Looming catastrophe in Somalia or "scarcity scare"?

Update #3 (7/26/2011) ‪What can be done to make the Horn of Africa self- sufficient?

Update #2 (7/26/2011) The NGO CARE urgently seeking donations.

Update #1 (7/24/2011)- Just discovered a piece linking US foreign policy malfeasance to Somalia famine (dap @ Prof. James Small) --> Somalia: the Real Causes of Famine by Michel Chossudovsky

There is now a steady stream of media reports warning that the Horn of Africa is, yet again, in the midst of a catastrophic famine. According to these reports, millions of Africans in Somalia and neighboring nations are in desperate need of food rations. The BBC laments that despite these dire predictions little is being done to mobilize a comprehensive response; they have put the number of those who need urgent assistance at 14.5 million.[1] 

Image via Wikipedia

SOLDIER OF ETHIOPIAN NATIONAL DEFENSE FORCE, 2006

UNICEF reports that 2 million children in the Horn are at risk and that 500,000 of those children need immediate attention or they will face certain death.[2] According to these accounts, harsh weather, "Islamic militants," and a weak national government are some of the factors that have converged to produce a bleak situation in Somalia. Others complain that violent militias make aid delivery a risky activity [3]. Predictably these accounts are often supported with stereotypical images helpless adults and bone-thin African children with swollen bellies.

TransAfrica recognizes that the current crisis in Somalia is compounded by the lingering effects of the Cold War. During that time, the U.S. supported—both militarily and economically—the autocratic rule of General Siad Barre. The entrenchment of the Barre regime created violent conflict throughout the country and a civil war which led to the eventual overthrow of the government in 1991.[4]

Of course, none of these reports make mention of the proxy war in Somalia--instigated by George W. Bush [5] and now sponsored by Barack Obama--being fought with Drones, illegal detention camps,[6] and Ethiopian troops backed by the United States. And no African should forget the ongoing aggressions against so-called Somali "pirates."[7][8] 

How are western military objectives, western NGOs and foreign aid schemes contributing to instability and food shortages in the region? None of the mainstream media reports about this latest cycle of famines raises these important questions. Libertarian, Bob Adelmann, calls the reports of a looming famine "scarcity scare"--a conspiratorial tactic used to justify a one-world government (Note: Adelmann also believes that global warming is part of the conspiracy. I don't share this view. GI).[9] TransAfrica, an NGO that advocates for equitable US-Africa relations, has not been the same since the departure its founder, Randall Robinson,[10] but at least they attempt to link famine in the Horn of Africa with the "lingering effects of the Cold War." Not a very strong statement but at least its a starting point for a more comprehensive understanding of the politics of famine. You can read their  statement, which includes a list of NGOs that are actively aiding Somalia @ United Nations States Must Step Up and Fully Fund the Somali Relief Fund | TransAfrica

Notes: 

[1] BBC NEWS | Africa | Somali catastrophe 'largely unnoticed'

[2] allAfrica.com: Resources » Hunger Crisis Hits Horn of Africa

[3] Somali militants vow to block aid groups | Deseret News

[4] TransAfrica

[5] Saline Lone, writing in 2006, predicted correctly that US policy in Somalia would only serve to embolden radical Islam in that region: "An insurgency by Somalis, millions of whom live in Kenya and Ethiopia, will surely ensue, and attract thousands of new anti-U.S. militants and terrorists." Read his essay @  In Somalia, a reckless U.S. proxy war - Opinion - International Herald Tribune - The New York Times

[6] The CIA's Secret Sites in Somalia | The Nation

[7] BBC NEWS | Africa | US captain rescued from pirates

[8] Watch this clip, Pirates of Somalia, for some insights into how western policies help create "piracy" -->  ‪PIRATES of SOMALIA Trailer‬‏ - YouTube

[9] Using the Food Crisis

[10] Quitting America

Also dig:

• How America Underdevelops Africa: Death, Plunder, Resistance
• Stones, Bombs, and Planes: A Tale of Two Barbarisms
• You: Somali children's famine has been ignored (nation.com.pk)
• Why are Somalia's militants clamping down on famine aid? (csmonitor.com)
• Antiterror laws could impede US aid for Somalia famine victims (csmonitor.com)

Ashamed to be an American? I am

Shame!

...You should be too. Let us collectively "kill" America and invent something more humane, more just, more noble. Yes we can. GI

To view video from FB notes, click here.

I pinched this from our comrades @ Monkey Smash Heaven

tags: fall of america, imperialism, slavery, military industrial complex, war on terror, violence, apple pie

Video Shows 2007 Air Attack in Baghdad That Killed Photographer <---Stop these phony corporate wars Mr. President (dap @ bro. Cam)

(Blogger note: These are my comments from a FB thread. GI)

American wars have been mostly about advancing global white American supremacy. A black president is not going to change that brutal reality. A famous General, Major General Smedly Butler, one of the most decorated American military officers of all time, once said "war is a [corporate] racket."


I served for four years in the Marine Corps. There are a good number of military people-especially black Americans-who recognize that American global belligerence is really the crux of the matter. Patriotism need not be a cop out for not questioning the seemingly blatant disregard for standard military ops.


No place like home


I always chuckle when my fellow Americans say things like:


America is the only country I would chose to live in. for better or for worse


Or, my fav:

Kwame, if you don't like it just leave!!

LOL!

Where the hell are we gonna go? American foreign policy has killed millions in Africa and Latin America. Might as well stay here and fight. And US foreign policy continues to degrade the quality of life of people of color domestically and internationally.


A Fable

If I go to your house and kill your family, steal all your belongings, then invite you my house to dine you might not want to get to comfortable because my intentions are not likely to be honorable. The American house is a house of generational horrors. It needs a serious makeover.


• Smedley Butler Wikipedia 


• War is a Racket


• What Obama would have us ignore



• How America Underdevelops Africa




=====


www.nytimes.com



April 5, 2010

Video Shows U.S. Killing of Reuters Employees

By ELISABETH BUMILLER

WASHINGTON — The Web site WikiLeaks.org released a graphic video on Monday showing an American helicopter shooting and killing a Reuters photographer and driver in a July 2007 attack in Baghdad.

A senior American military official confirmed that the video was authentic.

Reuters had long pressed for the release of the video, which consists of 38 minutes of black-and-white aerial video and conversations between pilots in two Apache helicopters as they open fire on people on a street in Baghdad. The attack killed 12, among them the Reuters photographer, Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and the driver, Saeed Chmagh, 40.

Reuters employees were allowed to view the video on an off-the-record basis two weeks after the killings, but they were not allowed to obtain a copy of it. The news organization said its Freedom of Information Act requests were not approved.

At a news conference at the National Press Club, WikiLeaks said it had acquired the video from whistle-blowers in the military and viewed it after breaking the encryption code. WikiLeaks released the full 38-minute video as well as a 17-minute edited version.

Read more and view video @ Air Attack in Baghdad That Killed Photographer - NYTimes.com

Photo: credit

tags: war on terror, iraq, friendly fire

Stones, Bombs, and Planes: A Tale of Two Barbarisms

I generally avoid posting images of black/African people that might reinforce racist stereotypes. Occasionally I make an exception to offer some push back.

BE ADVISED: SOME OF THE PICTURES THAT FOLLOW ARE GRAPHIC.

I have always had a difficult time getting my head around the concept of stoning someone to death when we have techniques like "lethal injection" that far more civilized. (Although westerners now associate stoning with Muslims, very few Islamic nations sanction stoning.) But really, how "civilized" is that? Imagine having someone eat their "last meal." Imagine that you have now restrained that person and he is watching you trying stick something in his arm that is going kill him. Now imagine that you are sweating profusely because you really want to do your job, you want to kill him, but after searching his arms for hours you request that the execution be postponed because you could not find a "usable vein"...

So back to stoning...

I came across these ghastly pics over at the Huffington Post.

HP led off the story saying: "On Sunday, Islamic militants stoned a man to death for adultery in front of hundreds of local residents in Somalia." 


Here's how the same event was described over at the New York Post : "In a scene straight out of the Dark Ages, this Somali man accused of adultery was stoned to death by Islamic thugs while horrified villagers were forced to watch."

The Huffington Post deserves credit here for objective balanced reporting that does not invite  stereotypes about Africans or Muslims or "darkness." The problem, of course, is that the New York Post version is closer to American public opinion about Somalis in particular and Africans and Muslims in general.

Americans don't typically consider human bodies obliterated or deformed by "modern" weaponry such as--depleted uranium, M16s, MOABs (see second to last picture below), remote controlled drones, atomic bombs, napalm, just to name a few--as barbaric. And because Americans have low attention spans, we have already forgotten about those 300-500 Somali men, women, and children, massacred by our troops. (But we might remember the movie Black Hawk Down, the mythical version of that tragedy.)

Mass death by modern weaponry is overrated.

So yes, I am vehemently opposed killing people with large stones. But I am equally opposed to killing people with massive projectiles dropped from planes and other "modern" weapons of mass destruction.

Somalia

Afghanistan

Afghans dig graves for victims after an alleged air strike by U.S forces in Gozara district of Herat province west of Kabul, Afghanistan on Feb. 17. A U.S. general traveled to western Afghanistan on Feb. 18 to investigate claims that six women and two children were killed, officials said.

USA

 "The Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb produced in the United States is the second most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the world." Source: Wikipedia

Assorted US military weapons of mass destruction (Source: Wikipedia)

tags: afghanistan, barbarism, Black Hawk Down, crime, death penalty, islam, MOAB, Somalia, stoning, war on terror, weapons of mass destruction

McChrystal: We've Shot 'An Amazing Number' Of Innocent Afghans (dap @ marco)

McChrystal was not speaking directly to the press, but this is still a surprisingly candid admission by a US military officer. No "collateral damage" military speak. Just the brutal facts. And to his credit he is trying to remedy the problem. The only real solution is for our Commander in Chief, Barack Obama, to stop these senseless, phony corporate sponsored wars. GI


See also:

• Half the Congressional Black Caucus Votes For More Afghan War
• Stones, Bombs, and Planes: A Tale of Two Barbarisms

***

As reported in the New York Times last week, a significant number of innocent Afghans continue to be killed by US and NATO forces despite new rules issued by Gen. Stanley McChrystal meant to help reduce civilian casualties. Indeed, the number of Afghans who have been killed or hurt by troop shootings at convoys and military checkpoints has basically remained the same since McChrystal announced his directives.

"We have shot an amazing number of people, but to my knowledge, none has ever proven to be a threat," said McChrystal during a recent video-conference with troops, the Times reported.

Talking Points Memo has obtained a longer transcript of McChrystal's statements, which you can read in full here.

McChrystal spokesman Tadd Sholtis tried to place the general's comments in context in an email to TPM: "The general was urging his forces to exercise courageous restraint (by suggesting that it is unlikely that erratic behavior at a checkpoint constitutes a threat) while also expressing sympathy for the confusing and threatening situations in which both soldiers and Afghans find themselves" Sholtis wrote.

Read more @Huffington Post

tags: afghanistan, war, imperialism, war on terror

Is Africa a breeding ground for terrorism?? April Ryan says yes.

Dig it!

I don't own a Tell-lie-vision...



but I happened to be in a restaurant ordering a salmon burger (don't judge me!) and stumbled upon a live broadcast of a briefing to reporters on the state of US counterterrorism in light of the "Underwear Bomber" incident.  I looked up in time to see journalist April Ryan (Yep, the same April Ryan who was dissed by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs not long ago.) asking several questions. As her words came tumbling out I got the sense that she was out of her element, that she really didn't know much about international affairs. The longer I listened the more perplexed and concerned I became. Ryan declared that Africa was a "breeding ground" for terrorists and that these African terrorists would eventually invade Europe:

on the Africa issue, some in the national security community are saying that the focus needs to be placed on the continent of Africa.  You talked -- the President has talked about Somalia.  And there are breeding grounds in Africa where extremists from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border are going to Somalia.  And there's a fear that the tentacles will spread from there into Northern Africa, into Europe. Have you or anyone here talked to any of the African leaders?  And is AFRICOM appropriate to handle this kind of situation right now after the Christmas attack?

She posted a near identical statement on her blog (no mention of AFRICOM).

Meanwhile, Robert Gibbs White House Press Secretary contends the President has not placed calls to African leaders on the Detroit incident. Some countries in Africa are breeding grounds for terror. Some members of Al Qaeda and other extremists are leaving the Afghanistan and Pakistan boarders to flee to Somalia. Some in the National Security field fear the extremists in Somalia will create tentacles throughout the continent, particularly in lawless areas there.

Ryan is wrong about Somalia and other unnamed African nations being strongholds for terrorist plots. But she is not solely to blame for this nonsense. US discussions about "terror" are deeply flawed. The majority of what we call terrorist acts are actually legitimate responses to our dreadful foreign policy. 


Read the transcript of the press briefing including Ms. Ryan's statement here and her blog post here. If you have questions for April Ryan, you can leave them at her blog. 

Map of Terror

US intelligence terror map. African nations on the "terror map" are Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Nigeria and Somalia. (The tiny sliver of red on the west (left) side of the map is Cuba. Someone please remind me again why are we still bullying Cuba after all these years?!)


Map source: CNN

Naked plane source: trashselector

tags: africom, cuba, method man, Nigeria, war on terror

Hyper Capitalism: Is (So-called) Terror a Growth Market?

The so-called "terrorist" threat would diminish dramatically if our foreign policy were not so atrocious, our profile lowered on the weapons market, and our corporate controlled military industrial complex did not pursue profit by any means even unnecessary. But then again "terrorism" is itself a profitable enterprise for the wealthy and powerful. Which brings me to the story below. Apparently, the criminal corporation Xe (formerly Blackwater) has gotten away with murder yet again! This is especially astonishing given the fact that a group of Blackwater protesters were tried and convicted in secrecy (they were later released on appeal). Does the madness ever end?

Judge Dismisses Charges Agaisnt Blackwater Guards Involved in Iraq Massacre

by: Jason Leopold, t r u t h o u t | Report

In a stunning development, a federal judge dismissed all criminal charges against five Blackwater guards involved in the massacre of 14 Iraqi civilians and wounding 18 others in Baghdad in September 2007.

US District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina ruled that federal prosecutors improperly used statements the men gave to State Department investigators under a promise of immunity to secure indictments against them.

At the time of the shooting, Blackwater had a contract to provide secruity to the State Department in Iraq.

Read entire story @ Truthout.

[Photo: Credit]

tags: military industrial complex, war on terror, iraq, afghanistan, central intelligence agency, foreign policy

Remembering Pat Tillman: A US army cover-up

I think our will to fight for justice has been diminished in our generation. I am not exactly sure why. If Americans did not get worked up over the Pat Tillman cover-up then, barring some major catastrophe, the corporate war mongers will win the day. kzs

@@@@@@@@

September 14, 2009

The latest book from Jon Krakauer, author ofInto Thin Air and Into The Wild, focuses on the life and tragic death of former NFL player Pat Tillman, who left a lucrative contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join the U.S. Army Rangers.

Krakauer talks to NPR's Melissa Block about his investigation into Tillman's death by friendly fire — and the Army's subsequent effort to cover up the circumstances of that death.

A Spray Of Bullets

At least half the members of a platoon traveling through Afghanistan on April 22, 2004, had never been in a firefight before. But on this day, the enemy attacked. In response, the American soldiers sprayed thousands of rounds from their machine guns, M4s and grenade launchers.

Not far away was Tillman, accompanied by another American soldier and an Afghan militia fighter, who had been firing his weapon at the opposite canyon wall, where he suspected enemy fighters could be. When, from a distance, the leader of one of the U.S. platoon's Humvees saw the Afghan militia fighter, he reacted.

"He testified that the [Afghan] guy had on an American uniform, but in the panic of the moment, he reflexively put the guy in the sights of his M4 and put seven rounds into his chest," Krakauer says. The shots by the leader of Humvee were followed by a spray of bullets from the rest of his men. It was an attack that ended in Tillman's death.

Read entire story @ NPR.

tags: war on terror, afghanistan, military industrial complex

Most of the time its embarrassing to be in American (Dap @ KAG)

Obama Nobel Peace Prize is a cruel joke to the victims of our belligerent armed forces. Soaring rhetoric does NOT a peacemaker make.



tags: afghanistan, war on terror, barack obama


cartoon credit: RAWA

Jasiri X breaks down war in Afghanistan (H/T Dave)

LYRICS
Older woman cold from the hardness of life
the bloodiest of days and the harshest of night
all she knows is war like a Sargent with stripes
stinger missile point at the target and strike
she's a pistol but never really had a main squeeze
nothing official like love that came with a ring
in fact the opposite men were abusive and dominant
boundaries they never honor it they just wanna conquer it
never hug her just hold her like hostages
so she'd bury they heads in the sand like ostriches
miss independent but she ran into a man who liked to hit women
thought he was big pimpin
and he could take her and rape her for some quick riches
this time she needed divine intervention
and she received it from another man that had a plan that was strategic
and said he preceded cause he believed in Jesus.
it was so good to hear it cause its what her spirit needed
and together they defeated broke that man to pieces cause he never had retreated
if time was like a picture she would forever freeze it
But after they victory she watched him leave quick
brokenhearted his promise he didn't keep it
had another chick and they relationship was secret
he didn't want her he only wanted her allegiance
seething she vowed to never let her heart take over her reason
as long as she was breathing
and got deep into religion kicked her heroin habit
her new apparel was the blackest of fabrics
and it covered her from head to toe even her eyes
like if you wanna know me you only seeing my mind
and they say time heals all wounds but they was lyin
cause guess who showed up and accused her of conspiring
to take him out both guns he was firing
her she go again another war that she fighting in
he said her religion went and made her to disciplined
heated up the heron and made her take hits with him
took away her longer drape put her in some lingerie
he said he just wanna lay pipe and he'll be on his way
now she struggling emotions that she juggling
cause inside she felt she broke her religious covenant
but then this dude still with his other chick
he said she was so lubricated that he was sprung off it
he was loving it but then he got stuck in it
no rubber meant he got burnt now he suffering
but that meant she wasn't hand cuffed by him
cause his other girl was getting all the punishment
she started rebuilding felt her disease healing
got back her strength her tank was refiling
then dude came back and said he was a changed cat
and anything that she wanted he could arrange that
he said him and the other girl was over
but really he went soft and he pulled out his solider
but that ain't what he told her
the game he spit was bullsh*t she could tell by the odor
but when she said no the conversation got louder
he said she couldn't stop him cause she didn't have the power
it was either take the money or gunpowder
a nuclear shower she'd be easily devoured
but he was so young and her story was long
since way back in the days with Genghis khan
she never gave in she slayed men who thought they was strong
so she wasn't shook when he claimed that he was bomb
she 's never been afraid of the grave and beyond
so she looked him in his eye and said it's on
It's Her Story


tags: war on terror, afghanistan, jasir x, music, hiphop

The Public Execution: Warning! This video be FIYAHH. It might hurt your feelings (H/T Ma'at).

This one be fiyaah! Think Willie Lynch on steroids.

"If you wish to destroy an area, how do you do it? Well, there are two ways. You can go in there and bomb it and so forth, but thats not very efficient. What you do is, you try to get the people in that area to kill each other, and to destroy their own territory...by dividing his ranks against one another. And then you feed both sides, you have agents feeding both sides, inflaming both sides, then they kill each other. We need to wake up to this reality, to understand that peoples who try to maintain empires do it by manipulating the people who they are trying to conquer...guillotine, firing squads, fast foods, pharmaceuticals companies, the US govt, FEMA, the US armed forces...Behold the evolution of the public execution."

tags:bamboozled, war on black people, war on terror, genocide,

OVERKILL: Troops In Afghanistan Already Outnumber Taliban 12:1

OVERKILL

Troops In Afghanistan Already Outnumber Taliban 12:1

SLOBODAN LEKIC | 10/27/09 09:14 PM |
BRUSSELS There are already more than 100,000 international troops in Afghanistan working with 200,000 Afghan security forces and police. It adds up to a 12-1 numerical advantage over Taliban rebels, but it hasn't led to anything close to victory.

Now, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan is asking for tens of thousands more troops to stem the escalating insurgency, raising the question of how many more troops it would take to succeed.
The commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, says the extra forces are needed to implement a new strategy that focuses on protecting civilians and depriving the militants of popular support in a country where tribal militias may be Taliban today and farmers tomorrow.

The White House said Tuesday that President Barack Obama has nearly finished gathering information and advice on how to proceed in Afghanistan, where bombings killed eight more American troops. With October now the deadliest month for U.S. forces in the war, many experts question the need for more troops.

"The U.S. and its allies already have ample numbers and firepower to annihilate the Taliban, if only the Taliban would cooperate by standing still and allowing us to bomb them to smithereens," said Andrew Bacevich, a professor of international relations and history at Boston University, and one-time platoon leader in Vietnam.

"But the insurgents are conducting the war in ways that do not play to (allied) strengths."
The Taliban rebels are estimated to number no more than 25,000. Ljubomir Stojadinovic, a military analyst and guerrilla warfare expert from Serbia, said that although McChrystal's reinforcements would lift the ratio to 20-1 or more, they would prove counterproductive.

"It's impossible to regain the initiative by introducing more foreign forces, which will only breed more resentment and more recruits for the enemy," he said. "The Soviets tried the exact same thing in Afghanistan in the 1980s with disastrous results."

Read the entire story here.

tags: afghanistan, barack obama, geopolitical, war on terror

Deeper in Afghanistan

t

According to media reports, on Wednesday, 11 people, including five United Nations workers, died in an attack in Kabul. On Tuesday, eight more American troops lost their lives. October has been the deadliest month to date in the war in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama is set to announce next week that he's increasing troop levels for a war that has no coherent objective.

How does this not end in disaster for Obama and America? [Source]

tags: barack obama, war, afghanistan, geopolitical, war on terror, united nations