Archive for the 'Africa' Category

Thanks to Benedict XVI, we can expect a lot more people to die of AIDS in Africa

Ask the average person to name the greatest criminals in history, and she’ll rattle off some familiar and predictable names: Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Amin…

Fair enough. They’re all mass murderers, and some are responsible for the deaths of literally millions of innocent people. But few would include a man who has effectively sentenced millions of innocents to a predictable death, and sentenced much of a continent to the poverty and misery that come to nations that are ravaged by AIDS. I’m speaking of Benedict XVI, current leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Yesterday, Benedict visited the African nation of Cameroon, and reaffirmed the church’s ban on condom use. He did so knowing that widespread condom use has proven to be the only effective check on the spread of AIDS, and knowing that his words exert great influence on the governments of Catholic countries in sub-Saharan Africa. He did so knowing that millions would die. Granted, he did so with the best of intentions. Benedict thinks that he’ll save millions of souls by denying condoms to Africa’s masses, even as he ends millions of lives.

But can’t we also say that about the rest of history’s great criminals? Stalin didn’t set out to murder millions, he set out to turn the Russian empire into a worker’s paradise. Hitler and Mao also believed in their hearts that they were doing what was best for their people and for the world. We don’t judge history’s criminals by their intentions, but by their results. And Benedict, like John Paul II before him, is staining his hands with the blood of millions.

Now, please read some of these seriously salient messages being sent from the wider world.

(Cross posted from How This Old Brit Sees It)

Somali pirates: more political awareness, less yo-ho-ho

You may have been following the saga of the Ukranian weapons ship that was taken by pirates off the coast of Somalia. The ship contained military arms, including tanks, that were to be delivered to the government of either Kenya or Sudan. The pirates now find themselves being tracked at sea by the American and Russian navies, and they are demanding millions of dollars in ransom in exchange for the safe release of the ship’s crew and cargo.

Now the New York Times has an interview with the pirates who took that ship:

The Somali pirates who hijacked a Ukrainian freighter loaded with tanks, artillery, grenade launchers and ammunition said in an interview Tuesday that they had no idea the ship was carrying arms when they seized it on the high seas.

“We just saw a big ship,” the pirates’ spokesman, Sugule Ali, told The New York Times. “So we stopped it.”

The pirates quickly learned, though, that their booty was an estimated $30 million worth of heavy weaponry, heading for Kenya or Sudan, depending on whom you ask.

In a 45-minute-long interview, Mr. Sugule expounded on everything from what the pirates want — “just money” — to why they were doing this — “to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters” — to what they have to eat on board — rice, meat, bread, spaghetti, “you know, normal human-being food.”

He said that so far, in the eyes of the world, the pirates had been misunderstood. “We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits,” he said. “We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard.”

…

Mr. Sugule said that his men are treating the crew members well (the pirates would not let the crew members speak on the phone, saying it was against their rules). “Killing is not in our plans,” he said. “We only want money, so we can protect ourselves from hunger.”

When asked why the pirates needed $20 million to protect themselves from hunger, Mr. Sugule laughed over the phone and said: “Because we have a lot of men.”

The problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia is so widespread that the pirates now number in the thousands.

Read the whole fascinating article here.

(cross posted at This Old Brit)

Holy men’s mobiles, Batman!

We wonder whether this sort of silly stuff is starting to become unstoppable?

You know, regularly gabbing to you good buddy, God.

Apparently it’s not just George Bush, Tony Blair, the pope and the barmpot above who have a hot line to Him inhabiting heaven.

Suddenly, it appears almost everybody’s at it.

We’ve just read that for some considerable time now, far away in far off Africa the same sodding shit’s been practised (seemingly, super-sucessfully), by an ancient Nigerian nutter.

Or is he?

(Cross posted from How This Old Brit Sees It)

Blessing Mabhena, 11-month-old victim of Mugabe’s thugs

The Guardian now has video evidence of Mugabe’s thugs supervising individual voters in Zimbabwe, as well as videos of the “re-education centers” that Morgan Tsvangirai’s supporters were sent to.

This time, our questions are most definitely NOT rhetorical.

If our own dear leaders here in the west are, as they consistently tell everyone who’s sufficiently stupid enough to swallow their shit, are remotely interested in spreading true democracy — why aren’t they zeroing in on Zimbabwe? And why aren’t they practising what they preach?

You know, like giving ordinary people their freedom.

Like enforcing regime change(s) where and when they’re so obviously needed

Like ousting, without delay, some of this world’s worst, w*nkers of despised dictators of the day.

Like genuinely making the world a better place, by rapidly removing from power all (patently) mad, monstrosities of men like Robert Mugabe.

Eh?

We’d really like to hear some (sensible) answers this time.

Honestly. Truly. We want to know.

For example, why don’t they help, in every possible way, people like Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai ? Indeed, why haven’t they already?



And why in the world won’t they take some genuinely serious, steps to stop such scandalous stuff as is increasingly being suffered in certain areas of Africa?

Mugabe rival quits election race

Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he is pulling out of Friday’s presidential run-off, handing victory to President Robert Mugabe.

Mr Tsvangirai said there was no point running when elections would not be free and fair and “the outcome is determined by… Mugabe himself”.

He called on the global community to step in to protect Zimbabweans.

The decision came after opposition supporters heading to a rally in the capital Harare came under attack.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change says at least 70 supporters have been killed in recent months.

Incidentally, the brave Mr Tsvangirai himself knows only too well, from past painful personal experience, what it’s like to even be ‘lucky‘ and to get off lightly, when it comes to being on the receiving end of madman Mugabe’s evil enforcers. As is shown below.

Read the rest of this latest BBC report on the fast worsening situation in Zimbabwe.



Then shudder at the sight of the sick, sadistic, soulless, despotic scumbag shown above.

Then strive — strive and strive again — to shame some of our own ‘dear leaders’ into some sort(s) of appropriate action — soon.

(Cross posted from How This Old Brit See It)

The United Nations now estimates that 3.5 million people will need food aid. And that’s just in Somalia.

What will be the next horror that Robert Mugabe unleashes on his country?

Now that it’s become clear that Robert Mugabe has lost Zimbabwe’s presidential and parliamentary elections, his supporters are employing extraordinary tactics in an attempt to win an anticipated runoff through voter intimidation. They are calling their efforts Operation Where Did You Put Your Cross?:

Read the rest of this entry »

We see the present Pope’s popping in to the US to … er … um … do whatever it is that Popes do when too many of their boys have been caught with their kecks down causing considerable consternation (again), ‘cos they’ve been doing to/with some younger boys … er … um … what it seems so many Popes’ boys can’t stop doing.

Nevertheless, here’s the sort of thing the BBC are saying today:

Pope may find US on his wavelength

Read the rest of the Beeb’s report and see what you think yourself.

We also see that simultaneously (and coincidentally?), current British Premier and ex (super-successful), Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown is popping across the pond to drop in on a bunch of Bush’s big wbanking buddies.

As we said at the outset, we’re not exactly sure what the Pope’s flying visit’s real purpose is but, we definitely do know what Gordo’s prime purpose is. Regardless of the much publicised (and most welcome) Robert Mugabe warnings being bandied about - Gordon Brown wants to (personally), put to all to the US high flying financial fellows. In short (in private), he’s 100% certain to say to the super-shysters … stop self-serving yourselves good-style … and stop screwing everyone else.

Read the BBC’s relevant report right here.

However, whether absolutely anything that either (sorta-semi-celebrity), visitor says during the course of their respective stop-overs will be understood by George W. Bush, is definitely open to debate.

And, we’re not just talking foreign visitor’s accents when calling into question the crazed Crawford cowboy’s (probably completely), problematic powers of comprehension - or quite possibly an absolute absence of any — at all.

* (Cross posted at How This Old Brit Sees It)

Deputy Safety and Security Minister Susan Shabangu told policemen that they shouldn’t worry too much about regulations, and should instead kill criminals on sight. She wins the Bull Connor Award, given to the individual who most aggressively deprives blacks of their civil rights.

Speaking of denying South Africans civil rights, it turns out that Nelson Mandela and other African National Congress officials still need a waiver to enter the US. You see, the ANC was put on the terror watch list back in the 1980s back when people like Ronald Reagan and Dick Cheney affixing the Terrorist label to everyone who opposed Apartheid.