Coconut Revolution: Freedom Struggle in Papua New Guinea

This video documents the freedom struggle in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea [1]. The leader of this courageous effort draws comparisons between their oppression and how Africa was carved up by Europe. His reference calls to mind an African American colleague of mine who was, for a time, the US representative for the "pan-African liberation of Papua New Guinea." The   Bougainville Revolutionary Army eventually won independence for their people in the late 1990s. GI 

If you cannot view the video, click here. 


map source: Wikipedia


tags: black freedom movement, colonialism, papua new guinea, solomon islands


[1] Bougainville is sometimes known as North Solomon.



See also: 
     • Papua New Guinea Is Little Prepared for Gas Wealth - NYTimes.com    
     • Rush for resources - 101 East - Al Jazeera English  
     • Thoughts of a ghetto intellectual ™: West Papuan independence struggle
     • Alleged torture video surfaces in Papua  

HOW THE BRITISH STOLE ZIMBABWE

"The white settlers subject[ed] them [Africans] as their colonial slaves." (if veiwing from Facebook, click here.)

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• Joshua Mgabuko Nyongolo Nkomo, former rival of Robert Mugabe (imperfect-black.blogspot.com)
• All-African People's Conference: Resolution on Imperialism and Colonialism, Accra, December 5-13, 1958 (imperfect-black.blogspot.com)
• Mugabe is "evil incarnate," but not much has changed for poor South Africans (imperfect-black.blogspot.com)
• Zimbabwe appeals treason acquittal of top PM aide (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Image source: Monkey Smashes Heaven

tags: ZIMBABWE, White people, African people, Human rights, colonialism, mugabe

Mugabe is "evil incarnate," but not much has changed for poor South Africans

Incidence of Poverty 1993. Not much has changed in 2010

See also:


• The Truth about Robert Mugabe




It seems the western media enjoys flogging Robert Mugabe. Incredibly, some critics now compare him to "Hitler." These same critics are deathly silent on the crushing poverty that is still reality for South Africa's black majority. And where is the media anger and indignation  directed at white South Africans who still control most of the wealth in South Africa? The pattern seems to be thus: When black people quietly accept the status quo and/or attack each other, the west and their agents are silent and even encouraging. When we attack white supremacy, we are brutes. 


Aljazeera (see video below) might have mentioned that there is a fledgling black middle class in South Africa. But even that seemingly positive indicator is tempered by the fact that poor South Africans are actually losing ground whilst white South Africans are getting richer. (If your are viewing from Facebook, click here). 

YouTube - Little change for many in South Africa 20 years on

map source: earthtrends

tags: South Africa, zimbabwe, poverty, economics, colonialism, imperialism, mugabe

Garvey's Ghost: Black Talk: "What Richard Cohen Missed"

What Richard Cohen Missed

Yesterday I saw this piece by Richard Cohen entitled "What Helen Thomas Missed" In what was a largely accurate but entirely irrelevant piece in regards to the "flotilla incident".

Thomas, of Lebanese ancestry and almost 90, has never been shy about her anti-Israel views, for which, as far as I'm concerned, she is wrong and to which she is entitled. Then the other day, she performed a notable public service by revealing how very little she knew.

To take my cue from Cohen let's rewrite his intro paragraph:

Cohen of apparent Jewish ancestry and who-the-fuck knows what age but certainly old has never been shy to apologize for Israeli actions and other acts of racism for which, as far as I'm concerned, He is wrong and to which he is entitled. Then the other day he performed a notable public service by yet again showing how totally racist he is.

I certainly don't think that the Washington Post would allow a columnist to post an intro like that (disregarding the F-bomb) 'cause I doubt they would find it appropriate to or even relevant to discuss Cohen's supposed Jewishness, age or consistent "Anti-Palestinian" views. But hey, He's writing for the Washington post and I'm complaining on a blog. Such is life.

Read entire post @ Garvey's Ghost: Black Talk: What Richard Cohen Missed

West Papuan independence struggle

Posted by the Ghetto Intellectual on 2/12/2010

Dig it!

Pride of Warriors documents the freedom struggle of West Papua, currently under Indonesian rule. 

(The film was originally slated for screening in July 2009, but Al Jazeera canceled the screening after being pressured by the Indonesian government. See AL JAZEERA PULLS WEST PAPUA FILM.)

tags: colonialism

A Time There Was: Stories from the Last Days of Kenya Colony (Dap @ Agnes)

Posted by the Ghetto Intellectual on 3/11/2010 

See also: "Imperial reckoning" - The untold story of Britain's gulag in Kenya (2005) by Caroline Elkins

Dig it!

To watch trailer click on video below or click here.

THE FILM

A Time There Was: Stories from the Last Days of Kenya Colony is a documentary film by Donald McWilliams about the Mau Mau Rebellion in 1950s Kenya – one of the most contentious final episodes in British colonial history. Evoking his mentor Norman McLaren, McWilliams employs a broad palette of cinematic devices, framing personal photos with animation and archival imagery.

tags: kenya, mau mau, colonialism, resistance, revolution

When the Moors Ruled in Europe

dig it.


I stumbled upon this video about the Moorish occupation of Spain (711-1492 ACE). It's a fascinating account of the Islamic foundations of European science, literature (poetry and romance), architecture, mathematics and more. The video stops just short of saying the Moors/Arabs civilized Europe. Clearly, from the perspective of the producers, colonization was a good thing. Which is precisely the position of Afrocentric scholars like Ivan Van Sertima...


The video occasionally slips between words like Islamic/Moors/Arabs, but basically claims that the first wave of colonization was by African Berbers (Moors), followed by "enlightened" Arabs. Apparently many contemporary Spaniards downplay the Moorish/Arab influence on Spain. By way of contrast peep this white nationalist account of the Moorish conquest. 

Christiane Amanpour interviews President Robert Mugabe (24 September 2009) on land reform (Thanks to Nkrumah for this)

President Mugabe has gotten many things wrong and he has been in power too long. But he is 100% correct on the land issue. The white Zimbabwean farmers were invaders, as were the settler-Zionists in Is -it-real (Israel) or African Americans in Liberia or the descendants of the white colonists in the Americas. (South Africa has a similar problem. A tiny minority of white elites controlling vast tracks of fertile land. No complaints from the west.) The journalist, Christiane Amanpour, an intelligent person, comes off as ignorant and biased. She wants to get back to the good ole days of white supremacy, and she pretends as if she has never heard of the Lancaster House Agreement that the Brits subsequently reneged on. Its pretty obvious that she is really only interested in the white farmers. And why is it that western journalists never got uptight about Prime Minister Ian Smith? Smith should have been brought up on war crimes, but he lived and died peacefully in Zimb after losing power. The very fact that he was not brought to book suggests that the "international community" (read: white governments) were uninterested in equity and justice and, perhaps more importantly, the  Zimb freedom fighters, even in victory, negotiated from a position of weakness.

As one writer noted after the interview, Amanpour squandered a great opportunity:

Amanpour failed to rise above the familiar frames of the western media’s analysis of Zimbabwe -- dictatorship, hunger, land, Roy Bennett and white farmers. These are part of the issues, but more of symptoms of a deeper problem which we hoped CNN would probe. We expected Amanpour to bring these issues to the interview but in a way that makes it impossible for Mugabe to waive them away so simply. We expected more facts, events and names. And they are many that Mugabe cannot run away from. [Source: newzimbabwe.com]

I skimmed it quickly, but this summary looks to be pretty good. It gives you some of the political context of Mugabe's so-called "land grab."