Africa...Part II

Well let me lead off with information/links for Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe, the land of dying children

Suffer the little children is a phrase never far from your mind in today’s Zimbabwe. The horde of painfully thin street children milling around you at traffic lights is almost the least of it: in a population now down to 11m or less there are an estimated 1.3m orphans.

Go to one of the overflowing cemeteries in Bulawayo or Beit Bridge and you are struck by the long lines of tiny graves for babies and toddlers. (From this Link)

Although I really could care less if Mugabe keeps his piece of paper or not. Not like it will help him get a job or something. But does provide some information about his past that should be of interest.
Let Mugabe keep honorary degrees

The next link from Human Rights Watch, I have not even skimmed it yet, but worthy of posting here.
“You Will Be Thoroughly Beaten”
The Brutal Suppression of Dissent in Zimbabwe

China and Zimbabwe cement ties

The government said the China-funded 424 tractors and 50 lorries would replace machinery destroyed during the seizure of white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks.

Agricultural production has fallen drastically in the country, largely due to lack of equipment, funding and technical expertise on the newly seized farms.

Zimbabwe to deregister NGOs

Zimbabwe has deregistered all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and told them to submit new applications.

Ministers told state radio on Tuesday that this would allow the government to weed out organisations that were "agents of imperialism".

Harare was taking action against NGOs because some were using relief activities as a cover for a campaign to overthrow the government, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, the minister of information and publicity, told the radio station.

"Pro-opposition and Western organisations masquerading as relief agencies continue to mushroom, and the government has annulled the registration of all NGOs in order to screen out agents of imperialism from organisations working to uplift the wellbeing of the poor," Ndlovu was quoted as saying.

Mugabe Gets Ready to Eat Cake While Fellow Zimbabweans Can't Find Bread on Shelves
No did not make that up, and sorry behind premium section.

Zimbabwe's tobacco farmers in price stand-off

ZIMBABWE'S annual opening of the tobacco auction floors hangs in the balance after Agriculture Minister Rugare Gumbo failed to get government approval for the new prices on Monday.

CIO at it again
Nope not a mistake, the Central Intelligence Organization (of Zimbabwe).

Lots of good information from this site also, just a preview.
Coalition

Repression intensifies in Zimbabwe: ZINASU, PTUZ, WOZA and media crackdown

Meanwhile, Zimbabwean journalist Peter Moyo, a producer with South African TV state E-TV, was arrested in Mutare on 5 February, spending a night in police cells along with cameraman William Gumbo and his cousin Trymore Zvidzai. They were allegedly covering a story on illegal diamond mining and dealings in the area. Moyo and his team were charged with being unaccredited journalists - in Zimbabwe all journalists have to be accredited with the government.

Note link will go bad after a while.

The next three links are to the additional Military Command for the USA under the name AFRICOM.
Getting AFRICOM Right

The answer to the congressman (and others) is found in the much-maligned 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States of America which declared that "weak states…can pose a great danger to our national interests as strong states. Poverty does not make poor people into terrorists and murderers. Yet poverty, weak institutions, and corruption can make weak states vulnerable to terrorist networks and drug cartels within their borders." In Africa, the document went on to assert: "Promise and opportunity sit side by side with disease, war, and desperate poverty. This threatens both a core value of the United States – preserving human dignity – and our strategic priority – combating terror. American interests and American principles, therefore, lead in the same direction: we will work with others for an African continent that lives in liberty, peace, and growing prosperity."

US, Kenya discuss new military unit for Africa

"AFRICOM is intended to give the US a more focused approach to US security and developmental programs on the continent. At present, three different US regional command headquarters maintain relationships with countries in Africa," it said.

Globalism with Combat Boots

The last link (editorial) then leads us into a revoking attack on actions by the USA in Somalia. I disagree with nearly all of it and could easily take a couple of posts just to break it down, but to be balanced I include it here:
Where the Dead Rot in the Streets: Bush's Terror War in Somalia Rages On
Lots of links to news stories also in this piece.

But then why does all Geopolitical/Geo-strategic issues just revolve around the USA and the collective Navel gazing associated with that.
The first link is to a Freedomist blog.
A Moment of Opportunity: China, Darfur, and the 2008 Olympics

China, on a domestic and international cleaning binge, is seeking to cleanse its status and reputation by the time it begins hosting the Olympics in 2008 to appear as a developed nation in a first-world prom dress. While this may appear as a farcical whitewash operation by a totalitarian regime, it presents an opportunity for the international community to take concrete steps in resolving the Darfur crisis.

Again it has plenty of good links at the bottom of the post.

The below article could definitely learn a thing or two about political correctness.
China feels rising cost of interests in Africa

A deadly attack by rebels on a Chinese-run oil field in Ethiopia that left more than 70 dead is the latest example of the human and political cost of China's growing energy interests in Africa.

Tuesday's attack by rebel gunmen on the facility left 65 Ethiopians dead as well as nine workers from China, making it the deadliest in a recent spate of killings and kidnappings aimed at Chinese firms in Africa.

So reaction seems appropriate:
China deplores Ethiopia attack

China has condemned an attack on a Chinese oil company site in Ethiopia that killed 74 people, including nine Chinese.

So China gets a majority of oil produced on the east African Coast while the USA gets a majority produced on the West Coast. But we are trying to prevent genocide in all of Africa. If we were only concerned about "Our" oil then it seems we would have initiated the change in Military Commands.

And just so people know that I am not too serious of a guy then watch Qadhafi clip 1421 as he explains:
extinction of Jews, "Leeza" controlling them Arabs, Israetine and breaking ties with the ARabs/solidarity with African states...
And check out how in clip 1430 a crazy man calls Reagen crazy and "North Africa in its entirety is Shiite".

"We have turned towards peace, because America has turned toward peace with us."
What we gave with our right hand we took back with our left. (laughter, applause)

Links of interest:
Social Tolerance Allows Bonobos To Outperform Chimpanzees On A Cooperative Task

Tanzanian coffee farmers go green

Edit (4-26-07):
Resoultion to the Zimbabwe Crisis

Unless immediate measures are taken, Zimbabwe’s crisis will continue to deepen. Everyday, it becomes increasingly difficult for the majority of Zimbabweans to meet their families’ basic needs. Economists estimate that by June this year, 99% of the population will be living below the Poverty Datum Line (PDL). Clearly there is need for an urgent solution. Such a solution must come from the generality of Zimbabweans, and not simply from political parties. Similarly, while the support of Zimbabwe’s friends and neighbours is welcome, it is up to the people of Zimbabwe to determine their national destiny.

It is noteworthy that there is also talk of a Transitional Government for Zimbabwe. Everywhere else it seems assumes that it is a colonialization of the country. Because there has to be some authority during the transition phase.

Ethiopia Blames Eritrea for Attack

The rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front, which has been linked to Eritrea in the past, claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack, which killed 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese. At least six Chinese workers also were kidnapped, said Xu Shuang, general manager of Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau's Ethiopia operation.

Since I followed Uganda for a while this is of interest to myself.
Uganda resumes talks with rebels

Captain Barigye Bakoku, the spokesman for the Ugandan delegation, said: "I did not see any tension and I hope we are going to move smoothly up to the end because I saw seriousness in both delegations.

"Tomorrow we are going to start on comprehensive solutions and we will move on to other items on the talks' agenda."

Martin Ojul, the head of the LRA delegation, said: "We are here to solve problems... Our expectation is things will go smoothly."