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Melissa Rossi, Armchair Diplomat
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| Catching up, well sort of |
[20 Aug 2005|11:16pm] |
Hello there,
My apologies for my extreme tardiness in not updating this -- for, oh, about two years. In that time, I've been pulling one continuous "all-nighter" while writing two new books -- The Armchair Diplomat on Europe and What Every American Should Know about Who is Really Running the World.
The Armchair Diplomat on Europe just came out in the Britain, and WEASK Who is Really Running the World hits U.S. bookstores on December 1, 2005. The former is about the new European Union (EU), and how nobody in Europe can figure out what Europe is anymore -- and it gives profiles of the 25 EU countries plus Norway and Switzerland. Lots of history and culture, and good for travelers, they say.
The second new book is far feistier than I'd imagined it would be when I started it. But I couldn't hold back any longer: We are continually getting hoodwinked about what is going on in the U.S., and the mainstream media is hesitant about really plowing in and setting the picture straight. It's truly a crisis, I think.
These days I believe the best sources of info can be found on
1) commondreams.org
2) alternet.org
3) economist.com
4) guardian.co.uk
My half-Italian blood is shooting up the temperature charts over recent events in the U.S. -- don't get me started on the appointment of the heinous anti-diplomat John Bolton, who is now U.S. ambassador to the UN, despite lack of Senate approval on the matter, and daily I seethe in the direction of Bush advisor Karl Rove, who is as sleazy as they come. (Did the New York Times Judith Miller march to jail to protect Rove? Or just to make sure she gets a few more zeroes on her next advance? Her unquestioning reporting on the drivel the White House was feeding her about Iraq still infuriates me -- take a bow Judy for sending us to Iraq!) And then there's creepy neocon Richard Perle -- he's a ridiculously important defense advisor and the idiot who paraded Ahmed Chalabi into the "Does Saddam have WMD?" debate, and therefore responsible for all the nonsense Chalabi spewed. Michael Ledeen, another neocon "thinker/advisor" -- who like the rest of the neocon clan had NEVER been right about ANYTHING, ever -- is one of the forces pushing us towards potential war with Iran. I get into this with a lot more details (and pithier style) in the book that comes out in December.
Now, I'm catching up on sleep before starting another couple books.
Thanks so much to all who have commented. I also got my hotmail account going again!
Will try to be more "on it" with this now that I (sort of) have a life again....
Cheers,
M
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| BUTANO! |
[21 Aug 2003|04:41pm] |
Just an update of life in Barcelona.
I live in the old town, in a cool 1800s apartment with mosaic floors and a 200-year-old mural of flowers on the ceiling (which crumbles on the bed) and big windows onto a well-travelled side street, so close to the neighbors that you can hear them puking. The noise from the street comes in waves: midnight -- singing Germans; 1 am -- singing French; 2 am -- singing Brits; 3 am --singing Americans; 4 am singing Spanish; 5 am -- sing/slurring Americans.
All the hot water, gas comes from orange gas tanks, which you have to buy from the street by yelling from your balcony "BUTANO!" and then the Pakistani who pushes the tanks around lugs it up the stairs for you.
Apparently all the butanos from this zone are in Pakistan this week, one of the hottest in Spanish history, though much better than last week. We can't cook, we can't take a shower, because there are no butanos coming down the streets, and we have been out of gas for five days. All the store keepers assure me the butanos haven´t been coming lately, but my roommates are glaring at me, since apparently this is my responsibility to find the butano since i live on the side street.
Besides that, and the fact that things are semi-anarchistic in the house -- i paid rent three weeks ago, but the landlord still hasnt been paid, and oh yeah, the bathroom is broken and all the pans are missing handles -- besides that, it's great!!! Really!
Adios,
M
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| Melting in Las Waddlas |
[16 Aug 2003|05:30pm] |
Hmm, not sure this even works, but in the event that it does:
I am neck deep in book, papers and transcripts while updating my book in Barcelona for the international edition and meanwhile am melting into the street, since air conditioning is muy raro aqui in Spain.
Come September I'll be doing more entries -- with lots of great recommendations for books and sites. Until then...have a great August!
Hasta luego,
Melissa
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| PEACEKEEPERS Or Rot in hell Dom and Alice! |
[28 Jul 2003|07:48am] |
Liberia-bound: Africa and the lingering wounds of favoritism
Before we get into the case of Liberia, the war-ravaged country where President Charles Taylor (whom I loathe, as apparently do the rebels violently trying to drive him out) won't leave until international peacekeepers step in, and where some 2000 US troops are currently heading towards, apparently on small canoes, since somehow it is going to take over a week to get there from the Mediterranean, I'd like to raise two issues:
1) The image we have of Africa
2) The case of my twisted Aunt Medusa and wacko Uncle Satan
Africa is pretty much synonymous with "screwed up" and "dangerous" these days, and the US media, when they decide to take a quick glance at it, keep pounding those ideas in our heads. (A few exceptions "Inside Africa" on CNN International and BBC's magazine about Africa). What usually gets missed is that there are 54 countries on the continent that is the world's second largest, some of them are doing relatively well, and most of them are gorgeous, vibrant, culturally rich and filled with potential.
Africa does have more than its fair share of problems -- HIV, famine, long-lasting civil wars, ethnic-religious strife and poverty among them -- and its most gruesome problem I think are the child soldiers who are drugged and forced to kill their best friend or family to join the militias that might provide them with something to eat. (I will talk more about this -- Charles Taylor'a child armies as well as the ones in Sierra Leone, Uganda, Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo -- in a few days).
Except for the safari kingdom of Kenya, the pyramids of Egypt and the souks of Morocco, the images we see are of violence-ravaged cities and bloated bellies on skeletal bodies and dusty land with dying cattle. We rarely hear about the programs that are working -- substituting goats for cows as livestock, literacy increases, programs that give women small loans to start their own businesses, for instance -- and we rarely hear African music or see the art or taste the cuisine. click here for some african art and music
In short, it's easy to conclude that Africa is just a mess and turn the page, which I think is the wrong attitude -- as obviously does Bono and others who keep flashing the spotlight down south. The good news is that at least some of the African despots have been booted, more are falling, places such as Sierra Leone (and maybe Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo) are cooling down and that the world -- particularly Europe -- is keeping Africa in focus, and sending in peacekeepers (albeit sometimes a bit late) when needed. And what's so crucial to keep in focus when thinking about "wayward Africa" is that it is really young: most of its countries became independent in the 1960s or even 1970s or 1980s. Think of where the US was at that point of its country development: politicians were still duking it out, we were still engaging in territorial battles, there was a fear that the new republic wouldn't hold up and the US, at that stage, still had a very nasty civil war ahead of us -- when millions were killed before the country was a century old.
When I think about Africa, it's just hard to forget the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, when Western European countries literally divvied the continent up -- which is why so many countries have straight borders, many running right through former villages. Except for Liberia -- which had been started not actually by freed slaves from the US, but the American Colonization Society -- a group of anti-slavery Amish, who wanted to give freed slaves new opportunity, and pro-slavery plantation owners who wanted freed slaves out -- all of Africa became European holdings, there simply give the "mother country" a needed resource boost.
The only good effects of colonization, if indeed there were any, is that in some cases, the colonizing forces brought in schools, hospitals, communication (mostly telegraph initially) and transportation systems. The bad things about colonization are appalling and well-known: millions died, boundaries were drawn regardless of ethnic grouping, history, resource needs or the wishes of those who lived there; cultures were ignored and wiped out; needless battles and wars kicked up; lands were seized from its rightful owners; riches were plundered; disease introduced; AND social illnesses -- and ethnic rivalries -- snaked their way in and still rear their ugly heads.
Which brings me straight to Aunt Medusa and Uncle Satan, aka Alice and Dom.
On my father's side of the family -- the Italian side -- all of his siblings, except for Uncle Satan, had two kids. Uncle Satan, who had been the eldest, had no kids, however, and I won't get into my theories as to why except that he married revolting Aunt Medusa and the words "cuckoo" and "kinky" come to mind. Well, the weird thing is that Uncle Satan, being the eldest, was the big fav in the family -- all the money went into his education and well-being -- and everybody else was ignored (we won't get into my theories about what happened to Aunt Rose). The only competition Uncle Satan ever knew was my Dad, the youngest, and arguably, the smartest, and the one who kept skipping grades, and for whom there was no money left for college education.
Well, the weird thing about Aunt Medusa and Uncle Satan is they always professed great interest in their nieces and nephews (I won't get into my theory about how they were perverts), and they always invited them to come visit in Los Angeles, where Uncle Satan was a real estate mogul, who made most of his money suing everybody who ever lived in his houses, including Lorne Green (of Bonanza) for such things as painting the walls. And Aunt Medusa and Uncle Satan ALWAYS favored the younger child, and afterwards, the two siblings NEVER got along. It was just a given. Happened to every single set of my cousins.
So, when I was eight and my sister was six we stayed with the Disgusting Duo in Los Angeles, while my parents were at a convention not too far away. Now, my parents weren't stupid -- they feared that some favoritisim might play out, and they warned me about it. But no warning could prepare me for what lie ahead. I am about a million years old -- or more accurately, as the Boston Globe reported just today "older than most cheeses, but younger than many fine wines" -- and I still recall the horrors of the stay.
Let's simply say: I could do no right, and my younger sister could do no wrong. "What do you want for dinner girls?" they'd ask. "Macaroni and cheese!" I'd say. "Tuna!" my sister would say. "TUNA IT IS!" they would say. They fought -- loudly -- over who would take my sister to lunch and who would be stuck with me. They talked loudly about how great my sister was and what a disappointment I was. They fawned over her and scowled at me. My sister, always a bit on the devious side, took full advantage of the situation, and I fully remember when she tried to kill me with a trophy, when I had done (I swear) nothing: this of course was my fault. Everything was my fault. I was bad, she was good, end of story. My parents say that when they came to pick us up they knew something was wrong: typically out-going and confident, I was cowering in the corner.
Now, that was after only seven days. My relationship with my sister, which had been quite good until then, went down the tubes from that point on.
I shudder to think about what it would have been like to be the "inferior" Hutu to the "superior" Tutsi, or any of the other "tribes" that were inflicted to that sort of treatment by the colonial forces for oh, a century or two or three or four. But I know the lethal effects of favoritism, and I think they are still being played out in Africa and elsewhere around the world.
In Liberia, the "favored" group given all the chances and the ones that became the power elite were the Americo-Liberians -- the 5 % that were the descendents of the freed slaves from the US or Caribbean. The descendents of the sixteen groups that had originally lived on the so-called "Grain Coast" NEVER had a chance in government -- all the presidents were Americo-Liberians -- never had a chance with industry (Goodyear and other favored the Americo-Liberians) and essentially never had a chance, until President Doe came along, a member of the Krahn tribe, who was accused of favoring his tribe, and wasn't a particularly good president by any estimation.
Charles Taylor, was part of the elite Americo-Liberian group, was educated in the US, had every opportunity given him, and don't get me started, has done nothing but incite violence in all of West Africa, including starting a war in Liberia, that killed 200,000, and essentially saying it wouldn't stop until he was voted in as pres, which he was a couple years ago.
The rebels, who are trying to oust him, are of different tribes, particularly the Krahn and Mandingo, and at least one of the groups, MODEL, is suggesting that an interim government have representatives of their group and the other rebel group LURD, but be headed by someone who wasn't a rebel, and they've actually suggested a woman to head the country.
I do not excuse the rebel groups -- the insurrection they've kicked up against revolting President Taylor has killed thousands more civilians than soldiers. But I understand at least where there coming from: Taylor has got to go.
In the meantime, everybody -- Taylor, MODEL, LURD and the civilians are begging for the US to get in there and help break up the fighting and deliver the food to the hundreds of thousands now camping in arenas and churches or just on the run -- and you know what has been holding that picture up: Somalia, or rather the 1993-94 peacekeeping mission there that ended with 18 US peacekeepers being killed, one dragged through the streets like war booty.
Well, Somalia was a decade ago. The next year, in 1994, the US was "Africa-ed out" and the US didn't intervene in Rwanda, where angry Hutu killed 800,000 Tutsis in a matter of weeks, typically chopping them to death with machetes, though those who had money paid to be shot. The US didn't intervene in Democratic Republic of the Congo where about THREE MILLION have died since 1998. The US didn't get involved in Sierra Leone, where some 50,000 were killed in the late 1990's, and where rebels (allegedly funded, armed and probably drugged by Liberia's Charles Taylor) went around chopping the hands off of those they thought had voted for the president, while the world focussed on Kosovo.
The US has a historical link to Liberia, even if it isn't taught in our schools. Liberia is quite connected to the US, even if we don't cop to a link with Liberia, step-child of the 1800s, and essentially notice they're around only when we need their rubber or to use their military bases.
I understand the political risks to the Bush Administration of putting peacekeepers in Liberia: the ongoing deaths in Iraq are already a huge liability, and in Liberia, despite the pleas from all sides, you can count on some US peacekeepers deaths. It will happen, according to some reports, three troops already died protected the US Embassy in Liberia. I predict by the time it is over and done, more US peacekeepers -- if they actually get off their slow-moving ship and get on the ground -- will die than in Somalia. And you know, the media (and I am not trying to make a scapegoat of the US media, which in many ways I respect and adore), will say this word over and over again "SOMALIA!" And I think, instead, we have to think "RWANDA" and "SIERRA LEONE" and "DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO" and all the other places we ignored.
(By the way, Uncle Satan and Aunt Medusa, have been dead for a decade, and they left their billions to every branch of the family, except my father's. Predictably, my sister wanted to sue. They left about $ 100,000 to my cousin "J" -- one of the favored "youngest" tribe -- just to take care of their dog. No sooner were they in the ground than he had the dog put to sleep.)
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| THE MYSTERY CONTINUES! |
[25 Jul 2003|03:33am] |
Talk about missing information!
( If you are looking for AFRICA QUIZ, see entry below)
Well, since the questions swirling around the 9/11 attack are back in the news with the release of a heavily-censored 800-page Congressional report -- and its pages and pages of blacked out information -- about intelligence leading up to September 11th click here to hear Newshour with Jim Lehrer interview with Senators Bob Graham and Richard Shelby on the report , I have a big Q that nobody in the media seems to be asking.
Specifically, UM, WHO THE HECK WERE THE HIJACKERS, ANYWAY?
Barely three days had passed after the September 11th devastation when the names and pictures of the supposed 19 hijackers were plastered all over the news, which was amazing, and, as it turns out, at least partially wrong. At least six of the alleged hijackers are still living according to numerous reports click here for a strange article that does have lots of good links at top of page; bottom of page, however, is a bizarre conspiracy theory, which sounds far-fetched , some of them having had their passports stolen, some having common names, some apparently victims of mistaken identity. I can certainly forgive the initial confusion in those surreal hours, although I wonder why these guys are still pictured on the FBI's list, and why they haven't sued the heck out of the US government for singling them out when they apparently weren't the hijackers.
What I am having an even harder time understanding, however, is why we still know diddly-squat about who the hijackers were and what they were actually doing here, besides going to flight school, except that a) some of them worked out at Gold's Gym, b) a couple of them were rude and rowdy at a Florida bar shortly before the attack and c) ringleader Mohammad Atta and another supposed hijacker were in Portland, Maine the night before they set the plan into motion.
Now, maybe the FBI and CIA are real clear on who the hijackers were and what they were doing, and perhaps they just don't want the American public to know because maybe the soon-to-be hijackers were working in certain public positions -- say, maybe working on crowded commuter ferries, say -- and that intelligence thinks this information would cause the American public to panic. I don't know. But I do point a big finger at the media for letting all this info fall through the cracks. I know they tried, initially, but geez louise kids, nearly two years have gone by and we still don't have insight into what was really going on -- and we don't even know why so many of the flight schools were owned by Dutchmen who didn't fly themselves. Well, until I see some answers put forth by somebody -- ARE THERE ANY INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS LEFT IN THE US? -- I reluctantly am going to have to give the media a BIG FAT F- for not delving into and shedding more light on our worst domestic crisis and for so miserably failing to put together all the missing pieces of this picture. Were I a powerful editor, I'd have a team covering the hijacker mystery, and still covering it, and living in the cities where the hijackers were known to have lived and I'd have a few Arabic speakers on that team as well. This is the story that got away -- and I find it really strange that it did! I don't think the hijackers were just sitting around playing solitaire waiting for the big day -- I suspect they were very much out in public, and I'd like to know what exactly it was they were doing.
The other bewildering element is why the people who do have information about these guys -- and somebody or lots of somebodies have to --haven't contacted the media either. Maybe they contacted the FBI who told them to keep buttoned up. I really don't know, but it is all very peculiar.
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| AFRICAN DAZE |
[20 Jul 2003|08:04pm] |
QUIZ TIME!
Well, President Bush is long back from his dizzying five-country tour of Africa, but how much did we learn? In fact, how much do we know about the continent that is the world's second largest and is home to 54 countries. Herewith a quiz to help keep you up to date. (Also see "updates" and "Common Confusions" on armchairdiplomat.com site for more info about Africa)
1. The first white settlers arrived in South Africa in the mid 1600s. The initial reason that these first settlers, mostly Dutch, decided to move into the area was:
a) a horrible shipwreck caused them to explore the beautiful land with which they fell in love
b) the Dutch refused to pay the asking price for food from the local Bantus, and decided to set up their own farms
c) the discovery of diamonds in the area was a magnet for Europeans
2. What was called Abyssinia in 1914 is now mostly
a) Kenya
b) Algeria
c) Ethiopia
3. What was once known as Rhodesia is now two countries
a) Zambia and Zimbabwe
b) Nigeria and Niger
c) Lesotho and Swaziland
4. The two OPEC members in Africa are
a) Liberia and Nigeria
b) Liberia and Libya
c) Nigeria and Libya
5. GM food is a concern to African countries because
a) they don't like the taste
b) they have allergic reactions, including hives and asthma
c) some worry that it will cross pollinate with existing crops and diminish abilities to sell to Europe
6) Until the 1960's, most of West Africa was colonial holdings of
a) France
b) Portugal
c) Italy
7) The Berlin Conference of 1884 is memorable because
a) it led to using African soldiers in World War I
b) it divvied up Africa as colonies to Western European countries
c) it required that European countries teach "civilized" languages to African tribes
8) The most populous country in Africa is
a) Sudan
b) Nigeria
c) Egypt
9) The only full-time US military bases in Africa are in:
a) South Africa and Nigeria
b) Egypt and Algeria
c) there aren't any
10) The Suez Canal runs along ______ on the _________
a) Egypt, Red Sea
b) Sudan, Nile
c) Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo River
11) Which country is found on the Horn of Africa
a) Somalia
b) Sudan
c) South Africa
12) Match the leader with the country
LEADERS
a) Robert Mugabe
b) Charles Taylor
c)Moammar Qaddafi
d)Hosni Mubarak
e) Olesegyn Obasanjo
f) King Mohamed VI
g) Thabo Mbeki
COUNTRIES
1) Nigeria
2) South Africa
3) Zimbabwe
4) Morocco
5) Liberia
6) Libya
7) Egypt
13) The highest AIDS rates in the world are in
a) Senegal and Uganda
b) Botswana and Swaziland
c) Zimbabwe and Democratic Republic of the Congo
14) The country called Zaire from the 1970's to mid 1990's, is now called
a) Democratic Republic of the Congo
b) Zambia
c) The Ivory Coast
ANSWERS
1. b
2. c
3. a
4. c
5. c
6. a
7. b
8. b (Note: but Sudan has most area)
9. c
10. a
11. a
12. a) 3 b) 5 c) 6 d) 7 e) 1 f) 4 g) 2
13. b
14. a
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| Clue: The Democrats with the wrench in the library |
[19 Jul 2003|03:09am] |
As the House turns: You fruitcake, you little fruitcake!
Reality TV comes to Congress!
Well, I was supposed to be on C-Span Radio's "About Books" this afternoon. But the House of Representatives blew up today, so my interview was postponed. Ordinarily, I'd be pretty peeved -- except listening to the esteemed representatives giving their accounts of the ordeal that went down last night during a late night meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee is decidedly the most colorful "congressional report" I've heard. Frankly, it sounded pretty sleazy -- the head of the committee Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Cal) tried to sneak in some measure about pensions without having shown it to the Democrats -- and they walked out and huddled in the library to read the 30-page document. The one Democrat who remained in the committee room, Rep. Pete Stark (D-Cal), had a fit when the Republicans tried to vote on it with all the Democrats out, and another Representative told him to shut up, and Stark reportedly hissed that the Republican was "a fruitcake, a little fruitcake" and another representative reportedly almost punched him. Then the chair of the committee (Rep. Thomas) called the police, and they forced the Democrats out of the library. Well, there was a riot in the House today -- they were even talking about "bodily functions" on the house floor, if that gives you an idea of how outta control the whole thing was. With hijinx like these, who needs Geraldo? CNN report on our esteemed reps here
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| That distant planet: the rest of the world |
[18 Jul 2003|08:59pm] |
WHY CARE?
If you ever hear me making a funny sputtering, stuttering sound, it's invariably because I have been asked a certain question, which positively takes me aback.
Here's the question: Well, why should we in the United States care about the rest of the world?
Being as I get asked that all the time, here is the multi-pronged answer -- minus the stuttering and sputtering.
1) It's bad for self-esteem to walk around thinking you're stupid about the rest of the world and that the news is impossible to understand and that you'd better run out of the room when friends talk about current events
2) If you don't understand the rest of the world, you often live in a state of chronic fear
3) The US is always in the middle of dealings with the rest of the world, which you can't follow if you don't understand the rest of the world
4) The rest of the world is focused on the US, and wonders why US residents don't seem to care about them
5) As the people who live in the richest, most powerful country, there may be a certain moral obligation to be attuned to the world
6) It's absolutely fascinating and the best soap opera going
7) Perhaps the world could use your input and creative problem solving abilities
In short: you'll feel better and maybe, just maybe, the world will benefit as well.
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| Showing my hand: A Blur of Grays |
[17 Jul 2003|06:10am] |
It's one of those two, three, even four, hand days.
On the one hand, I'm glad that Iran is finally telling the truth about the Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi, who they've been saying just happened to get sick, fall into a coma and die right after she was picked up for taking photos outside a prison in Tehran. BBC report On the other hand, it's intolerable and disgusting that the woman was beaten (and no doubt tortured) into said coma by the Iranian government -- and mostly, it seems, because they thought she was Iranian, since she carried an Iranian passport as well, as if that explains the barbarian cruelty. ("Oh, if only we'd known she was Canadian, we wouldn't beaten her silly, we thought she was one of our own," seems to be the logic.) I'm surprised that the US government is not jumping all over the Ayatollah's case about this latest violation of human rights, but on the other hand, the US never does regard Canada as its sibling, equal or ally, despite the fact Canada is all three, and besides Iran might bring up that little problem of human rights violations in Guantanamo Bay as well as the civil rights violations written right into the USA PATRIOT Act. On the other hand, maybe this latest show of Iran in the international spotlight will kick up international outrage and diminish the Ayatollah's already-flickering power.
On the one hand, I'm truly impressed that the new head of US Central Command, General John Abizaid, admitted that the situation in Iraq has degenerated into a guerrilla war, CNN report (thank you, sir, for calling a spade, a spade, sir), but on the other hand, I feel awful for the US troops who are there in increasingly dangerous circimstances and whose scheduled leaves have been postponed another few months and who, it sounds like, are miserable. On the other hand, this whole situation of chaotic mayhem was foreseeable -- and predicted by thinktankers, analysts and some who protested the war, and even some who knew they were going to have to fight in it -- but few were listening to the so-called "Saddam lovers." On the other hand, now that the can of worms has been opened, the US is going to have to deal with the problem and at least a council of Iraqi interim leaders has been meeting. On the other hand, Iraqis are protesting that they want to elect the interim government and not have them picked by the US. On the other hand, if they elected an interim government, the Iraqis might elect to institute a theocracy and the US sure doesn't want to see that.
On the one hand, I'm so happy to see geopolitics and foreign policy are being discussed in so many forums on the Internet; on the other hand, these message boards and forums so often degenerate into "Battles of the Posts," filled with rants and name-calling and characterized by sputtering recitation of misinformation, propaganda, and half-facts. On the other hand, since politics is usually a subject that's simply avoided in the US, we haven't had much experience with the fine art of diplomatic debate, and besides, few people seem to care enough to dig out what the truth really is, so why should I be surprised that these "political discussions" disintegrate into "playground histrionics" typified by "I'm right, you're wrong, screw off" logic. here's the people's forum On the other hand, perhaps it's time we learn how to have discussions and attempt to communicate information in some helpful way.
On the one hand, it's thrilling that there are so many new books about politics coming out; on the other hand, it's horrifying that many of the best-sellers are hysterical attacks on the questioning "liberals" who are now scapegoats for every wrong in the history of the country, despite the fact that this country was founded on questioning and debate, and that the founding fathers were liberals in their time, the conservatives wanting to honor the British crown. amazon politics best seller list On the other hand, if the masses can't see that they are being played and manipulated by such "thinkers" as Ann Coulter -- who regards Joe McCarthy as a hero! -- and if the hungry-for-information readers are happy to satify their appetites with this rhetorical, spun-up in red, white and blue sloganized cotton-candy wrapped around blood-thirsty attacks that focus the collective anger and fear in the US by dividing everything into goods and evils, blacks and whites, well, it's their first amendment right. On the other hand, this increasing polarization -- stirred up by the left as well, although not as loudly fiddled -- is most unhealthy and doesn't bode well for the future of the US, where these days apparently you're either with the loudmouths who claim they represent conservatives -- who have hijacked patriotism and who, I don't think, even truly represent the conservatives -- or you'd better shut up or risk being shot down by their rants. On the other hand, I usually don't live in the US, so why should I care if my country has taken the "you're either with us or you're with the terrorists" logic and twisted it into a means to divide and subdivide itself. On the other hand, I do care that the most powerful country in the world is eating itself alive and eating up our inalienable rights (including the right to have informed, balanced debates) in the process.
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| SIXTY MINUTES |
[14 Jul 2003|05:25pm] |
What gives at the FBI?
You might think that after 9/11 the US government had learned that it has to be on top of its translations, since there were documents sitting on desks that told what was about to happen -- they just hadn't been translated. You might think that with the billions spent on Homeland Security and all the spying that's going on thanks to new legislation, including the USA PATRIOT Act, that US intelligence would be on top of it, right?
Well, last night (7/13/2003) "60 Minutes" click here for highlights featured an alarming segment about the FBI, or rather the translation departments of the FBI, that gives real reason to wonder what the heck is going on over there. Maybe intelligence is on it -- but they still can't readily access their information because, according to information presented in "Lost in Translation," the translation department is utterly incompetent and borders on corrupt. (That's putting it kindly).
The subject of the interview, Turkish translator Sibel Edmonds, blew the whistle -- talking about how:
a) her boss told her to translate more slowly -- this, after 9/11 -- and to keep lots of papers piled on her desk so the department could get a bigger budget
b) her boss actually deleted her translations from the FBI computer if she worked too quickly
c) her boss hired a woman who was involved with one of the Turks whose phones they were tapping: the new woman not only skipped over crucial parts of the transcript -- she threatened Sibel Edmonds's life if she kept translating the tapes correctly
d) many of the FBI's translators are NOT even proficient in the languages they are supposed to be translating -- so they are probably missing important information and god knows how they are interpreting prisoners' stories
e) when Sibel Edmonds kept complaining, SHE got fired AND her supervisor got promoted
FBI internal affairs confirmed her allegations as well, and Senator Charles Grassley, who heads the Judiciary Committee, that oversees the FBI says she's credible too.
So, since I know the FEDS peek in on this site, and I want them to feel free to, here's my question: do we have to privatize American intelligence to make it work? I really hope the show gave the FBI's translation department the kick in the rear it apparently needs to get on it. Grrrrr. (Translation: this is really upsetting!)
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| Whatsa Matter You Guys |
[12 Jul 2003|07:56am] |
"We're Sorry Day: A New International Holiday"
Is it something to do with the stars? Or are politicians feeling too emboldened and loopy from their potent mixtures of happy drugs? (I really think many of them are tossing back handfuls, far too many handfuls, of meds, which is why they so sometimes grin stupidly at really grim, inappropriate moments.)
Whatever the cause, there is a bad case of rift-itis going around. As if it wasn't alarming enough how US-US relationships are deteriorating into a factionalized, mud-slinging mess (and a personal thanks to all those media personalities and "writers" who are stirring up the masses) with the right-wing and left-wing hurling insults and hissing names every two seconds and issuing those hateful "Pack of Weasels" and "Pack of War Profiteers" cards about each other.
As if it wasn't scary enough how certain US-European relationships have soured -- French restaurants in the US are deserted thanks to the continuing anti-French animosity and US bases in Germany are shutting right up and I have never heard Americans (typically a forgiving, well-mannered bunch) saying such hateful things in my life.
Just to make international relations a little more grating, now we have Italy's gaffe-happy leaders shaking everything up, and making a joke of Italy's six month presidency of the European Union. If Italy doesn't have its presidency role in the EU yanked away within days it will be a wonder, or rather if media mogul/censorer Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (and his fellow politicos) aren't pushed out the door by the Italians for embarrassing the heck out of them, screwing up their economy, shutting up the media and just being generally corrupt, well, then something is seriously wrong.
Oh pardon me: let me backtrack by saying I am Italian or rather, Italian-American, as all the Italians informed me when I lived in Florence, seeking my roots, and quickly giving up on that idea since about half the country's last name is Rossi (which means "red"; the other half of the country is named Bianchi, which means white, and it all goes back to some Renaissance-era movement to install the Pope as head of government, which the Rossis were against and the Bianchis were for, if that gives you an idea of how long things play out around there).
Now, Frances Mayes portrays Italians as wonderful, fun-loving, darling little angels in her first book "Under the Tuscan Sun" which was of course so naive that it was a runaway bestseller in the US. Her second book, written when she could actually understand some Italian and comprehend what the darling little angels were saying right to her face thinking she couldn't "capish" is a bit more jaded and judgemental, and since she was telling the truth, it didn't do quite as well.
While I was living in Italy, which I still love -- and where I still adore some of the residents -- I discovered firsthand a few things about my grandfather's countrymen: 1) they hold a grudge forever and a day; 2) they can be incredibly mean -- just downright cruel -- and they think it's funny 3) The best things to be in Italy are a baby, a puppy or a blonde, especially a blonde woman, whom they worship.
Considering 1) -- their ability to hold a grudge forever -- the Florentines, for example, are still furious with people from Arezzo, half an hour away, for something that happened around 1232, it always struck me as interesting how the Italians really seemed to accept and embrace the many Germans who were so crucial to their tourism industry, given the nasty (and relatively recent) history of WWII. Granted, Hitler did not destroy Florence -- he thought it a beautiful town -- and while he ordered all the other bridges bombed, he spared lovely Ponte Vecchio (which, handily, had the anti-German Resistance communication system running through it). But the Nazis did take over the villas in Tuscany, and it was damn ugly.
The ease with which the past had seeming been paved over -- Germany did apologize for the war -- and younger Germans are among the least nationalistic and kindest people on the planet, and the German government does promote all kinds of programs embracing international cultures -- made me think that the hatchet had been buried and that Europeans were really quite evolved. The whole birth of the European Union from WWII ashes underscored that idea that Europeans could really turn the other cheek and figure out how to get along together.
Recent developments, however, have tossed that idea out the window -- at least with regards to the Italian government -- and have illustrated the things I discovered when I lived in Italy: namely, points 1, 2 and 3.
The problems began with Prime Minister Berlusconi, who is supposed to be in diplomo-mode since he is heading the EU for six months, (and who, increasingly, I've come to regard as a total sleaze bucket since he was about to be tried on bribery and corruption charges and recently evaded them by creating a new law that the heads of government can't be tried while in office, which probably means he'll never step down). Illustrating points 1 and 2, Berlusconi made his really funny joke to a German who was a minister of the European Parliament, and who was on Berlusconi's case about something. Berlusconi tells the guy that he has a friend making a movie about World War II and Berlusconi will try to get the German a role as a guard in a concentration camp. HA HA! It was the huge flap of last week. So Berlusconi calls German Chancellor Shroeder and says something, which Schroeder announces was an apology. Immediately Berlusconi says it wasn't an apology, illustrating yet again his awesome diplomatic skills (recall Berlusconi said that 9/11 proved that Western civilization was superior to Eastern.)
Then yesterday, Stefano Stefani who for chrissakes is the Minister of Tourism, denounces the Germans saying, according to the BBC, that the Germans are "hyper-nationalistic blonde louts who invade Italy's beaches."
see BBC report . In response, German Chancellor Shroeder cancels his annual two-week vacation to Italy and what does Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi say? He sneers that he "feels sorry" for Chancellor Shroeder. Not that he's sorry, but he feels sorry.
Well, the Minister of Tourism resigned, as well he should have, since he probably cost Italy a few billion dollars in lost German revenue, since Germans by the millions are bound to cancel their Italian vacations. (I will bet you anything that Tourism Minister made that remark because of Point 3 -- the Italian adoration of blondes. What no doubt happened was the Tourism Minister's advances were rebuffed by a beautiful blonde German woman, whom he thought was a goddess until she told him he was too short).
Meanwhile, Silvio Berlusconi sure as heck should resign because all he's done is make Italy look corrupt, crude and cruel to the EU and the world and he's turning the whole EU presidency into a cheap circus of snubs and under no other EU president have there been so many problems.
I have the solution, however, to this gnarly mess. I am officially declaring next Wednesday, June 18 (Wednesday being a boring day usually) to be "International We're Sorry Day," during which Italy and all the countries of the world all turn to the countries that they have been most unkind to and utter -- with meaning -- those words that politicians apparently find so hard to say: WE'RE SORRY! (And not this half-assed bureaucratic "Um, we regret that..." no, that won't do, it has to be "WE'RE SORRY!").
And Thursday July 19th will be designated "International We Forgive You Day".
And then, Silvio caro, if you're reading this, really, I'm sorry, but Friday July 20th has got to be the day you step down, hand over your position to somebody else -- and face the courts. Dove' il portone, signor? Va fuori -- ora! That's Italian for, essentially, "Get outta here!"
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| THE PEOPLE'S FORUM |
[11 Jul 2003|07:27am] |
The Future: Global Citizens
I've been looking at a bunch of blogs lately, and frankly, I am perplexed. Why are so few people talking about what is going on in the world? Not that they have to talk about the global happenings, of course, but geez, the world situation is positively fascinating, addictive, the best soap opera going. Talk about a cross between Dynasty and reality TV! And, hello -- it's important, more now I think than ever before in history!
I've concluded, as I sit here by myself, that:
a) people feel like there's nothing they can do, so why bother
OR
b) people think they don't know enough to say anything -- or are afraid to
For people who fall into category B, those who feel like they can't keep up, please check out my site click here , which in the news and updates section will give you at least some overviews and link you up to more info -- including articles on BBC's site and other international news sources. Or feel free to buy my book, which is cheap, or check it out of the library. (Also feel free to underline, even if it is a library copy!) And read the Economist, which despite its boring name is the best read on the world!
For people who fall into category A -- who have become apathetic because they feel there is nothing they can do: Come on! There are things to do -- including simply talking about the issues, and writing letters, and just caring enough to follow what's going on. It does make a difference, and if you live in the US, Canada or Western Europe -- the richest, most powerful countries in the world -- you have more power than anyone else. Please use it!
The reason I am urging you to partake in the global situation is this: we are, I think, really on the brink of a revolution, worldwide. Via the Internet, and blogs, and through travel, we can talk to people in far-flung parts of the planet, and figure out issues that seem to elude our politicians. The United Nations represents governments and politicians: where are the people represented? Nowhere -- yet. I envision a People's Forum, where citizens of all 191 countries of the world talk about the issues and problems in their countries, and hammer out a few solutions. I am such a dreamer that I think if even a small percentage of the world's six billion inhabitants got it together to figure out what WE want, and presented our list to the politicians (instead of the other way around) that we could make a HUGE impact. At the very least, we could identify the issues we want them to look at -- instead of having the corporations do that for us.
I keep seeing everybody wearing their USA pins on TV, and I'm thinking I want a pin of the world. I want to see people become global citizens, not just rooting for their sides. Geez, I want people to use these incredible technologies before us to really communicate and I want people to travel more or at least talk about what is going on in foreign countries with people who are from those countries. I want people to quit being so polarized and figure out how we can work as one -- and to see that so many of the extremists (Sean and Ann -- I am talking about you as well as to rabbelrousers from the left) are often just phonies (well I think they are) getting rich from riling people up and "playing" the masses!
So please do tune in to the international news, speak up, write, learn more, travel, talk, learn. Join the People's Forum -- it's already happening, all over the world. Until now, it just hasn't had a name....
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| Demonstation Grounded??? |
[10 Jul 2003|09:35am] |
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THE PROTEST THAT FIZZLED???
Well, what the heck happened in Iran yesterday? July 9th was supposed to be a countrywide work strike, or at the least a day of mass student demonstrations against the Islamic government. There is so much anger by the youth and women of Iran towards the government -- which has totally screwed the economy and created unemployment rates of over 30 %. Most of the population is under 25, and don't identify with why the Islamic government was created in 1979 in the first place. Some were predicting that the protests could mark the fall of Ayatollah Khamenei's religious regime. But sounds like the government cracked down and stomped out that planned rebellion -- arresting some 4000, with at least 2000 reportedly still detained.BBC report
To judge by the blogs I read, sounds like little to nothing happened in the streets of Tehran -- but then other reports say that many of the blogs were shut down. Reuters, however, says there were some scuffles:
Reuters report
I will be putting the question to my new Iranian friend. She (and others) point out another major player who doesn't make it into the media too often: former President Rafsanjani. He used to be somewhat liberal -- and is the one creditted with convincing then Ayatollah Khomeini to finally sign off on the hideous Iran-Iraq (1980-1988) during which a million were killed, nothing was gained, and both countries went broke. (It was also the first time Saddam Hussein used his chemical weapons -- on the Iranians; Iran was sending in the child soldiers as their first line of defense. Really a nasty war).
However, Rafsanjani has now swung to the conservative side, and some Iranians say he's really corrupt, and that not only did he plunder the state treasury when he was President -- until 1997 -- but that he's Mr. Developer these days -- building a mall in Toronto, towers in Dubai, and living the jetset life with stolen funds while trying to appear pious. I am not sure about the charges, but there does seem to be lots of Iranian anger directed at Rafsanjani and he's definitely rising up in the Iranian political power structure again. Rafsanjani is sure yelling a lot about the US lately too. more on Rafsanjani here
Besides wanting Ayatollah Khamenei to pack up his Islamic government, students and women are also plenty ticked at current President Khatami who promised a democracy (or at least more of one) and opening up the country, and sure hasn't done much. They demanded he step down too during demonstrations in June, which led to the "crackdown on dissidents" -- and when Iran cracks down on dissidents, they often kill them. (And if the US makes much noise about this, Iran snaps that the US should quit meddling in their affairs).
Meanwhile, the US has installed some kind of pirate radio station in Iran and apparently now a TV station too, and some Iranians apparently feel that there's nearly as much propaganda blaring from them (pro-US of course) as there is propaganda streaming from the Iranian state media. Some mysterious forces, however, are often blocking the transmissions, at least those out of Los Angeles, where there's a large Iranian community and a special Iranian network. Another thing making the Iranian government edgy: Iran is surrounded by the US military -- most heavily from Iraq and Afghanistan, and my secret source says the US military was buying property in Afghanistan along the Iranian border since 2001. The US is hopping mad that Iran keeps kicking up Shia rebellions in Iraq AND that Iran is building nuclear plants (technology provided by Russia).
My unproven theory: the reason the US is screaming about Iran's nuclear plants is at least partly a deal made with Israel: remember how in May Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was less than thrilled about the Road Map to Peace? Then suddenly, he did an about-face. Within hours, the US was bellowing about Iran plants and possible nuclear program. Iran's nuclear plants were a concern before, but suddenly the Bush Administration really turned up the volume and the heat. That, I think, wasn't a coincidence: Israel has long been worried about Iran's nuclear program -- since not only might Israel be a potential target of them (or so it fears), but Israel is the only country with nuclear weapons in the Middle East, and they don't want that power threatened.
I'm sure from the Iranian government's point of view it must be rather ironic that the country with the most nuclear plants and most nuclear weapons -- eg the US -- is livid that Iran is putting its toe in the nuclear pond. Alas, the only way to rate any power with the Big Boys these days is to have some nuclear weight to throw around. A dangerous situation indeed.
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| Globalized Threads |
[09 Jul 2003|07:05am] |
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GLOBALIZED THREADS
Can fashion save the world? Well, actually, I think it could help. Take Africa for example. Except for Africa's biggest money makers oil and diamonds, the US and Europe aren't buying a whole heck of a lot from African countries (coffee, cocoa, cotton and sugar are African exports as well, but their prices are rotten these days.) But I think there is a market for African goods -- goods made by the women, in whose hands money should be put in developing countries, studies have shown. African women make gorgeous textiles and incredible clothes -- from the head gear to the skirts. They may not have running water or electricity -- and their family members may be dying of AIDS and/or being massacred by rebels or kidnapped for child armies (I am not making light of these matters) -- but the women somehow look positively stunning most of the time. I don't know how they do it, but part of it, I think is the clothes -- those beautiful batiks in wild colors.
If I had money (and remember I am just a writer, a position that apparently excludes me from being one of the moneyed crowd unless my name is Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity, which it is not), I would empower assorted African women by making them designers and I would sell their clothes -- and since I would already have tons of money in this fantasy, I would give them all the proceeds. Also, I would market Afghan hats, which all too cool, and I would hire Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai away from his current position and make him a hat model, thereby saving him from getting a bullet through his head, since at the rate things are going in Afghanistan -- which is a mess -- that seems to be inevitable in the near future.
And while I am on the topic of fashion, it is too bad that countries such as Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan (under the Taliban) made full head coverings such a symbol of oppression. Because, design-wise, some of them are exotically beautiful: they've become such manifestions of religious/sexist zealotry -- in Kashmir and parts of Pakistan you'd better don them or you'll get acid thrown in your face -- that we can't even see the design aspect anymore: they've become the equivalent of chains. My feeling: women should never be forced to wear the overhead sheets that make them look like walking tents, it's positively wrong to make them do that. However, it should be an option, for every person -- man and woman -- to wear a head-bag if they want. Every so often, don't you just wake up and your hair's all wrong and your complexion is sallow and you have a stye on your eye or something, and you think "It's a burka day!" A few months ago, one designer actually introduced the burka -- in flaming pink -- on Parisian runways. It was a big flop, not to mention politically incorrect. But I think it has some utility -- but only as optional wear.
I'll bet anything Osama bin Laden has worn burkas as disguises. (Personal to international intelligence agents: Anytime you see a 6 foot 6 burka, with that telltale (machine gun) bulge over the shoulder -- that's probably our Sammy!).
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| Traipsing across Africa |
[08 Jul 2003|04:38pm] |
Why is President Bush in Africa, anyway? I believe there are several factors that prompted the visit.
1) Public Relations. People in the US are loathe to admit it, but the war in Iraq (supported by the majority of US residents) damaged the US image in the world. The Pew Global Attitudes Survey reflected the United States' drop of popularity, and so do the many interviews and conversations in which those from other countries refer to the US as "arrogant and a bully." In part, the African visit is damage control, showing that the US isn't just policeman of the world, but that it cares about the rest of the world.
2) AIDS: President Bush recently announced a $ 15 billion AIDS program that will help battle the disease that is Africa's # 1 problem. As I understand it, Congress has yet to approve the money for that program, but it's another symbol that the US is concerned about global problems.
3) Terrorism: An unstable continent is one ripe for Al Qaeda and other anti-west militants. The bombs that blew up the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 were a symbolic demonstration of the radicals underfoot. Al-Qaeda was actually born in Sudan in the mid 1990s, and the Muslim Brotherhood -- which has inspired many of the militants --makes its main headquarters in Egypt. Somalia is chaotic anarchy, and a potential hotbed for terrorist types; any place that is politically unstable is a possible toehold for al Qaeda and other militants.
4) Trade. Nigeria, one of the stops, is the biggest oil exporter in Africa, and more and more countries are finding petroleum bubbling underground or off shore. As the US tries to cut its dependence on Saudi crude, African oil become more attractive and you get bet your bottom dollar that more firms from the US, Canada and Europe will be setting up pumps into all parts of the continent.
5) Food. President Bush noted in a recent speech that he wanted famine-plagued Africa to embrace Genetically Modified food. The continent indeed is in need of agricultural reform: many of the plots are tiny, worked by hand, vulnerable to drought and barely provides enough for a family to live from. While Africa does need to upgrade its farming methods,GM food is a risky path to hoe: dependent on special chemicals from Dow and Monsanto, and using seeds that often need to be bought anew every year, GM crops will only increase African farmers' vulnerabily. Instead, the US and Europe need to stop requiring that Africa import Western food if they don't need it: farmers in the US and Europe are heavily subsidized, and the African farmers can't compete with the Western farmers' cut-rate prices: many African farmers are closing down their farms, which is exactly what shouldn't happen. Another possibility: bring in goats. They don't eat as much as cows and they provide milk, and in countries where they've been tried, goats seem to be the most promising livestock.
6) Military bases: The US doesn't have that many in Africa right now. A few more could come in real handy. (US can use bases in Egypt and Djibouti, however).
7) Arms deals???? I am not being cynical: the truth is whenever a powerful leader is traveling abroad, there are usually arms being peddled or at least given away. No confirmation on any arms being sold or offered yet, but modern=day diplomacy apparently demands more than just a bottle of fine scotch, alas.
8) Booting despots President Bush has demanded that Liberian President Charles Taylor step down and is sure to be pressuring Zimbabwe's Pres Robert Mugabe to do the same. He also told Uganda's president to give up the idea for running for a third term. One might argue that the US doesn't have the right to demand others to leave their posts, but Taylor and Mugabe are heavy-handed creeps who are causing revolts in their countries. I say, get the boys outta power, which seems to be what their people are saying too.
href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/july-dec03/africa_7-7.html" newshour with jim lehrer report on Africa (note comments of Salih Booker)
href="http://www.armchairdiplomat.com" click here to see my armchairdiplomat site
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| It it's Tuesday, this must be Pretoria; if it's Wednesday, this must be Gaborone |
[07 Jul 2003|10:57pm] |
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Well, the big buzz this week is AFRICA, which is definitely the United States' weak suit (unless of course you're counting Latin America, which we know zip about as well). I find this new focus on the continent rather exciting -- and both Bono, the Irish U2 singer who dragged former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill to Africa last year, and Bob Geldorf, the British promoter who's organized assorted relief programs for Africa, must be thrilled, since they've been screaming about Africa for years now.
In an effort to keep us all plugged in to the world scene, I will be providing updates on these countries ASAP. In the meantime, look for these issues:
Tuesday: SENEGAL: High unemployment -- around 40 % -- but the country's HIV rate is really low, in part due to an innovative education program. Mostly a Muslim country, the former French colony is relatively democratic, but there are some regions that want to secede.
Wednesday: SOUTH AFRICA. President Thabo Mbeki is regarded by many as brilliant, but he longed denied sex had anything to do with AIDS in this country where 20 % are afflicted with HIV. Lots of AIDS orphans here, and really heinous problem with rape. At least Mbeki is coming around and accepting AIDS drugs for HIV positive pregnant women, and the economy is relatively strong here.
Thursday: BOTSWANA. Believed to have the world's worst HIV problem -- with 40 % of the population suffered from AIDS -- Botswana has Africa's longest-running democracy and the least corruption in Africa. Progressive government, is trying to stave off the AIDS.
Friday: UGANDA. Erg. Dictator Idi Amin started their human rights abuses problems in the 1970s and it continued into the 1980's; 500,000 believed killed by government in those years. Troublesome rebels abound here, especially the Lord's Resistance Army, known for kidnapping six year olds. Uganda has bad rep for stirring up probs in neighboring countries, including Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan.
Saturday. NIGERIA: Well, it might be better than Liberia, but not much. Oil-rich, OPEC member Nigeria has Africa's largest population, but people don't see the oil revenue or the gas: prices are soaring, and Nigerians have to wait in line for days to fill their tanks. A Muslim north and Christian south sometimes battle it out. The 2003 Miss World contest had to flee after hundreds were killed during protest against the pageant; also home of Amina Lawal, who was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, but is currently still alive. President Obasanjo is said to be offering asylum to Liberian President Charles Taylor if Taylor steps down.
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| Got Questions? Throw em at me! |
[07 Jul 2003|07:28pm] |
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Are you confused by the news? Overwhelmed by information? Trying to figure out the diff between Liberia, Nigeria and Libya or the National Security Council, the UN Security Council and the Council on Foreign Relations? Do you confuse such terms as "Muslim," "Islam" and "Islamist"?
Don't feel bad! Just send me your questions! I will try to answer them in the Common Confusions link section on this site. I may also use your questions for a new program I am developing, so feel free to use your name and city -- if you want -- but you don't have to.
So if you're feeling bewildered about the world situation, please do write send an email to: armchairdiplomat@hotmail.com or see the "Contact" section on this site for one click connection.
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| Stats and top ten lists |
[07 Jul 2003|03:51am] |
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If you are like me, and spend hours a day trying to find out oh, which country has the most car thefts and murders, or which countries are the biggest economic aid donors, you will love this site "nationmaster.com," which uses UN and IMF data. click here. They even make groovy graphs to illustrate their statistical points. Btw, while Japan, the US, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom are the biggest donors in terms of money given ($ 9 billion to 4.5 respectively), Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden give the most per person ($ 356 to $ 191), with the US giving under $ 25 per person in economic aid (# 20 on the top donors per capita list). The highest murder rates (per capita) are to be found in Colombia (aka kidnapping capital of the world), South Africa, Jamaica, Venezuela and Russia.
I could spend hours playing around on this baby.
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| Mood-Souring Scam in Zimbabwe/Enlightenment in Thailand |
[07 Jul 2003|01:48am] |
Well, well, well. Upon doing more research, it sounds like the email from Zimbabwe (noted in previous post) was just a fragmented part of a scam letter that's been making the rounds on the Internet. For more details on this phenomenon: click here. There are lots more sites like that one and apparently a lot more letters from the sons of murdered farmers that sound highly suspicious, and I guess I should have been tipped off by the "Dear Sir" salutation that something was amiss.
Zimbabwe is truly a tragic situation, and farmers are getting killed; that scammers hope to profit from it -- saying their fictitious dead father left millions in a bank, can you post security deposit for them to get it out -- makes me nearly as sick as what Mugabe and his thugs are doing. The part about the lost money and the security deposit, however, was not in my letter, or I would have been much more suspicious -- mine ended abruptly mid-word: I thought it was somebody in dire danger asking me to save his life.
Now that Mr. (apparently) Faux Zimbabwean put me in a cranky mood, I will have to reflect on the two things that make me happy at times like these:
1) Connie Chung! Or rather the fact that Connie Chung was fired from her multi-million dollar MSNBC job! I know that's months-old news but everytime I think of it, I just get a really warm feeling inside, and then I repeat "Connie Chung was fired!" about 20 times and boy, do I feel great. Mind you, I usually feel bad when anybody is fired. Mind you, I have great respect for most media people. But whether you're talking about her incredibly uninsightful Gary Condit interview or her appalling (and much-promoted) NBC "White Paper" on Teenage Sex back in the 1980s -- she "uncovered" that oh something like 2 % of teenagers were having sex (RIGHT-O babe, were you asking them in front of their parents?)-- and everything she has ever done that I've seen, Connie Chung is an utter disappointment, and someone who may be best suited to selling Avon door to door or wrapping Christmas gifts at the mall. Besides, she can kick back and live on Maury's millions (she's married to Maury Povich, and there's something really beautiful about that).
2) And now, since 1) was downright mean, here is something that is truly heartwarming, and true:
My friend "Ginger" and her family recently visited Thailand, and they hired a boatman to take them to Burma, which is actually illegal, but they wanted to buy Burmese textiles. So they get to Burma, and the Thai boatman waits, saying be sure to come back before it gets dark. So, of course, they don't make it back until it's inky black outside, and the boatman is still there, but now he's almost crying. The reason: the river is filled with rocks and infested with alligators, and if the boat dumps over they are all dead meat.
So they head off into the night, shivering both from the cold and their general fear about being alligator appetizers. Not far off they come to a Thai village, and someone yells at the boatman, asking what the heck he is doing, doesn't he know the waters are totally dangerous and teeming with hungry alligators. He yells back and explains the situation, and minutes later, the villager runs to the water's edge, holding up a lantern, and then all the villagers come out and hold up lanterns and candles so the boatman can see his way down the river. The chain of light guiding the boat continues, with the villagers running to the next village, so those villagers come out holding up candles and lanterns too, and they run to the next village and the kind Thais illuminated the way for the whole hour plus journey.
So, see, some people are still sweet and helpful and can give you hope for humanity and put you in a good mood. (And if that doesn't work in the heart-warming department, just remember: Connie Chung got fired!)
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| Murder in Zimbabwe |
[06 Jul 2003|10:13pm] |
I got an email from Zimbabwe. Well, I think it was from Zimbabwe, which as you may know, is in a bad state lately. The reason, as far as I can tell, is President Robert Mugabe, who, as far as I can tell, has gone bonkers in recent years. His last election, allegedly, was bogus, and he's been on a big land reform kick. Now, Zimbabwe needed some land reform, since the bulk of food came from huge tracts run by white farmers, when the black farmers were hard pressed to get land, and couldn't compete with the white farmers, and most of the country is black and most of the white farmers were foreigners. But Mugabe's idea for land reform, as I understand it, was essentially this: kill the white farmers, and give their land to black farmers, many of whom, alas, didn't know how to farm such huge tracts of land. Also Mugabe has been accused of giving much of the land to his family and cronies, and not divvying it up fairly.His land reform movement was a huge factor in the recent famine there. Mugabe has also been shipping out the foreign press and censoring the Zimbabwean press and is accused of giving out the donated food mostly to his family, friends and supporters, while letting anyone who doesn't agree with him starve to death. The European Union and some African leaders are pressuring him to leave office, and locals are fleeing the country en masse.
So today out of the blue I get this email from apparently the son of a black farmer in Zimbabwe. I have no idea how he even got my email address, but this is what the email says:
Dear Sir,
You may be surprised to receive this letter since you do not know me
personally. I am son of a farmer who was recently murdered in the land
dispute crisis in Zimbabwe. My Father used to live in a town called
Chinhoyi located in the heart of Murambinda about 120km from Harare, the
capital city of my country Zimbabwe. Chinhoyi was largely a peaceful
farming area where one can own land and cultivate it if one worked hard
enough. The relative peace existing in Chinhoyi and our lives were
shattered with the beginning of the ruling party sponsored land invasion
by war veterans who we suspected were acting with the backing of Mugabe's
Government. My late Father was among the few black Zimbabweans rich
farmers murdered in cold blood by the agents of the ruling government
o
The email ends right there. No name, no nothing. I find it chilling and wonder numerous things including, "What happened to the person who sent me the email? Did someone burst in right then? Is he all right? Why was his father killed? What is going on?" Then again, maybe it's just a hoax. Well, I wrote back to the Zimbabwean immediately, but that was hours ago, and I haven't heard back. And so I am feeling rather worried as I wonder about what gives in Zimbabwe.
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melissarossi's journal