Diamonds are not a girl's best friend

Boys and young men laboring in an illegal diamond mine
in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Image copyright: Foreign Policy Magazine / Kadir van Lohuizen

Conflict diamonds. You who have read reports about the curse of an abundance of natural resources that fuel bloody conflicts and civil wars, finance the illegal arms trade, and undermines human rights around the globe know what this term means.

Foreign Policy, the award-winning magazine about global politics, economics, and ideas funded by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has introduced a new photojournalism feature called “Wide Angle”. The premiere photo essay in the 35th Anniversary issue September/October 2005 is a series titled “A Trail of Diamonds” by photographer Kadir van Lohuizen who followed the trail of the diamond trade around the world. This trail is dirty, oft-times violent and bloody, and littered with the destroyed lives of marginalized and victimized children, young people, and adults from Africa to India who work as underpaid laborers and unpaid slaves in the mining, cutting, and polishing of billions of dollars ($$$) worth of diamonds every year.

In the spirit of the Foreign Policy managing editor William Dobson who stated in an August 30th interview with PDN online reporter Daryl Lang, “I fundamentally believe that there are some stories that are best told through images…” I shall allow the photos do most of the talking today. I will address some of the issues raised in Lohuizen’s excellent series in follow-up posts to this blog in October and November 2005.

Also I am presently in talks with a German audio/video production team to record a series of audio interviews with young African men who have worked in the diamond fields of Sierra Leone before the decade-long civil war. Should be very interesting stuff for my readers and listeners, indeed.

There are measures that you the consumer can take to help stop the illegal trade in conflict diamonds and gold from Africa and elsewhere. Take a look at the Global Witness press releases here and here to better understand what you should demand of your retailers and the industry before making a purchase. Before you buy that next piece of gold and diamond jewelry for your loved one(s) or for yourself, remember these images of the laborers and slaves who suffered to extract, cut, and polish that beautiful jewel from the jungle. Help save lives by supporting the rule of law and justice, transparency in the diamond and gold mining industries and trade, fair wages, and humane working conditions for the people shown in these photo essays.

Foreign Policy magazine online: A Trail of Diamonds
Kadir van Lohuiyen (photographer): Diamond Matters (2-part essay)
Marcus Bleasdale (photojournalist): Rape of a Nation
Global Witness: Resources Conflict Courruption - Diamonds Campaign

Africa Congo India conflict diamonds
human rights child labour environment
photojournalism photography

German Elections 2005: Reaping a bitter harvest

I am anxious to return to writing about African news and issues but it would be uncharacteristic of me not to say just a few words about the German elections that took place yesterday September 18th. News media headlines across the globe today are declaring the surprise election results a catastrophe and an economic and political crisis for Germany, Europe, and the developed world.

However, for Deutschland Kenner (people in the know about Germany) there is absolutely nothing surprising at all about this political stalemate as the election results simply reflect the deeply divided, confused, fearful character of not only the political leadership in Germany but also the German people themselves. The only surprise is that now it is out in the open for everyone to see and cannot be kept under wraps by the German media, business, and political community’s propaganda machinery. This is a real mess Made in Germany and you the reader should dig a lot deeper into what Germany and Germans today are really all about. The closer you look the messier Germany gets. Downright ugly.

The present political leadership under Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has over the past 7 years proven itself to be totally incompetent in running the country properly, taking bold and necessary steps to resolve the myriad problems facing some people living in Germany way too late. This government has proven to be untrustworthy with its long-standing allies and partners in international crisis and problem resolution and is unwilling to meet its responsibilities in helping to solve regional conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and in Asia. Schroeder’s promises of generous financial aid and debt relief to various developing nations are empty and undeliverable. Germany’s Treasury is flat broke. Pleite.

Many Germans nonetheless seem to like it this way and their main problem with the SPD and The Greens coalition government is a weak economy and lack of jobs. Global issues such as world security, human rights, poverty alleviation and fair trade with developing nations take a backseat to the more important domestic issues like the economy, high salaries and wages, immigration and integration, and a 36-hour long working week with 6 weeks of vacation per year. Oh yeah, let’s not forget the guaranteed job-for-life for union workers regardless of their job performance and qualifications. Made in Germany costs money, lots of wasted money and to be honest you can find better deals elsewhere.

I personally feel that a return to power of the CDU-CSU-FDP coalition under the leadership of Angela Merkel would be much better for Germany and certainly better for the so-called Trans-Atlantic relationship as well as for the rest of Germany’s global partners, but I am an American citizen and do not vote here, thank goodness. These are Deutschland’s political and socio-economic problems and for once I hope that they can get it right. Following are various lowdowns on the election from distinctly German points-of-view:

Der Spiegel International Online: German Elections 2005 Special
Select articles from Der Spiegel’s English language coverage:
Daily Take (blog): Who Wants to Be Germany’s next Chancellor?
German Papers: Do We Have a Government or Not?
Postcards to the Chancellor: Gerd and Angie You’ve Got Mail
Dirty Dawgs: German Politician Offends with Coffins of U.S. Soldiers
Daily Take: Schroeder Plays the Iran Card in German Election

Deutsche Welle (English): Election 2005 Special
DW: A Dummy’s Guide to German Elections
DW: Germany Not Ready for Change

German Embassy – U.K.: Election Special 2005

Sign and Sight (independent German online magazine): Election Special
Chancellor Schroeder’s post-election TV appearance: What was Schroeder On?

Hurricane Katrina: Benefit Concerts & Katrina News Database

It is clear that Hurricane Katrina will be one of the most blogged about natural disasters of the decade. Technorati has tracked more than 246,815 posts to date using the search term “Katrina” and the aftermath of the storm remains a top news story in the Blogosphere. In comparison the Live8 and G8 Summit posts tracked by Technorati totalled only 19,339 and 14,258 respectively.

Realizing that many of my readers who do not live in the United States may not be aware that there have been 3 nationally televised benefit concerts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, I thought it would be a good idea to provide information about those concerts via this blog today. It is great to be able to just go online to watch and listen to some of America’s and the world’s finest music, stage and film performers as they give their best to help people affected by this catastrophic natural disaster. It was reported that the concerts were broadcast to more than 100 countries but I have yet to see any substantial coverage about the concerts on German TV networks. Information overload about Katrina is overwhelming at the moment and it is a well-known fact that a little bit of music can do wonders to help heal one’s soul. So checkout the performances, enjoy the music, and reflect on the messages in the words of the artists, the songs, and the images.

For you absolute news freaks out there, LexisNexis has launched a special online news portal on Hurricane Katrina packed with information from more than 4000 news sources from all over the world, from Biloxi to Baghdad, in a searchable online database. A Hat Tip goes to Spiegel Online’s September 9th feature “SPIEGEL Surfs the Web” for reporting on the new news service.

REAL Music Guide:
Shelter in the Storm Benefit Concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina along America’s Gulf Coast. REAL Guide’s homepage with links to all 3 major benefit concerts including the MTV “React Now” Concert and the BET Relief Telethon “SOS - Saving Ourselves”. Additional benefit concerts across the U.S.A. are planned for September 2005 and are listed in Real Guide’s Calendar section.

think MTV’s website:
MTV “React Now” Concert and disaster relief information

BET (Black Entertainment Network) website:
BET Relief Telethon “ SOS - Saving Ourselves”

Additional Resources for Katrina benefit concerts:
CNN Entertainment: Stars gather for hurricane relief
MSNBC: Stars offer heartfelt performance…
Google search news results: Hurricane Katrina benefit concerts

Technorati Tags: Katrina Hurricane Katrina
Technorati Search: Katrina Benefit Concerts

Hurricane Katrina: How to help the victims

Now that we blog authors and readers have had our say over the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and related issues, it is time to get constructive and creative. The most important thing that I can think of doing via this blog now is to provide reliable information to my readers who want to help in some way. Below is a list of resource sites to help those of you willing and able to donate money, volunteer in some way, or simply express your condolences and sympathies:

Network for Good - Hurricane Katrina Relief. A very reputable organization with lots of information on charities and organizations involved in the relief effort. Great resources for North American and International donors.

Charity Navigator - How to Help Victims of Hurricane Katrina. Charity Navigator is similar to the Network for Good, in that it is very reputable and offers information for donors worldwide.

NPR (National Public Radio) - How to Help Hurricane Katrina's Victims It goes without saying that the U.S. National Public Radio service offers reliable and excellent information. Punkt.

Newsweek Hurricane Katrina Coverage - How to Help . In addition to a good list of aid and relief organizations checkout Newsweek's new cooperation with Technorati that allows its readers to tap into how citizen journalists (bloggers) are covering various stories.

BBC News Online - Hurricane Katrina: How to Help . This list includes information helpful for U.K. and international donors and volunteers willing to help out.

German Media - Hilfe fuer Amerika? - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government has of course offered help. However according to these news stories at Deutsche Welle here and here and at Der Speigel's International Editon here and here I'm not sure that the American people would want to accept it. Washington may have another take on that however, especially after the September 18, 2005 election.

Update September 05, 2005:

My boss (my conscience) said that I should apologize for taking my anger out on the German people in a statement made earlier just because a few government Bozos (Schroeder, Trittin) want to use this catastrophe to forward their political agendas. So I apologize zu dem Deutschen Volk. Please send help to the people of Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama affected by this hurricane if it is within your means and in your heart to do so. Thank you.

If none of the organizations or agencies listed in the resources above are available from where you live, contact your respective government or local religious or community organizations about how you can help. Thank you from the people of the affected region and from the people of the United States of America. Thank you for caring.

Technorati Tags:hurricane Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina: A Video Tribute

Today while reviewing news coverage and blog posts about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina I came across this wonderful video tribute to the people along America's Gulf Coast struggling with the shock, the loss of life and property, and the pain left behind by this enormous tropical storm.

The Hurricane Katrina Tribute video created by Kaizenamazen features images of the hurricane's destruction and the ongoing rescue efforts down in New Orleans. Background audio is the music of the fine Italian musician Zucchero and the late John Lee Hooker both singing the beautiful blues track "I Lay Down with the Angels". John Lee Hooker died in July 2001 about a month after this song was recorded. If you can understand the power of these images and this music then you can understand what I and many others around the world who have experienced and love America's Southland are feeling today. The Blues.

Thanks to Andy Carvin for the tip on this video tribute posted at his new Katrina Aftermath blog.




"Come sweet soul of mine
I lay down with the Angel..."

"I lay down
With an Angel
'cause she treat me kind sometimes
Vieni in me
Portami via
Ali d'oro"

Update September 2, 2005:
I wanted to update this posting from yesterday to write a few more words about the unfolding emergencies in the aftermath of the hurricane and to include the new Technorati tag for International Blogging for Diaster Relief Day. You can read more about the latter at Andy’s Waste of Bandwidth blog and at the international bloggers favorite hangout Global Voices Online. Who’s been screwing around with the GVO blog template again? I liked the old one better!

The personal video tribute by Kaizenamazen above has been viewed more than 2500 times since yesterday, up from 44 views when I first inserted a link to it on this blog. Also I would like to again thank my Nigerian friend Imnakoya for his posting on August 30th “Katrina: The Day After” and the participants in the Nigerian group blog Nairaland Forum for their discussion around the topic “Hurricane Katrina: Should Nigeria & Nigerians Help Out”.

Lastly, like many fellow Americans and people around the world, and particularly fellow African-Americans, I am shocked and outraged that so many lowlifes in New Orleans would use this terrible disaster and all of this suffering to carry out their dark deeds of robbery, theft, rape, and murder. A good article on the deteriorating security situation can be found at CNN International Online: Military due to move into New Orleans - Sep 02, 2005

This is a disgrace to the country and particularly to African-Americans and people of color everywhere. That is not to say that everyone involved in this violence and lawlessness is Black, but almost everyone we see on our TV news reports across the globe running around like the Taliban, flashing guns and other types of lethal weapons, and carrying away looted goods like pirates___ look Black. Maybe it is a problem with my Contrast Control, but I don’t think so.

You can read more about what fellow Americans are saying about this disgusting behavior over at Booker Rising. Look here and here and here and keep reading. My opinion and attitudes toward looters and hoodlums operating in New Orleans at the moment is very simple. Stop them by any means necessary to restore law-and-order in the affected areas. Get to the people who are desperately in need of help and rescue and make it possible for people to do their jobs there.

I was speaking with my Mom by telephone last evening and we were comparing the devastation and suffering we are seeing along America's Gulf Coast to the Great Flood of 1993 at St. Louis, Missouri and cities across the Midwest. I said to Mama,

“...It’s good Mama that your church is collecting money to send to those poor, suffering people down South in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. But while you all are on your knees asking God to send your prayers to those poor people, make sure you ask Him to send more ammo (ammunition) to stop them damn thieves and gangsters from stealing and killing."

Mom scolded me saying what I said wasn’t very Christian-like; as she hung up the phone I could here her laughing in the background. ‘Nuff said about that subject, I hope. I meant it, too.

Technorati Tags: hurricane katrina
International Blogging for Disaster Relief Day

Hurricane Katrina: The Aftermath

Andy Carvin, Program Director of the EDC Center for Media & Community and coordinator of the outstanding Digital Divide Network organization, has started a blog to assist with information about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina along America’s Gulf Coast. Blogs are a fast and effective way to mobilize people around an emergency like this so a big “Hat Tip” goes to Andy for thinking fast and organizing this effort. You can find out more at Andy’s Waste of Bandwidth. See the August 31, 2005 post Hurricane Katrina Mobcast or just hop over to the Katrina Aftermath blog and have your say (no TypeKey registration headaches required for leaving comments).

View this image of a New Orleans cemetery statue titled “Indescribable Sadness” courtesy of Pinhole. A picture can truly say a thousand words and in this case for all of the people fighting floodwaters and loss of life and property along the American South’s Gulf Coast. Here is the link to the online photo-sharing service Flickr site for all images tagged HurricaneKatrina (again, thanks to Andy Carvin).

I haven’t seen flooding like this in the States since the Great Flood of 1993 along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. I was visiting my hometown near St. Louis, Missouri at the time of that devastating flood and there is very little you can do when the levee breaks except watch Mother Nature do her work and afterwards pitch-in to help out the people of the affected communities in whatever way you can. More than fifty people died, USD$ 21 billion in damages to property, some communities submerged under floodwaters for almost 200 days. Hurricane Katrina has already left more death and destruction than the Great Flood of ‘93 in her wake. Here are more useful links to help inform my readers about this storm:

NOAA: National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center
NOAA: National Climatic Data Center, Historical Significant Events Imagery
Google News: Hurricane Katrina
CNN: Conditions deteriorate in Katrina's wake (also see videos)

Technorati Tags:hurricane katrina

Blogging Hurricane Katrina

The big news of the day back in the States is of course the massive storm Hurricane Katrina that at the time of this writing is slamming into America’s Gulf Coast. The beautiful and historic city of New Orleans, Louisiana and surrounding areas are taking the brunt of the 400Km-wide Category 4+ storm. Recent reports say that the hurricane may reach U.S. Gulf Coast cities as far away as Biloxi, Mississippi and east into the Florida panhandle.

Along with mainstream news media networks (MSM) such as CNN bloggers are also on top of this developing story. Michelle Malkin has a good roundup on the Hurricane Bloggers in her August 28th post “Katrina Blogging: Dire Outlook”. Have a look at Dr. Jeff Master’s The Weather Underground for August 28th-29th updates and stop over at Stormtrack where Jordan and Bryan are surfing the storm right to your doorstep. Here is the Hurricane Katrina Advisory from the NOAA’s National Weather Service. These are great examples of how weblogs authored by professionals and ordinary citizens can be very useful in natural disasters and weather emergencies. The Asian Tsunami of December 2004 was another good example of how blogs can work to help save lives. My thanks to Chrenkoff for his August 29th lead to Michelle Malkin’s posting.

Additional info can be found at the CNN special section Hurricane Season 2005 and to be fair CNN’s Miles O’Brien has a Cane Blog too. First a Space blog and now a Hurricane blog; I guess that Miles is serious about the Blogosphere. CNN’s website also has a feature on Citizen Journalists covering the storm. It can be found in this article "Katrina’s floodwaters inundating Gulf Coast" but it is limited to photos with brief text descriptions only. Wikipedia has a detailed article on the storm and a special section titled 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season with lots of background information and facts on hurricanes and tropical cyclones around the world.

In the meantime lots of prayers and hope go out from around the world for the people in the path of this massive killer storm.

NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center
Google News: Hurricane Katrina
Technorati Tags: hurricane Katrina

Robertson vs. Chavez Firestorm Just Won't Go Away

As an update to my August 24th post on evangelist Pat Robertson's comments about President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela I wanted to point my readers to two very good blog authors writing on this subject (and lot's of other good stuff). Boz of Bloggings by Boz stopped by to say thanks for a comment I left at his place yesterday. Boz specializes on Latin America and Foregin Policy issues and he provides very good analysis. Please read his informative post on the Robertson vs. Chavez debate titled "Run away from Robertson".

Boz's post was also featured over at the new TPMCafe: The Coffeehouse blog in the Top Readers section (No decaf, please). Don't miss the TPMCafe's special guest blogger retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark who will be blogging LIVE starting August 29th, 2005 at the Tabel for One section. Nice blog they have there, real nice, and they are using a very cool open-source community publishing software named SCOOP.

Boz points us to an award-winning blog named Venezuelan News and Views. Daniel, a Venezuelan national and author of this blog, has written a fine post titled "A Tale of Two Preachers". This blog has many useful links to other blogs and websites focused on Venezuela and Latin America, so do have a look around Daniel's place. Are these guys listed over at Global Voices Online? They certainly should be.

In my previous post on Robertson vs. Chavez I raised the question (tongue-in-cheek) about the legality of calling for the assassination of a foreign leader while standing on U.S. soil. You can do this openly in many other countries (I hear it all the time here in Germany, all the time) but you have to kinda watch that kind of thing back home. John Dean, former Counsel to the President of the United States (remember Richard Nixon?) writing for FindLaw.com's FindLaw's Writ thinks that Marion "Pat" Robertson may have done just that: broken U.S. Federal laws. Here is an excerpt of what Mr. Dean had to say about all of this in his article titled:

Was Pat Robertson's Call for the Assassination of a Foreign Leader a Crime? Had he been a Democrat, he'd probably be hiring a Criminal Attorney.

"From the moment I heard Robertson's remark, on the radio, I thought of the federal criminal statutes prohibiting such threats. Do they apply?

For me, the answer is yes. Indeed, had these comments been made by a Dan Rather, a Bill Moyers, or Jesse Jackson, it is not difficult to imagine some conservative prosecutor taking a passing look at these laws - as, say, Pat Robertson might read them -- and saying, "Let's prosecute." ...read more

I also went back today to review the streaming video of Pat Robertson's TV Blooper as featured on the Media Matters website on August 22nd and noticed a related article about the Fox News Channel TV broadcast Hannity & Colmes on the subject which aired August 25th. According to an interview conducted with former CIA operative Wayne Simmons calling for the assassination of foreign leaders may be reaching the EPIDEMIC STAGE back home! Here is an excerpt from that interview on Fox's Hannity & Colmes show. Tonto, let's go to the videotape of the August 24th edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes please:

HANNITY: But first, Pat Robertson caused a bit of a media firestorm this week when he advocated, some say, the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Now Pat Robertson apologized for those remarks today, but who is Hugo Chavez? Is he a threat to the United States that must be dealt with?

[...]

ALAN COLMES (co-host): Should we assassinate him?

SIMMONS: Well, listen, if a stray bullet from a hunter in Kentucky should find its way between these guy's -- this guy's eyes --

COLMES: Just by accident?

SIMMONS: -- no American --

COLMES: Who knew?

SIMMONS: Yes, who knew? No American should lose any sleep over it.

This guy Simmons worked for the Feds as a CIA operative?? You can't be serious! Oder? What was his field of expertise? Whacking foreign leaders and deer hunting?

Religion Politics Pat Robertson

Evangelist Pat Robertson & President Hugo Chavez Face Off

While I’m on the Hot Button subjects of religion and politics it should be noted that last night while viewing international news I got the shock of my life. CNNI Europe ran a report showing U.S. TV evangelist preacher Pat Robertson calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo (the Bear) Chavez. That’s right, Robertson was advocating ASSASSINATION of a democratically elected president of a sovereign nation in the Americas on international TV! I couldn’t believe it! Don’t we have enough problems on our plates back home without this idiot getting the Venezuelans and half of South America riled up against U.S.?

Fortunately the story didn’t get picked up (yet) in a major way over here in Germany by TV networks (not sure about the press), so I double-checked what’s shaking in the Blogosphere this afternoon and here is what I was able to find out:

First place I did a check was at Technorati and the Top Blog Topic of the Day is guess what? Pat Robertson. 15,431 blog posts and counting and almost none of them are supportive of Reverend Robertson’s comments about the benevolent President Chavez, hero of the poor and downtrodden masses of Venezuela.

Then I went over to Blogpulse (we’ll talk about them later, these folks are GOOD) to see what they had on the story and came up with some real gems. Check out their Blogpulse Newswire post for August 24, 2005 “Big Mouth Wednesday: Pat Robertson & Google Talk”. This is the first place online (Blogosphere & the Web) where I could find complete text and a streaming video replay of Pat Robertson’s TV Blooper of the Century. Here is an excerpt from what Robertson said and I quote:

“…You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United ... This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with…”

Unbelievable, isn’t it!! Unbelievable! And they (the Feds) didn’t lock this guy up yet! What about all of those new anti-terrorism laws Congress passed last year? Isn’t this kind of thing against the law in America?

I know that some of you out there don’t believe me, especially my blogger buddies working down in remote areas (jungles, deserts, etc.) without good access to the latest news and information. So checkout this article from the non-profit group Media Matters with the Instant Replay video:
Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuelan President…

Here are some excerpts and links to what some other well-known bloggers are saying about the right Reverend Robertson’s ideas on regime change in South America:

Tim Worstall: Pat Robertson: Assassinate Hugo Chavez Aug. 24, 2005

“What is it we’re supposed to do? Condemn terrorism and similar outrages even if they do come from our own side? I’m not sure that Pa[t] Robertson is in fact on my side. Religious fundamentalists of any stripe are not "my side" but as he’s identified as "right wing" and some people, rather absurdly, seem to think that I am also such, here’s my response to his latest:”

A Fistful of Euros: Don’t Stand in the Middle, Just Duck Aug. 24, 2005

“…I do have one reasonably important difference with Tim on the deontological level I think: political assassination. I do not favour this, and recent US history in Latin America is not a happy one in this regard to say the least. Maybe my perspective is coloured regionally, but little as I like Chavez, I regard Vladimir Putin as a much worse global menace,…”

Booker Rising: Christians Behaving Badly Watch Aug. 23, 2005

"Now, I'm not a fan of Hugo Chavez. I think he is a demogogue that dresses up in democratic clothing. But the Venezuelan people did vote for him and that has to stand. Chavez already thinks we are looking to bump him off, we don't need some nutjob like Robertson trying to play to Chavez's assas[s]ination fantasies."

"I agree that Hugo Chavez ain't on the up and up. However, this is the same Pat Robertson who cozied up to Charles Taylor's tyrannical regime in Liberia in order to illegally set up a gold mining venture in that country? And Chavez is small fry compared to the mess that Chuckie (who is now passing time in exile in a villa in Nigeria) wrought in Liberia: a civil war that killed 12% of the total population, half of Liberia's women raped by various rebel forces and his henchmen..."

Jewels in the Jungle: My Comments to Booker Rising Post Aug. 24, 2005

“I almost choked on my beer and pretzels over here in Germany last night after seeing this nutjob Pat Robertson make an ass of the whole country on CNNI and BBC news! Cain't we do better than this, America?? Fortunately Robertson is not that well known abroad but I think that may change after his outrageous remarks about Chavez. Whack the President of Venezuela?? Is he crazy? I didn't know about the links between Robertson and Charles Taylor down in Liberia. Thanks for the tip in your comment over at Dean's World. This guy Robertson should be "Dead Meat" in the Blogosphere as of today. Did anyone back home make an official apology to the people of Venezuela? Did the price of a barrel of oil increase further because of this guy?"

Global Wire: US Evangelist orders ‘fatwa’ for Hugo Chavez Aug. 24, 2005

“…Robertson is no stranger to controversy. Right after the September 11 tragedies, Robertson along with fellow evangelist Jerry Falwell agreed that the attacks were caused by "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the ACLU and the People for the American Way…"

Global Wire: Excerpt from comment at Booker Rising Aug. 24, 2005

“Robertson repeatedly supported Taylor in various episodes of his 700 Club program during the United States' involvement in the Liberian Civil War in June and July 2003. Robertson accuses the U.S. State Department of giving President Bush bad advice in supporting Taylor's ouster as president, and of trying "as hard as they can to destabilize Liberia." Robertson has been criticized for failing to mention in his broadcasts his $8 million investment in a Liberian gold mine. Taylor had been at the time of Robertson's support indicted by the United Nations for war crimes. According to Robertson, the Liberian gold mine Freedom Gold, was intended to help pay for humanitarian and evangelical efforts in Liberia, when in fact the company was allowed to fail leaving many debts both in Liberia and in the international mining service sector. Regarding this controversy, Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy said, "I would say that Pat Robertson is way out on his own, in a leaking life raft, on this one."

Update August 25th:
I should point out that Pat Robertson did make an apology for his "inappropriate comments" regarding President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and I cleaned up my own inappropriate comment yesterday about Mr. Robertson's money trail to Liberia (as we have no definitive proof, yet). In addition I am adding to this post an interesting report on Prez Chavez by CBN News senior reporter Dale Hurd. Below is an excerpt from the CBN report "Hugo Chavez vs. America".

CARACAS, Venezuela - His name is Hugo Chavez. He is the president of oil-rich Venezuela. Mr. Chavez has decided that America is his enemy, so he is building up his army. He has forged an alliance with Fidel Castro, and many think he is going to make trouble for the United States.
Chavez believes he is in a fight with the devil. But the devil that Chavez fights does not reside in Hell. Chavez believes that the devil resides in Washington... (read more)

Here is Dale Hurd's take on the world's reaction to Pat Robertson's comments about Chavez : "Reaction to Robertson's Comments on Chavez".

Obviously, Dale hasn't been cruisin' the Blogosphere lately. That oughta do it for today. I'm outa here.

Religion & Politics

Pope Benedict XVI Prepares for Visit to Germany

Pope Benedict XVI is busy preparing for his second trip outside Vatican City when he travels on August 18, 2005 to Cologne, Germany for World Youth Day. I haven’t seen much German TV news coverage of this important event in the past few days so I thought I would look into what’s going on. This excerpt from Germany’s news magazine Der Spiegel International - English Summaries for August 15, 2005 “Coming Home to the Unbelievers” helps explain what Pope Benedict will be facing on his return to the land of his birth, Deutschland:

SPIEGEL cover story: When Pope Benedict XVI lands in Cologne to attend World Youth Day, he will be setting foot in a country to which he has become a stranger. The churches are empty, politicians have no religious beliefs, and people in the east have no God at all. Now the biggest religious festival of the post-war era is meant to serve as a starting point for a new religious consciousness. With World Youth Day, the Roman Catholic Church wants to capture the attention of a youth that has grown up with little moral direction. The Pope is sure to evoke cheers from the young visitors - most of them Spanish, Italian and French - on Cologne's Rheinwiesen and in Marienfeld. Perhaps he will even succeed in finding a language of gestures and symbols without copying his predecessor. But what happens once the event is over?

In my opinion, the Pope will be traveling to (somewhat) hostile territory albeit the Germans will certainly put on a good show for such a high profile visit of a local boy who’s made good. Of course there is a lot of support for the new Pope around Koeln (Cologne) as it is at the heart of Catholic Deutschland and home to the fabulous Gothic cathedral the Koelner Dom. I happen to live up North in Luther’s Territory where Catholics (still) fear to tread. Of course I try to get along with people of all religious faiths. It is the way I was taught back home and I strongly believe in the principles of religious tolerance and respect. Everywhere.

Here are some additional views from the international press and a blogger on the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Germany:

Der Spiegel International (English Edition) – Opinion- July 29, 2005:
A Cold Wind from Rome

Catholic News Service August 11, 2005:
Pope’s visit to Germany will return young papacy to world stage

USA Today for August 10, 2005:
Religion Takes a Back Seat in Western Europe

Google News Search:
Pope Benedict XVI to Visit Germany

UCLA Law School - Professor Stephen Bainbridge’s blog:
Exclusive (anonymous) Photos of Pope Benedict XVI preparing his secret formula to win back the Lost Lambs of Deutschland.

O.K. I thought I would add a little humor to the end of the story for my German readers. Professor Bainbridge is certainly going to Hell for this one Boy. You Infidel!!

Last-Minute Papal Update!
Here is a blog post (auf Deutsch, German) about a Radio Vatican interview with Pope Benedict XVI speaking about his upcoming visit to World Youth Day in Cologne. A big "Hat Tip" to fellow blogger Matthias Heil for his cool posting with mp3 file download on The Pope. Matthias is a high school teacher of English and Religion at the Winfried Schule in Fulda, Germany.

Does this mean that The Vatican is moving into Podcasting soon? Maybe this Pope ain't so backwards as the (German) press has been trying to portray him. He's just different, that's all.

Pope Benedict XVI
Religion

Space Shuttle Discovery Returns Home Safely

The NASA Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery has landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert at 14:12 CET today. A big sigh of relief went up from people all around the globe to hear and see Commander Eileen Collins and NASA JSC Mission Control guide that sweet baby through the dangerous period of re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere and make the final maneuvers for landing and touchdown.

Live TV video was only possible with infrared cameras due to the fact that it was the pre-dawn hour on America’s West Coast yet it was pretty cool to see this little white dot in the night sky over the Pacific finally take the distinctive outline and shape of the Shuttle Discovery as she glided in for a perfect landing. Commander Collins was at the wheel (the control stick) of course and this was only her second landing of a Space Orbiter. Eileen was a perfect pilot at the controls of this complex, hard-to-fly spacecraft and women and girls all around the world can be proud of her, showing the men and boys how it’s done right. Frauen Power!

As I have pointed out in an earlier posting NASA’s Discovery Return to Flight website has just about everything space fans and ordinary folks alike could ever wish for regarding this special mission, the Discovery and her excellent crew. Don’t forget to checkout NASA’s main website for upcoming thrill-a-minute space adventures to the Moon and to Mars. This is where the future is, kids. Space.

For all of you new media producers and bloggers out there experimenting with Podcasts, NASA’s STS-114 Mission Specialist Steve Robinson produced the very first Podcast from Space ever on this flight! That’s right, a podcast was created aboard the Shuttle Discovery and made available for download via the Internet. You know what this means, don’t you?? Bloggers in Space is the next logical step. Hey, I’m ready. Maybe I should go and revise my resume yet again for the folks over at NASA. I still wanna be a Spaceman so bad and I’m not getting any younger, Houston!!

NASA space shuttle

Sudan: Vice-President John Garang killed in helicopter crash

Dr. John Garang, newly appointed Vice-President of Sudan, has been killed in a helicopter crash near the Sudan-Uganda border on Sunday. According to various media reports the crash occurred while Garang was returning to his home base city New Site in southern Sudan travelling aboard a presidential M-71 helicopter after a meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at his ranch in Rwakitura, southern Uganda. It was reported that as many as 17 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage, six of which were part of John Garang’s party. The SPLM/A leadership, now headed by Garang’s deputy Salva Kiir Mayardit, is urging all Sudanese people to remain calm and stressing that the crash was an accident due to bad weather over the mountainous region of the southern Sudan and northern Ugandan borders. The SPLM has requested from the Ugandan government details from the helicopter crash investigation and information from the helicopter’s flight recorder. Rioters and Sudanese security forces are clashing today in Sudan’s capital Khartoum and in some cities in southern Sudan according to several media reports. There are approximately 4 million Sudanese refugees living in and around Khartoum who were forced away from their land and homes during the 21-year civil war.

The charismatic tough leader of the SPLM was a hero to millions of southern Sudanese people for his relentless fight for justice against the brutal military regimes ruling the country for more than two decades from Khartoum. Born 1945 in the remote Bor district of southern Sudan, Garang was one of the few southern Sudanese young people to receive a secondary school education (in Tanzania) and he went on to study agriculture and economics at Grinnell College and the University of Iowa in the U.S.A. In 1970 Garang turned down a graduate fellowship at University of California - Berkeley to take up arms against the Khartoum regime. The Sudan Mirror published an editorial on Dr. John Garang before his death titled “Sudan’s Garang: From rebel leader to statesman”. Tributes and condolences are pouring in from ordinary citizens and political leaders from around the globe for the late Dr. John Garang.

I am personally very saddened about the news of John Garang’s death and concerned about the absence of any independent investigation into the crash by accredited international aviation accident experts. To make matters worse it wasn’t 2 weeks ago that I was discussing the taking of office by John Garang in Khartoum with a friend of mine here. My friend, a devout Muslim from Senegal, and I rarely agree on global politics and issues and we have especially heated debates (near fistfights) about issues in Africa and the Middle East but on one opinion we were in complete harmony: If John Garang remains in Khartoum the Bashir regime there would kill him. Now he is dead, by an accident, they say.

A very good independent news site to visit in order to keep track of developments surrounding the death of Dr. John Garang and the very fragile peace and power-sharing processes in the Sudan is the Sudan Tribune. Two popular news aggregator blogs on Sudan are Sudan Watch by Ingrid Jones in the U.K. and Sudan: The Passion of the Present based out of the U.S.A. I’m afraid that I could not find good profile info on the SPLM/A’s Salva Kiir Mayardit but I’m certain the folks over at Human Rights Watch (allegedly) know all about this guy. Here is a list of people HRW keeps track of in southern Sudan according to their 581-page 2003 report: Sudan, Oil, and Human Rights. The SPLMToday website has a good backgrounder on the evolution and union between the two main southern Sudan political parties, the SPLM and the SPLA.

UPDATE August 02:

The International Crisis Group has issued a statement of condolence to the people of Sudan and I thought that I would share it with my readers here today. The Brussels-based organization is well known for their excellent reports and briefs on Conflict Analysis and Resolution. I would recommend their special section Crisis in Darfur and all of their reports and briefs on Sudan, including the June 2005 Africa Brief No.26 - ICG/Zogby International Opinion Survey: Do Americans Care About Darfur? I would like to see a report from some credible organization about where the rest of the World's citizens stand nation-by-nation on Darfur but I wouldn't hold my breadth waiting on it. Here is the press statement from the ICG regarding the tragic death of SPLM leader Dr. John Garang:

Brussels, 1 August 2005:
The International Crisis Group offers its condolences to the people of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) following the tragic death of First Vice-President and SPLM Chairman Dr John Garang.

Dr Garang has left a legacy of peace, and we hope that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which he negotiated and signed can still take root in Sudan. The SPLM and the Government of Sudan must continue their efforts to implement the agreement in order to fulfil his vision for peace and end the cycle of violent conflict.

The rioting and looting that have followed the announcement of Dr Garang's death threaten to further destabilise the situation if not brought under control. Calm and tolerance must now be promoted by all sides to help salvage this dangerous moment. The international community must continue to strongly support the peace agreement and help the SPLM at this critical time for it.

It is through the continued implementation of the peace agreement and a lasting end to hostility in Sudan that Dr Garang's legacy can best be remembered and honoured.

ENDE

Sudan Africa

NASA Space Shuttle Discovery: Return to Flight

The NASA Space Shuttle Discovery rocketed off launchpad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center today to jubilant cheers (and big sighs of relief) from "Space Fans" around the world. At the wheel of Mission STS 114 is Pilot James Kelly and Mission Commander Eileen Collins who will be heading up a team of 5 Mission Specialists. Eileen was the first woman to pilot a Shuttle Orbiter spacecraft on the joint U.S.A. / Russia Shuttle-to-MIR Program of the 1990's and later became the first woman to command a Space Shuttle mission. Eileen has been to Space 3 times and I have not been to Space even once yet! I cannot understand why NASA keeps turning down my applications to become an astronaut with all of my excellent qualifications on various flying machines dating back years!? Go figure that out.

It was exhilirating to finally watch this magnificent spacecraft take off without a hitch and reach the heavens in under 10 minutes with over a 100 cameras and 2 chase planes tracking every second until Discovery was safely out of sight. The live video footage of cameras attached to the outside of Discovery provided breathtaking views of the ship from liftoff until she entered Space with a great parting view of the Big Blue Marble (Earth) in the background.

For the best and most comprehensive coverage of this historical launch I would recommend NASA's very own website Return to Flight. Everything but everything a Space-O-Phile (Space Buff) could ever want and dream of is in there thanks to the web-savvy folks over at NASA.

CNN has good coverage of the launch today as well "Shuttle Returns to Flight" with links to information about the mission and cool science and technology stuff from NASA. And get this, CNN Space Correspondent Miles O'Brian was blogging LIVE from the launchpad today! That's right, Miles has a blog (this could be the beginning of the end for the Blogosphere, you talk about low... ). Maybe next time somebody can convince Miles O'Brian to videoblog LIVE from right underneath the Space Shuttle during liftoff. O.K., maybe that's a bit harsh. How about if Miles stands near enough to the engine exhausts to just singe his bushy eyebrows and quit? Can't CNN do better than this guy? What about Femi Oke, she would be a great Space Correspondent. Oder?

So NASA and the Shuttle Orbiter Program is Back in Business Bigtime today. I hope that kids all over the world, and especially you youngsters in developing nations, are dreaming of becoming an astronaut someday and piloting a cool spaceship like Discovery to the stars very soon. Everything is possible if you reach for the stars. Guaranteed!

In honor to the STS-107crew of the Space Shutlle Columbia.

NASA
space shuttle

Introducing El Jorgito! (aka George)

I just wanted to let my readers know that I am still here and apologize for not posting over the past several days. In addition to getting some non-blog related stuff done I have been exploring, reading, listening, and marvelling at the work other blog authors and web publishers are doing out there. Wahnsinn! (Deutsch for WOW!)

After I get all of my little duckies (new posts on Africa) lined up in a row I should be back up-and-running later this week. In the meantime please visit some of the great new sites listed in my Blogroll 'cause that's where much of the real action is at the moment.

My Hat Tip for the Day would be to start with George Conrad of the On Safari with El Jorgito blog and be sure to checkout his work with the Grameen Foundation's Village Phone project down in Rwanda. Here is another posting over at the WorldChanging blog about this successful use of mobile telecommunications combined with a well organized and tested microfinance program to help alleviate absolute poverty in developing communities around the world.

And don't miss George's photostream over at Flickr. George is the Man down in Rwanda! Got questions about having this great program for your own community back home? Ask George!

London suffers a major terrorist attack!: Updates July 8th

Our hearts and prayers go out from all over the world to the people of London on this day of tragedy and fear. Stand tall and stick together over there in the U.K., all races and nationalities and religions. You have been here before and you have survived by working and sticking together. Don't let terror win in the U.K. or anywhere else on the planet. Don't allow the attackers to divide your great nation. Work together to help bring an end to these attacks on innocent civilians.

BBC News: London rocked by terror attacks
CNN News: London rocked by bombs
Google News: London terrorist attacks
Google News: G8 Summit news updates
G8 Gleneagles 2005 official website
G8 & African leaders July 8th live press statement from Gleneagles

Updates July 8th:
After watching the news yesterday and today about the terrorist attacks on the people of London I saw that the various TV news networks were showing the same video footage over and over and over (pooled video images). I read today at eWeek an article by Libe Goad describing how digital photography fans are using the online photo-sharing service Flickr to pool their images of the aftermath of the London bombings and the worldwide outpouring of human emotion. You can read the article "Flickr Pics Capture London Terror" here and view the more than 630 photographs from the Flickr 7/7 Community Pool here. I'm one of the very fortunate people that has friends in London who have been able to escape death and injury in yesterday's attacks. I am very thankfull that some at least were able to notify me ASAP that they were O.K., excluding their shock and grief.

In addition to the eWeek article update I have also added new links to the official G8 Summit 2005 Gleneagles website and a link to today's (streaming video) press conference by U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and AU President Olusegun Obasanjo (President of Nigeria). It would seem from P.M. Blair's and President Obasanjo's statements today re: the G8 Summit 2005 Communique that we (who have been raising lot's of heck) have at least some of what we have asked for and demanded re: increased financial assistance and debt relief for Africa. Now it is everybody's job who cares and can contribute something (other than hot air) to make sure that these guys stick to their promises and that we do our part together with the people of Africa to make it work over the next few decades. I know that this isn't the best English grammar I could use to express myself, but I think that you my readers get the idea. Right?

I also found some very good information that may help explain in generally understandable language the complex issues of aid and development and economic justice for Africa. I'm gonna read it over the next few days, attempt to understand it myself, then post about it ASAP together with some other news and views about Africa that's been on my mind.

Lastly, I greet and thank all the new visitors to Jewels in the Jungle and a special Thanks for your great comments and kind encouragement.

Ciao for Now.

London Bombings 7/7/2005
G8 Summit 2005
Gleneagles

Live8 Concerts for Africa: The Big Day is Here

I was going to leave a long comment on a post re: Africans on Live8 over at the Global Voices blog when I realized that it would be better to simply say it here at Jewels in the Jungle. So here goes:

Well, the Big Day is here and the sheer numbers of people involved are without equal for any musical event in human history. This is only another giant step along the Long Walk to Justice for Africa as the Live8 concert organizers have so correctly labelled it.

We who believe in Africa and in ourselves have the floor today and the voices of the sceptics and naysayers shall be silenced by a joyful noise going up from all over the planet. It is the Voices of Humanity crying out that we want the people of Africa to be free from poverty and war and ruthless exploitation, and that we want her beautiful forests and savannahs and river deltas and precious biodiversity and ecosystems protected and preserved from the international, regional, and local criminals who would rob the whole world of Africa's precious gifts.

It is Mama Africa (and not Bob Geldorf or Tony Blair) who sheds the "crocodile tears" today and they are tears of joy as she smiles widely to see that so many of her children (origins of species) here on Earth, black & white & brown & all colors of the human rainbow from (almost) all nations care about her and are so willing and ready to help.

There are many lessons that can be learned from the events that take place today and in the next few days leading up to this most important G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. As is often the case throughout human history there will only be a comparitive few who really "get it" and will be able to build upon the opportunities in ways that make a real difference. Today you can see the millions and millions of supporters of the Live8 concerts and the Make Poverty History campaigners who so desperately seek real justice for Africa and a bright future for her people.

This is a great day for Africa and all who love her should be very thankful.

live8

Updates on the Live8 Concerts & More

Now that we are only 2 days away from the worldwide Live8 Concerts for Africa, the online global dialogues are really heating up both in the Blogosphere and in the mainstream media (MSM). Global Voices Online has a new posting about African and African-American (i.e. yours truly) bloggers writing about the concerts and debt relief and the upcoming G8 Summit. Checkout GV’s June 29th post “Roundup: Africans on Live8” for some very interesting insights.

The International Herald Tribune online has a June 30th feature article titled “As Live8 pushes G 8, who benefits” written by Alan Cowell of the New York Times. The article points out some of the same worries and concerns voiced by none other than certain bloggers featured in the Global Voices article. Go figure that one out. Me? I’m positive and delighted about the whole deal because I’ve seen how these types of events can help to bring about real change. Worked back in ’69, didn’t it? Did you see that Moscow is now on board? Here is the Wikipedia link to the Live8 events in case you haven’t bookmarked it yet and of course one should bookmark the official Live8 The Long Walk to Justice homepage too.

The Live8 Project blog over at Technorati is just pumping away and is a great introduction into how far global blogging has come. As of this writing there are more than 9500 posts (using Technorati tags) on the Live8 events and the G8 summit, which is about 1500 more posts than 2 days ago. People from all over the world have something to say (write) and I am proud to see so many German language blogs present there. I knew that the Germans would catch up with the rest of us here in the Blogosphere…eventually. Jo Deutschland!! You can also signup on the Live8 e-list that will be forwarded to the G8 leaders attending the Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland next week. Just in case they still don’t get it.

For all of you here in Europe who continue to complain that there has not been enough participation by African musicians and performers in the Live8 events, I would recommend that you run your little butts over to Cornwall for the weekend and checkout the Africa Calling – Live8 at the Eden Project concert. The lineup of performers at Eden is einfach Geil! (Deutsch = simply unfreakin'believable) and if there will be a DVD release of Live8 I would buy a copy just for this concert alone. Unlike the Live8 Berlin concert the folks over in Cornwall didn’t have any big problems with finding sponsors. Just what is the Eden in Africa Project? Thanks to Peter Gabriel and the folks over in Cornwall for putting such a great show together so fast. Of course, the music fans down in South Africa will not have any problems in being entertained by an all-star lineup of African musicians. Johannesburg kicks off the Africa Standing Tall Against Poverty campaign with Live8 Johannesburg. How’s that for Black Performer Power on Stage?!

And last but not least, CNN is featuring a week long special titled “Africa at Risk” that will tie in with their special coverage of the G8 Summit 2005 at Gleneagles. Unfortunately the CNN web team has again failed to publish timely information about the program other than a stupid banner ad, but the CNNI TV spots say that Christiane Amanpour will be reporting direct out of Ethiopia and that Sorious Samura’s riveting documentary Living with Refugees will be shown again next week as well. Fireworks on CNNI start Saturday morning CET July 2nd with the first screaming and crying guitars out of Tokyo (or Moscow)?

Ron McCullagh of Insight News TV (where Samura presently works) wrote a very good background article about the award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker and here is a link to an essay written by Sorious Samura titled “Who Stole Reality?”. The openDemocracy project site has two features (subscription required) written back in February 2004 about the Sierra Leone born Samura and here is a link to my April 11th posting on his documentary video about life for refugees fleeing the atrocities in Darfur and living in camps near the Sudan/Chad border. If you missed it the first time, then please don’t miss it again.

live8