w o r d s

As of last night, nine new members of Europes Schengen zone expanded the freedom to travel without hassle at the borders hundreds of miles toward the East and to a total population of over 400 million Europeans. This makes it possible to travel freely up to the border of the countries that were formerly the Soviet Union, thus erasing many vestiges of the Cold War. The Schengen Agreement of 1985 abolishes all border restrictions and controls between member states and provides for a common visa for travellers from outside its borders.

After two years of preparation, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia will join the oldest EU states — Britain and the Republic of Ireland excluded — plus Iceland and Norway in the extended zone pushing the area’s outmost borders hundreds of kilometers eastwards.

The expansion is expected to continue with Cyprus and Switzerland planning to sign on soon. London and Dublin prefer to remain outside and keep their own visa regimes, rather than the “one visa for all” policy that applies to the Schengen countries.

Deutsche Welle - 12/20/2007

On Aug. 26 last year, the LRA and the Ugandan government signed a truce, putting an end to 20 years of war and brutality in Northern Uganda. A friend of mine just returned from Gulu recently and he told me last week about how much that town has changed. Four new Hotels are under construction, many of the Night Commuters have returned to their villages, foreign aid is reaching the area and the town is bustling with commercial activity.

These are all hopeful signs for healing and development in a region that has been ravaged by civil war. Still, the truce is fragile, and the wounds are deep and fresh. Much help and healing will be required to bring the Acholi people back on their feet. The question of justice and reconciliation will require some careful and creative consideration. The Ugandan Sunday Monitor published an article that summarizes the current situation:

Today, northern Uganda is more peaceful than ever. In fact, the government team currently consulting victims on justice and peace issues are traversing the region freely in a way they would not just a year ago. Night commuters (displaced children walking to urban areas to sleep in the relative safety of shop verandahs), have greatly reduced. The number of people living in internally displaced people camps has dropped from 2.2 million in 2002 to 1.2 million according to the UN today. But as the fractured region tries to pick the pieces, what do the victims say?

War victims trapped in search for peace and justice, Sunday Monitor, Kampala, Uganda, August 26

Also, check out the Uganda-CAN website for more current info on this issue.

Rassismus in Deutschland? Das gibt’s doch gar nich …

Wir wissen um die Vorfälle in Mügeln augenblicklich noch zu wenig, um solche weitreichenden Schlussfolgerungen zu ziehen.

Das war die Reaktion Sachsen’s Ministerpräsident Georg Milbradt auf die Frage ob er einen “ausländerfeindlichen oder gar rechtsradikalen Hintergrund” sehe wenn ein Mob von 50 Bleichgesichtern 8 Inder verprügelt und durch eine Sächsische Kleinstadt jagt.

Wenn ich von rassistischen Überfällen in Deutschland höre, läuft es mir oft kalt den Rücken runter. Aber wenn ich dann die übliche Abwiegelei des Bürgermeisters, der Polizei, oder des Ministerpräsidenten höre, dann läft mir als die Galle über!

… [in Mügeln] gibt es keine Rechtsextremen.

zitiert Spiegel Online den Bürgermeister der Sächsischen Kleinstadt wo der rassistische Überfall stattfand. Aber nee, Rassisten jibts hier nich …

Es ist schlimm genug wenn Deutsche Bleichgesichter immer wieder über ihre Nachbarn herfallen, weil sie anders aussehen, ein bischen “komisch” sprechen, oder einen anderen Glauben haben. Wenn dann aber die, die eigentlich alle Einwohner vertreten oder beschützen sollen, sich vor diese rassistischen Arschlöcher stellen und diese barbarischen Vorfälle abwiegeln, dann machen die Abwiegler-vom-Dienst sich mitschuldig an diesem brutalen Terror. Diese Abwiegelei ist der Nährstoff des braunen Ungeziefers. Und dieses Ungeziefer manifestiert sich nicht nur in der üblichen, glatzköpfigen, Sieg-Heil schreienden “Herrenrasse.” Die gut-bürgerlichen, bleichgesichtigen Abwiegler sind die, die langfristig viel mehr Schaden anrichten weil ihr ewiges unter-den-Teppich-kehren dem Ungeziefer den nötigen Schatten spendet dieses dumpfe, modrige Gedankengut zu verbreiten.

Forty six years ago today, the East German Stalinist regime began fortifying the border across Germany. They built one of the most infamous borders ever: the Berlin Wall. During the 28 years that followed, an estimated 260 people were killed in attempts to cross into West Germany. The Stalinists always denied that the regime gave explicit orders to shoot these people, but a newly discovered document proves that the Stasi, the secret police, had numerous agents among the border guards and these Stasi agents had unequivocal orders to shoot to kill:

Do not hesitate to use your guns even if women or children are involved in the border penetration, as the traitors are known to use these situations.

Translated from Der Spiegel, quoting from Dienstanweisung vom 1. Oktober 1973.

Apparently the Stasi agents had orders to prevent defections from the border patrol, and they were to shoot anyone who tried to cross into West Germany illegally. Egon Krenz, the last ruler of the GDR, has vehemently denied the existence of the Schießbefehl  - at least as an order to shoot to kill. The question about the Schießbefehl is pretty important, because the existence of such an order to kill refugees, moves the responsibility for the killing of defectors from East Germany up the ranks. Otherwise, the responsibility for these acts lies squarely on the shoulders of the border guards who pulled the trigger, and who were later prosecuted in the Mauerschützen-Prozesse.

There is so much interesting and important stuff going on:

• A new film documents the ongoing genocide perpetrated on the Acholi people in Uganda (HT to Vicky), perpetuated by, among other things, US military aid (war-on-terror-dollars)
• The US Congress is debating about subsidies for a road fuel that releases twice as much pollution as gasoline: liquefied coal
• The dictator son-of-the-dead-dictator Faure Ganssingbé has re-nationalized a key industry in Togo. Could it be that this has anything to do with the ongoing rivalry with Faure’s powerful brother Kpatcha?
• NSPD 51: in a “catastrophic emergency” in the US, the Shrubman will become essentially a dictator. Proclaims the Shrubman. Worried?
• The German police used military reconnaissance jets to spy on German G8 protestors. Is that constitutional? Is it smart?
• The Swedes come up with a more ecological way to bury their dead: freeze dried

And so on …

Yet - I am completely preoccupied with my own life. Next week we’re planning to buy a new house and we’re busy boxing up our possessions for the move and fixing up our old shack to sell it.

Oh yeah - and I am finishing the last growler from the last keg of Gruffmeister 8 in Durham …

Yesterday, like every day, my daughter on the way home from afterschool told me about her day at school. She was upset because one of her teachers had told her to throw away one of her favorite books, “The Marvelous Land of Oz” because it contains “witchcraft and superstition.” Julia said she felt humiliated and singled out by her teacher, whom she had until then very much respected.

Laura and I were furious about this and Laura went and had a long talk with the principal of the school, who will hopefully read this teacher the riot act. Teachers have no business telling students what not to read. They can assign books and reading, but censoring a perfectly fine chilren’s book is outrageous. The teacher had invited the kids to bring books from at home to read in class, and the children were just reading for themselves, so this was completely out of line.

The issue here is not just one bigot teacher, rather it is that this happened in a public, taxpayer-funded school, and that there is a rather vigorous movement in the US of bigot book-burners, who sow fear and hatred by denouncing many works of popular fiction “evil” because the books discuss the supernatural in non-evangelical tems. Most notably, the book-burners have honed in on the wildly popular Harry Potter series. They denounce the themes of witchcraft and superstition in the books about a young apprentice wizard in a sort-of prep school for wand-wielding wierdos.

So I had to sit my little girl down and explain that no teacher has any business telling her she what she can or can’t read at home. And I also had to explain that sometimes teachers make bad choices and say things they should not say, or do things they should not do. And when that happens she needs to tell her parents or another teacher. And she can always count on us to back her up.

And then I made the point to her that it is quite hypocritical of the Christians to slam any books that contain descriptions of witchcraft and superstition, considering the contents of the “Holy Bible” - talking burning bushes, parting seas, angels, miracles and prophets rising from the grave. Talk about witchcraft and superstition.

[update: I found this website about First Amendment rights for kids.]

The German Constitutional Court ruled (de) that symbols that use the Nazi schwastika as part of a clear, unambigous ANTI-Nazi message is legal in Germany.

WOW. I was a bit worried about this.

It would have been quite ironic if people who clearly express an Anti-Nazi sentiment had been criminally prosecuted for wearing the illegal Nazi symbol. Especially as there is a well-documented resurgence of Nazi- and White-supremacist ideology in Germany.  AND after it was revealed that members of the police security detail for a former member of the Jewish council in Germany were Nazi sympathisers (de).

In 1947, Ghana was the first nation in sub-Saharan Africa to shake the yoke of colonialism and take its destiny in it’s own hands. It joined a group of only seven other, independent African nations: Ethiopia, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, the Sudan, Tunisia, and Egypt (then known as the United Arab Republic). In 50 years of independence this vibrant nation has seen ups and downs, coups and counter-coups, but also long periods of political and economic stability. Today, this stronghold of Pan Africanism is a country permeated by a particular sense of independence and pride in its heritage. In the last 15 years, Ghana has had free elections and a peaceful government transition from Jerry Rawlings to John Kufuor. Ghana is far from perfect. But today this diverse nation is a hopeful example and a beachhead for democracy in West Africa.

Happy Birthday, Ghana!

[update 3/7: pictures of the parade and a report of Kufuors’ speech]

Since I received my greencard ten years ago, I had very little interaction with the US immigration services - basically I showed my greencard to the friendly officers at the airport once in a while. So when my greencard was about to expire, I requested a new one. I payed the $270 (!) fee and got a date to go to Charlotte for a “biometrics” appointment. That date was last Thursday, but due to the winter weather we had, I missed the appointment. So I called the toll free number on the form to find out how to reschedule the appointment. Thus began my little CIS odyssey.

For work I do call customer support phone lines quite frequently, and so I think I’ve see the Good, the Bad and the Ugly when it comes to automated phone systems. So I thought. The US CIS automated phone system is in an wholly separate category. It has layers upon layers upon layers of “options”

if we approved your I-129 petition and you need us to notify a different POE, please press 6

It took me 20 Minutes to “find” a live person in that maze of Orwellian bureaucrat-speak. I explained my situation and she said that that’s no problem - I should just go to Charlotte on a Wednesday, when they take walk-ins for greencard renewals. Oki-doki.

So today I drove to Charlotte, which is about a 2.5-hour drive. I got there at 11:00 AM - the place was really busy. I explained my situation to the security person at the front desk, and she looked at me and said “You called the 800-number, eh? They don’t know what they are talking about. We have not done walk-ins here in years.” Say what??!!

She explained that after 9/11 they began doing full background checks during the biometrics appointment. That takes 2 hours, or more, so they can’t do more than a few applications a day, let alone walk-ins. Oh great! She said I could wait until 2:00 and see if they have time today. Or I could come back Saturday, and try it again - Saturdays are sometimes less busy.

So why do the people at the call center tell us bogus information? I wondered … The CIS security person said that “they ” tried to get the call center people to stop telling people about walk-ins - to no avail. Uh-huh … So what is the real secret for getting a new appointment? Could you give me a phone number for someone who can reschedule my appointment? Sorry … she said, we’re not permitted to give out phone numbers. The proper way to reschedule is to check a box on the form that says “check here to reschedule the appointment” and mail a copy of the form to CIS.

That’s right - even though I was at the office, my only reasonable option was to mail in the form. That is the type of service the US government provides for a $270 fee, at the beginning of the 21st century!! But we are just damn foreigners - so who cares. Since we don’t get to vote, no one cares. I have no congressman to call about nonsense like that. Yet, we do have the privilege to pay taxes.

Taxation without representation is tyranny
James Otis, American Patriot.

Of course, in comparison to what some people have to go through dealing with CIS, my problems are really pretty minor. So minor, I can actually laugh it off and shake my head at the absurdity of this experience. But this experience also reminds me of the abyss of how such gross inefficiencies of an uncaring bureaucracy can completely ruin lives. And they do. Every day.

According to the Togolese government news website, EU officials informed the Togolese ambassador to Belgium this weekend of the lifting of the 14-year-old aid embargo against Togo. The EU decision apparently also prompted the IMF to re-establish relations with the Togolese government - for what that’s worth.

The EU suspended all development aid to Togo in 1993, after President Eyadema’s troops brutally crushed the nascent political opposition to his oppressive military rule. Several thousand Togolese were killed by the military and by RPT death squads during the riots of 1992/93. But all the EU sanctions did was punish a suffering people by undermining Togo’s economy. The deteriorating economy created a massive brain-drain, as many Togolese left for what seemed like greener pastures abroad. That meant that young people with university education left the country, instead of organizing an effective opposition. So suspending aid most likely helped Eyadema, rather than hurt him. If the Europeans really wanted to put pressure on Eyadema, the French should have stopped their military support for the Eyadema regime.

The decision to resume aid to Togo comes after the current “national unity government” was formed last year, based on negotiations facilitated by the government of Burkina Faso. The talks in Ouagadougu resulted in a commitment to hold elections this year, several compromises re the eligibility requirements for presidential candidates, and a coalition government of the ruling RPT and the opposition Union of Forces for Change (UFC).

With Eyadema gone, and the French president Chiraq a “lame duckq,” maybe there is a chance for a democratic election in Togo, after all. If the French keep their sticky fingers OUT of Togo, and the EU and the AU send lots of observers to the polling stations, maybe the seed of democracy can finally sprout in Togo, this year. Still, we’re only talking about legislative elections this year. Extracting the Gnassinbé clan from the presidency and from its stranglehold on Togo will not happen overnight. But if the EU and the AU help the Togolese hold the ruling RPT and the military accountable, maybe there is hope. And a new French president might also help.

German President Horst Köhler visited Ghana last week, and and attended a conference with several African leaders. Apparently he also met Togo’s Faure Gnassingbé, who “inherited” the family business of running Togo from his dad, the late Gnassingbé Eyadema. The official Togolese government news website claims that the meeting was cordial, and that Köhler promised Germany’s support for the democratization of Togo. After a decade of German and EU sanctions against the illegitimate regime of the Gnassingbé clan in Togo, the fact that this meeting took place alone, could be construed as a warming of relations, I suppose. But promises of “support for democratization” efforts could mean anything.

With legislative elections in Togo this year, the EU is probably interested in warming relations with the regime in Lomé so they can keep a closer eye on the elections. Also, the national unity government between the RPT and the UFC has raised hopes that there may be progress possible in Togo. With the old man gone, engagement may be the way to turn Togo around. However, only if the French government stops propping up the RPT and the Gnassingbé clan. Unless the French quit meddling in Togo, neither sanctions nor engagement will produce democracy in Togo.

Last year had a couple of surprises for us, although most of these have yet to be completely realized: we found a new house, but we have yet to move there; we began planning our trip to Togo (and Ghana) for the upcoming July; and the Democrats won back the U.S. Congress.

One of the biggest changes in our lives in 2006 was Agbessi’s move to Durham. He stayed with us during the summer and then moved to an apartment in Durham. It’s great to have him here; he is like a family member to us. Hopefully we’ll all be able to travel back to our village in Togo together this summer. It’ll be really cool to show up back in Yikpa, the village where Laura and I met 15 years ago, with our children AND with one of the Yikpato from America!

In July 2007, Laura will lead a group of customers an volunteers from her Fair Trade store in Durham on a tour of Ghana, visiting some of the artisans and coops that offer their wares at One World Market. We are planning to leave a week earlier and visit our village in Togo first. This is a big deal to us - taking our children back to the village where we met. And if Agbessi can come with us that’ll e even cooler because he knows our life in the U.S. and his presence will strengthen the bond between our families even more.

In August, Laura found a little house for us, a bit closer to Durham, and a very pretty 2-acre property. We signed a contract but the inspection turned up some serious structural problems. The seller agreed to have the problems fixed. Now, three months later, the contractors have left, and a water test turned up problems with the well that supplies the house with water. Currently we’re in the process of determining what needs to be done to treat the water. Probably a filter and a UV light will be alright. It’s really too bad that this is such an obstacle course. Yet, we have looked around, and we have not found another house for sale that would change our mind.

For Laura’s store, 2006 was a great year. They sold over $430,000 in Fair Trade merchandise, which supports communities all over the world. About a quarter of that was sold between Thanksgiving and X-mas! During most of the year, selling $1000 worth in merchandise is a good day’s work at the store. During the peak of the Christmas shopping frenzy, the mostly volunteer-staffed store was selling at a rate of about $1000 an hour! And as they don’t have much storage space, they were almost continuously unpacking merchandise and stocking the sales floor. And Laura was continuously ordering more stuff. Still, when I saw the store last week, I was amazed to see how depleted it looked! But they set new sales records for the store, both for holiday sales, and for the entire year. Congratulations!

The biggest change for Jacob and Julia last year, I think, was discovering the Horse Ranch where they spend a couple of hours every day after school. While Julia got really serious about learning how to ride - and to ride well - Jacob seems to mostly enjoy playing with his buddies around the Ranch. Julia has won several shows at the Ranch, and she can canter a horse across 3-foot (one-meter-high) obstacles! Jacob has learned how to ride a horse, too, but he is still a bit young for the more advanced stuff.

On my end, my job at Duke changed quite a bit. In addition to all the network stuff and computer security business, I also got to re-design an office suite at Brightleaf Square. I moved my office and the server room, and my co-worker’s office into a new, self-contained office suite. The latter, we just completed in December. So, we’ll see how that shakes out …

A nice perk of my job was being able to sneak out and watch football games last summer, during the Worldcup. As I work with several “dang for’ners” from football nations (England, Germany, Turkey, Togo, Haiti) we had a pretty good contingent over at Satisfaction for some of the games. And the folks at Satisfaction even opened the bar early (at 9:00 AM) several times so we could catch some of the early games (like the Togo games).

The Worldcup was great fun: from the ecstasy of Germany’s win over Argentina to the agony of Togo’s first Worldcup appearance. We saw some wonderful football, especially in the first round, even though real upsets were rare and in the end the Worldcup was dominated by “millionaire football” and somewhat tainted by some really questionable officiating, most painfully noticeable in the Ghana-Brazil game and Australia’s 95th-Minute loss to Italy. And then, of course, there was this unfortunate incident during the very unfortunate Worldcup final.

In the fall of 2006, I started another chapter in my biofuels quest: I completed my biodiesel reactor and began producing biodiesel in the basement. I collect the used fryer oil from several restaurants around Brightleaf Square and process the vegetable oil at home into fuel for my 2002 Jetta TDI. Although this is quite a bit of work, it is very satisfying to reduce my reliance on fossil fuels, produce much less harmful exhaust and safe some money doing it. And it is also a fun, relaxing hobby. As I am typing this, my 200-liter “New Year’s batch” is sitting in the washtank downstairs.

Finally, politics. I mean, I am pretty excited about the fact that the Republican’s lost the congress to the Democrats. Almost more importantly, though, are the implications of this loss to the power of the so-called neocons in the Republican party. Right now, it looks like that in 2008, the “New American Century” will come to an end. Finally. I just really hope that the Democrats manage to re-assert congressional oversight and reintroduce accountability into this corrupt, incompetent administration. And get the US troops out of Iraq ASAP!

I’d say 2006 was pretty good to us. We don’t take this for granted, as we see around us people who had a difficult time, and we certainly are quite aware of all the pain and suffering in the world. Yet, we also see all the hope and generosity around us and we try to contribute to the positive things that go on around us. I am painfully aware of the many serious problems and challenges ahead of us and future generations. But I also see all the energy and hope and strength growing in our children, I can’t help but feel optimistic about the future.

So, thanks to you all for your interest in my blog. I hope 2007 brings you good news and exciting things to do. Feel free to comment and share with us what is going on with you.

Cheers, and a Happy, Prosperous, Healthy 2007!

Jürgen

Wolf Biermann’s interview mit dem Spiegel Online ist fasziniered. Der Barde spricht von Zufall und Notwendigkeit, von Kulturschock, Kommunismus und Käsetorte.

Jede Veränderung, die man wagt, hoffentlich zum Guten, zum Besseren, wird von manchen Leuten mit dem Vorwurf des Verrats quittiert. Wenn man zu den Menschen gehört, die immer wieder über alles neu nachdenken, im Lichte neuer Erfahrungen zu neuen Haltungen und Positionen kommen, dann ist man ein Renegat. Im allerbesten Sinne! Denn das war immer so in der Menschheit! Der berühmteste Renegat heißt Martin Luther, der schlägt den Papst auf den Kopf, nicht mit einem Knüppel, sondern mit Gottes Wort, mit einer Bibel. Und mein Vater Dagobert Biermann, Werftarbeiter in Hamburg, wäre von seinen Genossen totgeschlagen worden, wenn die Nazis ihn nicht ins Gefängnis gerettet hätten. Weil er nämlich in den wütenden Auseinandersetzungen von 1932/33, also vor Hitlers Machantritt, ein so genannter Abweichler war. Nicht weil er mit Trotzki sympathisierte, sondern er hatte die blödsinnige, falsche Idee, die Kommunisten müssten zusammen mit den Sozialdemokraten gegen die Nazis kämpfen. Und deswegen wurde er geächtet, als Renegat. Sie sehen, ich bin der Sohn meines Vaters.

SPIEGEL ONLINE - 10. November 2006

The Democrats are celebrating a pretty significant victory. Personally I like the sound of Republican heads popping whenever someone says “House Speaker Pelosi” … try it:

House Speaker Pelosi … pop pop pop

House Speaker Pelosi … pop pop pop

House Speaker Pelosi … pop pop pop

House Speaker Pelosi … pop pop pop

House Speaker Pelosi … pop pop pop

This is fun!

:-)

However, I know two jerks who probably had the worst week ever.

Let’s just hope the Democrats have a plan for victory. It one thing to win an election after the ruling party spends the better part of this year self-destructing in a swamp of corruption scandals, sex scandals and sheer stupidity. But to come through after the election, and present a coherent strategy for success and a competent leadership, that is a whole different story.

Especially the leadership issue is a serious challenge for the Democrats. Who calls the shots? I guess that Pelosi just got a lot more powerful, which may be good. She is tough. But what about Reid? And Dean? And the Clintons? I guess we’ll find out.

… is tyranny. I pay taxes and I pay attention to politics, but I cannot legally vote in the US. I know, I am a lousy excuse for a patriot, but I do care about this country (my adopted one, the USofA). No, I don’t fly the American flag on our porch. I do not believe that a national flag is a piece of decoration. I don’t fly the German flag, either.

Why do foreigners not have the right to vote in the place where they live (and pay taxes)? It is unfair, un-democratic, and un-American. We do our part, so we should have a say in who runs the place. Maybe even help run the place. How does getting citizenship make me more qualified to vote? I don’t see how the two are connected.

Across Europe, the idea that foreigners can vote, especially in local and regional elections, is gaining traction. Yet in the US this appears to be a non issue, despite this country being a much more immigration-oriented place than most European nations. So all that’s left for us to do is to send money to the candidates we support. Cynics might argue that sending a couple hundred bucks to a candidate stands a better chance to make a difference than casting a vote. I say that all the money in politics and in elections is the cancer that is killing democracy in this country. But while many Americans are increasingly turned off by politics and apathetic, foreigners are quite motivated to participate, even though we may have our reasons to keep our foreign passports.

Of course, not having to pay income taxes would be a compromise I’d be willing to consider …

P.W. Botha died Tuesday evening. As the president of South Africa from 1978 - 1989, he was a champion of the system of institutional racism in South Africa known as apartheid. When black South Africans asked for freedom and demanded to be heard, he told the Afrikaners not to listen. He refused to free Nelson Mandela. And P. W. Botha said he had no regrets.

On our trip to South Africa almost three years ago we stayed in Pretoria for a few days and we got a glimpse of Afrikaner culture, especially on our visit to the Voortrekker Monument. Learning about Afrikaner history from their perspective made it much clearer why the Afrikaner people in particular were so vulnerable to the idea of apartheid. Not all Afrikaners, of course, and there were, and are, many other racists.

To be clear: none of what I learned in any way justified or even completely explained apartheid, or any form of institutionalized racism. But I found it worthwhile to learn more about Afrikaner culture.

Beyond the Voortrekkers and the apartheid legacy, I found a resourceful, modern, complex people that’s slowly adapting to a new social and political reality. But I also clearly recognized the shadow of the “old South Africa” in the looks we got when our kids played with a gaggle of black kids on a Pretoria playground, or when we showed up as a mixed-race group on a beach in KZN.

I see Botha’s death as another milestone on the path to the new South Africa, and to a new Afrikaner culture. A culture that contributes its patriotism and resourcefulness to the leadership in South Africa. And a culture that cheerfully shares playgrounds and beaches with all South Africans.

One of Africa’s most successful entrepreneurs, Dr. Mo Ibrahim, has set up a foundation and announced a $5 Million prize for the most effective, least corrupt, and all around best-of-the-best African leader. (HT to BRE)

In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, Mr Ibrahim, 60, said leaders had no life after office.

“Suddenly all the mansions, cars, food, wine is withdrawn. Some find it difficult to rent a house in the capital. That incites corruption; it incites people to cling to power.

“The prize will offer essentially good people, who may be wavering, the chance to opt for the good life after office,” said Mr Ibrahim.

Prize offered to Africa’s leaders, BBC News, 26 October 2006

Pretty clever. Pay them to be good. I think that, in general, politicians are underpaid - and not just in Africa. I am not so naive to think that money is a cure-all for corruption. But if the salaries of public office were halfway competitive with the industry, there’d be fewer nutcases running for office. OK - nevermind that - not fewer nutcases, just more halfway sane, pragmatic technocrats.

In Africa this problem is much worse. Not only is politics extremely dangerous in some parts, but there is also very little in terms of retirement benefits, beyond what you can squirrel away during your time in office. That’s not a situation that provides a lot of incentive to most sane, intelligent people to chose public office as a career.

This initiative deserves the spotlight also because it highlights the key problem Africa faces: leadership, and the lack thereof. Just the other day I asked a Togolese friend “Mon frère, what is Africa’s biggest problem?” I explained that if he could solve one problem on the continent, what would it be? Malaria? AIDS? Hunger? Poverty? Celebrity adoptions?

“Leadership!” He said. Without decent leaders democracy cannot work. Without democracy, there cannot be much progress, social or economic. Without progress we can never solve poverty, hunger and the public health crises. And there will always be another genocide somewhere.

This is why I am skeptical about those “big money” campaigns by Americans and Europeans to raise huge sums for development aid for Africa. It’s like they are refueling and changing the tires on a racecar that’s going the wrong way on the track because the driver is drunk. Dr Ibrahim says: let’s reward the driver who can drive well! Congratulations!

See Jewels in the Jungle for more info.

Liebes Deutschland - Ich hoffe Du hattest einen schönen Tag der Deutschen Einheit!

On October 3, 1990, the states of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) adopted the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and thusly Germany was reunited after 41 years, and the GDR ceased to exist. That day was proclaimed German Unity Day.

Photos of the former Iron Curtain in Germany by Marco Bertram
Bundesministerium des Innern

The reason why many crave to know the truth is that without some level of truth, there can be no freedom and dignity. A people blinded by lies becomes a weak people, exploited by its elites, and ultimately doomed as a society.

Truth is an elusive mistress and a tough teacher. Truth is not a singular entity, that can be captured, boxed and marketed. It is an ideal, a concept that requires constant work, care and attention. So beware of all who proclaim to be in possession of THE TRUTH!

I think that the truth about what happened on this day five years ago in New York, Washington and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania lies buried in the rubble of Ground Zero. The official government narrative leaves too many questions unanswered. Most critics are too quick at proclaiming The Truth, as well. However, some of those who offer alternative narratives, do ask very pertinent questions and point to some compelling answers.

But if you are content with the government version of what happened five years ago, if you have no doubts and trust that the US government and its media told you the honest truth, then click here.

If you are looking for more information and if you are prepared to ask questions that probe the official government narrative of the events of September 11, 2001, then check out some of these websites:

The Ground Zero Grassy Knoll - A New Generation of Conspiracy Theorists are at Work on the Secret History of 9/11 — New York Magazine

Loose Change 9/11

Pentagon Strike

Wikipedia: 9/11 Truth Movement

Complete 9/11 Timeline

Or just google for “9/11 Truth” …

Mexico’s presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (or AMLO), unlike Gore or Kerry, is not about to give up his fight for democracy and justice in his country. In light of evidence of blatant ballot-stuffing by the ruling party PAN, and considering that nearly one million votes have not been counted, the PRD’s candidate has called for massive protests in Mexico City and across the country to pressure the electoral commission (which is controlled by the ruling PAN) to order a complete re-count.

There does seem to be evidence that the ruling PAN also had help from North-of-the-Border. Greg Palast, who published many reports about the problems with the elections in 2000 and 2004, says he has evidence that the Republican-friendly voter-purgers from ChoicePoint compiled citizen files and voter lists for Mexico and Venezuela, just like they did for Florida, under the cover of a “counter-terrorism” contract with the FBI. The Mexican list was apparently provided to the ruling PAN in order to be used to “scrub” AMLO-supporters from the voter rolls for the presidential election earlier this month.

Why does the US government want to influence the elections in Mexico? Could it be because Mexico sell more crude oil to the US than Saudi Arabia:

US Crude Oil Imports (Thousand Barrels per Day)

Country 	YTD 2006
CANADA 		1,757
MEXICO 		1,668
SAUDI ARABIA 	1,422
VENEZUELA 	1,186
NIGERIA 	1,134
IRAQ 		666

source: US EIA

This may be a simplistic POV, but the US government is aggressively meddling with the internal affairs of just about each of these countries (not sure about Canada, though I would not be surprised), especially where the powers-that-be start talking about regulation and public ownership of natural resources (Venezuela, Saddam in Iraq). If the US government spent half the effort on energy conservation, fuel efficiency and alternative energy sources, as it spends on meddling with the internal affairs of these countries - let alone occupying them - this country would be a healthier place in many ways, and the world would be a much more peaceful place.