikat, a British Virgin Island registered company that was …
With 95% of the Country Insecure, The Prospects... →
According to the BBC, the Afghan Interior Ministry released a report to the media on Thursday June 17th stating that out of the country’s 364 districts, only 11 are stable. This report has come out…
Iran: You want targeted sanctions; we’ll give you... →
Iran responded to the West’s targeted sanctions campaign
against its military elites Monday with a targeted sanction of its own, barring
two nuclear inspectors employed by the International…
In Memoriam: NBA Star and Sudanese Humanitarian... →
NBA Player Stereotypes 101: Tall, money-hungry, super-egoists, womanizing, spotlight hunters with occasionally bad attitudes and a penchant to bring guns to games.
Manute Bol NBA Stereotype…
Murder of Denis Ntare Semadwinga →
According to various sources, Denis Semadwinga was assassinated at his home in Gisenyi (Rwanda) at 8pm last night. Semadwinga was an influential and senior member of the Goma elite. A…
Developments in the Kayumba shooting →
It appears that a former Rwandan soldier has been taken into custody by South African police over the shooting of Kayumba Nyamwasa over the weekend. According to an article in the South Africa…
Why Chocolate and French Fries Will Not Alleviate... →
In addition to nine slain Turkish activists and global ignominy for the Jewish state, last month’s botched raid on the MV Mavi Marmara produced widespread murmurings about the need for…
Kayumba shot in Jo'burg →
Former Rwandan army chief Kayumba Nyamwasa was shot in Johannesburg this morning. According to his wife, it was an obvious assassination attempt. They were returning from shopping when a…
Guns, Rape and Rockets — All Tools of War in... →
War is often fought along ethnic lines. In Bosnia, it was the Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks, all fighting one another. In Sudan, it’s the Janjaweed against the Sudanese Liberation Movement….
Massive Penis Protest Against Economic and... →
Admit it … you giggled a bit at the title of this post. Now stop.
Voina (“War” in Russian), an ultra-political artist collective that specializes in high-profile critiques of the government,…
Kadhalika: Chebeya, Mukonkole and Bosco →
A few items of interest: According to the Kinshasa L’Avenir newspaper, staff in various ministries have gone on strike with two key demands: (1) a “gratification” for the 50th anniversary…
Punk Cabaret on War, Peace, and Social Satire →
Punk music culture is typically known for social rebellion, drugs, or angst, but what about satire? I’ve been learning a great deal these days about the power of punk cabaret, the most…
Israel versus the U.N. press corps →
The Israeli government butted heads Thursday with the U.N.
Correspondent’s Association, protesting the group’s decision to organize a press
viewing of a film shot by a passenger on the aid ship …
Video Game Violence is a Learning Tool? →
Blowing people’s heads off and stealing their cars is a great way to get smarter, right? Perhaps, if we take the word of University of Rochester professor Daphne Bavelier, a specialist in the…
Africa: The world needs Africa →