High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news.
While the press is full of news about Boyance and Justin Bieber, one of the completely ignored stories has been how China is busy taking over Africa. Not politically, of course, but by investing in minerals, exporting their cheap goods to Africa and establishing stores there to sell things cheaply, and by investing in farm [...]
Violent Past includes charges for rape, THAMSANQA JANTJIE, the fake sign language interpreter who showed up at the Mandela Memorial and pretended to be dishing out sign language to an international audience watching via satellite, is a compelling if not completely bizarre, story. It turns out that JANTJIE is not just a schizophrenia sufferer, but [...]
A friend once told me about living through the California North Ridge earthquakes: they had nothing, were camping out on the streets. But one thing impressed her: They had access to a small supply of drinking water that they had stored in their back yard, because the state had impressed on residents the need to [...]
MariaElena at Fountain of Elias reminds us that Sept 24 is the (pre Vatican II) feast of Our Lady of Ransom. This feast was one of the church’s way of reminding folks of the many captured by various pirates and to raise money to ransom them. The origins of the Feast can be found in [...]
The Aliens are coming! The Aliens are coming! Or maybe not…. One of the amusement of studying ancient history is how all those sophisticated Yanks seem to think “primitive” people are stupid, so anything they don’t understand is attributed to “Aliens”. As Chesterton once quipped: Once people stop believing in religion, they start believing in [...]
I love when elites at green sites put guilt trips on ordinary folks. Yes, these types of articles are needed to educate citified yuppies who love organic food and green living but are blithely unaware that these practices were routine in the days of their grandparents and remain routine in poorer areas of the country [...]
The report on the Benghazi attack attracted attention today for two reason, the first being that failures were identified and no one in particular was singled out for responsibility, the second being that resignations began within hours of the public getting the news. Important parts of this investigation, and the changes that result, or do [...]
Part one discussed the way the Philippines went along with American pressure to pass a US style family planning program whose aim (denied by the president) is to limit population control. Reality check: every “discussion” of the bill by the Manila elites includes lamentations about the high population growth, and even a few politicians have [...]
Neocolonialism anyone? The Philippines passed an RH bill, a “Reproductive Health Bill” that requires medical personnel to push birth control on their patients, and all the US newspapers are rejoicing. The bill had the opposition of the powerful Catholic church, but in a country where the average number of kids per woman has fell from [...]
Ah yes. If you even tried to question the original spin of the Obama administration that the attack on the Benghazi mission was about an X rated porn film clumsily redubbed to seem as if was about the Prophet, you are an evil Republican trying to politicize national defense. That spin managed to silence Romney, [...]
The political hit job movie, 2016: Obama’s America is now out in DVD which means I got to see it. Film Summary: President Obama is trying to please his Marxist/anti-colonial father by remaking America to punish her sins, and that is why the US is going to hell. No, it’s not quite that bad, but [...]
The puzzle of the Libyan attack cover-up is why the White House tried to distract the mainstream media and rewrite the attack as a “spontaneous demonstrations”. We were told over and over again that this incident started as a protest against B porno flick that someone poorly overdubbed in Arabic and placed on youtube a [...]
There was a big story by National Geographic last week about illegal ivory being used by Philippino Catholics to make statues. They even named one of our more dubious priests as being involved in the practice. Corruption is not new in the Philippines, where winking at the law is a way of life and bribes [...]
The kerfuffle of China’s land grabs against it’s Asian neighbors is not the only story that the MSM in the US is ignoring. This is the photo being ignored in the US Press: (Pope Benedict XVI waves to the faithful from his Pope-mobile upon his arrival to conduct an open-air mass service at Beirut City [...]
This report from an Iranian blog on Global Voices, says they have such a chicken shortage the price of .chickens have soared. So someone decided to censor films and TV programs that show…chickens (!) Against a backdrop of lengthening food queues, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, the head of Iran’s law enforcement forces, has warned that films depicting [...]
The greens in the Philippines are fighting all GM food, which is good in some ways and bad in other ways. I mean, we are in the “organic rice” business, and use locally developed hybrids, so cheap, abundant “Genetically modified” rice imports from China are not in our best interest. But the search for new [...]
This year’s presidential campaign has been going on forever, and it still has five months to go. But silly season is here: The dog days of summer are still to come, but we already see the campaign going to the dogs. First, we had Romney putting his carsick dog on the top of the car, [...]
It’s open season on the LDS church, says the headline in this WAPO article. The piece foreshadows, I fear, of what is to come — effort to portray Mormons as weirdly out of step and unmodern, and by implication, Romney as being unfit for the presidency… But if you read the article, the writer isn’t [...]
Most Americans know about the “Asian Tiger” economies (and if PNoy keeps hitting at corruption, the Filipinos may join that group). But did you know that other areas of the world are similarly expanding their economies? A day or two ago, I ran into an article that those “undocumented” immigrants in the US are now [...]
I once lived under a dictatorship, so we rarely believed what the government run media told us. Because of the censorship of the media, rumors tended to spread wildly and so to find out what was going on, we relied on word of mouth from other missionaries, and every night we listened to the BBC’s [...]
The Kony campaign is a day late and a dollar short, as the saying goes…and a lot of folks in Africa are annoyed that these do-gooders just noticed the fight, which has been going on for quite awhile. Some Africans think they are cashing in on it (while libeling the good things going on in [...]
Yesterday, I published an essay about the Facebook fad “The Invisible Children”, a video about Joseph Kony and his murderous terrorist group, that has gone viral in the blogosphere. I ended the essay with the note that there is a time for war and a time of peace, and that the war to find and [...]
I noticed two of my grandchildren and a niece had shared the “Invisible children” film on my facebook site. This was a bit surprising, because one is a church going, volunteering teenager, the second is a sophisticated student in the UK, and the third one is a heavy metal music loving Goth. But all are [...]
Here in the Philippines, thanks to Wikileaks, we know that not only American money is behind our “Reproductive Health Bill”, but that the American State Department is pressuring our president to pass the bill. Heaven knows that the Philippines does need access to cheaper Birth control, but it’s not as if it’s not available: they [...]
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people…
The NYTimes has an article about problems with the Global fund to fight AIDS. It seems that they checked the books and found some of the money was stolen or diverted, and as a result, a lot of European donors are not giving any more money until the problem is cleared up. You want honesty [...]
As NATO formally ended its military campaign in Libya, Al Qaeda flag was proudly flying on Libyan roof tops. It was not flying just on ordinary roof tops – it was seen flying on the roof of Benghazi’s courthouse, the birthplace of the Libyan revolution and where the new rulers have imposed Sharia law since [...]
A lot of Republican bloggers in the US are rolling their eyes up in mockery at the report that President Obama plans to send in US troops to fight the so called “Lord’s Resistance army” in Uganda. A typical response is this, from the National Review Blog The Corner: This is even crazier than getting [...]
The New York Times had an interesting article about HIV and artificial birth control. There seems to be a statistical increase in the risk of getting HIV with the shot: The most popular contraceptive for women in eastern and southern Africa, a hormone shot given every three months, appears to double the risk the women [...]
Paranoia kills. And the internet, which allows anyone to post any conspiracy theory without having to include minor things like facts, is a growing problem for doctors, because our patients who google sometimes end up at conspiracy theory sites for their medical information. And this ignorance is one reason why Bachman is now no longer [...]
FreeMediaOnline.org San Francisco, CA, USA, July 24, 2011 — Leaders of the Ethiopian American community joined by free media advocates are planning a protest rally on Monday, July 25, in front of the Voice of America (VOA) building in Washington, DC amid charges of censorship of VOA news programs to Ethiopia by the Broadcasting Board [...]
A lot of Americans seem puzzled about why NATO is so eager to get rid of Khadafi in Libya. Yes, he was behind the TWA bombing, but why get rid of him now? But what the US press also misses is why Libyans are angry. To paraphrase James Carville: It’s the corruption, stupid. Khadafi has [...]
I am old enough to remember when women were exiled into specific specialties in medicine (quick: how many women Urologists do you know), and a similar problem was seen in college (few women in my advanced science classes) and in the newspaper (where women often were expected to write fluffy reports for the fashion and [...]
 The man was well until his wife baked him a “healthy recipe” from the NYTimes “Healthy recipe section: Fava bean and artichoke stew. He soon became pale and jaundiced, and it took awhile for the ER doc to figure out why the man was sick. He had an acute hemolytic crisis, where his red blood [...]
 By John Donovan of RoyalDutchShellPlc.com Today we provide a unique insight into the shadowy world of Shell Corporate Security, formerly known as “CAS” – Shell Corporate Affairs Security. Shell has had advance sight of everything you are about to read and therefore the opportunity to challenge authenticity of the featured CAS Intel Summary, correct [...]
There is an old comedy monologue by the late Alan Sherman where he explains why he got fat: As a boy, his mother reminded him that people were starving in Europe, so he needed to eat everything on his plate. So I would clean the plate, four, five, six times a day. Because somehow I [...]
I am aghast at a lot of the news coming out of US sites about what is going on in Libya. First, there are the “ain’t it awful” posts, lamenting that the side backed by the West hasn’t won yet, (in 7 whole days). Second, they find out that some of those revolting are Islamicists. [...]
While the US headlines were full of Charlie Sheen’s rants and news of labor union protests in Wisconsin, here in the Philippines, the headlines are about our stranded OFW (overseas foreign workers) in Libya. Every paper has photos of those who escaped arriving at the Manila airport, and the Philippine Inquirer notes that the government [...]
What is going on in Egypt may have little to do Islamic fundamentalism or democracy per se. It is probably the result of many factors, and many of us will probably compare the demonstrations to the uprising in Iran against the Shah. Egypt’s government is corrupt, and the US has been propping up that regime [...]
Despite the fact that the shooting in Arizona was caused by a mentally ill person, the spin was followed by a week of Sarah Palin bashing. With the State of the Union address, it’s calmed down a bit, but nevertheless Time Magazine decided it was important news to complain that Sarah Palin put the flag [...]
Peace on Earth, Goodwill to men…except in the headlines. You see headlines about NATO troops killed in Afghanistan. Yes, that nasty war is still going on. But the headlines don’t put it into perspective: the Taliban wants to stop education of girls, and any western type education for anyone. But the headlines don’t talk about [...]
A lot of fundamentalist Christians see radical environmentalism as a neo pagan religion, so when some bimbo invoked a Mayan goddess, it was sure to raise a few eyebrows. From the WashingtonPost: Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, invoked the ancient jaguar goddess Ixchel in her opening statement to [...]
A lot of nonsense being written about Afghanistan: Some see it as a hopeless war, but the dirty little secret is that Afghanistan is about protecting India and the Silk Road (the central Asian countries with their oil and gas resources) for India and China. But what to do about Afghanistan? It’s not true that [...]
Awhile back, I posted about the scare of tiny amounts of lead found in some lipsticks. That was scary enough. But an article in today’s Philippine Inquirer caught my eye, and this is potentially more serious: That some imported “skin whiteners” have been found to contain mercury, so our active “green” movement want these cremes [...]
The naive guys at the NYTimes Freakonomics blog have a short article on the cost of health care, especially medicines, in third world countries: A new study analyzed the effects of buying four basic prescription drugs in “low- and middle-income countries,†and the results aren’t pretty. “Buying brand name amoxicillin, for example, would push an [...]
A couple weeks ago, I ran across a strange story about Zimbabwe: a couple of known terrorists were caught crossing the border from Zimbabwe into South Africa at Beitbridge. 33 year-old Imran Muhammad…was arrested last Sunday while trying to get through Beitbridge border post to South Africa on what officials believe was a fake Kenyan [...]
Background: According to a report in the National Review, the ACOG (American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists) originally opposed the procedure the select ACOG panel “could identify no circumstances under which this procedure . . . would be the only option to save the life or preserve the health of the woman.†But Kagan wrote them a memo instructing [...]
Sister Mary Celine, an elderly nun who taught children for many years, was hit and killed walking on a Harlem sidewalk by a van driven by robbers fleeing from the police. I’m sure she is in heaven today, praying for their conversion. But there is more to the story than a sad ending. You see, [...]
If you follow the British news, you might have noticed an ongoing scandal about Scotland releasing the mastermind of the Lockerbie bombing (the bomb at Christmas time of 1988Â that destroyed Pan Am 103 and took the lives of 270 people). Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was released last August at Libya’s request because he was terminally [...]
A small headline in the news: Guinea pig touted as solution to Congo food crisis. …it’s not known how or when guinea pigs — native to South America — arrived in Congo, but CIAT (the Colombia-based agricultural research institute, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture) researchers discovered them last year being kept as “micro-livestock” in [...]
The story carries the headline: France: Catholic Church Rejects Ban on Full-Face Veils Except the “Catholic Church” did no such thing. The Bishop in charge of “interreligious dialogue” in France made a statement, but his opinion is not the opinion of the Catholic church. “If we want Christian minorities in Muslim majority countries to enjoy [...]
When I came to the Philippines, I ripped my CD collection into MP3′s and brought most of my collection here on mp3 CD’s or on my hard drive. I had a fairly nice collection of “elevator music” (to use my son’s description), mainly because I worked in rural areas where it was easier to listen [...]
What does one do with a country like Haiti, where years of occupation, corruption, and many different types of aid from outside hasn’t worked? Lots of “it’s your fault” type stuff all over the internet: a lot of it uses the left wing’s meme of “Blame America” (and the right shouts back “Blame France”). Not [...]
A headline about President Obama’s Speech on national security from the Philippine Inquirer notes: Obama speech won’t bump ‘Lost’ premiere–White House Well, after a kerfuffle about the President “bumping” Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special, it’s nice to see that President Obama has his priorities intact. (I should note that Pope John Paul II rescheduled his installation [...]
TedLipien.com, SAN FRANCISCO — One group of U.S. Government employees that has not received much media scrutiny in the aftermath of the failed terrorist attack are U.S. diplomats who had issued and failed to cancel Mr. Abdulmutallab’s U.S. visa. U.S. Consular Officers at the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Robin R. [...]
A Broken System To say that there was a breakdown in our transportaion security system, does a disservice to the word breakdown. Red flags and clear warnings not being used to thwart the recent attempted airliner bombing,  Shine a light on more than just a lack of screening equipment. The basic threat assessment process was [...]
Those who travel by air in the future might soon face full body pat downs to check for bombs in the bosom and crotch, thanks to Umar the Panty bomber. But the real problem is that “no using the rest room for the last two hours of flight”. Apparantly, Umar spent an hour in the [...]
Those Medieval painters were a bit less puritanical than we moderns: A common motif in paintings was the Madonna Les Latte: the Virgin Mother breastfeeding the baby Jesus. Back in those days, if a woman didn’t breast feed her baby, it died. Yes, upper class women often would find a “wet nurse” to provide nutrition, [...]
Just when you thought animal lovers couldn’t get more ridiculous comes this story, via NPR. Holy Baboon! A ‘Mystical’ Moment In Africa by Robert Krulwich. It tells the story of baboons who were romping down to a lake, and suddenly they all stopped and were quiet. After a few minutes, they started down again to [...]
I’m not really following the Copenhagen conference on global warming. My specialty was public health, and I see both the problems of chemicals and pollution destroying people’s health, but I have worked enough in third world countries to think that a little pollution might be worth it if it helps poor people live a bit [...]
Quick. Name the most dangerous terrorist organization in the US, organizations that are responsible for 47 of the53 most destructive terrorist attacks in the US. Muslims? No. Right wing Militias? No. The Christian fundamentalist types? No. It’s the Animal rights extremists. Via SecondhandsmokeBlog, quoting from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision U.S. v Christianson: [...]
One of the major causes of death in the world is malaria, but the World Health Organization estimates that 20 percent of the one million deaths from malaria are dying because the medicines that they are taking are substandard or outright counterfeits. If you include fake antibiotics and fake drugs used to treat tuberculosis, the [...]
You may or may not know that the largest film industry in the world is not Hollywood, but Bollywood: the film industry of India. But do you know which country has the second largest film industry in the world? Nollywood. The Nigerian film industry. According to Wikipedia the industry is a $250 million dollar industry [...]
When last Zimbabwe was in the news, people were dying of cholera, there was a huge inflation rate that made the local dollar worthless, and the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party, along with an MDC offshoot, had agreed to make a unity government with the President Mugabe. But although the verbal agreement was that [...]
 Millions of refugees live in temporary camps all over the world today, and few westerners know or care about their problems. Although most of these refugees will eventually return to the country of their origin, one question is what does one do with those who for political reasons cannot or are not allowed to go [...]
The father of the “green revolution”, Norman Borlaug, has died. Some of use are old enough to remember when famines in Asia were common, and when the “Population bomb” types were predicting mass starvation of millions of poor people. The famines didn’t happen, because Borlaug, and other agricultural scientists, developed high yield wheat and grains, [...]
The headlines are not helpful. This one is from CBS News: “Mutant Polio Virus Spreads in Nigeria 124 Children Afflicted This Year By Paralyzing Disease, Believed To Be Caused By Same Vaccine Used To Fight It And other new sources print the same story with even more frightening headlines… Reality check please. Let’s talk about [...]
The Anchoress today linked to a story in the National Catholic Reporter about a woman in North Korea who was executed for the “crime” of distributing Bibles. Well, the gulags and executions in North Korea are an under-covered story in the West, at least until National Geographic’s roving reporter got arrested for “spying” a couple [...]
White House Photos, Lawrence Jackson. The President discusses Iran during his opening remarks at the Press Conference at the White House, June 23, 2009. FreeMediaOnline.org,  Free Media Online Blog,  GovoritAmerika.us, Commentary by Ted Lipien, June 26, 2009, San Francisco – Ronald Reagan’s strong response to the imposition of martial law  against the independent Solidarity trade union in Poland in 1981 was distinctly different [...]
Self-styled pro-family advocate, Scott Lively, has made a career of drawing parallels from Nazi Germany to modern homosexuality. He has gone around the world with the message that homosexuals were responsible for Nazi totalitarianism. Throughout the next month or so, I will provide counter arguments to Lively’s thesis. In this article, however, I raise the [...]
The New York Times has an article on the obstacles to safe childbirth in Tanzania. I worked in two other African countries thirty years ago, and it doesn’t look like much has changed in these isolated and poor rural areas. … Only 20 percent of women in the area give birth at the hospital, and [...]
Lawyers representing the British-based oil firm Trafigura have taken their first steps toward suing BBC’s current affairs television program, BBC Newsnight, for “libelous statements” in their May 13 investigative report, Dirty tricks and toxic waste in Ivory Coast . The company’s law firm has yet to specify what statements in the report they consider libelous. [...]
In Africa alone, 800,000 children die of malaria each year. The death rate was actually once lower, but then economic problems, and the banning of DDT caused a rebound of disease carrying mosquitoes, and a resurgence in these diseases. But it’s not only malaria: Southeast Asia has had a rebound in Dengue fever in the [...]
Yeserday I reported that Human Rights Activist Jestina Mukoko and 17 others, mainly members of the opposition party, had been rearrested and denied bail for the “crime” of “treason”. This resulted in a huge international outcry. The original arrests occurred last December,when many were abducted by unknown abductors, and only after one month was it [...]
Human Rights Activist Jestina Mukoko and 18 others have had their bail revoked and were rearrested by the Zimbabwe government. Jestina Mukoko is a journalist and head of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, which has monitored the violence against civilians and intimidation of voters during previous political campaigns. Others who had their bail revoked include several [...]
The incumbent head of state of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika , has won the presidential election for the 3rd term on Thursday by securing an overwhelming 90.24% of the cast votes, according to the Interior Minister of the country.”Abdelaziz Bouteflika won 12,911,707 votes” or “90.24% of the votes cast,” said Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni during a press [...]
Adoption is about childless couples getting children, right? Wrong. Adoption is about a child without a family getting a stable, permenant family to care for him or her. It’s better for a rich person to adopt a child than to let them live in poverty, right? Not always. The “cure” for poverty is…money, not adoption. [...]
I got an email from a UK student who was doing research on why so few women were political bloggers. I have several blogs, but only two are political: my African blog on Zimbabwe, and my personal blog. Why do I have these blogs? Well, the first is my “activism” blog, a way to protest. [...]
Last week, the new Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, was injured and his beloved wife killed when his car was hit by a truck on a busy highway outside of Harare. At the time of the accident, news reports played down that this was an assassination attempt, pointing out that the truck was carrying [...]
Last week, when Retired General Vitalis Musungwa Gava Zvinavashe died, he was mourned by many on both sides of the political spectrum.Indeed, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai attended the funeral, even though he himself is in mourning after the tragic death of his wife. As the (government controlled) Herald pointed out, he joined the revolution against [...]
It was only last month that Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, as part of a coalition government with President Robert Mugabe, after two disputed elections and months of negotiations. The terrible news today is that the new Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been injured in a motor vehicle [...]
Too many people see cute monkeys of all sorts as wonderful pets. They tend to watch the trained chimps on TV and movies, and say: Oh, how wonderful. The dirty little secret is that too often these stage monkeys are pre pubertal teenagers. When the male chimps hit puberty, watch out. Testosterone is the hormone [...]
The esteemed British medical journal, the Lancet, has gotten a black eye in the news lately for articles that were poorly screened and were biased for political/personal reasons. The first one is the 1998 study linking MMR vaccine with Autism. This study has had devastating effects on three fronts: One, the terrible guilt by parents [...]
Jimmy Carter has done it again: pushing peace with a murderous government who has a history of killing their political opponents, and who has broken agreements in the past. Jimmy Carter also speaks of hope. In a statement Saturday, the members of The Elders founded by former President Nelson Mandela said they hoped the deal [...]
Only last week, David Brooks was praising President Obama, and actually cited the fact that he allowed Dr. Mark Dybul to stay as an example of Obama’s bilateral approach to government: Dybul is one of those heroes one meets too rarely in government. He worked as an AIDS doctor in San Francisco in the 1980s [...]
Months ago, we had hope for our friends in Zimbabwe. But every week, reports coming out are worse. The talks between the government of President Mugabe and the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai are “stalled”, and often reporters seem to think this means both sides are at fault. After all, essentially the government is not working [...]
The good news coming out of Africa today is that Rwanda has arrested General Laurent Nkuda, and is planning to turn him over to the DRCongo so that he can be prosecuted for war crimes. Human Rights Watch noted in January 2006: “An arrest warrant was issued against Nkunda for war crimes, crimes against humanity [...]
There are scattered reports that the dreaded Bubonic plague has killed 40 Al Qaeda members hiding in rural Algeria. The new epidemic began in the cave hideouts of AQLIM in Tizi Ouzou province, 150km east of the capital Algiers, the Sun reports… The group now fears the highly-infectious disease could have spread to other al-Qaeda [...]
A news article in the Christian Science Monitor describes an Anthropology class that teaches students to understand cultural change by making up fake cultures, and then going into the “big bad globalist conqueror versus poor natives who lose their wonderful culture” mode to teach them about globalization. The people of Mekka’ kneel in the dirt, [...]
Reporters in third world countries know reporting the wrong thing can be dangerous. Here in the Philippines, for example, our press knows that spilling the beans on a corrupt politician may result in being shot at by an unknown hitman on a motorcycle. But in Zimbabwe, things are more open: according to the Zimbabwe Times, [...]
People in Zimbabwe are now predicting that Mugabe will use the Cholera Crisis as an excuse to declare a national state of emergency so that he can “legally†impose brutal Military Rule under Martial Law in Zimbabwe.  This is something every ordinary citizen of Zimbabwe dreads.  (See“…Soldier’s Mutiny?†on December 9). This week, Daily Mail [...]
While the world is busy shipping in vital supplies including food and medicine to help the people of Zimbabwe, the UN reports that President Mugabe, who allowed the Harare area water system deteriorate because they “couldn’t afford” supplies, nevertheless managed to buy guns and other military weapons from China, smuggling them in from his friends [...]
The good news in Zimbabwe: The rains have at last started. It’s a bit late to save the first planting, but at least in the north, December rains will allow people to do a second planting to get a crop. The bad news? The rains will probably worsen the Cholera epidemic which has killed at [...]
Ah, the Minneapolis paper is telling us to reflect on Peace in Dafur this Christmas. on Tuesday, a U.S. task force on preventing genocide presented a report to the public on the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the U.N. convention against genocide. The task force, chaired by former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and [...]
The modern city of Harare has descended into hell as the four horsemen of the Apocalypse have descended into Zimbabwe. The traditional four horsemen are war, anarchy, famine and disease. War? Not a war so much as Mugabe using his henchmen to destroy his enemies. Harare has seen riots of soldiers in the capital, terror [...]
The bad news coming from Zimbabwe constantly getting worse. Now the problem is cholera. Cholera is one of the few diseases that can literally kill a healthy person in 24 hours. You start vomiting, get terrible diarrhea to the point that your bowels empty and you end up passing clearish fluid. You literally dehydrate to [...]
Do the recent street battles between Zimbabwe’s Soldiers and Police in Harare mean Mugabe is losing control? Are Zimbabwe’s soldiers staging a rolling mutiny? Most of the media coverage suggests this is what is happening. The Institute for War and Peace Reporting – an excellent source of information in troubled areas of the world – [...]
I’m an agnostic on global warming: I figure climate change may or may not exist, but that the theory is being used to explain away things when the real problem is pollution and misuse of resources. So we have a Health Secratary blaming recent typhoid, Dengue and malaria outbreaks on Global warming: The increasing number [...]
I will never claim to be the perfect mother, but one thing I will claim is that I loved my kids. I remember crying from guilt when I once slapped my son and it left a little red mark. He wasn’t hurt at all, in fact he laughed but I was so hurt because in [...]
At least 3,000 people have died of cholera in Zimbabwe during the past two weeks, reports Basildon Peta in “The Independent†today, November 26, quoting a senior official in Zimbabwe’s Health Ministry. This is more than ten times the number widely quoted until now. Meanwhile, Mugabe’s government have denied that they have any problems with [...]
Well, there is good news and there is bad news. The good news is that the WOZA women were finally granted bail and left out of a horrible jail after they dared to hold a peaceful demonstration a couple weeks ago. The rest of the news is bad news, alas, and what makes it worse [...]
Two women activists, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, remain jailed in a Bulawayo jail after a peaceful protest two weeks ago. The women, members of WOZA, were part of a group demonstrating to pressure the government about aid going to destitute farmers. LINK The KubatanaBlog describes the peaceful protest: On arrival at the Government Complex, [...]
Isn’t this rich? At a rally in Sarasota, FL, yesterday Barack Obama said:  The reason that we want to do this, change our tax code, is not because I have anything against the rich. I love rich people! I want all of you to be rich. Go for it. That’s the America dream, that’s the [...]
African Press International Michelle Obama Audio Tapes The [Almost] Final Chapter Fox News Denies Negotiations or Airing of API Tapes DBKP can now release some Off-the-Record Info from the last sixteen days concerning the API story The final verdict is in on the African Press International story about it receiving a phone call from Michelle [...]
Two women arrested during a peaceful protest by WOZA in Bulawayo on October 16 remain jailed. Their bail hearing, which was scheduled on October 24, was postponed. The reason? The judge was “forced to attend a workshop” and couldn’t be there. The substitute judge wasn’t around either, so as a result the two women, Jenni [...]
Another BNNÂ blogger has posted a smear job on Senator Obama’s mother that is beyond the pale. Such things are for the Huffpost or Andrew Sullivan, not those of use who are lowly observers of the world. Yet how many people actually know the real story of Senator Obama’s parents? Not the propaganda job at [...]
Nine year old Courtney Sparrow was attacked and severely mauled by lions at her parents’ safari ranch in Zimbabwe when a lioness grabbed her arm and pulled her out through a neighbour’s window. (Lions are allowed to roam the garden of the house to keep so-called “War Vets†away.) These so-called “Vets†(most of them [...]
The NYTimes has a story about Cindy McCain in today’s paper. Most of the report is gossip of old news, printed to gladden the hearts of envious gossipers everywhere with it’s nitpicking thoroughness. Yet even the “good deeds” of Cindy McCain’s life have been spun in a way that stresses the negative. I don’t know [...]
One does of course understand that no reporters are allowed into Zimbabwe, making actual reporting difficult. But that doesn’t excuse the AP from their admiring reporting on Mugabe. Analysis: Zimbabwe’s Mugabe confident on Cabinet Yup. Not stubbornly refusing to cooperate with the agreement: he is confident! It’s a waiting game, and no one is better [...]
In another brazen action by pirates off the coast of Somalia, pirates have taken a ship laden with tanks and other armaments destined for Kenya. The US, Russia, and other navies are taking action now to recapture the ship in lieu of a 20 million dollar ransom request. The pirated ship is currently in the [...]
Today’s NYTimes has an article discussing the new Zimbabwe agreement. Included in the article was one quote by an opposition supporter who had been stabbed, presumably by some of Mugabe’s goons, and mentioned that several people refused to be quoted out of fear. But it is almost as if an editor read the original report [...]
During the Rhodesian Bush war of the 1960s and 70s, any black person who did not support Mugabe’s terrorists was labelled a “selloutâ€, and then tortured, mutilated and often murdered by Mugabe’s so-called “freedom fighters†as an example to others. Now I fear that the “deal†due to be signed later today in Harare may [...]
Last week, it was revealed that after long negotiations a tentative settlement agreement was reached between the government of President Mugabe and the opposition leader and probably winner of last March election, the MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai. The deal was negotiated with the help of South African President Mbeki. Everyone is cautious about the deal (a [...]
The latest scourge to hit Zimbabwe is the deterioration of their water supply in the capital of Harare, resulting in an outbreak of diarrhea disease and cholera. Cholera is not unknown in Africa: when I worked in Zimbabwe, there was an outbreak from a contaminated well in one rural area, and when I worked in [...]
Two million people in Zimbabwe are facing a food crisis. Many children in rural areas are dropping out of school so that they can help their families gather food from the woodlands and carry water to the small garden plots. A lot of the problem is that despite Mugabe’s claims that he confiscated white farmland [...]
Whole families are now having to live off the land in Zimbabwe day after day, week after week, month after month. This is a terrible hardship. Children and nursing mothers will be worst affected by this harsh diet. Obert Gumpo wrote “Hungry Zimbabweans Forage to Survive†in the Institute for War and Peace Reporting from [...]
This sort of article annoys me greatly: From the UK Telegraph: Renewed fighting threatens Congo gorillas Heavy fighting between rebels and government soldiers is again threatening Congo’s already endangered population of mountain gorillas…”All of this fighting is taking place a stone’s throw from Congo’s gorilla sector and the rangers of the Congolese Wildlife Authority are [...]
MDC Members of Parliament jeered Mugabe as he delivered a speech marking the opening of parliament in Zimbabwe today (The Times, London). The MDC MPs ignored intimidation provided by a flypast of air force jets, and the 21-gun salute that accompanied Mugabe’s arrival in full presidential regalia. This brave and courageous demonstration follows a surprise [...]
Imagine that. After hundreds of news articles hyping the danger of the Measles vaccination causing autism, a lot of parents didn’t give their kids shots. Usually they got away with it, thanks to something called “herd immunity”, which means if most people are immune, there are fewer contacts to give it to your own kid. [...]
Last year, I took the opportunity to visit Russia for the first time.  It made a big impression on me and I wrote about the country and its people twice (Russian President Putin to visit USA and Russia plans massive Arctic oil grab) in June 2007. The impression I came away with was that Russians [...]
I salute Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC Opposition Party; they are holding out against tremendous pressure in their refusal to grant Mugabe’s Zanu-PF legitimacy by joining Zimbabwe’s Marxist, Zanu-PF Government in a so-called Government of National Unity. Mugabe and his friend, South Africa’s President Mbeki, want Tsvangirai to agree to serve as (a token) Prime [...]
Yes, Professor Mutambara is a brilliant computer scientist. And when he was young, he led a student uprising against ZANU-PF. But now it looks like the professor is doing a deal with the devil to get power in Zimbabwe, and the story is not a pretty one. A year ago, there was a lot of [...]
All weekend, speculation has been that Mugabe and Tsvangirai would reach agreement on Sunday and seal the signing by making a joint appearance at today’s (Monday) Heroes Day Ceremony in Harare. But journalists who had been waiting 16 hours for the expected breakthrough were disappointed when talks that had gone on all day Sunday were [...]
WOZA, the 60,000 strong “Women of Zimbabwe Arise†organisation, have been marching the streets of Zimbabwe calling for “Bread and Rosesâ€. “Bread†represents food, and “roses†represent lasting dignity. Most times, they are arrested and beaten for their presumption, but last week 300 man and women marched through the streets of Bulawayo without police interference. [...]
My friends in Zimbabwe inform me that the HIV epidemic has caused many people, even educated ones who claim to be Christians, to resort back to traditional methods of healing. Usually this means herbs or ceremonies, but there are bad apples in every profession, and some who go by the name of healer/witchdoctor (i.e. detector [...]
Today’s NYTimes has an article on the epidemic of HIV among African Americans in the US. I almost skipped it, figuring it was just another politicized “Ain’t it awful” article blaming the problem on racism and the lack of universal health care. However, it is a fairly good article about the world wide fight against [...]
After considering the possibility that “foreign leaders Barack Obama met with on his mid-campaign overseas trip were merely hedging their bets and don’t believe he will win the White House this fall†The Associated Press notes that many of them treated the candidate like a head of state:  Jordan’s King Abdullah flew back early from [...]
Might real change be a possibility in Zimbabwe following the current talks between Tsvangirai and Mugabe? Combined pressure from Zanu-PF’s two most powerful and loyal supporters, China and South Africa, is said to have been behind the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding that I wrote about last week. China has been propping up the [...]
What a difference a week makes. Last week the news about Zimbabwe was about superduper inflation, violence against MDC party members, and a UN resolution for sanctions was turned down by Russia and China. Talks were started between the Mugabe government and the MDC/Tsvangerai faction to discuss “sharing power”. This was felt by many to [...]
Advertising Age reports that “Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign will be among the TV sponsors of NBC Universal’s Olympics coverage†and “has taken a $5 million package of Olympics spots that includes network TV as well as cable ads.†The Associated Press notes that ‘[s]uch an extensive purchase of ad time would give Obama wide exposure [...]
Serving all around the globe, the men and women of our armed forces are working with the impoverished and needy peoples of the world in a variety of ways. An example that I received just today reports how military personnel from Australia, India, U.S., and other volunteer groups are currently rebuilding a school in Timor-Leste [...]
It seems likely that Morgan Tsvangirai, moral victor of Zimbabwe’s Presidential Elections, and “President†Mugabe will sign a “Memorandum of Understanding†early this week. This is designed to set a framework for talks aimed at reaching agreement for some form of Government of National Unity in Zimbabwe; to make peace between the two warring political [...]
 By RB Scott In April Thomas Sowell, a respected conservative scholar, wrote an insidious column undercutting Barack Obama and attacking preemptively the presumptive stupidity and gullibility of an American electorate that would elect him President simply to make a little history. (http://www.townhall.com/col umnists/ThomasSowell/2008/0 4/29/an_old_newness )  This would not be particularly noteworthy were Sowell [...]
Engineer/blogger Tony Allwright, wrote an editorial in the Irish Times suggesting that the West must intervene in Zimbabwe and throw out Mugabe. He’s quite logical about the whole thing, and points out In 2000, British prime minister Tony Blair deployed a crack task force to Sierra Leone, which in just six weeks defeated rebel forces [...]
The regime in Zimbabwe is evil and the ruthless criminals who rule there deserve to be punished for the crimes they have inflicted, and are inflicting, on the people of Zimbabwe. But neither Europe nor Britain has the moral right to criticise Mugabe and his Zimbabwean Zanu-PF for lack of due democratic process. On June [...]
A British Columbia couple, Eloise, 66, and John Bergen, 70, sold everything they owned in March and moved to Kenya where they are missionaries for Hope for the Nations. Eloise says she was taking a bath when suddenly 5 men were standing over her with machetes. They forced her to get out of the tub [...]
BBC July 2, 2008 ” Nelson Mandela  taken off US Terror List” It may not come as a shock for many readers that Nelson Mandela has been cleared from all allegations about his terrorism. The reason is easy to udnerstand. The media has portrayed him as a hero. It was George Bush who signed the [...]
Mugabe is no longer in charge of Zimbabwe, he’s a puppet.  When it became evident that he’d lost the March elections, he wanted to concede defeat (See “Mugabe Admits Defeatâ€, April 03.) He was ready to slither into the undergrowth to enjoy retirement on the vast riches he’d stolen from the people he claims to [...]
While the murderous dictator Mugabe was sworn in as President yesterday, his sinister message to the terrorised people of Zimbabwe was reinforced by Chinese-built jet fighters screaming overhead. On the ground, Mugabe’s death squads removed election posters and replaced them with new posters giving Mugabe’s latest message; “This is the final battle for total control!â€Â [...]
First it was Lead in toys. Then it was fake protein in Dogfood. Then came the case of the contaminated heparin: A much scarier and sophisticated scam since it wasn’t the result of cutting corners but required someone with knowledge of chemistry and American drug quality testing techniques to detect the cheaper fake ingredient. Well, [...]
While it comes as no surprise, it is saddening that Mugabe have pulled off what has to be the biggest and most blatant abuse of power in recent years. Alas parts of Africa are not well known for their democratic process, but even by African standards this one is outrageous. By mass intimidation he managed [...]
Former Fulton County (GA) magistrate judge William Garrett Jr., 72, his son Russell Garrett, 43, and his daughter-in-law, Malika Garrett, 42, were arraigned in federal court on a nine-count indictment that included human trafficking, alien harboring, witness tampering, and making false statements in what a federal prosecutor called a case of “modern-day slavery,†reports the [...]
With his supporters beaten, arrested and murdered, Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC leader) was forced on Sunday to withdraw from the so-called election “runoff†(Daily Mail). Mugabe’s Zanu-PF thugs have succeeded in terrorising the population of Zimbabwe and, according to resident Cathy Buckle, “a blanket of fear has descended†on the country. Mugabe’s Zanu-PF militia, military and [...]
One of the latest threats being made to Zimbabwe people who might be contemplating voting for anyone other than Mugabe in the forthcoming presidential election runoff is, “…we have bullets for each of you…â€Â In fact the electoral process in Zimbabwe descended into farce last week, when Mugabe declared that he would never allow Zimbabwe [...]
I see that western diplomats in Zimbabwe and mainstream media have finally woken up to the fact that Mugabe is nothing more than a figurehead. Catherine Philip of the Times in London reports online today that, “The campaign of terror sweeping Zimbabwe is being directly organised by a junta that took over the running of [...]
There’s a tired Zimbabwean joke that asks the question, “What did Zimbabweans use to light their homes before candles?â€Â The answer, of course, is electricity… This joke epitomises the sad decline in Zimbabwe’s living standards after more than 20 years of socialist rule. Now that Zimbabweans can’t even get candles, they go to bed at [...]
Robert Mugabe is now 88. He continues to be paranoid against everyone, and is banned from traveling to Europe, but no one was surprised when he went to the Rome conference on Food last week. You see, Mugabe is 88. His wife, however, is only 44. If Robert goes, so might his money. So while [...]
While Mugabe takes a holiday in Rome (Reuters), are Chinese officials and/or military personnel based in Zimbabwe coordinating the mass intimidation, beatings, torture and killing back home?  Directed from Zimbabwe’s Joint Operations Command (JOC), many of the most senior Zimbabwe military personnel have been moved temporarily into areas where Mugabe’s Zanu-PF was badly beaten during [...]
Interfaith dialogues and Opportunities for Muslims After 11 Sept, Islam has become a global brand name. All of a sudden the world is focused on Islam and Muslims. Many Muslims are very skeptic about this attention, some are even uncomfortable when fired by questions at work place and at airports etc. but for a Muslim [...]
“Necklacing†is the primitive and barbaric method of punishment killing used by Nelson Mandela’s political party – the ANC – against “sellouts†in South Africa during the 1980s and 1990s. Anyone who did not support the ANC during their “struggle†against Apartheid back then was “sentenced†by “people’s courts†(lynch mobs) to die by necklacing [...]
The poverty caused by Mugabe in Zimbabwe is pushing people further south into South Africa where they are being attacked, at least 22 have died in the vigilante raids. What is surprising is that these attacks have been called xenophobic in nature. This in a country that only recently emerged from apartheid. Are these refugees [...]
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai learned of a plot by Mugabe’s forces to kill him if he returns to Zimbabwe to campaign for the presidential election runoff now scheduled for June 27. Tsvangirai, who won the original presidential election held on March 29, had been scheduled to return to Zimbabwe on Saturday, May 17 in time [...]
The conditions in Zimbabwe continue to deteriorate, with Mugabe postponing the run off election until June 27. In the meanwhile, violence against opposition leaders continues, with numerous reports of attacks against the opposition and against civilians. An especially bad attack was on Sunday, when thugs invaded and beat those attending services at an Anglican church [...]
With the “gay marriage” decision essentially saying that marriage is whatever you say you want it to be, the next step will be polygamy. A lot of fantasy goes along with the idea of polygamy, usually tinged with the teenage fantasies of men who write about it. The sexual revolution has distorted society to see [...]
Right now, apart from the US Democrat Nomination “raceâ€, Western world media attention is focussed on the Burma Crisis. Burma (aka Myanmar) is suffering a combination of natural and man made disasters.  And the West is getting hot under the collar about it because the Burmese Military Junta wants to be seen to be the [...]
Last week, there was a lot of publicity about a shipment of arms from China destined to be delivered to Zimbabwe being stopped when local trade unionists refused to offload the shipment in Durban. Mozambique also refused to offload the shipment, and China, after a lot of international pressure, seemed to agree that the arms [...]
Make the people keep voting until they vote the “correct†way and until Mugabe is declared “President†again. Except that Mugabe can never even claim to be the legitimate President of Zimbabwe. From now on even his African neighbours will look askance at this ancient leader of terrorists with a mixture of condescension, amusement, pity [...]
That heparin contamination that killed a few dozen folks might have been a deliberate act, not an accident…well, duh… I noted that two weeks ago… And this is on the heels of the fake protein in cat/dog food, and the lead in the kids’s toys. But in Africa and Asia, things are worse. The tainted [...]
I love conspiracy theories. The stories often have a smidgen of truth in them, but are amplified until they become larger. So we are now reading lots of news stories about the genitalia stealing witches in Africa and that mobs are going around killing the witches in Africa. Actually, the problem, called Koro, is a [...]
Rice prices have skyrocketed from 18-25 pesos/kg to 24-32 p/kg at the local Palenke. For farmers and workers who average 100 pesos a day (roughly two dollars), this puts a strain on their budget. So to prevent rice riots, the President is planning to allow poor people to buy subsidized food, and because of the [...]
Twenty-four babies, and forty children under the age of six, were among some 250 people rounded up on Friday, and crammed into “filthy cells†at a small prison in one of Harare’s southern suburbs. (Christina Lamb and John Makura, Sunday Times.) Their parents were accused by police of “voting incorrectly†during the elections. Meanwhile in [...]
The Wall Street Journal has an editorial essentially saying that if guns were available to Zimbabwe’s opposition, there would be less of a problem for the people to worry about government persecution and intimidation. Reality check, please. The majority of people in Zimbabwe belong to the Mashona tribe. Traditionally, the Mashona are passive and friendly. [...]
Recent headlines have focussed on the “cargo of death†shipped from China to Zimbabwe last week, but in an even more sinister development, Chinese troops have been seen on the streets of a Zimbabwe town… (Daily Mail) Chinese and North Korean troops were also in evidence alongside Mugabe’s own troops when he attended a rally [...]
It’s true! Would hysterical conservatives lie to you about a Godless Muslim Koran-fondling wild man like Scary Barry? A man who doesn’t always wear a flag pin on his lapel? That was mighty careless of him. You’d think the Anti-Christ would be a little more devious than that. Since Christ was clearly a white American, [...]
A wave of fear is sweeping across Zimbabwe as terror reigns, not only in towns and cities but also in rural areas, where people are beaten and otherwise punished for having supported the opposition. Cathy Buckle this week quotes one victim from a small country town telling her, “…it is terrible, there are injured people [...]
The bad news in today’s papers is that South Africa’s President Mbeki stopped in Harare (Zimbabwe), instead of going to the emergency meeting of the South African Development community in Zambia. Zambia’s president, Levi Mwanawasa, had called the meeting to discuss the increasingly volitile situation in Zimbabwe after the Zimbabwean government keeps pretending they can’t [...]
The announcement that Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe will not attend an emergency meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in nearby Lusaka is bad news for all involved. After years of destroying the economy and winning elections by a combination of bribes and threats (rural voters knew voting against Mugabe would mean they would [...]
“…We stand exhausted and betrayed at this critical moment in Zimbabwe’s crisis…†Cathy Buckle wrote from Zimbabwe on Sunday. The fact that the results of the presidential elections – due a week ago – have still not been announced makes it a dead cert that Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party lost them. Zanu-PF is demanding [...]
Assalamualaikum, Islamic Greetings of Peace Peace Tv is a household name not only in Pakistan but also entire Muslim world.because it has presented a convincing picture of Islam through wise talks, debates and dialogues. Infact Ijaz ul Haq, son of late Zia ul Haq, a minister in Musharaf’s government is a big fan of Dr. [...]
According to Zimbabwe’s Business Day, Robert Mugabe has (privately) conceded defeat in the Presidential Elections to his family and to his closest advisors, including the military and police chiefs. “Mugabe has conceded to his closest advisers — the army, police and intelligence chiefs. He has also told his family and personal advisers that he has [...]
The Zimbabwe elections are in chaos (Reuters). While the country waits in tension, Robert Mugabe has not been seen in public since casting his vote on March 29, and opposition candidate for President, Morgan Tsvangirai is claiming victory (BBC)… Suspicions remain that the long delayed results of the elections are being caused by manipulation of [...]
What is happening in Zimbabwe is a major election loss for Robert Mugabe, who is now scrambling to rig the vote counting. In previous elections, Mugabe usually sailed easily into power by his large rural majority. This time, the majority is not there in many rural areas, either because voters stayed home or because the [...]
Many pundits have commented on how presidential aspirant Barack Obama (D-IL) treated his grandmother – the white one who raised him after his black father abandoned her daughter and their young son, and who was repaid by getting called out as a racist before a national TV audience and again in an interview with Angelo [...]
Mugabe says that both Blair and Brown are “blooming fools†and “devilish liarsâ€â€¦ (Reuters, Africa). Anticipating opposition protests when he declares himself winner of the presidential elections on March 29, Mugabe told supporters in the context of the riots that took place in Kenya that, “If Tsvangirai and his (MDC) group have such plans, they [...]
The UK Times reports widespread opposition to the reelection of dictator Robert Mugabe. However, they report a systematic plan to disenfranchise voters: Among the concerns cited are boundary changes, irregularities in registration, political intimidation and violence, lack of access to state-controlled media and partisan security officials. Just in case this doesn’t keep someone from voting, [...]
Consider this abbreviated list of unseemly associations, and decide if you would vote for this person. The stories are all true, and they have been verified. For now, we will call the person “Candidate X.” But further in this article the person will be exposed, by name. One long term friend of Candidate X was [...]
Set in a little gem of a country in Africa called Botswana is a series of light hearted novels by Alexander McCall-Smith, titled “The No 1 Ladies Detective Agencyâ€. I refer to Botswana as ‘little’ because, although it is geographically roughly the same size as Texas, it has a total population of only 1.8 million [...]
This article is a second release of this musing. It was published last June, but should have another revisit by Catholic readers. In light of the recently listed “sins” that include those against the environment. HJMN There are always ways that the Catholic Church can join in the environmental movement in small but yet effective [...]
While Simon Mann was still incarcerated in Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea’s President Obiang is said to have boasted that if he ever got his hands on him he would personally sodomise the mercenary, and then have him skinned alive. Zimbabwe delivered Mann to Equatorial Guinea’s infamous Black Beach jail in January and now Mann has given [...]
After The Last Dispatch, fans of the popular independent jam band thought they’d have to go the rest of their lives without seeing the band play live again. In July of last year anyone who made it to Madison Square Garden in New York got to see the band alive and well, and playing for a [...]
Mugabe said “let there be light†and there WAS light, in Zimbabwe… until Mugabe had finished his election broadcast. Then, “Ten minutes after the end of the live Zanu-PF election campaign launch, the electricity went off and everything shuddered to a halt again,†Cathy Buckle writes in her weekly newsletter from Zimbabwe. China and Israel [...]
So who was the mysterious oppo researcher who gave Matt Drudge that photo of Barack Obama dressed in a turban and Somali garb on a trip to Africa in 2006? And why does his campaign consider it a “smear photo?†For that matter, why did John McCain apologize after one of his surrogates kept referring [...]
Eat your heart out, Indiana Jones – and all those others who have been searching for the Ark of the Covenant for the last 2,700 years. It’s been found in a small museum in Harare, Zimbabwe. “I felt a shiver down my spine… a strange sanctity seemed to shine from it…† The hero who [...]
The internet sabotage rumors have been invigorated when a UN official told the AFP: “We do not want to preempt the results of ongoing investigations, but we do not rule out that a deliberate act of sabotage caused the damage to the undersea cables over two weeks ago,” the UN agency’s head of development, Sami [...]
According to Zimbabwe Today, a memo leaked from Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation puts “all national and provincial security operatives…†on “condition red.”:  ”Be advised to temporarily suspend all minor operations in your provinces for RDWK ahead.”   (I just love the acronym RDWK, which apparently means “real dirty workâ€â€¦) It also instructs all operatives to: “…Employ [...]
There are an estimated 750,000 Chinese settlers in Africa, and one Chinese expert has suggested that China will need to send 300 million people to Africa (UK’s Sunday Times, China’s New Frontier). Very few of the 750,000 Chinese already in Africa speak English or any African language.  In June, and again in November, 2007, [...]
Two weeks ago, I wrote that a former finance minister in Mugabe’s government was rumoured to be planning to stand against Mugabe in the elections scheduled for March 29. Now it is out in the open, and it seems that Simba Makoni really is going to challenge Mugabe. How he will do this is still [...]
FLAG telecom, the internet company who owns the cables off the coast of Egypt that were cut last week, is busy repairing them with two ships at the site. The cause of one of the cut cables has been found, and is reported by CNN to have been an abandoned six ton ship’s anchor. An [...]
Call the FBI….Call Homeland security… Call the X Files….call ArtBell… A fourth cable has been cut, this time off the coast of the UAE, disrupting communications in Qatar. Qatar Telecom (Qtel) said on Sunday a cable was damaged between the Qatari island of Haloul and the UAE island of Das on Friday, the fourth reported [...]
In the dead of night last Thursday, British citizen and former SAS officer, Simon Mann was spirited away from a cell in Zimbabwe’s Chikurubi prison to face trial in Equatorial Guinea. Britain’s Daily Mail reports that according to sources inside the (West African) country, “President Teodoro Obiang Nguema had promised his henchmen that once Mann [...]
(London, UK) The Autism Awareness Campaign UK is urging the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt.Rev. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of York, Rt.Rev.Dr.John Sentamu, the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormack Murphy O’Connor and other senior church leaders to speak out on the suffering of some parents, carers and people with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome on Autism Sunday [...]
Autism Campaigners around the world are appealing for greater support on Autism Sunday 2008 – the International Day of Prayer for Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Churches of all denominations will be remembering over 60 million people worldwide who are on the autism spectrum, in prayer.Parents groups and charities have been calling for more support and [...]
Okay, class: Paste conspiracy theories here. A couple days ago, two underseas internet cables were cut off the coast of Egypt, crashing that country’s internet service and slowing internet traffic as far off as India. There was a storm off of Egypt, and experts were wondering if a storm, or a ship’s anchor, could have [...]
Lots of stuff in the news that might be terrorism. An attack near the Israeli Embassy in the Mauritania kills three people sitting in a nearby restaurant. Nope, it’s not that they were the gang that couldn’t shoot straight, it was that those in the restaurant wouldn’t shoot back and it gave them time to [...]
Years ago, before I went to Africa, I arranged to spend time at the Gallup Indian Hospital, doing high risk Obstetrics. Growing up in a large city with many immigrants, I was aware of cultural differences in treating patients, so I asked the local nurses for a book that would allow me to understand Navajo [...]
The day before Zimbabwe’s election date was announced last week, incumbent president Mugabe’s main opposition rival, Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC party was arrested by police in a dawn raid. (I wonder if some contenders for the US presidential nomination might sometimes wish they had similar powers?)  After months of speculation, Zimbabwe’s people have [...]
It is sad to watch Kenya descend into tribal war. Essentially it is about one man of one tribe stealing an election…which of course will allow him to distribute all the perks of the government jobs to those of his tribes, not the other tribes. If you know your US history, this is why Garfield [...]
My older adopted son tells the story of how people in his village climbed down a cliff to butcher and share the meat of a rich man’s horse who had fallen off the cliff the day before. When I looked astonished, he explained: well, mom, sometimes you just get weak and you need some meat. [...]
Way back in my early medical career, between my two stints in Africa, I worked in a small New England town where a young girl was brought into our office with a bat bite. It seems that she opened the back door to the barn, and a bat fell down, then promptly flew up and [...]
For the first time in history, the US Government has declared a genocide while it is ongoing. And the situation in Darfur has now been brought to the screen by director Ted Braun. In bringing his film to life, Braun sought the musical skills of an unlikely composer for a documentary with such a call to [...]
While the USA primaries move forward in the world’s most powerful and successful democracy, Kenya continues to experience political violence (now over 600 dead) following flawed presidential elections. The world stands by helpless as Kenya’s incumbent party and tribe crushes the opposition. Readers might recall that the Great Rift Valley in Kenya is reputedly where [...]
Ruling African politicians must be aghast at the US Primaries – Super Tuesday and all that leading up to USA Presidential Elections in November… Much too open; for goodness sake, anyone could win! Africa has its own way of “democracy†that is much less liable to surprises. African Rulers know that their people cannot be [...]
Staying young with Kaballah water. Yup. that’s singer Madonna’s latest discovery to staying young and beautiful. And that beauty secret doesn’t come cheap: In Touch Weekly Magazine reports that Madonna spends ten thousand a month on Kabbalah water: “Madonna drinks a lot of water – that’s one of her fitness secrets,†her pal told In [...]
The USA (and the rest of the world) is fascinated by the US Presidential election primaries – mostly what’s going on between Hillary Clinton and “upstart†Barack Hussein Obama right now. This is democracy at its best in what is probably the only country left in the world where democracy works (It’s a sick joke [...]
President Bush is always being ridiculed for insisting that faith based organizations be given funding to combat HIV in Africa and drug use in the USA. Yet health based behavioral changes are a lot more successful if the argument is based on people’s own value system. America’s elite tend to revere physical health, but this [...]
The USA (and the rest of the world) is fascinated by the US Presidential election primaries – mostly what’s going on between Hillary Clinton and “upstart†Barack Hussein Obama right now. This is democracy at its best in what is probably the only country left in the world where democracy works (It’s a sick joke [...]
One of the “underreported” stories in the world, according to Doctors without Borders, is the collapse of the medical system in Zimbabwe. When I was there, between private donations, church related charities, international organizations, and the government paying our salaries, we managed to run a hospital, a clinic, and supervise another locally funded clinic. Was [...]
What was the Top Weird News Story of 2007? Vote from among the DBKP Top 44 Hard Choices: 2007 Was a Boom Year for Weirdness What was the weirdest story in 2007? Now, you can decide! Vote for your Favorite Weird Story of 2007, From the safety of what promises to be an utterly Non-weird [...]
When I worked in Africa, I discovered that male menstruation was common. It seemed that men often would have episodes of passing blood,and the local word for this was the same as the word for female menstruation. The cause? A worm or parasitic infection that was once called bilharzia but is now known as Schistosomiasis [...]
In an effort to combat or at least ignore the murderous tribal violence and chaos taking place in Kenya since the all too suspicious election results hastily declared in that country, German tourists are bravely or at least carelessly resisting warnings to travel there and vacationing as usual, pretty much like they do everywhere else [...]
Doctors without Borders has a little list, and they’re hoping someone will read it. The Ten Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories of 2007. The reason why these stories are ignored are probably twofold: One, many have been going on for years, and two: They are in countries where the disasters can’t be blamed solely on America. [...]
The war against the innocent by terrorists is not limited to those hiding behind Islam (the Tamil Tigers and communists are just as bad) but those who say it is all America’s fault need to see how the main victims of what can be best described as “Islamofasicm” are civilians who are Muslim or are [...]
The LA Times has a good article on how aid money to treat diseases with sophisticated medical care ends up hitting the reality of lack of an infrastructure. Been there, done that…. However, the headline “Unintended victims of Gates Foundation generosity” is misleading. The implication is that the Gates foundation is making things worse. It [...]
For the past two weeks, the media has been full of Mugabe and Zimbabwe because the old dictator was invited to attend the European Union (EU) Summit with Africa. The invitation was issued despite Mugabe being banned from travel to the EU way back in 2002 for his disgraceful record on Human Rights. In a [...]
By Alfred Donovan of RoyalDutchShellPlc.com (Correspondence with Shell on 10 December 2007 relating to this article is published at the foot of the article) At first sight this appears to be an outlandish question to pose about the world’s third largest transnational corporation in terms of revenue – an oil giant operational in over 143 [...]
Why, in a whole continent of failed countries is Zimbabwe the most tragic of them all? Under severe Western pressure, Rhodesia was forced to capitulate to Marxist terrorists, and Mugabe assumed power in 1980. During “independence†celebrations for the newly re-named Zimbabwe, two of Mugabe’s most active supporters – President Samora Machel of Mozambique, and [...]
The most absurd headline for today is in the Scotland (newspsper). Bagpipes a threat to the environment (and we’re not talking noise pollution) by MARC HORNE What’s going on is that bagpipes, which were originally carved from the swamp oak, are now made from blackwood trees, and that illegal blackwood logging is simply one aspect [...]
The BBC reports that the number of measles deaths in the world has decreased from 757,000 to 242,000 – over the six year period, according to a World Health Organization report. But the decrease in Africa is more dramatic: From 396,000 to 36,000 deaths each year. The next step is to emphasize measles prevention in [...]
The oh so politically correct anthropologists at the American Anthropological Association’s annual meeting.are going to debate if female mutilation under the guise of multiculturalism is okay. Writes John Tierney of the NYTimes: Should African women be allowed to engage in the practice sometimes called female circumcision? Are critics of this practice, who call it female [...]
Best known for his work as percussionist for the internationally proclaimed jazz/funk band Jamiroquai, Solá Akingbolá is reconnecting with his roots by releasing his first solo album, Routes to Roots. Though he has spent most of his life in England, Akingbolá was born in Nigeria and finds his way home during this musical journey with Yoruba [...]
Most African countries were better off under colonial rule, but few have people alive today who are still able to remember what that was like. The only reminders are remnants of once decent roads, and other infrastructure essential for civilisation – like dams to store water, pumping stations, electricity, sewerage treatment plants… and all the [...]
China is after Africa’s vast resources, and Muslims are after the soul of Africa. I see I wrote about the ongoing entrenchment of China in Africa way back in June. This phenomenon is now beginning to get noticed by so-called “mainstream†media, and there was a special report on the subject in England’s Sunday Times [...]
These, together with rice, sugar beans and ground nuts (peanuts) were the price for placing a ritual curse on Mugabe. Mugabe was not too pleased with his minister of state for security, Didymus Mutasa, who allegedly gave these to a well-known spirit medium to help him (Didymus) gain power from Mugabe. Coming after Mugabe’s disappointment [...]
Here is a nice fuzzy headline for you: Pirates free Taiwanese ship…LINK2 This can be interpreted as the pirates freed a ship from a reef, or that they freed a ship after getting a ransom. Piracy off the coast of Somalia is not new, but is now in resurgence, with pirates using GPS systems and [...]
The big news is that archeologists have reassembled King Tut’s mummy and are putting it on display, in a way that will protect the mummy from deterioration from the humidity and germs of visitors. Tut’s head was removed at the time of discovery by over eager archeologists, so it’s nice to see him together again. [...]
Imagine living in a place where the electricity supply is so erratic that you have to cook your food over a primitive, open wood fire in the back yard. What little fresh meat and dairy produce there is, goes rotten because (of course) refrigeration won’t work without power, and there’s no hot water. According to [...]
Moammar Gadhafi a jihad target? How soon they forget. Gadhafi is the object of a video issued by al-Qaida #2 man, Ayman al-Zawahri. Gadhafi was on the US list of “terror-sponsoring states” for years is now the target of terror himself. View the video here from Yahoo. al-Zawahri also went after Palestinian leader, Mahmud Abbas, [...]
Pirates attackis on ships off the coast of Somalia has been a problem in recent years, but like the many pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean, they rarely get mentioned in the US press. We hear about them in the Philippines when our sailors are involved, but the US press usually ignores the problem. However, [...]
I lived in Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe) for over 30 years, and we had droughts quite regularly every three or four years – some went on for several years at a time. But even during the worst of the drought years, we were still the “Breadbasket of Africaâ€, and exported food to neighbouring countries every [...]
It’s not just Zimbabwe’s economy that is suffering the last stages of destruction; the morals of the country are suffering the same fate. First, the economy – according to Times-online, a million Zimbabwe $s is now worth just one US$, (48 pence Sterling) and they say inflation has hit 8000%. But Cathy Buckle, who lives [...]
Few people outside Zimbabwe realise the implications of the AIDS pandemic in Zimbabwe for its people. On October 13, 2007 an excellent mini-documentary was published by the BBC’s Unreported World on UBTV. This followed an undercover visit to Zimbabwe by two journalists.  (Western media, including the BBC, are banned from entering Zimbabwe by Mugabe – [...]
If you read the headlines, Africa is a basket case. For example, today’s NYTimes headline says: Cost of Africa’s wars is equal to all aid money. But there is another side to Africa that rarely gets in the news. Last week in Minneapolis, there was a Pan African Trade and Investment Summit. It was to [...]
Last month in my post, The Fate of Zimbabwe – Does Violence Loom? I wrote about Zimbabwe people being without food. Back then, a London Times headline ran “Violence Looms as Zimbabwe runs out of food – except for the elite. I thought not, because unlike Burma, the Zimbabwean people are hungry and virtually leaderless [...]
Less than a week after my last post on this subject “The fate of Zimbabwe, was Mugabe rotten from the start?â€, I see that the LA Times, no less, have published an excellent essay on the same subject entitled “Mugabe: a tyrant from the startâ€. Of course they’re right, but I sure wish that this [...]
The Material Girl went to Malawi, and Angela Jollie went to Botswana, and now it’s Rwanda’s turn to be the focus of a Hollywood celebrity wanting to play Miss Bountiful. Yup, Paris Hilton plans to visit Rwanda. Hilton says it’s all part of her new, postjail commitment to use her celebrity to bring the spotlight [...]
Quick: how many news stories covered the presence of aging dictator Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe at the UN? Anyone? Anyone? Even the South African press has little coverage of his visit. But the VOA has a report on his speech HERE, which also has the audio for the speech. Yes I know, it’s not as [...]
Well, this takes the cake; a former (white) Rhodesian liberal has now said that “Mugabe was rotten from the start†(Sunday Times, September 23). Of course, Judith Todd is able to say that safely from the comfort of her home in peaceful, prosperous New Zealand. She and her father (Sir Garfield Todd – a former [...]
Archbishop John Sentamu, himself an African from Uganda and the second most senior Church figure in Britain, has called for Britain to intervene in Zimbabwe. He has seen that South Africa is either unable or unwilling to do anything about the Zimbabwe situation and compares Zimbabwe’s President/Dictator Robert Mugabe with the former President/Dictator of Uganda [...]
Bombshell Hits Cabinet-Jahumpa and Faye Receive the inevitable Sack!! Justice Secretary Kebba Sanyang Redeployed-Marie Saine takes over Abdoulie Sallah hired new Secretary for Higher Education-Johnson goes to Foreign Affairs! By Correspondent Justice Sam Banjul. Paid for and Commissioned by the Freedom Newspaper. Jahumpa Out!!       Faye Out!!               Sanyang survives Grey the career diplomat A surprising cabinet [...]
I have a “Mugabe” site about the meltdown of the economy in Zimbabwe and the civil rights issues there. One reason Mugabe can get away with it is because South Africa’s president Mbeki is keeping him in power (via money and political support). The local churches and trade unions have tried to pressure Mbeki to [...]
By James Karuhanga Senior Researcher-East Africa GLCSS  Illegally armed and violent Karimojong Ngiwakujo (warriors) are blamed for the insecurity in Uganda’s north eastern region. This explains the government’s insistence on forceful disarmament which started in May 2006 after voluntary disarmament failed. For example, from January 2007 to May 2007, 59 guns were reportedly voluntarily [...]
On September 9th, actress and U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow kicked off a symbolic torch relay on behalf of Olympic Dream for Darfur from Dag Hammerskjold Plaza across the street from the Sudanese Mission to the United Nations. Genocide and holocaust survivors from Darfur, Armenia, Auschwitz, Berlin, Cambodia and Rwanda passed the torch to each [...]
It’s something you probably didn’t notice in the news, but the UN Children’s agency (UNICEF) has announced that a lot fewer kids are dying before the age of five than did ten years ago. Here’s a graph with the hard data via the BBC: The drop has been all over the world, even in SubSaharan [...]
One of the most eloquent opponents of the notorious Mugabe government in Zimbabwe, Archbishop Ncube, has resigned after photos of a “sex sting” were released to the public. Ncube claims he has resigned to spare the church from being attacked by the government. Although Ncube has denied the allegations, the acceptance of his resignation from [...]
The London Times headline says “Violence Looms as Zimbabwe runs out of food – except for the eliteâ€, but I doubt there’ll be much violence.  Unless there is a successful military coup, any attempt to overthrow Mugabe’s Marxist dictatorship will be as ruthlessly crushed as others were in the past. But there is no question [...]
Several thousand people protested the latest AlQaeda linked bombing in Algeria. There have been two bombings in Algeria in the past week, killing several dozen people and wounding hundred. Algeria had suffered from a civil war in the 1990′s where Islamic militants protesting their ban from the government killed almost 200 000 people, often in [...]
A joint operation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, United States Postal Inspection Service and the United Kingdom Serious Organized Crimes Agency has substantiated that a lot of counterfeit checks are being shipped via mail out of Nigeria. From This Day courtesy of AllAfrica.com: A statement by Osita Nwajah Head, Media & Publicity of [...]
Breaking News:Gambia to embark on Recession due to economic crisis! Major job cuts ahead Following Major Economic Collapse-Gambia To Go On Recession Soon-Central Bank Officials Unveil!! Government to Embark on Job cuts due to lack of funds to pay salaries “Central Bank officials say the nation’s External Reserves are in the Reds.” “ From January [...]
Dafur has been smouldering along, a genocide in open sight that the UN is still discussing, since the UN is more busy condemning Zionism and other more important things. But today’s IHT has an article discussing the 2005 peace treaty between Sudan and the southern secessionist tribes. The article is quite hopeful, and the UN [...]
Having the Olympics in China may end up with saving African’s lives. By hosting the Olympics and seeking a huge foreign audience to “show off” the brand new China, that country is making itself vulnerable to boycotts and protests. Some, like those for free Tibet, will be ignored (with the large influx of Han Chinese, [...]
Breaking News:Gambia:Gambia:Briton Murderers go for Life imprisonment! Gambia:Briton Murderers go for Life imprisonment! Ron Ford Killers to spend Rest of their lives behind bars-Court Rules! “British Tourist Ron Ford was killed and buried in Kaberkel in Casamance, Sengal” “It was clear from the prosecution witnesses testimonies that the accused persons are the ones that killed [...]
“Life is cheap†in Zimbabwe, “and the lives of animals are cheapest of all.†So says a report in London’s Daily Mail on Saturday August 25, 2007. Yes, now people are breaking into Zimbabwe’s Game Reserves and killing the last remaining, previously protected wild animals for food. But it’s not just people in need of [...]
Mutiny In Gambia!! Former Army Lieutenant Kejau Touray Breaks the silence!! “On the morning of 22 July 1994, I was on leave that day and was awaken by shouting all over Fajara Barracks, “cowards, they all ran away!”. I knew that something serious was wrong. I was told that it was a coup and that [...]
Breaking News:Journalist Deyda Hydara’s Killers Finally named!! Jammeh masterminds killing!! Deyda Hydara’s Killers Finally Named-NIA Official releases scary and damning report!! Interior Minister Ousman Sonko, Major Musa Jammeh, alias Maliamongu, Late Captain Tumbul Tamba and Lieutenant Kawsu Camara, alias Bombaredeh killed Deyda Hydara-NIA operative alleges!! “President Jammeh ordered the murder of Hydara.” “Shortly before Deyda [...]
Michael Scales Prays for President Jammeh’s ailing mother!! By Michael Scales, UK Dear Mr.Editor,                 Notes to my friends…. I am distressed to hear that the Presidents mother is not well.Maybe somebody reading can express my love and prayers for a speedy recovery to her.? We spent a wonderful evening together,some time back.She was very kind to [...]
The Debating Nation: Blame it on History and be a Solution The Debating Nation: Blame it on History and be a Solution By Burama Jammeh Since the overthrow of People’s Progressive Party (PPP) there is a noticeable increase in the political debate as to how the nation should be managed and who should be the [...]
By David Sambou,UK.I was browsing through the allafrica.com when I came across a story that was posted from the Ghanaian chronicles, which is a Ghanaian newspaper. On was an interview they had with the interior minister who goes by the name kwamena Bartley. Mr Bartley was some how appealing to the Ghanaians to be patient [...]
Breaking News:Gambia Bans Chicken leg street sale!!! Chicken Leg Sellers Banned in The Gambia!! Health Ministry Action Devastated local businesses!!! Health Officials say the ban was inline with public health safety regulations By Correspondent Famara Jammeh, Banjul. Paid for and Commissioned by the Freedom Newspaper. Chicken leg sellers will tomorrow wake up hearing bad news [...]
Breaking News:KMC Acting Mayor Alieu Momar Njie Arrested!! KMC Acting Mayor Alieu Momar Njie Arrested!! Sources say Njie was being investigated on embezzlement of Funds Police Spokesman Inspector Secka tells the Freedom Newspaper that Njie was granted bail pending the outcome of the investigations. By Correspondent Famara Jammeh, Banjul. Paid for and Commissioned by the [...]
Mercenaries in The Gambia- Kanilai, Banjul and other Areas under survey-Reveals Lamarana Jallow! Mercenaries in The Gambia- Kanilai, Banjul and other Areas under survey-Reveals Lamarana Jallow! Eduward Singhatey, Peter Singhatey, Yankuba Touray, Masaneh Kinteh, Balla Gaye and others targeted by Jammeh!! …Gamtel Sale Causes rift in the army! Yahya Jammeh Ordered for the Killing of [...]
Breaking News: Scales Sports:Gambia:Confusion among Sports Journalists!! Confusion among Sports Journalists!! Elections for New Executive Declared “Fraudulent.” “Gambian Professional Sports Journalists Association should scrapped,” says Sports Commentators By Correspondent Famara Jammeh, Banjul. Paid for and Commissioned by the Freedom Newspaper. Sports Journalists Association have elected officials to run their affairs leaving out major radio and [...]
“Starving in Zimbabwe ‘amounts to genocide’†reports the UK’s Daily Telegraph on 21st August 2007, quoting David Coultard, a senior member of Zimbabwe’s fractured opposition party “Movement for Democratic Changeâ€. The United Nations World Food Programme has made an immediate appeal for emergency food aid for 3.3 million Zimbabweans who are “facing severe food shortagesâ€. [...]
Armed Police Man Rapes Fatou Jeng- Attackers left seven men injured!! Fatou Jeng’s Husband Devastated by the police’s inaction to arrest the rapists!! Identity request becomes rape case on OJ Street “Three unidentified men over the weekend packed a car number BJL 0841A on O.J. Street, very close to the Trust Bank on the junction [...]
Breaking News:Pit Latrines offend Ebo Town residents  By Correspondent Famara Jammeh, Banjul. Paid for and Commissioned by the Freedom Newspaper. Residents of Ebo Town are offended by their pit latrines most of which are full and found drained by rain during flooding in their area floating in their vincinity fearing cholera.Pit Latrines dug very [...]
This article nearly did not see the light. It was written in ice cold anger. Researching this topic had me seething and kicking inanimate objects all over the house. This is intolerable. Belonging to different cultures are not an excuse for inhumane attitudes and practises. We all live in the 21st century and should be [...]
Gambia Sold-Jammeh and his criminal cartel exposed!! Amadou Samba, Mustapha Njie, Edi Jobe and others act as Jammeh’s 419 operatives!! “Mustapha Njie is another 419 operative for Jammeh. He is contracted to sell the AU villas on behalf of Jammeh. These properties worth nothing less than million Dalasis. It’s a government own property, but Njie [...]
By Correspondent Famara Jammeh Banjul. Paid for and Commissioned by the Freedom Newspaper. A woman wounded by a man from Half Die in Banjul who brutally attacked the 28 -year- old at Sting Corner has been seen nursing her wounds while police continue looking for her. Zacqline Sambou 28, who was attacked on the 10th. [...]
PANORAMA with ‘Bulfaaleh’-Politics and leakages inside Mile Two-kujabi trasferred! Mile Two has been turned into a center for politics,leakages and plans to kill inside dark cells It will be surprising for many to discover how dirty politics could penetrate this deadly dungeon. This is no fiction it is true…For President Jammeh it is not unusual. For [...]
Mr. Martin Kyere, 27, who escaped death in the company of about 44 Ghanaians that were allegedly arrested and brutally murdered by Gambian Police on the orders of President Yahya Jammeh two years ago, has finally broken his silence on the events of that dark night in Banjul, Gambia. Giving a chilling account of their [...]
Attention – Due To Allegations of Plagiarism, This Article Is Highly Suspect Myanmar Government is planning to implement a cyber village project to enable every village in the country to have access to Internet link like what is provided in urban cities. The government will install a cyber village project in cooperation with the Myanmar [...]
PANORAMA with ‘Bulfaaleh’-Ghanaians were killed by Gambia Gov Agents-Final Verdict Released 53 versus 44 ‘Bulfaaleh’ Investigates!(PART TWO) NIA agents failed to abduct Sanna agent Kausu Jarju comes back another time with recording devices-the cassette that helped kill the Ghanaians. The NIA under the stewardship of late Daba Marenah sent Kausu Jarju the agent at GAMSTAR [...]
PANORAMA with ‘Bulfaaleh’-Ghanaians were killed by Gambia Gov Agents-Final Verdict Released 53 versus 44 ‘Bulfaaleh’ Investigates!(PART ONE) PANORAMA with ‘Bulfaaleh’-Ghanaians were killed by Gambia Gov Agents-Final Verdict Released 53 versus 44 ‘Bulfaaleh’ Investigates!(PART ONE) Introductory remarks-The Ghanaians were killed by state house CHIAKAS,CID FAAL and others… Before starting the marathon revelations on this special feature [...]
When is a refugee not a refugee? When they flee starvation and prosecution but the world wants to look the other way. Theoretically, refugee are those facing death if they go back. But what about those who flee because their choice is starvation or flight?According to South Africa, and the UN, the one thousand people [...]
As The Ghanaians “Genocide Case” in The Gambia Gathers Pace-Freedom Editor Briefs Ghanaian Press!! “Agents of human rights abuses should be exposed by any responsible and sincere press.” says Editor M’Bai “There is sufficient evidence linking the Gambian Government to the incident. The Kufor administration would do great justice to their murdered nationals by ensuring [...]
JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED;OR IS THERE A TWO TIER JUSTICE IN THE GAMBIA,ONE FOR JAMMEH AND ONE FOR THE ORDINARY GAMBIANS? TIME WILL TELL The Justice system in the Gambia is at a pathetic state where it seems the dictatorial tendency of President Jammeh have spilled over the Judiciary that Justices throw away their [...]
MP Demba Dem’s Legal Troubles Far From Being Over!! MP Demba Dem’s Legal Troubles Far From Being Over!! State To File Fresh Charges against the Freed MP-Sources unveiled!! By Correspondent Famara Jammeh, Banjul. Paid for and commissioned by the Freedom Newspaper. Latest news reaching this paper say MP Demba Dem is likely to be arraigned [...]
Scary Revelations:Jammeh/Amadou Samba Secret Business Deals Exposed!!! …Over D50 Million Dalasis of Social Security Funds Used to Fund GAMCO and Ocean Bay Hotel!! “Legal action has been filed against GAMCO ( a so called public private partnership designed to siphoned off funds by the In Law of Abacha , Jammeh through his proxy Amadou Samba [...]
Breaking News:Jasseh, Jobe and Keita to serve 20 Years Behind Bars Each-Justice Yeboah Declares!! Jasseh, Jobe and Keita to serve 20 Years Behind Bars Each-Justice Yeboah Declares!! ..Weeping Families Devastated by the Judge’s Verdict MP Dem Dem Freed Due To Lack of Evidence-Judge Rules By Senior Staff Writer Justice Sam, Banjul Paid for And Commissioned [...]
“I was Flabbergasted by Waa Juwara’s Interview with Freedom” says Gibril Saine “I was Flabbergasted by Waa Juwara’s Interview with Freedom” says Gibril Saine Journalism is a noble profession and African politicians must recognize this-Saine Posited IGP Jammeh send to the cleaners!! By Gibril Saine, London, UK Dear Editor. As a concerned citizen of our [...]
Becareful of Sadibou Jadama, he is an agent of the NIA- Lamin Drammeh alleges! “He left Sweden last year on the pretext that he was going to work with the Daily Observer as an Editor.” “Jadama is a friend of NIA’S Suso and Lamin Kaba Bajo” By Lamin Drammeh, Sweden. Dear Mr. Editor, I read [...]
Michael Scales on Sadibou Jadama! By Michael Scales, UK. Dear Mr.Editor, The allegation,that Mr Jadama Sadibu has sympathy with Mr.Jammeh, does in my opinion,make no difference whatsoever.I have read his articles with great interest .I had already gathered that he had this sympathy..and i dont think he has ever declared otherwise.I think your audience is [...]
Today is judgment day on Tamsir Jasseh, Alieu Jobe, MP Demba Dem and Omar Faal Keita Treason Trial!! … …”Legal luminaries say the accused persons could face death or life imprisonment if found guilty” …….Coup Alleged Ring Leader Colonel Ndure Cham is still at large!! By Staff Writer Justice Sam, Banjul. Paid for and Commissioned [...]
The bestselling book the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency, about a lady detective in Botswana, is now being made into a movie in that country. One hopes this movie will help to counteract the cliches on present day Africa, where most of what one sees is either nature films (all of which hint the real [...]
A lawyer for Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has stated that his client will not be returning to Thailand any time soon to respond to the criminal charges being laid against him. Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra (that’s pronounced “Tak-sin Sin-a-wat†for readers unfamiliar with the odd way Thai is transliterated into English), has ignored a [...]
reaking News:Magistrate Imelda Mbutto dismisses Fatou Jaw Manneh’s case! Case goes to Brikama Not in My courts-says Magistrate Mbutto, as she dismisses Fatou Jaw Manneh’s case! …..Brikama Magistrates Court to hear F Manneh’s case! By A Correspondent in Banjul. The high profile sedition case against the US based Gambian journalist Fatou Jaw Manneh has suffered [...]
Editorial: Another Coup in the Gambia-Part one!!! Jammeh will die by the sword Gambians will win the war against Yahya Jammeh!!! GNA is the most stubborn army in the sub-region “Political Change is inevitable in the Gambia” The Gambian Army is an unpredictable security outlet. Very unpredictable. They have proven to be the most stubborn [...]
SOS Neneh Macdowl Gaye Secretly sneaks into Jammeh’s Hotel room during Overseas trips-says FJC FJC secret relationship with Justice Paul Exposed!! FJC and Justice Paul’s Conspiracy to jail late Deyda Hydara unveiled!! Speaker Fatou Jahumpa Ceesay has been smearing the image of Information Minister Neneh Macdowl Gaye for sometime now. Thanks to FJC, I was [...]
THE PRISM OF DESPAIR-YAHYA JAMMEH’S REMOVAL WILL COME AS A THUNDER BOLT! By Timbuktu Certainly the polemics of Gambian politics have left so much to be desired these days. Indeed the APRC Government is using the innauguration of structures to cover up the latest scandals coming from a former bandit-friend called Governor Kalu. Who does [...]
Breaking News: Colonel Sarjo Fofana in Banjul- Family Sources hinted!! Army Spokesman Lied!! Lt.Colonel Sarjo Fofana is still in The Gambia, according to family sources reaching this paper. Fofana who is not keen at talking on the phone is reported to be under close surveillance by the state. It’s gathered that the army command led [...]
Hello Everyone, A new column is coming up next Monday.The column,Moment with Vision,Gambia in the hands of Gambians will be presented by Our Cassandra. The column will be dedicated to Deyda Hydara,the patriot who replaced or did more than Dixon Colley as the Doyen of Gambian Journalism. His killers will be given more hell in [...]
Breaking News: President Yahya Jammeh Ordered for the killing of Deyda Hydara- Top NIA official alleges!! President Jammeh ordered for the killing of Deyda Hydara-NIA Officer Alleges! …State sponsored plan to murder Editor Omar Bah Exposed!!! List of Hydara’s Murderers to be released soon!!! “Omar Bah was going to be killed even if he was [...]
Breaking News: The Big Interview: Lamin Waa Juwara Speaks! Part Three!! “I don’t have problem of meeting Jammeh. He just a Gambian like myself. What’s the problem about meeting him? When President Jawara was in power, I met him several times. What is wrong about that? Even if you want to meet Jammeh I can [...]
Michael Scales Praise Freedom Editors for Exposing “Graft” in Africa!!! Gov.Kalu’s case in the news again!! By Michael Scale UK, Dear Mr Editor, I remain inspired by your seamless and untireing effort to expose ,crime and corruption ,through this medium.No matter what the risk. What is transpiring in Nigeria,has the most profound implication [...]
Effective Management-Truth is the roof-Kudos Freedomnewspaper! By Essa Bokarr Sey We once heard this from traditional Nigeria:-“….When the lizard falls from the top of an Iroko tree if anyone does not praise the lizard,it will praise itself….” This is why I chose to use the traditional values therefore send countless “Kudos” to the management of the [...]
By Burama FL Jammeh Civic Mindedness and Participation Essential for Democracy to Work Some 2,500 years ago Athens and some Ancient Greek City-States practice direct democracy. The word democracy comes from the Greek demos meaning “the people” and kratia, meaning “rule”. Direct democracy is when the people participate directly in government decision making. Every Athenian [...]
JAWARA”Versus” JAMMEH THE CHOSEN “Versus” THE IMPOSED-Feature Story By:Kebba Sanneh, Sweden JAWARA”Versus” JAMMEH THE CHOSEN “Versus” THE IMPOSEDIt is close to 16 years now, when I left my dear little Gambia for the world wider and more complex than my own little Gambia. Little did I know that it was a farewell that would last [...]
Gambia’s Speaker of Parliament Implicated in Governor Kalu’s Graft Sacandal!! …Kalu built three storey building worth of D6Million for Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay Governor Kalu also owns “International Trust Insurance Company (ITIC) Gambia- State House sources hinted! ….”This was the phone number I used to call Capt.Bunja Darboe at the Observer: 4496879″ said a well placed [...]
Lt.Colonel Fofana Absconds!!! Army Spokesman says Fofana deserted the Force following the completion of his overseas military course!! By Justice Sam and Landing Badjie, Our Banjul Bureau Chief Leaks from the Army main Command in Banjul say Lt. Colonel Commander Sarjo Fofana might have possibly absconded, following the completion of his overseas military course. Fofana [...]
By Justice Sam and Landing Badjie our Banjul Bureau Chief At least dozens people have been detained by the Gambian police for merely defying President Yahya Jammeh’s “clean the nation” call. A major scuffle ensued at the Welligara Market, Kombo North on Saturday, when armed police and paramilitary officers tried to use force to disperse [...]
Breaking News:Exiled Gambian soldier receives D900000-00 Check from Central Bank! Exiled Gambian soldier Musa Drammeh, who is based in Swiss today, emailed one of his Bank Checks he received from the Central Bank of The Gambia to the Freedom Newspaper. Drammeh says he wanted to prove to the Editors of this leading paper that he [...]
Conservationists were shocked to find four gorillas found shot dead this week at a national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, marking seven gorilla murders so far this year. The bodies were found in Virunga National Park with no suspects or motives for killing the animals. This is especially alarming since the number of [...]
All traces of wind removed from their sails, Berlin and EU officials were stunned at Libya’s sudden release of the six foreign medics orchestrated by French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Cecilia. After eight years of patient EU effort to buy the hostages off in a slow and orderly manner, much of it under [...]
The story is about an Ant, Lucy, who is different from all the other ants because she dares to dream. She meets a little girl who reads about Ballet. Lucy accompanies the girl on her journey of the discovery of the beauty of dance. She uses Ballet to bring pleasure and happiness to the Queen of the ants.
Is Yahya Jammeh cheating on First Lady Zeinab Suma Jammeh? ..Jammeh secures D3million House for former First Lady Tuti Faal Jammeh at Taf’s Yarambamba Housing Estate!! Officials At Taf Confirm That Tuti was occuping one of their Houses but would not reveal the source of the said property… By Correspondent Wise Man Banjul. Paid for [...]
Bill Gates is moving into my neighborhood. Yep, the quiet, sleepy confines of the part of this Indian Ocean island I call home is undergoing some huge, noisy and ugly changes, and there are billionaires’ fingerprints all over it. Hardly a day passes without me being jolted out of contemplative blog-writing revelry by a blast [...]
Breaking News:The Big Interview:Leading Gambian Professor Dr.Sulayman Nyang Speaks!! “In light of this understanding, I would argue that the style of rule and the manner in which President Jammeh negotiates his way with the other politicians in the country has made it different from his predecessor. Under Jammeh Gambians have seen more violence and the [...]
By Lamarana Jallow son of The Gambia. Dear Editors, IÂ have been busy coordinating the July 22ND anniversary rehearsals. Our men are being trained on foot drill, gun salute and VIP escort. I have few important security issues to share with Gambians today. President Jammeh is at this hour, contemplating visiting Taiwan. He is not [...]
This book records the operations of the Rhodesian Air Force. It includes a complete log of all the airstrikes carried out as well as maps where these strikes have been meticously plotted. The maps are printed in full colour. There are numerous black and white photographs that illustrate the text. From the forward by Air [...]
75 percent of poll voters say “Yahya Jammeh is a curse for The Gambia.” ….25 percent disagree!! Jammeh ask to resign in the interest of peace and good governance!!! As plans are in high gears for the celebrations of the failed so called military revolution, which toppled the 30 year PPP rule, the Freedom Newspaper [...]
Breaking News:Yankuba Darboe Exposed!!!UK Home Office take note of an asylum faker!! Today, we shall expose how vindictive some Gambians can be. Gambians would be shocked to learn that our new enemy in the person of Yankuba Darboe, alias “Yanks” currently residing in the United Kingdom, was at some point trying to solicit favors from [...]
Is Yahya Jammeh a curse for the Gambia? Cast your votes at www.freedomnewspapercom.blogspot.com The Freedom Newspaper invite Gambians and friends of the Gambia to vote in a new poll created by our sister web blog on the theme: Is Yahya Jammeh a curse for the Gambia? The blog can be accessed at this link: www.freedomnewspapercom.blogspot.com [...]
As Support for Harriet Harman Increases-Respected journalist praises her! As Support for Harriet Harman Increases ..Respected Independent Columnist backs the ‘Friend of Africa’. By Alhagie Mbye, London Bureau Chief The Freedom Newspaper is not alone in its support for Harriet Harman, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party as a result of her [...]
Gambia’s Under 20s shocked the Nation!! Minister Omar Faye likely to be Fired! Disgruntled supporters attacked coach Bonou Johnson’s home Gambia’s under 20s have started packing their belongings for home, as they lost their match with Austria 2 goals to one. Shock and disbelief gripped football fans both at home and abroad. The team could [...]
eeth Bite:A devastating revelations on the Daily Observer Crisis- A case study!! The Daily Observer is undergoing serious transformation. No one at the paper is assured of job security. Not even its MD Saja Taal. Most of the sackings emanates from the President’s office. The Observer which allowed itself to be used for “junk journalism” [...]
By Lamarana Jallow, Son of The Gambia. Dear Editors, First Lady Tuti Faal Jammeh, never loved Yahya Jammeh. The two couples had history of problems, during their short term marriage. For Tuti, Jammeh was a “doll boy” with little sense of humor. Jammeh has on many occasions accuses Tuti of sleeping with his body guards. [...]
In this the third Edition of Borderstrike!, the passage of time and consequent release of previously classified information has allowed the author to expand considerably on the content of the first version of this book.
Steenkamp’s own career as the defence reporter on the staff of the Cape Times during this period as well as the fact that he was also an active Citizen Force officer and was therefore called up for service during this conflict, makes him a most suitable author. His background and experience in both of these fields has also allowed him to give a clear picture of all of the major operations conducted by the then SADF in the period 1975 to 1980.
In my last post specifically relating to Zimbabwe  (July 2, 2007) I spoke of the impact of rampant inflation on the lives of people there and my amazement at the rapid deterioration of the Zimbabwean economy compared with my previous post on the subject, just a few weeks earlier (June 13, 2007). Well sadly, Zimbabwe now [...]
Former Army Chief of Staff Vincent Jatta, NIA’S Baba Sarho and others freed at Last!!! By Our Western Divison Correspondent Wise Man Paid for and Commissioned by the Freedom Newspaper. Three security officers including Sgt Buba Jammeh, Staff Sgt Mendy and Baba Saho have been reportedly released following their arrest and imprisonment since March 2006 [...]
A top Gambian police chief has released a damning report regarding the “gruesome murder” of about 50 Ghanaian Nationals in the Gambia, in the year 2005. The report catalogued a state sponsored “genocide” against what the police chief calls “innocent Ghanaians” who were mistaken as dissident rebels poised to disrupt Jammeh’s so called “military revolution.” [...]
My last post on the subject War against terror; Africa, Zimbabwe and the destruction of a nation’s people and their environment – 2, told how Zimbabwe is in the process of being destroyed by Marxist President Mugabe, who is being kept in power with the help of China (both financial and military). It’s not just [...]
This book, one of the earliest attempts to tell the human side of South Africa’s Border War of 1966-1989, contains a series of recollections by men who performed operational duty in the South African Defence Force from the 1960s to the late 1980s, during which the SADF were actively engaged in a war in South [...]
Just Done Productions is proud to announce the release of Journey Without Boundaries, the memoirs of Col André Diedericks HCS, HC, SM, MMM. This is the extraordinary tale of an extraordinary man. An honestly told story of his military career, of a man who was twice decorated for valour, who pioneered and developed the concept [...]
At last a South African has had the courage to write a modern action novel about the South African Navy. In ‘Adamastor Rising’ the author has managed to use the knowledge and experience that he has gained over the many years that he worked with modern naval equipment, and especially with the systems fitted to [...]
My earlier posts: Why we’re not winning 1 deals with what’s going wrong in our war against terror, and covers my credentials for writing on the subject; Why we’re not winning 2 offers solutions; Why we’re not winning 3 links the war into Africa; Why we’re not winning 4 illustrates the underlying political attitude in Britain towards the military; [...]
Breaking News:Yahya Jammeh boycotts Ghana AU Meeting! rumors of Coup and counter coups Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh has been advised not to attend the AU Summit currently underway in the Ghanaian Capital Accra. There are rumors of coup and counter coups going on the country, as we file this report. Jammeh’s intelligence chief has advised [...]
Freedom Newspaper: Can you briefly describe your journalistic life? Alhagie Mbye: To be honest with you, my life as a journalist in The Gambia was exciting. I love every bit and piece of it. Even though friends and family members were concerned about my safety and well being, I was still pushing the pen. I [...]
Lang Tombong Tamba and the march 2006 coup-lope holes,implications,traces. Implications- As soon as Lang Tombong knew the other side of the story he decided to be a sell out within a group he was part of. Lang wanted to head. He was convinced that he was not going to be allowed.Afterward he did what Banjul [...]
Breaking News:500,000 illegal immigrants in the UK disappointed! 500,000 illegal immigrants in the UK disappointed! …As their hope of becoming legal residents shattered! “Anti-immigration groups and other commentators have rubbish such claims and contested that people living in the country must do so legally or be shown the exit door.” By By Editor Alhagie Mbye, [...]
Breaking News:Genocide committed by Jammeh’s Gov’t to be condemned at the Ghana AU Summit in July! While Ghana prepares to host 52 Heads of State of Africa from July 1-3, 2007 for the Ninth Ordinary Summit of the African Union, a number of pressure groups and individuals are also preparing to organize massive demonstrations that [...]
Breaking News:Senegalese Music Star Pape Diouf arrives in the US Music Lovers, It is now Confirmed and official!!!- PAPE DIOUF & THE GENERATION CONCIENCE BAND accompanied by SECKAA ” LEUMBEUL NARR and dancer NDEYE GUEYE have Landed and are now in New York City waiting to mesmerize the Senegambian Mbalax croud. They play this weekend [...]
When I wrote on this site a few days ago about President Putin’s upcoming visit to the USA, I hardly expected to see Russia announce that it will grab a huge chunk from international waters in the Arctic before his visit even takes place! According to the BBC, Russia have yet to formally stake an international claim, but Russian geologists say they [...]
Breaking News:Observer News Editor Lamin Dibba Fired!! As the NIA hunts for Wise Man! Stop Press: : Lamin Dibba an Editor at the pro-government Newspaper, the Daily Observer has been fired with immediate effect. Dibba a resident of Brikama has been fired twice in a span of one year. His first firing had to do [...]
The latest bad news from Zimbabwe is that the currancy is in free fall, with prices going up hourly. So what does the government do? They order shops to roll back prices, essentially to the price things were ten days ago, and reinforce the prices by sending the “green bombers” (government trained gangs of young [...]
A Reuters report today says that tires made by the Chinese company Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. may not meet US safety specifications and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is forcing a New Jersey importer to recall more than 450,000 tires. The manufacturer denies allegations of defective manufacturing or changes in specifications, although several deaths [...]
Top secret leaks again. On the whole Aziz Tamba,Mustapha Bojang and Famara Kolley were used to mask another scandal that was never meant to leak! It leaked two days ago. President Jammeh is at ease thinking his secret was wrapped.All of a sudden an anrgy state house insider who so likes Aziz and others decided to [...]
Horomsi: As promised, I intend to share my Mile Two Prison diary with the Freedom Newspaper readers. It was on or about April 3, 2006, when Gambia’s Intelligence Chief Daba Marena, Lt. Ebou Lowe, 2nd Lt. Alieu Ceesay, Warrant Officer, Alpha Bah and Staff Sgt. Manlafi Corr were escorted from their tiny confinement cells to [...]
Breaking News:Freedom Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Omar Bah addresses Internation Institute of Rhode Island “With that situation at hand, the Gambian people lacked the relevant information they needed. Efforts had to be made by independent minded journalists to balance the situation by providing the Gambian people with alternative news; Gambia needed an independent media outlet that would [...]
By Our Banjul Bureau Chief Landing Badjie. In what appeared to be a diplomatic retaliation against the impoverished nation of the Gambia, The Senegalese authorities have detained 14 Gambian trucks, who were trying to cross to the Southern Province of Casamance, amidst accusations and counter accusations between the two sister countries of alleged subversive activities [...]
By Our Banjul Bureau Chief Landing Badjie. Paid for and Commissioned by the Freedom Newspaper. The Imam of Kanifing Estate mosque, Baba Leigh, could not hide his unhappiness for what he saw as an undue prominence given to the State House mosque at the expense of other mosques in the country. Imam Leigh is apparently [...]
By Our Western Division Correspondent Wise Man. Paid for and Commissioned by the Freedom Newspaper. The Governor of Western Division Abdou FM Badjie, has told the Freedom Newspaper in an interview that police recruit applicants “whose loyalty to the Ruling APRC government” is doubted would not be admitted to the Force. He was speaking to [...]
By Our Banjul Bureau Chief Landing Badjie. Paid for and Commissioned by the Freedom Newspaper. The relationship between the Gambian leader and the country’s minister of state for religious affairs is reported to have assumed a negative proportion. If President Jammeh’s recent action to strip Sheikh Omar Faye of the responsibility of leading the Muslim [...]
Trucks, laden with consumables and mattresses, were this afternoon leaving the Gambian capital for the home hamlet of President Yaya Jammeh as the Kanilai International Festival takes centre-stage. According to state house sources, the decision to transport rice, oil, sugar and mattresses from Banjul to Kanilai was precipitated by the unforeseen growing demand on food [...]
EXPERTS MEETING ON REGIONAL CONFLICT PREVENTION FRAMEWORK TO TAKE PLACE IN BANJUL About 50 experts and partners will gather in Banjul, The Gambia from Monday, 25th June 2007 at a regional technical workshop to consider the draft ECOWAS strategic framework for conflict prevention. The week-long workshop entitled, “Towards the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework” and which will be [...]
Breaking News:As Sierra leone prepares for elections:ECOWAS fact finding mission arrives! ECOWAS FACT-FINDING MISSION ARRIVES SIERRA LEONE ON MONDAY A four-member ECOWAS assessment mission arrives Sierra Leone on Monday, 25th June 2007 to evaluate preparations for the country’s August 2007 elections. The mission, which is led by Mr. David Kangah from Ghana’s Electoral Commission, also [...]
Collection agencies don’t make money by being nice people. Here is a story about how one of them wasn’t very honest, either. I found this interesting story from a press release, courtesy of the FBI website: Late last month, we helped wrap up a case that took identity theft to a whole new level: one [...]
One would think that a tanking economy and a currancy that is losing half it’s worth every day would bring President Mugabe some sense. I mean, he does have a degree in economics. But instead of trying to increase the economy by encouraging investment, Mugabe has just decided that all businesses will have to be [...]
By A Staff Writer A mionor shake up has hits the Gambia police force, the Freedom Newspaper can authoritatively revealed. Essa Badjie alias “Jesus” Commissioner of Crime Management has been replaced by veteran police prosecutor Burama Dibba. Dibba had numerous police training both locally and internationally. No reason has been advanced for Jesus’s sudden removal, [...]
Who is Abdoulie Bojang? Why FJC feels he has come to replace her? The present deputy speaker’s name is Mr Abdoulie Bojang. He is from a village called Foni Sangajorr. Mr Bojang until some months back before his sudden journey into politics was a teacher at Bakoteh School. He was taken directly from the classroom to [...]
Dioufa in action. Raleigh calling!! The  venue for the PAPE DIOUF Raleigh  show has been changed from the Lighthouse convention Center. The new Venue is DeeJay’s, 704 Beacon Lake Dr.Raleigh, NC 27610 Sunday, July 1st,2007 Tickets: $35 It Starts early!!!!! Contact: Sheikh Faal @919-337-3024, 865-454 9196, 919-875-4411, 919-633-3934,  865-765-9589 Ndaga fans are being informed about [...]
“Politics is an animal that’s either ‘tamed” or “wild”,depending on how one interprets things. One can either be subjective or objective when it comes to passing judgments along a partisan line. However, when it comes to basic national challenges and interests every citizen has the right to go through the layers of checks and balances [...]
Education and women’s empowerment also on agenda By Lea Terhune USINFO Staff Writer Laura Bush spoke of Africa’s malaria crisis during a February roundtable discussion in Washington. (White House photo) Washington — First lady Laura Bush embarks on her third Africa tour June 25, during which she will visit U.S.-funded HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention and [...]
Here in the Catholic Philippines, after one politician gave a speech about “family values”, a local wag wrote: Yes, we Filipinos espouse family values. We take care of all our families. The joke was that this politician, like most politicians and rich businessmen in the Philippines, have at least one mistress and family on the [...]
GPU USA should be investigated! Joe Sambou, Jow and others should tell us how much money they collected in the name of the union? Thanks Coach Jow for speaking your mind. We respect your views and we expect you to reciprocate our stance. We have set the pace for sound, sincere and honest debate about [...]
In case you haven’t heard, Zimbabwe is collapsing. Their currancy is worthless: inflation was “only” 3000 percent last month, but last week, it lost half it’s worth in one day. Yup. Paper money will do that if you print money to pay your bills. Well, of course you haven’t heard. Just another African country going [...]
African Pride to all those that will always have and find traces in themselves the African aura.With a sense of urgency to take immediate actions by every homeland-loving African to bring stability and reign in peace once more, there exists bravehearts such like Samsudeen Sarr who under capturing details on his latest as he once [...]
By Town Crier Dear Pa and all Gambians, This is an insider’s side of the story. I am compelled regardless of my oath to defend the nation as well keep state secrets.I cannot help but tell Gambians the naked truth without compromising sensitive state security matters. Our president Yahya Jammeh and my Commander in Chief is hell bent [...]
CPJ says More Malian journalists jailed in high school essay crackdown Committee to Protect Journalists 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Tel: (212) 465‑1004 Fax: (212) 465‑9568 Web: www.cpj.org E-Mail: info@cpj.org Tom Rhodes | Africa Program Coordinator | trhodes@cpj.org | (212) 300-9022 Mohamed H. Keita | Africa Program Research Associate | mkeita@cpj.org | [...]